before and after Archives - Emily A. Clark

Creating a Cozy Teenage Workspace

Sep282017

This post is sponsored by BEHR® and POPSUGAR.

I can hardly believe I just typed the word “teenage.” Wasn’t I just blogging about sending him off to kindergarten? Whether I like it or not, teenage-dom is coming for us fast (in just a few days!), and I promised my oldest son we’d finally pull his room together. Our/his first priority was to create a workspace in the little niche by his closet. He’s gotten really into making and editing videos and I’m happy to support this hobby. (How good would an in-house videographer be for my blog?!)

We were both up for a change and agreed on darker walls. Paint is almost always the easiest and most economical way to make a dramatic design difference. I used BEHR PREMIUM PLUS ULTRA® Interior Paint & Primer in One for this project and chose a new color from their 2018 color trends palette. BEHR recently named “In the Moment” (a tranquil blueish green) as their first ever “Color of the Year”, but I opted for something a little bolder for his room.

My almost-teenager and I decided on a deep green color called Equilibrium. The color is earthy and cozy and is dramatic without being too “in your face.” (This paint goes on extremely well; I could’ve probably gotten away with one coat. And, I’m happy to report there was no strong paint smell. He was able to sleep in his room the same night.)

The official “before and after.”

So that the room didn’t feel too dark, I kept the trim white, brought in (my) white parsons desk, and reused the colorful flags in white frames from his old room.

When using a darker paint color, I also like to pull in a natural wood element or two and brass accents.

I also used the same paint color and some painter’s tape to quickly dress up a plain bulletin board.

Whether we’ll ever see him again is yet to be seen, but we’re both happy with the space. :)

one – two – three – four – five – six – seven

What color trend would you like to try?

One of my readers will win a $100 Home Depot gift card. Just pop over to this quick form and let me know which color trend you like best. (You can find all of the trends here.)

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES. All entrants must be the age of majority in their respective state as of the date of entry and over 18 years of age. BEHR® Color Trends Sweepstakes- Emily A Clark (“the Sweepstakes”) opens at 12:01 a.m. PST September 14, 2017 and closes at 11:59 p.m. PST on November 4, 2017. Void where prohibited by law. Participation constitutes entrant’s full unconditional agreement and acceptance of the Official Rules, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy. Sweepstakes is sponsored by POPSUGAR Inc. (owner and operator of popsugar.com) having an address of 111 Sutter Street, 16th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. One grand prize valued at $100.

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Our Antelope Stair Runner (Before & After)

Aug142017

One of the things I was most excited about updating in this house was the stairway. It greets you as soon as you walk in the front door, and 30-year-old carpet (topped off with a good two years of abuse from the Clark kids) just wasn’t saying “welcome.”

As part of our upstairs renovation, we had the carpet pulled up and replaced with wood treads and an antelope stair runner:

When I went to the carpet store, I had my heart set on a natural fiber runner like sisal or seagrass. But, once I got there and spotted the antelope, I was pretty smitten. (It’s kind of like going to get your hair trimmed but when you get there, you get braver and come home with a short bob.)

It’s made by Karastan and the pattern name is “Savanna Scenes”. We went with the more golden colorway, and I think it’s the perfect fit for disguising the dirty that’s bound to happen in this very busy spot. It’s nylon but gives me the look of wool–at a much better price point. The saleslady was very reassuring about its durability.

A couple of quick details to point out, in case you’re installing a new runner at any point. We had it inset at 4″ from the wall on each side, starting at the top. And, we ended the runner right under the first tread. I’ve seen it done other ways but this is my favorite finished look.

We also had new railing installed and stuck to classic black and white.

wallpaper – framed silhouettes – lighting (similar) – table (thrifted)

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Our Kitchen Layout (Before & After)

Jun202017

After sharing most of the “after” pictures of our kitchen remodel, I wanted to follow up with a post to show you how we changed the actual layout.

As with most traditional 30-year-old houses, ours had a formal dining room (attached to the kitchen). Before the renovation, we had been using ours as a sitting/piano room.In our previous houses, we’ve either never used the dining room or turned it into a home office. I didn’t see us turning into a formal dining kind of family anytime soon, and we need all the kitchen space we can get. We knew from the start that the wall that separated the two rooms was coming out to make one large space.

renovation, week 1

I initially had my heart set on a sink in front of the row of windows at the end of our kitchen that overlooks the backyard. The designer we worked with helped me walk through a day (in my mind) of how that would work logistically. She helped me see that it would create a really busy traffic pattern in my main workspace, resulting in lots of frustration and probable yelling. :)

That’s when the idea of the of the sink in the island (and FIVE bar stools, please) came into play. This has worked out really well. I’m able to stand behind the island and get the kids what they need and then clean up all from one spot. There’s a dishwasher on each side of the sink. (No regrets there.)

Behind the island is our range, open shelving and lower cabinet storage. This is where the stove–and all of our countertop space–was before.

MLS photo

soon after we moved in

renovation, week 1

Again, I’m staying in mostly the same area when I’m unloading the dishwashers. It’s nice to just be able to turn around and place most of what we use every day on the open shelves.

I remember some of you being concerned about the refrigerator being on the other side of the island. To tell you the truth, there wasn’t a lot of options since we were working with a fairly long space. But it hasn’t bothered me at all to walk around the end of the island to get what I need. (If that’s my worst problem. . . ) And I’m especially good at telling the kids to get off their stools and get me what I need. ;) Before the renovation, the stove was in this space.

MLS listing photo

after we moved in

We also removed the pantry closet right beside of it (behind the shelving unit) which ate up a lot of floor space.

Yes, I love the huge fridge/freezer. An appliance post coming soon. . .

We opted for two pull-out pantries that are both in “the green section” of our kitchen. I keep our food in one and dishes/serving pieces in the far one by the front window. And, as I’ve mentioned before, the addition of comfortable chairs has made this area my favorite spot in the house. (This area is what was previously the dining room/black sitting room.)

MLS photo

the front room before we started renovation

On the opposite end of the kitchen (by the back door), we kept our dining table. I had originally envisioned a built-in window seat, but in the end decided that’s not where I wanted to use our budget. (It would’ve required reworking the windows.) I’m glad, because we use the table way less than we do the island.

MLS photo

Anything I missed? Let me know. :)

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In case you missed our kitchen reveal, you can find that post (and sources for everything) here.

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