before & After: A Client's Home Featured In Small Rooms Decorating Magazine

A while back, I shared some before & midstage photos of a client's DC rowhouse.  When I was just about to have our third son (this past Spring) I did a photoshoot with my good friend & photographer Helen Norman & her assistant, F.J. Hughes.  I was so happy with how my clients' home turned out & the house ended up getting shot again for Small Room Decorating Magazine right after.  My clients actually fell for a new home in another area of DC & moved a couple of weeks after the shoot and so we're now onto the next project!  It was pretty much a whirlwind for my clients & I'm so appreciative of them for letting us invade their home for photoshoots multiple times. 

Here are a couple of 'before' pics of the home:

{My clients' dining room: They already had a GORGEOUS chandelier by Oly and really beautifully done window treatments.  The dining room functions as both a dining room and a sitting room and the dropleaf dining table itself moves under the window and becomes a console when the room transitions into a sitting room.  My clients purchased the settee so it could function for both spaces.}

Here's what their living room looked like before:

{As you can see, they already had some amazing pieces to work with & I love their style.  My goal was to warm up the space & to get it just right for them.}

One of the first things we did was repaint the main areas of the home in ivory & to repaint the doors black for some contrast & interest & to bounce the black accents throughout the room:

We used many of their own pieces & added new pieces to create a sort of modern mix of old & new.  To see all of my plans for the spaces, click here. 

Here's the before:

And here's the 'after':

We rearranged the furniture & floated the daybed so that it coule be accessed from both sides.  We added a pair of clean-lined linen wing chairs for a cozy spot to hang. 

We added a mix of textured, patterned and hand block-printed fabrics for some energy & interest:

{Dark brown & white pillow fabric & ottoman fabric by Raoul Textiles, and center paisley pillow is one of mine, "live paisley."}

We flanked the existing sofa with two large iron & cement tables to hold loads of books & magazines. 

Below, the lamp is a custom creation by my friend, lighting designer, Rick Singleton.  The photographs are taken from the oversized German Magazine, The Manipulator, and I found them at Avery Studios.  The frames were beautifully hand painted by another friend, artist, John Matthew Moore.  I wanted them hung so that they intersected slightly with the wing chairs for a more layered, relaxed look.  I love how the little kitty is peeking out from between the two chairs.  We went with a clear glass cocktail table because even though the room looks open & expansive, it's really fairly small & we wanted to keep it feeling open & airy.

A little workspace is carved out of the living room:

Here's the view from their loft bedroom above, which I really love. The wood floors transition to the deck floors just outside:

Here's the dining room below:

Here's the dining room "after"--

The vintage BRNO chairs we found were covered in hairy cream cowhide.  The painting is from one of my favorite Natural Curiosities collections by Paule Marrot, the French painter, engraver & textile designer who did most of her work between the 1920s and 1950s.  As a decorator, there's nothing more exciting than when you find clients who are willing to go outside the box and who are open to atypical things.   

Here's another view of the dining room:

The leaves on the table were honeysuckle branches from my yard and I really love how they looked & smelled.  I don't have any at our new house & think I need to get some.

To see the rest of the photos of other areas of the home (including a little sprucing up we did in the master bedroom) and the dining room set up as both a sitting room and a dining room, check out the current issue of Small Room Decorating Magazine.  The article was produced by Charlotte Safavi & shot by Helen Norman.  I haven't been able to pick up my copy yet & it doesn't seem like the magazine is sold everywhere but I have seen it at my grocery store & in bookstores.  Thanks so much to everyone who put the article together & especially to my clients for being so open to the design process & for letting it all happen!!

Hope you enjoyed!!


If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.   ps- All of the pretty photos in this post were taken by Helen too ;)

Our Pantry Before & After

When we decided to move unexpectedly a few  weeks ago, we were in a rush to put our house on the market.  Every little item on our "eventual" To Do List happened in the spane of 10 days...  SO I have a few projects to share with you!

A year or so ago, we took out this curtained pantry....

...which had THIS scary mess hiding behind it...

...and popped in some new cabinetry one Sunday...

And we lived with it painted for a while with a plywood top, not even installed.  It made our kitchen SO much more functional and I loved it, but it needed to be finished.   Enter last minute house sale and CarrMichael Construction , a butcher block top, and hardware and we got this:

I'm so happy with it and will get to enjoy it for one more month before saying goodbye.

Thanks so much to everyone for all the decluttering tips & tricks!!  If you haven't had the chance to read the previous post's comments, check them out for lots of great ideas.  We have ZERO accessible in- house storage in our new house (other than an attic and a teensy spot in our laundry room...  no joke, we don't even have a LINEN CLOSET!!) so I will be putting every decluttering tip I can to the test!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

The Boys' Lake Cottage Bedroom

We recently visited my dad, who lives on a lake, and I did a few things to the boys' bedroom there.  Christian, our 5 year old (today's his birthday!!!) and Justin, our 2 "and-a-half" year old sleep in the room that used to be my dad's  and my Uncle Teddy's when they were boys.

Our family's had the cottage since the 50s and our boys love visiting now...

Whenever I visit my dad, I get a few things done here and there. Lots of it is fast and unplanned which means most of it is antique shops & retail..  This time, I did a little in the boys' bedroom.  Here's the view from the door...

I switched out some of the "girlier" fabrics and colors  (The aqua and corals I'd put in 10 years ago just weren't quite making it boyish enough ;) and added a few things from around the house & a few new ones.  I pulled in the old Ikea chair we'd had and am eying another chair to swap it our with but will have to wait on that one.  It's a nice spot to read with the boys.  I DEFINITELY need to add some blackout matchstick shades (they wake up waaaaaay to early with the sun & the time change) and plan on adding a wall of old family photos across from the bed so the boys will see their great-grandparents and the rest of the family when this lakehouse was in its heyday.  (It used to be packed every weekend with family but we live so far away it's not the same.)  We still all get together there, just not often enough. 

One of my favorite additions to the room is the set of basket fish we hung from the ceiling:

{found at the PB kids store}

I "borrowed" this vintage ship model of my dad's from another room in the house:

{A secret: The curtains I hung are too short for the windows but are mostly hidden behind furniture.  When the shades get added, I'll hand the rods a bit higher and add more fabric to the panels - probably in a contrasting fabric.  But for now = shhhhhhhh }

Christian sleeps on the left and Justin is on the right with the bed rails to keep him from falling out.  I love tucking them in at night and climbing into bed with one of  them.  Justin kicked me out this trip saying I should "snuggle with Trin Trin" instead.  (I guess I'm a bed hog.)  We watched fireworks  from the window the other night and I fell asleep.  It made me really happy.

I know it would have been a prettier pic without Justin's bed rails but that would have taken too long ;) ;)

I love the size of this room.  The ceilings give the illusion of even more space and there's not much "stuff" at all in here because we just bring our clothes when we come.   At home, the boys' room is so tiny that just 1 t-shirt on the floor makes it feel like a mess.  (Add in unmade beds and toys and books and the room looks trashed daily.)  They love playing with toys in here and even when they're not all picked up, the room still feels good.  I WISH this room was in our house at home.

Here are the boys "hanging out."  (Actually, me stealing them away form a game of hide-and-seek to make them sit o the bed so I could get a picture of them in their new room.  Ah vell.)

{"Are you done yet Mom?!!"}

In a couple of years, Luke  will join them in the big boys' room...  probably with a sleeping bag. 



AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG 5 YEAR OLD!!!!!

ps- As I mentioned, I've been LOVING instagram on my phone and have been sharing little peeks of projects and tidbits on there.  I showed some pics of this room on there last week & looove playing with the photo editing to make the pics look cool.  (I'm really bad at it right now, I'll be honest, but I have hope.)  I'm not sure how to link over to it but my name on there is LaurenLiess and as soon as I can figure out how, I'll be sure to share a link on the blog so you can find me.  I've been having so much fun seeing everyone's phone photos and it's a little like twitter but waaaaaay better.

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Before & After: Client's Dining Room

Last year, we began working with our clients who were undergoing a major renovation to their home.  The renovation was a thoughtful reworking of the existing space with the only addition to the house's footprint being the new screened-in porch.  The entire floorplan of the first floor was reworked and my clients created a massive open kitchen with an attached dining room and entry out of what once was the kitchen, dining room, living room and entry.  The wife likes bold fresh colors & has slightly modern taste while the husband is pretty traditional so we were really after a blending of the two.

We did the full house but I thought I'd start out by sharing the dining room with you.  Here's a photo of the dining room "before" which was at the back of the house:

And here's the dining room now:

Like me, my client loves botanicals & we couldn't resist these two massive ones by Natural Curiosities.  I flanked them with large bright green lamps to balance out their size.  The trestle table is paired with lighter carved chairs and I love the detail on the seat backs.   We found the neutral Greek key rug at Stark.  On the table, I used modern garden cloches on the table filled with ferns and orchids.  

We had the existing sideboard laquered white and my client had the GENIUS idea of adding a wooden board painted with chalkboard paint to the top of it:

It looks like slate but was super-inexpensive.  (I know, I know, chalkboard is EVERYWHERE... but I still love it in enexpected places!!)  We had planned to use honed granite or concrete & I'm so happy she did this instead!!!  It's so convenient now to label food & drinks set out on the bar.

For curtains, we used an overscale blue paisley by Schumacher and throughout the house we used a combination of bright blues & greens.  This project was particularly special for us to work on for a number of reasons and the "big reveal" had me teary... I want to thank my clients so much for letting us into your home &  your lives. 

I'm off for the day- am having contractions and am heading in to doc to check it out & am doubting this is "it" but they make you come in anyway so we'll see.  I'll keep you posted!!
UPDATE:  I'm home from doc and all is good & contractions will be coming & going but they aren't painful enough yet to be very productive!  Will keep you posted & hopefully I still have a couple mroe weeks to go :)




If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Sneakity Peek: Client Apartment

We recently finished up with our clients' gorgeous condo & I have a couple of pics to share.   My client has amazing taste and has amassed lots of collections of beautiful objects over the years.  She was ready for a fresh start design-wise & has a very defined style.  We wanted light & textural and we used a soft pallette of whites, creams, grays, aquas & taupes.  

This (below) is the view down one of the hallways & we went with a horizontally striped rug, which visually widens the hallway:

The apartment has the most beautiful light and the views are incredible.  I'll save the rest of it for when we have it professionally shot but before I go, I do want to share a few of Maureen's collections with you:

{old pulleys}

{I can't remember what this thing is but it is soooo gorgeous!!!  She found it at a thrift store, like many of her treasures}

{Her collection of vintage trophies is incredible.  I love them just piled together like this.}

{One of my favorite collections she has is her collection of glass & crystal bottle stops that she keeps at the drink station...  so beautiful.}

...Anyway, I'll be sure to share the rest of the apartment when I can!!  Thank you so much to my clients for letting us be a part of your redesign!!



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Client's Living Room Before & After

A couple of years ago around Christmastime, I was contacted by a husband looking to give his wife a design consultation for Christmas.  He bought her a gift certificate & surprised her with it.  We met a month or two later & had a two hour consultation in their home.   I've always thought this was one of the sweetest things ever & thought about the clients from time to time.  She & I had sort stayed in "cyber" touch, and I was thrilled when they contacted me this Fall to redo the living room in their new home.   I would describe their style as very cozy, warm & a bit English.  (Which makes sense as the husband actually is English!)They started with a white box: popcorn ceilings and wall to wall white carpet. They were SO ready to get the house feeling like them and were thrilled to ditch their existing pieces for new ones that reflected their taste.

Here's the room before:

(That's Bailey on the floor :)

And here it is now:

A natural woven rug & shades are on their way but I think the change is already incredible.  CarrMichael Construction ditched the popcorn ceilings and replaced the carpet with hardwood.  The walls were painted  in Benjamin Moore's "gentle cream" to warm up the room.  We kept their existing Victorian wing chair (which is SO similar to my Madhatter chair!!) in its original fabric and added a super-comfortable English arm sofa, storage ottoman for toys & puzzles for their little cutie pie, and skirted wing chair.  My client found everything for the walls at flea markets, antique shops & thrift stores.  (Go Emily!! :)

Here's the other side of the room where there was an awkward opening to the stairs that prevented them from having a balanced seating area and the cozy feeling they were after:

And here it is now, all closed up:

I love the little rush seat bench between the windows:

Here's a close-up of Emily's 'found' artwork above the sofa:

{Sofa pillow fabric: Ralph Lauren floral, Michael Smith's Indian Flower & a discontinued olive green paisley}

I think my favorite little spot is this skirted wing chair with the "goddess" floor lamp:

And finally, here's one more shot of the whole room:

Anyway, I'm off for the day but hope you enjoyed!!  We have another one tomorrrow so I'll be sure to post pics when I can.

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Also, I just wanted to add, that due to time contraints & our project schedule, we are only able to take on full-service projects like this one (vs. design consultations like the one I mentioned at the beginning of this post).  I'm looking into the possibility of adding staff & making design consultations available again in the future, but for now, it's full projects only.  I will be sure to let you know if / when this changes!! :) 

The Back Office- Before & After

 As anyone with a home-based business knows, office space starts leaking into other areas of the house, and as your business grows & you bring in new people, you need more room.  A few months ago, we moved our guest bedroom from one bedroom to another room- an unfinished storage-type room that we had finished.  The "empty" guest room became our back office.  Here's a picture of it "before" when we pretty much just thew everything in it:

{scaaaaaary, I know}

A couple of weeks after doing that, we organized it and started working at our temporary sawhorse & scrap plywood desks.  We ordered furniture & and then we waited for everything to arrive.  We've been working in it as it gradually became an actual office.  It's finally all in & it feels so good to have this new extra space!!! 

We lined the walls in shelving (from West Elm) and stacked all of our fabric samples, magazines, client binders, inspiration binders and catalogues on the shelves.  I love having a spot for everything!!!  (Before it used to be spread through mulitple rooms but now it's all pretty much together.) 

It's sort of a long bowling-alleyish room which actually works really well for our purposes.  I put two massive hammered metal desks side by side to take up almost the whole right wall.  I use the one by the window (and heat vent) and my assistant, Meghan uses the one closer to the camera.  (Meghan is perpetually HOT and I like to be toasty so this works out best for us :)

I love having both a light space & a darker space to work in.  The office feels much moodier than the main workroom with huge table we use for spreading out projects:

It's so bright in here that it's hard to see the computer screen in the afternoons but it's perfect for working on fabrics & finishes and drawing & spreading out. 

 ...Back in the office, I love this shot that Helen took of the mimosas in my old lab beakers:

{Thanks for the flowers Holly!!!}

I was able to fit a teensy corner desk in the corner of the room for an additional workstation for bookkeeping & for our new intern, Alexa.  Christian has pretty much claimed it though:

{I snapped this pic of Christian in his NASA suit, "working."}

Our inspiration wall is finally up above our desks & it makes me so happy!!!

We layered it with photos that inspire us (some that have been saved for years with the hopes of one day having this wall) fabrics we love & that fit our mood, and mementos.  I piled some of my favorite design books in front of the wall for easy access, and because these desks are so incredibly deep (I think almost 3 feet?!!) we now actually have room for them to be nearby.

(You can spy Baby Liess's pic in there towards the bottom in front of my workstation! ;)

Anyway, because we have a place for almost everything, it's been really easy to keep it organized & that's so freeing.  (It's like those dreams you have of finding extra rooms in your house!!)

Also, I thought the comments were really interesting in the last post (from Friday) about sharing things on blogs, magazines, etc.  There seems to definitely be very differing opinions and I see both for sure but will probably continue with "sneakity peeks" of rooms vs showing the whole spaces until after I've given them a chance to be published.   (My office today is different because it's on my own home, of which I think I've shown pretty much every inch of on here :)  Would love to know your thoughts!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

*Photos by Helen Norman