A Mini Kitchen Makeover

This post is sponsered but the ideas and elbow grease are my own. 

So it all started with a simple plan to find some much-needed task lighting for our kitchen. The countertops can be a little dim in these dark winter months. It's been 2 years since our original kitchen renovation and finding the right (affordable) lighting option just feel by the wayside. 

Before we get into my new accordion sconces lets back up a bit and talk about some general style concerns I've had about our kitchen from day one. As much as I wish we lived in the country this house is in the city and I've always felt like our kitchen was a little too rustic.  I started to have the sneaking suspicion that I needed to take drastic action. 

Last week I head over to the new World Market Store in Brooklyn to look for some inspiration. I was blown away by all the cool stuff; it was hard to stay focused. Luckily, I found 3 great sconces and a jute runner. Feeling pretty victorious, I took my new finds home.

(Accordion Sconce) // (Jute Rug)

I immediately hung my new sconces. I loved the light that they cast on the countertops, but the overall vibe was still not right. It all felt a little too serious. I experimented with a few different pieces of art but nothing was working. As I was searching around the house for just the right thing, I uncovered a scrap of David Hicks wallpaper and remembered that I had two and a half rolls of it stashed away. 

After a quick convo with my husband, who is insanely tolerant of my freestyling ways, I grabbed my emergency tub of wallpaper glue and my favorite small paint roller for applying the adhesive and got to work. 

I LOVE the way the wallpaper and the black sconces work together to create intrest above the open shelving. The look is so dynamic that I was able to keep the styling on the shelf pretty simple. 

In the past, I've used patterned runners in the kitchen but the bold patterned Hicks paper required something different. I think the simple nubby texture of the runner is perfect. 

In a kitchen, nothing beats the durability of jute! 

I decided to wrap the paper all the way around the kitchen. I love the way it frames the window. 

We might be the last people on earth the still have white appliances. Replacing the stove and refrigerator is defintately on my short list for 2017.  What brands do you guys recomend? 

(Accordion Sconce) // (Jute Rug)

For now, I'm just going to bask in the glow of my new World Market sconces and obsess over how great they look with the Hicks Hex paper and my new runner.  

To all of my Brooklyn people, you should check out the new Cost Plus World market location. It's a truly unique shopping experience in Sunset Park Brooklyn. “BEYOND at Liberty View,” houses Bed Bath & Beyond® and their family of brands, including Cost Plus World Market®, buybuy BABY® and Face Values®, all under one roof, located at 3rd at 31st Street.

Thursday, January 12th through Sunday, January 15th Cost Plus World Market will be celebrating their grand opening with several events, special giveaways, and offers and you are offically invited! 

Schedule Of Events:

Thursday, January 12th - 15th

•  $10 Cost Plus World Market gift card for the first 100 customers in the door

Thursday, January 12th   – Sunday, January 15th  

• Free tasting and live entertainment
• 4-7pm Thursday & Friday
• 1-4pm Saturday
• Free tote bags for the first 100 customers in the door each day.
• Daily raffle drawings! Prizes include two (2) $250 World Market gift cards each day.
• Spend $40 you'll get 2 free movie admissions. limited to the first 250 customers each day
• Plus, Save an extra 20% Home Furnishings, Decor, Gifts & More/Save 10% on gourmet food & non-alcoholic beverages

Cost Plus World Market
850 3rd at 31st Street, Sunset Park

Store Hours:
M-Sat: 9am – 9pm
Sun: 10am – 7pm
 

One Room Two Ways: My (virtual) Living Room Makeover with Modsy

THIS POST iS SPONSORED BY MODSY, THE OPINIONS, AND IDEAS IN THIS POST ARE COMPLETELY MY OWN.

Fun fact, my followers have never really seen a picture of my living room, and for good reason. Despite all of the energy, hard work, and inspiration we have poured into our kitchen, entryway, back yard, and garden-level apartment, our living room remains my least favorite room in the house – which is a total shame given all the time we spend in there. With the big pressing projects more or less finished, I’m starting to turn my attention to the rooms that I want to love – because I truly live in them!

So here’s the deal with our less-than-loved living room: it is small, has no windows, has this little door on one wall, and a large opening to the dining room on the opposite wall. That means that furniture placement is super limited and I can only sit two people comfortably in the space. Bummer! I’ve had a lot of time to think about my options, and I’ve been entraining 2 very different directions. Unfortunately, I’m still on the fence about which way to go. I’m hoping you, my internet friends, will chime in and let me know what you think!

Lucky for both of us, I teamed up with Modsy to create a few life-like renderings to help us explore the untapped potential of my sad living room. Pretty cool, right?

In case you are new to Modsy, it’s an online service that allows you to look at furniture and accessories in a highly realistic 3D rendering of your space. I still don’t know how they do it, but all you have to do is upload a few images of your space and before you know it, you are mixing and matching options in a scale model of your space. If you think that sounds like fun, you are totally right! Ready to get this virtual makeover party started? Ok, let’s go!

Option One

The first and by far the simplest option, is to embrace the small footprint of the room and simply add a few appropriately scaled pieces. In addition to its size issue, our living room is also suffering from a lack furniture. Believe it or not, we don’t have a rug, storage, or any extra seating. I know, it’s the classic case of a cobbler’s son having no shoes – I can’t believe it. But, the nice thing about designing a room from scale renderings is that it’s super easy to tell if a piece will work before you bring it home. That is especially nice because it is a small space, and I have no room for error.

So here’s what the space could be. Pretty good, right? I told you the renderings were life like! Going into this project, my number one goal was to add seating. Beyond that, I wanted to create a layered, inviting, well-lit space. I think this option accomplishes that!

Here’s a look at the other side of the room. I am ready for a total refresh so everything here is new! The first order of business has to be the sofa. We love our old one, but this new one is just a little shorter with the same amount of seating. Our current sofa is too long to accommodate side tables, but still only seats two. To a designer, that is crazy talk, and we can do better! This new sofa is a win-win. 

Opposite the sofa I added a smaller occasional chair. I’ve actually tried adding a chair here in the past but because our current sofa was so long it felt a little congested. The new sofa frees up much-needed floor space (another win). I love the wallpaper and knew I wanted to keep it, so I added a couple of strategically place mirrors to help create the illusion of more light.

Layering 2 lighter colored rugs and 2 glass top tables also helped keep the space feeling light and bright. I added a white ceramic chandelier for overhead lighting (on a dimmer of course) and a couple of floor lamps for mood lighting.

We actually watch a lot of television, so if we go with this option, I will be seeing a lot of this view. The console has a light feel because of the glass panels which is super important in this small space. Plus, it is providing some much-needed storage!

Here’s another view of the space looking back into our dining room. But there's more…

Option Two

Ladies and gentleman, I give you option two. The second direction is a much bigger undertaking, but I think it could definitely be worth it. This option involves removing a wall. Specifically, we would have to remove the wall with the black door (check option one) and join the current living room with a similarly sized space on the other side of the wall. I've already investigated, and it is not a load bearing wall so I'm free to demo. The new floor plan would look like this. For reference, the old wall divided these two spaces in half. 

I’m not sure what possessed one of the previous owners to divide up the space in its current configuration. My best guess is that it had something to do with creating extra bedrooms. The new space will be bigger and much brighter but it does involve loosing what is technically classified as a second, first floor bedroom. I can’t image anyone in their right mind ever using the space that way, but for the purpose of resale, that kind of thing can matter. I still think the overall payoffs would be worth it.

I used a lot of the same pieces from design option one for this space. However, I opted for a slightly larger chair and added in a new side table and reading light. I also swapped out the white chandelier for these simpler, clear glass pendants. The new space will actually have 2 ceiling lights, so I felt that something simpler was in order.

The wall behind the blue chair with the credenza is the former location of the sofa if you can believe it! My plan is to use the credenza to store my printer and all our home office stuff that desperately needs a place.

As another point of reference, this is the wall that formally had the green Fornasetti paper. If I go with this direction, that beautiful paper will also have to go (my sister just read that and died) -- But don’t worry I have a plan!

Another big change I'm considering as part of this plan is the addition of an opening between the new living room and the hallway. The new opening mirrors the one to the bedroom in size and shape and it sits about where the television was in the first configuration. The new opening really opens up the narrow space and allows for a less constricted flow. 

Recently, I’ve been obsessed with decorative painting. So in this second option, I want to try my hand at some DIY trump l'oil moldings. I found this simple molding stencil and I actually think that will make this a pretty easy project. 

The other plan I have for this space is adding a (non working) vintage fireplace mantel. Our house was built in 1910 which is just on the cusp of when builders stopped putting in fireplaces. Unfortunately, we ended up on the short end of the stick and I would be thrilled to install one. I was emboldened by the fireplace I successfully made for the One Room Challenge back in October. I think both of those details would go a long way towards making the space feel like it is original to the house.

In this layout, the sofa lives away from the wall. Behind the sofa are French doors that lead to our bedroom. Luckily, that room gets a ton of light. Besides space, one of the primary advantages of option two is that the new living room will get light from two directions!

Rather than using one big rug in the space, I’ve gone with 2 smaller ones. I love the look, but it is something I've never done in real life.  Testing an out of the box solutions like this rug combo is super easy when you can use a platform like Modsy to pretty much switch things up endlessly.

Well, what do you think? Option one or option two? I think I have a favorite, but I really want to hear form you. I obviously enjoyed taking Modsy for a test run, and am thankful for these awesome renderings. Now you get to see my vision and judge for yourself! As a designer, I imagine new spaces and renovations all day long, and it’s challenging to visualize how a space will look, even for me. With Modsy’s drag and drop scale model, you can put the math aside and let creativity have free reign!

Holiday Home Tour // BSHT Christmas 2016

How in the heck is it already December? I know everybody says it but I'm truly shocked! We are on the verge of saying goodbye to 2016 and It's time to deck the halls. Truth told, I never go super big with the holiday decor in my own house because I do so much of it for other people that I honestly get a little burnt out. That said I'm no Scrooge and I always regret not putting a little effort in. So, last August I signed up for White Buffalo Styling Co.’s BSHT 2016 Christmas Home Tour because I knew it would force me to get my holiday act in gear. Thank you, Lindsay!

This is actually my first go round with a holiday home tour, so thanks for stopping by.  If you are joining me via the lovely Simple Stylings, welcome and be sure to hop on over to Inspired By Charm after this. So glad you are here and don't worry I'll post the full schedule at the end of the post so you can check in with everyone.  Ready to hear a little bit about my five dollar DIY wreaths? Great, let's get started.

If it is not already abundantly clear my m.o. this year was simple. I didn't have a lot of time to shop or prep so on a recent trip to my second home (A.K.A. Home Depot)  I spotted some five dollar live garlands. I grabbed 4 with no clue what I was going to do with them but figured it was a low-risk situation.

Next, I did a little rummaging in my ribbon bin and unearthed this amazing greek key ribbon. As an always and forever fan of black and white I figured it was a sign. I decided that part of keeping in simple this year involved a limited color palette. 

Now WTF to do with the garlands?! After playing around with the garlands on the bookshelf I decided that what I actually needed were wreaths, but with literally hours to go before the tour, I needed to make what I had work. 

Luckily the garland was sold in a coil so it was pretty easy to fashion it into a wreath. To create my wreaths, I cut one garland in half and then coiled it around to create my desired size and shape. I ending up liking the look of 2 to 3 layers of garland coiled per wreath, but xperiment and see what you like. The look I was going for is more of a thin shaggy wreath rather than a traditional thick wreath.  I actually really like the look, it's a little less formal and actually WAY more my style.

To hold the coiled layer together I used some thin galvanized wire every 8-10 inches.  With the wreaths constructed I headed back into the dining room and quickly realized they were still missing something... S***!!!!

This time I heading to my collection of spray paint to see what I had. Turns out I had about 4 cans of gold spray paint. So gold it was! I used a little less than one can of paint to make 3 wreaths and 2 mini trees but be advised that all gold spray paint is not created equal. It's especially important when spraypainting something like a garland, to use a brand like Montana Gold brand because it has a lot of actual metallic particles in the paint. Trust me, it makes all the difference. I used a hardware store band (that I normally like) first and formost the coverage wasn't great and the color actually looked a little brown.

I also decided to paint these two tiny trees. I used a few small white Christmas ornaments to round out the look. Funny story I wound up with these bad boys because of a holiday decorating video that I made for the Beekman 1802 holiday collection. If you feel like watching a video of me decorating a mantel, today is your lucky day! 

In the interest of keeping it simple this year, I'm limiting my tour to the dining room with one little peek at the kitchen. With the DIY, this post is already getting al little long. 

In here I truly keep it simple. The little red candle sticks and the magnolia leaves are about all I can deal with.  My friend and super talented photographer Manuel Rodriguez shot this. Fun fact, I got my first DSLR camera this week. I'm really enjoying shooting for myself but I've still got a few things to learn. 

Today's Tour:
The DIY Playbook   |   House Seven Design   |   Katie Gavigan   |  
Bliss At Home   |   Simple Stylings   |   Inspired By Charm

Be sure to visit all the homes on the BSHT 2016 Christmas Tour: 
White Buffalo Styling Co   |   Julie Blanner   |   Hi Sugarplum!   |   The House Of Silver Lining   |   The Inspired Room   |   Restless Arrow   |   Cuckoo4Design   |   A Designer at Home   |   Dimples and Tangles   |   Place Of My Taste   |   The Chronicles Of Home   |   Sarah M. Dorsey Designs   |   Style Your Senses   |   Cassie Bustamante   |   Jones Design Company   |   The Makerista   |   House Of Hipsters   |   The Curated House   |   Craftberry BushZevy Joy   |   withHEART   |   Nesting With Grace   |   Life On Virginia Street   |   My Fabuless Life

Problum Solving With Drapes & Plants

I've made and commissioned my fair share of drapes over the years. They never fail to bring a room together. Like a well-fitting piece of clothing, they can camouflage a number of blemishes. Always one to think outside the box, I've even been known to use drapes to create a canopy bed. 

Although this is a pretty traditional application, the impact of these ripple fold hemp beauties from The Shade Store is still transformative. If you've been following my One Room Challenge, you'll know that the room has one awkward window with a deep ledge at the front of the space. The first step in softening the look, was to install floor to ceiling drapes.  

Lucky for me, The Shade Store generously offed to help me out. I headed over to their showroom and to my delight, they stock the most amazing array of fabrics. I already knew more or less what I wanted when I went into the store, but the staff is super knowledgeable and helped point me in the right direction!

Photo by Manuel Rodriguez

I always like to try and turn a negative into a positive feature, so my plan is to add more plants to the window shelf. Giving the shelf a purpose definitely, helps the whole thing feel more intentional. It also gives the impression of a garden view out the window.  

Image via Gardenista 

I think a mix of easy to grow, low-light tolerant Philodendrons is the way to go. There are lots of different varieties so you can get a pretty mix of colors and shapes. If you don't have a green thumb or like me, don't want to have to water your plants all the time, these beauties are for you.

Here are some of my faves! 

One // Two // Three

The One Room Challenge // Week Six: The Reveal!

Today's the day! I can't believe we made it, but it's finally time for the big reveal of my One Room Challenge. In case you missed a post, you can get caught up here. The guest suite has come a super long way. Here's a little refresher; Our guest suite is located on the ground floor of our house in what I'm told is called an English basement. Although the ground floor spans the entire length of our house, the guest suite is located in the front part of the space with its own entrance and bathroom. Because we basically started from scratch, I arranged the space like a studio apartment with a sleeping area at one end and a central seating area. Ready to see how the newly named Highland Park Cottage guest rental turned out?

Looking a little different from where I started. Right? I used a lot of vintage in the space, how perfect is the Bucket of Oranges Print by Dawn Rabinowitz from Minted? It's hard to believe it's not a painting! 

So much demo happened before we even got to this place, but I can't believe this is even the same room. We hired someone to do the drywall, but the rest of this space was a total DIY. It's funny because when the space looked like this, I thought it seemed like a reasonable amount of work. Six weeks later, it's done, but I could have used twice as much time. There were some pretty long days along the way.  

The centerpiece of the space is this fireplace that I built out of Metrie's fir casing, and this genius wall-mounted fireplace from Bellacor. Although the guest suite has some heat, it will need a little extra in the winter months. The unit I selected has the option provides extra heat and has an option to have the flame on and the heat off, so I can make the space cozy even if I don't need the warmth. The unit was designed to hang on any wall so the install was as simple has haning a picture. I styled the fireplace with a few logs to give the electric unit a little reality. I know I'm not fooling anyone, but I still like the texture it adds. The black and white pouf from Joss and Main is perfect because it does double duty as extra seating. I added two huge rugs to cover the painted concrete floors from Karastan. They are the softest rugs I've ever felt. On top of that, I layered a vintage rug and a ide from Joss and Main. The fireplace is so cozy I can see guests relaxing on the floor, so the pouf and the hide make that zone extra inviting.

Pouf

Hide Rug

The walls are painted Ammonite and trim is Pointing, I used Drawing Room Blue for the doors and Pitch Black for an accent wall and in a few other spots.  The fireplace and the lower part of this wall are painted both Blue Gray. All paint is Farrow and Ball.

I worked a lot of vintage items that I had been saving into the space like the little round mirror above the bed and the two side tables. The Moroccan wedding blanket on the floor was a score for Chairish. To the right of the bed, I created a room divider using some leftover trim, paint and wallpaper applied to a pair of bi-fold closet doors. It's not a long-term solution but it helps divide the finished space from the unfinished space. 

The stone washed linen duvet and shames are from Pinecone Hill. They are so soft and give the bed a relaxed but finished look. I also seriously considered adding this linen quilt. The black and white throw pillows are from Arianna Belle.  

Click Gallery // Memory Foam // Sconce

I found the wool throw on top of the bed at Click Gallery  in the city. The mattress is so dreamy, it's a memory foam from All Modern and it's the best bed in the house. These killer wall sconces are from Lamps Plus and come with the brass cord cover, making them a great option if you can't hardwire a sconce in place. Another great thing about these sconces is that the on-off knob is a dimmer switch, making them perfect for beside the bed. 

I'll admit it now because it all worked out, but I actually thought I was ordering a different color way of this paper from Lee Jofa, but when it arrived, I decided to work with it. This is just one of about a 100 little things that didn't go exactly as planned. It's one thing to design something on paper and another thing totally to actually bring a room to life. Problem-solving is the name of the game. 

Another spot that required a lot of problem-solving was this area below our windows. The elegant curtains from The Shade Store help make this weird half window work. Because some less than pretty basement hardware is located below the windows, we also have a pretty deep "shelf" in front of the windows. I decided that it would be a great place for plants. I even hid a grow light on a timer in the bay to make sure the plants thrive. I wasn't sure how well this would work, but I've been testing it out for a few weeks, and things are going well. An added and completely unexpected bonus of the grow light is that it actually casts a very realistic daylight and makes the basement windows feel sunny and bright. In the coming weeks, I think I'll experiment with a more interesting arrangement of plants.

When it's time for bed, all you need to do is close the drapes. I've had this little table for a few years and finally gave it a coat of paint for the One Room Challenge. 

How about those super cozy club chairs? The fabric is super pretty (and durable) so I'm feeling good about the longevity of these in the space. Another thing I love about these chairs is that they're super wide. This means you can really lounge in them, they're practically little love seats. I made the pillows on this chair from an Ikat and black-and-white velvet that I had in my vast fabric collection. The little Moroccan side table from All Modern is so perfect here. You can move it around as needed. I felt like a coffee table would block the fireplace. My favorite arrangement is to put the table to the right side of the chair with my glass of water (or wine) and the pouf on the other side so I can sit with my feet up. 

Table

In the entryway area, I painted the wall black and hung two of my favorite vintage finds: a French hatrack and this pretty little landscape painting. 

I found these two framed prints on Minted Too many heads Print is by Gail Schechter & Out of Egypt is by Kelsey Clanton.  I love the colors and subject matter. To counter balance the framed prints, I hung a monoprint that I made a few years back. This adorable lamp is from Bellcore. I like that the head of the light can be positioned so the light can shine up or down. 

Beside the bathroom door, I a large print titled Going For a Swim print by Whitney Deal. I think the colors in the print work really well with the blue paint on the door. To hang the bathroom door I used this barn door track hardware, it ended up being such a simple way to incorporate the old door. 

I love how well the little Bellacore floor lamp works with the larger floor lamp on the right from Lamps Pluss! So you might be wondering what's happening with the bathroom. On Thursday of last week, I found a great little mirror for above the sink. I posted a pic of it on my Instagram story. However, I still haven't found the right light for above the mirror, so rather than use something I'm not crazy about, I decided to save the bathroom for a separate post. Hope you'll check back next week for the bathroom update! 

I've had a blast participating in the One Room Challenge, I can hardly believe its over but I'm ready to start renting out the Highland Park Cottage. If your planning a visit to the city you can check out our listing on Air BnB. Oh, and by the way, the guest suite is named after the gorgeous park just down the street from our house. 

Photos by Manuel Rodriguez

If you haven't been following along, you can see what this room looked like before check out the whole project. If you missed a week, get caught up!
 Week One // Week Two // Week Three // Week Four // Week Five

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE OTHER ORC UPDATES, AND THANKS SO MUCH TO LINDA FOR INCLUDING ME!  

Jana Bek | Chris Loves Julia | Shannon Claire | Coco.Kelley | The Curated House

Driven by Decor | The English Room | From the Right Bank | Sherry Hart

Hi Sugarplum | House of Jade | Hunted Interior | The Makerista | Making it Lovely

Marcus Design | Pencil & Paper Co. | Megan Pflug | Place of My Taste | Suburban B’s

Waiting on Martha  Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by CIH

My One Room Challenge Sponsors

Thank you to the following sponsors for generously providing product.

ATG / Chairish / Lee Jofa / Lamps Pluss / Annie Selke’s Pine Cone Hill  / Minted / 

Arianna Belle  / Farrow & Ball / Bellacor / Karastan / The Shade Store / Metrie

Joss and Main // All Modern

The One Room Challenge // Week Five: Lighting & Bathroom Update

I can't believe we are just one week away from the big reveal! It's crazy how fast the time has gone. As I promised last week, I'll be diving deeply into the lighting plan for the guest suite and sharing a few exciting progress shots. Because the main space is mostly finished, I'm going to bring you up to speed on the bathroom. Honestly, I wasn't sure I would get to it before next week, but I'm feeling ambitious, and I've got some exciting progress shots to share. BUT before we get into all the bathroom madness, let's talk lighting.  

1. // 2. // 3. // 4. // 5. // 6. 

So, lighting is important for any space, but I felt that it was especially tricky to figure out for the guest suite, given our combination of low ceilings and very little natural light. Although the space is small, I ended up using six different types of lights.

For the overhead lights, I used a super affordable ceramic socket. I ended up going with this option because I need a lot of them. Plus, the depth of the fixture is just deep enough to allow the light from the bulbs to extend below the exposed beams without creating shadows. I used 11 of them to give the space a nice, even light. I spent a long time figuring out what bulbs to use on the ceiling because they are so visible. I felt like Edison bulbs would be too yellow look plus not very cost or energy efficient. Another concern I have is that the lights are low and thus a little easier to knock into. There are a lot of LED Edison bulbs out there and I'm leaning in that direction. I'll let you know next week what I decide on next week. If you as confused about all the new light bulb options available you can check out this great lightbulb guide I found. 

With the overhead lighting needs more or less addressed, I moved on to finding a few key lamps and sconces to give the space a cozy, relaxing glow. Beside the bed, I used two wall-mounted sconces in order to preserve valuable bedside table space. In the seating area, I used two floor lamps that were similar in style but different in scale to light the middle of the room.  On a table by the window, I used a vintage ceramic lamp to mix up the textures and styles. Beyond doing an amazing job at creating a cozy glow, the lamps provide a nice sculptural element and lend the space a modern edge. 
 

Pouf // Hide Rug // Club Chair // Pillow

In case you were wondering, here's a refresher on the furniture in the seating area. The chairs create a strong symmetry so I felt a free to go a little asymmetry with the floor lighting. Rather than I coffee table that would block the view of the fireplace I used a small table and a leather pouf. I figure people can move them around as needed and I like the casual feel. 

Progress Updates: The Bathroom 

So, since I last shared images of the bathroom, I painted the ceiling and added a little trim using more of the True Craft Scene III 3 1/2 inch fir casing. The baseboards are simple 6-inch boards. My plan was to paint the lower half of the wall in Farrow & Ball Blue Gray but now I'm leaning towards black. What do you guys think?   the upper part of the wall is getting wallpapered with the same Crescent wallpaper I used behind the bed.  

I still need to figure out a mirror and a vanity light for over the sink. I really want a round mirror. I'm hoping I can find both this week. My plan is to hit up some of my go-to vintage spots... wish me luck!  

I'm thinking about customizing a shade for the ceiling fixture. As you can see, I'm testing out an option here. Not sure I'll get to that, but either way I promise that by next week I'll at least screw it into the ceiling. 

I found this soap holder a couple of years back, and I'm so happy to finally be able to install it! 

Aside from paint, I still need to make a curtain for the bathroom window. I know it might seem a bit funny, but the bathroom is small, and I thought adding this little window would bring in some much-needed natural light without compromising privacy. 

Okay, gang - that's all I've got for this week. Gotta get back to work... I guess this project is turning into the One & A Half Room Challenge, but I like it that way. Be sure to check back next week because the big reveal is coming! 

If you missed a week, get caught up!
 Week One // Week Two // Week Three // Week Four

Want to keep up with my project on Pinterest? You can follow my One Room Challenge Board here.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE OTHER ORC UPDATES, AND THANKS SO MUCH TO LINDA FOR INCLUDING ME!

FOLLOW ALONG WITH ALL ONE ROOM CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS!

Jana Bek | Chris Loves Julia | Shannon Claire | Coco.Kelley | The Curated House
Driven by Decor | The English Room | From the Right Bank | Sherry Hart
Hi Sugarplum | House of Jade | Hunted Interior | The Makerista | Making it Lovely
Marcus Design | Pencil & Paper Co. | Megan Pflug | Place of My Taste | Suburban B’s
Waiting on Martha  Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by CIH

 

The One Room Challenge // Week Four: Rugs, Drapes & Vintage Finds

Welcome back to week four of the One Room Challenge. If you missed a week, you should probably start from the beginning (Week One // Week Two // Week Three) because we've come a long way, baby! This week I'm happy to report that I finished painting and finally got my wallpaper hung! This paper was actually the first product to arrive for my ORC and it was a major act of self-control to not hang it right away! I love it so hard... But that's just one of the exciting developments this week. 

Pouf // Hide Rug // Vintage Rug // Karastan Rug

Rugs

So, as you know, the floors in our basement are concrete. We painted them a couple of weeks back, a decision I felt good about because I knew that I had two 10-ft by 12-ft Karastan rugs coming. They arrived last week and I was so excited to see them in the space. Mostly because I knew that they would cover up our sad floors. Don't get me the wrong, the paint was a huge improvement but the floor still needed something to make them feel finished, and let me tell you, did these rugs ever do the trick.

They fit nearly wall to wall in the space and totally camouflaged the imperfections in the floor underneath. Also, because this is a rental space, durability was key in picking a flooring. These rugs are made of a fiber called Smartstrand Sorona Silk, that means that they are SUPER stain resistant, sourced from a renewable polymer and the softest surface you have ever touched! Because the rugs were going to take up so much real estate, I wanted to choose a light color, and the smart strand technology really gave me the confidence to go for it. To keep the floor from getting too monotonous and to help define the space I'm layering a vintage rug (similar to this one) and a small hide rug. 

FYI it is National Karastan Month and the kind people over at Karastan are offering a Sweepstakes from now through November 3rd. They're giving away two product prizes: an 8x10 area rug and up to $1,000 off a SmartStrand Silk carpet. You can enter on our site using this link!  

Drapes & Shades

Even though this is a basement and the windows are small, I knew I wanted to use a floor-to-ceiling window treatment. I'm sure you've heard it 100 times, but using drapes to exaggerate the size of a window is a really simple way to upgrade small windows. In the case of our basement, the drapes also helped to soften the space and mask some to the utility boxes. 

Like the rugs, I knew that I wanted a light color for my drapes, so I paid a visit to The Shade Store. I didn't expect to have so many beautiful fabric options to choose from but I finally narrowed my selection to a nubby hemp fabric in an off-white color called Winter. The texture of the fabric adds interest without overwhelming the space. 

In the back part of the space I mounted a larger roller shade made from a grass-weave material in a Hemp color-way. This shade currently conceals an unfinished part of the basement, but eventually there will be another sleeping nook behind it. Once the rest of the space is done, this shade will be a perfect way to section off this second sleeping aria. Also, check out those painted moldings... the end is so close I can taste it : )

Vintage Finds

I've had these tables for about 2 years, I loved them the first I saw them but as you can see, they have some issues. The main problem is that the tops don't stay on very well. My mother-in-law (hey Conny) gave them to me for my birthday, but before she did, we had this conversation...

Conny: "Are you sure you want these?" "The underneath of the top looks like Donkey Dinner!!"
Me: "Totally, that's an easy fix!"  

What's wrong with me? I'm actually more attracted to "a project" than something in working order... 

My game plan for fixing these is to cut a solid piece of wood (i.e. not chip board) to mount the marble tops on. It should be fairly easy to drill new holes for the legs and then glue the whole thing back together. 

To fix the legs, I think I just need a little sandpaper and wood glue. I think these little ladies will make great bed-side tables! Wish me Luck!! 

ALSO, I don't actually know anything about these tables, they kinda look like folk art to me but when the top fell off I quickly noticed that the tops were from Italy. If any of you know something about these tables, please let me know, I'm super curious! 

Now that I've finally put aways the power tools, it's finally safe to unpack all my beautiful new furnishings! I'll be back next week with a deep dive into the lighting plan, an awesome new bed and a boat load of updates! Until then friends, I'll leave you with a little wallpaper time-lapse.  

If you missed  a week, get caught up!
 Week One // Week Two // Week Three

Want to keep up with my project on Pinterest? You can follow my One Room Challenge Board here.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE OTHER ORC UPDATES, AND THANKS SO MUCH TO LINDA FOR INCLUDING ME!  

FOLLOW ALONG WITH ALL ONE ROOM CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS!

Jana Bek | Chris Loves Julia | Shannon Claire | Coco.Kelley | The Curated House
Driven by Decor | The English Room | From the Right Bank | Sherry Hart
Hi Sugarplum | House of Jade | Hunted Interior | The Makerista | Making it Lovely
Marcus Design | Pencil & Paper Co. | Megan Pflug | Place of My Taste | Suburban B’s
Waiting on Martha  Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by CIH

The One Room Challenge // Week Three: Paint and Trim

Last week, I left you with the promise of paint on the walls, some fun wall treatments, and an exciting DIY fireplace mantel. I'm happy to report that it was a productive week! As you can see, I still have a little baseboard molding to install and paint touch ups, but this week it really felt like the room started coming together. Let's dive right into this week's progress. 

Here's an overall shot of the space. The power of paint is undeniable! It's the first change I consider making to any space because it's ability to transform a room is so dramatic. So let's take a moment to talk about the paint pallet for the guest suite. 

Blue Gray // Ammonite // Drawing Room Blue // Pitch Black

I'm using all Farrow and Ball paint for this space. I chose Blue Gray for the fireplace and the wall behind the bed, Ammonite for the walls, Pointing (not pictured) for the trim, Drawing Room Blue for the doors and Pitch Black for an accent wall and in a few other spots. 

Farrow and Ball Ammonite

I knew I wanted to paint the walls and most of the trim white because of the lack of natural light in the space. What I love about Ammonite is that the warm off-white has hints of gray, and looks more like the surface of a stone than a paint color. That might sound crazy, but I always look for a color that has some subtle complexity to it. A green that is just a little bit gray, or a pink that rides the line between gray and lavender, those are the colors that I love. Also, as a lover of dark colors, I always go to Farrow and Ball because even the boldest shades have a softness and depth that makes them easy to design with. 

Here I used Blue Gray on the lower half of the wall where I created a paneling effect that's going to do double duty as a headboard once the space is finished. I created the paneling detail using some really beautiful trim from Metrie's Ture Craft collection. To create the top edge of the molding, I used True Craft Sceen III 3 1/2 inch Furr casing. Along the bottom edge, I used this 9 1/4 inch fur baseboard. To create the raised verticalI details, I used thin one-inch pieces of wood. I attached everything using a nail gun and filled in the holes with a little wood filler. As you can see, I still have a little sanding and a second coat of paint to do. 

Sconces // Wallpaper // Bedding // Floor light // Art // Moroccan Wedding Blanket

Above the molding detail on that wall, I'll be hanging a Lee Jofa paper designed by Kelly Wearstler for Groundworks, called Cresent (ebony and gold).  To round out that corner of the room, I'm bringing in some light gray linen bedding, some nubby vintage textiles, and some great lighting. I'll talk more about those design details in a couple of weeks. 

But let's face it — the real star of the show is the fireplace mantle that I created using some more  True Craft Sceen III 3 1/2 inch Furn casing and a few pieces of flat stock. Before I go into more detail about how I created it, let me explain why I did it.

As I shared last week, the space was in dire need of architectural interest and charm. So in keeping with my rustic ceiling treatment, I figured a fireplace would go a long way towards giving the guest suite a rustic cozy feel. I'm no expert wood worker, so the fact that this turned out half as good as it did is a testament to the quality of the materials. I intentionally designed the mantel to have a super simple construction that only uses straight cuts. 

To start the mantel, I first taped out the profile on the wall. Next, I built a two-by-four frame, attached flat stock to the sides of the frame and then faced it with two pieces of fur casing put together. It creates a profile that is thicker on the outer edge and thinner in the center. In total, I used six pieces, two longer pieces to create the horizontal face of the mantel and four shorter pieces (two on each side) to create the vertical face of the mantel. 

To finish off the edges, I applied flat stock to the sides and top for a clean edge. To further sell the look and make it extra cozy, I incorporated a wall mounted electric fireplace. I built the fireplace with its dimensions in mind. To help camouflage the edges of the electric fireplace, I painted the inside of the mantel Farrow and Ball, Pitch Black, and the exterior in Farrow and Ball, Blue Gray. 

To finish off the floor around the mantel, I used a few leftover tiles from the bathroom floor project. This way my first attempt at tilling, and I have to say it was pretty easy!

My only observation is that the black grout is a little bit of a bear to clean up. 

With the mantle mostly wrapped up, I turned my attention to the bathroom door. 

This door had layers of paint caked on, so I suited up in "full hazmat" and used my heat gun to scrape off the paint. You really need to do this kinda thing with good ventilation and plenty of protection. It's messy and potentially dangerous if you don't take the right precautions. 

Once I removed the old paint, I was ready to apply a fresh coat of paint. I like to paint the edges of the panels first, and then paint the flat areas. I didn't invent this method, but it really does help the paint look flat and minimizes brush strokes. I also found that the Drawing Room Blue paint took a lot longer to dry than the other colors. I'm not sure if that was because of the gloss finish or because of the pigment, but it's definitely something to keep in mind. 

All and all, I'd say that the guest suite definitely turned a corner this week. On Saturday, we finished painting the floors and although I don't have a picture of them, the room is definitely starting to feel more finished. I feel good! Next week, I'll be talking rugs, drapes, and some fun vintage finds. Thanks for checking in! 

In case you missed  a week, get caught up!
 Week One // Week Two 

Want to keep up with my project on Pinterest? You can follow my One Room Challenge Board here.

Be sure to check out the other ORC updates, and thanks so much to Linda for including me!  

Jana Bek | Chris Loves Julia | Shannon Claire | Coco.Kelly | The Curated House

Driven by Décor | The English Room | From the Right Bank | Sherry Heart

Hi Sugarplum | House of Jade | Hunted Interior | The Makerista | Making it Lovely

Marcus Design | Pencil & Paper Co. | Megan Pflug | Place of My Taste | Suburban B’s

Waiting on Martha  Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by CIH

The One Room Challenge // Week Two: The Design Plan + the ceiling & the floor

Last week, I left you with a bunch of really unattractive "before" photos, so this week I want to give you a glimpse of where all this madness is going. As you probably recall from last week, our basement guest suite is an open concept space with one sleeping area and one seating area.

So, I already showed you how we ripped everything down to the studs and simplified the floor plan. Now, I want to fill you in on the significant progress we've made and talk about some tricky decisions I had to make about the floors and ceiling, and explain how I'm using rugs and chairs to divide up the open floor space. 

The Layout 

Here's what I'm up against. Because of a pending main floor bathroom remodel (read: gut job), we have to hold off on finishing the back half of the basement for a few months while we get that in order. The light gray area on the right side of the floor plan is the unfinished space.  

The back third of the basement is also where the kitchen for this suite will eventually go. That means that I need to figure out a way to provide guests with some amenities without putting in a whole kitchen. I'm thinking this adorable mini fridge and an electric espresso maker tucked under the stairs could do the trick for now. It's New York, after all — the takeout options are pretty much endless!

As far as the furniture plan goes, I'm using two large rugs to define the seating aria and the sleeping space. In the seating area, I opted for two oversized blue club chairs rather than a sofa. The space is long and narrow, so I thought a sofa would only accentuate the odd shape. These chairs are super comfortable and can be placed in a more harmonious arrangement, so I don't feel like skipping a sofa was a compromise at all. Another consideration was that the doors to the basement are kinda small, so finding pieces that actually fit through the door was key!

The Ceiling

I always think that embracing the challenges of a space can turn a hurdle into a major asset. In this case, I had to figure out how to turn the low ceilings into a "pro." The basement ceiling is only a mere 7-feet-tall, so I knew that I needed to find more space. To add a little extra headroom, we removed a drop ceiling and an original plaster ceiling, and gained about 5 inches more height. In the process, we exposed the original wood floor joists and luckily, they were beautiful, so I decided to make them a feature of the space. We hung the drywall between the joists (about halfway down the joist), leaving a little space to accommodate for insulation and some new electrical. I think the exposed beams give the room a feeling of history and turn the ceiling into a feature. 

The Floor

Another challenge I'm facing with this basement reno is the floor. It was covered with cracking linoleum tiles that we painstakingly pried off. Under the tile was a typical concrete basement floor. Eventually, we plan on installing a high-end laminate flooring, but that will have to wait until we are ready to tackle the back of the space. For now, the plan is to paint the floor and cover ninety percent of it with two big rugs. I'm using two 10-by-12-foot  Karastan Smart Stand rugs. This particular carpet has built-in stain and soil resistance that will never wear off, so I figured it was a natural choice for a basement Airbnb rental. I can't wait for the rugs to go down. I think they will really warm up the space! I chose a pretty natural color (Soft Natural) because I plan on layering smaller patterned rugs on top of the Karastan foundation for added warmth and texture. 

After we removed the tile we realized that the floor around the stairs and the front door was pitted and uneven and totally not ready for paint. To smooth things out, I add a layer of self-leveling concrete. 

Applying the floor-leveling-cement was actually pretty simple. You clean the floor, brush on the primer, mix the compound with water and pour it on the floor. The hardest part was figuring out how to keep it from flowing into a recessed area in our floor where some really important plumbing is located. See that box on the floor in the bottom left picture? That's my attempt at blocking the compound... it mostly worked.  

Week Two Updates

The drywall is up and ready for paint! I know this still looks crazy, but once the paint is on the wall things are gonna get good. 

The bathroom went from a shell to looking like a real bathroom. In case you are wondering, the sink is vintage and I used this subway tile. 

Next week, I hope to have the fireplace built, paint on the walls and floor, and some exciting molding details. Fingers crossed, guys. They don't call this the "One Room Challenge" for nothing!

In case you missed Week One, you can find it here.

Want to keep up with my project on Pinterest? You can follow my One Room Challenge Board here.

Be sure to check out the other ORC updates, and thanks so much to Linda for including me!  

Jana Bek | Chris Loves Julia | Shannon Claire | Coco.Kelly | The Curated House

Driven by Décor | The English Room | From the Right Bank | Sherry Heart

Hi Sugarplum | House of Jade | Hunted Interior | The Makerista | Making it Lovely

Marcus Design | Pencil & Paper Co. | Megan Pflug | Place of My Taste | Suburban B’s

Waiting on Martha  Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by CIH

The One Room Challenge // Week One: The Before Shots

I've been keeping a big secret, and by now I'm sure you guessed what it is — I am participating in Calling It Home's Fall 2016 One Room Challenge! This is my first time participating in the challenge, and I am SO excited to be in the company of such a talented group of designers and bloggers. The participants past and present are A-list all the way! Be sure to check out all of my fellow designers linked at the bottom of this post.  

Photo by Lesley Unruh

So, let's kick this six-week party off with a few introductions. If this is your first time stopping by, my name is Megan, and I'm on a one-woman mission to elevate DIY. In 2013, my husband and I became first-time homeowners, taking on the renovation of our 1901 row house in Brooklyn, and just this year, I started blogging all about it.   

photo by Maunuel Rodriguez

Over the course of the next six weeks, I'll be documenting the transformation of our 100+-year-old basement into a chic and functional guest suit/Airbnb rental. You can bet I'll be dishing up a lot of my trademark DIY's and a dramatic transformation. I hope you will follow along — it's already shaping up to be a wild ride.

After tackling the renovation of our kitchen and doing 90 percent of the work ourselves, we took a breather (kinda) before gearing up for the basement reno. Ready to see where this project started? Let's dig into the "before" pictures.    

Before:

EEK, it's not a pretty starting point. Before we could even think about paint colors or flooring options, we had to do a lot of demo.  The walls were covered with bad '80s fake wood paneling, the ceilings were covered in acoustic tiles, none of the walls were insulated, and the layout of the space was crazy.

So we stripped the space back to the studs, opened up the floor plan and basically started from scratch. The plan is to finish off the front two-thirds of the space, creating one large space with a bathroom, a seating area, and sleeping area — think studio apartment. The back third of the space will remain unfinished storage for now. Call me pathologically optimistic, but I've got a vision for this space and It actually has a few things going for it, like...

First of all, it has its own entrance — right under the stairs that lead up to the front door of the house — so guest can come and go easily, making the space essentially it's own apartment. It also has an exit to the garden that we totally transformed a couple of years back.

In the interest of leaving you on a positive note, here's a sneak peak at the significant transformation that's already happened in the basement. From demo to drywall, things are already looking up.  

Next week, I'll be back to fill you in on my design plan, and I promise the pictures will be way prettier. Want to keep up with my project on Pinterest? You can follow my One Room Challenge Board here . Until then, I’ll be sharing a few sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes stuff on Instagram  and IG stories, so follow along over there, too. The painting is well underway, and I can't wait to show you what I have planned, so be sure to check back in next week!

Follow along with all One Room Challenge participants!

Jana Bek | Chris Loves Julia | Shannon Claire | Coco.Kelley | The Curated House
Driven by Decor | The English Room | From the Right Bank | Sherry Hart
Hi Sugarplum | House of Jade | Hunted Interior | The Makerista | Making it Lovely
Marcus Design | Pencil & Paper Co. | Megan Pflug | Place of My Taste | Suburban B’s
Waiting on Martha  Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by CIH

#CameraReadyInteriors

As an Interior Designer and Blogger, documenting my work is super important, but photographing interiors is a tricky task! Creating a beautiful image is a highly technical and an intensely creative process. Even the most perfectly appointed space might not read well on camera.  For the sake of a good photo, furniture placement is often exaggerated. Drapes and pillows need to be finessed, and small props that look totally unnatural in real life need to be layered into a shot to give it depth and personality. Successful images tell a story and communicate a mood with light, shadow, and just the right composition and that takes way more work that you might think my friends!

That is why I'm thrilled to be with partnering with 22 other interior designers in what we are calling #CameraReadyInteriors, a group blogging event, the brainchild of the ultra talented Jana Beck, to celebrate the talented photographers that capture our designs so beautifully.

Today I’m highlighting the work of a few of photographers who's work often appears on my site; I hope you’ll check out their portfolios! 

Manu Rodriguez

Photo by Manuel Rodriguez

Manu and I first meet when we both worked for Martha Stewart and we reconnected while at One Kings Lane. He is the epitome of versatility and talent rolled into one.  In addition to shooting some of my favorite projects, Manu also shot and directed all of my how-to videos.  I was super uncomfortable on camera when we first started making them and his understanding of storytelling, and ability to give direction quickly put me at ease.  Manu has a keen eye and I can honestly say that in addition to being super fun to work with he has tough me the most about styling and composition. This projects also happens to be in Manu's bedroom, after years of working together I figured I owed it to him.  

To see more of Manu's work check out his website or find him on Instagram @manufotomanu

Lesley Unruh

Photo by Lesley Unruh

Lesley and I first started working together on my Weekend Decorator column and from the moment we met I knew I liked her. I was quickly excited to find out that her photos were beautiful. Shoots are hard work and sometimes it's challenging to keep the creative vibes going after a long day of shooting. Lesley is a true artist and brings that high standard to every shot! From the first shot to the last she's all about the details.  Whether she is meticulously reflecting light or suggesting a touch of whimsy, like the Foo Dog on the floor in this shot,  Lesly brings beauty to every shot with an easy going style. 

To see more of Lesley's work check out her website or find her on Instagram @allenunruh

Marili Forastieri 

Photo by Marili Forastieri

Marili and I have only worked together a couple of times, most recently on a shoot in upstate NY. It can be a little nerve-racking to work with someone new but Marili and I clicked right from the start. After a career in fashion, Marili transitioned to interiors and brings a sense of style and expert know-how to the table. The day we shot this space it was hot and the space was small, but you would never know that from the effortless look of the shots. I'm excited to work with Marili more! 

To see more of Marili's work check out her website or find her on Instagram @mariliphoto

Special thanks to Jana Beck for organizing this event! To see more #CameraReadyInteriors check out:

A Storied Style

Abby Manchesky Interiors

AE Design

Amanda Louise Interiors

Anna Matthews Interiors

Ash Street Interiors

Austin Bean Design Studio

Christine Dovey

Claire Brody Designs

Comfy Cozy Couture

Décor Happy

Design Manifest

House of Jade Interiors

Jana Bek Design

Lexi Westergard Design

Lisa Mende Design

Maddie Hughes Designs

Megan Pflug Designs

Michelle Adams of the Maryn Blog

MrsParanjape of Redo Home + Design

Design Indulgence by Sherry Hart

Sita Montgomery Interiors

Stephanie Kraus Designs

Studio McGee

48 hours in Hudson NY & A Vintage Rug DIY

Upstate New York, particularly the Hudson Vally have always felt like home to me. I can't exactly explain it but from the first time I visited, over a decade ago now, I had the strong feeling that, "I should live here"! I guess I'll chalk it up to my love-hate relationship with city life and the high density of gorgeous old homes in the Hudson Vally! While leaving the city for greener pastures is always at the back of my mind, I've got lots of work to do right here in Brooklyn on my own turn of the century fixer-upper! sigh...

So when my friend Anthony De Argenzio, of Zio and Sons & my buds over at One Kings Lane suggested we do a project in Hudson NY at Anthony's turn of the century home, I was super excited (read next best thing). We decided to tackle his entryway and settled on a project using a mix of vintage runners to create one long runner that added style and texture to the entryway stairs.  After some serious rug shopping I was ready to hit the road and head up to Hudson NY. 

I drove up to Anthon's house early on morning with a car full of rugs and my trusty staple gun and got to work! In case your were wondering the space didn't look like this when I arrived. So, let's back up and take a look at where we started...

Photo on left by Zio and Sons

Anthony's entryway had great bones but it lacked personality so our plan to add a variety of vintage runners seemed like the perfect solution.  Before we got started Anthony had the space painted, and that was a good thing because I had my work cut out for me with this project... It took a full day to install the runners and if our photo shoot had not been booked for the next day I would have done it over the corse of two days. Word to the wise if you're thinking about tackling a similar project.

Photo by Zio and Sons

I started attaching the runner at the bottom of the stairs and worked my way up, stapling as I went.  I used this staple gun with these staples and I would not have even attempted the project without it! For the nitty gritty on this project head over the One Kings Lane Styel Guide where I shared all nitty-gritty How-2 details. 

I used one pattern rug on the first 4 steeps and switched to another pattern for the strighaways. 

Photo by Zio and Sons

To finish off the look and add a consistent feel I installed Brass stair rods. House Of Antique Hardware has a huge selection of styles but we opted for the 3/8 inch ball tip rod.  

Photo by Zio and Sons

Because we used vintage rugs the widths of the rugs varied a little bit. To ensure that the stair rods fit perfectly I ordered them slightly longer than I needed. The end brackets are separate from the rods so they were a cinch to trim down using this small pipe cutter. Don't be intimidated if you have never used a pipe cutter before, it's a little clamp that you tighten around the rod and then twist to make your cuts... Seriously simple!   

The little hallway at the bottom of the stairs is the perfect place for this tiny table. I'm a big fan of dressing a space even when its small. On the floor, I added another runner in keeping with the look of the stairs. 

I might not have a house in Hudson (yet) but you better bet I'm gonna use every excuse to visit my project at the Zio and Sons HQ! 

All Photos by me unless otherwise noted!

Before & After // Painted Dining Room Floor

Remember when I said is was going to paint my dining room floor? Well, I did it....

In case you forgot what it looked like let me refresh your memory.  Now I know there are more that a few hardwood purest out there and I respect that but my rationale is solid, let me explain. 

Way back when we did our kitchen reno we went through the unpleasant process of refinishing the floors in the kitchen and I wasn't super happy with the results. So, there I was stuck with newly refinished kitchen floors that I didn't love and dingy dining room floors in desperate need of some love. Also, like a crazy genius, I decided to go with a dark stain in the kitchen and hallway so the rest of the unfinished floors didn't even come close to matching, so leaving things alone was not an option.

Photo by Lesley Unruh for One Kings Lane

Enter my best friend paint. People, I thrive under challenging circumstances, in fact, I think trouble-shooting in a real space is where real creativity and design happens.  I literally decided to white wash the issue with paint. In this image,  you can see that I haven't yet painted the kitchen floors. 

Photo by Lesley Unruh for One Kings Lane

I've always been super inspired by the painted floors that designers like Mary Mcdonald use.  I decided to give my dining room a little extra love with a fun pattern. If you want to know more about that check out this post. 

To get started I sanded the floors with 60 grit sand paper to remove the top layer of the finish and give the primer something to stick to. Next, I washed the floors with a mild detergent and water to remove the dust that was left behind by the sanding.  

Photo by Lesley Unruh for One Kings Lane

Once the floor was dry, I gave them 2 coats of primer. I used Zinsser primmer  because of its excellent adhesion properties and it drys pretty quickly. I ended up liking the white of the primer but if "Zinsser White" is not your thing now is the time to give your floor a coat of paint. 

Photo by Lesley Unruh for One Kings Lane

Next, I used a pencil and straight edge to lay out my pattern and started painting it in.  To finish off the pattern, I gave my floor a top coat of poly for extra protection.

Photo by Lesley Unruh for One Kings Lane

in case your curious I used Porch & Patio Floor Paint ( Behr Flintridge PFC-42, Storm PFC-64, Tar Black PFC-75, Pacific Fog PFC-62 in mat Finish) for a full list of supplies and a few pro tips on this project visit the One Kings Lane Style Blog  where I wrote about the processes in more detail.

Photo by Lesley Unruh for One Kings Lane

Photo by Lesley Unruh for One Kings Lane

Photo by Lesley Unruh for One Kings Lane

 

All photos by me unless otherwise credited.

Painting My Dining Room Floor // Cast Your Vote

I'm about to paint my dining room floors and I'm entertaining a few pattern/color options that I really need your help deciding on.  But before we get it to that let me give you a little context. My primary motivation for painting the dining room floor are that the adjoining floors in our kitchen and hallway they are finished with a dark almost black stain and it's not working for me. Here's what happened, We stripped off layers and layers of wood grain linoleum (annoyingly ironic). After weeks of hard labor (read: demo, sanding, and staining) I had the genius idea to stain our newly exposed wood floors super dark to help disguise the water stains that sanding didn't get rid of. My plan was to also finish the dining room in the same stain. 

Image from Co-Mingle Interior Design

 Fast forward a year.... Not sure if you have ever had a black floor BUUUUT they are not exactly low maintenance.  between our two cats and the fact that the hallway and kitchen get heavy use, the dark floor stain just isn't practical because it always looks dirty.  I guess I cold refinished the entire aria but it's messy and expensive and, to be honest, I'm still not sure I would like it. So I'm opting for a budget friendly and reasonably simple fix. Enter my best friend, paint!

So, Heres the game plan. I'm only painting a pattern in the dining room, the rest of the adjoining spaces will be solid white.  I think the pattern everywhere is potentially overwhelming. I like the idea of doing a modified over-sized tumbling block pattern like the image above but I need a lighter feel and a less contrasty interpretation for the dining room. Again, I'm trying not to overwhelm the small space that already has a lot going on.   I mocked up a few options. What pattern would you choose? Let me know what you think in the comments.  

OPTION 1

OPTION 2

OPTION 3

OPTION 4

I'm leaning towards option 1 or 4... What do you think?

A Brooklyn Rental Makeover

As a designer, a lot of my job involves making the most out of what my clients have, this is especially true for renters. It can be hard to find solutions that meet the needs of both the tenant and landlord not to mention, no one wants to sink a bunch of money into renovating a space they don't own. However, I'm a firm believer that making the most out of what you have doesn't mean compromising on style. So, when Brooke and Josh got in touch with me they were hoping I could help them find a few cool solutions for their rental bathroom. 

Like a lot of New Yorkers, Brook and Josh have a great apartment that they've been in for a long time with a lot of original details. Unfortunately, the apartment also includes a mish-mosh of old bathrooms fixtures and finishes.  Because there apartment is a rental we knew that we were not going to change the location of any of the plumbing or make any changes to the footprint of the bathroom.  

Tile

The most obvious issue was ALL the blue tile. We had dark blue tile on the floor and light blue tile on the walls. The light blue tile on the wall was in good shape and semi-original so we choose to treat them as a feature.  The dark blue tile on the floor is from the 80's and in fine shape but color and scale were all wrong so I decided to cover them up. I'll get to that later.

I understand this might be a controversial opinion but I kinda like the blue wall tiles.  Although I probably wouldn't pick them out for a new bathroom, pastel colors are totally having a moment.  I figured we could embrace the blue and make it feel intentional with some savvy design decisions in the rest of the space.  

Sink

After the tile, the outdated sink cabinet was our biggest issue.  The old plywood base cabinet had seen better days and it was way too deep for the already narrow space. So, I decided that it had to go. With the blessing of the landlord (because how on earth could you object) we decided to replace the old sink with an inventive vintage solution.   

I've always loved the idea of converting a vintage piece into a sink base. Most of the time when you see bathrooms with this treatment the vintage base is a dresser or something more complicated in shape. Because the wall tile gives the room a lot of personality, we opted for the clean lines of  a mid-century piece.  I choose to wall-mount the cabinet (as opposed to putting it on legs) because that gave us more flexibility with the height and helped give the tiny bathroom an open feel. 

With some very specific dimensions in mind, we set out to find the perfect narrow  base cabinet. After scouring many antique stores, Josh spotted this lovely wall mounted piece with sliding doors (key for space saving). I think it was originally for records, cool right? with the perfect cabinet in hand we set out to find the right sink. Lucky for us sinks come in almost every shape and size, so we found a simple white vessel sink that fit perfectly on top. I picked out this mat black faucet because its awesome, and adds an Eams-ish vibe to the finishes. Speaking of finishes, wood can be a tricky choice for a bathroom, we used oil based polyurethane to protect the top because it's super durable. I picked a satin finish because it's more in keeping with the original finish.   

Installing the cabinet involved having my plumber (Peter) drill a hole in the back for the pipes and reinforcing the inside of the cabinet with a 2 X 4. I specifically chose a vessel sink for this project because it sits on top of the countertop and only requires a small drain hole. Other types of sinks like under mount require a hole the size of the sink and that would have compromised the strength of the cabinet and taken up valuable storage underneath. 

Floor cloth

To cover up all that dark blue floor tile I created a floor cloth that fit the floor of the bathroom exactly. This was my first stab at making one in a custom shape, I think it turned out pretty well! The steps for making a floor cloth are really simple. First, you need a large heavyweight piece of canvas. Next, you prime the canvas, I used some white floor paint I had laying around a primer. Be advise that canvas will shrink when you prime it, so make sure your piece is at leas 12 inches bigger than it needs to be on each side. After the primer was dry I finished the edges. To do this I turned under the raw edge and secured it with carpet tape. Sewing super heavy canvas can be really hard so I love using carpet tape to finis the edges. With the edges of the floor cloth were finished I gridded out my pattern using a pencil and ruler and then painted in the shapes. I prefer to paint the edges by hand with a small brush (because I'm crazy like that) but you could also use painters tape to help with this portion. To protect the painted surface I gave the floor cloth a coat of poly water-based polyurethane. I also used the double sided carpet tape to hold the floor cloth in place on the bathroom floor. 

Storage

Before the bathroom had a tiny built-in medicine cabinet that didn't function well. We swapped the old one out in favor of this larger Ikea one. To make hanging this cabinet possible we removed the hinged mirrored door from the old cabinet and mounted the new cabinet right over the recessed portion of the old one.  Above the toilet, we mounted another one of Josh and Brooks thrifted scores. We painted it in a shade of blue to match the tile. 

 A special thanks to Josh, Brooke, and Ada for being awesome thrifters, great creative collaborators, and all around cool people. In fact, Brook writes a super cool blog so cruise over to This Is Authentic for more picks and to hear her side of the story. Also, Brooke shot the photos for this story. 

June Weekend Decorator // DIY Ribbon Molding

When my good friend and long time Weekend Decorator collaborator, Manuel bought a new apartment with his boyfriend last year I knew I had to get my hands on it. If you follow my work you'll know that Manuel photographs a lot of my projects so I was thrilled to be able to work a little DIY magic in his space. 

With beautiful high ceilings and huge windows the bedroom had a lot going for it. However, like a lot of new construction, the space was pretty minimal.   So my goal was to add a little old world detail.  With a coat of blue paint (Benjamin Moore Bespoke) and some black grosgrain ribbon, I brought some classical details to this Tribeca abode. Keep reading for more imaes and a dramatic before and after!  

Before the space was in need of a little style. The downside of high ceilings is that they can make your furniture feel squat and it's hard to figure out how to take advantage of all that vertical real estate. In additon, Manuel and Tobias were in need of a bedside table refresh and desperate for some "grown up" bedding!

To get started we gave the walls a fresh coat of paint. My kick ass assistant Ian taped off the edges and we got to work. By the way, I found Ian on Task Rabbit. I highly reccomend hiring a helper if you need to knock out a project fast! 

Next, we got to work creating the ribbon molding. Using the edges of the wall as a guide I marked out the positions of my moldings. I positioned the ribbons to framed the bed. This had the unexpected benefit of creating a faux headboard. We used nail head to hold the corners in place. Funny side note: I used a black Sharpie marker to color the nail heads black. 

We cut the ribbons extra long and left the greek key details for last. To create the greek key I used a template that I gridded out on graph paper.  If your Interesed in a Steep-by-steep how-2 for this project? check out the full post on the One Kings Lane Style blog here.

As someone who loves to change thigs around I love how simple this project is to create and how easy it would be to remove (although I can't imagine wanted to take them down). Even thought Manuel and Tobias plan on being in this apartment for a while ribbon moldings are a simple and low-commitment way to add charter to a wall. Attention renters, this one's for you.

Photo my Manuel Rodriguez

Here are my go-to supplies for this project:

Photo my Manuel Rodriguez

Photo my Manuel Rodriguez

Get the Look! 

All photos by Me, unless otherwise noted. 

Do you ware a watch? // My Summer Style Uniform

So I haven't worn a watch in YEARS! Mostly due to the fact that I just use my phone to check the time. When I did wear a watch, I was always partial to a men's wear inspired look... So when Jord Wood Watches offered to send me one of their timepieces I was stoked!  What's more men's wear chic than a watch?

My approach to style is all about finding a seasonal uniform and sticking with it. Needless to say, my new Frankie watch has quickly become one of my summer style go-to's.  Guy's this beauty is made out of wood crazy cool, right?

Summer fashion is all about unplugging and relaxing and I have to say checking my pretty new watch for the time sure beats looking at my phone and getting sucked into an email vortex. 

Watches Made From Wood

May Weekend Decorator Story Is Live

My May Column is up on the One Kings Lane Style Guide and I could not be more excited! When I met with my Editor there we all agreed that we were all totally ready for summer, so we landed on a garden related story.  Now, I do like to garden but I'm no master so, set I out to share a project that delivered big style without requiring a super green thumb or a lot of maintenance.    

Enter, Espalier, pronounced “es-pah-lee-er”, an old school method of growing plants against a wall in a 2-dimentinonal pattern.  The practice was developed in France as a way to increase the yield of fruit trees in small spaces.  I figured a small space solution good enough for the castles of  medieval France probably had something to offer modern day space-challenged gardeners.

It’s the perfect way to create vertical interests in a small space without blocking any light or taking up floor space. With a few simple tweaks, creating your own espalier a lot simpler than you think. It's all about choosing the right plants, a few eye hooks and some galvanized wire. Our yard is super shady so I choose a variegated Ivy.  Ivy can be a straight up bad choice if you are trying this look on a brick wall. I'm less worried about it here because the shade makes all my plants pretty slow growing so trimming things back if they get out of hand is pretty simple.  If you're interested in a really dramatic Before & After check out the story of my garden transformation Here or read the full story here! 

Our Brooklyn Backyard Makeover

I can't believe it's been over 2 years because when I look back at the early images of our back yard pre-renovation it's hard to image! The garden is by far my favourite place to be, but just a few months before this pick was taken it was a bare patch of dirt and the view was-well, let's just say it brought to mind the adage about good fences making good neighbors. Keep reading to see the steps I took to unlock the space's potential and transform it from unfortunate eyesore into a charming escape from city life. 

BEFORE

As you can see from this sad "before shot, the space was badly in need of definition, not to mention a way to hide the neighbors' visual clutter. 

Building The Fence

The perimeter fence was by far the most important addition we made to the garden, and it provides both privacy and a cozy feel.  We used pressure treated 4 by 4's to create the posts and 1 by 6 pressure treated boards for the horizontal slats. 

The fence project took 2 weekends to finish.  The first weekend was devoted to installing the posts and cleaning up some strange "truff"/ garbage left over from the previous owners. Our yard was actually covered in astroturf when we started, you can see a little bit of it under the fire pit in this image. Wow, was that stuff a pain to get rid of and also totally disgusting!  Once we got rid of that we dug holes and set the posts. We use Quikrete to cement them in place. This stuff sets up fast and really recommend using it, we found it by accident! The quick set up time gives you enough time to level the post but the mix is stiff enough to hold the post in place once its in the perfect spot. This is how things looked at the end of the first weekend... Still kinda bad but it's progress.  

The second weekend we got to work on the horizontal slats. We went with a horizontal plank design for its modern feel. We attached them using deck screws. The only tricky part of this was finding the high point in the yard. Even in a relatively flat yard you need to make sure that your start you bottom course of boards above the high point to ensure even rows. 

We trimmed the boards at the center of each post so to keep the look uniform. It got a little tricky installing the boards around the tree but we were able to make a few cuts and work it out.

To finish the look I painted the fence in Benjamin Moore’s Raccoon Fur mixed in an exterior grade paint. I found that thinning the paint with a little water made the application easier and thin coats are less prone to chipping. I'm sure there are

Lay the Groundwork

We knew we needed some sort of ground cover over the dirt and decided on pea gravel, which is available at all the big-box home-improvement stores. I like pea gravel in particular because the stones are small and easy to walk on. Each bag list how much square footage it covers, which makes it easy to make sure you buy the right amount. 

To keep the gravel out of the garden beds around the perimeter, I sunk two-by-fours that I painted the same color as the fence. This had the added benefit of creating a nicely defined seating area in the center of the yard. To separate the yard from the concrete slabs next to the house we laid these concrete paving stones. They are very versatile and pretty easy to work work, I had to cut a couple down using and anvil and a hamer, it was surprisingly easy.  

The Illusion of Space

Once the major consturcion was done I moved on to a few decorative projects. Indoors or out, I love a mirror! To create the illusion of more space and add a glam touch, I backed inexpensive trellis panels that I’d painted the same color as the fence with mirrored plexiglass and hung them along the fencing. To soften the look and make them feel more integrated into the space, I planted a passionflower vine in the flower bed directly below, and it’s already started to grow over the mirrors. To read the full step-by-step breakdown for this simple DIY, head over to Design*Sponge, where I blogged all about it.

Illuminate the Space

I added a strand of outdoor lights, it casts just the right amount of glow to make the evenings cozy. I first strung a galvanized wire from the back of the fence and secured it to a spot on the back of my house. The wire helps support the strand of lights and will keep it from sagging over time.

Outside the Flower Bed

I love using urns and pots in a small garden because they are so versatile. When we’re not entertaining I keep this guy on the gravel seating area for a little architectural interest. When I need to make more space I can move it out of the way. Urns are also a great way to fill in an empty spot in a flower bed.

Maximizing the Space

Because it would have been hard to squeeze a coffee table and a fire pit into the gravel seating area, I decided to just top off the fire pit with a small glass top I found at the flea market. It functions primarily as a casual dining spot during these hot summer months, but come fall we’ll definitely be storing away the glass and stoking up the fire.

Decorate & Enjoy!

Style is just as important outdoors as it is inside, and a dreamy hammock was a garden must for me. It’s really turned into the star of the space. To help hold it open and facilitate getting in, always a challenge with hammocks, I keep two outdoor pillows tucked inside at all times. If you need me this summer, you know where to find me.

Follow me on Instagram @meganpflug  and Snapchat @meganpflug for behind-the-scenes snaps.

Simple Rop Pulls For A Vintage Dresser

With the summer antiquing season upon us, I thought I'd share this fun project that might inspire you to take on a mini vintage rehab of your own.  I often find pieces that are missing hardware like knobs or latches. When I spotted this pretty dresser it had ZERO knobs and the holes for the hardware were in bad shape! Patching the holes and re-drilling them was off the table because that would require painting the dresser, the patina on the wood was too good.  I also knew that a shiny new knob would look silly... Enter rope pulls, keep reading for my steep by steep guid to createing rope pulls of your own.

At the Hardware Store

After you find your dresser your first stop should be the hardware store. When shopping for rope you’ll find that most stores have a variety of sizes, colors, and textures to choose from. I picked a 1/2-inch white nylon rope for this project because I like the fresh color and the slight sheen, but don’t be afraid to try a bolder color or texture.

What You’ll Need

• Rope (about 20 inches per handle)
• Spade bit the same width as your rope
• Painter’s or masking tape
• Ruler (not pictured)
• Scissors
• Drill (not pictured)

Prep Your Drawers

1. Remove the drawers from the chest, and unscrew the old hardware.

2. Using your spade bit, in each drawer enlarge the holes left by the original hardware until they are large enough to fit your rope through.

Tip: If the holes left by the hardware don’t fall in the right place, you can use wood putty to fill them in. Just keep in mind that the putty might not exactly match the existing finish and will require sanding, which might mar the finish or require painting to cover up.

Prep the Rope

3. Measure and cut a length of rope about 20 inches long. It’s a good idea to have plenty of extra rope so that you can tie your knots easily while leaving enough length to trim.

Tip: When working with your cut pieces of rope, wrap painter’s or masking tape around the ends to prevent fraying.

4. Thread the rope through the hole in the drawer, and tie a knot on each side about 4 inches apart.

5. Trim the ends to the desired length, leaving the interior tassels a bit shorter.

Finish the Knots

6. Gently fray the ends of the rope. Repeat the fraying process until all pulls are complete.

Tip: Because my rope was a little slick I used a dab of hot glue, tucked inside the knot, to keep my knot secure.

Revitalize the look of an old piece with a humble hardware-store staple. originally appeared in my Weekend Decorator Collmum on the One Kings Lane Style Blog

All Photos by MANU RODRIGUEZ