BEFORE & AFTER: SMALL SPACE RENO

Back a couple of years ago I was renovating a small apartment above my office. This was an extremely small space with a tiny bathroom, kitchen and two small rooms. As soon as I saw the space I knew I wanted to open up the wall between the two small rooms, to make one larger room as the main living area. This would help with light and would open up the whole space.  Also, I was able to lift the old linoleum floor and uncover the original wooden floors underneath. My Dad helped me lift the many layers of old flooring, you can see the floor removal on the right hand side of the first picture. Here it is as the floor is coming up and the wall starts coming down.

Great to see the light is starting to come through from the other side.

Finally opened up! Love seeing through to the other side.

Here it is opened, now time for drywall, lighting and paint.

Here it is painted.

And here are the results! The space was featured in House & Home small space issue in September 2012, see the spread here: http://www.debnelsondesign.com/?page_id=48

BEFORE & AFTER: AN OLD BATHROOM GETS A NEW LOOK

A bathroom renovation can become extensive pretty quickly. In my case I not only renovated the bathroom, but I actually moved the second floor bathroom to a new location. The house was built in 1844 and had several additions over the years. The original second floor bathroom was over an addition, and when the house was being gutted, all the plumbing was being redone. Since the plumbing all had to go, I also wanted to move all of the new plumbing to be accessible in the basement of the house (previously pipes were running out into crawl spaces and under additions). I was able to layout the house so this worked, and I was so happy to have all the brand new plumbing easily accessible in the basement. The planning of the bathroom took some figuring out. There was a very small room at the front of the house that I felt like would be the best spot to take over for the bathroom. I wanted to use the original pedestal sink and claw foot tub – I especially loved the old chunky hardware on the sink and the tub. There was a time when I thought I wouldn't use the sink, but I'm so glad that I did.

Here is the original bathroom in it's first location before the renovation.

This is the small room that I thought should be the bathroom. Here it is before.

Here it is with me trying the sink in the space, I wanted to see how the sink and tub would look in here. The guys kindly moved the very heavy tub and sink into the space so I could get an idea of how it would look and fit.

I decided I loved it. The start of the plumbing for the tub:

Here is a close up of the sink hardware and electrical wiring being done above it.

And when the changes really start...new drywall, lighting is now in....and PAINT! At this time I also had the base of the claw foot tub painted black.

And finally the finished, renovated bathroom.

DOOR DETAIL: CREMONE BOLT HARDWARE

I've always loved Cremone bolt hardware, it's the long vertical hardware that you often see on a set of French Doors. I think it adds such a beautiful detail to any doors (normally seen on a pair of doors). I've always envisioned this type of hardware on my double back doors, the black pair in the kitchen above. I think it would be a perfect finishing touch to these doors. I'll start looking for authentic vintage Cremone bolt hardware, but if I can't find what I'm looking for, I know it is available to buy 'new' from some suppliers who make vintage hardware. Here are more images of doors with Cremone bolts in my inspiration file.

Images above: source unknown

It also can be used to jazz up any interior cabinets, here is the hardware shown on cabinet doors, love how it looks!

Image source unknown

Image: House & Home magazine

ROMAN SHADES

I really like roman shades as a window treatment, and I prefer a simple, tailored style. In my own house I have all the windows covered in roman shades, and all of mine are in linen fabric. I like them in the house because when they're fully open they show off a lot of the window detail and let in a lot of light. But they also are easy to open and close for privacy or light control. The living room and dining room have a vertical band of accent fabric on the sides. Like this:

The kitchen is solid, natural coloured linen like these on the windows on either side of the range:

And upstairs on the third floor I have white shades, all mounted above the windows. I wanted white here so it would blend in with the room and be a very subtle look.  Like this:

Many people ask about the shades in this house – they are all custom made with lined, solid linen.

CHARMING WINDOWS

I love old windows in houses, especially any of the swing open version. I'm fortunate to have some of this style in my own house – they add so much charm and character. The windows I have are all very unique and are custom sizes that fit specific areas. Here are a few of my favourite, opened on a hot summer day nothing beats the ocean breeze!