Midtown Miami Condo

View additional photos of this completed project at

http://www.houzz.com/projects/1067737

room by room :: master bathroom

For the master bathroom, I utilized several of the same elements that were used in the downstairs bathroom. The freestanding vanities from Ikea worked perfectly as did the wall color, floor and wall tile. The layout is quite a bit different but as for the design, I only switched out the accent tile and how it was applied.

After searching through endless accent tile options and balancing style with budget, I found a fabulous mini brick marble mosaic at Home Depot. I used in as a border and in the inset. To add a little more dimension to the border, I sandwiched it with two bands of white beveled subway tiles.

 

Another element I used in the master bath to elevate it a little was marble sill found in the flooring department at Lowe's. I used it as baseboard, to cap the shower curb and to cap the narrow ledge I designed to run the length of one of the shower walls.

before + after :: atlantic cottage

In the Fall of 2013, one of my repeat customers purchased a simple little beach cottage in St Joe Beach. It was one of those location, location, location kind of things. The structure was in good condition, but a complete cosmetic renovation was clearly in order. In addition to new windows, paint, light fixtures, kitchen finishes and flooring, an ensuite bath was added onto the master bedroom. The contractor, F&B Builders in Port St Joe, did a wonderful job as always!

All new windows were installed along with the front sliding glass doors. A charming screened front porch was added for aesthetics and functionality.

On the rear of the home, the contractor added on a master bathroom, installed a soaking pool surrounded by a simple wooden fence.

For the living space, we chose to keep the original pine wainscot which resembles heart pine. We freshened the walls and trim with paint, updated the ceiling fan and installed a beautiful, wide-plank, handscraped laminate. The wall color throughout is my favorite go-to neutral -- Relaxed Khaki from Sherwin Williams (SW6149).  A tip for working with two wood tones in a room: don't try to match them. In this room, I chose a darker, chocolatey brown tone for the floors which complemented the darker tones in the wainscott.

 The dining area received the same treatment, except we replaced the ceiling fan with a brushed nickel warehouse-style pendant.

 The kitchen in this cottage had a small but efficient layout and solid wood cabinets that were in great condition. So we had them painted out, then topped them with beautiful honed black absolute granite. I wanted a classic and simple design that would compliment the overall aesthetic of the house. I had the carpenters notch out the original sink base to accomodate a Domsjo apron front sink from Ikea. To complete the design, we added a Glittran faucet also from Ikea and a white ceramic tile backsplash set in a brick pattern. We also traded out the dreaded faux wood trimmed flourescent fixture with a schoolhouse-style semi-flush mount.

Oh..small bathrooms are tough to photograph! With no natural light, this space was pretty dark and the dark cabinetry didn't help. We needed to keep the beige tub/shower combo which was in good shape, but find a way to blend it with the new white trim and vanity. So I chose install a white (instead of beige) toilet and white tile. To complement the tub, I designed a striped tile treatment with bands of beige penny rounds.

All three bedrooms suffered from drab paint, sad brown sculpted carpet and wobbly old ceiling fans. We painted out all of the doors and trim in white, changed the wall color, installed new carpet and updated the ceiling fans. A master suite was created with the addition of a full bathroom. Although I had designed a different pattern for the floor tile, the installer repeated the design from the guest bath. Sooo... what's done is done (throwing a tantrum wouldn't have helped and really isn't my style anyway). I do like the pattern and the mosaics are so pretty with the simple and very wallet-friendly white tile. The paint color for the master suite is Sea Salt from Sherwin Williams (SW6404). Its a great color and complemented the tile perfectly. 

Of course big budget allowances are fabulous...but there's something fun about a project like this one with a sufficient but pretty tight budget. I love creating a custom look using inexpensive elements. For example, the main floor tile was .99/square foot at Home Depot, but adding the mosaic bands gives it a unique look. And playing the "high/low" game is always a blast! I really liked the idea of the fixture on the left from School House Electric for $99, but found the one on the right from Home Depot for half the price.

Hope you enjoyed my little beach bungalow before and after!

room by room :: kitchen

I love to cook! I love to bake! And when we have a full house, I do a lot of both (plus all of the cleanup that follows). It was very important for me to have a very well thought out kitchen design that would function efficiently and of course, be beautiful. Ours is an open floor plan, so the elements of the kitchen had to flow with the adjacent dining and living rooms. The kitchen design actually dictated how much of the remaining floor plan played out. From the initial concept, I began taking notes and gathering inspiration photos of kitchens I loved. This is the first kitchen I pinned. I instantly fell in love with these huge to-the-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows.

Marsh Residence Rustic Kitchen :: Dungan Nequette Residential Design

I also liked the way these three narrower windows were framed and trimmed together. This option seemed like a more practical way to achieve a bank of windows since our kitchen is on the first floor.

This unique design has always been one of my favorite kitchens and probably sparked my preference for open shelving in lieu of upper cabinetry.

RiverCamps Idea House :: Southern Living

The other thing I was sure of was that I wanted a white kitchen. I love the fresh, crisp look and since we had decided to use tongue and groove pine on all of the great room walls, stained cabinets would have been way too much wood. I liked the simple design of this galley kitchen with open shelving flanking the window.

I also liked the way this kitchen blended crisp white with natural wood elements and the fact that it doesn't necessarily look like a "kitchen" straight on.

I started like I always do with sketches of several configurations. Each had one constant: the coveted bank of windows. Here's one of the designs where I considered twin banks of tall cabinetry. Can you tell I'm really attracted to symmetry?

Preliminary North Wall Design :: Lemongrass Interiors

For several reasons, practical and aesthetic, we decided on cabinets from Ikea. Other than their excellent value, they are well-designed and have tons of smart components like soft closing hinges, full-extension drawers and interior organizers. Ikea has also nailed the whole "modern meets country" thing -- exactly the concept behind the barn house. After the layout was set, I used Ikea's handy kitchen design tool.

North Wall Design in Progress

In this design, I was still toying with the idea of cabinets to flank the windows which would completely fill the large blank space. For the refrigerator wall, I wanted to recess about half of the depth of it into the wall and flank it with cabinets with glass doors. 

West Wall Design in Progress

To get the right configuration, I decided on 12" deep wall cabinets for the uppers and lowers. Then we planned to build a custom surround, mounting the Ikea cabinets on either side -- hoping to achieve a seamless built-in look. In the end, we decided on the Adel Off-white fronts and lots and lots of drawers.

Akurum Base Cabinet with Adel Off-white Front :: Ikea

I also decided against any upper cabinetry on the back wall and instead chose six (three on each side) white Ekby Jarpen shelves with Bjarnum brackets.

Ekby Jarpen Shelf with Ekby Bjarnum Bracket $24.99 :: Ikea

I also fell in love with Ikea's Domsjo double bowl, apron front sink. Its huge, beautifully designed and an awesome price! Anyone who's shopped for an apron front sink has no doubt experienced sticker shock. But at $312.98 (!!!) the Domsjo is a no-brainer. 

Domsjo Double Bowl Sink $312.98 :: Ikea

We decided on several other items from Ikea including the Ringskar faucet with pullout function which was a steal at $159, as well as their side-by-side refrigerator and dishwasher both in stainless steel. And after considering alternate options like zinc and concrete (so over granite!) for the countertops, we chose white laminate. I love the look and practicality of it and at that particular stage in construction, it was the best choice. Honestly, we were exhausted and had a long punch-list. The idea of forming and welding zinc or pouring our own concrete countertops was just too much. We reasoned that if we tire of these or they don't hold up the way we hope, we've only spent like $300 so...

Just 10 days after moving in, we hosted Thanksgiving for 35 family members! I put the kitchen right to work and it functioned perfectly. I can't wait to share the finished design with you! 

inspired :: happiness

Every once in a while a song comes along that instantly puts you in a good mood and you really don't mind that it gets stuck in your head. Pharrell Williams' Happy does that for me. When it comes on the radio, I'm dancing in the driver's seat (yes I'm the silly one at the stop light singing dashboard karoke).

Inspired by the contagious liveliness of the song, I started thinking of how I'd design a room filled with this same joie de vivre. Just last week, I tweeted this new print from Quadrille

Cheery new print to brighten your day! #quadrille #fabric pic.twitter.com/eaaW2xUhUc
— Jessica Faircloth (@jess_faircloth) February 5, 2014

This design, called Sigourney, comes in several bright colors but the yellow is my favorite -- like injecting sunshine directly into your space. I'd use it on an accent wall, with all other walls freshly painted in Benjamin Moore's Super White. 
Then, while scanning my favorite sofa source, I came upon this adorable apartment size sofa from Lee Industries. Wow! Lee definitely isn't just slipcovers anymore!

1759-11 Apartment Sofa in Farrow Midnight Blue with Antique Brass Frame :: Call for Pricing

I love the shade and texture of this upholstery and the design of this piece is excellent. The combination of the modern shape and legs with the traditional tufting is spot on. I'd love a pair of these cozy armchairs from Dot & Bo.

Baby Blue Modern Chair $999 each :: Dot & Bo

These polished white cubes from CB2 are so versatile. I'd place a pair of these in lieu of a coffee table.

City Slicker White Side Table $199 each :: CB2

Between the armchairs, I think these nesting tables (also from CB2) are fabulous and such a great value.

Peekaboo Clear Nesting Tables $199 set of three :: CB2

I found this floor lamp designed by Jielde that has tons of personality and comes in 17 colors and 2 metal finishes.

Signal Zig-Zag Floor Lamp by Jielde in Mustard $595 :: Horne

When sourcing accessories, I look everywhere and prefer a mix of high and low. From a $5 find at Ikea to a (not too expensive) $100 splurge from Thomas Paul, I'd go for a fun mix of prints.

Skarum Cushion Cover $5 :: Ikea

A Friend for Ponyo Pillow Cover $30 :: Dot & Bo

Flamingo Pillow Cover with Down Insert $100 :: Thomas Paul

Finding fun rugs was well, fun! I couldn't really decide on one. I love the crisp pattern of this zebra rug from West Elm.

Safari Wool Rug in True Blue 8X10 $749 :: West Elm

I also loved the bold pattern of this Beth Lacefield rug I spotted on Wayfair.

Alameda Rug 8X11 $1085 :: Wayfair

From here, you can have a ball adding in bright accessories and fresh flowers in colors that make you smile. As for me, I've officially adopted "Happy" as THE song for 2014!