What a few hours of working with a designer can give you!

A year ago I met with a client who needed help finding inspiration for the design of her family room. In as little as six hours of designing I had a brand new family room planned for her. We selected the sofa, the love seat, the perfect pair of leather chairs, the pillows, chests and some accessories. I gave her the information and instructions on where to buy what and gave her the keys.

I had the pleasure of returning to her home last week to help her with a kitchen remodel she is working on and I was able to see what had become of her family room...I was ecstatic to see how well she was able to put my design to action and also to hear that she loved it! 

Check out the before and after shots of her project.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Close up on her new sofa dressed with those fun pillows!

These chairs were a great find and they go perfectly in the room, I love the trunk ottomans!

I'm so happy she loves her room and I'm excited to see the transformation of her kitchen! Here's a sneak peak before shot…isn't the blue tile fabulous? I can't imagine why she wouldn't want to keep it! Stay tuned for the afters.

A Kitchen Transformation

A little bit ago we finished a kitchen remodel. 

This kitchen went from blah yellow oak everywhere to gorgeous deep wood tones and a beautiful granite countertop complemented by gorgeous new walnut wood flooring, paint, tile, and lighting; all tied together with a pop of color in the roman shade.

Since my clients really liked the functionality of their space I kept the same basic layout while creating a beautiful new kitchen that encompassed all of their wants and needs. Here are the sketches I made for my clients at the beginning of the project.

Floor Plan

Elevations of the Cabinetry 

 Our clients absolutely love their new kitchen! The reclaimed walnut wood flooring is laid throughout the entire main floor and we helped select new paint colors for all the walls on the main floor as well to give their home a flowing, cohesive look. 

Closeup of the new floor

You might remember these floors from a post I did a few months ago on reclaimed wood floors.  The reclaimed walnut wood flooring has a circle-sawn distressing with a beautiful coffee-caramel colored stain.  I chose a 3", 5" and 8" plank to add more interest, not that this floor needed any more interest, but it really helps create a more natural feel and since we continued this flooring throughout the whole first story there is a lot of square footage and having the distressing and varied plank sizes allows for longevity. The distressing, knots, and plank variation all add to the reclaimed look and it is simply gorgeous! Here are the dramatic before and afters. Enjoy!

Before

After

Adding paneling to match the cabinets on solid surfaces like the side of a cabinet or under the counter overhang really gives you a more finished and expensive look. The cabinetry was created and installed by the talented Peterson Woodworks out of Lindon. Jon, the owner, was great to work with and really delivered a beautiful product in making my design come to life.

Before

After

Before
This monstrous fluorescent fixture had to go and we replaced it with
 sleek recessed cans to offer general lighting throughout the kitchen.  

After

After

Before

After

After

After

A close up of our beautiful subway tile backsplash! We didn't need anything "flashy" because the granite, custom cabinets and wood flooring were the stars of this project. Adding a simple, elegant crackled subway tile was the perfect touch. Mike with Maxim Tile installed our tile backsplash and once again, is another great company to work with. Everything really came together perfectly for this project. 

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

We added a few glass doors along the top cabinets for an intriguing look and accent lighting installed by Black Diamond Electric.  The custom cabinetry valance above the roman shade also gives the space a cohesive look.

And last, but certainly not least, our "cherry on top" was this whimsical roman shade which was the finishing touch to our kitchen remodel. It added the perfect pop of color and added in just a touch of fun that the space needed. This project was absolutely delightful and the clients were wonderful to work with and very happy with the results; they feel like they have a brand new home! And that's why we love what we do!

Sunset Oasis

One of our latest projects to be completed was for an adorable young couple that wanted a new look for their living room.  They love entertaining and having friends and family over and the biggest struggle was providing enough seating for everyone.

We wanted to give them a room that was fresh, fun, young and chic.  She loves the colors of sunset and that became the inspiration for the space. Bringing in beautiful shades of orange and blue was the jumping off point for the room.   The walls were already a great tan that we wanted to keep.  Blue drapes were chosen because of the pop that they'd give to the walls.

They needed all new furniture and we found an amazing deal at a local furniture store on beige leather sofas.  We purchased two for them to provide the most amount of seating.  To give these sofas a pop we added spicy pumpkin color pillows and multi-colored horizontal stripe pillows to both. 

To add more color to the room a multi-color floral rug was selected.  The rug stands out in the room from the neutral furniture around it and is the perfect pop for the space.  Addressing the need for seating we found a great round glass top cocktail table that has four nesting stools underneath it.  These stools can be used as ottomans of seats for guests and they tuck away when not in use.  A great burnt orange floral chair was added to the space as well for even more seating.  In all they now have seating for 11 people without having to pull chairs from the dining room; it's pretty awesome.

Art and accessories were added to the entertainment center, table and walls to complete the space.  Never over look your walls when redoing a space; they are just as important as adding a new chair or rug.  Putting a fun piece of art, mirror or sculpture piece on the wall adds another layer of texture and finishes off the room. 

Before - Living Room

After - Living Room

Before - Living Room

After - Living Room

After - The Chair and Entertainment Center

After - Table decor.  This mix of wicker balls and flowers adds a fun pop to the table.

A Grand Piano Room

Earlier this year we started working on a project to create a beautiful piano room for a client.  She had purchased a mahogany grand piano and wanted the room to showcase the elegant lines of the piano and reflect her style. 

She loves a traditional style and after living in various countries and along the East Coast she has collected many wonderful moments that she wanted to showcase.  For this space we wanted to give her a way to showcase these pieces as well as provide hidden storage for the piano music.  Due to the size of the piano there was not a lot of room for furniture, but her needs were meet with two comfortable fauteuil (pronounced foh-til) chairs.  We selected a beautiful large bookcase to house all of the piano music and showcase various books and collectibles.  Selecting furnishings that are multi-functional can help to conserve space in a smaller room. Along with the furniture we also made sure to bring the traditional styling in through the use of custom finish work. Note the gorgeous window casings and the large crown molding shelf that really bring in that tradional charm.

The fauteuil chairs were fully customized with a fun vivid floral and offset with a colorful back panel and a red welt. She loves the outdoors and when she said she "would rather weed all day long than scrub a toilet for five minutes" I knew we needed to bring the outdoors in so she could truly enjoy this space.   You may remember these chairs from an earlier blog post that featured these custom chairs.  To finish the space we placed a petite end table between them with storage. It's always great to have added storage even in the little furnishings.

We also proposed painting the entire main level a soft buttery yellow to warm up the space and make it hers.  She had a similar yellow in a previous home and loved it.  Custom drapes were hung from medallions and sit stationary next to the window.  Functioning drapes were not needed in this space, but the fabric element adds a nice layer to the room.  Woven wood shades were then added to the windows for privacy and to bring in a casual element reminding us again of nature. Take a look through and let us know how you like the results. Just know that we're still waiting on a few pieces like art that the client is deciding on to finish the space. We'll repost pictures as soon as we have them.  



AFTER




Before

 
 

 

Before

After - Fully done space with piano and bookcase.

Here are a few different ways to arrange your bookcase.  It doesn't have to strictly feature books.   Adding photos, collectibles and even plants is a great way to break things up.

Here we placed books on their sides and placed items on top of them. 

An Updated Living Room

After a couple months of waiting our client's living room is now finished! We went from a brightly colored 90s style living room to a calm, inviting, relaxing room where family gatherings and guests can enjoy each other's company.

The room had hunter green carpet, pink wing back chairs and bold floral draperies. Our client wanted us to create a space for her that wasn't trendy. This is the last house she plans to own, so the design needed to be transitional and timeless. Our initial plan for the space featured gorgeous red and cream patterned fabrics; however, with those fabrics backordered until January we had to reselect new fabrics so the project could be finished by Thanksgiving. We reselected new fabric that really spoke to the timelessness of the room. The new fabric is neutral with a blue floral pattern. To offset the neutrality from the wall we had the drapes banded in the same cornice fabric to make the drapes pop from the wall. We selected a cornice shape reminiscent from a design seen at the Wynn hotel. The cornice is 16' long and is covered in a soft blue textured fabric. The texture helps to soften the appearance and length.

New chairs were selected with custom fabric. They are a great taupe and blue stripe with nail head trim. Custom pillows were made for both existing sofas and the new chairs. The pillows are made from the same drapery fabric and a beautiful accent fabric with a diamond pattern. New end tables and a cocktail table were also selected for the space. We just love how the new cocktail table fills up the space and lends to the elegance of the room. 

We selected new sculpted carpeting, which adds such a refined feel to the space and the neutral tan we chose really calms down the room. New art was selected for above the fireplace and on the opposite wall.  We have new botanical prints that add a touch of red to the space.  New accessories were also added, and we worked a lot of her existing items in as well. She had many with significant meaning and since we design with our client in mind we really make it a point to showcase their collections and special items.

It is always a great feeling to see the room come together, especially all in one day, well except the carpet. Check out the pictures and let us know what you think!

Before - Pink Wingbacks

Before - Drapes

Before - Living Room



Before - Living Room

Before - Living Room

Before - Living Room Window

After - New cornice and drapes



After - Living Room

 

After - Living Room with fun new accessories and furniture





After - New art and accessories

After - New chairs, art and accessories

After - New Custom pillows

After - New Chairs

After - New tables and floral

After - Botanical prints and beautiful cocktail table