Living Room

 As with in our master bedroom, we are also installing a custom fireplace in the living room.  We are in the process.  The first contractor we hired was really difficult to work with and quit mid-project, leaving us with a half-job. So, we still need to build and install the mantel and overmantel.  The process has been quite the nightmare which I won't bore you with, but I'm very unimpressed with Mendota as well (the fireplace manufacturer).  We now have a MUCH better contractor, Shane Chuning, who pays attention to detail and doesn't mind working with home-owners like myself to whom detail is very important.  We plan to install wood flooring and a built-in daybed in the bay window.  We had Shane pull out the gigantic drywalled bookshelves (I hope I can find some before pictures of that) and will replace them with pretty built-in furniture style shelves similar to the ones I built in the library.  We (well, Shane's guy, Mark) FINALLY painted over the hideous flesh colored paint we have lived with for over a decade with a more soothing creamy white. Mark is a hard worker.  That was ALOT of painting.  Again, we custom ordered the handmade tile for the fireplace, which turned out GORGEOUS. We also had Shane raise the arch (so that my tall husband and sons don't hit their heads on it anymore) and add a faux beam he made by hand over the bay window.  Photos are limited again (I'm the worst), but here is what I have thus far:

Living room BEFORE

My attempt at a color rendering

Low arch

Super low arch that we have now raised high.

My design drawings for the fireplace design

Wall sconces going in

My amazing handyman, Jeremy Snyder, laying out the handmade tile we custom ordered for the hearth. Jeremy is a miracle-worker with tile:  he is seriously SO good.

New faux beam and ceiling fan and paint

Arch raised and corner drywalled bookshelf gone.  I haven't yet decided how I want to trim out the opening.  I will like case it with white casing to match the other casing throughout the house.

Design drawings for the bay window daybed (and the master bedroom window seat)

Working with the tile maker to get our tile just right.  She was seriously talented.  I need to find her name and business name so I can reference her.

Master Bedroom

 While we have been remodeling our master en suite, we have slowly been plugging away at the bedroom as well.  Again, I don't really have any before pictures.  But, we installed a faux beam over the window seat and added walnut window sills that are gorgeous.  We are in the process of adding a custom fireplace and building out the window seat to be more functional and visually appealing.  The fireplace will have an overmantel mirror that is a special mirror that hides the tv when not in use and that allows the picture to show through when the tv I turned on.  I also had some handmade tiles made for the fireplace surround which turned out gorgeous.  I will add more pictures as I get a chance to take more, but here are some pictures in the mean time of what is going on, including the fireplace design:

My fireplace design drawings

I don't really know how to do renderings, but this is my color rendering to get an idea for colors.

New ceiling fan that is much prettier and less visually intrusive than the old one. The fan matches the beam over the window seat perfectly and the jute cage matches coordinates with the plant baskets I have throughout the bedroom and en suite exceptionally well.  Similarly, the bronze hardware ties into all the bronze ceiling fixtures I have installed throughout the house.

Entryway

We are getting the entryway under way.  Of course, I forgot to take before pictures again. After more than a decade of living with the hideous "flesh-colored" paint, we FINALLY painted the walls the creamy white I like (and by "we", I mean my contractor's right-hand man, Mark).  We will be renovating the whole staircase and removing the carpet to make way for wood with a runner. Our contractor, Shane Chuning, installed gorgeous faux beams he built and finished by hand out of alder.  Stay tuned for more pictures of the entryway and stairs as we make more progress.  

Finally settled on a light fixture.  I knew the style I wanted but couldn't find it in the size and finish I wanted.  So, I purchased this one in a brass finish (which was actually a very pretty finish and would have matched my raw brass sconces I made perfectly, but I wanted to keep things cohesive with all my ceiling fixtures being a dark bronze finish), and I disassembled it and spray painted it with a Rustoleum bronze paint.  My body was exhausted from balancing while installing it (my husband was sick that day and my kids were otherwise engaged so I didn't have any extra hands to help me), but it turned out gorgeous!  If I were to shop for one again, I would save myself the time and hassle of trying to find the right finish and just get the perfect light and paint it.  It took way less time to paint it than it took searching for the perfect light in the finish I wanted.  Not sure why I didn't think of it sooner, as that is how I updated the ceiling fans in the kids' bedrooms years ago.  Live and learn . . . .  I will take this lesson with me as I search for my dining room and library lights. 

The scale and height of the fixture works perfectly for the tall, narrow entryway/stairwell.  It looks beautiful in the day with the light off as well.

Now, we still need to remodel the balustrade/stairway, replace the flooring, add a hall tree inside the front door, and find the perfect pot for the entryway tree we want to grow in here.  Then, it will just be down to adding artwork and such.  Stay tuned.

Laundry Room

 Of course, in my true fashion, I forgot to take "before" pictures of the laundry room.  There was a wall that had, like, an open nook area where the previous owners had shelves and I was storing a desk.  There was a small coat closet to the left of that, with a standard 30" door on it, that was jamb packed with coats for our huge family of nine.  Then, there was a solid wall with dead space behind to the left of that.  Since moving in 12 years ago, I suspected that that space had a duct in it but couldn't make sense of why SO MUCH space was walled off.  So, we opened it up and took out that entire wall to reveal the suspect ductwork.  I then designed a mudroom around it, with a cleaning closet around and to the left of the duct where the dead space was and a bunch of lockers for the family to the right for far more efficient storage.  The existing cabinetry is getting the same treatments as the common bathroom vanities, with the doors and drawer fronts being converted to inset instead of overlay.  My contractor, Shane Chunning, who is building the mudroom also installed gorgeous slate flooring in a herringbone pattern and is in the process of finishing up the mudroom and the laundry cabinets.

Laundry Room BEFORE

Mudroom Design Drawings

Wall removed

Wall removed and ductwork exposed

Flooring layout plan

Laying out the actual flooring

Flooring getting installed

Mudroom lockers getting built:  Shane's the man!

Already enjoying the function of the lockers in doing laundry.  Cannot wait until they are done!

Lockers are getting painted. Bench and clothes rods are walnut and will look gorgeous once they are oiled or clear-coated.  I'm so excited to get the doors, feet, shelves, outlets, drawers, and hardware in!

Doors are also getting painted and the radio weave caning installed (with walnut backstop trim).

It was a prcoess getting the right color of cane that complimented the paint color but also coordinated and tied in well with the existing oak cabinets.  Shane did a great job installing the cane, despite having never worked with caning before.

Feet are made (and painted, though not in this picture) and ready to install below the lockers.

I had Shane cut the routed edge off the overlay doors and inset them to give them a more timeless, less dated feel.  We also added antique brass hardware which will tie the oak cabinets together with the painted lockers.

The new area rug pulls colors from both the old oak cabinets and the new painted lockers (as well as the slate flooring).  That was a lucky find from Home Depot.

Doors going in

Had Shane route and add trim to the existing oak cabinets and a tile chair rail cap to the existing basic white tile.  It looks so much better and more finished.

Feet and front bench edge added. Shane biscuit-joined it to the benchtop so it should be very secure.

New quartz countertops added, as well as the routered base trim, on the oak cabinets.

These dated '90s honey oak cabinets now have a timeless feel.

In an excellent last-minute decision, I asked the countertop place, Granite Connection, to make a little quarter circle floating shelf (that matched the new countertops) as a drop zone for keys and wallets.

My uber-talented son, Jesse (14yr old), turned the gorgeous walnut bowl for me. It makes me so happy!

I am incredibly grateful to have others who can bring my designs to life now so that I may focus on my family and design work instead of still having to build everything myself.

Shane's painter, Omar, did a beautiful job.  He got the walnut bench and clothes rods sealed and finished (he also did an excellent job painting the whole unit). He also matched the new oak trim perfectly to the old oak cabinets.

Built a custom walnut wall mirror that serves as a secret door to the cleaning closet. Looks gorgeous and gives us a mirror to get ready in front of before leaving the house. Also loving the area rug that pulls all the colors together and ties the oak and walnut and painted wood together with the slate flooring.