St. Marys Master Bath

We did it! We finally finished the master bath in our home on St. Marys Ct! Our project took a lot longer than expected (I should have expected this...), we were without a master bath & closet for about 6 months! But, we finished it and love it! Take a look at the before photos. Before....Ugly cabinets, ugly floors, ugly wallpaper

(a "good try" goes to my husband in his bachelor days.)

Ummmm, needs work....

and what is up with that mirror over the tub?

And the shower.....ewwww! I wanted a shower more like this......

But first, demolition! My husband and his dad did most of the work, although we hired out the labor to build the shower and make sure it was done right (no leaks please and thank you).

Here are the demolition photos....

What lovely layers and layers and layers......of wallpaper we found.....we ended up taking out all the walls and re-drywalled the entire room (FYI, this is MESSY!). Its hard to tell from the before photos, but our closet was tiny...so we took a wall out, deleted the shower, and put the new shower in the tub location......and now my closet is big! (see after photos). By the way, To my father-in-law, this one's for you....Nice knee pads.... We decided to keep the vanity cabinet, but it needed some work. So we relocated it to the garage where I refinished it myself (see after photos).

Our closet was also relocated....to the middle of our bedroom. It was made by using 2x4's, pvc piping, rope, and a lotta love...(so glad to get rid of this contraption)...

So , after all that, 6 months later, here it is.... Finished product.....well almost, close enough..... We are installing a stained frame around the mirror. And we'll put in crown molding as well.....

Same cabinet, better color (Minwax mixture of Dark Walnut & Red Mahogany)..... The walls are a calm grey/blue.

Diagonal floor tile inlaid with brown glass mosaics....

Glass mosaics in a row on the shower walls....just like I imagined & designed.....2 tile shelves for shampoos & a bench....I have a bench in my shower!

I highly recommend a handshower in addition to your main shower head....this shower is a breeze to clean!

Look, now my closet is .....IN my closet.....and its sooooooo big!

The colors (brown & grey/blue) were chosen in the bathroom....

1) because they are neutral tones perfect for re-sale.....

and 2) because they compliment our master bedroom.....

Next project....the powder room....or the upstairs guest room, or my office.....the kitchen, too......it never ends!

the Fowler's Family room

Over the summer, I've had a few "design irons" in the fire. One fire put out that I can now share with you is the Fowler's Family Room. They wanted a make-over and I was glad to help. The above photo shows the plan I laid out...

Updated finishes, fabrics, and colors. New window treatments, new lighting, new furniture, and a new cozy feel.

Here are a few before photos.

Notice the outdated fan & light....

& the TV is way too large for its cabinet....

a boring builder beige wall color...

& mixmatched furniture (and the sofa was too long).....

& uh, we need something here...too much clutter in this nook.... So I put the plan to work and I'm happy to say my clients loved the outcome!

I used a larger console, at a much better scale for the TV, with a rich dark wood tone. The back wall was painted a gray-green to punch up the character in the room. I accented with the gray-green again in the window panels to pull everything together.

Remember the red leather sofa & recliner? They were switched out with an updated rich brown leather recliner & a cozy linen sofa.

The homeowners have great taste in art and were able to pick up the leafy prints on their cruise this summer...

A brown stripe in the window treatments helped tie in the new brown leather in the room for a more cohesive design...A new linen sofa fit the space better. And new throw pillows accented in brown, again, tie it all together... I love the small faceted mirrored table from West Elm. Its perfect for a small area, but still gives you a surface for drinks while relaxing. I wasn't sure Mrs. Fowler would go for it, but said she especially loved the table once installed! Success!

And remember the cluttered desk and brass shelving in the akward nook? I sketched the design for built-in shelving so that it looks as if it were always there. The wood was painted white to match the room's existing trim, and we used the same gray-green color on the back wall of the unit. The space now has a much cleaner look. An overall photo.... Hope to share more summer projects soon!

Craft Room Inspiration...

I've had ideas floating around in my head for a while now on how I want to design my craft/scrap room. These are my inspiration boards to help me stay on track.....

I'm thinking bright blue color on the walls: like Benjamin Moore's Electric Blue.... I'm thinking red acents in the bold modern floral fabrics.... And fun funky storage ideas for all the stuff.... I'll let you know how it turns out....

Carrie Bradshaw's new digs....

Did anyone see Sex and the City, the movie, last year? I've seen it, well, lets just say a few times.......

After Mr. Big couldn't bring himselft to show up to the New York Public Library to marry Carrie (boo hoo), the roller-coaster of love couple broke up yet again! Carrie took her Mexican honeymoon with the girls, slowly came out of her Mexi-coma, returned to NY, hired Louise from St. Louis as an assistant, and then.....made over her NYC apartment....

And it was good! Very good!

What I LOVE, is

1. the blue walls.....I read an article saying the designer always mixes his own paint colors, but this color is close to Benjamin Moore's "Electric Blue." Its very peacock blue-ish...

2. the unexpected purple rug - there is nothing else purple in the room, but it definately works!

3. the large floral pattern fabric on the new grown-up loveseats.

4. the "LOVE TOO" artwork now hung in her foyer....after some research, I found out that this is actually a rug for your wall. It comes from The Rug Company in the UK. http://www.therugcompany.info/wallhangings/paul-smith/love-too.htm 5. and the very sexy mirrored vanity.... Can you believe the before shots? Much improved! And I can't wait for the movie sequel for more ideas! And check out Hooked On House's Blog party at www.hookedonhouses.net for more things that make people happy!

Dining Room Re-design

My husband and I recently re-designed our Dining room....and this is how it all went down....

BEFORE...(as in before I moved in).... Yellow walls...ceiling fan...low chair rail with red wallpaper below.... BUT, loads of potential! The table and chairs were given to us by my mom, who inhereted them from her mother, so they have some special meaning to them for me, and they are classic, they just needed some re-vamping... The chairs were originally covered in a green fabric....

The window blinds would stay, they just needed something more to dress them up for a formal dining room....

This is my husband...posing...for...something....

And my husband working on the room....he did work very hard! We took down the original chair rail and put up beadboard wainscotting, finished it off with a new chair rail and base boards, then painted it all white.

Then we painted above the chair rail a deep dark chocolate brown and finished the ceiling with crown molding and corner blocks.

We also replaced the ceiling fan with a bronze chandelier.

Finally, I recovered the chairs with a taupe fabric. Hung new window panels made from a sheer floral patterned fabric. Added a buffet. And accessorized....

AFTER ....

Go to Between Nap's blog at http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ to see more metamorphosis monday posts.