Tag Archives: Decorating

The #1 Tool for Breathing New Life into Your Old Home Decor

spray paint cans (3)

Why get rid of something, simply because the color isn’t right? Spray paint is the magical solution for this problem! It’s easy. It’s cheap. It’s fast. It has come in especially handy over the past few months, as I’ve undertaken a fairly extensive redesign project, which consists of a complete overhaul of my home’s color palette.

Spray paint station

Everything that’s gold, red and brown needs to go. But neither my budget nor my husband will let me toss out all of my existing home decor and replace it with items that fit the new design scheme. What’s a girl to do? This girl drove to the nearest home improvement store and picked up a couple of these:

Spray Paint Cans

I’m not really faithful to any particular brand of paint, I’ve had consistently positive experiences with the brands you see in the above photo. When selecting your spray paint, the number one piece of advice I have is to read the instructions to ensure that the spray paint you’ve selected is meant to cover the type of surface that you’re working with.

Let me take you on a brief tour of some of the pretty transformations in my home that have been made possible by spray paint, beginning in the foyer with this entry corner. In a former life, the monogram G was silver, and as you can see, the floor vase was red. I was a little hesitant to see how the lacquer surface of the vase would take to spray paint, but I it turned out beautifully.

Spray paint foyer vase Collage

Next, we move into the living room. I love the lines of this table lamp, but the brown color was just not going to cut it in the redesign. It wasn’t easy finding spray paint in a navy blue gloss sheen, but on Amazon.com, you can find just about any shade of spray paint.

Spray Painted Lamp Collage

Spring green is another new accent color in my redesign. You can imagine my delight when I found spray paint in this color at my local Lowes. I went to town spray painting various pieces of decor in my great room with this fun color, including these over-sized mantle finials (which were formally brown):

Spraypainted Mantle

 

I used that same can of navy blue paint to transform this brown vase located at the top of the media cabinet in my great room:

Spraypainted Vase Collage

 

I could not part with this uniquely shaped wall sconce, just because of it’s now the wrong color. Paint it blue and add the cute coral candle holder for $3 and it’s like new!

Spraypainted Shelf Collage

 

This red lacquer tray works really works well in my home office, now that it sports a coat of satin nickel metallic spray paint, don’t you think?

Spraypainted Tray Collage

I’ll continue to share my experience as we complete various projects in our redesign Master Plan in future blog posts. In the meantime, check out my home redesign Pinterest boards as well! In the meantime, fire up those spray paint cans and see how you can achieve some home decor transformations of your own.

 Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms?  Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn

Preparing for and Surviving Your Home Renovation Project

Leave a reply

Renovation Survival Tips Cover

It’s been awhile since I posted on the blog.  I’ve been “off the grid” for a good portion of February due to the kickoff of our interior redesign project…yey! As you might expect, I will be blogging extensively about my own redesign experience in the coming months.

Today, I’d like to share the wisdom of my dear friend Heidi, who recently completed an extensive home renovation project.  Her family of four (+dog) lived in their home during the renovation process, which brings with it certain…um…challenges. In preparation for my own project (which will not be nearly as large in scope as hers), I asked Heidi to share her key tips to prepare for AND survive a home renovation project.

Mentally Prepare for Chronic Chaos

If you are the type who likes everything “just so”, you will seriously need prepare yourself nentally for the temporary change in lifestyle that goes hand-in-hand with living in a “Renovation in Process” environment.  You will need to adopt the mantra that “this too shall pass”, and regularly remind yourself that the end result will be worth it!

renovation survival 8

Minimize the Spread of Construction Dust

If your project involves drywall installation, carpentry work, or painting, there will be dust. Sawdust. Drywall dust. Paint spray dust…EVERYWHERE.  The dust migrates all over the place; you will find it in just about every room of your home. Although construction dust is inevitable, there are things you can do to minimize it.
Heidi suggests packing away items that you will not need access to during the renovation process, in order to prevent them from being coated with construction dust. Also, consider investing in magnetic air vent covers to use in the areas of your home that are not being renovated. Another good practice is to seal the doorway between your living area and the renovation area via heavy-duty plastic drop cloths.Renovation Survival Tips 2

Establish Your Storage Areas

Renovation projects require the removal of the “stuff” that typically lives in the space…furniture, appliances, home decor, etc. You will need a place in your home to serve as a temporary holding area for this stuff while the project is underway.

Heidi was fortunate in that she had several areas available for this purpose…a large area in her basement, as well as a spare bedroom.  If you don’t have room onsite for temporary storage, explore options such as relocating items to an offsite storage unit/family member’s home, or investing in an onsite temporary storage unit (e.g., PODS).
Renovation Survival 9

Prepared to Make Decisions…Quickly

You will be flexing your decision-making muscle on a daily basis when you undergo an extensive home renovation. Paint colors, flooring, cabinetry, lighting and counter top selections…oh my! Selecting finishes can be a daunting process for the average homeowner. You will often be called upon to make decisions quickly so as not to hold up contractors.

Begin your research as early as possible so that you are in a good position to make those critical decisions when it’s time to do so. If you lack confidence in the design department, enlist the assistance of a professional or a trusted friend who has a knack for design.

Renovation Survival Tips 6

 Order Materials ASAP

Be vigilant about ordering all materials necessary for your renovation as soon as possible. You never know when you will be faced with waiting for a backordered item that will prevent your project from moving forward. Once your project is at a standstill, the contractors move onto other projects, and it can be a painful process as you wait for them to incorporate your project back into their schedule.

renovation survival tips 7

Think Twice About D.I.Y. Efforts

You might be tempted to take on certain aspects of the renovation yourself, in order to save some cash. It makes sense to invest your sweat equity if you have expertise in a particular skill like electrical, plumbing, or drywall. If you are not an expert, you may want to think twice about D.I.Y.ing it. Heidi regrets their attempt at drywall patching (see below), and wished they would have left this piece of the project in the hands of the experts.

Renovation survival tips 5

Heidi’s final word of advise to me was to avoid letting your kids make paint color selections, or you might just end up with Kermit The Frog green in the hall bathroom! Of course, I already learned this lesson the hard way with my daughter’s room.

home renovation survival 4

Stay tuned for my next post, where you’ll get the opportunity to see the amazing transformation that occurred at Heidi’s home this past year!

 Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms?  Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn

Project “Big Girl Room” Reveal

Leave a reply

Big Girl Room Redesign (11)

In my previous post, I focused on the organization component of my daughter Grace’s recent bedroom makeover. It basically involved overhauling her closet with the installation of a customized Elfa closet storage system. Today, I’ll reveal how the decor of the bedroom was updated in an effort to transform the room into a space she can truly enjoy throughout her teen years.

When we moved into our home 9 years ago, my daughter was almost 2 years old, and I thought it would be fun to involve her in the process of decorating her new room. I allowed her to select the paint colors of the room and celebrated her love of sea creatures by creating a homemade stamped “sea life” border around the perimeter of her room.
Big Girl Room Redesign (3)

Room “Issues”

Although there are many aspects of the room that have stood the test of time beautifully (e.g., the furniture), there was room for improvement on several fronts. First, the bedroom was dark as a consequence of the magenta paint color and the window treatment.

Second, the green wall color choice was less than optimal (remember, it was chosen by a 2-year old after all). It’s difficult to appreciate how jarring the neon green walls were by merely viewing these photos. Although Grace really enjoyed it, the color was headache-inducing for me to say the least. And after 8 years, it was time to bid adieu to the sea life border.

Big Girl Room Redesign (1)

In addition, it was becoming increasingly apparent that my little trinket collector would require more display space than this mere 12″ x 12″ bulletin board would accommodate.

Big Girl Room Redesign (12)

Finally, we needed to address a few furniture placement issues and replace the bedding, since (although cute), her 5-year quilt had seen better days.

Redesign Objectives

So in a nutshell, the design objectives for this room were to:

1.  Lighten and brighten

2. Tone down the neon

3.  Create additional display space

4.  Improve room Flow

5.  Remove “Little Kid” elements

6.  Freshen up bedding

7.  Add fun pops of color

May I present the new and improved “Big Girl” Room…

Big Girl Room Redesign (2)

Objectives 1, 2, and 5 were achieved via painting the walls and replacing the old valence with a new one that’s narrower and mounted close to the ceiling line. I chose to paint over the magenta using the white trim color in order to unify the chair rail and the bottom portion of the wall. We vanquished the neon green by painting over it with a softer, fresher shade of green.

Big Girl Room Redesign (7)

In order to achieve Objective 3, I created a display wall by covering several cork bulletin boards with magenta-colored fabric that I scored from the remnant bin at Joann’s. My daughter wanted to add cork to the entire wall, but I thought that this would be more than sufficient. We relocated her original bulletin board to the interior of her closet.

Big Girl Room Redesign (9)

The room flow was improved by switching the original position of the vanity and bookcase. In the original configuration, it was difficult for my daughter to access the far side of her room because there was insufficient clearance between the bed and the vanity. With this simple repositioning,Objective 4 was met.

Big Girl Room Redesign (6)

Now for the fun part!  After an extensive search for bedding, my daughter and I fell in love with this funky duvet/sham set I found in the clearance bin for a grand total of $38! Can you tell I’m a sucker for the clearance bins yet?!? The bed skirt was yet another clearance find at Tuesday Morning.  I love love love it! Objective 6…CHECK!

Of course, the addition of the colorful bedding helps to achieve Objective 7, but we took it to the next level with the addition of the fun paper lanterns and ribbon in a variety of festive patterns and colors. We couldn’t resist these cute vinyl picture frames that offered a perfect dose of magenta “pop” on the bookcase wall.
Big Girl Room Redesign (8)

And for the grand finale, we spray painted the letters to match her funky new duvet cover. There you have it!

Big Girl Room Redesign (4)

I’m hoping that this will be the last time we will need to decorate this space until it’s time to transform it into my craft room once Gracie goes off to college!

 Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms?  Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn

Olioboard E-Design: A No Cost Resource for Your Next Room Makeover

Leave a reply

Olioboard Collage

Have a space in your home that’s in dire need of a makeover? Do you wish there was an affordable way to enlist the help of an interior designer to create a blueprint for transforming your room from drab to fab?

Let me introduce you to Olioboard.

Olioboard is an online moodboard tool used by interior designers & enthusiasts to create 2D and 3D room designs using real products from the most popular home decor retailers.  Historically, mood boards generated by this design tool were reserved for paying clients.  With the recent introduction of Olioboard’s free e-design service, this is no longer the case.

E-design customers get matched with their very own e-designer who will provide custom “shoppable” designs for their space. You can choose which items (if any) you want to purchase from the room design and make your purchase directly through Olioboard. Items are shipped for free to your door (for orders over $50).

When I learned about this new service, I decided to try it out for myself. I’m ready to give my family room an overhaul this year, and although I have my own vision for how I want the transformation to unroll, I thought it would be fun to incorporate ideas from one of the Olioboard e-designers as well.

After creating an Olioboard account, I initiated the e-design consultation by completing their client questionnaire.  During this information-gathering process, I communicated my overall vision for the space, my style & color preferences, the room dimensions, my budget, and my preferred shopping sources (e.g., Pottery Barn, Pier One, West Elm). I was also asked to upload photos of the space. Olioboard uses this information to pair you with a designer on their team who specializes in your particular style preference (e.g., modern, traditional, coastal, etc.).

My e-designer contacted me within a few hours of submitting my client questionnaire to ask a few clarifying questions. In less than 2 days, the first draft of my design mood board appeared in my inbox (wow! that’s quick!). I was really impressed with the design, but wanted to tweak a few things. I was able to communicate directly with my e-designer via email in order to provide feedback on the draft. In less than a day, the revised mood board arrived.

L-O-V-E  I-T!Olioboard Edesign 1

This interior designer clearly understood my vision and delivered a completed room design within my specified budget. I love that she provided a few options for key pieces, such as the coffee table and t.v. console. The mood board is an essential component of the design, but…where should all of these lovely pieces be placed in the room?

This is the question I posed to my e-designer, and in response, she sent me this detailed floor plan, which left no question unanswered.Olioboard Edesign 2

The free mood board and floor plan are awesome, but what’s beyond awesome is this feature:

Olioboard Edesign 3

Your e-design consultation culminates with an item-specific shopping list with links that enable you to purchase the items in your design board directly from the Olioboard website. I know what you’re thinking…and you’re wrong. The price you see on the retailer’s site is the same price you will find on Olioboard. Too good to be true? I know, right?

I did mention that all orders over $50 include free shipping, right?

So my question to you is…what are you waiting for? Take advantage of this amazing resource and go tackle that room makeover! When you do, be sure to come back and share your experience with the Olioboard e-Design Service (as well as an AFTER photo of your space).

To learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms LLC, visit www.refinedroomsllc.com.