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Joanna Chesley and her husband, Jason, were preparing for their wedding when they realized that their almost bare guest room was in desperate need of some attention. “We have a big family, so we knew we’d be having a lot of people in and out,” Joanna says. “We wanted to make sure people had a room to stay in that was warm and inviting.”
To create the cozy look she wanted, Joanna started with the walls, which she painted a warm shade of taupe. “I had a color scheme in mind for the room, so I just built everything around that,” she says. “Some of my friends thought it might be too dark, but the big window in there lets tons of sun in, so there’s plenty of light.” The light-colored fabrics of the couch, the bed linens and the curtains also help brighten up the room.
When it came to accessorizing, Joanna got creative. Shopping at Fred’s discount store one day, she spotted some stepping stones in the garden section that she realized would fit perfectly in her new, garden-themed room. To help set them off even more over the bed, she painted a section of the wall a darker taupe and made a frame out of painted wood trim. She used the same trick to emphasize the antique-store mirror across the room. “It took about two months of window shopping to find the right accessories, then just a couple of weekends to put everything together,” Joanna says.
The vinyl lettering on the wall above the couch is another of Joanna’s personal touches. “I wanted to do something unique, so I sat in the room and tried to get a feel for it,” she says. “I wanted to give our guests something inspiring to look at after a hectic day away from home.” The words, which read “A House is built with boards and beams. A Home is built with love and dreams,” are sure to make visitors feel welcome. Flowers, candles and books on the nesting tables also add a friendly home-away-from-home atmosphere.
Joanna has been decorating the entire house one room at a time since moving in about three years ago. Now that the guest room is complete, she plans to tackle Jason’s office and their master bedroom closet. “I’ve always really enjoyed doing this,” she says. “Some of my friends have told me I should go pro, but right now I’m having fun doing my own house, where I can really use personal touches.” Once her own house is complete, however, Joanna is looking to branch out. “I would love to be a friend for those who need second opinions or help in doing their own room makeovers,” she says.
Michelle Caliste, owner of Caliste Interior Design, has always enjoyed decorating, so when she and her husband, Jourdan Ortiz, moved into their first townhouse as newlyweds last year, she was eager to start personalizing the space. “We were excited about decorating our first home together and making it a representation of both of us,” Michelle says.
Because they plan to move to a larger house in the next several years, Michelle and her husband wanted to be able to decorate this home without going overboard on the spending. “We’re bargain shoppers,” Michelle says. “We like to stick to a budget but still make sure that nothing looks cheap or boring.”
The Calistes love to entertain, so their first order of business was getting the living areas of the home in shape for guests. They quickly zeroed in on the dining room. “We had old furniture in there that wasn’t really our taste, so we decided to update to a more modern style with an Asian influence,” Michelle says. Instead of buying all new furniture, the couple decided to update their old glass-topped table with a fresh coat of chocolate-brown spray paint on the base, instantly giving the piece a more modern feel. Then, while shopping at Garden Ridge one day, Michelle found the perfect chairs to complete the look. “We had seen some that were almost identical for about $200 each at a more expensive store, so I was thrilled to find these for just $69.99,” she says.
Accessorizing the room proved to be the fun part. Because they eat in the room regularly, Michelle didn’t want to clutter up the table with fancy placemats, dishes and napkins that would have to be moved out of the way for less formal dinners. Instead, a bamboo table runner and an Asian bud garden centerpiece completed the table. With two new pieces of art on the walls, a vase of dried stems in the corner and casual draperies on the window, the room was ready to enjoy. “It only took us a couple of weekends to get it all done, and we have received so many compliments on it,” Michelle says.
Now that the dining room and most of the house are complete, Michelle is looking forward to her next project. “We love what we’ve done with this house, but we’re really excited about moving to the bigger house in a couple years and decorating all over again,” she says. “This is my passion. I just can’t see myself doing anything else.”
As soon as Tara and James Francis found out they were pregnant, Tara began collecting fabric samples to serve as the design inspiration for their nursery. She says she wanted to create a room that was “elegant, with a touch of whimsy.” As she studied the fabric samples, she found herself drawn to a watermelon pink and soft green plaid design, and a watermelon-color fabric with monkeys and lions printed on it. The other key design element in the nursery was the woodworking. She designed a 60-inch wall treatment and James created it. He also built a custom bookcase. Tara painted pictures that echoed the monkey and lion from the fabric. The couple says their infant daughter seems to absolutely love her unique and stylish new abode.
When the house Kym Walther had her heart set on, with just the kitchen she wanted, turned out to have structural problems, she bought her current home and decided to create the kitchen of her dreams—on a budget. She rented a wet saw, bought clearance granite tile and sandless grout, and set about making her own unique countertops. She also replaced the sink and fixtures to better match the existing appliances. She peeled the damaged laminate off the cabinets, painted them and gave them an antiqued finish. She also replaced the outdated track lighting with energy-efficient halogen. Finally, she bleached and restained the dingy floor grout and repainted the walls for a fresh new kitchen.
When Pattie Trumbull’s neighbor asked her to surprise his daughter, Hannah, with a bedroom makeover for her 10th birthday, she jumped at the chance. The inspiration for the room was a “Drama Queen” pillow Hannah already had. Pattie selected a paint color and Hannah’s father painted the room. Pattie used a net canopy that had been over the bed to create a window treatment and embellishments for the furniture and mirror. Then she accented the room with a variety of accessories in shades of purple. A flower-and-star motif inspired by the rug was painted on the wall above the bed to complete the beautiful birthday surprise.
Vicki Bolick thought her guest room/sitting area—a walk-through to the master bedroom—lacked cohesiveness and appeal, so she gave it a warm, sunny boost with buttery yellow fabrics and paint. She added a twin sleeper chair and ottoman to fill the need for guest accommodations and made a screen from old Chinese doors for privacy. A bench became a window seat offering a view of the courtyard garden area. The accents, which include fresh bamboo, were the finishing touches for this refreshing, inviting and multifunctional space.
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