HOME INTERIOR DESIGN-LIVING ROOM DESIGN

Little girls enjoy pretty places, pretty things, and dressing up. Even if they’re only going to brush their teeth or hair in their bathroom, it’s bound to be an occasion of playful elegance.

Your little girl’s bathroom doesn’t have to be classically serious, it is where she will want to pamper herself after all.

Paint the lower half of the wall in white/lilac stripes, then separate a solid lilac top with a yellow border repeating ‘rub a dub dub’ in playful lettering all around the room.


Let your little girl pamper herself amongst playful reflections of bygone Cinderella days when details went into elegant ball gowns made of ruffles, sashes and ribbons. Think girly color schemes that are pale pink or peachy. Lavishly deck the windows with long flowing ruffled curtains and tassels.

Especially attractive to younger girls, the airy, sweet feel and minimal use of color is perfect for the bathroom. With a neutral color palette, think to make the bathroom feel cosy and harmonious with classic blue and white checked fabric curtains with sweet netting underlay. Stencil or paint freehand nursery rhyme themed murals from your daughter’s favorite story.


A theme that can be great for both boys and girls bathroom, a beach theme is always popular for the bathroom. A simple square tiled bathroom, with white cabinetry and fixtures can be brought to life with beach themed accents. Deck this bathroom out in blue-sky beach colors or pale peach and sandy hues. Add some creative mirror frames with driftwood border or a collage of shells.

Little girls enjoy pretty places, pretty things, and dressing up. Even if they’re only going to brush their teeth or hair in their bathroom, it’s bound to be an occasion of playful elegance.

Your little girl’s bathroom doesn’t have to be classically serious, it is where she will want to pamper herself after all.

Paint the lower half of the wall in white/lilac stripes, then separate a solid lilac top with a yellow border repeating ‘rub a dub dub’ in playful lettering all around the room.


Let your little girl pamper herself amongst playful reflections of bygone Cinderella days when details went into elegant ball gowns made of ruffles, sashes and ribbons. Think girly color schemes that are pale pink or peachy. Lavishly deck the windows with long flowing ruffled curtains and tassels.

Especially attractive to younger girls, the airy, sweet feel and minimal use of color is perfect for the bathroom. With a neutral color palette, think to make the bathroom feel cosy and harmonious with classic blue and white checked fabric curtains with sweet netting underlay. Stencil or paint freehand nursery rhyme themed murals from your daughter’s favorite story.


A theme that can be great for both boys and girls bathroom, a beach theme is always popular for the bathroom. A simple square tiled bathroom, with white cabinetry and fixtures can be brought to life with beach themed accents. Deck this bathroom out in blue-sky beach colors or pale peach and sandy hues. Add some creative mirror frames with driftwood border or a collage of shells.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Department of Energy recently announced the availability of nearly $300 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for rebate programs and consumer purchases of new ENERGY STAR qualified energy efficient appliances.

My dear friend Gloria Blalock of Blalock Interiors LLC and I donated our services to an event for a charity benefiting  A-SPAN (Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network). A-SPAN is a wonderful charity that is dedicated to supporting people who are homeless, living in the streets or facing homelessness in the Arlington, Virginia area by providing supportive services that include Outreach, Employment Counseling, Case Management, Permanent Supportive Housing, Opportunity Place and The Homeless Bagged Meal Program.

The winning bidder would receive:
Gloria Blalock of Blalock Interiors and Laura Jens of Interior View, two fabulous designers are teaming up to offer a Re-Design of a room.  They will come to your residence for 2-3 hours where they will be selecting, arranging existing furnishings, artwork and accessories to recreate a living space to enhance the style and functionality of your space. In addition, they’ll provide color consultation and make a list of recommended items for purchase if needed. 

We arrived and met Mr. & Mrs. J. the most wonderful warm loving couple and their three young beautiful adopted children.  After sitting down to ask the family how they live, we then surveyed the room(s) and agreed to re-design their living room and dining area where most of their activities take place.  This is where the children do their homework, the family sits together to watch movies (& oodles of them :)), have sleep over parties and play together.

We realized we certainly had our work cut out for us…..and it was time to get busy. :)

The room as when we arrived…...

The process: 
To create functioning but yet cozy sitting groups, create an organized area for homework, and accessorize the many trinkets that have been collected over the years in a unified manner.

BeforeAfter

The lovely (extremely heavy) piano was moved under the window to take center stage, wall units were separated and moved to the opposite side near the entry, the main seating pieces pulled in and centered with the fireplace (focal point), and the TV pulled in and angled closer for better viewing. *Phew* I’m tired again just thinking about it all :) After: from the other end

Before (all items had to be removed prior to the furniture being moved) 

 After:
In the Dining Area, art re-arranged, the bookcase was removed, the hutch and buffet were switched and the small bookcase placed under the window to store kids supplies and homework. All of this helped to open up the space and created a place that works well to share a yummy home cooked meal…….after everyone’s homework is completed that is :)

 

 

A few items that were removed from a couple pieces of furniture.

 

 

There was lots & lots & lots of stuff that was removed from cabinets and shelves, oodles to clean, sort, and organize. Gloria is the Queen of grouping, arranging, and displaying all the treasures in a cohesive thoughtful way. There was such a huge impact made in the way she arranged the cabinets & shelves in displaying some of their most treasured pieces.

 

 

An example below of the bookshelf:

         
                       Before                                         After

The globe we found downstairs and immediately both fell in love with it, then came to find out the owners had been trying to figure a way to display it for quite some time. The stand, a repurposed beautiful hand carved wooden piece made by his father now has a prominent place. The large leather bound book on the top shelf under the globe is a precious old beautiful bible that belonged to Mr. J’s mother.

Sorted & Re-arranged:
       

 

 

I’m sorry that I didn’t take close up pictures of the items newly displayed. Thanks to Gloria it was truly an amazing difference. But at this point I was so brain fried :) but I really should have listened to my friend who suggested that I take those pictures. Sorry Gloria.   :(            
                                                                                   
 

 

 

 

 

Before

 
After
The owners were given a task of finding open baskets to put on the shelves on the bookcase behind the TV to house the hundreds thousands of DVDs that they own and that they love to watch together. Though not in this picture, I am happy to report they had success in their mission. Good job guys.

 

 

 

 

And speaking of, the lovely Mr. & Mrs. J, here they are sitting and enjoying the newly transformed space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2-3 hours seemed like such little time…..and, well, as we learned it was!  We spent a solid non stop exhausting but rewarding 8 hours working on the transformation. Most homeowners watch HGTV and are under the assumption that this process is quick and easy, not so! Due to a little misunderstanding the family was home during the process (which we  recommend against). It can be hard to sit back and watch strangers go through your prized possessions, your life, and watch the intense work that goes on. They are happy with the results, but I think would agree, it is better to come in and see the “reveal” than watch every little step of it along the way.

Thank you to Mr. & Mrs. J. for allowing us to do this for them, and donating to a wonderful charity.

If you are interested in volunteering or donating to A-SPAN, please visit their site to learn more.

We also recommended they paint the existing dark green walls in the dining area to something a little softer like a sage green.

A color that will compliment the existing living room color for in the dining area:
Element from Benjamin Moore’s Aura line:

  

Bonin Architects is excited to announce the opening of our new office located at 209 Main Street, New London, New Hampshire, next to Ellie’s Café. Our new office is a two-story 1,449 square foot craftsman-style building, a signature facility which reflects our culture and the way we work with our clients.

The first floor has a large conference table to accommodate large project meetings with clients and builders, as well as a separate seating area around a gas fireplace for more informal client appointments. In addition to meeting space, the upstairs has plenty of room for our design and project management staff and will also allow us to grow.

Despite the declining economy over the past year, Bonin Architects has continued to stay busy. Asked what has contributed to our growth, Principal Partner and Executive Project Manager Kimberly Bonin explains, “We offer home design and full architectural services, as well as project management to clients who want us to manage the construction of their new home. Our Principal Architect, Jeremy Bonin, is licensed in eight states (ME, NH, VT, NY, MA, RI, CT, and PA) and is a member of the AIA with a diverse background in commercial and residential design. He is also a LEED accredited professional and an expert in the green building industry. Our priority is listening to our clients’ wants and needs, including their goals for energy efficiency, and then working with them to design a home that fits their lifestyle – and their budgets.”

The new office is located in Baynham’s Square, the “gathering place” of New London. Other businesses in Baynham’s Square besides Ellie’s Café and Bonin Architects are Vessels & Jewels and The Banks Gallery. “Many of the locals have already stopped in to welcome us to the neighborhood. We’re definitely looking forward to having our client and project meetings in our new space and are already enjoying having our business in such a friendly community,” Kim adds.

Stop by to say hello the next time you are traveling through New London!