A $500 Kitchen Transformation: Complete!

Today's Agenda:  Staging a condo for sale, checking out some bathroom tiles, and in search of the perfect lighting for a home office (lighting is always tricky!)...

Remember my $500 design challenge??  Well, the kitchen/breakfast room facelift is done!  I'll just get right to the pictures.  The changes are subtle but remember our goals and plan -- add color and life and a place my client wanted to hang out in for $500!

Before (before my client moved in; previous owner's stuff):

Before (after my client moved in):

After! (after our $500 design challenge): 

Another before + after view:

Another before + after view:

And a couple other "after" images:

 

In order to make some fun changes but keep it within budget I needed to (1) create zones in the room to anchor it and make it feel homey but deliberate, (2) focus on a few key details (can't change everything for $500!), and (3) bust out some DIY skills. 

Let's start with the zones...

There is a cute little nook that's perfect for a kitchen office space...

But you have to be very careful when doing this -- can't be cluttered or messy or overly "office". 

So, I took everything out of the space and started over, layering in only what was necessary.

To end up with this inviting, but organized space:

- I found a sweet accent lamp from an antique store for just $32 that actually had a very mid-century modern shade on it with a pretty vintage black base that made the space feel less office-y. 
- I added a set of drawers underneath the counter to organize and hide the clutter that was accumulating on the counter.  By putting it in drawers, you can easily find stuff!  (Next step is to label the drawers but my labelmaker ran out of tape, sadly...)
- I added a file container that is on the desk, open at the top so easy to put things in and mobile so if you want to sit somewhere more comfortable and organize it you can.
- I took the bulletin board down...and didn't put it back up.  In this space in the kitchen, it just made it feel too casual...
- And, added a couple other decor touches -- spray painted the stool white to minimize the wood tones in the space and really let the dining table shine and added a curtain panel to block out the blazing, hot sun just a little bit.  And it was the perfect blue shade next to the blue cabinet! 

There is also this great space where my client put a fun vintage bakers rack.

But again, needed some structure and purpose to it. So, I took everything off of the bakers rack.

And, then added some fun baskets that are designated for pet food, and husband's and kids' stuff.   A plant and a piece of art made the space feel less utilitarian and anchored that side of the room. 

Paint + Wallpaper:  There are tons of fun things to do with paint and wallpaper!  I loved the idea of painting this cabinet and the back door a subtle color.  Since the cabinet and back door are on opposite corners of the room, I also liked the idea of using these corners to balance the room.  So, we went with a pale, pretty blue and a bolder yellow by adding the wallpaper inside the cabinet and next to the back door with the DIY message board, using the bolder color as an accent and the pale color as the base to keep with the feel of rest of the house (which I think is forgotten sometimes -- v. important to make the whole house feel cohesive!). 

Note:  The wallpaper I found at a warehouse sale for $10!  And, the paint, well one color was too baby blue and the other color too light, so...we mixed them!  And, it worked (since they were both semi-gloss).  So, it's a custom color and neither "oops" paint quart went to waste!

Message Board:  What's a family breakfast room without a message board??  I took a framed piece of art that I found at an antique store for $7, took the art out and then used the same wallpaper that I used in the cabinet and placed it behind the plexiglass.  Add a dry erase marker and you are done! 

File Bin:  I took a bin that had been from another client project that we decided not to use and then covered it with black textured contact paper I had found at Lowe's (it's really beautiful contact paper...).  I left the top off so it was easy to use and for another little pop of blue placed some aqua file folders from The Container Store inside.  Super easy and useful!

And, the details round out the space!:

 

 

 

 Curious about the final tally?  Here you go (tax included!):

2 white barstools:  $50.00
1 set of drawers:  $41.99
1 dry erase marker + 1 frame:  $10.49
2 yards fabric + rods and clips for curtains: $8.38
12 colorful pots: $133.23   
1 black/brass accent lamp: $33.60

2 sheepskin throws: $83.98
1 picture ledge for frames:  $15.74
4 baskets for bakers rack:  $78.71
1 (real) plant and pot: $24.13
1 baskets and 6 (fake) plants: $17.84
2 quarts of paint:  @$30.00
1 roll of wallpaper:  $10.00
2 mini red chairs:  $14.98
6 hanging file folders:  $7.34

Grand Total:  $560.32!  (not too bad!)

And, a final look.

 

My client and I actually already had a glass of wine in this space and it felt cozy and inviting...a perfect spot to hang out in!

An Updated Guest Bathroom...for a Special Guest!

Today's Agenda:  I've come down with a terrible summer cold.  Hoping I'm over this soon...it's hard to keep my head up, it feels like a heavy bowling ball...argh...Anyway...

Here is another recent project that I was thrilled with how it turned out.   This guest bathroom needed a facelift.  It's a compact space so needed to be sure that everything was scaled appropriately and made the space seem as large as possible but still interesting and in character with the style and the location of this home.  Best part -- the owners' dog loves is really the one that uses it the most for his baths!  Check out his sweet face in the pictures below. And the pretty bathroom.  Remember to focus on the pretty, pretty bathroom.  He does sort of steal the show though...

Bathroom, before...

 

 

And, after!

 

 

 

The star of the show!

 

 

A Crisp and Comfy Nursery!

Today's Agenda:  I've discovered Blik's pattern wall tiles.  And am now becoming obsessed as we speak.  I'll do a full post on these once I do a little more research and maybe order a few samples to try them out...

Today's before and after is a recent nursery I designed, and love!  I really love working on nursery designs and thinking about all the little things that go into making the space just so.

For this nursery, we had this 10' x 10' guest room to transform into a space for baby, new mom to nurse in, and all of baby's accoutrement.

 

My first goal was to make the space seem as large as possible -- babies are small but they come with a lot of stuff!  I played with a couple ideas for making the space feel larger -- one which included wallpapering the entire room.  Instead, we settled on a warm white palette and it really worked to make this space feel comfortable for baby and mom and dad!  

Take a look at the after and then I'll walk through a few of the key details...

1.  Paint:  In order to make the room feel as large as possible I selected a warm white and used the same color on the walls and the ceilings.  This effect worked in this room because the room already had a lot of light.  In spaces that are always dark, painting it white might not necessarily make it feel that much larger.  In this space it had a great effect.  {Don't forget to paint the inside of the closet too!  It makes such a difference.}

Bonus Paint:  In order to keep the space interesting, we painted the back of the two doors a gray color to make the space feel fun and not so serious.  And since I never resist the opportunity to use the back of the doors when space is constrained, hanging sweet towels and basket for dirty laundry or toys look purposeful and decorative against the gray doors. 

2.  Closet Reorg:  This closet is actually pretty big (well, tall and deep widthwise) for a 10' x 10' room! But with the single bar that was in the closet nothing was going to be stored very well.  So we took advantage of the Container Store's shelving sale and outfitted the closet with custom Elfa shelving. 

Elfa shelving is great, but it really needs to be arranged in a way that makes sense for what you are using it for.  So I reconfigured the Elfa shelves and bars a bit based on how long baby's clothes were and then added some baskets that were easy to get things in and out of the closet.

Here are the elements of this closet which I think make a big difference:
* Kid-sized Hangers:  Huggable Hangers are great for pieces that fall off easily (jackets, button down shirts) and plastic ones are great for onesies.  You can get clips that attach to the huggable hangers to hang pants and odd-shaped clothing.
* Bins with Lids:  I think it's key to not have all of the baby's clothing out at once.  Try grouping clothing by age or topic (e.g., swim/beach gear, pajamas, etc.).  And then storing it in a bin with a lid to keep dust, bugs, etc. out until you are ready to put them into circulation.  I like these Grey Storage Bags or these Clear Storage Boxes at the Container Store.
* Bins without Lids:  It's also key to have bins without lids.  I think people get into trouble when they put things into too many boxes with lids.  If there's a lid and you need to tidy up quickly, then you just won't put things in the right place!  The Tribeca Bin at the Container Store is fantastic, and looks nice too. 
* Erasable Labels:  I love these Erasable Labels from the Container Store!  This way you can easily change the categories you've set up.  Especially as the kids get older or if you are organizing your baby's closet before the baby has come.  

{And, check out the Hable Construction bin that a friend bought for this new mom -- I love Hable Construction -- what a great gift!}

3.  Furniture Selection: This was a tough one in this room!  We debated over whether to use mom's old dresser, to put the glider in here and what color for the crib.  In the end, we decided on light colored furniture to keep the light and airy feel going on in the room.

And, for the floor, I originally thought that FLOR tiles were a clear winner for this space.  But I would need to cut them and figure out how to maneuver them around the radiator.  When I found this Kajsa rug from Ikea that was 9' x 9' I couldn't believe it and it not only fit the space perfectly but the colors were right on point and the stripes gave an illusion of the room feeling bigger!  Done and done. 

The items used are:
- The Giggle Better Basics Harper Crib in a natural finish
- The White 2-over-2 dresser from Land of Nod with the changing tray, etc.
- The Morgan Swivel Glider from Bassett. 
- A classic Elfa storage piece. 
- Kajsa rug from Ikea.
- The Ikea Stockholm Footstool -- used as a placeholder for a custom ottoman that is on order.  This footstool usually lives in the living room and apparently baby loves that it swivels!

 

 

4.  Lighting:  Lighting is so crucial in any project, but I think especially a small room where lighting can help make it feel brighter and a nursery where you want different qualities of light depending on what's going on.  My rule of thumb is at least 4-5 points of light in any room.  A nursery is challenging to get that many light sources in the room because most of the surfaces don't allow you to set a table lamp on. 

Here's how we acheived great lighting:

- Use your ceiling and your walls! And, check out what you have around your house already.
* I changed out this terrible ceiling light for a fun, modern one (the Fillsta from Ikea) that gives off great light and looks fun and whimsical but blends in well when it's not on. 

* I installed this wall light that blends right into the wall but is at a good height that is easy for mom and dad to reach to use, with cords secured for when baby starts crawling...

* The wall lamp actually already matched another floor lamp that we had moved to another room from what was the guest room so we brought that back in and tucked it behind the glider.  (And check out the little Tooli rechargeable nightlight glowing yellow on the shelf -- what a fantastic idea and gift!)

* I found another lamp from a different room and tried it in here with this fun, preppy shade I found on sale at Anthropologie. 

That gave us 4 different lights + a nightlight -- not bad in a 10' x 10' room!

5.  Art + Toys: In a small space you want to be careful how you provide for storage and how much art you place on the wall.  And, wait until all the furniture is in before you get your heart set on one way of providing for storage or art. 

Again, look around and see what walls you can use for art and toy storage. 

We went up the wall behind the glider with these narrow shelves and brackets from Ikea.  An inexpensive solution for storage in a small room.  And, the toys themselves act as decor.

 

This awesome wall decal took up no visual space and makes the room feel taller and won't fall down on baby.  Bonus -- baby loves looking at it! 

And, the piece we knew from the beginning needed to be in the room -- a family treasure.  And wonderful wisdom to impart to new baby.