A builder's basic bathroom gets a fresh facelift with shiplap, graphic black and white tiles and and a few industrial accents.
Ready for another impressive before an after? I shared a friend's living and dining transformation last week that just took a little bit of shopping to accomplish. This makeover involved just a tiny bit more work but it's so worth it!
Let's take a look at the before. Perfectly functional but needed a style upgrade.
She kept the toilet and the pedestal and put most of her hard work/budget into the floors and the walls. She added texture by planking all 4 walls and painting a bright white. (She used birch plywood sheets in place of traditional shiplap but it looks just as good as the real deal) Then she added contrast with this cement tile like ceramic floor that is a total showstopper. All of that white is totally grounded by the black pattern.
New lighting was key because this bathroom gets no natural light. A new round mirror really softened all the hard edges in this space. Finally she made some decorative swaps with the mirror, towel wrack and shelves. My jellyfish print was the perfect finishing touch if I do say so myself!
I totally love what she did - fresh and updated and making the most of the small space. What do you think?
It will not surprise you that I absolutely love to help friends decorate their homes. All the fun and none of the expense - what could be finer? I can be a little bit ruthless in my quest to get rid of the less desirable but it's all for the greater design good. So when a friend moved into her less than 20-year-old home, naturally I had lots of suggestions.
While I couldn't convince her to do anything drastic (I was really pulling for a black dining room but she wouldn't go for it), I think the change is pretty dramatic. Just goes to show you how much the right furniture arrangement can change the look and feel of a room.
The fireplace surround was a pretty garish green marble but the cost to replace it would have been considerable, so instead, she painted it using a dark grey chalk paint. I wasn't sure if was going to work but it looks amazing! The chalk paint's flat finish mimics a dark stone slate perfectly - you would never guess it was painted marble.
Despite not having the right spot for that lovely bar cart, I can enjoy it vicariously through her dining room. And she scored huge by finding the table and side chairs on super sale at a furniture outlet. I love how clean and updated it feels even though there was no construction required (the joys of a newish home!) What do you think of the living room decor before and after? Both rooms are painted in Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. Links to the specific or similar items found in the rooms can be found below.
Throughout the room, we added warm little accents like lots of pillows, these fabulous metal antlers, ski lodge inspired trays, vintage looking crates and a moose antler bowl.
