Months ago I entered the home of Erin and Gary for the first time. I remember it was dark. And filled with twenty years of stuff they no longer wanted. The spaces were not being used to their full potential. It was dark. (Yes, I'm saying it again).

My plan was to paint everything--walls, trim, built-ins...you name it. If you have been following me for a while you know I love the color blue. I remember Erin looking at me and saying, "by the way, I don't like blue." Some people might have freaked out then, but not me. I thought, you just wait. You will love blue, trust me.
Guess what. She loves the color blue.

I'm going to share the whole house makeover, but I want to start with the den. Gary hangs out in this space all the time. He's retired so he's home a lot. He needed a comfy chair and his large TV mounted on the wall. I got you covered, Gary!

Here is what the den  (and powder bath) looked like before.

See what I mean? Dark.
The first thing we did was call the painter and had the walls, ceiling, and trim painted Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams. The trim was painted Snowbound by Sherwin Williams. 
Next, I came up with a design plan. Then, it was time to get the show on the road!
Here is the newly updated den and powder bath. It's quite the transformation.

It's such a beautiful, functional, cozy space. Erin texts me often with I LOVE MY HOUSE. Those are my favorite text messages to receive.

Want to know the sources for all this goodness? Here you go.
Sofa
​Chair and ottoman
Coffee table
Side table
​Navy lamp
Bookshelf
Console
Wallpaper


Photo Credit: Jen Morley

I think one of my favorite spaces to design is a young girl's room. The first one I was hired to do was my niece's room--and I wasn't even designing homes for a living yet. It was just something my brother asked me to do while they were on vacation a few years ago. It was so fun to use the playful/whimsical part of my brain. Ever since then I have been a huge fan of girly rooms. Young girls tend to appreciate a rainbow of color so that's an easy fit for me. More times than not when I ask little girls their favorite color they're like ALL OF THEM. It's music to my ears.

A few months back I was lucky enough to get to style London's room. She's 10 and one of the sweetest little girls I've been around. She had hot pink stripes on her ceiling and she let me know right away she was over it. "No more pink," she said. She thought the color pink was too girly for her sensibilities. I asked if we could paint the walls turquoise and she very excitedly agreed. 

Here is what London's room looked like before. 

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't pulled together. Her mom told me she needed a dresser, a place for books and art supplies, and a place to sit.

Funny enough, I was selling my 15 year old daughter's dresser because we were in the middle of redoing her room. So London's mom bought the dresser from me. It was a win for both of us! 

I wanted to stay on budget, so while splurging on bedding from Anthropologie and a hanging chair from Serena & Lily, I cut costs by purchasing the other main pieces from Wayfair, Target, and HomeGoods. It's kinda how I am with my clothes. I might spend $125 on a pair of good blue jeans and then buy all my tops at Target. It's how I justify buying expensive jeans!

Everything shipped quickly and my team and I spent an afternoon shopping for art and accessories. At Target I spotted a gold dot print removable wallpaper and decided to apply it to the tops of the night stands. Doing little tricks like this is an inexpensive way to customize plain furniture. Plus no one will have one like it! It's unique, just like you.

Here's how the room turned out after we finished.

I wasn't there when London saw her room for the first time, but her mom tells me that she gets up every day and makes her bed because this is her dream room. And she goes to bed at night and says to her mom, "I love my room so much." That's all I needed to hear.

If you'd like your home or a room in your home restyled by me, please feel free to email me. [email protected]. I even offer E-Design. 

Have a great day.
xo
​Shauna