Not that long ago -- before we undertook this massive renovation project -- we owned another, smaller home in the same area. We were lucky to have that home photographed for Elle Decor magazine and it is out in the new June issue.
It's bittersweet -- we loved that house -- but we are trying to remember we are on to bigger and better things with our new project! Check it out below:
Amongst dumpsters, earth movers, and major trenching of what used to be our yard is Spring. Somehow these daffodils managed to survive years of neglect and all the action since we've bought the house...
A welcome break from the chaos!
The first room we are tackling is the upstairs hall bath. Our goal is to get this room finished prior to moving in -- probably the only room we will get finished by March 1, our deadline.
Our inspiration is taken from an issue of British House and Garden:
We love the reclaimed wood ceiling offset by crisp white trim, white bath fixtures, and the dark brown/green walls. Fortunately we were able to salvage floor boards from our kitchen that worked perfectly...and we also love the idea of repurposing original materials from within the house. We found paint colors we like from the Martha Stewart for Lowe's line -- we went with Cricket for the walls and Panna Cotta for the trim. Although the flooring in our inspiration image is natural tile, we are going with traditional white penny tile against a white toilet, sink, and the original tub.
Our progress so far:
Our next steps will be to get the molding and trim up before laying the penny tile. Not looking like much now, but just wait...stay tuned for the progress!
Wallpaper, Architectural Digest, Domino, Martha Stewart Living, Surface, Elle Décor, O at Home, World of Interiors, House and Garden, etc. etc. etc…where do you start? We thought we would give you our top three magazines that are constant sources of design inspiration for us.
Although each of these has an American counterpart, we love these international versions. The stories in each are styled in more interesting, eclectic ways and show a broader design aesthetic – which is what we love and how we also tend to think. They each mix modern pieces with antiques – one-offs with mass-produced pieces to create rich, layered ideas. They also do lots of features on up and coming designers in every issue – featuring people and things you won’t see regularly in the American magazines. Although most items shown in their stories come from the UK or elsewhere in Europe, in the age of the Internet everything is available everywhere with a little investigating.
Although these three magazines happen to all be produced abroad, domestically we’ve found some great ideas in Domino (good budget fixes, inventive sources, and a great overall aesthetic) and, of course, Martha Stewart Living (aka The Bible). So don’t worry if your local newsstand doesn’t stock international magazines, there is always inspiration around.
