Living Room Layers

The addition of a beautiful new wallpaper to the walls of our living room kicked off some other updates and now the room feels layered, cozy and dare I categorize it as…Swedish cottage-esque?! Maybe more English cottage but I am in love with the work of the Swedish artist and wallpaper designer, Hanna Wendelbo, so let’s roll with it. Read on for all the details - the whole room is the sum of each layered part.

WALLPAPER - Pomona Green Fruit Tree Wallpaper from Brewster

Thank you to Brewster Home Fashions for gifting me this beautiful wallpaper. Brewster carries a variety of lines ranging from budget-friendly to luxury designer and their customer service is great - samples are available through their website and this particular wallpaper design is available in 4 different colorways (I had all 4 sample options taped to my LR wall for about a week before deciding on the GREEN).

As for install, this wallpaper required paste application so we hired a professional for the installation (worth every penny!).

Photo by: Alicia Bruce

PAINT - Our built-in shelving and window seats were painted Current Mood by Clare Paints but something always felt unfinished about this wall. So we decided to paint the wall around the TV the same color and hang a few pieces of collected art around our TV. In the future, we plan to add a piece of trim across the top of the wall to connect the 2 tall bookcases to finish the space.

Photo by: Alicia Bruce for Choux Designs

Photo by: Alicia Bruce

BAR CABINET - Turning a secretary desk into a bar cabinet was Greg’s project design but one I wholeheartedly supported (who doesn’t want to light up their liquor?!). Prior to the project we were storing bar related items in this desk but the addition of glass shelving - ordered custom and shipped to us from Dulles Glass and Mirror - and motion activated LED lights really helps this desk turned bar cabinet live up to its full potential!

Photo by: Alicia Bruce

Photo by: Alicia Bruce

STAIR RUNNER - It took a really nasty fall up (yes I fell up, then down) these slick, un-carpeted stairs for us to decide to add a stair runner. Greg got the proper tools needed for this type of install and we planned and worked up the courage to install this 24 foot Rejuvenation runner ourselves. Installing a quality rug pad with carpet tape first then using the proper tools (electric stapler) to staple the runner in place, were the keys to success. We did not want to staple or nail into the oak stair treads and we accomplished that goal by securing the rug with staples on the top and bottom of each riser. And huge shout out to THIS TOOL for being the unsung hero of this install.

Photo by: Alicia Bruce

ART - the final layer. I framed a beautiful original oil pastel painting by Bethany Cochran in a natural wood frame with an island mat from Simply Framed (need to show off those deckle edges) and added battery operated gallery lighting to showcase the piece. I view the wallpaper as large format art so hanging a small (in scale) painting over the wallpaper pattern feels like the perfect top layer.

Photo by: Alicia Bruce

PROJECT: Winter Kids' Bathrooms

My little brother and his three kids live in Nashville, TN and recently moved into a great family house in the perfect neighborhood. He bought the house knowing there would be a lot of projects to take-on over the years so the first order of business was to update 2 of the 3 bathrooms. His master bath will have to wait but the kids’ baths were priority one (what a Dad!).

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BEFORE: BOY’S BATHROOM

Both bathrooms needed to be gutted so we knew with the labor costs for the renovations, we needed to keep material and product costs low. My nephew’s bathroom is a pretty small space with a stall shower and that needed to be opened up and the tile replaced ( you can see the reflection of the shower in the BEFORE photo.

BOY’S BATHROOM DESIGN BOARD

White subway laid in a double basketweave pattern with black grout allowed for a very budget-friendly material to look fresh and unique because of the pattern. Tiny all black hex tiles are a modern update to a vintage classic tile. The mid century mod styling and wood tone warms up all the black and white and was a great solid splurge piece for the space. This bathroom design feels totally appropriate for my 9 year old nephew now and for years to come. He loves his Nashville Preds and the Old Try print is a nod to that fandom.

AFTER SOURCES:

MIRROR // VANITY // FAUCET
SHOWER HEAD/KIT // LIGHT // FLOOR TILE
SHOWER TILE // TP HOLDER
TOWEL RING // NASHVILLE PRINT

BEFORE: GIRLS’ BATHROOM

My nieces are aged 11 and 13 and this is their shared bathroom. It was clear, even before the home purchase, that double sinks would be added to this bathroom, one for each girl. To make that happen a small linen closet was removed to make room for a larger vanity. The existing tile, bathtub, and toilet were all demoed and replaced.

GIRLS’ BATHROOM DESIGN BOARD

I can’t take much credit for this bathroom design because my stylish nieces choose the vanity and hex floor tile. The gold fixtures and accessories were matched to the vanities existing pulls and they only needed to grab one of those round Target mirrors because my niece already had one to donate to the project. The white walls give this space a fresh and clean feeling but I could also envision the vanity alcove wallpapered with a couple of hanging plants too.

AFTER SOURCES:

MIRRORS // VANITY // FAUCET
SHOWER HEAD// TUB KIT // LIGHT
FLOOR TILE // SHOWER TILE
TP HOLDER // TOWEL RING // CURTAIN RINGS
SHOWER CURTAIN (SIMILAR) // ART PRINT

Need help with a home project? Want to maximize a renovation budget? I’d love to help. Learn more HERE!

PROJECT: Marshall Kids' Bathroom

I was holding out for professional photos of this bathroom but covid isn’t cooperating and I want to put this project out into the world, so here we are with i-Phone photos and a whole bunch of words. If you are interested in learning more about the financials of this project (spreadsheet geeks unite!), I will be posting all that goodness in a future blog post so stay tuned.

My client’s (who happens to be my best friend) challenge with this bathroom is both of her children share the space and as they continue to grow, they really needed a double vanity so each would have their own sink and designated storage. In addition to the functionality, she really wanted unique design elements that were gender neutral (her daughter is age 9, son is age 11), fun, unique and would carry them through their middle and high school years.

BEFORE:

Builder-grade tile, fixtures and uninspired paint color

BEFORE:

The single vanity offers little functionality and does not make the most of this small space.

BEFORE:

The outdated mirrored medicine cabinet felt out of place and in the way.

We knew we didn’t have the space or budget to reconfigure the bathroom - the toilet needed to stay where it was and I needed to source a double vanity no longer than 48”. Budget for this project allowed for us to splurge on some design elements (wallpaper) while saving money in other areas (subway tile). Because of the small footprint of this bathroom (approx. 50 sq ft), we planned to demo the existing shower and the floor tile and add an updated full tile shower surround.

Photo by The Alicia Bruce

The design board for this project is modern, crisp and sentimental. The white tile is paired with black grout on both the floors and shower walls, a planked accent wall is installed and painted an inky blue/green. The vanity is a wood color to add a natural element. Black hardware and chrome fixtures play nice together and break up any ‘too matchy’ feeling. Wallpaper pays homage to the two family cats who the kids adore and is a reminder that your home design should bring you joy and meaning.

DURING:

Demo day! Removed old vanity, bath tub, floor and tile surround. We took this bathroom down to the studs.

DURING:

That’s a lot of old floor tile.

DURING:

New, fresh tub installed

DURING:

Extending that floor tile up the side of the shower for a cool design feature

DURING:

Shower surround looking sharp

DURING:

Plank wall painted an inky blue/green - just need to add hooks

DURING:

Vanity is installed, just need to add drawer pulls. Decided on a top mount vs. center.

DURING:

Chrome fixtures and black metal finishings play nice.

DURING:

Wallpaper and new light fixture is installed.

DURING:

The kitty inspiration approves!

AFTER

This project was so much fun to work on and I’m grateful to the Marshall Family for allowing me to help and for being willing to get creative and not settle for anything boring!

SOURCES: Wall Light // Mirror // Towel Ring

SOURCES: Shower Kit // Curtain Rings // Shower Curtain // Curtain Rod

SOURCES: Vanity // Toilet // Subway Tile

SOURCES: Paint // Hooks // Wallpaper

SOURCES: Art Print

SOURCES: Faucets

SOURCES: Drawer Pulls

DISCLOSURE: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

As I mentioned earlier, stayed tuned for the budget details in a future post and if you’d like to collaborate on a space of your own, visit the SERVICES page of my website.