Archive for March, 2009
Watch It
We get lots of questions about which decorating and renovating shows make it into our DVR. And while there are probably enough design shows to circle the earth five times, we’ve whittled things down to a few choice favs. Here are our top five:
1. Design Inc. – This is one of our most recent discoveries since the Fine Living Network was added to our cable bundle… and it’s already on the must-watch list. Each show follows a small team of designers as they redo a space with a budget that ranges from gigantic to tiny (with occasional thrift store shopping which always delights us) and the reveal is always breathtaking.
2. My Big Amazing Renovation - Insane budgets, nighmarish setbacks, and jawdropping transformations are par for the course when homeowners take their tiny homes and turn them into bona fide 6000 square foot mansions while the cameras roll. Drama!
3. Divine Design – Candace Olson is far and away one of our favorite designers. Sure we could do without the skat-inspired theme song or the weird little skits in each episode, but her design sense, use of color, and furniture arranging skills are nothing short of magical.
4. Dear Genevieve – This new show on the block is full of chic transformations that we’ve really enjoyed thus far. Sure, she’s from Trading Spaces, but we can’t hold that against her forever.
5. Dress My Nest – Thom Filicia is a fantastic designer with bold ideas that actually look inviting and livable when he puts them into practice (as opposed to about a million other shows that just look crazy and over the top).
It should be noted that we just got the DIY channel along with the Fine Living Network so we’re still exploring this whole new world of home improvement programming. And of course we’re excited to hear all about what you guys love so we can check them out for ourselves! Do tell.
Check out what Holly over at Decor8 is watching- and read her comments for other suggestions.
Images courtesy of Design Inc., Divine Design, and Dress My Nest.
Reader Redesign: Mastering The Bath
This redesign comes from two very special readers. Tom and Kathy bought their Northern Virginian home 30 years ago as a new construction. Over those three decades, four children grew up and eventually left the nest, just recently leaving the couple with lots of spare bedrooms and decisions about what to do once Kathy joins Tom in retirement. One potential plan includes selling their home and moving to Richmond to be closer to their favorite/only son – me! That’s right, this is my parent’s bathroom redesign.
In preparation for selling the house I grew up in, my mom and dad realized they’d need to update their master bathroom. And because the master baths of the ’70s can’t possibly compare to the monster masters of today in terms of square footage, they at least wanted it to boast modern features like fresh new ceramic tiles and a granite topped sink. So my dad seized the opportunity to wrack up a slew of new DIY skills, my mom got to flex her decorating muscles, and Sherry and I managed to snag a few before & after pictures to show off their handiwork.
Like this before shot of the sink side of the room:
One of the biggest overhauls was re-tiling the entire floor and shower surround so here’s a picture of the old hex-tile floor before (sorry, we don’t have a picture of the original fiberglass shower surround as my dad enthusiastically demo-ed it out before we could take one).
And here’s their master bathroom after a whole lot of renovating, retiling and redecorating:
One of the biggest updates was replacing that basic, fiberglass builder-grade shower stall with floor-to-ceiling ceramic tile. They chose a crowd-pleasing neutral tile accented by a stone border for a bit of added wow-factor. The little river rock pattern of the border is very spa-like, indeed. My dad cut, laid and grouted all of the tile by himself (his first DIY tile job, mind you) and learned valuable lessons like “measure twice, cut once” along the way. Similarly, he highly advises planning out your tile pattern so you don’t end up with small, impossible-to-cut slivers when you get to the edge of a row. By finding your center line and laying out your tiles before cutting and grouting, you’ll end up with something balanced and intentional, instead of something that looks lopsided and unplanned. Good tip, dad!
Sherry helped my mom find an extra long shower curtain so they could hang the rod as close to the ceiling as possible to complement the fully tiled wall and give the bathroom the illusion of added height.
My parents also chose a ceramic floor tile in a complimentary earth-tone that my dad laid on a diagonal to help it pop against the horizontally placed wall tiles for extra interest and an open and expansive feeling (diagonal tiles are said to make a space feel bigger).
To balance the warm tones in the tile and new maple vanity, my mom (with the help of Sherry and her trusty paint swatches) picked out a cooler gray-green tone for the walls (Comfort Gray by Duron). And while the girls were picking out paint and accessories (note my mom’s Target towel score that managed to capture just about every color in the room’s palette), the boys were in charge of re-installing the toilet. It was my dad’s first toilet replacement, so it was kinda fun to lend my toilet-installation expertise to my old man.
To help the small bathroom feel even larger, my parents also chose a vanity that sits up off the ground which allows the eye to see more floor space (in turn making the room feel bigger).
And check out how the cool gray-green wall color even complements the new brushed nickel fixtures along with the rich new granite counters. It certainly doesn’t feel like a bathroom from 1979 anymore…
So we’re sending a big virtual pat on the back to my parents and their new DIYed master bath. It’s certainly, to borrow HGTV’s language, designed to sell! So let’s hope that the real estate market recovers soon so they can pack their bags for sunny and scenic Richmond sooner rather than later. And assuming my dad brings his new tile saw with him, just think of possibilities for our bathrooms…
I feel like I should end this post with something like “paid for by the committee to get John’s parents to move to Richmond.” Love you mom & dad!
Blast From The Past Freebie Winner!
Seriously, you guys never fail to amuse us. If actually hanging out with each of you is even half as entertaining as reading about it, then this group must be quite a blast. We’d also like to taste some of those “mean” cupcakes, cookies and cocktails that were mentioned…
But before we take you up on your cooking skills, we suggest you take our giveaway host up on her special offer to Young House Love readers. That’s right, Alia over at Sweetshorn Vintage is offering 10% off all items through the month of March by entering the code “YHL” upon check-out. So if the giveaway doesn’t go your way, you can always snag another unique retro item from Sweetshorn’s eclectic collection at a special rate. And remember, three of the four prizes below will still be available… but probably not for long!
Now on to our winner. The lucky person, as chosen by random.org, who “loves to laugh” and is getting their choice of one prize from the four items above is… Rachel. Congratulations! We can’t wait to hear which amazing prize you’re going to choose – the Porcelain Birds, the Trio of Vases , the Mod Glasses or the Anchor Plate? Do tell… especially so people know what’s still on the market.
Learn more in our Giveaway FAQs here. Images courtesy of Sweetshorn Vintage.
Welcome To Our Decor Store
You may have heard me mention the cabinet that we affectionately refer to as our “decor store” so we’re here to further explain what the heck it is. Basically it’s where I store vases, shells, candles, vase filler, corks, starfish, decorative dishes and plates, and anything else that I might want to use to switch up a tablescape or house fresh flowers when the mood strikes (don’t mind the shrimp scampi in the picture below, I snapped it while John was whipping up dinner).
It’s great to “shop” in your own home using the things that you already have- and a lot of people have extra vases, platters, corks, and other objects scattered around their house that can instantly become a little decor shop when they’re grouped together in a basket, drawer, or cabinet. Even a collection of matchbooks looks chic and personal displayed in a cylinder vase (so go ahead and toss all those random matchbooks that you have all over the house into a zip-lock bag- they’ll be much easier to grab when the decorating urge strikes).
When you have a designated spot for all that stuff, it always feels like you have a bevvy of options at your fingertips and you never have to tear closets and drawers apart in search of something that you could have sworn you stuffed in there months before (or worse yet, forget all about the things you have and buy new stuff when you could have kept that money in your wallet).
Plus designers often suggest rotating decorative objects to keep your surroundings feeling fresh, but real people are busy and it’s easy to let something stick around for the season and then a year, and before you know it you haven’t moved the stuff on your mantel for half a decade. A little decor store makes freshening things up and switching things out a bit more fun, and more importantly, a bit less daunting. Because sure that candlestick looks good on your console, but maybe for spring a vintage glass vase full of fresh cut leafy branches is just what the doctor ordered…
Do any of you guys have a decor store at home? How about another way that you prefer to store seasonal objects or extra vases and candles? Do tell.
Anna’s Design Dilemma
When Anna asked us to help spruce up her master bedroom, we got right to work. Here’s her letter:
Looking forward to working with you! Our house is a 100 year old Victorian with a lot of character, which we love. Our style was more modern until we moved in and none of our furniture fit with the style of the house. Now we’re leaning more towards traditional, but not stuffy. Pottery Barn is my favorite store for sure. I’d like to keep the bed and the dresser and end tables. I’m thinking about moving the chair to another room, so that can go. We have the Calvin Klein “bamboo flowers” bedding in our guest room and we’d love to have that in our room, but couldn’t figure out how to make it work with paint, etc. So if you could work things around that bedding, it’d be great. Open to most other things being changed- especially the wall color! We generally choose more “natural” colors, nothing too bold. Thanks so much! – Anna
This bedroom is primed for a major makeover, so here’s the plan:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
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