This past week a had a quick getaway to Arkansas to kick off the summer with my family. It was an incredible time. It was eye opening to me to see how my "DecRenew" team took care of everything while I was away! I am extremely grateful to the contractors that work along side me, they are continually making my job such a pleasure.

It was hard to come back after being in paradise at Lake Greeson in Arkansas.

My mind was renewed (as much as it can be for a few days away) and I was ready to get back to work the day after we returned.

A wonderful family hired me to decorate their piano room, dining room and entry. They have been in their home several years now and have remodeled each room. They just hadn't done any decorating to their 3 front rooms. Of course, these are the first rooms guests see first. They hired me to make it look inviting, comfortable, classy and welcoming. This is Phase I of the decorating. We will be adding some additional items sometime next month.

The dining room was already furnished and had all the lighting. We just added draperies, artwork and accessories.

BEFORE

Amazing what a difference color, texture and draperies can do to a room.

AFTER

The artwork was inspired by the drapery fabric. Mary Howe from Divine Inspirations did the painting for us. I outlined the concept and colors and she did her magic like she always does, such talent!

I created the urns by adding moss to a round Styrofoam ball and then surrounding them with grapevine to give it a really natural look. I just love using greenery that has lots of branches incorporated. Truly looks like you picked it off a tree. The urns were aged with an aging solution.

My camera died in the middle of taking these photo's so I apologize for the "not so vibrant" shots.

The piano room was cleared out completely. We kept the piano where it was because it is the star of the room.

BEFORE PIANO ROOM

AFTER PIANO ROOM

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

We had the fireplace fauxed with layers of grays. It now is more of the focal point in the room and coordinates with the colors in the entry. We added all new custom furniture, rugs and accessories, leaving the piano as the focal in this room.

AFTER

This oil painting is the mom of my client. She is perfect for above a mantel in a piano room don't you think?

BEFORE

We created a gallery wall with all of the oil paintings that were done by family members. Framing them all in the same frame made them a grouping that works together, even though they are all quite a bit different.

AFTER

I didn't use the oil painting with the fruit because I felt like that one is more appropriate for a kitchen.

Substantial dark frames changed the look of the artwork drastically! Grouping them together makes it more of a collection. Spreading them out all over the home would have lost their impact. Seeing them all together tells a better story and showcases the collection.

I found the glass lamp bases and changed out the shades with something a little more decorative than plain white. The muted chevron pattern is gorgeous with the rug.

These custom chairs are my favorite thing in the room! The colorful pillow makes the entire room come together. Well....I love the gallery of artwork too!

BEFORE ENTRY

AFTER

The entry accent wall was painted a similar color to the fireplace surround, uniting the rooms together.

I found the chair at an estate sale and had it painted a light gray.

Reupholstered the seat to match the pillows in the piano room and united everything together with a cream Brazilian hide.

These Spanish doors were added to the stairway wall and are an incredible statement to the home with their weathered texture and color.

The amount of work that goes into one of these installs in incredible. It always blows my mind to see the ideas that have been swirling around in my head come together within an 6 hour time frame. Months of preparation and organization. Such an awesome feeling to see it all put together.

The reveal is always so exciting and this family all gathered together to do the final walk thru after being gone all day.

The moment you drive away from a client and watch as the family walks back into their home is always such a rewarding feeling. I love knowing that as they enter the front door, new memories will be created as they have friends and family gathered around for meals around their dining room table. I can imagine lots of gatherings around the piano too, especially for holidays and special occasions.

Thank you Lord for the blessing of using my gifts to warm the hearts of others. It's a gift that comes back to me ten fold.

This home has had a makeover over the past few weeks.

It was time for new wood floors, tile in the kitchen, painted kitchen cabinets and then some updated decorating. I chose all the flooring and the paint colors to make sure good choices were made.

I met with the client for an Initial Consultation and we determined her budget first of all. I recommended we do a "One Day Design" which allows me to use what the client has as well as add some additional accessories, rugs, lamps and artwork. I established her design style and had her approve some items to make sure we were on the right track.

A few weeks later, the client left for the day and we got busy transforming, starting with the entry.

The client has this piece in the entry and wanted to use it since it is what they had (budget didn't allow us to purchase a new one). We added new mercury glass knobs and painted the hardware to match. The mirror above the dresser was painted with a dry brush black finish and it made it look so much better. You will see the before in the video below.

I stole a pillow from upstairs and found the chair in the corner in their game room.

She really wanted a family gallery wall. I purchased some new frames for her and used some of the ones she had as well. She will add her family pictures later. I had the metal "M" made for them and then incorporated the other items from pieces I found in other rooms. I especially love the vintage camera on the shelf (top right), it adds some charm. I found about 5 of them in different cabinets around the house. I placed them all together in their family room and now they are a great conversation piece and collection.

We also had the stairway spindles painted black and the handrail gel stained the color of the new floors. This was a stretch for my client but she is super excited about it now!

This wonderful airplane artwork was originally hanging over their couch. It didn't add much to the room and it felt too masculine in their main living room. We added it to the top of the stairway and it looks amazing there. Kinda looks like it's coming in for landing when you stand at the bottom of the stairs.

The dining room got some new table accessories and a pop of color in the artwork we added. The funniest thing is that when the two young boys saw the new art they said "mom, look it's our new target practice." Got to love boys!

A new rug lightens up the space and adds some amazing personality.

You can see the gold mirror below "before" we painted it.

We then headed on to the living room. We added this geometric rug. Kept all the furniture but just added accessories. Isn't the ceramic frog adorable? I knew their 2 young boys will really enjoy that. I found it sitting in a cabinet upstairs all lost and lonely.

A collection of new down filled pillows really made this room feel refreshed.

They had the lamps and I found this carved elephant from their travels. I also found some vintage medicine bottles upstairs that she had forgotten about. Layered on a mirrored tray, it makes a nice little collection.

I made a collage of places that are special to the family. The Atlanta skyline where they met. The Dome in Florence which was one of their favorite vacations, a colorful scene from New Orleans where they lived for 6 years. Finally, I included their favorite beach getaway.

I don't have a before but you can see the before video below!

This new rug added some color to the kitchen and married the living room and kitchen together. The colors are beautiful with the framed artwork in the living room and they make her new tile shine! Great to stand on while doing the dishes as well.

We put together a video of BEFORE AND AFTER. It's fun to see the transformation.

BEFORE VIDEO

AFTER VIDEO

Isn't it amazing what you can do with what you have? Just by adding accessories we transformed the place. No new furniture, just a beautiful refresher to this beautiful family home. It is now a house that invites them in and welcomes them HOME.

Call me for your "ONE DAY" DESIGN! You won't regret it.