RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECT... AND THIS ONE IS FOR SALE!

It was great fun converting this tame, dark, and closed-off mid-century house into a fab, open-flow, mid-mod revival house!

  Exterior before-

Exterior after a good coat of taupe paint, new bold door, wood slats next to the door, slick lights and address numbers-

Entry area before-

Entry after, sans 80s wallpaper, half-wall and dated light, replaced with a cool retro pendant and industrial guardrail around the stairs.

Kitchen before, in addition to the dated colors and cabinets, there was very little storage and yet still felt quite closed off with a small entry doorway, which we opened up to a large five foot opening off the entry area-

Kitchen after, with white quartz countertops, new hardwood floors to match the existing in the living room, and cool rangehood and backsplash tile-

We maintained the existing brick fireplace in the living room, a great original feature in the house, and just updated with a new open fireplace insert and quartz hearth-

There was no master bath at all in this house, only a small hallway shared bath, so we converted one small bedroom into a master bath and large closet-

This fab property is up for sale in Olympus Cove by Joy Porter, if you are interested, call her at 801.918.0696!

IT HAD A BOLD SOUL UNDERNEATH ALL THE DAINTY, PINK FLOWERS

I always love seeing a total transformation of a dowdy piece of furniture, especially when the entire being of a piece seems to transform; the wood becomes richer with a good coat polish, highlighting design aspects I never even noticed, and somehow the piece seems to come into its own, taking on new life.

This loveseat certainly seemed to come into its own when reupholstered and cleaned up, and I had to share the before and after photos.

The seam down the middle of this piece just pained me, making it feel stubby and disjointed.  That just had to go.  Luckily the piece measured at just the right size to allow for one width of fabric, no seam!  And of course in addition to just being dirty and grimy, the fabric was just a bit too delicate for the piece.

My client wanted bold color, but we also needed to be sure the piece worked with black ans white elements throughout the rest of the project.  As I browsed through fabrics, I came across this one, and just felt a connection between the French and Indian history and this piece.  It was just right.  I began to consider it and thought- The first time I heard of 'French India' I was quite perplexed.  The British Raj is certainly familiar to me, but the French in India?  In fact the French established a number outposts on the subcontinent in the late 1600s, and a little bit of France is still evident in these areas.  The marriage of French and Indian culture is evident in this settee; a typical French Louis XV (or French Rococo) form, now covered in a wonderful Indian chintz (a print with a hint of the Middle East, another region the French favored). 

APARTMENT THERAPY & THE DEBATE OVER PAINTED WOOD

Wow, I have to say some of the comments on Apartment Therapy can be harsh!  While I was lucky enough to receive overwhelmingly amazing and positive comments about my lovely settee that was featured in the before&after section a few days ago, I did notice quite the heated debate regarding painting wood furniture.  I found it absolutely fascinating how much this topic arose and how polarized the opinions were, despite the fact I had in fact NOT painted any wood, or even mentioned the notion of painting any wood! 

So, while I am somewhat hesitant to join in the fun, I do feel I need to give my two cents.  Sorry, I just cannot help it.  And I guess since I feel my opinion is reasonable, I am sure everyone will see the light and agree with me!  Of course, it was most certainly drilled into me at Sotheby's that one must NEVER, EVER, EVER refinish the surface of a true, good antique.  And I certainly agree there.  Wood is beautiful, much more beautiful than paint, and the craftsman who created the piece 100+ years ago clearly did not intend his creation to be painted (or he would have done it himself).  However, there are those pieces of furniture that are just nothing speciaL, not worth much, and you know what, I am fine with someone painting their old 1980s, unattractive, not very well built, dresser (that has been in their parent's garage for 20 years), a bright pink or orange, if it makes them happy and it might well have ended up in the dump otherwise.   

However, the thought of painting my settee makes me more than just slightly nauseous, and the thing I really find frightening is the thought of people gathering up 'old' furniture they know nothing about, and painting it bright colors just because it is trendy.   They may have something on their hands they don't fully understand, and the prospect of causing damage to an amazing piece is a bit disconcerting.  It is the 'trend' part I suppose I am not totally on board with, not the individual, occasional piece being painted.

So there, I have put it out into the universe, anyone else care to add their two cents?  Or want to read everybody else's two cents?  Here is the Apartment Therapy post!