Designs By JAlex: Rooms Before and After ( Former Home)

Welcome to my blog where you can hopefully be inspired

The design ideas in this blog are for you to get inspired to help make your home a place that will be warm and cozy. I'm not a minimalist and love to be surrounded by beautiful things that did not cost a lot of money. My husband and I went to garage sales for 7 years until we couldn't bring anything else home because it wouldn't fit. I use to take people with me to the garage sales by their request because they wanted to learn how I found so many lovely things. It was a great adventure for them and they learned how to get in and get out fast. So I hope I will be able to help you too find things that look like you spent a bundle when in reality you got it for a song.....

Friday, January 7, 2011

Rooms Before and After ( Former Home)

Former home Kitchen Remodel Before

Former home Kitchen Remodel After

Above is the pictures of the before and after of our former home major remodel. We started by gutting the entire kitchen and starting over again. Every inch of this space had a purpose. As you can see there were plenty of decisions to be made. You have to take them one at a time so you won't feel overwhelmed with the process. I simply loved the way it came out. Who wouldn't want to cook in this kitchen.... We added an area where 2 bar stools could be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The stove was to die for...a 48" Themador that cooked like a dream. It was my dream kitchen and is truly what sold the house when it came time to put it on the market.

Former home Dining Room Before


Former home Dining Room After

The above pictures are of our former home before and afters. The room was originally supposed to be a den or study but for our use we decided to make it our dining room. As with most people the formal dining room is not often used so tucking it away in this area turned out to fit well in our home.

Former home Family Room Before

Former home Family Room After

The above pictures are from our former home before and afters. We took out the carpet, painted the walls, ceiling and fireplace. Throughout the bottom floor we put in 20 X20" imported Italian porcelain tiles that looked like travertine. The spacing between the tiles was only 1/32 of an inch. It was as close as we could get and allow for expansion. We placed it on a diagonal which made the room seem larger and it's pleasant to look at. Lighting is so important to any design. We always use dimmers and in the overhead lighting in all the rooms, we use only "spot" not flood bulbs. It is not as energy efficient but there's no argument that the obeisance of the room isn't better.

Former home Family Room Before


Former home Family Room After


Former home Sitting Area and Conservatory After

Former home Backyard space After

In the above Family Room we created several living spaces in the area. First the family room, then we added a sitting area where the original dining room was, and we added on a Conservatory at the back of the house. This all was part of the major remodel of this home. We also added a loft above these rooms where we had our media room and office space. I was going for a "Hotel Chic" look in this design, somewhere to gather for a nice evening of conversation.

Former home Master Bedroom Before


Former home Master Bedroom After

The above pictures are of our former home Master Bedroom before and afters. Here with paint, new carpeting, window coverings and design we created a very romantic bedroom space. The room has a retreat area to the right with a dual fireplace that is seen in the bedroom and bathroom. The colors are bright for a bedroom but if you enjoy bright and bold colors then use them. These colors were so in the winter time when it gets gray and gloomy outside you won't feel it because this room makes you feel happy and sunny all year long.....

Former home Second Bedroom (Guest) Before

Former home Second Bedroom (Guest) After

Former home Second Bedroom Jack & Jill Sink After

The above was from our former home where we created a Guest room using a Coastal Living theme. The dramatic colors used is for those who feel they can take a walk on the wild side. The wall are painted using a dark blue with a lighter blue on the ceiling then I painted floating clouds and a few seagulls to give an open air feeling. We also used outdoor fencing to surround the edges of the room to create a cottage feel. In this room was a sink area (part of a Jack & Jill Bathroom) where I crackle finished the oak cabinets and my husband made a frame for the existing frame less mirror and I crackled that too. The bathtub and toilet were in a separate room on the left that adjoined with the 3rd bedroom. Guests appreciated the use of a private sink area in the room.

Former home Powder Room Before

Former home Powder Room After

Here is the Powder Room of our former home before and after pictures. As you can see we changed the faucets, lighting, mirror, flooring and behind the door on the right is a vanity with a frame less mirror that we framed and crackle finished the oak cabinetry. We painted the walls and ceiling in the same color here in a blue-gray.

Former home Master Bathroom Before

Former home Master Bathroom After

Former home Master Bathroom After Sinks

Former home Master Bathroom After Doorway

The above pictures are of our former home Master Bathroom before and afters. We gutted this entire space and started over. The design was of a Tuscany bathroom using travertine stone throughout, along with granite and painting the walls a rich gold color. The vessel sink was one of my favorite finds for this room. On the other side of the fireplace is the retreat in the Master Bedroom. Every inch of this bathroom was hand selected. Choose colors that make you happy, these colors may not be for everyone but the point of designing is for you and what pleases you and your family. Everyone else can do whatever they want to their homes, that's what it is all about....

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FRONT-YARD LANDSCAPING BEFORE AND AFTER

Coastal Bedroom Design Former Home

Former Home Remodeled Master Bath

After living with our home for 10 years we decided to remodel instead of buying a new home. Our Master Bathroom was such a transformation from what it was. I enjoyed every moment of picking out all the materials for this design. Be did the painting and electrical but everything else we had contractors do. Each process was done by a different contractor stone/granite, plumbing, cabinets, shower install, flooring.....that's a lot of contractors. Fortunately there were very little problems through the completion. I could write a book about the process of going through a remodel the good the bad and the UGLY!

LARGE PATTERNED AREA RUGS

Below are some examples of using large patterned area rugs. As I have mentioned it takes a leap of faith to buy a large patterned area rug and place it in your home. I personally like them and use them where ever I can fit one. After you get items on top of them they seem to fade away kind of like when you use a bold paint color when it is on the wall without anything else it is over powering but once you put your items up the wall color becomes less prominent. So go for it.....there are lots to choose from.

The use of Murals

I absolutely love murals if they are done in good taste. Here in our former home I used a mural of Paris on the back wall of the kitchen dining area. There is a long bench on the back side of the table for setting of at least 4 people. My husband put in the dropped pendant lighting over the table which helped illuminate the the mural. When we moved I wanted to take the mural with me but the new owners loved it so it was left behind. If you saw this in person you would be able to get the full impact. So don't be afraid to use a mural there are high quality one's out there that are as easy to install a wall paper.

Remodeled kitchen before and after

This kitchen remodel was in our former home where we did an entire house remodel from top to bottom. The kitchen was totally gutted and everything replaced. We saved over $50,000 by the way we did this room. We did the demo, painted the walls, the electrical and chose all of the contractors our selves. The cabinetry alone was a huge savings by getting them through a family members source. The brand was Decora with soft closing drawers really I was able to get the works. The price we paid for the entire remodel cabinets throughout the house was the same as some quotes were for just what we would have paid alone for the kitchen. When it comes to remodels shop around.

Dining Room Before and After

The chandelier in our current dining room was enormous but plain. I ordered crystals online and went to work with upgrading the fixture. I purchased the lamp shades to cover the naked bulbs (not a fan of naked bulbs). I had a red dining room in our last home too. For us it is what we like and I know it's not for everyone. When you dine in there you feel like you are at a Five-Star restaurant it's so cozy. I debated on painting the ceiling red or not but after the walls were painted it just seemed the contrast was too great so the ceiling got painted too. There's a lot of light coming in from that large window so it doesn't feel like a dark hole.... Red is my favorite color so you will see plenty of it being used throughout the home.

Sitting Room Before and After

The above pictures are from our former home where we did the major remodel. In this area we took out the french doors and added a conservatory sun room. Where the sofa is was were the original dining room was located that was moved to another room after the remodel. The ceiling became lower in the area because where we added a loft on the second floor they had bump it down a foot to allow for head room in the new office area above it. There's an arch as you go into this room so you don't notice the ceiling variation at all.

Fireplace Before and After

The above pictures are of the fireplace in the family room in our current home. I made several changes to it before we ended with this version. I was fortunate to be able to find the columns online that fit the dimensions exactly from the top of the fireplace to the ceiling. I purchases some rope wood pieces to add to the top above the clocks and just below the clocks and around the center edge of the fireplace to pull it all together. We had it painted green at first but the clocks got lost in all the darkness so we painted a muted yellow to make the clocks come alive. This room is painted 3 shades of green the accent wall, ceiling and other walls. The wall that the fireplace is on is the accent wall painted a dark green the other walls are light in color.

Welcome to my blog where you can hopefully be inspired

Friday, January 7, 2011

Rooms Before and After ( Former Home)

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