Tag Archives: small-space

Master Bedroom Renovation Hollywood Regency Style

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Sara | Leave a comment

If you’re like me, you focus all of your creative energy on all rooms of the house but the master bedroom. I guess the thought is, who besides me and my family is going to see our bedroom so what’s the point in trying to spruce it up? This was my belief until I had a late night ~~breakdown~~ epiphany and realized I needed a nice, relaxing place to call my own and, in my world, that is my bedroom.

The very next day I set out to transform my bedroom with a plan for new paint, new artwork, bedding and a couple of new smaller pieces for the space. My goal was to do this without spending an exhorbitant amount of money. So began my 6 month bedroom renovation. I know, it has been a long time coming. Did I mention that projects always takes months longer than I planned?

Here are some photos of my blah bedroom before. Note the dark wood, neutral walls and generic artwork. Awesome!

Do those photos make you feel relaxed? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Now, the transformation. You’ll remember that I blogged about my DIY sunburst mirror here and also the DIY chevron paintings that I hung above my awesome Ikea Hemnes nightstands that I found on Craigslist.

Psst! I switched out the standard knobs on my Ikea nightstands with some fab gold knobs that I found at Lowes for $3.00 each.

Once I decided that I wanted my colors to be white, gold and grey, I added some DIY artwork too. Check out the frame I painted white and gold and then found the perfect printable online to finish the piece.

I’ll admit it, as the years go by I tend to forget things more often. To help, I used Crate and Barrel’s chalkboard stickers and put a gold frame around it. Now I can write things that I need to remember the next morning and check the list twice before I head downstairs and off to work.

In my nook that will someday be a comfy reading corner, I decided to girl it up. I have a vintage Vogue print that my mother had and I’ve hauled with me through my numerous moves across the country. To complement that, I added two prints by artist Daphne van den Heuvel who paints women in amazing stripes. LOVE her!

I have tried, without success, to replace the etagere that holds our TV. My first thought was to spray paint it yellow. I did this before I knew that you need to use a primer first. So it turned out uneven and runny. Then I bought a couple pieces of furniture for that space but they were either too short or stuck out too far. So, again in a weird fit of creativity one day, I decided to use gold thumbtacks and use them as nailheads to outline the frame of the etagere.

I have to say it turned out better than I expected. Yes, my thumbs were numb for about two weeks after the project, I have no sense of pinning in a straight line and there were a few mess ups, but for about $2 I have to say it was worth it!

Here’s a close of up of the ~~thumbtacks~~ nailheads.

I have to say, my room has come a long way. I’m sure I’ll add to it as the months go by but now I have a place to relax and read and appreciate. Here’s one more shot of my new room. Oh and I’m sure you’re wondering about the POSH letters. They stand for the first letter of each of our names in my family. No, I didn’t plan it that way but think it’s kind of funny! How could I not point it out?

Paint: Benjamin Moore- accent wall- graphite wall color- marina gray
aVintage Art Deco Lamps (on nightstands): Craigslist
Ikea Hemnes Nightstands: Craigslist
Art: DIY
Campaign Dresser (foot of web): Craigslist
Etagere: DIY
Knobs: Home Depot and Lowes
Chalkboard Stick-ons: Crate and Barrel Outlet

Posted by Sara

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Posted in Bedrooms, Interior Design, Rooms

Tagged artwork, bedroom, benjamin moore, color, decor, diy, furniture, grey and gold, home, IKEA, inspiration, master bedroom, nail head, paint, remodel, renovation, repurpose, small-space, upcycle, vintage, walls, white, yellow

From Unfinished Basement to Music Lover’s Man Cave

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Sara | 6 Comments

When I married my husband I also married his expansive music collection, including Lionel Richie and Marvin Gaye, gospel music, country, old school rap, and hair bands. He, like his father and grandfather, has a deep appreciation of all music genres. This, coupled with the need to collect things, has led to a LARGE collection of cds.

When we moved into our house four years ago we put the cds away in boxes and housed them in our one basement storage closet. But, as the years passed, and we accumulated toys and new heirlooms, the need for space became a HUGE issue – I mean, when is space not at a premium in our area?!

Unfortunately, the cds were not going away and Paul wouldn’t let me get a storage unit so we needed to figure out a solution both of us could agree on. This is where the man cave discussion came in: We decided to do a basement renovation to turn an ordinary unfinished basement into a music lover’s, kid-friendly man cave.

Now, as easy as this may sound, it actually took all of four years to complete. Yeah, we got a little sidetracked there for a few years. Apparently kids and life can do that to you. I’ve posted some pretty gnarly before pictures of our basement, some sort of finished pictures and then the final product.

Initial basement renovation (4 years ago) with cinder block walls and no carpeting.

The picture below is a sad but pretty accurate picture of how the basement looked for a LONG time. The walls were finished and new carpet was added, but there was no style.

Finally, about two months ago, my husband caught my design bug and finally got around to completing his man cave. He framed all of his vintage concert posters, bought a large world map (from Ikea), got his reclining leather chair and, last but not least, found cd/dvd wall shelves from Ikea to store and showcase all of his beloved cds. With these shelves, we were able to store his cds without having them in the way and taking up much-needed space. I also think they really frame out the whole room.

Here’s a close up of his cd collection and the shelves. Note: for all you music lovers out there, don’t judge the selection based on this close up. Apparently I picked the worst part of his selection to photograph. Who knew?!

Every man cave needs some Bruce and a bowling trophy.

When you need to cover up a large wall, you can never go wrong with a ginormous map.

One last shot of the wall behind the couch:

I have to say I’m definitely a fan of how it turned out. I love that the Ikea shelves were only $5.99 each and that we scored the random sized frames on Amazon for $15. Sadly we had four of them framed at $75 a pop before we realized we could buy them at a fraction of the cost online – you live and you learn.

I hope this inspires all of you men out there to follow your dreams and design the man cave you’ve always dreamt of. Best part of the hubby’s man cave? It’s also the kids play room but you’d never know it at first glance — everything is neatly tucked in this storage closet. Oh the joys of hidden storage options.

Ladies — it’s okay to give in once in a while, your husbands will be so happy to have a place to showcase their sports paraphernalia, yearbooks, trophies, t-shirts or whatever other random things they’ve collected over the years that they may give you back the large closet they are now taking up with their “stuff.” Just goes to show, there’s always a solution. Just don’t wait four years like we did!

Posted by Sara

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Posted in Basements, Rooms

Tagged advice, basement, decor, decorate, frames, home, IKEA, mancave, music, organization, remodel, renovation, shelves, small-space, storage, vintage, wall storage, walls

Eight Ways to Entertain in a Small Space

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Katie | Leave a comment

With the holiday party season about to go into full madness mode, DIY Del Ray wondered, how do people entertain in small spaces? We interviewed a few local folks, and here’s how they make it work:

1. Mitigate bottlenecks

Basically everything is spread out throughout the room so that there is no bottleneck traffic. People can either congregate to the couch or the bar/kitchen.

2. Keep it simple, low-key

My small townhouse, and having small children underfoot, limits the ability to throw large dinner parties. So when I do have people over, it is generally for a birthday party, a soup exchange, or something else that feels low-key. I generally put finger food on the dining room table, pull the chairs away from the table and allow a free-flow between the dining room and the living room.

3. Stack it up

I fill the dining table with all the hot foods while I put the nibbles on the coffee table. I provide little square white plates for eating because they stack very thinly and are a manageable size when eating from a couch. I like them because they are elegant but also hold enough food. But since they are small people will get up to refill their plates so that’s a good thing. They stack neatly and the white goes with all the pottery bowls and antique dishes which I use to serve.

4. A functional, well-positioned watering hole

I have kitchen bar where I place an old copper champagne bucket w/ice and beverages. On the bar I set up wine glasses and short glasses that can be used either for wine or non-alcoholic beverages. The bar is next to the kitchen sink so I can work in the kitchen and load the dishwasher and still talk with guests.

5. Know your limits

When we have a group of six we tend to crowd around the table, which is a tad small for that many people but okay if you don’t keep too many dishes on the table. Extra serving dishes are kept on the sideboard and/or on the kitchen cart, which is an arm’s reach away. I tend to prioritize keeping on the table things people need easy access to, like condiments and seasonings. For more than six, I do buffet.

6. Small bites for big impact

For dinner, I’ll sometimes do a tapas menu so that people can take small bites of things that are easy to eat and can be served on small plates (I think we used the bread plates from our china set, not the salad plates) and people can keep going back while standing or sitting in the living and dining room.

7. Think seasonally

I prefer to entertain during the warm weather when we can use the outside and more importantly the screened-in porch. If we are hosting more than six or so, coolers go out back with drinks. Wine can also go outside if it’s cold enough or in a cooler.

8. Make your guests feel special

I love to go to flea markets and have a fetish for crystal wine glasses and old china/pottery so I have to justify my purchases by using it. I also like old cake stands and interesting serving plates from flea markets. Serving utensils usually do not match and there old pieces of silver from flea market hunting.

What are your secrets for entertaining in a small space?

Posted by Katie

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Posted in Advice, Entertaining

Tagged entertaining, holidays, small-space, special events

Making the Most of Small Space Dining Rooms

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Katie | Leave a comment

We’ve featured several fabulous kitchens on the blog since we launched in July, but the dining rooms have gotten the short end of the stick. So this post is all about the room that, in many houses, plays multiple roles — a place for meals, a place to play games, a place to work on projects and school assignments.

Del Ray’s dining rooms are notoriously small. And if you’ve renovated your kitchen, you may have sacrificed dining room space to add much-needed kitchen square footage.

Take, for example, Amy’s house — the peninsula is so wide it leaves little space for a table. She opted for a banquette style table, pushed to the corner, but with ample seating for six.

Similarly, Sara and Paul pushed their table to the side after adding a large peninsula. The table seats four, but there is room for two more at the barstool-height counter.

Peter and Elin really wanted a large peninsula to house their Italian espresso maker, but that left no room for a table in the “designated” dining area. Instead, they moved their table closer to the living space in the one-room first floor.

The previous owners of Sam and Jen’s house (now sold by the way) closed off the kitchen to create an eat-in area AND a dining area in the living/dining space.

The round pedestal table in Katie and Zack’s house keeps people moving around the room. The table is small, but there is space on the sideboard for extra serving pieces.