Bathroom Remodel by Guest Designer Jessica McKay

Posted February 26, 2010 by deb under Before & After

Thanks to Jessica McKay, our Guest Designer this week from Birdhouse Interior Design for sharing tips with us!  We love your talent for working with what you have and designing in any budget.

Here is a bathroom remodel from the Birdhouse portfolio. We wanted something a little bolder and updated but didn’t have a huge budget to work with so we mixed both local retail sources and major chain store items in order to get a custom look for a reasonable price.

Beautiful, right?  Here’s where we found the goodies:

• Vanity – Home Depot
• Light – Lowe’s
• Floor tile – Lowe’s
• Wall tile – McKean’s
• Mirror – Target (on sale!)
• Paint – Valspar Semi-Sweet

I think it is more important to design an appealing space with nice lines and comfortable layouts than focus entirely on sourcing everything through obscure vendors that can be extremely pricey. I believe in mixing high and low priced items and doing the most with what you have. There is no need to be snobby since there are stylish and chic pieces everywhere.  If you find something amaing that really speaks to you then that may be worth splurging on.

Tags: bathroom, Jessica McKay

Reducing Clutter

Posted January 15, 2010 by deb under Before & After

Let me preface this post with saying that I’m a little embarrassed to show you this next image. Our kitchen counter has been an issue for as long as I can remember and we’re working hard to make it better.  Take a look at this picture.

Scary, right?  At least I have the Clorox wipes handy in case it’s too scary for you!  This has been a problem for as long as I can remember {I think I inherited this habit from my parents}, I called on Tanna with Complete Organized Solutions.  She asked me some simple questions to help me narrow down what the issues were.  Jump over to her write up about it as it has some really helpful tips.  She made the process so easy and fun.

Here is what my counter looks like this very minute.

And we’ve had it looking this way for a week! Let me zoom out so you can see I’m not kidding around!

Here is what I learned from Tanna.  To de-clutter, it takes daily action.  Immediately pitching, shredding and filing items that come in the door.  I purchased a cute file box from Target {I can’t find it on their website} that now sits in our office so if there are things that I need to keep handy for a little bit, they go here.  I knew that the electronics were a huge issue– we have so many hand held devices around the house that a charging station was absolutely necessary.  Here is a great list of  charging stations — and most of the stores have them on clearance right now as they were a holiday item.

Now, all I need to do is dress up the space next to the charging station every once and a while by adding flowers, don’t you think?

What keeps you organized and keeps things from piling up at your house?

Tags: clutter

Before & After: Painted Brick

Posted October 28, 2009 by deb under Before & After

Mischel Schonberg sent over this amazing transformation to their house.  They were tired of their house looking like every other brick house in their subdivision so they decided to paint their home. Look at the amazing results!  They also upgraded their garage doors from “builder grade blah to carriage house ahh”.

The transformation is stunning, don’t you think?  I’m sure their house sticks out from the rest now! 

Tags: brick, exterior, Painted

Before & After Kitchen

Posted October 8, 2009 by deb under Before & After

We loving receiving before and after in our inbox.  They are so fun and inspiring.  Scott and his wife, Leyla have been busy remodeling their 1910 Victorian home since 2006.  Can you imagine the dust now?!  I think the transformation is so wonderful! It’s so clean and crisp!  I don’t think I would have a problem baking in this kitchen.

Do you have a project you’re working on that you’d like to share?  Send them over to us at admin AT freshnestdesign DOT com.

Tags: clean, Kitchen, Modern, white

Katie’s Kitchen Remodel

Posted September 23, 2009 by erin under Before & After

Katie and her husband are in Germany.  They have an apartment and a 36 sq. ft. kitchen that they finished the remodel on last year.  Can you believe how different it looks now?

And did you know that they built all those cabinets themselves?!?  Amazing!

Tags: Kitchen, remodel