Dining Room: Before & After

I believe changing a light fixture is one of the easiest things that can most transform a room. Good and beautiful lighting is necessary to all the activities in your home, especially in the dining room. If you are considering a change in the light about your dining table taking the extra step and center the fixture over your dining room table. More often than not an electrician you never knew (and long before you even moved into your home) hung the current fixture in the center most spot of the ceiling. This makes sense to an electrician but certainly not an interior designer. Now you are stuck with a table and a light that don’t get along. A handy person can do a quick internet search and find a how-to on moving the junction box yourself or, as a fan of out-sourcing, you can hire an electrician for the job. It will seem like an inconvenience and cost some extra money, but this simple change will make you’ll fall in love with your dining room again and every time you sit down for a family meal or just walk by you’ll appreciate the harmony you created. That is priceless.


That’s exactly what we did in this Bryant dining room. The smoked and etched glass fixture had to go. We swapped it out with the more elegant Round Pendant Shade from Restoration Hardware. It was centered over a consignment shop dining table and pulled together with oval back dining chairs from West Elm. Now the modern lines of the seating compliment the classic shape of the fixture and the expandable table fits the period of the mid-century home.

Ballard Bungalow: Before + After

The Ballard Bungalow project is complete and turned out picture perfect. We tried a few new (even risky?) things and the results paid off.

Before: This rectangle room was cramped with no flow to the furnishings, lack luster paint and a drab floor.

The clients have two dogs, so we needed to pick colors and materials that would be paw and fur friendly. They also wanted a semi-formal room to curl up with a book as well as entertain. We chose Benjamin Moore Light Khaki in an egg shell finish for the walls. One of the true stars of the room is the vintage ceiling light fixture that’s original to the house. In order to highlight the light and give some sizzle to the room, the ceiling was painted with Benjamin Moore’s Newburyport Blue in a flat finish (why flat?).

It was important to the clients that we avoid purchasing from big box retailers and repurpose as much furniture and finishes as possible. The vintage camel back sofa came from The House in Magnolia and other furnishings were found online. With the dogs in mind, Flor tiles in a celery color were laid in the living room. Should anything happen, be it dog or drink, the tiles can easily be replaced and afforded a perfect fit for this unusually sized room.

Ballard House 2.0

We've lived in our house in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood for a year and a half, and it was time for a few personal updates. We got very lucky with this place: our neighbor, a contractor, bought the 1926 house, gutted it and re-did everything. Thankfully he (and his wife) have a good eye and made some tasteful decisions. Still, after living here for over a year and through all the seasons we wanted to make some changes. We started in the dining area, one of the rooms that sold us on the house. Previously a sunroom, it is surrounded by charming pane windows original to the home. They are not the most weather resistant; the west facing windows draw in heat in the summer and hardly keep a breeze out during winter. Too beautiful to replace, I wanted the least invasive window coverings that wouldn’t hide the beautiful molding and also provide some insulation. Drapes seemed too fussy for the room, and any top-down-bottom-up option hardly seemed kid friendly. Roller shades were just the fit, simple, subtle and appropriate for the space.

We also replaced the light fixture with the Meurice Pendant light from Jonathan Adler. I love the mix of the modern light with the classic windows. The fixture's bronze finish matches the rest of the lights and door knobs in the house with a touch of faux bamboo, something that makes me very happy.

Finally, we unpacked our collection of white pottery for display in the corner built in and had all the windows in the house professionally cleaned, inside and out. What a change that made. Look for more Ballard house updates. Like any good home project, there’s always something new to do.

Weekend Project: New Shelving

Our cook and design books had been sitting on the floor in our office far too long while Michael and I looked for shelving we both liked and was affordable. We’ve been in the same shelving cycle for years: move into a new place, buy some “temporary” shelving (that we always weighed a ton had to be assembled!) until we found something we liked. Inevitably we always ended up selling that before we moved into a new place, thus keeping the cycle alive. While we still haven’t found a unit we both agree upon, we decided to set up track shelving in the office and so far are thrilled with the results. I love that we still have floor space beneath the shelves, and having something on the wall adds a nice touch when looking in from the kitchen. All in all, I think it turned out to be a stylish and affordable solution.

Phinney Staging: Fruit + Flower Refresh

When your house is on the market, there are lots of simple tricks to make your home as welcoming as possible to a potential buyer. A quick trip to the grocery store can provide you with some inexpensive accents that will make your home feel a bit more polished:

Fruit: A big bowl of green apples are a great accent to any room. They are bright, fresh and welcoming. We used a bowl of apples on a small table next too the front door. Depending on the season you could also use lemons and limes, pomegranates or clementines.


Flowers: I prefer arrangements of one flower in one color epically in a staging project. The flowers should blend in with the room, complimenting another color in the space. You don’t need a huge arrangement to stand out as the only thing a possible buyer might remember. Always keep the flowers tidy and fresh – dried out or dying flowers will send the wrong message to a future home owner.

Here I used green hydrangeas in the dining room (in this case we went for a tall arrangement to help hide a poorly placed outlet). A small tight arrangement of white roses in the bedroom complements the color palette.



White Pottery: My collection of white pottery came in handing as another accent piece throughout the home, offering a unified feel without taking anything away from the architectural details of the house.

Staging: Phinney Ridge

When it comes to staging your home before it goes on the market, there’s no need to rent an entire house full of new furniture. The key is to edit and work with what’s already there, maximizing the existing space with fewer knick knacks and perhaps opting for a smaller dining table or sofa.

That’s exactly what we did with this 1927 Phinney Ridge bungalow. The original Mahogany trim, hardwood floors, leaded glass windows and coved ceilings are the real star of the house. In the dining room we moved out a buffet and replaced the large square table with a smaller round one to improve flow and make the room appear larger. Two foot stools and several end tables were removed from the living room and the fireplace mantel was reworked with vintage pottery. For the rest of the house it was a matter of de-cluttering and de-personalizing spaces so a potential buyer could picture themselves living in this beautiful home.

After: Bryant Living Room

See Bryant living room before.

Beach House

Colonial House

Ballard Master Bathroom

Living Room

A more traditional concept.

After: Magnolia Condo

Amazing how a little color can completely transform a space. For several months this Magnolia condo sat empty and my client was eager to get it rented. The plan was divided into two phases: new paint and carpet first, followed by a kitchen update. To capitalize on the views and make the space feel bigger, we chose a Benjamin More Beachside Green as the primary color. We worked from the same color strip for the fireplace wall, picking Sage two colors down and continued down for the trim choosing the lightest color on the strip as the primary. The dining room light fixture went from a dated glass and gold number to modern stainless steel. To tie everything together all the white plastic switch plates were replaced in matching stainless. Immediately the condo felt more elegant with its modern color pallet and a bit of dressing up.

The makeover worked some magic --- before we could get the tile guy in to start on the kitchen, the condo rented. Phase two will just have to wait until next time.

Before: Magnolia Condo

The territorial view is the first thing that struck me about this 1 bedroom Seattle condo. Now that it’s between renters, the owner is looking to make this investment property work a little harder for her. With new paint, carpet and light fixtures, we are looking on bring the outside color scheme in which will make the condo feel bigger. The kitchen is also in need of a facelift with new flooring, countertop and a cupboard face lift. Look for the final results soon.

Before: Bryant Living Room

This Seattle couple is looking to transform their living room, form a catch-all dumping space for their 10-year-old son and three cats into a space where they can entertain. The room is just off the front door of the small craftsman home, so we are working on a solution for coats, backpacks and mail, while trying to keep the living room clutter free and chic without breaking the bank. Pictures of the transformation.