Kitchen + Living Room Makeover Reveal!

I finally get to reveal the amazing transformation of this Kitchen + Family Room.  After months and months of kitchen renovations, painting, shopping, decorating, this space is finally complete!  We started with a "builder basic" home and I transformed it into a unique, one-of-a-kind space with gray, navy blue, and lots of added color throughout space. 

Let's go back a bit......and reminisce quickly about how this space used to look! 

 

After just moving into this home, the decorating was minimal.  They needed help with adding more color to all of the tan walls, adding interest to the space with artwork and pictures on the walls, adding some softness to the space and color with new window treatments, and more storage for the little ones.  My goal was to give this young, vibrant, fun family a new space that really reflected their personality more. 

A good tip, when wanting to redecorate, take pictures of the room at different angles.  You can get a better visualization of the space -- walls that need pictures, what to paint, and options for furniture arrangements.  
 

We started with a Design Scheme for the space.....and built the room around that!

No matter what your decorating budget is, you can do a lot in a space if you know which items to spend more money on and which items to save on.  This way you really get the most bang for your buck!

Family Room Reveal! 

 

One of our biggest challenges in the Family Room was the fireplace wall.  You can see in the before pictures that there was this huge awkward niche in the wall above the fireplace.  The homeowners were stumped!  They had no idea what to do with it.  And neither did I at first!  Do we decorate inside of it?  Do we accent it and paint it a contrasting color?  I decided to just cover it up!!  No amount of accessorizing inside the niche would ever make it look better.  So I bought a piece of artwork from Art.com on a canvas that was just big enough to cover the hole and finally make the fireplace the focal point again! The artwork alone was not enough.  So I added a simple orchid for some layering.  But anything more would just make the small mantle feel crowded.

Big Transformations in the Family Room:

--> making the fireplace a focal wall with bold stripes <--

--> hiding the awkward niche above the fireplace <--

--> added bookcases for extra storage <--

This kitchen makeover might be one of the biggest transformations ever.  It is such a dramatic before and after from what they started with, to what they have now.  And there really weren't any major renovations, besides incorporating granite counter tops.   It just goes to show, how some little changes, can make a huge impact!

Big Transformations in the Kitchen:

--> painted the kitchen cabinets white <--
--> island cabinet painted black <--

--> added crown molding to top of wall cabinets <--

--> new granite replaced the old laminate counter tops <--

--> added hardware to the cabinet doors <--

Kitchen Makeover Reveal! 

Every new client is a new friend for life for me!  This family was awesome to work with.  And I can't wait to do more projects together in the future!! Overall, I took a basic home and just added more style and personality into the home.  Paint -- the easiest thing you can do to change a space, made a huge impact in this makeover with the gray walls throughout the first floor and the light and dark gray striped wall.  Other than that, it was just about bringing in a few bold accessories to really add drama to the room to get the biggest bang for their buck -- curtains, colorful pillows and fabrics, large gallery wall, big pieces of artwork! 

Next week I will have more information about details of their space -- gallery wall, DIY Chalkboard, tips on decorating above kitchen cabinets, tips on decorating bookshelves...........

Navy + Gray Kitchen/Living Room Client Design Update

Whew!  That's one long title.....but I need to keep all my project titles straight...for you and for me!

I have made some progress on fabric choices for this client design!!  Fabric is my FAVORITE part of any design!!!  Usually I will start any design for a space with a textile.  It can be a great start for a color palette, paint colors, or an overall style and feel for the space. 

These are some of the fabric choices shown with the paint swatches.  We haven't decided on anything specific, I just know these are the ones I like.

These are also some choices for custom curtain panels we plan on getting made.  These are all from Fabric.com and I would definitely recommend ordering a sample of the fabric before ordering a large amount of fabric.  The samples are just $1.75 and sometimes they have coupons or free shipping over $35.  But it is worth the money to look at the weight of the fabric and to be sure the colors are true to what they look like on their website.

If you remember, from this post, the Kitchen + Living Room Color Palette is Gray and Navy Blue with hints of Black, White, Green, Yellow, and Turquoise.

I found the perfect fabric for custom curtains in the living room and the kitchen sliding glass doors.  The plan was to get two sets made for each of these windows.  I felt like the project was moving along great, fabric was getting ordered, and we were making progress!  Until the project was DERAILED! 

This fabric I chose for the curtain panel, that both my client and I fell in love with, had been DISCONTINUED!  The Dear Stella Ikebana Traditional Ikat in Green originally found on fabric.com was the perfect blend of green, white, navy blue, and gray.  I couldn't find this fabric anywhere now, just as we were to order it!  I looked online, I looked at local stores, I looked for similar fabrics....NOTHING!  So, I guess it just wasn't meant to be!  Back to looking at fabrics. 

Then, I came across this Kalah fabric in Blue at Calico Corners.  And I thought, hmmmm, I really like this, maybe even better than original.

So, when I did a little research on this fabric, I found it to be quite popular across the blog world and on Pinterest.  I had even pinned it a few times without remembering. 

via Honey & Fitz from Better Homes and Garden

via 6th Street Design School

via Better Homes and Garden

YES!  Now I really love these curtains.  The plan was to order the fabric from Calico Corners and still proceed to getting the custom curtain panels made.  Well, that was until I came across these on Overstock.com.

 

The same exact fabric as Calico fabric and the exact same size as the custom curtains we were planning on getting made, for much cheaper!!!  When designing a space on a budget, it is worth the time to shop around, shop the internet, and search for coupons.   I know it is very time consuming, but it can save a lot of money.  Hiring an Interior Designer can actually help you save money.  I know all of the hot spots to look for materials, and possibly some you may not know.  But most of all, I am the one doing all of the time consuming research, running around, finding the materials that people just don't have time to do these days!

I ordered the pre-made curtains and they look amazing!  Anytime you order something online, it is a bit of a gamble.  You can only hope the quality is going to be of your expectations.  But check their return policy and most items can be returned.  They were perfect!!  Great quality, well made, and great bold colors!  I can't wait to see them hung in my client's home. 

On another note, here is the original plan for bookcases on either side of the television.  I also plan to do a gallery wall above the television. 

And these are the bookcases ordered and fingers-crossed, should be arriving today! 

Again, budget friendly.  The Oxford Bookcase from Home Decorators Collection will be great for some added storage and displaying some decorative items, as well as hiding some cords from the tv.

There have been BIG changes in the Kitchen too.  If you missed that, you can see the progress of the Kitchen here! 

Tomorrow I am heading to IKEA to do some shopping for this client!!  Ikea trip!!  Woohoo!  I need to start a list!