Houzz 5 Year Anniversary and DecRenew Interiors Award

"Rave Reviews" Award

Feeling very honored today after receiving an award last night at the 5 year anniversary party for Houzz.  It was a great event at Pirch in Dallas.

If you haven't heard of Houzz, you definitely must know about it!  They are a platform for home remodeling and design, bringing homeowners and home professionals together in a uniquely visual community.

 

I have been a part of Houzz since 2010 and have built my design profile which has 37 of my projects and 57 reviews. Besides my website, Houzz is where most people land when searching for an Interior Designer in their area. It is also where my clients go to review me after we have completed their job.

Houzz is a platform that I use every day.  It has been an incredibly useful tool for me as a designer. My clients are able to save photos to idea books that we can then discuss in detail during their consultation.  They can write notes with each photo to help them remember why they saved that particular photo. I find that having photos that the client can show me that they like or dislike helps me define their design style more efficiently.

Link to my profile: DecRenew Interiors on Houzz

The Houzz Story

"Houzz started with a house. When founders Adi and Alon remodeled their home, they started the way these projects often do: with a tall stack of magazines and referrals for home professionals from people they knew. But after those piles of torn out pages failed to make their dream a reality, they felt stuck. There had to be a better way.

So they built Houzz. A place to browse and save beautiful home photos. A place to find the right design and construction professionals. A place to connect with others who have been there too. Houzz started as a side project but has become a community of more than 35 million homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals—across the country and around the world.

Whether you are starting a complete kitchen remodel or just looking for the perfect bedside table, the Houzz community of homeowners and professionals is here to help. And when you are ready to start your project, Houzz is the best way to get inspired, discover products and to find and collaborate with the perfect architect, designer or contractor."

Everyone wants to read reviews right? I read reviews before I purchase just about anything. I just met with a client yesterday that told me she could tell what kind of person I was by the reviews she read. I LOVED that because the relationships I have with my clients are extremely important to me.

Thank you HOUZZ for this "Rave Reviews" award! Also, to all my clients out there that have cheered me on and written such great reviews, I thank you!

Home Makeover Video with DecRenew Interiors

Just a quick drop in to show you a video we just received of our latest project.

Thought you might enjoy seeing what our lives look like here at DecRenew Interiors during install days.

Two Lion Master Bedroom Makeover

We recently finished a two day install for a client.  We decorated their dining room, kitchen, family room, entry, library and master bedroom.

We broke it up into 2 days and worked so very hard!  Over a 3 month period, I had things repurposed, reupholstered, repainted, reworked, etc.   We used the homeowners furniture mixed with old and new items.  I incorporated thrift store finds, high end custom furniture, lower end and high end accessories, custom artwork, kids artwork, antiques and many meaningful treasures the client already had.  This home now feels very "collected, not decorated" and that is my trademark. All these things mixed together makes for a FABOULOUS end result!

I had the second day of the professionally shot by an EXTREMLY TALENTED videographer who is putting together a video of the entire day so stay tuned.  The reveal with the clients is AWESOME!

I call this the Two Lion Home because there are two great big lion statues that greet you at the door!

In the meantime, I thought you might like to see some before and after shots of the master bedroom.

I absolutely LOVED this cove in the master bedroom when I first saw it.   When I walked into the room, I immediately thought that this could be a great feature wall.  My wheels where turning all night after that consultation.  It seems I do most of my creative thinking when I should be sleeping, Urggggg

I finally came up with this idea below and it turned out beautiful!  I could not have done it without my fabulous workroom!

BEFORE

AFTER

New light fixture, draperies, headboard, bedding, side tables, lamps, accessories, artwork and sitting area.

Photography by T. Lamar Photography

This room is filled with light that a camera cannot capture.  It is so beautiful.

I found the side tables and didn't like the knobs that they came with.  We installed new knobs from Anthropologie.com and it instantly transformed them.

You can see the pattern of the fabric on the headboard, isn't it spectacular?

The bed skirt and the draperies were custom made.

I found this bust and it was an ugly white and needed a makeover. Logan, one of the teenagers that is helping us, spray painted it for me and it looks perfect on the bedside table.

The client had these chairs below.  We had them reupholstered in a soft velvet.  We found some artwork done by their kids and hung them above the chairs.

BEFORE

AFTER

So personal and PERFECT for a master bedroom.  The colors were perfect too!

I found two of these chairs at a resale store.   Really comfy, great shape and fun curves but outdated.  We reupholstered without the fringe and added swivels to them for good TV watching. Perfect now.

AFTER

Hope you enjoyed the tour.  I'd love to hear what you think!

I'll be posting more about this home later on.

You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest (DecRenew Interiors).  I am also on Periscope where you can watch me live as we decorate behind the scenes and give you tips and inspiration for decorating your home.  Click on the icons on the right if you would like to follow us!

Have a beautiful weekend in your HOME!

Transitional Navy and White Kitchen Remodel

Kitchen remodels are always the hardest on my clients.  It totally disrupts every day life.  However, these clients were READY TO GO!

BEFORE

As you can see, the homeowner  started the demo in the above picture but that is about as far as they got with this remodel.  The fun thing about this client is that I have decorated other rooms in their home so I am very familiar with their style already.  They wanted a dramatic kitchen and truly trusted me to make that happen (so honored that they trust me) I recommended that we paint the cabinets a dark navy and they were SO EXCITED and  asked me to take it from there!

AFTER

As you can see, even though we painted the cabinets a dark color, it didn't make the kitchen feel dark at all.  With the bar all one level now and the light granite and stacked stone, it feels very open and light.  The adjacent eat in dining area has lots of light pouring in too so that helps.  As a decorator, I choose colors based on the space and what is going on in the room and surrounding rooms.  Color is tricky and it is very important you hire a professional to help you choose just the right color for your space.  The color that is right for this kitchen may be totally wrong for your kitchen.

BEFORE

We added glass front cabinets to the top of her existing cabinets and refaced the doors to give them a more modern style.  No need for brand new cabinets if the bones are good already.  All the cabinets got pull out drawers put inside them which makes the kitchen much more functional.  We kept the existing oven, stove and the client had the vent-a-hood already that she wanted us to work around.

The wood floors were replaced during our PHASE I last year.  The granite was leathered to take away the shine.  It really is amazing in person.

They had some cabinets that were not being used so we made them a wine cabinet to store their wine.

New backsplash and hardware and it turned out gorgeous!  Hardware is the jewelry in the kitchen.  Don't skimp on your selections, they can make your kitchen have so much style.  They are not cheap but if you are wanting your kitchen to look classy, do it right!

New accessories for the counter and it was a wrap.

We then tackled the kitchen eating area.  Added new drapes, new table, chairs, lighting and accessories.

I found these fabulous blue and white drapes and got so excited.  I adored the henna like design.  However, they were too short for the space.  I purchased them, found some fabric we could add to the bottom of them to make them the right length and added some trim and lining.  They are now perfect in this room.  Added light and not too much pattern. The rustic table is imported from India and can't be damaged by the kiddos in this house!  Actually, the more you use it, the better it looks.  Family friendly = fab

Isn't the chandelier spectacular with the pendant lighting?  The chairs with the oval hole in the back makes this room feel more open and less crowded.

Thanks to my wonderful installer Reuben who spent lots of labor on this rod that continues all the way around the window. You can see how fab the pendants are below!

Thanks for joining me on this tour.  As I was writing this post I received a text from my client saying this "OK Ruthie, you need to leave me a bunch more of your business cards!!!! I'm having a birthday party for my son and his baseball team and parents.  The mom's want your contact info.  I'm getting hand cramp from writing your number down." I always feel so blessed when I get feedback like that from my clients.

 I'm off to finish off a bathroom remodel and another kitchen.  Will post pictures soon. Hope it is a great LABOR DAY with friends and family!

Modern Blue and White Family Room

A couple weeks ago we finished up a wonderful family room for a couple that are now empty nesters!

They wanted a bright, cheery space with a modern twist.

The rug was my inspiration and we went from there!  One of the chairs was a chair that the client had and the other was one I purchased that we redesigned and reupholstered.  I love to repurpose furniture and this one has a swivel for easy TV watching!  My husband tells me that I have a love affair with old chairs.  I admitted that he was right!  I LOVE chairs!

Can you believe that this was the chair BEFORE?

AFTER

Crazy transformation, right?

 Guess who got the other chair?

ME!!!!!

BEFORE                                                                                       AFTER

The client purchased the new leather couch and we added everything else in the room.  I love the glass top coffee table and the open geometric design.  With a rug this beautiful, it is crazy to cover it up with a heavy coffee table.

Velvet pillow that I found while in Atlanta about 5 months ago, just for this project!

Before this chair was slipcovered it had huge rounded arms.  It was dated but still good quality .  The client loved how comfortable it was so we  totally transformed it into a modern, comfory chair.  It is so fab!   Not dated anymore!

The client had the artwork and mantel accessories, we just moved them in from another room.  Added lamps and side tables to finish it off!

The newly stained hardwoods look amazing too!

Details, details!

We added this custom artwork to the adjoining kitchen nook.  I took all the fabrics we were working with to an artist and we got creative with what I wanted this grouping to look like.  Mary Howe with Design Inspirations is so talented and these add so much color to the space and marry the two rooms.

I'm in love with their new chandelier aren't you?

Happy weekend!  I'm ready for some down time and plan to sit by the pool a bit with the family!