The room transformation was gradual. However, the main springboard were the two abstract paintings that Nicole inherited from her artist/architect grandfather. An artist herself, Nicole wanted to give the paintings a prominent place in her home.
Once she placed them on her mantel, Nicole realized that she wanted the whole room to reflect the paintings' layered yet somewhat structured liveliness. In her words, she wanted the room to have "that graphic but old fashioned Curious George studio feel"— bold colors against white walls in a clean but vintage setting. Also, everyone in the family is a collector of interesting things, so she decided to incorporate a certain amount of the "curiosity cabinet" vibe without letting the whole room dip too much into the realm of "cluttered."
I was lucky enough to help out with the new fabrics, paint color, and accessory arrangements. The sofa pillows— dead-ringers for Kelly Wearstler's Imperial Trellis— came from Target's outdoor collection. Nicole already had the white canvas slipcover for the side chair, and I made the yellow and white chevron pillow out of fabric.com fabric for roughly $3. Her roman shades were recalled by West Elm, so she replaced them with panels from IKEA which she spruced up with some yellow grosgrain ribbon and fabric glue. The artwork above the side table is a mix of Nicole's own work, a piece from friend Laurel Dugan (also of house tour fame), a vintage butterfly print given to Colin (a natural history buff) by Nicole's mom, and a framed drawing by her second son, age 5. Although some may call it cluttered, the eclectic grouping sets a personal, collected, and casual tone that Nicole loves. The most expensive switch was the table lamp, which came from the Restoration Hardware outlet, but it's a favorite for both Nicole and Colin and well worth the little splurge.
Once all the new accessories were in place, the room felt a little too busy and just a bit off, so I convinced Nicole to switch out the cool blue wall color for a bright but warm white (Benjamin Moore's Simply White— one of my favorites) to provide a clean backdrop for the infusion of new colors. Nicole repainted the room with gusto and ended up with a room that makes their family happy the instant they walk in the door. Aside from better reflecting the colorful style that Nicole's own artwork is known for, the added bonus is that now, the odd (and inevitably primary colored) toy that the makes its way into the living room no longer looks out of place but blends right in....almost.
(Images: Leah Moss)
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Thank you for taking the before and after shots from the same angle!
I second gypsymomma0911! And it looks fantastic!
I love how "after" photos always have WAY better lighting :) Nice work, the room looks brand new!
lovely! :)
The angles could have been shot better or at least in the same orientation (portrait/landscape).
Though I love the look/feel of both rooms, I'm wondering whether this warrants a before/after feature on AT. Everything is essentially the same as before. (save for paint colour/slipcovers/art (which is still more or less in the same arrangement). It's such a subtle change that I personally don't notice a huge 'atmosphere' change-- though that might be because I'm looking at photos.
Great pictures, and it's incredible how you can change a room with just paint and accessories, and not spending a fortune..
I liked it before. I like it after. It doesn't look all that different to me.
I'm with POLLYS on this one. Besides some art/pillow chages and adding globes on the bookshelf, the room looks identical. I'm guessing they painted it white too, but...it said "lively makeover"...this looks like a couple subtle changes. It's classy though, I do like the room.
Agree with POLLY S., not exactly a 'before and after'. Nice before, nice after, looks like a great 'real life' family room.
Sorry, but not impressed. It looks cluttered. I would only group the pictures once. Use one large picture or mirror over the fireplace. Use something to "mirror" the Mirror over the couch. Use one Globe. Try a pillow or two as a pop of color.
Tough crowd! It doesn't have a new wall or anything, but it's different than the before pictures, for sure. And it's not just small accessories; I see a lot of changes here. The drapes changed to curtains, for example. I don't think most of us re-do an entire room from scratch, it's nice to see how they re-interpreted stuff they already had in the room, imo.
It's admittedly not the most epic before and after featured on here, but it does go to show that just a slap of paint, some new curtains, and a few pillow covers can be a cheap, effective way to change a room. All that could be done in a weekend. That's inspiring for decorators who are always wanting something different. (aka- me)
I'm getting tired of these "makeovers" that showcase a change to white paint.
I like it! Change without being overdone. We need more stories like this to showcase that you don't need to spend five figures to change the feeling of a room and make it more "current." Good job at keepng the integrity of your design style.
This is a great demonstration of how to refresh a room with a little time and a little budget, but it definitely wasn't what I was hoping for. What was done was all great, but it's really only that there is something about brick fireplaces painted white that I can't stand. I guess it is because just about every cheap, crappy old apartment I've ever seen has had that same fireplace painted a shiny white, so to me it just screams "look at me, I am a cheap, lazy solution to a fireplace someone didn't really want!" That might just be my personal bias, but if I was going to do one thing to this room that I think would really turn it into a killer, it would be strip the fireplace to see what's under the paint, and then figure out what else I could do with it (either leaving the brick, or choosing a different, more interesting and well-thought color or pattern). It's probably overkill for the spur-of-the-moment refresh sparked by a couple new paintings, but next time...!
I think they did a great job and it looks wonderful! Enjoy your new space :)
I think I like the before better. It looks more cohesive and finished. Although I do like some of the little changes you made like the slip covered chair and the globes (love those!), I think the space looked better with some color on the walls. Beautiful space either way though!
I think there's a very noticeable difference between the before and after, and I adore the after. Beautiful room!
Late to the party -- I just now caught on to the fact that we're supposed to do shots every time AT shows a photo with more than one globe in it.
The difference in art makes all the difference, to me. (I'm toasting Bee For Brian right now with my shot glass.) The before looks much more formal and not as personal as the after. I like the scale of what was chosen for the after better than the before. It's not a makeover like much of what you see on AT, it's more of a "shop your house" to change things up, since the change in paint color didn't make a huge difference to most viewers it seems. I'll bet it feels like a makeover to the owners!
put a globe on it. note the birdcage goes the globe comes in. I love them though dont get me wrong and these are some really fantastic ones (love the black.) well done with the very simple changes.
Prefer it before.
Very Nice!
I love the after, thanks for the inspiration.
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