If I Needed a Nursery for a Baby Girl...

It might look like this:

I absolutely love this nursery by designingdawn.  I stumbled upon it at 6th Street Design School.  

See more photos & information at either site.

More Photos & Details from the Holladay Remodel

I really love some of the details that brought this project together, and wanted to highlight many of them here.  We did some creative shopping in order to keep with the budget, and we reused existing pieces whenever possible.  Feel free to ask for the source of anything you see below!

And if you need good trades for a job, I'm happy to recommend Re-Vive General Contractors, Arendal Kitchen Design (disclaimer:  I work there), Foremost Interiors, Sharp Upholstery, and Underfoot Floors!

Holladay Main Floor Remodel - Before & After

I finally had the chance to take photos of a project I've been working on for a while.  I'll post more photos next week, but I wanted to start with some Before and After shots, as these best show the dramatic difference, despite any significant layout changes. 

We reused and/or reupholstered existing decor and furniture wherever possible, but added new finishes and accessories to bring the space up to date.  My clients (including their daughter) have great taste, and just needed a little bit of help (and confidence) to pull it all together.  The new space is very calm and relaxing, with pops of texture and color to keep it interesting and refreshed.

I love this project and am so excited to share it!

Kitchen Before:

(not typically so messy - those are all MY things thrown around on the countertops)

Kitchen After:

Family Room Before:

Family Room After:

Dining Room Before:

Dining Room After:

(almost finished - there are 2 more prints freshly framed and ready to hang on either side of the buffet)



The guys at Re-Vive Group did a great job as general contractors.  The custom cabinetry is from Hallmark Cabinets, via Arendal Kitchen Design.

More Backyard Progress - We Have Grass!

Slowly but surely our backyard is starting to look like a backyard.  There's still a LOT of work to do, thanks to the cold and rainy weather that has kept me from working on it much.  But at least we now have grass.  AND sprinklers.

When we bought the house, our backyard was covered in asphalt, which we attacked with a jackhammer.

Then last summer we built a cool planter box / retaining wall, with the intention of getting sod shortly after that. 

Well, the sod never happened last year.  And I got really tired of all the pawprints around the house due to the dogs running around in dirt & mud all day.  So this Spring the lawn took priority!  

In order to keep a nice lawn looking nice, it needs to be watered.  And since we are both terrible at remembering to turn the sprinkler off or on, we figured an automatic system was critical.  So that came first:

Tearing up the yard for the sprinkler system made it look worse than ever!

The sprinkler system was finally in place (I think every Lowe's employee now knows who I am because of all the trips back & forth), and it was time to order the sod.  After an exhausting day of blood, sweat, and tears, and with a lot of help (thanks Flo!), we now have green grass.  

AND we have a means of keeping the grass green with our new sprinklers!

Whew!  I can't imagine doing all of this in a normal size yard.  Our tiny yard is enough for me to handle!

Next step:  Planting the veggies and getting the patio ready for summer.

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: