love a library

I have ALWAYS wanted a home that had a library.  Every time I see a room with walls lined in books, I swoon.

Moving to the "country house," as I like to call this suburban abode, has given me just that.  It's a small in-between room that previous owners have added a floor-to-ceiling book case.  The wood finish was not exactly my favorite.  Before pic:

Immediately when I entered, I knew I wanted to paint out all the walls, trim detail and bookcases the same color.  I toyed with a few historic colors and settled on Farrow & Ball Card Room Green.  I wanted it to feel like an old English library or sitting room.
Here is what it looked like before:

And now... how cozy and fun! 

A few things to note.  I plan to install inexpensive roller bamboo shades.  I am also waiting on the carpet installer to put in wall-to-wall sisal.  I thought it would be done by now, but you know how that goes.

Last and (most important) is changing out the hideous sconces.  I want a great looking brass library sconce.  This, however, has fallen into the "not immediately necessary!" category.  I'll wait to find a great deal or wait until the coffers have been replenished.

*I do realize that the pictures in this post are particularly bad.  The room looks best in the evening, but my iPhone refuses to capture the magic.  For you readers and potential clients: This room rocks in person.  I have not given it justice in these pictures.  It will be better when complete.)

new lighting

If any of you have been reading my blog, you know that I love lighting.  It may be my favorite aspect of a design.  I never tire of scouring websites, auctions and antique stores for interesting lighting.

Yesterday, the bulk of remaining light fixtures were installed.  Here are the results!

The family room had a single bulb for a while.  Here is the new brass fixture:

Check out how it glows.

An upside down gilded wedding cake.

Until I find and am ready to splurge on a dining room chandelier, I put up this inexpensive paper globe.

It compliments and does not compete too much with the sculptural Workstead fixture in the living room.

Bryant sconces in the powder room (which you've seen here.)

In the kitchen over the sink we installed these handmade brass pendants from OneFortyThree

You've seen my best antique chandelier before and it looks great over the kitchen table.

We moved two of the Urban Electric Co. sconces to the DR and one into the entry.

I am still seeking out sconces for the library, which is my favorite room that is not nearly complete yet. More lighting to come!!

fireplace flip

One great feature, in theory, is the dual sided fireplace that is in the center of our kitchen/family room.  When we saw the house, though, we immediately decided that it would be painted out white.  After renovations were underway, we decided that more drastic measures would suit the room much better.

Here is what it looked like in the sell sheet.  Scale was way big for the space and ceiling height.  Remember sell sheets are always done with a wide angle lens.  Also, what's the deal with the super high mantle.  It was at perfect height for my husband to knock out an eye or temple.

I took many before pictures because I knew that it would be a great transformation.  These bricks make me sad.

We decided that we could scale it down.  Please observe the nonsensical way these concrete blocks were put together.  Whhaaaa?

The beauty is that you can now see the kitchen from the door we use to enter the house and I can see people come in when I am cooking.  It's so much better (already)!

Framing it out.

First layer put on.

 Plaster casts for firebox surround installed.

TV finally installed so I can lay on the couch and enjoy the comforts of a TV room.

Painting the mantle.

 This grey seems a little dark and blueish.  It may require a new color.

Overall, transformation is extremely satisfying!
You like?

xx

Kids' bath

The bath at the top of the stairs is what the kids' share and overnight guests will use.  Some before pictures (which I know are terrible) illustrate the dark blue walls, dark wood trim and Victorian sensibility of the space.

The above three pictures, I am backing out of the room into the top hallway.  Sort of afraid.

Ideally, we would have knocked out the corner where the shower is and installed a large glass enclosure.  It would have really opened up the room and brightened it up tremendously.  After considering budget, time and two teens getting ready for school in the morning, we decided to keep it as is.  It's a private shower with nice simple tiles and is actually quite tall when you are inside.  It's not too cramped.

 Backsplash has to go.  The vanity too.  I saved the faucet for use in the downstairs powder room.  I should note, I kind of wanted to re-use that crazy marble because I think it's super cool.  In this context, it was not cool.  It was just kinda' crazy.

The floors were an ugly color of pink and yellow mashed up.

Choice one for floor paint was Farrow & Ball's Pale Powder.  It was too pale and, frankly, too powdery.  It looked dirty all the time.  And a bit dull.  It would be beautiful on walls of a bedroom, a sun room or a dining room with really dark floors.

I re-used a pedestal sink from one of the bathrooms that we combined to make the master bathroom.  I bought another of the same (Kohler Memoirs) and it made all the difference.  The floor space has grown and it feels much more airy.  You loose storage without a vanity, but there are original built in drawers and shelves that hold all the spill over of towels and toiletries just outside of the door.

New sconces with an additional in the middle helped to brighten the room even further.

We opted for a brand new blue paint that just came out from Farrow & Ball, St. Giles Blue, and are much happier with the result.  I also reused two wall-mounted medicine cabinets from the old master bath and had them painted out white.

I'll include some final styled pictures when I add the updates from the other baths.

A sneak peak on the powder room: