attic renovation

Can't believe the summer is half over

...crazy entertaining three kids, 

working design jobs,

keeping up with housework,

 and have a big project 

in my own home to share

...an attic renovation.

This space was a huge selling 

point when my husband and 

I bought our home...

really excited to be 

doing something with this space!

Would have loved to keep it a 

giant master suite

...all open and vaulted

but need to get 2 bedrooms 

and a bath

up there so I came 

up with 

a plan.

Here are some before shots...

These stairs are being rebuilt

...very steep!

 Space planning and incorporating 

plumbing was quite a challenge 

to figure out...

required several meetings to 

brainstorm with my 

contractor and plumber.

I am also trying to keep this 

project on a budget

which forces more creativity

in my design...

a challenge I love.

I used my preschoolers 

chalk to 

draw out all my concepts 

on the floors... 

(after figuring out plumbing!)

Then spent countless hours

drawing out the 

best way to do the 

space planning to scale. 

 Everyone in my family will have 

a new bedroom.   

My boys will stay down and 

move into the bigger bedrooms 

on the lower level.

My daughter will move 

upstairs with

my husband and me.

Lots of decorating to come!

 Planning on keeping as much 

vaulted as possible...

 My contractor has been sweating 

his tail off with his crew...

He has named this project

"Amy's Fat Farm"

He has dropped several 

pounds working up in 

the hot attic!

Finishing up now on the framing 

of all the walls so will 

show you that next...

will start to make more sense

with what is the space is 

going to end up being.

I was able to get a siting area, 

office space, 2 bedrooms

and a bathroom up here...

very excited! 

no sew window treatment

I created this 

fun window treatment 

for my son's room 

from a branch, twine, 

small clothes pins, 

and fabric swatches.

I lucked out that this branch 

was just lying in my 

yard after a storm.

I cut the fabric into little triangles

and hung them from the twine.   

I tied the twine to 

each end of 

the branch.  

I left the brackets up from the 

rod to support the branch.

I had to play with the fabric.   

I wanted to have a mismatched 

effect with the fabric 

without them clashing so a 

little rearranging was in order.

This added a great touch 

and personality to his room.

Kid's Art Display

I'm always getting the 

cutest things home from 

from kids' art classes 

like every mom 

and needed a solution 

for a display 

that could accommodate 

different sizes of art 

and something easy 

to change out.

This idea popped into my 

head while doing laundry.  

I am always thinking and 

wishing I were out of 

the laundry room and 

these hangers caused just 

the distraction I needed to escape.   

Of course...I could not finish 

the load as I needed to 

see this idea in 

action right away!

So simple...3 kids...three hangers

Here is my 

changing art wall:

Add a little kick with pattern

I am always finding fabrics 

that I "have to have" 

somewhere in my home.

Many times, I buy fabric just 

because I love it 

...even if I don't think 

it will go anywhere in particular.

Once I get it home,

I usually have 5 or 6 places 

it can go so end up being 

torn about where to use it.

  

The key to using a loud fabric 

is to use it in the right 

place and in the right amount.

See example below

LOVED this polka dot material.

....Would never use it on a big

piece of furniture.

I did use it on my bench 

cushions in my kitchen...

shown in a previous post.

I don't like to use the same 

fabric twice but I this is 

what happens when you are 

so torn...

so I did also recover this

foot stool with it in the 

living room.

What I love is that this little piece

of furniture has a big impact.

It gives this corner the 

little kick 

it needed.

I topped off the 

brown and cream 

polka dots

with a brown and cream 

accent pillow 

to coordinate the two.

The nice thing is that 

when I get tired of 

these polka dots, 

I used it in a minimal way 

so it is easy to 

change in the future...

However...I think they 

will be here for a while.

Playing with Space Planning

When working on a space for a client, 

I love to play with things the homeowner has to 

see how things look and flow

to develop space planning.

   

When I am dealing with an empty space,

I use this simple space planner...

These are magnetized furniture pieces

so I can lay things out to scale.

I am not a high tech girl.

The fact can upload and 

blog is a miracle. 

Anyone can appreciate a visual when 

trying to make decisions....

especially when spending money 

is involved.

Below I explored with a family room 

layout to show a client...

had about 5 options before I saw the winner.

Space Planning Wish List:

1.  fireplace to be the focal point

2.  opportunity for conversation 

 3.  as much seating without overcrowding

I started with facing a sofa opposite 

the focal point to balance the space.

One rule I normally start with is to put 

my largest piece on the longest wall....

That rule applied this time..does not always.

(I break my own rules all the time.

That is how you keep things interesting.)

I added a sofa and love seat

rectangular table that follows the 

length of sofa and love seat.

...long side with sofa

...short side with love seat

Was not happy once I saw it

so I kept playing with different options.

Below....This was the winner after exploring.

I liked the clean look with 

two sofas 

and felt like a waste 

to not add a second sofa

when there was plenty of space.

I added a round cocktail table

to compliment the 

length of the couches.

Two sofas also felt

 like a more updated choice

and less predictable.

I liked less tables too to stay 

away from overcrowding.

(An area rug was added 

to connect this arrangement.)

The next step was to shop...

but this is the place to start

space planning....

so important!

Bathroom Tour

A little tour of a little room....

I have featured my 

chalkboard wall on my blog 

before and a little bit 

about this space, 

but thought I'd give

 you more of a tour....

The lighting is a little off...

but I painted the walls 

a medium toned green...mistake paint...

my favorite kind of paint

$8 a gallon

from a thrift store.

I have a plain shower curtain to use 

because this bathroom has 

already been 

7 colors in 5 years...

The window treatment

is a vintage tablecloth

folded and hanging over a

drapery rod. 

The greens are clippings from a 

tree in my yard...

great way to 

feel like you have fresh flowers

but at no cost!

A vintage painting and 

thrift store frame

add the view this 

bathroom is missing....

hung on the chalkboard wall.

You can also see the 

original wall tile

and towel holders.

They were sprayed and recoated 

in white by the

previous owners. 

 Love yellow and green together 

so the window treatment and the 

towels bring in the yellow

 to go with the green 

on the wall.

A vintage wall lamp...

there is an overhead light, 

but I love soft 

lighting options in every room.

Carrera marble for the vanity top 

ties in the marble floors I 

added 5 years ago.

The mirror is decoupaged 

in newspaper. 

The soap dispenser is an old Avon 

lotion dispenser.

The black box stores toothbrushes.

The vintage table has 

the perfect opening for 

towel storage

and a drawer for 

other essentials...

It a tight bathroom so I 

have to use all space in a 

functioning and decorative way...

always my goal in any space.

 My daughter's step stool adds

a little touch of green 

and tucks away 

perfectly under the window.

I changed the knobs on the 

vanity to colored glass

to disguise the Home depot

look it had before.

The wall color shows up a 

little better in this photo.

 A sisal rug is a nice 

earthy touch for the room...

wanted something less 

predictable for the rug. 

Overall...I wanted to make this space feel original... yet updated.

  

I tried to accomplish this by

adding vintage furniture and accessories

 to marry with the look 

of the original tile,

adding small tile which is 

the size it would have been originally,

and blending old with new all

the way through.

  

My Kitchen

 Yesterday was a big day...my home was 

featured on a house walk in 

our town of Riverside IL...still recuperating 

from all the cleaning, painting, rearranging, etc....

My children were allowed back home after the 

event and were asking 

if they could sit on the couch again....poor things!

I thought I would share some photos of my kitchen....

This kitchen was a turn off when I bought my 

home because it was 

so closed off from the dining and living room.   

As you can see in 

the photo below, I opened up the wall and 

added counter stools on the 

dining room side and 

was able to eliminate that issue. 

I added a drum shade fixture that would not
compete with the dining chandelier.

I purchased this antique bread box...

I think new kitchens need old things.

I used a contemporary vase with some artificial

flowers, vintage platters and potted parsley.

The window treatment is an embroidered linen panel 

that I gathered in the center using 

 flower hair accessory.

I glued buttons to this little lamp shade for a touch of whimsy.

The greens in the tall vase are 

from a tree in my yard and 

added some 

lavender and a fern in 

vintage pottery.

I selected custom cherry shaker style cabinets in walnut stain

because I am not too crazy about the red that shows up in wood.

   

I thought off adding white cabinets to keep it as open as 

possible being a galley kitchen, 

but wanted to keep true to a brick bungalow style kitchen.

I base a lot of the way I decorate my home

to fit within the style of the home....

want it to feel original, yet updated.

Sometimes this is hard...I love every style...really!

....but I keep asking...

does this fit with a bungalow look?

I also had to think about how the cabinets would look 

visually with my wood dining set...

not at all into matching, 

but like things to flow.

Sometimes it is nice to ground your design 

with the main elements 

(Example here: cabinets and dining set)

being similar

and then mix it up with how you accessorize. 

   

 I chose these granite counters...giallo ornamental 

to keep the space bright and neutral.

I have an antique wire basket

 for all my potatoes and such...

the open space keeps things from rotting 

and I love the look. 

I get tired of things fast, so I added a 

classic cream crackle

subway tile backsplash

...also true to bungalow decor.

I accented the tile with a travertine

mini subway tile

inset over the stovetop,

It also connects with the floor tile.

Under cabinet puck lighting highlights 

the tile and granite

and is great task lighting.

Then I created a little breakfast nook...

great to have benches for squeezing 

more people in

and I love it with kids.

 I found these plastic vintage flower plaques at a thrift store.

The window treatments are napkins clipped in a row.

I got the bench fabric for $6 a yard...

 just keep recovering and washing

fabric for these foam cushions.

I just wrap them like a present

and use big safety pins.

I added rug grips underneath

the cushions.

I also added vintage doilies under the glass. 

 Found these cool dishes at a thrift store...love the mix of retro with the doilies.

 I stripped the one wall I have to pull the 

colors of the granite and tile.

I placed the stripes over the 

fingerprints of my children

and a mark made where I killed a fly.

...so they are not evenly spaced.

I was too lazy to paint over the top

of the cabinets so 

 this seemed like a good solution. 

 I put the 18x18 floor tile on an 

angle to get away from a runway look.

I also selected a light and bright tile

to keep it as bright as possible and

connect to the colors in granite. 

I wanted a busy

 pattern to keep from having 

to wash the floors too much.

I added some vintage plates in a random way 

to bring your eye up.

 I feel very fortunate to have this kitchen!

I hope you enjoyed the tour!