Senin, 29 November 2010

Master Bedroom After

Ahhhhh, heaven.
That's how it feels after finally spending a night in our new bedroom after nearly 8 weeks of tearing down wallpaper, repairing plaster, painting walls and trim, and installing crown molding. Bye bye yacht club, hellooo Hotel Hazard.
Here's a reminder of what the room looked like before:

And now...
Before...

And now...


Before...
And now...



Kamis, 25 November 2010

Master Bedroom Before

Our new master bedroom is a MAJOR upgrade from our old house. We finally have the luxury to fit nightstands on both sides of the bed. Heck, we could even go crazy and put a king size bed in there if we ever wanted to. Closet space? There's plenty of it. In fact, we each get our own.
There's just a whole lot of nautical-ness going on...




I have something more like this in mind

nightstands-Pier 1
headboard-Ballard Designs
bedding-Dwell Studio
rug & pendant chandelier-Overstock.com
custom chiang mai dragon pillow-Etsy seller

Rabu, 24 November 2010

Do you love your laundry room?

Laundry is not my favourite activity so I think it is important to make it as enjoyable as possible. For me that means an inviting environment and there's nothing cleaner, crisper and more inviting than a blue gray colour scheme with white trim. Benjamin Moore's Gray Wisp is my answer.

The fact that I can dream up designs and my husband can produce them makes it very convenient and cost effective when it comes time to renovate.

Functionality and storage is a must . Under the counter is a recycling center, one bin each for paper, plastics and glass. Above the washer and dryer is storage for cloth napkins, and light bulbs. Of course, art is a must to set the tone for every room. Some people think it's insulting to hang "good art" in functional rooms. Not me. I spend a lot of time in this room and you can view it from my hall because there isn't a door. It has to be clean and inviting and art invites .
Across from the washer and dryer is my broom closet, gift wrapping center in the drawers and upper storage for cleaning products. To the left of the broom closet is storage for the vacuum cleaner and a place to hang at least five pieces of clothing to dry.

A tiny powder room is directly across from the recycling center. It continues the theme set in the laundry room. The glass mosaic tiles are iridescent and my big splurge for the renovation.

This mirror began life with a stenciled wooden frame. It was updated by covering it with a handmade paper and then adding four coats of Liquitex acrylic gloss medium and varnish.

And of course you need something to look at when nature calls! I created this landscape collage with various papers and acrylic medium to remind me of my summer house when I wasn't there.

....And that is my laundry room and it makes laundry enjoyable.

Sabtu, 20 November 2010

Landscaping Before and After

One of the most noticeable changes we've made so far has been to remove the overgrown shrubbery in front of the house and replace it with new plantings.
This is what it looked like when we bought the house...
after...
before...
after...


 




Kamis, 18 November 2010

Something new

Welcome to my new blog. If you already know me as a visual artist I'm changing hats to highlight my second career in interior design. If you want:
  • to know what's current in the world of home decor
  • to spruce up your existing decorating scheme on a budget
  • to take sneak peeks into different homes
  • to engage in interesting discussions about home decor
  • to learn about DIY projects


stay tuned.

Senin, 15 November 2010

Master Bath Before and After

Finally!
A master bath was on our list of "must haves" when we were searching for a new house.
We have one now on Hazard Ave, but it was decorated back when we were in grade school.

I will say that one of the things that attracted us so much to this house is all the charm and character it has. How many showers have you been in that has a window in it? How many of those windows are tilted???

We have a lot of projects to get to and limited funds. While we would love to gut this bath and spend a million dollars to make it exactly how we want it, we're settling for a mini reno right now so we can enjoy it right away. By taking down the wallpaper, painting the walls, replacing the vanity and fixtures, and taking out the brass shower door, we can make this bathroom livable until we can afford to do it right 5-10 years down the road.

Here's what it looks like after Chris spent an entire week working on it:




That man is a miracle worker.

Kamis, 11 November 2010

A Fresh Start

We did it! We found another project house to obsess over.  This time around we want to chronicle all the "before and afters" while documenting our musings along the way. The house was built in 1886 and according to the inspector, in great condition for its age. We'll have a couple of maintenance issues to address, but the majority of the work it needs is cosmetic.

Here are a couple of shots we took during the inspection walk through.