Beach House Before and After Part 1

I know it's fall and winter is upon us but I thought I would share a project I worked on this summer. It was a beach house built in the early 70's and I don't think much changed in this house until my clients and current owners purchased the home last year. 

So, a little background on this house-- the owners hired me for a temporary fix. Yep. Temporary.

Just to get it up and running and functional for a season or two because they weren't sure if they were going to sell it or tear it down and build new.  So as you can imagine it was a VERY tight budget knowing it may not be there next year.

And NO new kitchen, NO new bathrooms, NO new window treatments or major renovations of any kind were done and happy to say it turned out so pretty they may keep it longer than expected.

AND I think it's a great example of how you don't have to tear these old houses down just spruce them up a bit and they can be so charming! One more interesting fact is the owner grew up coming here as a boy. He knew the family and knew that the house was filled with love and special memories and he wanted to re-create that same feeling for his family.

Without further ado, I'll share the before pictures of the entry as my clients found it

Entry Before

Entry Now

The wall-to-wall carpet was removed. New cypress flooring was bleached to keep it from yellowing and then installed. The dark wood paneling was kept just painted decorators white  and all of the trim was painted super white by Benjamin Moore. The red console is from Host Interiors Ardmore, PA and is by Mitchell Gold  and Bob Williams. I love this console for tight spaces and trust me it's a great red.


 The owners weren't sure what to do with the iron railing but I wanted to keep it as is. I love the lines of this railing. They just don't make'em like this anymore.  Look how fresh and clean the space looks now.

At the end of the entry we had this BEFORE

AFTER

This was sort of an awkward space because to the left of this bench is the entrance to a bedroom. But we added a bench and a few custom pillows. 

In every project I  try to use fabrics and pieces that I've never seen/used before and that have personal meaning to my clients.  I usually get tired of seeing the same fabrics and furniture pieces used over again and I don't want my clients house to feel like a furniture showroom, RH or PB or whatever their favorite furniture/accessory store may be. It has less meaning and it would feel like they've seen this before... right? 

In addition, I always try to include something custom and original in every room to make it special and specific to each homeowner. So as an ode to the owner who is an avid fisherman and boater we added the red Manuel Canovas calypso pillow in red and the navy and white "flagish" looking pillow on the bench. Just enough (I hope) without being too "theme-y"

I also added a large mirror to open the hallway and reflect light from the new door the client added. You can also see the modern flush mount lighting we added in the reflection of this mirror. The new design of this space turned this dark entry into a light-filled fabulous space. 

The goal was to turn this 70's house into a clean, modern fresh space with clean lines yet keeping it a bit traditional in line with the client's taste. 

Stay tuned each week as I share the before and after's of this fun, yet budget-minded beach abode!

oh and if you want more mind-blowing before and afters on the web check out Calling it Home's One Room Challenge here. This is where talented designers transform one room in six weeks. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!! xoxo

A Teen Room Mini-Makeover and tips on how to get the look!

Hello again! I know it's been awhile. I've been designing and installing the first floor of a n old farmhouse in Bluebell over the past year or so. 

It's turning out beautifully and will share professional pictures with you once it's complete. But here's a sneak peek... with  really lame iphone pictures.

original stone wall

Thibaut wall-coverings, draperies and chair pads.

Since the designing and installing of an entire first floor can take a while I'm usually asked to spruce up the children's spaces at the same time. Typically it's their daughter's room so that's what I'm going to share with you today from this home... so fun!! 

And I'll include some tips on how to do it yourself!

Here are some before pictures.

I don't have any before, before pictures showing the furniture before it was painted this pretty shade of gray and turquoise.

How did we start the project? 

With a jumping off wallpaper. This stylish young girl fell in love with this wallpaper from Osborne and Little. And I always love a bold wallpaper so it was a go!

Now we have a color scheme.

 We kept all of the furniture and bedding (just cleaned it up a bit)  And remarkably the background of the wallpaper matched the color of the walls perfectly so no need to paint (that never happens). 

I would have liked to have placed the wallpaper on the ceiling instead of an accent wall but as you can see the room has the original beams and we loved the rustic touch it adds to the space.

Now we just did a little sprucing up to her space since we are using most of the budget to renovate and decorate the first floor.

I always like to include at least one custom piece in a room and in this case it was these beautiful cornices designed by me and beautifully executed by my work room.

I've also found teens just love the iconic ghost chair and no matter how hard i try to persuade them to go in a different direction they always stand firm in their conviction so I customize the chairs for them.

So now we have two originally totally custom pieces designed specifically for this young girl.

Here is how the rest of the space is coming along...

Bedding by PB teen and pom-pom throw from West Elm.

Pink lamp, leopard print pillow and multi-colored plate all from Dana Gibson.

And the art... I just love the modern art mixed in with these traditional pieces!!

Still waiting on..

This custom chair from Society Social in pink with white welt

Bookshelves, accessories, new hardware, new rug? and a bathroom redo!
P.S. If you want to see more of what I'm up to follow me on instagram.  I don't have much time to blog these days! I share what I can on insta from clients who give me permission ... not all clients allow sharing and i respect everyone's wishes!

P.S.S. Want to see more behind the scenes makeovers? Head over to the One Room Challenge from Calling it Home.... I'm not participating but I am following along for sure!!

Thanks for reading!! xoxo

Before and After Villanova Residence

Villanova Residence

Before and After

Here is a project that was finished awhile ago but we just got around to photographing. 

I absolutely adore working with this family and I'm so appreciative that they allowed me this opportunity and they trusted my vision!

The first room I helped transform was their cozy family room den

Here is the BEFORE

AFTER

Family Den

A study in neutrals...

Beautiful new built-ins were added to give height and dimension and architectural interest to the room. We also added brass library sconces from Visual Comfort and roman shades with simple greek key trim.

I love the warmth of the worn leather sofa from Restoration Hardware and the coolness of the dark gray walls. It's truly one of my favorite combinations.

We chose chelsea gray walls paired with lots of white for high contrast and to add depth and light to the space.

We also mixed metals and textures in styling the bookshelves... brass, mercury glass, lacquer, driftwood and creamy white objects.

It's all in the details...

We added a pair of mirrors flanking the bar area to make the space feel larger and reflect light from the large picture window.

The bar cabinetry was painted high-gloss white and the hardware was upgraded to a brass faucet and marble counter tops and back splash were added.

did u spy camera? need to photoshop these pics ha!

Loved keeping this space neutral. I think most people like my colorful designs but I do love designing neutral spaces too!

Moving right along ...scenes from  the "before" Dining Room 

Dining Room NOW! WOW!

We kept the window treatments and most of my client's beautiful furniture so we jazzed up the space with green grass cloth from Phillip Jeffries, new host chairs with pillow fabric from Aerin Lauder's line for Lee Jofa  and colorful modern art. The grasscloth has now become the star of the show!!

We also upgraded the lighting with classic yet modern fixtures from Visual Comfort and leopard lamps from Dana Gibson.

Table by oopmh sits next to window seat

And let's not forget this lovely little powder with Scalamandre and a striped roman...

SORRY no before

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY THE MOST FABULOUS JOANNE POSSE!!! 
XOXOX

Gardner/Fox was contractor used for family den.

That's all for now!! Thanks for Reading!! xoxo