Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Traditional Home Makeover-Powder Room (Part 3)

If you have been following along during this makeover, welcome back! If this is your first visit you can see what I have been working on here and here.  

The last post covered the foyer and the home office. Just beyond the office is a coat closet and then the powder room. This is a two-piece bathroom with no natural light. This is just a cosmetic change, nothing structural, electrical, etc. Sorry, no pictures before as the painters got there before I did that day! Again, if you're new here I do that... a lot! 

            

                     

The new paint color is Glass Slipper by Benjamin Moore


Benjamin Moore 'Glass Slipper'



The bathroom already had two mirrors on opposite walls, one bigger than the other. There is a ledge behind the toilet that one mirror sat on, leaning against the wall.  I am huge fan of mirrors as they are usually cheaper than artwork and bring light to a space. Having said that, you have to be mindful of what they reflect. For instance, one wrongly placed in the kitchen may only reflect a sink full of dirty dishes, yuck! Try to position your mirrors to reflect the outdoors when possible. Leaning backward, like on a mantle or in my case, a ledge,  only reflects the ceiling-boring and empty. And, in this case it only added to the fact that the room is dark with no natural light. Instead I hung the mirror a few inches above the ledge. 



My homeowner found a art piece online that sits in front of the mirror. Originally this piece would have been out of our budget but it was pre-owned and she got a deal!





Fan Blue Area Rug
                                                                          (Source)

A rug purchased from Amazon with the tassles cut off.  (Yes, you can do that.) The watercolor prints from Gracelaced, framed and hung, add some color and interest in the room. I love her artwork and I love being able to incorporate it into my decor and that of friends and clients. These prints depict the Fruits of the Spirit with a nod to the beach-staying with our theme of trying to lighten up and give this home an airy feeling. 

                    
                                                                       (Source)




A little zhooshing with items picked up at locally and we can call this room done!

Come back soon as we move into the formal living room and dining room.

Linking up to these blogs:
Life With Lorelai, Shabby Art Boutique, Our Home Away From Home, Celebrate & Decorate, The Dedicated House, Our Mini Family, Ducks N'A Row, Shabby Art Boutique, Life With Lorelai, The Pin Junkie, Katherine's Corner, Blue Sky At Home, Imparting Grace, My Repurposed Life, A Delightsome Life

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Traditional Home Makeover-Foyer and Home Office

Hello! I'm glad you could visit with me today!  

In the last post I showed you some before photos of a home that belongs to a friend. To recap a bit, she has lived in the home for more than a decade and has not changed much since she moved in. She, unsure of her decorating abilities, said she is not good at picking out things for her home and asked for help to lighten and brighten the space. She recently purchased a second home close to the ocean for family vacations and a rental space. It offers that coastal vibe one would expect when visiting Cape Cod or New England beaches. It is with that idea in mind that we moved forward with this project of giving the entire first floor a makeover or facelift; nothing structural here-just giving it a fresh, airy, more casual touch.



Two pieces of artwork my client/friend owned are serving as our jumping off point. She loves color and leans more contemporary than traditional but we will have to work with a lot of existing furniture.



We are going to try to pull the blues and aquas through the home. 


Entering the front door you are greeted with a beautiful staircase that sweeps up to the bedrooms. 



The goldish-tan color was all the rage 15 years ago but seems to just blend into the flooring and stair treads. It got a fresh coat of paint in Benjamin Moore's Balboa Mist,  allowing the light (which this space has tons of) to bounce around the space easier.




A new 5x7 rug greets you by introducing some color into the space and giving a taste of what is in store for the rest of the home. 

Chartridge Oriental Blue Area Rug
                                    (Source)

The space is large enough to allow for a chair and cabinet; a little space for visitors to wait or to put on shoes. The owner's daughter painted the picture of the foxes! The cabinet was existing. The chair is new as is the pillow. Use what you have! You don't have to get rid of everything in order to start over. We used a family photo to greet/send off guests. Decorating tip: print out inspirational quotes in a pretty font and color for inexpensive artwork. My friend chose Scripture to encourage herself, family and visitors; you will see it scattered throughout her home.


                                        (Isn't this beautiful! She is a very gifted artist!)

Upon entering the front door there is a large entrance to the formal living room to your left. The wall above it needed something big that filled some of that empty wall space. I found a couple options.



Artwork from At Home harkens back to our inspiration. I purchased 2 and hung them side by side over the entry to the formal living room. 




There are a set of French doors to the right that enclose a home office where the mister of the home works from. 


Her mister likes the wall color and didn't want it changed.


He does video conferencing from home so I rearranged a portion of the built-ins behind his desk.  Do not underestimate the value of cleaning up the background if you video chat, work from home, vlog, etc. Now his background is cleaned up. It tells you a little bit about him; representing a little about his personal values and character. Practicality requires the files be readily available but new folders in coordinating colors keep it neat looking and speaks to the organization skills of the person who uses the office. 


Notice the shelves to the right are a little "less pretty". These are not in the shot when video-conferencing so they can stand a little less formality; they hold more personal items that are important to the person who works here. 




That's is where we will stop for today. Much going on behind the scenes. The painter was in and out in a matter of 3 days! He and his crew painted the foyer, bathroom, kitchen, stairways, and family room in that short time. He was headed out on vacation so we needed to jump on it quick and boy did he deliver!

So, what do you think so far? Check back soon when we'll move on to the formal living room...

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