Monday, November 19, 2012

Dream Kitchen Transformation

Our Kitchen Transformation on A Budget

We all have our "Honey can you..." lists for our homes and a collection of inspiration pictures for changes we would like to make.  One of my dreams has been for a long time is to update my kitchen and paint, yes paint, our kitchen cabinets. 


Here is what my kitchen looked like before...






My kitchen was dark most of the day, because the kitchen only get's sun in the morning. We had updated the counters to granite and added stainless appliances a few years ago. The kitchen still seemed dark and a little dated. It took many months to convince my woodworker husband to paint the cabinets.


Much of my inspiration came from http://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional/kitchen.  If you have not checked out their site yet I highly recommend it!




Below are the results of our transformation on a budget!













Here is what we did:

  • My husband added on to existing cabinets to fill in the gap between the tops and the ceiling.
  • Added frosted glass door with lights behind them for a nice accent (plexiglass substitute $7.00 for a full sheet).
  • Added crown molding throughout the room and replaced all moldings to be taller.
  • Painted the cabinets and moldings the same Sherwin Williams Bright White.
  • Painted the walls Sherwin William Irish Cream.
  • Painted the island a chocolate brown.
  • Update lighting in the kitchen and added a drum shade over the table.(image not shown)
We are so happy with the results!  

I hope this gives you some inspiration to change one of your spaces today!

                                 
http://www.shabbynest.blogspot.com/

Friday, August 31, 2012

To Stage or Not To Stage

Vacant homes....let us think about those words for a moment.  The word vacant means empty, void, blank.  If you are a buyer looking on line for homes you want to go see, is a vacant home something that may appeal to you? NO, the home that will appeal to you is something that has style, it grabs your attention through its features and details it has and how it is presented to you.

Staging a vacant home can not only grab the buyers attention, but will sell the home faster. 

Here are a few before and after photos of a recent vacant staging we did in Hampton, NH.
http://aarealestatepartners.com/













As you can see by adding furniture and some accessories to a vacant home it helps to add style and warmth to the space.  This helps the buyer to visualize living in the home, helps them fall in love with different features that by staging has brought to their attention. 

This is a wonderful cape style home for sale in Hampton, NH about 3 miles from Hampton Beach.  It has an open floor plan with a spacious kitchen that has a corner gas fireplace for cozy family dinners.

  
                                                                   








Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Olioboard Heaven

Have you used Olioboards yet?  Well what are you waiting for!  If you are a Interior Decorator, Redesigner, Home Stager or just someone who loves decorating their home or their friends and family's spaces then http://www.olioboards.com/  is the place for you! 

What are Olioboards you ask? Great question...

Olioboards are mood boards that you can create on their website for free.  Yep you heard it right, for free!  It is perfect for Designers who put proposals together for clients or anyone who loves interior decorating. Once you create an account you then create a profile for yourself or your company.  They also have community boards where you can see what others are creating and you can follow your favorites. 

Click create Olioboard and that is when the fun begins! The boards are created by dragging and dropping your selections on to your Olioboard. You can upload your own photos of furniture, rugs and accessories if you want or choose from the large library of items they have available. The accessories, lighting, furniture, rugs and much more also have links to the store where the item is sold.  I usually begin with what space I'm working with for example let's say a dining room, I find my 3D set for my background and start finding my furniture and accessories.  Here is an example of a dining room Olioboard I did..

                               Fun and Eclectic Dining

Here are a few more I've done for clients, fun or Olioboard contests they run.

                                 Wayfair Relaxed Living

                                Natalie's livingroom #2

This one was for a contest for a nursery, isn't it cute!  It almost makes me wish I had a baby again...

                                   Sugar and Spice

                                    Living Room Ideas

So if you haven't tried Olioboards yet give it a try and have fun decorating!




Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Ideas For My Living Room

So, I just finished a vacant staging for a beautiful home in Bedford, NH.  I'm very happy with the results of the staging, here are how a few of the rooms turned out.






 I used three of my tables that were in my living room for the vacant home's family room. I painted them black with the intention of giving my living room a redesign.  So now my wheels are turning to get some inspiration for my living room.



Here are some inspiration ideas from images from BHG, http://bit.ly/K5tE1B, and an Olioboard I created with some items from West Elm.




I really love the use of geometric patterns in rugs, pillows and curtains. I think using traditional timeless lines in your furniture and adding color with your accessories, throw pillows, rug and curtains.  So if you need a change, this gives you an affordable way to update your room without spending money you don't have.


I hope my next post will be my completed redesigned living room...


Friday, March 9, 2012

My New Tufted Headboard

I can't begin to tell you how long I've wanted a tufted fabric headboard.  My day has come!  My husband surprised me for Christmas with a king mattress.  Since, we had a queen that meant we needed a new headboard.   We practiced making a fabric headboard for my daughter Amanda's room first.  See how nice that turned out!



Now it was time to attempt to make our tufted one.  Making a tufted headboard is a team effort, thanks honey!




There is measuring, drilling and figuring out where you want your buttons to go and how many.  To help us with that decision I found some inspiration headboards for examples to go by.



 We cut the MDF to size, drilled the holes where the buttons will go, attached the 2" foam and cut slots in it with a diamond pattern, stapled on the doubled-up batting and poked holes through the whole thing.  


 


Once the hard part was done we moved on to covering our buttons. Not hard once we got the hang of it.We needed 34 buttons for our tufted headboard.


                             




  So we were ready to begin.  We had our MDF board, 2" foam, batting doubled, fabric and buttons, let the tufting commence! We started in the middle and worked our way out. We threaded the buttons and stapled them on the back.  Seeing the headboard come together really motivated us to keep going to see the finished product.








I'm very happy with the way it turned out!  Now, I want to redo the room and paint the walls.  Oh, but that's another blog.

                                                                         
                                                                         

Friday, February 17, 2012

To Paint or Not To Paint

In redesign or staging the decision to paint paneled walls is easy!  In my opinion, it gives a room an instant update.  We all know buyers look online first before viewing a property.  A great way to appeal to buyers is giving them updated spaces to see.   Paint can do wonders!  It can lighten a dark room, give a space a cleaner feel and most of all can bring an 80's room up to 2012! 




The ultimate goal is to get buyers to your listings through great pictures.  Working with a Home Stager can do just that!  They will advise and work with your client to help the product show better in photos and for showings.




Here is a redesign of painted paneling, see what a difference it made in this room!




Don't you feel like painting some paneling now??  
                                              
                                                                    

Thursday, February 16, 2012

I'm In Love With Fabric Headboards!

Something I've always wanted to do was make a fabric headboard!   They give a space sophistication and romance.  There are so many styles to choose from, really limitless.


Here are some of my inspiration pictures from Better Homes and Garden:

















 And best of all you don't have to know how to sew,great for me since I don't.  ( of course that is another thing I'd love to learn how to do)

I plan on making two headboards for my house, one for my new king bed and one for my youngest daughter's room.  I thought it would be a good idea to practice with my daughter's first.  A big THANK YOU to my husband for helping with all the woodworking tasks!


  • First thing we did was measure her mattress, hers is a queen.  Some instructions say add inches beyond the mattress and we tried that, it didn't look good.  So do whatever you think looks best for YOU.
  • Got MDF board and cut according to the measurements.
  • Bought 2" foam
  • Bought batting to wrap over the foam.
  • Bought a good staple gun. 
  • Spray adhesive, which really didn't help the foam stick to the MDF board.
  • Fabric, allowing an extra 6 inches around to staple on the back of the MDF board.
Here is what the steps looked like:












Our headboards are going to be mounted to the wall.

Here is the finished product for my daughter's room.  First you should know that she is 19 years old and has always loved animal prints.  I think she would love the whole room in them. I thought it would be a nice jumping off point to start with the headboard.  Another thing I need to mention is this is only the beginning for her redesign.  We are picking a new comforter, art and new pillows.  Stay tuned for future blogs for this room...










On the king headboard I'm going to attempt tufting, I'll let you know how that goes in another blog.  Wish me luck!