DIY Kitchen Cosmetic Makeovers on Apartment Therapy

I'm sorry for my absence lately, but the good news is I'm BUSY!  Aside from the seminar I gave last week, and the 4 great new clients I recently picked up, I'm also helping my wonderful aunt & uncle with their new home in Michigan, as well as attempting to conquer my bare backyard, training for a century road bike ride, AND planning a wedding!  Whew!  But the seminar is over, and though I'm busy playing catch-up, I am going to be back to blogging... soon.  I'm not back 100% yet though, so this is sort of a cop-out post.  I'm actually just re-posting a great post from Apartment Therapy.

Apartment Therapy just featured 10 Before & After kitchen makeover projects that are perfect inspiration for you DIY folks out there.  If you aren't at a point where you can completely remodel or reconfigure your kitchen, a cosmetic facelift will often buy you some time.

My favorites of those featured are the kitchen shown above, and this one:

After

If any of you ever try a DIY makeover like these, please share photos with me!   I'd love to see what you do!

Free Kitchen Design Seminar in Salt Lake City

I'm giving a seminar next week about Kitchen Design, where I'll be discussing layout/planning tips, design trends, and the remodeling process in an effort to make homeowners less intimidated by the whole kitchen remodeling experience.  

This is a fun and casual presentation, not a hard-sell event.  It is intended to be informative so homeowners will know what their options are before diving into a remodeling project.  

I'll be joined by a panel to help answer specific questions about Interior Design, Construction, Lighting, Countertops, and more.  

Wish me luck!  If this goes well there will be more seminars to come!

You can also see the event (and RSVP) on facebook.

Living Room Progress

I was going to wait to post pics of our finished living room, but realized it might be years before I get anything posted at the rate I'm going.   So here is what our living room currently looks like:

Things to do:

1.  Finish the gallery wall (i.e. add art to the frames)

2.  Make throw pillows, with the following fabric I have from Tonic Living:

Bella Porte, Citrine 

(yes it's the same print as Gate Citrine from Robert Allen for Dwell Studio)

Flatiron, Black

Stanford, Orange

3.  I have to do something about that ceiling fan...

Though it's unfinished, here are a couple photos of the various phases this wall has gone through since we bought the house.  I need this as a reminder of how much we actually have accomplished.

when we bought the house...

after a fresh coat (or several coats) of paint and some major cleaning (before the nasty carpeting was torn out):

the ksl sofa find I HAD to have, and grew to despise shortly after:

just a few weeks ago, gallery wall in progress: