Archive for November, 2009
Oh Brother! (Or Sister?)
We’re excited to announce that the Petersik family is currently under construction. Our new addition is expected on May 19th. We’re thrilled, even though a certain someone won’t be the baby anymore…
Yup, Sherry’s got a proverbial bun in her proverbial oven. And we couldn’t be more elated to share the news with you guys! More details to follow on Friday (so ask any and all q’s and we’ll answer as many as we can at the end of the week).
Until then it’s back to before & afters and DIY ideas- we’re nothing if not home obsessed…
Reader Redesign: A Buffet Reinvented
When Lindsay sent us the before photos of a cabinet that she completely transformed we could never have predicted just how different the end result would be. It looks like a whole new piece! Here’s her letter:
Well, I know you guys love a good before and after so I wanted to share an “extreme makeover” we performed on a large hutch a few weekends ago. For us, it was all about working with what we had, livening up the piece and taking cues from places like Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs (too much $$, but really cute things!). The hutch is a truly dramatic transformation (see more info here on my blog about the process). Hope you enjoy it! Love your site! -Lindsay
Isn’t it amazing that she could look at something with such a rustic country look and turn it into something crisp and clean-lined with new doors and a newly framed base? And you gotta love that they kept an old piece of furniture out of the landfill by reinventing it with a little elbow grease. Thanks so much for sending the photos our way Lindsay. In a word: inspiring!
Ania’s Design Dilemma: Solved
When Ania sent us her delicious after photos (thanks to this mood board that we whipped up for her last month) we couldn’t wait to share the eye candy! We know you guys love a good before and after, and Ania did a faaaabulous job! Here’s her letter:
Here are a few after pictures that I took for you! Needless to say, we LOVE our new living and dining room area. I can’t believe I ever had doubts about the bentwood chairs or the media stand. They are honestly my favorite items that we purchased. We L-O-V-E everything. From the frame collage to the chandelier to the sofa table… everything! Thank you soooooo much for the design advice. It feels like a completely transformed space and we love to spend time here. Amazing! You two truly have a gift. You will definitely be hearing from me again. Oh man do I have some more ugly rooms for you! Best, Ania
Just to refresh your memory, here are the before photos of the space:
Ania wanted a few new furnishings that felt less boxy and matchy-matchy to create a space with beachy, modern and glamorous touches. Here’s the mood board we whipped up to help add polish and breezy style to her living & dining room (find more details here):
But enough stalling. We know you’re all about the afters. So here ya go:
Didn’t Ania do an amazing job? What’s your favorite part? We’re torn between the super fun medallion curtains and the new white pedestal table with the capiz chandy overhead. That entire breakfast nook just leaves us breathless. I mean we knew that her space had fantastic potential but it’s still unbelievable to see it all spruced up and polished looking. No more paper on the windows!
And didn’t she totally rock that charming L-shaped wall of frames that we described? We love that she took the ball and ran with it. It’s even better than we imagined! Plus it only took her a month to get back to us with after photos which is truly unbelievable. Let’s shower Ania with praise for being so wonderful and sending us her eye-pleasing after pics. And here’s hoping more Design Dilemma after photos will be landing in our inbox very soon…
Update: We sadly can no longer find the time to take on client commissioned mood boards (we now whip up general inspiration boards instead) but if we ever reinstate them we’ll make a big announcement!
Fab Freebie: FLOR-al Arrangements
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries***
When FLOR offered to hook us up with some modular carpet tiles for our basement, we couldn’t pass up the chance to spread the love to you guys. So here’s where you can get your hands (or feet?) on some of our favorite FLOR designs - including the Ascot Stripe variety that we chose for our big basement makeover.
Yup, FLOR’s giving away a 5′ x 7′ square tile rug so one of you can join us in the fun of these stylish yet practical floorpieces. They’ve got a whole slew of designs available – natural fibers, bold colors, sophisticated stripes and even a line by Martha Stewart herself. And we’ve picked out seven styles that make our toes curl. Check out some samples below, but don’t forget that they each come in multiple colors!
- PRIZE: One 5′ x 7′ FLOR area rug in any color from the seven styles shown on this page (Coir, Stampede, Straight and Narrow, and Martha Stewart’s Faux Bois, Sea Grass Stripe, Needlepoint Stripe and Ascot Stripe)
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “FLOR ME” and…
- BONUS QUESTION: …tell us what else makes your feet happy (fuzzy slippers? a pedicure? a nice massage?)
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, November 18th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
- PRIZE SHIPS: To all Americans and Canadians
- USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday. Good luck!
Get more info on our freebies at our Giveaway FAQs page. Images courtesy of FLOR.
Tackling The Basement: Chapter Five
We’re back with our weekly basement update (here’s where we left off) and this time we conquered the bare-bulb ceiling fixture (by dressing it up with a polished linen shade). We also snagged a vertical balancing bike rack (on sale!) since our cinder block walls make hanging weight-baring hooks and stands close to impossible) and got the ultimate surprise from Flor in the form of an awesome 5 x 8 rug thanks to their amazing carpet squares. Sure we still have to add privacy to the windows, paint the built-in cabinet near the bikes, build a screen to hide our eyesore of a water heater, and more… but here’s what the room looks like these days with the new DIY light fixture, discount bike rack and fun new area rug:
And you might wonder why the fine folks at Flor would offer us a free area rug of our choosing (other than the fact that they’re insanely sweet over there) but we’re actually teaming up with them for this week’s giveaway so they’re also dishing out a free area rug to one of our readers this afternoon (!). It’s a win-win situation. And installing the floor tiles we picked (after careful consideration we went for the fun and durable Ascot Stripe variety) was super easy. They even come with simple little sticky circles that adhere all of the corners from underneath…
… for a seamless and secure end result.
Now for the details on the bike rack. We were on the lookout for a rack that would allow us to store the bikes above one another for to maximize space and create some interest on the back wall… but the impossible cinder block walls made anything that has to be screwed or anchored to the wall totally out of the question. Enter this baby stage right (it was actually suggested by a reader in our last post- thanks Lauren!). Plus when we got to Target it happened to be on sale for $39 (down from $49) so we grabbed it and wasted no time getting both bikes off the floor. It’s kind of industial-chic, no?
The lamp shade also hails from Target, where we were immediately struck by the chic linen look, generous size, and great price. Twenty-five beans later we got it home, removed the ceiling bulb, slipped the metal ring that’s attached to the inside the shade onto the bulb, and screwed the bulb back into the formerly bare fixture box. Basically it’s the same way you’d put a shade on a table lamp, but it hangs from the ceiling instead.
Here’s a detail shot where you can see the metal ring from the shade slipped over the bulb and held in place by screwing the bulb into place in the overhead fixture box. So easy and so much cleaner looking! We also emplyed this method in the den to class up our ceiling fan (here’s that link for ya).
So that’s where we are with the basement. As we mentioned, we still have the windows and the water heater (among other things) to address, so stick around for those updates soon. And we also plan to load up on containers and bins to store a whole mess of stuff in the armoires that we added last week so stay tuned for all the nitty gritty organizing details when we throw open the doors and bare all.
And while we’re on the subject of organizing, what do you guys prefer? Clear plastic bins so you can see everything inside? Opaque bins so you can’t? Wire baskets for Parisian flair? Fabric boxes or cardboard ones in fun colors? Name your favorite organization accessories at the beep. Beeeeeep.
