{ Posts Tagged ‘before and after’ }

my apartment makeover, part 1

I’m thrilled to introduce myself on the blog as part of my first official duties as a new design editor for Style at Home! My first chance to work with the magazine came long before this new job — way back in mid-winter, Erin McLaughlin and Margot Austin decided my rental apartment was worthy of a feature in the mag.

On shoot day, the hallway outside my tiny place was lined with photographer Stacey Brandford’s equipment overflow and buckets of magnificent spring blooms that Margot brought. Thus began a whirlwind day of propping, tweaking, lighting and um… eating. Between the fluffy meringues and macarons that Margot brought for the dining room shot and the greasy fish and chips I picked up for lunch, we were fighting our food comas by the afternoon.

Take a look at what the place looked like before my fiancé David and I moved in (it definitely wasn’t fit for photography) and what it looks like now. The landlord was kind enough to let me spec materials and finishes before updating the unit.

waks dining room before my apartment makeover, part 1

The wooden floor in the dining area was damaged yellow parquet and the exposed terrazzo windowsills and cracked walls made the space feel more institutional than homey. And need I even mention the wicker basket pendant shade?

waks dining room after my apartment makeover, part 1

Fresh coats of Benjamin Moore Cloud White paint, a polished dark stain on the floor and my mix of high and low furniture and accessories helped to brighten up the space.

waks kitchen before my apartment makeover, part 1

The original kitchen cabinetry was barely managing to stay hinged, and the ceramic blue knobs and peeling grey vinyl tile on the floor were less than appealing.

waks kitchen after my apartment makeover, part 1

The black-and-white retro feel of the kitchen works its way from the checkerboard floor tiles up to the white cabinetry and black laminate countertop, where it explodes in a frenzy of fun bowls, canisters and more.

waks bathroom before my apartment makeover, part 1

I don’t need to write much about the 'before' shot of the bathroom as it speaks for itself...eek!

Waks bathroom after my apartment makeover, part 1

A bold, striped shower curtain, subway tiled walls and a Greek key medicine cabinet that I painted are great examples of creating impact with a black-and-white colour scheme.

chair makeover in progress

After heading off to Aruba and Curacao for a week of rest and relaxation, I was delighted to come home and get an update on the chair I’m getting refinished. The craftsmen over at Carrocel Restorations were fantastic with taking a ton of pictures throughout the process, so I got to see how much they actually stripped it down. Here are a few of the snaps they took — I can’t wait until it’s finished!

chair stripped chair makeover in progress
chair paint chair makeover in progress
chair fabric chair makeover in progress
How do you all like it so far?
xo,
Lauren

samantha pynn’s pure design office makeover

sam1 samantha pynns pure design office makeover

With the premiere of Pure Design’s sophomore season on HGTV on Tuesday, September 29  at 9PM, Samantha Pynn returns to the small screen to deliver another shot of sustainable style.

What can we expect from round two of Pure Design?

“Our interiors are really awesome this year,” Samantha says. “The spaces are really tailor-made for the homeowners this season, ranging from the most traditional to ultramodern.” And that “liveability” is important, she says. “They’re the ones who have to live in the space, so they have to be happy!”

I weaseled an invite down to the Pure Design Production Office to take a peek inside Samantha’s world of beautiful before-and-after transformations, only to find that her office itself was subject to the makeover maven’s magic wand.

“Before,” says Sam, “this office was really cold and the colour was wrong.” She’s hard pressed to put a name to the hue that adorned the walls — “let’s call it ‘beige’” — and the outdated office fittings were anything but inspiring. “The 1980s ‘working girl’ desk gave me the chills, and we could never find anything — it was a state of complete disorganization.”

But armed with her inimitable style — and some fantastic finds from IKEA — Samantha brought order to chaos.

BEFORE… “Very dingy and damp-feeling”

beforedesk samantha pynns pure design office makeover

AFTER! afterdesk samantha pynns pure design office makeover

“I think you can tell this space is very ‘me’!” says Samantha.

A crisp coat of Benjamin Moore’s Dune White CC-70 set the stage for Samantha’s office refresher, and by laying down gorgeous copper-tone seagrass carpet from Carpet One Floor & Home, the room shed all vestiges of its cold, institutional vibe. A new boardroom table flanked by IKEA’s contemporary classic Tobias chairs makes for an inviting meeting space that Samantha’s reluctant to take full credit for. “Pure Design Senior Stylist Malcolm Patterson helped me design the space,” she says. “He balanced my feminine style with some midcentury modern pieces from IKEA.”

And in keeping with Samantha’s environmentally-conscious approach, the old office furnishings found new homes at other offices in the building instead of ending up on the scrapheap.

BEFORE…

windowbefore samantha pynns pure design office makeover

AFTER!

windowafter samantha pynns pure design office makeoverThe production office is home to Samantha and six of her staff, but everyone’s got ample workspace in the new layout, thanks to new desks (in actuality, four Melltorp dining tables pushed together to form one gigantic worktop), and rolling under-desk filing cabinets from IKEA. The table lamps are from IKEA as well, but Samantha customized them by mixing-and-matching the lamp base with a different shade. “It’s always good to put your own spin on a piece,” she says. “Make it your own!”

The walls are lined with Samantha’s inspiration boards, complete with tears from her favourite photos from Style At Home magazine. The boards themselves are upholstered in pretty lavender fabric from Robert Allen. “I love how the lavender works with the apple green and pink accents in the room,” she says. “I wanted it to feel like a floral arrangement come to life.”

To create privacy without sacrificing natural light, Samantha selected translucent window treatments from Hunter Douglas Canada. Below the windows, acrylic trays from IKEA ensure fabric swatches stay neat and tidy — and save time when Samantha’s hunting for a particular sample, as the clear acrylic means all swatches are visible without having to dig.

cornerafter samantha pynns pure design office makeoverswatches samantha pynns pure design office makeover

Unfinished magazine boxes and filing drawers from IKEA were painted a perky apple green — another case of Samantha putting her personal stamp on mass market merch.

boxes1 samantha pynns pure design office makeover

Adjacent to the conference table is this sweet little lounge. I love the Karlstad sofa from IKEA in this Linneryd Natural-colour slipcover, which is paired with the Vejmon coffee table — repainted, of course, this time in Benjamin Moore’s Violet Mist CC-880. Eagle-eyed Samantha fans will recognize the pink tufted chair from her own home, featured in Style At Home back in June 2008. Pretty patterned pillows break up the solid, softly-hued upholstery and add a hint of romance.

lounge samantha pynns pure design office makeover

And those gorgeous floral arrangements that are among Samantha’s trademark flourishes? “One of our producers has a beautiful cutting garden,” Samantha says. “We always have fresh flowers here at the office.”

florals samantha pynns pure design office makeover

You’ll see more of Samantha’s office in Season Two of Pure Design!

Premiering Tuesday, September 29  at 9PM, HGTV

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loving long point, ontario

beachaccess loving long point, ontarioAustin Parkway public beach access, Long Point, Ont.

The August issue of STYLE AT HOME will be hitting newsstands this weekend (yay!), and the theme of the issue is “Simple Summer” — gorgeous summer getaways and easy, breezy outdoor living. 

Last weekend, I had the chance to ditch the sweltering urban heat island (I’m so not a fan of Toronto in the summer!) and escaped to my own slice of heaven — Long Point.

Long Point is a 40-kilometre sandspit that juts from southwestern Ontario into the warm waters of Lake Erie, and has been my summer getaway since I was a kid. Wide, sandy beaches, lined with whispering poplars that glint like silver in the summer sun, and an unpretentious atmosphere among the cottagers who have a real passion for the place… Regional Road 59 takes you down the fascinating Causeway, flanked on either side by marshes teeming with turtles and birds (over 300 species fly through Long Point through the year), and terminates at the Provincial Park — the fourth oldest park in the province. 

One of my fave activities on the Point, of course, is to go dream cottage shopping. I’ve always loved this buttery-yellow beachfront property, which sold two summers ago for a prince’s ransom (I’d heard $750,000, but that’s local gossip talking).

yellowcottage loving long point, ontarioWhy do I love it? It’s a combination of knockout location, with a modest, charming design that doesn’t take away from the splendour of the landscape (Long Point is recognized as a United Nations World Biosphere).

The most famous property on the Point, however, has got to be the Old Cut Lighthouse.

lighthouse loving long point, ontarioBuilt in 1879, the three-storey fort-style beacon with a fascinating history is now a private residence, lovingly restored. The renovation actually won a number of awards, including “Most Outstanding Historical Renovation in Ontario”. Isn’t the fence awesome?!

lighthouse2 loving long point, ontario

I’ve always wanted to see inside, and a little websleuthing brought up these tasty snaps. You can also see the shabby state the lighthouse was in towards the end of the 1990s… The transformation is nothing short of stunning!

samantha pynn’s pure design – season two!

samantha samantha pynns pure design season two!

Ooh, have I got a treat in store for you…

My colleague and fave sweetie-pie Samantha Pynn has invited me down to Pure Design’s new production office! In the midst of producing the smash-hit’s sophomore season, Samantha decided that her base of operations here in Toronto needed a shot of the same chic she injects in each of her TV makeovers. I’m going to take you behind the scenes at Pure Design to show you the amazing before & after transformation of Samantha’s own office, right here on Style Sleuth… Can’t wait!

I’ll keep you posted…

In the meantime, check out Samantha’s greatest hits from Season One — you can still watch them online on HGTV!

 

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before & after: funky wallpaper

grahambrown before & after: funky wallpaperI’m a sucker for a good “before and after”, and these two shots demonstrate how few rolls of wallpaper can totally transform a space. My friend Genevieve hosted a “wallpapering party” last weekend, and invited four buddies over to lend a hand in making over her kitchen with the gorgeous new Birdcage wallpaper from Graham & Brown’s stunning Mode collection of papers. It took them only four hours — including breaks! — to achieve this terrific transformation. Combining on-trend bird motifs with a boho-chic colourway, Gen’s kitchen is now fresh and fab for 2009!

Mode Collection Birdcage wallpaper

Price: $60/double roll

Available at: Graham & Brown; 800-554-0887

pure design

041h7120 pure designMark Tuesday, September 30, on your calendars! My good friend and colleague Samantha Pynn – STYLE AT HOME’s Design Editor – will be hitting the small screen with the premiere of Pure Design, her new series for HGTV. Over the course of 13 episodes, Samantha will be refreshing tired spaces, breathing new life into everyday rooms in her inimitable style. You can catch a sneak peek of the show in our October issue (just hitting newsstands now!), in which we go behind the scenes of Sam’s spectacular before & after transformations… 

Premiere: HGTV, Tuesday, September 30, 8:00PM