Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

Tags

blues, brown, gray, home, interior, living room, neutrals, redesign, white

This is the second post for my Home Sweet Home series. If you haven’t checked out the last one, you can read it here. This time I will sharing our final design for the living room of our new home. I love how the space came out and am very excited to show it to you all. Transforming the room took a series of steps and even though it was hard work, it all paid off in the end.

Here is what the living room looked like before. It was dingy, musty and the beautiful characteristics were almost unseen.

The first step was to take the rugs up. Dan gets all the credit for this one. He took up all the rugs in the house by himself! Once they were up, the room was able to finally breathe.

The second step was the painting. The main issue we had was the walls. The previous owners liked to add layer upon layer which was a pattern we saw throughout the whole house. So, underneath the paint was wallpaper. Because of this, the walls were cracking and peeling. Since we didn’t have the funds to replace the walls, I used textured paint and went over the bad spots to make them even. It didn’t come out 100% but it certainly helped.

You can see the worst spot in the room to the right of Danny. What were these people thinking!

After the walls and moulding were painted, the room was starting to look like I had envisioned. I wanted a calm and peaceful space that was a combination of our favorite styles; industrial and country with vintage and crafty touches. First, we placed the furniture and hung up the curtains and blinds.

Then added all the details and brought it to life. Most of the items in the room we already had. We just bought new covers for the couches, a new coffee table, a small recycled jute rug and textured curtains which was a great buy. It’s cool how the stuff you may of had for years looks take on a new life in a new home.

We stuck with a cool palette of blues, grays and whites with a touch of brown here and there. All neutral colors that bring a soothing and airy feel to a space. This is my favorite color scheme of all. It makes the room feel fresh, clean and comfy. With the addition of all the plants, its a haven of the earth.

I must say the living room is my favorite space in the house because it is everything I wanted it to be and more. It’s a room where people can gather to hang out, Dan and I relax and introduces guests when they enter our home. It speaks of comfort and peace and has an inviting feel. We LOVE our new living room!

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

country, decorating, home, kitchen, painting, redesign, rustic, vintage

On Valentine’s Day my fiance and I officially moved into our new home. We are so happy and excited to be homeowners and have a house we love. From the moment I saw a photo, it was love at first sight, and I had a feeling it might be the one. We both wanted an older home with lots of character and that is what we got. Our little dream house.

There was much work to be done and Dan and I busted our butts to get as much done as possible. Being a designer you can imagine the plans I had for the house and the excitement I felt to actually get started. This is the first post in my Home Sweet Home series where I will share our journey discovering the layers of our 1929 home and redesigning the space from inside out. I hope it inspires some great ideas of your own and gets you amped for some new projects you may have been planning to do around your own home. So lets get started!

The kitchen was one of the main rooms we had to do a lot of work to. It had blue tile board on half the walls and the rest was wallpaper. This was definitely coming down. The cabinets were built by the father of the family who lived here and are in great condition so they just needed a fresh face.

We also had to deal with an old hood above the stove that was way too big and super dirty. Taking this down was a pain in the ass because it was connected to an outlet that was hardwired to the wall fan underneath. We like the look of the fan but really have no reason to use it so we just closed it up for now. We also had to get the washing machine pipes moved and reconnected downstairs in the basement. Thank god for plumbers!

So, the day we ripped down the walls was a glorious day. Layer by layer, and there were many, I could see my vision coming alive. It was nice to start with a clean slate. We were happy the floors weren’t so bad because we had a whole list of things that had to be done and it was a relief the floors weren’t one of them.

Then the fun began. I had a few photos of inspiration I worked off of but I wanted the space to be very natural, soft and bright. My color palette would consist of creams, whites and wood tones with small touches of more colorful neutrals. These two images were my main inspiration.

After I cleaned and painted the cabinets and added new hardware, they looked fresh and new. Their 50s style shined a little bit brighter after I was done with them.

We had wide plank paneling installed with crown moulding on the walls and that totally gave the space a facelift. I wanted a modern country feel with rustic accents and the new walls helped that idea come alive. Once we painted and put up the new curtains I could see it all coming together perfectly.

Our table and chairs played an important role as they carried out the wood tones I needed for warmth. The darker laminate floors also helped anchor the room.

We purchased 100 year old barn wood on Etsy and used it for the backsplash which further added to the rustic feel I wanted. We bought it in strips so putting it up was just a matter of nailing them into the walls.

A new sink was in order so once that was installed along with our new faucet, the counter area looked much more cleaner and brighter. Because we plan on ripping everything out down the line, we decided to keep the countertop for now. Especially since it goes with our vintage theme.

The last thing on our list is the lighting which we are working on now but I have to say we transformed the space into something magical and beautiful. It may not be perfect yet but I love our new kitchen. This was all done on a budget and pretty much a DIY project all the way through. We are happy we got the help we needed for the paneling because we just couldn’t do it all.

After all our hard work, this is what we created. I wish you all tons of luck on your home projects. I always say, the harder you work and put your heart into something, the payoff is extremely satisfying. Do it yourself and be proud of what you created. I know we are!

{Shops I purchased items from: Target, Ikea, Lowes, Etsy, Home Depot, Kmart}

Brilliant Bookshelves

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Crafty Ideas, Everyday Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bookshelves, cleaning, design, organizing

Everyone has a bookshelf in their home. Most people just stack their books up with no sense of design. Maybe they will put a few nicknacks here and there to fill up space but most of the time all I see is a shelf being used as storage. Why not jazz it up a bit and add a sense of style that will not only look great but complete the entire room.

With a little guidance, anyone can do this. Yes, you need to have an eye for these things but that’s what I’m here for. I used to have two bookcases in my old living room that I will use as an example. I hope these tips can help you overcome the “bookcase black hole” and give your shelves a sense of design and pizazz.

First, you want to start organizing your books into categories. Either group them by color, by size or both. It’s also good to keep certain subjects together so you can find what you are looking for in a pinch. Sometimes it’s cool to have a section of old vintage books to add a little touch of history to the room.

Then, gather up some cool things around the house that you can showcase on the shelves. If you collect things this would be a great opportunity to let them shine. I happen to have a collection of old bottles and vintage radios that I display throughout mine. Any other unique accessories you have that you think would look nice, include them as well. You don’t want too many or else it will look too crowded so make sure you pick the best small items you have.

Bookends are something you should consider buying if you don’t own some already. They will definitely come in handy and they add a nice touch. Nowadays, there are so many different types and styles you should have a lot of luck finding one that matches your decor.

Now that you have all your items and books together it’s time to have some fun. It’s important to remember balance. You want to think of the bigger picture so the final result looks complete and well put together.

Try to spread the books out among all the shelves. Arrange the books largest to smallest, stack some up on top of each other and place them on different sides of the shelves. You don’t want all the shelves to look the same so switch it up a bit. Then start adding the decorative items. Keeping size in mind, fill in the empty spaces. This might take some time. You will need to move things around a bit to see what looks best. Always keep some space around items and don’t crowd the shelves.

A great tip for placing items is to group things in threes. Sometimes when you put two things together it looks like it’s missing something. Three is the perfect number. Keep this in mind when you are decorating any space in your home.

Now, you want to use an array of items but try not to go crazy. Keep objects in the same color families, such as neutrals, so you don’t have one bright yellow piece standing out. Having an eyesore like that will ruin the look. You want your book shelf to stand out, not one particular item.

Have fun with this project. If you’re like me, you will want to rearrange every room in the house. I absolutely love doing things like this. Not only because I am a designer and addicted to organizing, but it really relaxes me. The bonus is a great piece of art I created with objects that I love.

What’s even better than that is how people get drawn in to look and are interested in my book collection. The whole point of design is to attract and submerge. You want people interested in what you created and then happily drown in the sweetness of your work. A few simple makeovers like this will add a modern and clever touch to any room.

{I would love to see how you did on this project. Send me a photo and I will post my favorites}

Brighten Up Your Space with Spring Inspired Palettes

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Color Inspiration, Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

beige, better homes and gardens, bright, brown, gray, green, navy blue, olive, orange, pink, purple, reds, spring, yellow

March has finally arrived and with it we have sunny days and cool breezes. It’s time to get ready for Spring and brighten up your space with colors that make you feel alive and happy. This month, Better Homes & Gardens shared a few palettes that are nature inspired and eclectic at heart. These various color schemes will bring warmth, fun and maybe even a little romance to your spaces.

Shades of Purple + Warm Gray
BH&G suggests moody purples with a touch of gray. Since purple can blend with various colors and warm grays tend to calm the purple down, they make a good match. For accents, throw in some citron and berry for a little brightness and fresh feel.

{Misty Lilac: benjaminmoore.com, California Dreaming: acehardware.com, Agreeable Gray: sherwin-williams.com, Tin Lizzie: olympic.com, Glazed Raspberry: behr.com}

Golden Olive + Tobacco Brown
Pairing up tobacco brown and green give a space an earthy warm feel. Choosing an olive works best here. Using yellow, fuchsia and coral as accents add a touch of whimsy and brighten up the dark neutrals. These should be presented in small amounts through accessories or accent furniture.

{La Fonda Spanish Dancer: valspar.com, Straw: acehardware.com, Mona’s Mane: valspar.com, Tropical Smoothie: behr.com, Jekyll Crane Cottage Green: valspar.com}

Deep Navy + Fog Gray
This classic palette includes strong neutrals and high contrast accents. The navy is the perfect backdrop to the bright but muted fuchsia, turquoise and chartreuse. The gray keeps the palette calm and because it has blue tones it works well with the navy.

{Ruby Red: acehardware.com, Jamaican Dream: olympic.com, Savannah Moss: benjaminmoore.com, Hale Navy: benjaminmoore.com, Smoke Embers: benjaminmoore.com}