If you're family room or living room is needing a little refresh, but..... money is kinda tight right now, no problem! Here are 7 ideas that are easy and cheap. Keep reading for simple &
By Alan George Imagine stepping into your bathroom and being whisked away to the glamorous era of the 1920s - a time when elegance...
I recently came across some amazing boho living room designs that left me feeling inspired and excited.
Hello everyone! Things get so busy here in the spring with clean up from winter then, of course, the garden, so I try to finish up any indoor projects so I can concentrate on the…
These home library examples can guide individuals in selecting design elements that resonate with their personal style.
Sarah Permenter exclusive interview for Jijjy's Maison blog on her love for upcycling and revamping vintage furniture and her transformed beautifully unique home.
Discover creative small camper renovation ideas to efficiently transform your space. Explore practical solutions for compact camper makeovers.
Explore modern_fred's 4460 photos on Flickr!
For all last week's talk of the death of pink and the birth of yellow, we all know that in real life things take a little longer to actually come through from forecasts into our homes. So if like me, you are talking about yellow, but haven't actually taken the…
By lennart
Built-in bookcases, buffets, nooks, and benches—all up for reimagining with reference to the best 20th-century models.
Starting your own renovation project or getting ready for a remodel? You have to see this 1970's living room before and after!
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Right that's it. I'm moving to Lincolnshire to this supremely elegant five bedroom house set in seven acres with a kitchen garden and a wild swimming pond. It's on with Inigo for £1.1m and it's the perfect place to hide away from the world and grow vegetables which you can…
On Raleigh Gardens in London stands a wonderful period home where period details and contemporary design comes together. The six bedroom Victorian house has a
Creating a cozy and functional small bedroom can be a delightful challenge. Here are 25 ideas to transform your compact space into a comfortable haven. Let& ...
When architect Timothy Yee stumbled across this ground floor micro-apartment in Richmond for auction, he knew this was the apartment for him. Timothy wanted to use this apartment as a way to explore how you could live comfortably in small spaces, with this apartment measuring around 29m2 (312sqft).
If you are a voracious reader with a book collection to prove it – then it’s time to create a retreat within your home where you can “unplug” from the daily grind – and decompress and relax among your favorite books. And what better place to do ...
It’s the perfect foil to a pair of high-octane clients.
In my 20s, the only gallery walls I had the pleasure of seeing would be in The National Gallery or the collection of postcards my Mum used to stick to the fridge. The only “art” I would possess would be a print from Athena which would be sellotaped to the wall…
Stop buying fuzzy things and putting candles everywhere. Here are the REAL things that give a home that warm and inviting feel.
These ideas and tips will help to lighten and brighten a dark room or basement. Learn how to make any room feel more bright and lively using these great ideas
Moving from an Irish castle to an ordinary 1930s house in a Worcestershire village posed some challenges for Farrow & Ball Brand Ambassador Patrick O'Donnell, but a judicious use of colour and a considered arrangement of art and furniture has produced an immensely appealing interior
East Dulwich is one of the finest 19th-century suburbs of London. And in this beautiful area you can find today's colorful home. Via a stooped porch with
After much sweat and toil, Nanette's vintage 1940's bathroom is complete! All of that hard work definitely paid off, because her retro basement bath looks great. I love the beautiful blue tile and the authentic vintage fixtures. Nanette's 1945 transitional ranch home needed a second bathroom in the basement, so...
Hey guys!!! So, I haven't blogged in nearly 4 months. It's crazy. I barely even know where to begin! There's so much to say and so much to share, so let's just jump right in and pick up where we left off. Our little Ava is now 5 months old and doing really great. We survived 4 months of colic/milk allergy/reflux and between that and a pretty difficult pregnancy, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of my sails. But, little by little, things are getting so much better and I'm slowly starting to feel like my old self again. Thank you guys so much for being patient with me and understanding that I needed some time off to focus on Ava. I'm so grateful for this precious girl, and I'm sure one day I'll look back and laugh about the past year. But, like, not yet. Ava on Halloween...finally giving us all sorts of sweet smiles. So, let's get down to business. In the final few months before I had Ava, I was able to share with you guys the finished basement renovation, our upstairs flooring redo, and the nursery. But I kinda ran out of time (duty called) before I could share the finished living room. So, a quick 5 months after I finished it, today I can finally show it to you. Many of you guys have been following my blog for awhile now and have already seen the before pictures of the upstairs living area, but I'll share them again, as it's always a nice reminder of how outdated our house was when we first moved in. So, here are the before pics. This is the living room in May of 2010 when we first moved in...wall to wall carpet, outdated light fixtures, dark wood trim, and windows so old that you could feel the wind in your hair when you stood next to them. This was what the entryway looked like. Outdated light fixture, parquet flooring and carpeted stairs, rickety old stair rail, and dark wood trim and door. This was what the dining room looked like. There was a wall between the kitchen and dining room that made the room almost too tiny to use. There was an old glass sliding door that barely opened, dark wood trim and wainscotting, outdated light fixtures, and a tile/carpet combo. This is what it looked standing in the dining room and looking into the living room. This house sat on the market for a really long time before we bought it, as it was obviously totally outdated. I was a little scared, as it was our first house and I had never renovated anything in my life. But, ultimately I decided to just go for it and I'm so glad I did. Renovating it took me almost 5 years to complete. Sometimes it was totally stressful, sometimes I wanted to quit, but ultimately it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. And I learned a lot. Which is great because we won't live here forever, and the next time I renovate a house, I'll be much better equipped. So, that being said, here are the pics of what this upstairs area looks like today. Let's start with a little recap of the dining room and entryway and then we'll move into the living room. One of the things that made the biggest difference was knocking down the wall between the dining room and kitchen. We also built a new stair rail, painted all of the trim and wainscoting white, added new light fixtures, and installed white washed hardwood flooring. I painted our kitchen cabinets and updated the hardware when we first moved in the house, and although in an ideal world I would have been able to fully renovate the kitchen, I decided that I could really stretch our budget by just painting the cabinetry and working with what we already had. In the dining room, I added a bold rug that I found for $60 (I know it's not for everyone, and that's okay.). I found the dining room table at a salvage shop, and the white leather chairs with metallic legs I found on Overstock. The original post about the dining room with sources can be found here. Also, we've talked about my orchid sabotage many times, so...that's a fake orchid. I've got a child to raise. Here's a quick view from the landing at the top of the stairs. You can see where we also knocked down the wall and widened the old doorway into the hallway. Here's a look around the corner. You can see how we painted the old outdated wainscoting white. We also replaced the old sliding glass door in the dining room with nice french doors. In the entryway, we replaced the light fixture, and installed double doors on the coat closet. We replaced the carpet on the stairs with hardwood treads and painted white risers, and we also built a new stairrail. I painted the existing front door Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze (favorite!), and added a little silver coat hook from HomeGoods. One of the deer heads broke off after I brought it home. And now this little coat hook reminds me of Jesse tinkering in the garage for an hour, determined to fix it for me. I think there was some ametuer welding going on in the garage, but I was too pregnant to waddle out there and watch. And now, let's move on to the finished living room. I don't expect this room to blow anyone's mind. But, it's come such a long way, and it's where we spend most of our time, so it definitely deserves at least a little time on the blog. We replaced the light fixtures, added some inexpensive tufted couches and a giant comfy ottoman, the rug is from awhile back, and then I thrifted the TV console. Here's a pic of the TV console I found at the thrift store. It's obviously nothing special, but it was the right size and $20, so...sold! I painted it (using the only furniture paint I ever use anymore) and changed out the hardware. It has a super glossy lacquer finish and looks really great up close. I'll eventually mount the TV on the wall, too. Here's a closeup of the hardware. Some little polished nickel pulls from Home Depot. I haven't decided on what kinda curtains I want to hang yet, so for now the windows are just bare. It took us 5 years to finally replace those old windows, so I don't mind looking at the new ones in the meantime. I added some Etsy pillows to the sofas. Here's a view of the living room looking back into the dining room, one of my favorite views. We built the mantel and made the stacked log insert for the fireplace (both were done awhile ago) and then I freshened up the mantle with some things I had around the house. The little framed floral art is a print I found on Etsy. And then, I made some art of my own...some black and white abstract art for above the sofa. I had Jesse build me a basic wooden frame. And I spray painted it with this Krylon Foil Metallic silver spray paint (affiliate link). It's good, ya'll. I think I'll be using it as my go-to silver spray paint from now on. It made my little frame look like actual metal or like it was silver leafed. Either way, good stuff. For the painting itself, I just used some Sherwin Williams Simply White paint (the same color that's on the walls), mixed it with a little gray, and then sketched out a doodle and filled it in with some Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze (the same black paint I used on the front door). It's probably not gonna end up at a museum, but it took me an hour and only cost me a few bucks, so homemade art for the win. And that, you guys, is the finished upstairs living area! I'm sure it will continue to evolve and change, but it feels great to at least have it furnished and not under construction. We lived in the basement throughout most of my pregnancy, so it's nice to no longer be a cave dweller. And I'll leave you with this picture of how the living room looks in real life, filled with baby stuff. Because it would be ridiculous to pretend like my house always looks like the above pictures....it took me at least twenty minutes to clean out all the baby apparatus before I could take some blog pics. Let's be honest. :) As for the blog, a lot of you have asked what my plans are. I plan to slowly get back into the swing of things, as time allows, and as quickly as my brain starts functioning like normal again. Thank you guys for all of your sweet comments and messages. I appreciate it so much. I know I'll eventually find my groove again, but right now I'm still doing a lot of this. And I wouldn't have it any other way. 'Til next time! Follow my blog with Subscribe to LiveLoveDIY with email! Enter your email address:
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Alex Bass is more than just an art collector, she's the founder of Salon 21, an art advisory and design firm. And the small home she shares with her boyfriend not only shows off her art curating skills, but also plenty of renter-friendly ideas.
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Cafe Brecht is one of my favourite cafe's in Amsterdam. It gives you the East Berlin feeling of a living room full of vintage furniture. Perfect for coffee during the day and wine or beer at night! More pictures and details about Cafe Brecht on yourlittleblackbook.me:
