Today I was scrolling Instagram (as you do), and a post from comedian Natasha Leggero rolled into the feed. You may or may not be familiar with her, but she’s someone whose style I’ve liked for years. This was a post of hers that shared a snippet of her home decor style, and holy Moses I couldn’t stop looking at it. One, because I happen to like and appreciate her aesthetic, so I think the room is gorgeous, but more importantly, because the before and afters looked like completely different houses.

Now, we all know what a good “take-it-down-to-the-studs” remodel can do, how some creative layout changing and shifting a wall here and a window there will totally transform a building from what it once was. A lot of times, that’s the go-to solution when a space is drab, outdated, poorly decorated, and not our personal style; maybe because the overwhelming ugliness of it all leads us to believe there is no other way. I’m telling you, though, this room was transformed with what basically amounted to a coat of paint and a good eye. Maybe I’m over selling it; you be the judge.

I MEAN. Again, I’m drooling over the style of the room, but even if it’s not your cup of tea, you can appreciate the level of detail that went into changing the space. I want to dissect it with you, because all of these changes are decor! Surface-level, from-the-drywall-in changes that take a basic room in a mid-century ranch to a completely bespoke level.

The blue here is a fabulous choice that I don’t think many would rech towards in today’s trend of monochrome neutrals and complex cremes. What interests me more here, is that the walls, ceiling, and trim are all painted the same color. This makes the room look so much taller in the after photo, even though no structural changes have been made, because the color is continuous. Now, this house had crown molding in the before, which a lot of 50s and 60s homes don’t, and I love the added depth it provides. I don’t think the room would have nearly the impact without it, though it’s such an easily overlooked add.

Speaking of trim, and I know that everyone’s Pinterest board has some sort of Wainscoting or board-and-batton DIY to add craftsman level detain to a plain wall, and what they’ve done here is just that. Traditionally in a high-end old home, the detail on the walls and ceiling would have been done in plaster on the wall, but to fake it 60 years later, some wood trim pieces will do the trick! The result is just marvelous, and carrying the gold paint to the inner edge of the mullions… *chef’s kiss* is perfection. Piggy-backing off of that, I think the hardware on the door desierves an honorable mention. I can’t tell from the before photo if it was there originally, but I’m telling you, hardware gives big-time results on small-time effort.

Again, helping with the ceiling height illusion, is an impeccibly place drapery rod. Dramatic, comlimentary color drapes command your attention and keep your eye interested. It would be a completely different space with any other color. I generally like the combination of this blue and orange in a ton of applications, so it really speaks to me. Here, it’s all about the drama, and it works perfectly.

I’ve gushed about this room enough. Let’s summarize. This bedroom has comletely changed because of:

1. Rip out the carpet.
2. An added trim detail to mimic the look of plasterwork.
3. Paint.
4. Draperies.
5. Lighting.

That’s it. It absolutely goes to show you how far being creative with what is already there will get you before you ever have to think about putting a hole in the wall. Maybe you’re thinking, “Well obviously, Lydia, it’s a bedroom. What else can you do to it anyway?” FINE. I’ll show you her bathroom.

Rip out the tile who?

If you’ve looked my portfolio on this site, you’ll know that I’m not a stranger to this. Here, I’ve taken photos from a real estate listing and rendered the home with all new decor. The finish and furniture selections in my own exapmple would cost you around $80k, which isn’t inexpensive. I tweaked the kitchen and bathrooms a bit, which is kind of cheating for the purpose of this exercise… All in all, I really want to illustrate the point that decor can transform just as much as redesigning a space.

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The best part about decor changes, in my opinion, is that they don’t need a reason for being the way they are, except for the person’s taste who is living in them. There are of course limitations and archetectural influences, but letting an imagination run wild can yeild some stunning results.

I was lucky to meet the Sharons in January of 2019, when they were starting the process of redecorating their dining room. It is the room that you see immediately as you walk into their home, and they have an fabulous view from the bay window, overlooking a pond and field of prairie grass.

I chose to bring the feeling of the water inside the room, so that the view was framed by the window treatments. Though the house sits pretty firmly in the middle of the Colorado prairie, the water and grass evoked a sense of being on a marsh or inland waterway, and plantation shutters continue this mood, so we chose to play this up with some relaxed pieces with natural textures and materials that elevated the style of the room without creating a stuffy, formal dining room atmosphere.

The window treatments are the star of the space, with an abstract floral paisley in teal, blue, and gray tones. When you walk into the home, a heron greets you on the far wall and turns your gaze to the rest of the room, a nod to the coastal style that inspired the design.

In November, The Sharons were ready to continue their home improvement by moving on to the living area. They wanted to continue the calm, cool color scheme, but have a more modern looking approach to the space where the family gathers to watch TV. The living room is also open to an airy, white kitchen with iron accents, so the spaces needed to be seamless between one another.

Of course, all the items in their space were originally selected for a different home, so the sectional was too small for the space, and the chairs too petite to be comfortable for lounging. We also were able to brighten and define the room with a large geometric rug in the subtle color scheme of blue-gray and white.

With a killer light fixture that added dimension to the room and spoke to the industrial pieces in the eat-in kitchen, we didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to draw the eye up. By adding some simple tone on tone draperies, and painting the inset of the architectural detail in a slightly darker color, we added interest and attention to some details that went previously unnoticed.

The color palette in this room is more muted then in the dining room, with some contrasting elements of color in the custom pillows and leather recliner, but the way that the blues and grays speak to each other flows through the home, and creates a cohesive color story.