Condo Project

This past weekend, we nearly completed my brother-in-law's condo styling, as last seen here. He lives in a condo that was probably last redone sometime in the 1980's, only because everything is beige and the dining area has lots of mirrors. Since he is renting this condo, we can't paint or take down the mirrors, but we could rearrange the place a bit to make it more modern. Lets check out the before:

A few highlights in the living room: a nice entertainment center with tv, but beige carpet, beige walls, pink couches with denim slipcovers. Need I say more?

Here is the dining room. Aside from the mess, you can see the mirrors on the wall, and there are actually mirrors on the wall to my right as well. The fabric on the dining room chairs is also a little dated.

After the couches came, we decided to use some of the furniture we had in different places. To combat the mirrors, I ended up moving the bookcase from the living room wall to the middle of the wall in the dining room.

I also recovered the chairs with a blueish gray fabric that I bought at Joanns for $3 (clearance bin) that matches a color in the couch accent pillows. I brought a small triangular antique table from my in-laws house and put it in the corner with a tropical potted plant on top to warm the space.

The tropical plant was on sale at Home Depot for $7, and the pot was something I already had in my garage. I really like the height that this gives to the corner and  with the mirrors, it looks bigger than it really is. 

Where the bookshelf used to be, on the main living room wall, we added an antique bar set from his great grandfather, and some framed artwork.

The bar itself still needs to have the legs put on, but I needed some more time for extra engineering to make sure it is sturdy enough on the carpet.

All of the glassware is original to the bar, with the exception of the two glass Bourbon and Vodka bottles I found at a garage sale for $1. The small ceramic blue-gray tray was $5 from HomeGoods and the vintage BAR sign was another garage sale find for $2. 

The living room already got a little spruce up from the addition of new couches. Unfortunately, the couches are a little damaged, and some wrong pillows came, so that is why there are still tags on everything.... it has to go back once the new set comes. The more muted pillows will be a dark brown, and the striped multi-colored pillows will remain. Check out the blue lamp in the corner.

We added a leather recliner that was passed down from some friends of ours. Its not the best color for the room, but until we find one in a different color, it provides extra seating. The coffee table is a little small, and we still need a rug, but the room is much better with the pink/denim slip covered couches gone. We still need an end table to the left as well for the other blue lamp, but for now, I have put another tropical plant there (also $7 from Home Depot) to warm up the space.

 

And finally, between the entertainment center and window, a larger plant to fill the space and bring some green into the room:

This plant is about 4'-5' tall, and was a steal at $19, especially since the pot was also something I had in the garage.

The space itself is much more open and lively. Like I said before, there are a few more minor elements that we need, but it is a HUGE improvement from what we had originally. The real plants bring in green and warmth to the space, and the bar and updated dining room make it a place to entertain. Art on the walls makes the room look a lot less beige. Using a few inexpensive accessories and plants, and antique furniture we already had, the place is much more inviting and styled.

Hope you enjoyed this makeover. Stay tuned for the big renovation reveal from my brother's house next week!

New Living Room

I m helping my brother-in-law redesign his condo. After a few weekends of searching for the perfect couch, we found the following at Hudson's Furniture:

It has a great twill fabric and we chose some custom fabric for the pillows. I then used the pillow fabric as inspiration for the room, and built a board around it:

Since he is single, we are trying to keep the elements soft but a little masculine, since this is a bachelor pad. I love the oversized, industrial look of the coffee table, and its lower drawers provide some storage in addition to the open shelf. He wants a brown leather streamlined recliner to compliment the couch and loveseat. We are also working in some green plants (most likely good fakes) to bring a little more color and warmth to the beige space, and some large abstract artwork, rug, and cool lighting for decoration. Also, rattan storage ottomans can not only hide the PlayStation controllers and games, but provide extra seating for game nights as well.

I am still working on elements for the dining room/entertainment area. We have a vintage bar cabinet that I may repaint, as well as updating the current seats on the dining room chairs. More on this area as it progresses, but I am so excited about where the room is headed!