So when her husband asked me back in December to help him to surprise her with a bedroom makeover for her birthday, I could not wait to get started. Here is their bedroom before:

He wanted a place where his wife could relax that had REAL furniture, cool art, and reflected their preferences for simple lines and a mid-century aesthetic.

SO….we pulled in two dressers from this collection at Room & Board. The simple, clean lines and the airy base were perfect for their tastes and the smaller size of the room.

{Hudson Dresser from Room & Board}

Even though my clients’ design preferences are far from traditional,  I wanted to change the arrangement of the furniture into a more symmetrical layout with the bed under the window flanked by matching nightstands; a more traditional bedroom layout. These were a slam dunk…

{mid-century nightstand from west elm}

To soften the straight lines in the furniture, we needed bedding that had an organic quality, but still retained the hip, modern vibe.  Marimkekko, of course!

{Marimekko Lumimarja Bedding from Crate & Barrel}

The husband and I schemed, planned, emailed, and texted for nearly 2 months until we had orchestrated every detail. I stored everything in my garage until the big day when she went off to work, and we got to work! Something we didn’t plan on was 6″ of unexpected snow, but the movers showed, and we made it all happen anyway.

When my friend got home from work, her family couldn’t wait for the big reveal. She walked into the bedroom and screamed! Later she told me she hasn’t been that surprised since her seven-year old birthday surprise party. But even better, she told her husband that it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her. Sigh!

Lately I’ve been fantasizing about how my productivity in the laundry department might improve if I liked the looks of it. Imagine how much could be accomplished with this set up…

I’d never miss a call, forget to return an email, or have to run for the loo while switching loads.

At our house, part of the problem is that the laundry room location is far away from where my people leave their dirty clothes. Now if the mudroom (I wish!) was close by…now that’s convenient.

source: houzz.com by MainStreet Design Build

If proximity to dirty clothes is a problem that can’t be solved, then how about maximizing the space I do have with laudromat style efficiency (with the exception of pesky quarter slots, of course!)?

I could take the average time to wash and dry a load and fold that in half with this rockin’ double duty set up.

But at the end of the day–which, as it happens, is often when I’m doing laundry–I can’t relocate my laundry room or load it with excess equipment to ease the pain. So I’m leaning toward some simple paint, shelves, and maybe even some bead board paneling to improve the looks. Something like this would do quite nicely.

So now laundry room is added to the long list of renovation to do’s around here. Does it ever end? Nah. Can you relate? Please let us know if a new and improved laundry room has changed your life or if you wish it could!

a chevron cake for you to eat…

a spunky cushion for your seat.

A cozy blanket to keep you warm…

a sassy wrap dress for your form.

Zig zag pattern underfoot…

an awesome dresser for clothes to put.

A fabric basket to hold your stuff…

a stylish pillow for you to fluff.

A fabulous lamp to keep things bright…

I could go on and on all night! But I won’t.

]]> http://www.simple-e-design.com/2012/01/chevron-on-my-mind/feed/ 1 http://www.simple-e-design.com/2012/01/porch-pretty/ http://www.simple-e-design.com/2012/01/porch-pretty/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:27:08 +0000 Lisa http://www.simple-e-design.com/?p=1681 Could it have been the 65 degree day here in Denver with gorgeous bright sunshine?  All that melting snow has turned my thoughts to porch sitting. There is something about a porch that’s a perfect spot for casual entertaining with good friends or sitting in solitude and peacefully enjoying the outdoor scenery. The best porches have a combination of indoor/outdoor access, great views, creative lighting with ceiling fans or dramatic pendants, cozy furniture that’s not quite outdoor durable, but close. I want it all.

We have a porch. At it’s worst, our porch has looked like this. (I realize revealing this image could be bad for business.)

It’s the old cobbler and his shoeless kids story (except my kids have a lot of shoes, bikes, sports equipment, school projects, etc. and we apparently put them all on this porch!) It does have potential, so sometimes I catch myself dreaming about porches that look like this…

Oh, how I adore that furniture. Or this…

We could have a nice little chat over a glass of wine in those cozy chairs.

The glossy floor and steely trim color on this porch are delish. They probably don’t allow bikes on their porch.

This porch is like hanging out in the swankiest treehouse ever.

My sheer embarrassment about the state of our porch did motivate me to do some porch prettifying last summer. I found some kitschy patio furniture at an estate sale for a steal. It was in great shape and just needed a coat of black spray paint. But the big change was using porch paint to clean the floor up. What do you think? Better, no?

Of course I’m not done, and this picture does not show the wall where we hang backpacks, coats, pool towels, and whatever else I can hang on a hook. However, it’s waaaaaay better, and we are motivated to take care of our porch and enjoy it more often.

I have plans for more improvements next summer, but I know it will get cold again soon, so I’m not in a hurry. As it is with most projects here, to be continued…

All pretty porch pictures are from House Beautiful or Better Homes and Gardens.

Suffice it to say that there was nothing about my bright, cheerful, put-together client that was mirrored by her office. Our goal was to brighten and lighten the space (but you probably figured that already!). Wallpaper was our jumping off point because we couldn’t remove the paper that was there before. My client has very traditional tastes, and I wanted to honor that, but get her out of her comfort zone just a tad. A simple, clean and graphic pattern was what I had in mind. I was so excited when she said yes to this one.

{Seabrook Wallpaper 21273}

It’s pretty, feminine, bright, fresh; everything her prior office was not! We freshened the desktop and shelves with white paint, and added some office and media cabinetry from Pottery Barn and a sleek desk chair from Crate & Barrel. Now the office is so fresh and lovely I want to work here!

Doesn’t it look so much bigger? Here’s another shot where you can see how my client continued the pink and white color scheme with these cute boxes and magazine files she found on One Kings Lane for organizing her paper work and photos.

To give her eyes a rest from the pattern, I put together a gallery of some of her favorite artwork from around the house, and ta da! She can start off the new year inspired by her surroundings.

If you’d like help refreshing a room in your house, please contact us.

However, the crumbling plastic turquoise tiles, icky linoleum flooring and rubber trim (a mid-80′s upgrade?!), a tub that left you need deep in water after a 5 minute shower, and a toilet seat with rust marks that appeared, er, questionable all culminated into a dire need to remodel!

Ick, that floor was gross! We took the bathroom right down to the studs. Here’s what we found under the linoleum:

More linoleum!  But at least this pattern makes sense with the original yellow and turquoise tile. I’d always wondered about that.

Our yellow toilet found a happy home, too.

Apparently our curbside toilet disposal was a popular idea among our neighbors. One actually put it in his pickup and drove off with it. I guess our trash really is someone else’s treasure.

We’re almost done with the remodel. Here are some sneak peak shots.

Stay tuned for the big reveal which is TBD since my finisher would rather ski than get this project done! Any bathroom doozies in your house?  Remodels on the horizon?  Do tell.

If you’d like help creating spaces in your home that you absolutely love, please contact us.

Here’s the living room before…

And here is the new loungey living room…

The chairs swivel so they’re perfect for watching TV and socializing, and they’re covered in the most supple leather…mmmm!  We carved out a nook by the front door for a desk for our client that does double duty as a console when the drawers are folded inward.

In the dining room, we switched out her traditional table and chairs and ho hum chandelier…

for a swanky new light fixture, sleek glass topped table and creamy white leather host and hostess chairs with nailhead trim.

In the kitchen, we updated the blush toned maple cabinetry and French Country table and chairs

with bright white paint on the upper cabinets and an earthy tan on the base cabinetry. To offset all of the angles in the room, we switched out the rectangular table for a round one that has a removable leaf, and paired it with sleek curvy chairs that pick up on the white cabinets and are a snap to wipe down.

A triple locker replaces the former desk area and gives the boys room to store their jackets and backpacks when they walk in the back door.

The family room’s carpet and furnishings had seen better days…

so we added new hardwood floors, a sectional that accommodates the whole family, and relocated the desk area to the nook by the fireplace.

We ripped out built in bookshelves that our client hated because they were too shallow to hold anything and made room for a game table.Now the family room looks pulled together and connects to the kitchen beautifully.

When I asked our client if she loves her new family room, she said, “I’m never in it! But I love MY new grown up family room. I’m in that room all the time now.”

If you’d like help creating spaces in your home that you absolutely love, please contact us.

Here are a few of our favorite ways to bring a little Happy Halloween into your house…

Grandin Road is the Mecca of all things Halloween.  We love the items in the Tuscan Collection because they will look great in your home through the fall.

These decorative leaves from Pottery Barn can give your house a little pop of fall foliage color.

This classic terracotta pumpkin from Target would look great inside or outside.

Please forgive our blogging absence. You’re not off the subscription list as many of you have asked. (As if we would remove you–NEVER!) We’re just chasing babies (Cameron) and driving to swim team/tennis/soccer/camp (Lisa). If you’re looking for some affordable home design style, check out our portfolio here!

We’re staying in our pj’s and working on Valentines today (or at least for the next 15 minutes).

{Clearly we’ve been so busy that there’s been no time for brushing hair. }

{At least one of us is dressed and ready for action.}

Yep, 15 minutes have passed, and we’re on to Scrabble Junior. What are you up to today? Hope you’re staying cozy, wherever you call home.