IT ALL STARTED WITH A FIREPLACE…

Behold....the living room. Once that luscious dark grasscloth and moody-muddy wainscoting went up in the dining room, it was hard to not look around and feel that the surrounding rooms were, well how do we put this, limp?

Our progressively (decoratively) bolder clients suggested wanting to paint the remaining spaces dark, like, really DARK. It is more often that I am the one suggesting really bold flourishes but in this case, the vision was caught! You are preaching to the choir here!

That ink-dark wall color, contrary to common "wisdom" did NOT suck all of the light out of the room. What it did was make all of that vibrant original art and neutral furniture pop!

What began with the fireplace ended up in the kitchen, laundry room, dining room, mud room, entry, powder room and living room. Upstairs may be next (yes please). And you know what didn't get done? The fireplace!! LOL. That "offensive" tile ended up with a coat of paint and it looks fantastic.

Kitchen Refresh

What does that even mean, you may be asking? It translates to: upgrading the room without a full blown remodel.

Continuing on the theme of this-room-was-fine-before, behold, the kitchen. Swipe all the way to see what this space used to be. An endless expanse of white cabinets, lighted glass display cabinets way up high (now, what to put in those!!), under-scaled (aka too small) island pendants, uninspiring gray quartz countertops, boring backsplash and lastly, a strangely configured layout leaving a large amount of wasted floor space.

Because this kitchen was entirely functional, well built and with cabinetry that is stylistically current, the decision to go about the upgrade with a light touch was a no brainer. There would be no need for a scorched earth approach.

The transformation is stunning! Can you tell what we did to get there? It's like a game of "Can you Spot the Differences"!

I'm going to go ahead and keep banging on this drum......Sometimes "re-doing" a room can be accomplished without a full blown remodel and with only a small handful of, admittedly, big-impact items.

Take this dynamic powder room re-do for example: Lights, mirror, wallpaper, hooks and DONE.

From blah to beautiful. Adding back in this homeowners beautiful art to our "neutral" space is the perfect finish:)

This dining room was "fine" before.
Please. Don't insult me.

In my family, "fine" is a supreme insult. If you say "you look fine", what we know you really mean is "you do NOT look fine but there are more important things to do here, it's not about you and most importantly we're running late. As teenagers, getting dressed was often fraught and overly emotional for my sister and me. Well, actually, only for me because Erika would just throw on Vans and sweatpants and a swipe of "Silver City Pink" frosted lipstick and she was good to go. My mother, ever the pragmatist, would attempt to diffuse the situation while simultaneously attempting to keep us on schedule by saying "You look fine". Ugh!! No, you did NOT just say that to me. This would inevitably lead to a huffy, sometimes tearful retreat to my burgundy floral and carousel horse wallpapered bedroom with border to discard my "fine" outfit onto the clothing pile growing ever taller on my unmade bed.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, it's just a little story to illustrate that sometimes "fine" simply doesn't cut it.

This dining room received the full makeover treatment from shimmery and subtle iridescent wallpaper on the ceiling, dark moody grasscloth with complementary dark painted wainscoting on the walls, custom draperies and of course, Dramatic with a capital D, accessories. Hanging the client's existing vibrant original artwork on top of those richly textured walls is the beautiful and personal final touch.

Who says a laundry room shouldn't be absolutely gorgeous? Is there an actual rule that specifies that you can't hang original art (in a big, fat gilded frame no less) over high-style patterned grasscloth under decorative (and useful) surface mount lights.......IN A LAUNDRY ROOM?!! Are we actually allowed to dress our laundry rooms in saturated colors and custom weathered *wood* cabinets, quartz countertops and gunmetal finger pull hardware? Do we have permission to ENJOY being in these *utilitarian* spaces in our homes? Um. Yes. Emphatically yes!

The hardest working spaces in our homes are often way down on the priority list as far as designing in the charm. Why stop at mere function when we can take those extra steps towards beauty, towards delight?

Laundry is never not going to be a part of our lives, but the drudgery of spending all of that time in an unappealing space while doing the necessary tasks of life does not have to be!

Here's to hundreds of loads of sweaty sports uniforms, gym clothes, pet blankets, linens and all of the rest of the regular old household wash.......in a space that makes you happy! Here's to laundry rooms we don't begrudge spending time in!

ALSO: this lovely laundry room is undeniably pretty but it also does the work it is designed to do by making thoughtful accommodations for ALL of the family members, human and animal.

Designing in a (hidden and private) space for kitty to do her business is a win for everyone.

Guess where I am??
Ok, I’ll tell you.....It’s a mud room!

Who knew that we were “allowed” to give so much attention to these little pass through spaces? I’m here to tell you emphatically, that you CAN and SHOULD devote as much love and attention to the spaces that work so hard in our houses.

As Delight Driven Design evangelists, we know that sometimes delight comes from the surprise of the unexpected. What is more unexpected than a gorgeous, oversized modern-organic chandelier, rich grasscloth, textured cabinetry and art......IN A MUD ROOM?