May 15

Free design = FUN.

Posted by lo.

I'm listening to: The Black Keys: Gold on the Ceiling

Remember when you were 10? And you would take every last thing out of your bedroom and move it into the hallway? And then move it all back in, but in a totally different arrangement? And you would do this like twice a year? Wasn’t that fun?

Oh wait, that was just me?

Oh. OK. Well, I *still* love doing that. Rearranging furniture is the best. Because 1. It’s free. 2. You start to like stuff you thought you hated. 3.The room works in a totally different (hopefully better) way and 4. It’s free.

I get it from my mom I think. Though I didn’t grow up in the same house as her, when I finally did live with her (2005-2010) I think we rearranged the apartment at least once a year. You’d be surprised how many new ways we can find to rearrange a room. I do it instinctively when I enter a room. Any room. And yes, if I’ve been to your house, I’ve done it to your house in my head.

So nanny family? Yep, had been doing it to their living room (in my head) for a year. So my mom told them we’d do it -for free- when all the construction was done. So last Friday, we rolled up, and got to work. Here it is:

From the front door:

From the hallway/fron door looking at the front of the house:

From the front hallway looking at the corner, and Oh! Sadie the Dog:

And from the den/playroom looking at the couch:

My biggest issue with this space is an issue that bugs me in most spaces: how do you have a conversation in this space? If three adults are there, where do you sit? What is all the furniture doing on the walls? And what in the hell are those leather chairs doing by the window? WHO SITS THERE?

What is boils down to is this: how does the furniture “talk” to each other? Cause in this room? It was not at all. And the fireplace (with it’s brand new gas insert) was WAY across the room from any seating besides the little (not so comfy) flowered chair. And worst, when you walked in the room, the first thing you saw was that buffet. Full of stuff. It just did not feel welcoming.

We tried a couple of things, and this is what we finished with:

Are you ready?

BAM:

 

That’s the view from the den. It’s the best shot to see the full space. When you walk in, and look into the living room to the den it’s this:

I love the pictures above the fireplace:

So graphic and such a great display of their LOVE of pictures of their girls. The mantle isn’t crowded, and the pictures draw your eye into the room.

And the leather chairs are actually making sense in the room:

 

The pillow situation is a work in progress. But this was all they had. It’s better than nothing, trust me.

And that buffet-turned-entertainment center-storage?

SO much better! First off, you don’t even see it when you walk in the door now. Second: All the photos are grouped. Groups=more impact & less “messy”. Third: I had these two lamps which I no longer use and they *desperately* need lighting in this room. The shades are the same shape as a lamp they already had, and though they are brushed nickle where the other lamps are ORB (Oil Rubbed Bronze), it doesn’t bother me as much since the frames are mostly silver/nickle.

Here is another view:

 

Lets just get one more view:

UGH! YEAY! You can sit close to people! The fireplace plays with the whole room! It looks like adults live there and you can use the room for something other than TV watching! AND IT WAS ALL FREEEEEEEEEEE.

That’s my favorite.

 

May 07

Seeing Red

Posted by lo.

I'm listening to: Justin Townes Earle: Harlem River Blues

So along with my love of all things design, and being a massage therapist, I also nanny. Cause who wants only one job? Pshh. Rookies.

My nanny family had a slight bathroom emergency over Christmas-which we discovered by water leaking through the ceiling into the dining room. It all got figured out but it lead to a HUGE bathroom remodel, and they hired my mom (Yep! My mom!) to design. The dining room needed some patching (obviously) which then necessitated repainting the walls.

My mom and I saw this as an opportunity to visit the idea of a new color in general. Because here it was:

OH SO RED.

I know, some people LOVE red. But…GAH. It is SUCH a hard color to do right.* And it just feels so freaking aggressive in most rooms. Plus this room was severely underlit, with TONS of wood,  so the room just felt dark, gloomy, angry, and totally disrupted the flow of the first floor. (Where the other rooms are yellow, sage green, and blue.) So after some subtle (and not so subtle) hints, then suggestions, options and talking, we all agreed on a new color scheme. Here are a couple of “before/during shots”:

You can see the colors we chose as samples on the wall above: green. A soft sage on top, and a slightly deeper olive on bottom. Since this was one of the final things of a long, and exhausting, and expensive bathroom remodel, I *severely* underbid them on the repainting. I really, *really* wanted this red gone. So here’s me! Painting in the corner!:

 

As you can see, no, I don’t tape. Tape is for suckers. Lemme tell you: the guy who did the red? He used tape. And red still got EVERYWHERE on the wood. And there was still tape in a couple of places! Cutting in seems scary. I understand. But a little bit of practice goes a LONG way, and you don’t waste time taping. In this room? I think it probably saved me three hours. Yes. Of taping.

And yes, that ladder is hiding what may or may not be my ass crack. When in Rome…

So, seven not-so-bad hours later (broken up in two blocks, and with the company of my friend Mere, and then Nanny Mom Sarah), it was done! And LOOK:

So bright and happy!

Doesn’t the wood pop out SO much more?

Here is a better shot of the two tones:

*Le sigh*. So much better.

*Pro Tip: Picking colors is HARD yo. Colors play differently in every room, on every wall, in every light. Because they have undertones. Red is rarely just RED it’s red, with an undertone of blue, or orange or brown. Tan is rarely TAN. It’s tan, with an undertone of green or pink. Your best bet: Look at different shades of the same color. On your wall. And if you have a hard time seeing undertones: SAMPLE POTS. They sell tiny pots of color at Home Depot now to help choose. It’s better to take your time picking a color than painting the whole room and then asking yourself “Why does this room look like baby poop?”  and having to do it over anyway.

 

Apr 30

Simple Things

Posted by lo.

I'm listening to: Alabama Shakes: Hold On

Last week I spent a solid 7 hours painting my nanny family’s dining room. YeeEEEEesh. Molding and paneling are pretty, but OMG all the cutting in. But I will have “after” pictures ready soon to show you the AMAZING new look, so, you know…exciting. But until then, I will just say this:

Sometimes when you are burnt out from a million things, it’s something small like picking lilacs with a friend after a run that make you happy:

So here is to the little things.