Goodbye 1970s...Basement REveal

Finally, it was time for the fun part of this basement REdo.  It was time for the decorating!  

We were ready to make this basement a family room.  

However, we all know this costs money, so my client lived with just freshly painted walls and new carpeting for over 6 months to be able to save up for furniture.  Her boys loved the open space to play for hours upon hours of shinny hockey with their friends!

Bean bags, a flat screen, a whole lot of empty carpet space to just PLAY!  (Perfection for two young boys!)

During the spending freeze, we did research on lots and lots and lots of sectionals.  We were looking for DURABLE, inexpensive, and cute.  No such luck.  We found tons of durable and cute...but none of them were inexpensive. 

And then SWAP and SELL came to my rescue...again.  (If you do not know what SWAP and SELL is, it is an online garage sale in the community that you live in that can be accessed through your FB feed...and it is pretty great if you are patient and a hustler, like I am.)

I found an Ethan Allen 3 piece sectional, less than 3 years old, barely used...originally paid $5000...but the seller was asking only $800 for it.  

Ummmm, YES please!

And the best part?  My client did not have to pay a dime.

Why?  Because she negotiated...and SWAPPED her incredible photography services for a family photo session for the sectional.

Boom...there's the HUSTLE that I love!

So, here is her "new" sectional in her new and beautiful FAMILY room.

Coffee table and side table also purchased for under $30 on Swap and Sell.

Crate and Barrel table and chairs are off Swap and Sell, as well. The table had just been freshly refinished...bonus.  

This table was a freebie off the curb...

A fresh coat of white paint spiffed it up to just blend in the space.

Pillows with texture were a must...thank you I O Metro.

This cute white cabinet was purchased at HomeGoods and helps to anchor and balance the left side of the fireplace underneath this small window.  It is a great focal point as you walk down the stairs.

Bright and cheery while feeling warm and cozy at the same time.  

We are thinking of changing the toe kicks of the stairs.

Maybe a stencil or wallpaper?

See how the pieces on either side of the fireplace balance each other out?

The boys are thrilled to still have space to play shinny hockey!

GOODBYE 1970s!

Powder Room Redo

So originally the powder room was not on the list of REdoing for this client, but I just couldn't help myself.  It needed a little zshuzshing in a bad way...and I knew I could do it on the cheap.

Before...

The only art in the in the small space was fairly outdated...and held no special meaning to the clients. 

So I picked up just a few things for the the powder room when I was shopping for the living room...

$24.99

$8.99 for each

Instant update for under $45!

 

I collected this mirror, star and gold letter S from my client's house and grouped them together on the wall across from the toilet.  Instant impact with interest!

All the art ties itself together and compliments each other well.

Again, a little zshuzshing goes a LOONNNNGGGG way!

Love where you sleep! A bedroom REdo....

A friend/client of mine recently moved into a new house...a blank slate...excitement and fear...a new beginning.

There is A LOT to REdo in this new space...but I keep reminding her that life is a marathon, NOT a sprint.  She is a "do-er"--as am I--so this is a hard motto to live by!

One of the spaces we decided she had to LOVE sooner than later was her new bedroom.  In a male dominated house, this is the only space that is truly her sanctuary, her girly space.

Here is a before photo of her master suite...awful brown walls and ceiling with black trim and doors...depressing!  The only girly thing about this room is the PINK tiled bathroom that is attached to her bedroom!  It is dated, but super cute in a retro way.

After a blink of an eye, she and her mom had the room transformed with just a few coats of paint in a soothing gray to the walls and a crisp white on the ceiling.  The two sets of non-working closet doors where pitched into the trash...and the wood floors were brought back to life with a quick refinishing!

Within a few months this is what her room has morphed into...looking amazing, but still not serene...a bit unfinished.

This window was one of the unfinished areas.  The sheers needed to be hemmed...the full length mirror needed to be, well, more full length and substantial, and the scale needed to be hidden...forever.

Looking better with the sheers hemmed, but the room still felt off balance.  It felt too heavy on the right side and needed more balance...

We decided to move the dresser from the right side of the room to the left and centered it under the problematic window area.  Bingo!  

Balance...and chaos on top of the dresser.

A little organization goes a long way...top of the dresser is clear and clean and peaceful.

Hunting for a better full length mirror was easy...HomeGoods to the rescue again!

Serene.

Balanced.

Peaceful...a place to call home.

Next up?  Her hall closet...serenity now!!!

A little Halloween Zshuzshing goes a LONG way!

Every year my friend, Sheri, and I decorate my urns on my front porch for the upcoming FALL holidays...it is always so much more fun to decorate with someone else.  Sheri has a GREAT eye for detail, and I just love to see what she comes up with from year to year.

With the cold nights upon us, I knew that it was time to retire my ferns...

So...Sheri and I went to the Kirkwood Farmer's Market and bought a basket full of pumpkins, gourds, sticks, and a bag of kettle corn for sustenance.  I already had the white birch hurricanes, the white birch wrapped mini candles, the corn, some berries from Sheri's yard, and the black glittery twigs from the previous years.

To get our creative juices flowing, we paired our kettle corn with some delicious pinot noir and got to work.  Here is what we...or Sheri...came up with!  

Gorgeousness.

The next day, my daughter, inspired from the urn decorating, wanted to contribute to the Halloween fun and decided she wanted to carve a few of our pumpkins.  I knew it was going to be messy...and I wasn't really up for all the goo.  So instead, I suggested we GLITTER them!  She perked right up at the word GLITTER and went to the computer to get just the right font for our pumpkins to spell out B-O-O!  I know...so original...but it was simple and to the point.  Sometimes that is all you need.  

Simplicity.

...or in this case, GLITTERY simplicity.

A few more zshuzshing accessories were added to the seating area.  The chevron rug was a gift from my brother for my birthday purchased from Ballard Designs.  The rockers got some Halloween inspired pillows from Target and the (oh so soft) throw blankets came from Home Goods.  The giant pumpkin head was purchased from Home Goods years ago...it is so cute at night when the candles inside are lit.  Not really spooky at all, but that is just fine with me.

This year's zshuzshing addition were these super cute spider webs I scored at Red Lead in downtown Webster.  They are very light in weight, so I knew they would be perfect to suspend from the porch ceiling.  With a little bit of creative thinking and some time teetering on a ladder, this is what I came up with...

I found these little googly eyed spiders in the dollar bin at Target!

Voila!  Lots of impact without spending a lot of money!

 Up next?

A little Halloween ZSHUZSH for the inside of my home!