I had the pleasure of hanging out today with one of my most creative and talented friends, Jane, and her adorable 10-month old daughter. Jane and her husband bought a great house with a few big projects that needed tackling (kitchen: check, powder room: check), but mostly, it was just a fantastic blank canvas for making their own. Their next project will be to turn the formal living and dining spaces, rooms they currently do not use, into a more functional play space for Baby E and work space for Jane.
This re-purposing of spaces reminded me of a recent article in my BHG magazine, where Jaime Favor converted her unused formal living room into her dream craft room. Check out photos here. Why reserve rooms in your home for spaces that only get visited a few times a year when you could re-purpose them into spaces you'll never want to leave! I'm going to tag along with Jane on her room re-do journey and share it all with you here, every Tuesday, from design inspiration to what are sure to be the amazing AFTER photos.
This re-purposing of spaces reminded me of a recent article in my BHG magazine, where Jaime Favor converted her unused formal living room into her dream craft room. Check out photos here. Why reserve rooms in your home for spaces that only get visited a few times a year when you could re-purpose them into spaces you'll never want to leave! I'm going to tag along with Jane on her room re-do journey and share it all with you here, every Tuesday, from design inspiration to what are sure to be the amazing AFTER photos.
But before we dive into the BEFORE shots, I think a little design inspiration is in order. I love to start projects in different ways, depending on the problem(s) to be solved. In this case, there aren't many problems, just a large space (which most would die for!). Jane headed to the fabric store this past weekend for her inspiration, to start pulling swatches and putting together a cohesive color story for the entire main floor of her house. I think this is such an important step when you will be doing a project gradually. Once you've accomplished this step, it gives you a clear framework to shop within, as the need and ability to acquire additional pieces arise. In this case, we know that the room will need to be able to change and grow as baby E gets bigger. Design is never static!
Here is a little inspiration from Jane's shopping trip:
from right to left: Rebecca Fern \ Zig Zag \ Ajanta Handprint \ Kilburn Surf
and from our conversation today about what she is envisioning for the space:
1. Classic Storage \ 2. Bench Storage \ 3. Re-purposed Living Room \ 4. Magnetic Board \ 5. Storage Perimeter
What a great way to start a project. We have been embarking similarly on a very slow design of our first floor with a color scheme that carries through. We picked up paint chips of the colors that we wanted to use, but I think the fabric samples give you so much more inspiration as far as the style/feeling you are looking for. Guess I'll need to plan a trip to the fabric store...what a chore! ;)
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