Online Design - Updating a kitchen and Creating usable space

I get excited about Online Design because it shows my clients options for their space before a paintbrush is lifted or a hammer is swung.   

This kitchen is well laid out and has great features.  They do not need a remodel but they did want simple and affordable solutions for updating.  They plan to purchase new appliances and wanted to know which color might look best.  I created a Design plan to give an idea of how the room would look by changing the color of the island, replacing  appliances and upgrading cabinet hardware.  Color makes a large impact in a room and can change the whole atmosphere.  The problem is that it's difficult to imagine how it would look before the job is done.

This view shows how black as an accent color on the island, hardware and appliances, significantly changes the look and feel of the kitchen.

This view shows how white gives it a completely different feel.

This client also has an area in the dining room that could be considered wasted space:

But in fact is the perfect alcove for a built-in bench complete with storage. Or ....

a built-in homework station for students.

If you have a space that has you stumped and you need some ideas for low-cost solutions to update or change the feel, please visit my Online Design section by clicking the tab on the upper right side of this blog.

Thanks for viewing!

Pink Chandelier!

Chandelier's make a room so elegant, I just love them!  My grand-daughter's needed a new light fixture in their bedroom and of course their sweet princess room NEEDED a chandelier to be complete.  I found that they can be pretty spendy.  That's why I love Ikea's $40 "Kristaller".

It was the perfect size but I really had my heart set on a pink one.  I've spray painted a lot of lamps before but I've never had to remove a ton of crystals before I painted.  I'd been eyeing this chandelier for a long time but put off buying it for fear that once I removed all the crystals, I'd never figure out how to get them back on again.  I decided to take my chances because it was perfect.

After I removed them and saw this pile, I was pretty nervous. At this point I was already committed so I went to work preparing it to be painted.

I decided to cover the candlesticks with painter's tape and the cord, chain and the top of the fixture with plastic.  I wanted to keep these parts silver, mainly because I thought that it would be easier to paint this way.  I ended up being thankful that I did that because the combination of the pink, silver and crystals look great and really shine!

After several coats of Rustoleum's "Berry Pink" in gloss, I was ready to put the crystals back on.  It wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be.  It took some time and patience and given the fact that I don't have much of either, it came together anyways!

It looks so sweet in their room and gives off terrific light!

Since I was working in their room anyways, I took a bit lots more time to paint this castle on the wall.  No artistic skills needed.  Just a cute image, an overhead projector, craft paints and patience (again).  Rapunzel in the window wasn't part of the original picture.  Since my Grand-daughter really thought the castle needed one,  I needed to improvise a bit.  She looks alright as long as you don't look too close!  The girls love her so that's what's important.

Addy wanted to pose in one of my pictures.  If you can look past the beautiful girl on the chair reading a book, you might notice the pretty chandelier!

Design Plans and Online Space Planning ~

Renewed Spaces is introducing a new service. Online Design Plans and Space Planning!

Online Design Plans and Space Planning  is an affordable way to fix that room that has you stumped.  At a cost  between $25 - $75, I will create a custom "do-it-yourself" design plan based on the way you want the room to look and function!

Renewed Spaces has been doing design plans for several years in the Portland area.  Because of their popularity and affordability I'm now offering on-line design plans for my clients everywhere!

To see some previous design plans, visit my gallery here.  A full explanation of my Design Plan options can be found here.

Who can benefit from an on-line Design Plan?

• Clients who are in the process of buying new furniture ask me to plan their space so they know what to buy, what size to buy and what colors to choose.  They are then able to purchase new furniture with confidence because they receive room layout options before they have spent any money on furniture that may not work in their space.
• Many "do-it-yourselfers" want help with room and space ideas.  While they are very capable of doing the work themselves, they desire a design plan that uses proven and effective interior design principles and elements so that their finished room can look and function well.
• Many of my blog readers live outside of the Portland area.  Online Design Planning allows me to offer my affordable services to them as well.

How is works:  I work to understand your desires for the spaces you need help with.  Then I use the actual dimensions and layout of your room to create a floor plan with descriptions like the one below.

I also provide 3-D views to help you visualize the final product like in these pictures below:

This allows you to visualize the plan to make your room go from the before to the after, like this:

Finally, descriptions for suggested purchases (if necessary) and other designer notes and observations are detailed in a summary email.  I will also include links for furniture suggestions based on ideas from our discussion.

I  thoroughly love any and all Design and Redesign projects that come my way.  It's safe to say that my business is my passion and I feel so blessed to be "living out" my dream on an ongoing basis.

If I can help you with your home, office or any space that needs a designing touch, I'd love to create a plan  for you that would allow you to not only use your space better, but allow you to fall in love with it each time you see it.

You can reach me at 503-997-2325 and also visit my website at www.myrenewedspaces.com.

I've added a separate page on this blog that include links to this service.  It is located on the upper right side, underneath the "about me" page.

Thank you for visiting!

Gina

Framed earring holder

Framed jewelry holders are all over Pintrest and Blogland.  I've seen a lot of really cute ones lately, but  I just wanted make something simple to hold my "everyday" earrings.  

Here are samples of some that I liked.  I LOVE the frame in the first one.  The colors in the second one would match my stuff great, but given the fact that I already had burlap left over from my daughter's wedding, the third one won me over.  Since I would only be hanging earrings on this one, I didn't need to add any hooks like I did when I made a jewelry holder for my grand-daughter, shown here.

This picture shows where I turned the "beautiful" picture that came in the second-hand frame over so that it didn't show through.  I cut lines around the edges to allow the fabric to lay flat while I hot glued it.  This project is pretty self-explanatory and doesn't need much of an explanation.  I wanted to tell you that besides being cute, it has held up really well.  I've been using it for a couple of months now and the burlap hasn't stretched or ripped.  My earrings are handy, hanging right beside me as I get dressed each day.

I love finding simple and cute solutions to storing and displaying everyday items.  Have you made one of these yet?  If so, tell me about it.  I'd love to see it!