Oliveira Living Rm

Oliveira Living Rm by MRShadrick on Polyvore.com

Before & After

One of the things I love to do - as most creative types probably do- is finding unwanted furniture and breathing fresh life into them.  I don't have a whole lot of time or space for that matter to really collect as much as I would want, but I do have some pieces that I will try to complete in the warmer months ahead.    I will be posting these projects from time to time as I finish them. I hope to inspire others from discarding otherwise good pieces of furniture if all they really need is a good coat of paint or new upholstery.    


I'm kicking this off with one of the first pieces I refurbished.  The before pic is actually mid process- tan brown wood stain and the ugly peach velour upholstery aren't shown, but you can still get a great idea of the change made.  I actually toyed with the idea of leaving the wood stripped as shown in the "before" and upholstering the seat with a light colored, linen fabric, but I love injecting some good old vibrant personality into occasional chairs.   The floral fabric is from Anthropologie, but is not longer available.  Yes, its not well advertised, but you can buy cut yardage from select Anthropologie stores!  

BEFORE

And the after......

Vintage Kitchens Abound

Well, over at House & Home Magazine's blog, Michael Penney was blogging about retro pink kitchens.  The look oh so feminine and fun, but who would be courageous enough to do it!  He included some of kitchens of yesteryear, and to my shock I saw this picture:

Now, I knew my kitchen was original b/c of the state of decay the cabinets were in (you might notice a missing drawer face in one of the shots),  but when we looked into renting this place I loved all the vintage charm and light it had.  What I didn't know is that it actually still has the original hardware as well!  Look at the picture of my kitchen!  I have to say the cabinets & hardware are really a love/hate thing for me.  Everything is pretty beat up and dated at this point in its 90 or so year life, BUT I would so much rather have the kitchen I have than some dark wood veneered cabinets from the 80's, or even 90's. I'm a sucker for a white kitchen.   I suppose there probably was a cool retro stovetop at some point as well.....too bad it has been replaced only for the fact that these stoves give it that oh-so vintage vibe.

Design Board - Whimsical Modern

Here is the latest design for a client who has 4 very active and creative kids.  They had recently finished out their basement when I came on board to help make the plain-ole-nothing-to-talk-about-basement into a fun, and engaging spot for the kids to hang out as well as the whole family.   The basement is devoid of any furntiture except the children's IKEA red and blue barrel chairs.   My client also loves a casual, whimsical look in general, so that was a win-win between the kids and parents.  However, I wanted inject some clean lined furniture pieces and a crisp contrast with black and white to give an air of sophisitication as well.


Stay tuned for the final after shots.......

Kids Basement by MRShadrick featuring tops

Spring in near.....Staging advice

With the spring real estate season approaching, I thought I would share a little staging vs non staging advice.   Sometimes the hardest part about being a stager is convincing a client that they should follow through with most if not all of my recommendations.   I can't blame them entirely since I am asking them to spend even more money on a home they are about to leave.   I wish I could show them the future just as Ebeneezer Scrooge saw his future of doom.   


Well, as is happenend I can show you almost that very scenario.  The condo right above our place was put on the market last September. It was renovated extensively about 7 years ago and is a 4 bdrm/2bath.  List price: $475,000.  Exactly one week later,  another 2nd floor condo one street over was also put on the market. This house had just been gutted and renovated by a builder.  Its a 3 bdrm/2 bath. List price: $489,000.  


As it turned out, I did not stage the property above us even though my landlord did ask my advice.  Advice was given, but unfortunately advice was not taken.  One of the items I suggested doing was repainting in more neutral colors as they were strong colors that wouldn't appeal to a broad market. The colors also made the rooms look smaller.    The other condo one street over used very "of the moment" neutrals. 
I also suggested staging some furniture, particularly in the open living room/dining room/ kitchen area.


Here are pictures of the two condos:

The verdict?  The condo one street over sold 2 months later, November 1st.  The condo upstairs from us lowered the asking price to $440,000 and finally took it off the market January 1st without any buyers.


There you have it folks. There are many factors involved in getting a house sold, but staging can play a very important part!

Matchbook Magazine

Always on the hunt for a great new read, I just heard about another new online magazine via Design Sponge that launched this month called Matchbook Mag. Its a lifestyle magazine for women and is chalkfull of fun stuff like fashion, interiors, travel, art and culture. Check it out here.   
Perhaps with yet another snowstorm coming our way tonight, I will have cancelled appointments tomorrow, and I MIGHT get to peruse this mag in more detail over a hot cup of morning coffee..... (long pause) but I'm not counting on it with the kiddos: )

Photographing Cora's first year

In honor of Cora going for her 6 month check up tomorrow, I thought I would show a photo project I am in the middle of doing.  I've taken a picture of Cora each month since she was born, and after her 12 month photo I am going to make a photo collage of all the months combined.  I always think its a nice way of documenting a child first year without plastering pictures all over the wall.  Originally I had the intention of buying a 12 month size white onesie and taking a picture of her in it each month until she turned one, but I never made it out to grab said onesie.  Instead, I used her birth announcement picture as my guide.  Each month I have taken a picture of Cora in the same position and same spot on our sofa.

Here is the original shot when she was 3 weeks old.

Here are the subsequent shots from month one to six:

1 mo.

2 mo.

3 mo.

4 mo.

5 mo.

6 mo.

Now that I've put them together like that I notice an unintentional trend of red, white, and blue clothing going on.....hmm, well she was born on July 2nd.   Ironically, this is what my living room looks like:

I see a color pattern going on.  Well, people often decorate in the same colors they wear, so guilty as charged! Stay tuned for the final collage in 6 months.