Curating a Collection... Part Two

 If you missed the beginning of this remix... please click here... it is more fun from the beginning.... As we were finishing up the dining and living rooms and the entry hall at my friend Dawn's house we moved quickly into the family room/kitchen spaces...this was a quick redo...mostly done in a weekend!

The entire area was covered in plastic...I am so glad her husband was overseas on a trip...he might have had my head since he works from home!

Painting swatches as we moved through...so many walls and angles were getting painted differently..this helped clarify things for our team of 5 painters...

Here is the fireplace before...

Here is the fireplace after...using all the elements Dawn already had...painting the mirror gold and the inset of the fireplace black gave it all the drama it needed to shine! Dawn found that incredible hearth brass decorative plate and it was perfection at the bottom...adding these kinds of elements are a great way of taking a standard build fireplace in a sophisticated direction!

a wider shot of the before...as we began to paint the entire unit..black in the inset and bright white high gloss paint on all the outside trim...

and after...

Simple elements like a white pot with an aloe plant on the mantle along with a few other similar (but different in height and design) white pots with live green plantings created a modern, clean vignette...

close up...

the white trim makes a BIG difference and makes the black and the existing grass cloth work nicely together...the color prior was a creamy white and not gloss...again tying in the simple palette of white black and green with a few naturals make these spaces speak to each other!

Again, on this side of the house more tables were filled with her collectibles so I could remix items she already owned...

There are two large cabinets/built-ins in the family room and we painted each a very bright white gloss and restyled them...Here is the television unit before...a fauxed grayish white...

and after...


a few close ups...

The finished space...

a wider view of the room...

even wider still...

here is the before of her desk area... and then the close up after...of the side shelves...I forgot to take a picture of the entire unit but it looks so fresh and clean...you'll have to use your imagination on this one!

just near the kitchen we took a few extra pieces of furniture and a rug and made a little seating area...we are looking for a narrow, airy (maybe lucite) yet functional table that can be used for a cute bar...for under the left window...

Dawn had this fabulous antique chest in a closet...now it serves as a fab little side table...

the space is cozy at night too...

one of our favorite finds that we added to her kitchen island is this antique brass scale...swooning...I am it's Godmother...if she decides to part with it...it's coming home to Mama!

I hope you enjoyed the tour...

                        If you still want to view Part One of Curating a Collection...click here.

                               Have a great weekend..it's almost here! XO Emily