Before and After

Dining Room Project | Repurposed Table

May 16, 2013  |  by beautifulhabitat  |  in Antiques, Beautiful Habitat, Before and After, contemporary, creative, Custom, Denver, Designer's Home, Entertaining, Flooring, furniture, recycle, sustainable, table, Upcycle, upholsteryNo Comments

A little over a year ago, I gave our dining room an update. I cannot believe that I have not yet shared the results with you! Life, it seems, has been far too hectic. But I’m here now to share the process, inspiration and results of this make-over. I hope you enjoy!

Flooring Repurposed as Table

In 2008, we replaced a wood floor with tile in the kitchen. This flooring change was done to expand the kitchen nook by several square feet and because the flooring and cabinets were too similar in color and we desired a bit more contrast.

Interior Designer Colorado

I kept the wood for 4 years, waiting for inspiration to strike. I knew I would dream up a clever way to reuse this wood…someday.

Custom Furniture Design

Eventually Inspiration struck in the from of a repurposed table top. I found this image on Pinterest and the idea took off from there.

Repuposed wood table

To bring this vision to life, I contacted  my favorite custom furniture Designer and Builder in Colorado: Ryan Schlaefer Fine Furniture. Ryan went to work on the details of the design.

The completed table is lightly distressed and has a grayed, slightly weathered finish. The herringbone pattern is beautiful! I could not have been happier with the result. Thanks, Ryan!

Custom Furniture Design

Giving New Life to Vintage Chairs

As the Dining Room started with upcycling, I thought I’d continue with an environmentally conscious room. Instead of buying new chairs, I found a unique set of metal neoclassical revival chairs on 1st Dibs. The chairs are circa 1950′s and are cast metal, allowing the lines of the chairs to curve and taper in a way that carved wood could not, yet has details to mimic carved wood.

Repurpose Vintage Funiture

I immediately loved the lines of the chairs. The pea green paint and silk fabric were a bit “easter egg” for my taste. Instead, I opted for black paint with silver highlights and a combination of fabrics from Kravet and Osbourne & Little.

Creative Interior Design Solutions

The new Dining Room!

I love the final results and look forward to seeing these beautiful pieces in the dining room of the new house soon.

Interior Designer Denver CO

Interior Designer Boulder

Do you have a story about creatively repurposing or upcyling products in your home? Share with us here or on Facebook.

Designer’s Home | Welcome to My New Digs

April 9, 2013  |  by beautifulhabitat  |  in Bathroom, Beautiful Habitat, Before and After, Colorado, Designer's Home, kitchen, lighting, Master Suite, Renovation2 Comments

The Wood Household and Beautiful Habitat headquarters are moving! We are staying in the North Denver area, moving from Broomfield to Westminster. The new house has beautiful bones, but the finishes are looking pretty sad. I’m looking forward to giving this beauty the updates she deserves. I’m an Interior Design junkie and I’ve just taken possession of my own home rehab dream.

The renovations are just getting underway. But before too much is changed, I’d like to introduce you to the home in it’s current state. Welcome to the new home!

Foyer

Before rennovations

Before Inteior Design work

The foyer really isn’t in terrible shape.  Expect to see new flooring, lighting, paint and decor (these pieces don’t belong to me…).

Kitchen

The kitchen is a bit sad and the first area slated for work. White kitchens are classic and often work so well. However, I’ve decided to spice this one up with some new cabinetry that will not be white.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen Before Interior Design Work

These appliances are original – circa early 1990′s and are going away.

Kitchen Before

The kitchen has a great large window. Who could complain about a nice view and all the natural light while in the kitchen?!

Dining Room

Dining Room Before Makeover

The dining room has beautiful wood work and details. The red paint, faux marble painted ceiling and light don’t do it for me. Look for fun changes here. I have a beautiful custom table by Ryan Schlaefer Fine Furniture in Loveland, Colorado. I can’t wait to get it into this room.

Powder Room

Powder Room Before Bathroom Design

Why, yes, that IS a pink toilet with a wood seat and that IS a counter top with an integrated seashell design sink. Jealous, are you?

Laundry Room

Lanudry Room Before Renovation

This is perhaps one of the most depressing laundry rooms I have ever seen. Doing laundry is a depressing enough affair on it’s own. This just makes me sad – and the entry from the garage goes through this room. I know I can’t come home to this every day. I am really going to have some fun with this room.

Master Bathroom

I saved the best for last. Feast your eyes on this pink, black and gold beauty! I am so excited to get my hands on this room. Unfortunately it’s not slated for work for a couple of months. This is going to make for a dramatic before & after.

Bathroom Before Interior Designer Takeover

Bathroom Before Makeover

 Stay tuned for updates on the progress and the Home Tour after all of the renovations. I’ll have posts here and on Facebook. I hope you’ll find some inspiration for your own home!

Master Bedroom Design
Fresh Bedroom Makeover
Custom Bedding and Drapery Design

Beach Bathroom Quick Makeover

January 31, 2013  |  by beautifulhabitat  |  in bath, Bathroom, Beach, Beautiful Habitat, Before and After, Coastal, DIY, lighting, Spa, Window Treatment, yellowNo Comments

Fun beach theme bathroom

As I mentioned last week in How Do You Spa?, for many years my friend and I would frequent a spa with a coastal/beach theme. In many ways I associate a beach theme with relaxation and pampering. When there was an opportunity to create a beach theme in one of my bathrooms, I did, but I added more fun than spa.

This is a bonus 3-piece bathroom in our home. It’s a bonus in that we don’t need the extra shower on this floor, but we do use it more as a powder room.

Bathroom Design Broomfield COBeautiful Habitat

The beach theme all started with the things we inherited in the house – a simple vanity and shower tiled in travertine.

Bathroom Designer in DenverBeautiful Habitat

The jumping off point for a beach theme came from the Travertine tiles, which reminded me of sand.

High end Interior Design Finishes

The builder-basic mirror and lights were beyond boring and there was nothing beachy, relaxing, or fun in them.

Creative Interior Design SolutionsMy first order of business was to add interest to the lighting. I painted the basic fixture silver with a can of spray paint and creatively engineered the galvanized buckets over the glass. TaDa – Beach lighting! I added colorful accessories which, together with the fun new lighting, take the focus off of the boring, frameless mirror.

Interior Designer Boulder COBeautiful Habitat

The toilet has it’s only little nook, which also needed a little something beach-inspired. My vision was to build a mini beach hut in the nook out of corrugated metal. I envisioned the corrugated metal behind the toilet and wrapping around the 2 sides, with a sloped roof  and a marine-inspired light. These photos are a bit of the inspiration.

Interior Designer ColoradoCreative Interior Design ColoradoWhile I was getting the toilet-nook-beach-hut design in order, I did install one piece of corrugated metal wall treatment behind the toilet as a place holder, along with a beach print we picked up on a trip to St. Thomas. (Now just envision the metal wrapping around and above – so much fun)

Bathroom DesignerYou’ll notice that I refer to the toilet plan in past-tense. It “was” because we are now moving. I’m a little sad that my toilet beach hut will never be realized. it was going to be adorable. However, I’ve enjoyed the beach bathroom for the last 5 years. it was a quick and easy makeover to an otherwise bland space.

Have you done anything fun in your space? Share your fun rooms with us here or on Facebook.

Custom Bedding and Drapery Design
Master Bedroom Design
Bedroom Accessories
Fresh Bedroom Makeover

Finished Interior Design Project | Shaggy’s Famous Poutine, Boulder, CO

August 9, 2012  |  by beautifulhabitat  |  in Before and After, Boulder, Ceiling, Commerical Interior Design, lighting, Restaurant Design, tileNo Comments

My specialty is Residential Interior Design. However, venturing off of that path and onto an occasional commercial project can be a wonderful challenge and way to get the creative juices flowing. When you add that with college student clientele and a restauranteur who thinks way out of the box, it’s a design project that is nothing but fun.

Welcome to Shaggy’s Famous Poutine!

Restaurant Design

What exactly is poutine? Yes, that was my first question…

Poutine, pronounced poo-teen by the English, (poo-tin by the French) is an addictive dish consisting of French Fries, white cheddar curd cheese and traditional beef gravy. Its origins are traced back to Quebec, Canada in the 1950′s and soon became a staple across all of Canada.

Eat in Boulder CO

The founder of Shaggy’s knew poutine would be a hit with the students of the University of Colorado, and found this location at the University Food Court “on the Hill” in Boulder.

The Design Concept: French Fries and Disco

Taking my cues from the Afro sported on the Shaggy’s logo and the restaurants “Barry White” hour, our design inspiration was all Disco and French Fries.

The Design

We started with this space:

The Design plan by Beautiful Habitat Interior Design included removing the obtrusive light box from the ceiling. The lighting was reconfigured on a 2×2 grid to be reminiscent of a disco dance floor. Of course, a pendant above the cash register hints at a disco ball. Next was the tile: we updated the tile with fresh white tiles and stainless steel stripes. A stainless steel counter top and kitchen door and an uplifting color palette finish off this restaurant makeover.

The results:

Boulder, CO RestaurantShaggy's Restaurant CU Campus

Happy Poutine Customers

Happy Restaurants in Boulder CO

To be another happy Poutine customer and to check out this awesome design makeover, Visit Shaggy’s on the hill in Boulder, CO. For more information: loveagoodshag.com

 

Master Bedroom Design
Fresh Bedroom Makeover
Custom Bedding and Drapery Design

Designer Tips: Using Bold Wall Colors

May 26, 2011  |  by Beautiful Habitat  |  in Accessories, bath, bedroom, Before and After, color, DIY, paint, Tips, turquoise, walls1 Comments

Most people shy away from bold wall colors. They can be intimidating. They can also be truly striking and take a room that is “nice”to one that is absolutely jaw-dropping.

House Beautiful magazine is covering the transformation of the Bee Cottage, focusing on a room each month. The Guest Bedroom Makeover provides a great example of many tips and tricks that Interior Designers use for selecting and using bold paint color. The guests who stay here will be blown away by the beauty of the room.

One surprising fact is that this room is tiny – about 9′ x 12′, with 7′ ceilings. Conventional rules say that painting with a dark color will make a room feel smaller. Obviously, this room breaks that rule in a glorious fashion. So, why does it work here? From House Beautiful, “Deep tones absorb the light, decreasing shadows so the space appears seamless and therefore larger.” Interior Decorator DenverAnother important key in this room is that the ceiling is painted in the same color as the wall. It’s no secret that I am a big fan of painted ceilings. In this particular bedroom, painting the ceiling makes it virtually disappear. Look at the room again and just imagine the ceiling white. Your eye would immediately be drawn up to the ceiling. A white ceiling would make the room feel small and low and would emphasize the awkward angles of the space.

Another tip in the success of this Interior Design plan is the balance of color. The walls and ceilings are the largest surfaces in the room and are in the bold turquoise-y color. The second largest surfaces are the floor and furniture. These have all been kept very neutral so as not to compete with the wall color. The result is a balanced space that does not overwhelm.

Interior Designer In DenverThe addition of a few bright red accessories adds a perfect level of interest to the room. Without this punch of color, it would be just a little flat. The red could have easily been replaced with yellow, green, orange, or any other color. For a great example of a room that employs these same Designer tips with a turquoise and tangerine scheme see the post Now That’s How You Use Color.

The Bee Cottage guest bathroom got an equally bold paint treatment. Without changing the flooring or fixtures in the room, the addition of paint on the walls and ceiling breathes new life into the room at minimal expense.

BeforeInterior Decorator in Boulder

AfterInterior Designer Boulder, ColoradoFor more tips on selecting bold paint colors in your home, check out these posts:

Have you gone bold with your paint color? Share you photos with us on Facebook.

Nail Head Project Wrap up

May 13, 2011  |  by Beautiful Habitat  |  in Beautiful Habitat, bedroom, Before and After, creative, Denver, Designers, DIY, fabric, furniture, Nail Head, pets, seating, Tips1 Comments

Nearly a year ago, I began an Obsession with Nail Head Trim. That turned into a project to reupholster a bench, adding a custom flair with a unique nail head design. I’m not usually a DIY’er so this project was both very challenging and rewarding for me. The bench has been completed for over a month now and I finally have the photos to share with you.

For a refresher on where we started, see the post: Nail Head Project Revealed.

The Process

First, the bench was reupholstered in a cool textual, pearly vinyl. Vinyl is virtually indestructible, and repels hair, fur, dirt, dust, spills and stains. It is also available in wonderful patterns, textures and colors from faux leather to bold creations.

My dining table created the perfect work station height.

custom upholstery

The next step was measuring and taping to ensure the pattern was straight and even. I sampled the design on a piece of cardboard before starting on the bench.

Interior Designer in Denver

I used a nail head template to mark out the pattern. The template ensures even spacing of the nails. The blue tape ensures that I keep the design level. I used a dry erase marker, which wipes right off of vinyl.

Interior Decorator in DenverMy German Shepherd liked all the interesting things going on in the dining room and though surely it meant this project was her play time.  And you were wondering what took so long to complete this project, but how can you say no to a face like that?

Interior Design with Pets in MindThen the nailing began…

Interior Designer in BoulderSeveral hundred nail heads later, a fully customized and original bench emerged. It was worth the effort to have an original piece.

The Reveal

Interior Decorator in Boulder, Colorado

Suessa is back to take credit for her contributions

Designing for Pets in Colorado

Customized Interior Design & Decor, Colorado

I hope I’ve inspired you to try something new in your home. Don’t be afraid to take your DIY projects to the next level. Just reupholstering the bench would have been boring. However, taking the time to create a unique design and add nail heads makes this piece much more interesting.

What projects are you working on in your home? How will you take it to the next level?

Small Changes Can Make Big Happys

March 1, 2011  |  by Beautiful Habitat  |  in bath, Before and After, DIY, furniture, pillows, seating, upholsteryNo Comments

I’ve recently made some small functional changes around my home and, although I knew they would make life feel better, I didn’t realize how happy they’d actually make me. While I don’t normally blog about me and my home, I think many people can relate to this story and draw inspiration from it. Allow me to be your case study for no longer settling for the little things that annoy you around your home!

Change #1: The Shower Head

About 2 months ago, we changed out the shower head. The old shower head had terrible water pressure and was a little leaky. It had gotten worse over time until a shower felt like this…

After one particularly low pressure and unpleasant shower, I had had enough and marched myself to the bathroom showroom. After about $100 in an upgraded shower head and 5 minutes of labor, my next shower felt like this…

I’m not exaggerating. It was wonderful. The new shower head made me ridiculously happy.  The actual change is really more like this…

Change #2: Sofa Cushions

The current sofa is something we purchased prior to my embarking on the design gig. It’s before I had access to all the lovely showrooms and manufacturers that I now bring to my clients. It’s from a well-known retail store. While it looks nice and has a well chosen fabric, the quality is not of the highest caliber, particularly the cushions along the back of the sofa. Below is a cushion insert. It is a just bag of loose fiber-fill. The result was a cushion that drooped and looked sloppy and, more importantly, was unsupportive and uncomfortable.

For $200, I had new inserts made for the sofa back by an upholstery supply company. These are made as a good sofa should be – with a supportive upholstery foam, envelope-wrapped in a down or fiber-fill.

This little change has made me love the sofa all over again. The cushions now sit upright and look tailored and the proper back support makes it comfortable.

The shower and the sofa were two little things that annoyed me a little bit each day. Those little annoyances start to build until you are no longer enjoying your home. And your home is the one place in this world you should never be annoyed, but should find pure joy, peace and relaxation.  For $300 I was able to resolve these nit-picky items and fall in love with my bath room and family room again. These small changes have given me big happy’s in my home again.

What’s bugging you in your home? I encourage you to change it. It can enhance your life and your daily routine. And if I can help you with those changes, you know where to reach me.

Make a Statement with Upholstery

December 29, 2010  |  by Beautiful Habitat  |  in Before and After, contemporary, Dining, fabric, furniture, seating, TipsNo Comments

Customizing your upholstery is a great way to add personality to your home, whether you are ordering a new piece or reupholstering an existing item.  Too often people play it safe and select an overall neutral for their upholstery. This is “smart” in that the piece will be timeless. However, you can still have a timeless piece, while taking your upholstery out-of-the-box. Here are some tips for just that.

Tip 1: Use two fabrics on the same piece

This photo is from House & Garden UK magazine and features dining chairs with 2 fabrics – a timeless look, but more interest than one overall fabric.

Below is a Before & After of an antique fainting couch from a Beautiful Habitat project in Louisville, Colorado.

Before:

After:
We used both a solid black and a contemporary print from Kravet to customize the piece.
 

Tip 2: Use a Small Pattern
Small patterns can look like solids from a distance. This can be a “safer” alternative if you aren’t ready to go bold. You’ll still have interest and uniqueness in the piece, but it will not be too trendy.

This project is a home I worked on in Broomfield, Colorado. Here, the sofa fabric is actually a gray-on-charcoal dot pattern. It adds fun to this contemporary decor, but reads as a solid from a distance so it doesn’t complete with the artwork and other fabrics.

Tip 3: Use a Big Pattern
A large and bold pattern can still be timeless. Here, elegant dining chairs have again been upholstered in two different fabrics. This  time a large embroidered pattern has been centered on the chair backs of each chair. The result is truly stunning.

This is from House & Garden, UK magazine May 2007.

So think out-of-the-box with your upholstery and have fun!

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com

Tennille Wood is an interior designer in Denver, CO. For more informaiton on her work, visit beautifulhabitat.com


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Home Office Design 101 – Function

October 13, 2010  |  by Beautiful Habitat  |  in Before and After, furniture, Home Office, lighting, TipsNo Comments

“Form follows function – that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright 
 

Home Offices are first and foremost functional spaces. I believe they can be more than just function, and we’ll be talking about that in the next post. However, without function, a home office really does fall flat. Let’s cover a few basics that you need to have in place for a functional home office. I’ll be using examples from a client home office project to walk us through the needs and some possible solutions.
The Project:
Before:  
My client used a small corner of this music room/library as a home office.
The problems:
  1. Not nearly enough work space. 
  2. Storage was inadequate and hard to access.
  3. Room located just off of the foyer in a very public area of the home.
  4. Inadequate lighting.
  5. Confusing purpose of the room (for more on the changes to the music room, see this post).
 After: 
My client, an empty-nester, had 2 childrens’ rooms turned guest rooms in the home. She has frequent guests, but rarely used both guest rooms at once. We decided that saving a guest room for 2 nights per year while she suffered with an inadequate home office for 365 days just didn’t make sense. We moved the home office into the smaller of the bedrooms. What about the guests? We placed the furniture against the walls so that a queen air mattress could be used in the center of the room to easily accommodate extra guests.
Functional Needs in a Home Office
Let’s break down some of the functional needs in a home office and look at the solutions we found for this particular space.
Functional Need 1: Adequately-sized area with some privacy

Functional Need 2: Adequate work space with comfortable and supportive seating
Functional Need 3: Adequate storage space
We included a generously sized desk that can accomodate multiple functions at once. An attractive filing cabinet is next to the desk for often used papers and supplies. Infrequently used items are stored in the closet.

Functional Need 4: Good Lighting
 This room has wonderful daylight with 3 large windows. Unfortunately, the night lighting was poor with no overhead fixture to provide lighting. We had to create specific lighting zones to suit the functions. At the desk, we installed an over-sized swing arm lamp. It adjusts in 3 places, so can easily be directed toward the task as needed. We also added a floor lamp with 5 different settings at the reading area.

And finally, if you are fortunate to have a large home office, it’s nice to create areas for functions other than a desk and some filing cabinets.  This might include a hobby or craft area, or a reading nook.

A reading nook should include a comfortable chair, with extra back support, if needed, a table for drinks and books, and good lighting. 

The next post will look at adding on to the functionality of a home office with how it looks and feels. 
Stay tuned.
Other posts in the Home Office Series.

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com
Tennille Wood is an interior designer in Denver, CO. For more informaiton on her work, visit beautifulhabitat.com


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To Paint Or Not To Paint …The Ceiling

September 2, 2010  |  by Beautiful Habitat  |  in Before and After, Ceiling, color, DIY, paint, Tips, wallsNo Comments

While we’re talking about painting tips and tricks this week, I’d like to share a favorite tip – adding color to your ceiling. I love adding a color to ceilings. It adds dimension and depth to a room. More importantly, however, it softens the harshness of a very white ceiling. Case in point is this music room, where the white ceiling absolutely shouted  and detracted much of the attention from the beautiful and unique room.
Before:

Our solution was to paint both the wall and the ceilings a different color. However, had we wanted to keep the red walls, the ceiling could have been softened with a complementary beige or gray. (If you’d like to know why we changed the color to a golden beige instead of the red, that is a whole other set of tips on paint colors. It’s explained in a previous post Before & After: Choosing Wall Color.)
After:

A technique that I use very often is to choose the wall color (read this post on Choosing Paint Color), then have that same color mixed to 50% strength to use on the ceiling. This technique was used in the above photo of the music room and also on the bedroom below. The ceiling slopes upward and the lighter color is used in the center most ceiling section.

Why a 50% tint? 
First, you know that the colors will work together and you won’t have to worry about the undertones and selecting coordinating colors. Also, it is important to paint the ceilings a lighter color than the wall color. First, a lighter ceiling does help a room feel taller. Secondly, colors on a horizontal surface will always appear darker than on a vertical surface, particularly with the way that interior lighting hits walls and ceilings.  Again, looking at the music room, the ceiling paint is a 50% tint to the wall color, but it looks the same as the wall color in this lighting. Had it been a 100% tint, the ceiling would have appeared darker.

The 50% does not work well with very bold colors such as reds or blues, however. A 50% tint will give you pink or a light blue ceiling. In these cases you are better served by finding a neutral beige or gray to compliment the wall color. I’ll be looking for more beautiful rooms with painted ceilings to share with you.

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com

Tennille Wood is an interior designer in Denver, CO. For more informaiton on her work, visit beautifulhabitat.com


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