Interior Design Case Study - Updating A Twenty Year Old Decor

I just finished a great project. A young (to me) couple with children had been in their house for around twenty years. The lady of the house engaged my services. She is an artist, a blog reader, and she has style. She and her husband had already done a fabulous kitchen renovation a couple of years ago, and now they were ready to update the rest of the downstairs rooms.  All "after" photos by Sara Essex Bradley. All crappy "before" photos by me from my notes.

Updated decor done by Valorie Hart for a client

Budget was a concern, so I started by talking about what we could re-purpose and keep. All the major pieces of furniture had good bones, and the homeowners still liked them. So remodeling, re-upholstery, and some paint were the order of the day. The furniture layout was fine, with just some minor tweaking needed.

Updated living room by Valorie Hart

Living room before

The club chairs were reupholstered by Leonels in a gray Ikat - We also had them add a swivel base since this is the only living room in the house where TV watching and socializing take place - We kept all the furnishings except for a large armoire that was outdated and overpowered the room

Before - This armoire was gifted to someone else - it overpowered the room

In place of the armoire - a mirror and a simple bench

Mitchell Settoon painted two matching French style chests - The paintings above were done by the homeowner

How the chests looked before Mitchell did his magic

How pretty the chests look now

White linen panels replaced the old drapes - They were dated but in good shape and were re-used in the dining room - We  re-used the existing rod and hardware here in the living room - I asked Jennifer from Shading Places to do the drapes - And yes we kept the ceiling fan, a necessity in New Orleans

Since the armoire housed the computer and we took it away, the console behind the couch was turned into the desk - A new Ghost chair was added - Note that all the lamps were re-used but updated with crisp white drum shades

The couch got a re-vamp - a washable linen slipcover, and a new bench cushion to replace the original three seat cushions

The couch has a new linen slipcover done by Leonels - Side table from AKA Stella Gray - pillows from Source

The couch before - still in good shape so a new slipcover and a more stylish bench seat cushion were all that was needed - Note the dining chairs in the background

This cane back chair (one of a pair) got a new seat cushion and a furry pillow

Here you can see the updated cane back chair done by Leonels, and a great view of the club chair they also did - Note new lampshade that gave a lift to the old lamps

Here's how the club chairs looked before - And you get a glimpse of the old drapes

We keyed off the kitchen paint color, continuing it throughout the living room, hallway, stairway, and dining room.

Even though I did not design the kitchen I wanted to show it to you - The homeowner opts out of window coverings because she loves the light and view of the garden

I changed out the old chairs for these modern ones - The old ones were French country with rush seats, very uncomfortable and a little dated for the new kitchen - I wanted to add a mix of mod with trad

A nice detail of the open shelving in the kitchen

The music room paint was in good shape and looked good with the other color choice in the rest of the rooms, so it remained as is. The dining room got a darker saturation of the wall color on the ceiling. The powder room was painted black.

The dining room - The furniture had to remain - Old living room drapes were reused in here - We just added new off-the-rack curtain rods - The room was repainted and we chose to do the ceiling darker - I moved the china cabinet to an opposite wall, leaving a better focal point for another great painting done by the homeowner, and flanking it with over size hurricane candle sconces from Global Views - An antique style chandelier was changed out with the old fixture - An antelope print rug from Modern Flooring was added, and I also had Leonels recover the dining room chair seats with washable durable faux leather

Moc Croc  I used on the dining room chair seats

The dining room before - I moved the china cabinet to an opposite wall (and restyled it)

Dining room before - A new chandelier was added, and the old living room drapes were reused in here

The dining room details now

A fireplace renovation was in progress when I came on board, designed by the homeowner and executed beautifully by her brother-in-law, Michael Ray Ernst. She was inspired by something like it she saw on various design blogs.

Though we weren't starting the project from zero there was a long punch list to get done in three months.

The music room - We kept the paint color, removed some outdated gold silk drapes, rearranged the furniture, restyled the bookshelves, and added a pair of leather slipper style chairs that are perfect for guitar playing

There was an old worn out stair runner, and at first it was not in the budget to replace it - I wanted to do the antelope print runner, and when we ordered the dining room rug the homeowners stretched their budget to include the stairs - It should be noted that this stylish print is the most forgiving of wear, and perfect for a family home

The powder room got painted black and a new mirror, medicine chest, and light fixture were added - I used a pair of chairs from the kids' early childhood for towels and TP

The powder room before

The entry hall with a view into the music room - A new light fixture (from Eclectic Home) was added

The hallway light fixture before - We are replacing the front door with a solid mahogany one that will be painted black inside and out

The entry hall chest before  - I thought I was going to move this mirror

 

The entry hall chest now  with a fantastic paint job by Mitchell Settoon - It made the mirror work, so it stayed - We added a small Jonathan Adler lamp with a bright lampshade

I love working with the things people love. I found a cache of wonderful paintings done by the homeowner in the her shed/studio. Hearing the famliy stories while hanging a gallery wall of several generations worth of wedding pictures was so much fun. Hunting for affordable fabrics and accessories is something I thrive on. Having a dream crew of local talent and vendors is a blessing.

Before -  A gallery wall of family photographs was attempted in the dining room

 

I moved the gallery wall to a focal point in the living room - There are several generations of wonderful family wedding pictures, and there is room to add more photos as the years go on

This home has good bones, a great foursquare type layout, and is a place filled with love, stories, art, books, music, and comfort. I am so happy to have helped infuse new energy and my love into it to last the next twenty years for this lovely family.

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The Office

I have been on the fence for months about turning the guest room into my office. Well, I finally did it. It took about a month. Come on in!

Valorie Hart office - all photos by Sara Essex Bradley

Here's what the guest room looked for nearly seven years, with just the bedding and some accessories changing once in a while.

The guest room as it was for seven years

My inspiration for the new office was Tricia Guild. Like many of you, I have loved her work for years. I have always wanted to do something using her fabrics and wallpapers, so I decided to do it for myself, to do something that maybe a client would not embrace.

This image with a room designed by Tricia Guild was my inspiration for my office

Of course I am on a budget, so as much as I wanted to, I couldn't ring up Designers Guild and order fabric, wallpaper, and accessories. But I could make use of the signature gestures.

My office inspired by Tricia Guild

Key elements include:

• Ombre wall
• Bold color
• Three different drapery panels
• Mix of prints
• Mid century elements
• Classic antique elements 
• Flowers

My jumping off point was the wall and the fabric for the curtains. I asked Mitchell Settoon to paint the ombre wall, and chose three Sherwin Williams colors. They are Forward Fuchsia, Exuberant Pink, and Vivacious Pink. My other strong colors are turquoise and chartreuse.

I tried several different fabrics, before I realized I had some silk remnants stored away. There was enough to make one drapery panel and to recover a chair! I ended up just buying a couple of yards of sheer fabric from fabric.com for one of the panels, and used an old velvet panel I had made 13 years ago for our French Quarter apartment. The silk was the perfect color.

Tricia Guild likes to use the Platner chair, antique mirrors, and Saarinen tables - She reupholsters the Platner chair in her gorgeous mix of fabric

My Platner style chair - I chose to use a silk remnant and had Leonels reupholster it

The trick is to use a floral, a solid, and a sheer. Tricia uses rings on a simple rod, and I just used clip rings with the most humble brass rod that has rusted to perfection over the years in a storage closet. I keep things that I change out for others, and they always come in handy.

I kept the base wall color (Vamp Greige) and just refreshed it were it was needed. I removed drop cloth panels that were once behind the bed hiding a connecting door to the living room. My office is now opened up to pretty sight lines into the living room. I painted the back of the door with black chalkboard paint. I don't know if I will write on it, but I like the matte chalky finish of the paint, it suits old houses. Drop cloth draping remained on another wall, hiding a door that goes into the master bedroom. If you look at the new space, you will see elements from the old space re-purposed.

Drop cloth draping stayed on one wall - Chandelier was lowered over desk, and a second one that I had in my magic closet was added - I even found a dreaded cord cover in the closet and dyed it turquoise - I added shades found on the clearance at Steinmart for $1.95 each - The chartreuse over dyed rug is an eBay bargain

The settee moved from the living room into the office, and one of my favorite paintings worked perfectly - I used fabric samples that didn't make it for drapes and chair upholstery for new pillow covers - And I over dyed some faded floral pillow covers turquoise, that I had for over 20 years!

I over dyed the faded cabbage rose pillow cover

Another DIY project was painting a Chinoiserie desk that was upstairs in Alberto's office. I bought it for about $20. maybe 10 years ago. I used Sherwin Williams Blue Mosque. The top of the desk had some issues, so I just recovered it with turquoise faux leather. I added a pair of vintage brass lamps I got on eBay for 99 cents! Tricia Guild uses colorful damask prints in her designs, so I had a pair of damask lamp shades.

I painted my desk and added a faux leather top

Here's the Tricia Guild room again - I liked the ledge in the back with the antique  portraits of a lady and man - Mmmmm how could I do that?

This is a pic I took with my phone - I had a great painting by Louis St. Lewis in the living room, so I moved it into the office - I purchased an inexpensive console table that is handy for storing office supplies - The tole candelabra has been in the garden shed for a few years and I was so happy to be able to use it again

The console table became a ledge for the painting

There's a space across from the desk that is quirky. It's a kind of a large cubby below a row of built-in cabinets that go to the ceiling. I have always kept a cedar chest in this nook. It's a space I have often thought would be perfect for a TV. The problem - no power source. But Alberto to the rescue! He snaked around cable and power cords, and wall mounted the TV that was in the original guest room. I like to watch TV when I work.

I had these cut-outs of Fornasetti plates that have been stashed away for years. I love Fornasetti, but I never could find a place to feature that love. Some people think he is so 1980s, but I admire the way he reinterpreted classical images in a mod way. Anyway, I created "wallpaper" in the TV nook with my collection of paper "plates". I added a shelf below the TV for the cable box and used it as an opportunity to add black and white accessories. I also repainted the cedar chest.

The Fornasetti TV nook

There is a small useful closet next to the TV nook. I removed the closet door years ago and had a drop cloth curtain instead. For my new office, I dug out a Fornasetti inspired shower curtain (I had the same one when I was 18 in my first apartment!).  It was too short, so I hot glued a band of white patent leather to the bottom.

The curtain on the closet door

I could not rest easy not having a place for a guest to sleep. So I got a white faux leather sofa bed, tufted in the Knoll style. When someone comes to stay I will rearrange the room, opening up the sofa to a bed, and camp out elsewhere to work during their visit.

There's still a place for guests to sleep

So there you have it! I have had so much fun making a room for me!!! I have already had a couple of business meetings here and the space works really well. Stay tuned for product info that I am always happy to share.

Valorie Hart office

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