A fantastic surprise home makeover for a soldier returned from Afghanistan!

What caught my eye in this home makeover was the casual, "collected-over-time" look. What I loved way that newly wed Meg Stein surprised her Army sergeant husband with this home makeover when he returned from Afghanistan! How sweet is that?

I love the cozy but clean design of this dining room.  Wood chandelier - $50 at a garage sale...vintage Duncan Phyfe table - great deal on eBay.

It's all about white kitchens for me.

Meg already had the flat file coffee table, so she designed the room around it.  I really like the file as a coffee table.  It's unexpected, and what a great way to store mags!!

What do you think of this charmer?

via HGTV Mag June/July 2012 issue

A Renovation Near and Dear

My father once worked in this historically significant building in Philadelphia.  It once had a brass plaque stating the name of the law firm that occupied it, but now it is known as The Jayne House, a much more dignified pronouncement of its pedigree.  Built by Frank Furness in 1895 for Dr. Thomas Jayne and his wife, Frank Furness' niece.  The 19th C. Colonial Revival stands like a baroque gem just off Rittenhouse Square in the heart of Philadelphia.

Of course, I remember it fondly as a law office (the nicest law office I have ever seen).  It was warm and architecturally interesting, with much of its original ironwork, leaded glass, and millwork embellishments kept intact throughout the building's many incarnations as offices, a synagogue, and a Red Cross center.   It recently went through a thorough and thoughtful transformation in the hands of local designer Barbara Eberlin and architect John Milner.

I was thrilled to hear that is was bought by a family who wanted to respect its significance and make it a HOME.  Unfortunately, many of Frank Furness' magnificent buildings have been destroyed.

The 2 story foyer was the reception area.  With the skylight, balcony, and oak millwork, it was, and is, a showstopper!

After all the partitions and walls came down and the rooms were opened up to create a home and not a commercial space, the Jayne House really began to shine.  Columns were created to delineate space; a fire box was uncovered and brought back to life.  Plaster ceilings and matching leaded glass were added cohesively and married the new spaces to the old.

The conference room as I knew it remains much the same as a dining room

There was no kitchen at all when I walked the halls.  To minimize the impact of the restoration and its footprint, it stands where the rear palor would have been and where more offices had been.

There were clever little spaces and quirky touches.  This building is really full of character!  Between the 1st and 2nd floors there was a small conference room.  Now it looks like a beautiful Victorian landing with the Juliet balcony to the left.

This was my father's office.  It once held a massive desk, a couple of chairs, and a staircase to nowhere that he filled with knickknacks.  WOW!  What a master it makes!  Now the stairs lead to an upper sitting room.

There are several more bedrooms.  I wish there where photos of the kids' rooms.

A terra cotta roof was restored, and a rooftop deck was added, as well as a bluestone patio below.

After a three year renovation, the Jayne House has won several awards for the restoration/design team including the Bobbi Burke Historic Preservation Award and the Palladio Award.

It was registered with the Historic Preservation Society in 1982

photos: Tom Crane

An amazing chic and liveable LA home makeover

This amazing makeover is the home of Lisa Ullmann, Executive Producer of The Ricky Gervais show.  What started as an Echo Park "diamond in the rough," turned into a multifaceted top-quality gem. The interior design is by LA firm Jonamor Decor

Here are some before/after pics to show you the amazing transformation...

entry before

Entry after -- so chic!

The overall goal was to create a comfortable and relaxing environment that would reflect Lisa's many interests and styles and be welcoming for guests. Having a passion for travel, Lisa wanted to incorporate elements of some of her favorite places around the world that she had visited, specifically Italy, France and India. She wanted her home to be unique, elegant but also “user friendly”.

My favorite transformation - the living room

gorgeous - the jewel tones are really fresh

The dining room

The red is a bit too loud for me personally, but the room is still really intriguing, I like the wallpaper and the Moroccan lanterns

The master bedroom transformation

Many of the central pieces to each room were vintage or purchased at discount prices. Older furniture was re-painted and re-upholstered (a used Crate and Barrel desk painted black, an ottoman from a flea market covered in a funky Indian orange fabric). Lisa not only appreciated vintage items for their price and unique appearance, but felt that buying used items was a “greener” approach. Of all the newly purchased furniture, only the couch, a chair and a bench were “new” items.


What do you think of this home makeover?

This is a great house...

Diverse Makeover of an 80′s Residence: The Garden House

 Photos courtesy of: http://freshome.com 

In this post we would like to present a 1980 home renovation completed by Brazilian architect David Guerra. According to the architects’ description, “one of the main wishes was to make the interior/exterior integration bigger, making the garden participate in the day-by-day of the house, bringing more light to the rooms that used to be too dark. Another important point was to make this house more modern, giving new spaces and new way to use them, compatible with a new lifestyle and a new epoque of new residents. Integrate spaces, destroy walls, transform doors, windows and attach protection covering, substitute products, recuperate structures, new electric, new hydraulic, new illumination, an atelier, a wine cellar, gourmet kitchen, bathroom, sauna, deck and pool. The reconstruction was huge. Natural characteristic, neutral and raw tones give coziness. Furniture with the bottom distant from the floor, that goes from the stick feet and armchairs, and acrilic chairs have the intention to make the spaces bigger, light and fluid. The mix of styles, which goes from the 50’s, pass by the classics, ethnics, contemporaries, are incremented with Brazilian references”.  Have a look and let us know what you think!

This is absolutely stunning and a complete makeover. Great work, design concept, and implementation.

AG Home Goods