Archive for January, 2009
Chantel’s Design Dilemma
When we heard Chantel’s cries for help with her living room, we swooped in to whip up something swanky. Here’s her letter:
I’m so looking forward to your help with my living room. I like beachy casual (for its colors and clean lines) and shabby chic (for its cushy, comfy furniture and romantic hints). And I love lots of white, obviously. I’d decorate the whole room in white with pops of green and blue if I knew how. I have a huge canvas of the popular painting, Blues Coming Through, that I’d like to mount on the big wall, if possible and I need something artsy and original to put in the TV nook above the fireplace (a sculpture? a mobile?). I like the online Shabby Chic and Anthropologie stores (we don’t have either in bricks-and-mortar form in Canada) and I always seem to end up at Ikea for its clean lines and affordable prices. The TV and the shelf beneath it must stay, though we could paint the shelf if required (it’s currently black). The leather couch can definitely go. As for the rest of the seating, we have (in various areas of the house) the sofa, loveseat, armchair, and ottoman from Ikea’s Ektorp line, all slipcovered in white that can all come into the room if you want. Oh and we need a new wall color, please! What do you think of bright white with a colorful accent wall? Thanks! – Chantel
This light and airy space is bursting with potential. And the addition of some serene and beachy greens and blues will really set off all the white in the room for a comfy cozy retreat. Here’s the ethereal and inviting mood board:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
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Burning Question: Down Boy?
A recent comment on an older post got us wondering: what’s your policy when it comes to pets on the furniture? Do you think all four-legged friends belong on the floor? Or do you welcome them on the sofa for some family snuggling? This debate raged on over at Decorno last month, so we thought we’d get your take too.
The Casa Petersik stance is pretty obvious…
We might feel differently if Burger were 10 times bigger or a bit less polite (at barely 9 pounds and after thirty obedience classes, he’s no longer a threat to our furnishings). But we completely understand why my sister’s 70 pound pooch is banned from her new Crate & Barrel sofa (and know they don’t love him any less for sweetly setting boundaries for their fur baby). Where do you guys stand when it comes to man’s best friend and man’s favorite furnishings? Dish the doggie (and kitty) dirt.
House Crashing: The Tricked-Out Townhouse
We do our best to house crash a variety of homes, from the big and the beautiful to the cozy and quaint. This time we crashed a New Jersey townhouse that’s so inviting we’re certain none of the neighbors’ adjoined homes could even compare. It’s one thing to create a welcoming and warm home in a colonial on a hill, but it’s another thing entirely to decorate a space (on a dime no less) that has the same floor plan as everyone else on the block. And Heather & Christian really went the extra mile. Here’s the cute couple now, just itching to show us around. Let’s get tourin’!
When you step into Heather and Christian’s home, the open floor plan creates an expansive feeling, even when there’s not one square foot to spare. The kitchen is the first area on your right, separated from the dining space with a solid L shaped counter. Heather and Christian mimicked this delineation again in the living area by smartly separating that space from the dining room with the help of an L shaped sectional sofa, which maintains that open feeling thanks to the low profile which allows you to see straight through to the glass doors on the other side of the house.
But it didn’t always look this open. Here’s an old shot of their townhouse (with the previous owner’s furniture) BEFORE they knocked out the strange 3/4 wall dividing the dining area and the living space:
Taking down that oddly placed wall was the best thing Heather and Christian could have done for the space. Now there’s an uninterrupted view, and the flow is fabulous. And Heather and Christian took it down with their own two hands (along with a sledgehammer and a hand saw)!
Here’s a shot of their small but super efficient kitchen. The muted stained navy cabinets definitely add flair beyond builder white (which is what you’d expect in a townhouse) and everything from the pot rack to the wine rack makes the space feel functional and ready for some serious cooking (you gotta hang things where ya can in a small space, and Heather and Christians are seasoned pros).
And speaking of seasoned pros, nothing better demonstrates their orderly and functional style than these industrial Ikea shelves, mounted vertically to facilitate storage and easy access in a space that might otherwise go wasted.
The dining area is a simple table for six. But for gatherings with more than six people, the three stools at the nearby counter (see fourth picture) allow for a total of nine who can chat and grub in the dining room- which is no small feat for such a compact space!
Here’s their cozy and welcoming sectional with a few hits of pale blue and chocolate brown, two of Heather’s favorite accent colors (which also reappear in the rug). Not only does this enormous couch make throwing an annual Superbowl party no sweat, it also comfortably sleeps at least two people in a pinch. Multitasking never looked so good.
And when it comes to art, Heather and Christian love to personalize their space. From photos (hung from a rod in modular frames from Red Envelope) to a framed collection of Vegas poker chips, this space is decked out with momentos that really mean something.
Here’s another smart and simple way to carve out a little “moment” in an area that otherwise would go wasted. Heather hung this big square mirror directly over a fuse box to hide the eyesore (while keeping it completely available should they ever need access). Of course mirrors are the number one way to enlarge a space and keep light bouncing around, so choosing a mirror instead of a big piece of art was a great call.
Heather actually found the inspiration for her moody navy bathroom in a luxurious hotel powder room that she fell in love with years ago. She vowed to someday paint her bathroom a rich navy, and finally got the chance when they purchased their townhouse in 2005. Voila- the previously unremarkable little “builder” bathroom was totally transformed for under $20! And the navy tone in here mimics the stained navy cabinets in the kitchen for a subtle cohesion throughout the entire house.
Never ones to keep things dark for long, Heather and Christan lightened things up in their cozy master bedroom upstairs. A plush oversized bed creates a definite haven after a long day, and a soothing pale blue-green on the walls feels airy and serene- like a day at the beach.
And so ends the tour of Heather and Christian’s personalized little townhouse full of space saving tips and tricks. Stay tuned for more house crashing adventures- you never know where we’ll pop up next…
Laura’s Color Conundrum
As soon as we laid eyes on Laura’s kitchen we knew it was primed for a major transformation. Here’s her letter:
We purchased a “fixer upper” that we plan to update and use as a long-term rental property and need your help in the kitchen. The basic improvements that we have planned include fresh paint, new flooring, and new lighting & hardware. We want to freshen things up and do what we can to make it look open and airy yet keep it neutral enough that it will appeal to a majority of people. We want it to be bright and cheery, but not bold or garish. Since this will be a rental, we want to keep our immediate expenses lower by working with the countertop and the white appliances for now. We will be replacing the flooring (most likely with a ceramic tile or Pergo-type wood laminate), and we are open to your color suggestions there, too. Likes: ivory, creams, tans, grays, blues, greens, yellows and golds, reds. Dislikes: pastels, purples, pink, anything “fleshy”. Neutrals, warm tones and muted colors appeal to us. Thanks! – Laura
This cozy and functional kitchen will look like a million bucks with a little bit of love. Here are three potential color palettes for Laura to choose from.
And now for the disclaimer: the color depictions above are only as accurate as your monitor (and not nearly as rich as the real thing) so Laura should grab each of the paint chips and bring ‘em into her kitchen before picking a favorite palette. Here’s the color scheme breakdown.
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How To Replace A Toilet
With a name like John it’s no surprise that I’ve installed a slew of toilets to date. It’s not glamorous work, but somebody’s gotta do it. In fact a few weekends ago I got roped into helping my dad install one in his newly remodeled bathroom, so I figured while I was at it I might as well take a few pictures and write up a quick and dirty (pun intended) toilet-installation tutorial for your convenience. Of course our disclaimer would be that every toilet is different and can therefore call for a slightly varied installation technique so be sure to read all the directions that correlate to your throne before proceeding. Here’s the potty play by play:
Step One: Before hitting up Lowe’s or Home Depot for your new toilet, measure the distance from the back bolts (at the base of the toilet nearest to the wall) and the wall behind your toilet. This is called the toilet’s rough-in and most toilets are designed with a 12″ rough-in. One of our toilets was actually a compact version so be sure not to skip this step of you’ll end up with a toilet that won’t line up with your existing plumbing.
Step Two: Once you’re home with the appropriately sized replacement toilet it’s time to remove the existing one. The first step is to turn off the toilet’s water supply (usually located behind the bottom left hand corner of the bowl). Then just flush the toilet to empty its tank, holding the trip-lever down to let all of the remaining water to run out. Remove the small amount of lingering water in the tank and bowl with a sponge or a few rags to ensure that they’re both totally empty.
Step Three: Use a wrench to remove the coupling nut between the existing toilet tank and its water supply. You might need to hold the fill valve with pliers from inside the tank to keep it from twisting. Next remove the toilet bowl which is typically fastened to the floor with two bolts (although some have four). If these bolts give you any trouble you can always carefully remove ‘em with a mini-hacksaw. Then just loosen the bowl by rocking it to break the seal with the floor and carry it straight outside (our old pea green one lived in the backyard until we could take it to Habitat For Humanity’s ReStore a few days later). It helps to have someone on hand to immediately stuff rags into the newly exposed toilet flange (the hole in the floor that can smell pretty nasty if left unplugged). Of course be careful not to lose a rag down the hole.
Step Four: To fully prepare for the new toilet, thoroughly remove any old wax from the floor and the flange with a screwdriver or a putty knife. Then unscrew the old bolts that hold the toilet down and throw them away (it’s a hard and fast rule to never attempt to reuse them). Oh and now’s a good time to clean and paint the wall behind the toilet while you have full access.
Step Five: Temporarily place the toilet in position on the floor over the flange to ensure that it fits and check that it looks level. View it from all possible angles and, if necessary, use plastic shims to get things level. Then it’s time to install the new bolts to hold the toilet bowl to the floor. If there are openings for the bolts in the toilet flange, just slide them right through. If you have a cast iron piping system, these screws can be drilled directly into the wood floor, but be sure to install the bolts so that they’re the same distance away from the back wall behind the toilet.
Step Six: Installing your new toilet pretty much goes backwards from the steps above which detailed removing the old one. Be super careful with your new bowl and tank since they can chip and crack super easily (especially if you get overzealous when you’re tighten bolts). You should have purchased a wax ring kit along with your new toilet, and you’ll want to follow the instructions that come with that to the letter (this is imperative to avoid leakage that can rot your floor and basically ruin your life).
Step Seven: Now it’s time to remove the rag from the hole in the floor (hold your nose for this step) and carefully place the wax ring around the outlet in the bottom of the toilet (with the wax-side on toilet). Press it slightly to be sure it holds, since you’ll be flipping it upside next. One you’ve carefully flipped it over, line up the toilet over the opening the in floor (the flange) and the bolts. The bolts that hold the toilet down should pass through their openings in the bowl base, and wax ring should make contact over the flange. To set the bowl onto the floor, rock it carefully from front to back and side to side while pushing down firmly. Don’t raise the bowl from the floor while making adjustments or you’ll literally have to replace the wax ring all over again as the toilet will leak to no end each time it’s used. It’s happened to us.
Step Eight: Drop washers over the bolts that hold the toilet to the floor and tighten the nuts with your fingers (the reason you should only finger-tighten the bolts is due to the fact that over tightening with a wrench can crack the toilet- which is seriously bad news).
Step Nine: If the toilet tank hardware comes separately, install it using the accompanying directions. Then take the rubber spud washer (the big rubber thingie that fits between the tank and the bowl) and set it right into the flush valve opening in the bottom of the tank. Pick up the tank and lower it gently into place on the back of the bowl. Then install the two long tank-mounting bolts from inside the tank, sliding them down through the holes and tighten the washers and nuts gently and evenly until they are snug. Viola- it’s starting to look like a real toilet…
Step Ten: Now it’s time to connect the tank’s water supply to the inlet valve on the bottom left of the tank. You’ll probably have a coupling nut laying around just for this purpose. Then turn the water on and watch the toilet tank as it fills up. If there are any leaks, gently tightening the bolts should fix ‘em in a flash (initial leaks are actually pretty common, but locating the leakage and tightening the bolt ever so slightly is usually all it takes). At this point you should also be sure that the tank is filling up to the correct level (about 3/4″ under the top of the overflow tube). Then just tighten the bolts that secure the bowl to the floor one turn beyond hand-tight (with a wrench, but just one turn- I mean it!).
Step Eleven: Test your installation by flushing the toilet and watching that beautiful swirling water do its thang. Double check for water leaks on the floor (and retighten the bolts that produce even the slightest drip just slightly). Then pop on the toilet seat and the toilet tank cover and do a little victory dance. You’ve earned it.
Need more toilet help? See some additional instructions at homedepot.com and doityourself.com
