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Young House Love » Reader Redesigns » Amy’s Design Dilemma: Solved

| By Sherry Petersik | August 24, 2009 | 68 Comments

Amy’s Design Dilemma: Solved

When Amy sent us pictures of her living room a few short weeks after we whipped up a custom mood board for her space, we couldn’t wait to share the goods! Here’s her letter:

I’m so excited to share my “after” pictures with you! I absolutely LOVE my new room and so does everyone else. I had a party Friday evening and the changes were a big hit. Funniest comment was “now that you’ve changed it, I just have to tell you that the brick was horrendous!” That cracked me up because I had to agree! And using your inspiration I was even able to save money and repurpose some things that we already had. We already owned round coffee & end tables, so I used them. And I used some advice from your ‘How To’ section to spray-paint the existing fan using Rustoleum for a whole new look. I love the wall color you picked so much (BM Sepia Tan 1116) that I painted the entryway the same color and am about to paint the hallway walls the same color too. We also loved your idea of a darker accent wall near the kitchen, and went one shade darker (BM Classic Caramel 1118). I haven’t hung up any artwork yet, but I plan to frame some of my photography soon. The makeover was a LOT of work (especially the brick!) but so worth it! I’m actually on the sofa emailing this to you while watching a movie. We never hung out in here before because it didn’t feel cozy or welcoming. Now we want to be in here and my husband keeps saying how awesome it looks and he didn’t even want the brick painted at first! Thanks again SO much! You’ll be hearing from me soon in regards to my kitchen! -Amy

To refresh everyone’s memory, here’s Amy’s living room before the overhaul:

Amy Mood Before

Amy Mood Before2

Amy Mood Before4

And here’s the same space after our custom mood board makeover:

Amy Mood After1

Amy Mood After2

Amy Mood After3

Amy Mood After Detail

Didn’t Amy do an amazing job?! We love everything from the freshened fireplace to the cozy patterned rug, and of course the golden wheat tones in the curtains and on the wall (especially that accent wall near the kitchen) really add a lot of warmth and ambiance to the space. And you know we’re loving that Amy got all DIY on us and spray painted the existing fan to make it work. Love that!

So what do you guys think? Any favorite parts or kind words to pass along to Amy in return for sending her fabulous after photos our way? Let’s give the girl a round of virtual applause!

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!

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Comments

  1. amy says

    August 26, 2009 at 6:23 pm

    Lisa, I bought the tv stand at JC Penney, it was on clearance for $209. It was just a few weeks ago, maybe they still have them. My tv is 53″, so it should hold yours just fine. The blinds you see on the window to the left of the tv stand were already there, they’re white wood. I only added the curtains to the bank of windows on the other wall. The rod had to be 200″ long! The curtains alone are perfect, we actually have closed them quite a bit at night.

    Cassie, I read the ‘spray paint almost anything’ tutorial for the fan blades. I took the blades off the base, removed the hardware, put out a big piece of plastic (it was the new rug packaging!), laid out the blades on little pieces of wood so they weren’t on the ground and sprayed away. It was so easy, I’ve never used spray paint in my life and the blades look great. I waited 24 hours and then put everything back together. I had so much fun painting the fan blades that I decided to spray paint the wicker baskets the same color with the paint that was left. If you click my Flickr link (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aimlyss/sets/72157622134345598/), you can see a couple of shots showing how I did the spray painting.

    Thanks for the comments! And Sherry & John, thanks so much for the awesome mood board and ideas!!! :)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      August 26, 2009 at 6:26 pm

      Aw thanks so much for dropping in to offer those pointers Amy. You’re the best!

      xo,
      s

  2. cassie says

    August 27, 2009 at 10:09 am

    Thanks Amy and Sherry, I cannot wait to get to work!

    Reply
  3. catherine says

    August 28, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    Looks Great !!!! I tried the Sepia Tan in my LR but it was too dark for the room. Would you suggest I go up one shade lighter in the same color series? Thanks.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      August 28, 2009 at 3:49 pm

      Yup, just slide one or even two tones lighter. The lighting in your home is probably just different than Amy’s. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  4. Julie says

    August 30, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    Wow! Sherry, John and Amy, you did such a wonderful job. Thank you Amy, for sending in the “After” pictures. I always want to see how the rooms turn out! I liked the curtains so much I just ordered some for my living room, which also has white shutters. I think it will make the room finally feel finished.

    Reply
  5. Emily Settle says

    September 3, 2009 at 3:51 pm

    Can I ask what color of paint was used on the fireplace?? Was it the BM Sepia Tan 1116?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      September 3, 2009 at 4:11 pm

      Yup, that’s Sepia Tan. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  6. catherine says

    September 8, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    Wonderful job on this makeover. I found that the Monroe Bisque worked best for my room. I also have the same drapery panels, Linden Barkwood in Toffee and want to use a woven shade, will you please recommend something from Smith& Noble or another online retailer for a coordinating woven shade for my large 96″ wide window? Thank you so much.
    You have a great website !!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      September 9, 2009 at 9:18 am

      Hey Catherine,

      We don’t specifically shop for readers unless they’re clients (you can check out our design services here: https://www.younghouselove.com/home-advice/) but we would recommend checking out places like Target or Walmart for super cheap and amazing woven shades (we got all of ours at Walmart, and for our large picture window in the living room we actually just hung two next to each other for a seamless yet totally budget friendly look). Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  7. Catherine says

    September 10, 2009 at 12:38 am

    Thanks , you are the best. I’ll check Wal-Mart and hang 2, that’s a great idea.

    Reply
  8. MelisaG says

    January 19, 2010 at 10:29 pm

    Hi Amy! Love this makeover. Wanting to paint our fireplace (although it’s not a whole wall it would look SO much better painted)…did you use specific directions, get directions from a home improvement store? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!
    M

    Reply
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John and Sherry Sitting On Woven ChairHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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