Archive for August, 2009

Living room: This was a large room with some dated features: rosy red plush carpet, red glass veneered fire place with gold accents and  heavily lacquered cherry wood trim. This was the before:

Step One: We tackled the floors first by taking the carpet away and stripped/stained the hardwood hidden underneath. Hardwood flooring really is the way to go when designing for a family because aside from it just looking great it doesn’t stain and is easy to clean. Step Two: We then made over the fireplace by stripping it to bare bones, painting it, building a custom frame/mantel for it and then converting it from gas to a wood burning stove. Taking the fireplace back to it’s original state gave it much more character than if we were to have just faced it with another material. Step three: We painted all the walls and trim with Sherwin Williams primer/paint to give the room some life. Step four: We brought in all the furniture and accessories that suited our family’s needs…comfy, indestructible and unbreakable! Step five: To update the hearth we replaced the red ceramic tiled and put down black subway tiles. These are the after pics:

This room was originally laid out to be an office/den. The door was located right off the entry way to our house,  had red carpet, unpainted trim/walls, old doors and hardware. These are the before pictures:

Step One: We first moved the door from the entry way of our home to the hallway where our other two bedrooms doors are located . Step two: Once the door was moved and the wall was filled, we painted the trim and walls. Step three: We then changed the doors/hardware and added some furniture to complete our guest bedroom, but we weren’t done yet. The guest bedroom was short lived when baby number 2(little Liv) came into the picture about 2 months later. Step four: We then picked out the fabrics for Liv’s room and made her fabricated wood valence, bedding and some other room accents. Step 5: We took some existing pieces and a few antique finds and painted them to suit a little princess’s room. These are the after pics:

This bathroom needed a bit of a face lift: arched detailed base cabinet doors, recessed medicine cabinet mirrors, flower shaped lighting fixtures, unnecessary archways, dingy tub/shower insert, warping laminated wood flooring, white walls and unpainted trim. These are the pics before:

Step one: We knocked down the arched openings to open up the space. Step two: We removed 2 unneeded vanities and made a doorway connecting to the master bedroom on one side and built an open shelving unit on the other side. The shelving unit not only opened up the space, but it created much needed storage(especially for the kids), while adding a decorative element to the space. The additional door entering into the master bedroom made more sense then us going through the hallway to get to the bathroom when the bathroom was right there on the other side of the wall. Step four: Within that shower area we installed a much needed light, so that we had additional lighting while taking a shower/bath. Step Five: We took out the laminated flooring and laid down some tile. In a bathroom tile is the best way to go because you don’t have to worry about warping from the water.  Step Six: We took off the doors on our old vanity and instead created some open shelving below.  We really wanted to reuse the vanity and just   give it a different appearance. The kids love having their own special bin that they have easy access to. Step Seven: We took off the dated gold accented countertop and laid down a fresh new white countertop to give the space a very crisp and clean look. Step eight: We replaced the old recessed mirrored medicine cabinets, the light fixtures, doors, toilet and hung new window treatments to make the remodel much more updated. Step nine: We painted and added some decorative trim to really give the space a more polished look. These are the after pics:

This bedroom just needed the rosy red carpets removed, the doors/ hardware replaced and some paint on the walls and trim. This is the room before:

After we redid the floors, replaced the doors/hardware and painted the walls and trim we were able to get right to the needs of, our then, 1 and a half year old son and he had cars on the brain. Step one: We really didn’t see anything that struck our interest when it came to finding bedding, so we selected some fabric and created our own. Step two: We repainted some of our existing furniture black to go with the color scheme. Step three: We accessorized with some car themed items to complete the finishing touches.  These are the after pics:

The dining room had the famous rosy red carpet you have seen throughout our house, cherry lacquered trim, white walls and a chandelier that was falling apart. This is the room before:

After we had the floors redone and put some paint on the walls, there wasn’t really that much more to do, but to add some furniture and accessories. Here are the after pics:

As you entered our foyer, you would be welcomed by doors. There was a closet door, an office door and a living room doorway. This made it difficult to place any type of furniture in the foyer and because we wanted the office to become a third bedroom, we decided to relocated that door for some privacy. This was the before:

We relocated the door, filled it in, gave the walls some color, painted the trim and placed a piece of furniture with some accessories.  This is the after pic: