Posted
July 3, 2009 by
erin under
Space Redesigns This Monday we’ll do something a little different. Danielle sent us pictures of her Living Room. It is nicely decorated but she’s having a little space planning trouble:
We are struggling with how to place our furniture. We have a chair and a half and we don’t like the fact that it sits in front of the fireplace. The only piece of furniture that could possibly leave the room is the black computer armoire. We’re trying to make sure we don’t have furniture in the entry way and allow flow to the dining room that is on the other side of the fireplace.
So, on Monday we’ll layout her space for her, and I’ll walk you through the process so that you can learn some too!
Don’t forget to send us your Outdoor Redesigns to be entered into the Design Challenge. It ends today!!
Tags: floorplan, living room, redesigns, room redesign
Posted
June 22, 2009 by
erin under
Space Redesigns Katie has a difficult space to design. There’s a lot going on and her house was built in the 50’s when they loved using lots of wood wainscoting and sometimes wood paneling for the entire wall. Remember her before pictures? Here’s her redesign:
1-2. Let’s paint! Paint the Wainscoting Sherwin Williams color 6090 Java (1), and paint the ceiling Sherwin Williams color 2813 Downing Straw (2). Leave the ceiling beams exposed but paint between them. This will help accentuate the beams and help to tie in our other wood pieces throughout the space.
3. Linen Wallcovering. This will provide a nice textured finish above the wainscoting in the room. It will keep things nice and neutral while providing a more earthy feel to the room.
4. Keep things clean but understated with the Sheffield Sofa from Chiasso. This is a great priced sofa for the design! It’s very unassuming, and although large, doesn’t seem to take up space because of the small scale of the legs and arms.
5. Accent the sofa with some great earthy pillow covers from IKEA in green and blue.
6. Stumped Block Stool End Tables topped with a glass top for a larger table top space for accessories and a lamp.
7. Light things up with this great Walnut Cutout Lamp. This is a great clean lined lamp and adds some warmth to the room with the beautiful walnut base!
8. The Audrey Coffee Table from Overstock.com is also a clean lined piece that help us go with the more earthy feeling of the room. I LOVE the mixture of the dark and light woods. This piece is gorgeous and a steal for only $220.
9. Custom Paneled Fireplace (idea from Rex Brown). Build out the sides and top with wood paneling painted to match the wainscoting. With your leftover linen wallcovering, add it to the insets between the molding above the fireplace. By building out the paneling you will leave room behind to run the cable through the frame and add enough wood blocking to hang your TV above the fireplace making just one focal point for the entire space. (This also let’s your husband keep some of the brick that he liked, while keeping it understated and making the mantle and above the fireplace more of a focal point.)
10-12. Top off with a few natural accessories like a vase from Salmon Pottery(10), a bud vase from Lurearts (11), and some walnut picture frames from Black Elm (12).
Thanks Katie for letting me redesign your space! It was tons of fun and might be one of my new favorite redesigns! Want us to redesign YOUR space? Click here.
Tags: blue, earthy, fireplace, furniture, green, living room, natural, room redesign, walnut, wood tones
Posted
June 8, 2009 by
erin under
Space Redesigns Remember Allison’s Family Room? Here’s her fresh, child-friendly design for her living room!
Design Instructions: Move the mirror that’s above the fireplace to above the sofa. This will help make the width feel larger than the 10′10″ that it currently is. Move the clock you’ve got on the floor, and hang it above the fireplace instead. You’ve done a great job accessorizing the fireplace, the only thing I would add is to put the globe on the left side near the star. This will help to balance the accessories a little better.
1. Poang Chair from Ikea. This is one of the most comfortable chairs I’ve ever sat in and it doesn’t take up as much space as a fully upholstered chair. This chair is great for relaxing and reading! Use the Sirkon Sand fabric for a more modern vibe.
2. Storage Ottoman from Ikea. Use this to store games and toys for quick access when needed. This also makes a great surface for playing games on.
3. Make some simple pillows with the Honeycomb Lime and Ripple Stripe Green from Amy Butler’s Ohio Sky Collection. Place the pillows on the chairs and sofa to pull the space together and to add a little pattern.
4. Make a simple bench to place behind the storage center. This can be used for storing outdoor gear below and as a seat for putting shoes on with. Depending on how sturdy the back of your storage center is, consider placing some hooks there for a small place to hang jackets and keys. (Or even a Welcome sign!)
5. Extra storage shelves. These could be used for both games and books. This will make everything in the room easily accessible and in the end will help the space be used more.
6. The mirror above the sofa will seem a little small in scale so buy (or reuse) canvases and paint it one or two coordinating colors. These should be about 10″ square. Try using a nice apple green for a splash of color there. Many times you can find old canvas paintings at thrift stores for cheaper than buying a new one. Just paint primer on top of the existing painting and use it as a new, blank canvas!
7. Use your old entertainment center for game storage also. Remove the doors from the bottom. To cover the storage underneath after removing the doors, make a simple fabric panel to the dimensions of the opening and secure it to the top of the opening with velcro. This will add a little accent to the piece AND cover the clutter that sometimes happens in storage spaces!
Thanks Allison from Petit Elefant for giving us a peek inside your home and we can’t wait to see the finished design!
P.S. Don’t forget to enter our current giveaway for a Greener pup bed. The giveaway ends tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9th.
Tags: living room, Modern, redesign, room redesign
Posted
May 18, 2009 by
erin under
Space Redesigns Do you remember Melanie’s design dilemma? She’s got a small master bedroom in an apartment. There’s no overhead lighting, the bathroom is directly off of the bedroom with no doorway and we can’t add color by painting the walls! Sounds challenging, right? Here’s your design board Melanie!
1. Storage Ottoman Nightstands in a fun lime green! Lift off the top for extra storage, or move to different parts of your room for a small seat. By hanging the lamp above the nightstand instead of putting it on the nightstand we’ll keep it free to move around.
2. Hanging Lamps from Ikea. Use these shades with this cord. They don’t need to be wired into your house. Just plug and hang! Try using a larger one in the center of the room for even more general light!
3. Hang a few yards of a large scale fabric from the ceiling behind your bed. This is a great way to add color to your room with out doing anything permanent since you’re in an apartment. This fabric is from Marimekko.
4. Go for all white bedding from Target. Usually I don’t do all white but in this case it will make the room seem bigger by allowing the bedding to be more light and airy while letting your accent colors show through even more!
5. Accent Pillows in tangerine and lime from Target. Add some color to your all white bedding with these great silk screened pillows!
6. Replace the fabric curtains with a darker bamboo shade. We’ve got a lot of fabric in the room already and the dark shades will be a nice contrast to help the other dark wood in the room be emphasized.
7. Use these sheer panels and hanging system from Ikea to cover up your bathroom entrance. By using white sheer material we keep the bed and the fabric behind the bed as the focal point of the room. The white will blend in with the walls and the sheer will let some of the light from the bathroom vanity into the bedroom for the additional light you need.
Thanks Melanie for letting me help you out!
Don’t forget to enter our current design challenge!
Tags: bedroom, lime, master bedroom, Modern, redesign, room redesign, tangerine
Posted
May 15, 2009 by
erin under
Space Redesigns Melanie has a Master Bedroom that we’ll be redesigning and featuring on Monday.
Here’s what she’s shared with us about her goals for the space and her style:
What are your favorite home decor/design stores?
- As recent college graduates, we frequent Target, IKEA, and Pier 1 Imports. We love budget-friendly stores of any kind.
What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
- Busy, Creative, Cheerful.
What 3 words would you use to describe the feeling you’d like in the space?
What is the most important thing you’d like in the space?
- Versatility! In a small space, it is really important for everything to have multiple functions, even if one of its functions is just to make the space look dang good!
What are your two favorite colors?
- Kiwi green, or those cheery, modern green we see all the time nowadays, and bright, punchy colors like orange and hot pink. I’m not sure the husband agrees with me on the hot pink, but he didn’t win this giveaway!
What are two of your least favorite colors?
- (I had a purple room throughout High School… I’m purpled out.) and Navy Blue. Ahoy.
What are the overall dimensions of your space?
- 10×12, with an obnoxious uncovered entry to our bathroom.
Is there anything else you’d like us to consider?
- If possible, a place to sit with a newborn. Also, our apartment has NO overhead lighting (what were they THINKING???) so our room is really dim and my husband can’t stand it. We are in a rental, so painting isn’t possible but I am not opposed to other ways to put color on walls.
So, do you guys have any suggestions for Melanie? Check back Monday to see what the designer thinks!
Don’t forget to submit your own space! We’d love to help!
Already done a project of your own? See if it qualifies to enter our design challenge!
Tags: Add new tag, bedroom, redesign, room redesign
