Repurposing a Room

I am all about making use of every square inch of my home and love to repurpose rooms when they aren't being used to their fullest potential.  My most recent project was a new guest room space.  Previously, the bonus room functioned as TV room / playroom / and sadly, guest room.  I really wanted a place my guests could feel comfortable and have some privacy.  So in comes the one room in the house that has been like um….about 6 or 7 different spaces since we moved in 7 years ago.  I once blogged on the many faces of this room- you can read about it Here.

Before we added the addition on the back of the house this was the dining room, but the table was moved to the eat-in area once that kitchen space got larger and this room became very sad:(

Hmmm, I thought, why not make this my guest room- all I need to do is add some privacy doors.  So with all my free time on my hands (ha-ha), I started moving and painting furniture and here's the result:

The privacy french doors that my fabulous carpenter installed for me:

The pretty sea foam green dresser was in my office area and it was black prior to me painting it to coordinate with the room.  This is the 3rd time it's been painted:)  I left the mirror collage because I thought it still worked great in here.  The bedding was in the bonus room, the rug was in storage, the bedskirt I also had in storage, the white slipcovered chair was in my office- so needless to say, I didn't purchase a thing for this room except an "S" hook to raise the chandelier!

 I still need to paint the doors- they're just primed right now- but that is for another day… for now maybe I'll just crawl in the bed and take a nap:)

-Ally

Gray Takes the Lead!

Whites still popular, but Gray takes the lead

At the end of 2013 whites and grays were neck and neck, but as 2014 draws to a close, gray has certainly gained speed and from what I can tell overtaken white for the lead!

Here are a few of my favorite gray kitchen and baths

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Gray and marble… yes please:)

A soft green gray- gorgeous

and one of my all time favorite blue grays:

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So now onto baths:

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Everyone knows I'm a sucker for rustic accents:)...

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Must have this tub!…

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A little dark gray if that tickles your fancy- totally a guy's bath:)

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...and now back to pretty and sophisticated. Yes, this is one of my designs and yes, this is obviously the man's side of the bath with the television:)

Ally Whalen Design

One final note, 

Gray interior doors… love them!

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I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the week!

-Ally

October 2nd Mixer at Simplicity Interiors- Please Join Us!

Woodlands Home Update and Behind the Scenes Photo Shoot Pics

View my FB page for pictures from my latest project and some behind the scenes photos from my Amerock photoshoot with Eric Cohler!!!
https://www.facebook.com/allywhalendesign

Mantle Update with Paint and Stain

With all I've had going on lately, I have not been able to do much painting:(  most of you know I am  a huge painter, it's therapeutic for me, so today I was very much in my element when I got to re-do a clients mantle.  Not that it was all that bad before, but we changed the wall color a few weeks ago from a warmer brown to a  cooler greige color so the yellowish mantle was sticking out like a sore thumb.  So what to do- hmmmm let's paint it!

Before:

I should have been better about taking pictures during the process, but I was having so much fun I just kept on moving.  Here is the final result…

 

I know….Cute Puppy!

To achieve this look, I simply painted 2 coats of basic white paint all over the mantle ( I just used an eggshell ultra white).  After it dries, rough it up a little with some sandpaper - everywhere there is some detail- these are the areas the stain will stick to.  Then I do a coat of stain (I used Minwax Dk. Walnut). I use very very little.  Put a small amount on an old rag and then tap on a piece of paper towel to get off excess, then you apply sparingly and always have another cloth to soak up the extra.  In a few areas I had to go back with a dry paint brush with just a tad of the white paint to lighten up some areas.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.  I can't wait for the furniture to come in so we can pull the room together!

Everyone have a great short week and stay safe on the 4th!!!

Coral Crush!

Every once in a while I work on a client project and start crushing on the color pallet we've chosen.  This month it happens to be the color Coral.  It's one of those colors that just makes me happy and complements lots of other colors to create beautiful spaces.
Here are a few items I'm crushing on now…

Some pretty decor, art and linens from West Elm

                                                                 

Love this coral tucker chair from Serena and Lily

and a few pretty rooms with pops of coral via Pinterest:

and everyone knows I'm a sucker for a white sofa, fresh colors, and striped rugs!...

A few great items available through Simplicity Interiors:

Pretty rugs…

and lamps...

All available through Simplicity Interiors!

and last but not least, my cutie patootie Piper in her new coral striped dress

Hope everyone has a great week!

Ally Whalen Design- Project Featured in Kitchen & Bath Makeover Magazine!

Hi Everyone!  I love going to the mailbox and finding something other than bills:)… yesterday I was pleased to find Meredith Corporation had mailed me my copy of the new Kitchen and Bath Makeover magazine featuring my kitchen!!!  (On stands in a few days!)  Not only that, but the cover photo is of a kitchen that I got to help assist the photo stylist with- so needless to say it was a very exciting trip to the mailbox!

Here are some pictures of the project which happens to be our kitchen.  Yes, sad to say it took me almost 3 years to complete as they noted in the article-  I've been a busy girl!

As many of you know these photo shoots are done sometimes a year in advance before making it to the newsstands.  So as a designer you can imagine how often I like to change things up…my point being is that this space looks a little different now.  Last fall we took on the project of adding an addition off the kitchen/eat-in area.  Here is a picture of what it looks like now with the sliding door and the windows in the eat-in area removed:

I know…totally different right?  I also painted the island while I was at it!

Here is a professional shot of the room (me and my little cutie pie):

 Back to KBM:
And this gorgeous kitchen on the cover was so much fun to style.  It was a long day with some very talented people and once again a great experience!  I was in charge of styling all the glass cabinets- there was a lot of up and down on a ladder that day:)  Being a photo stylist is a lot harder than it sounds and I have the utmost respect for my fellow photo stylists that do it for a living!

Thank you KBM magazine and Meredith Corporation for once again, making my day and featuring one of my projects in your fabulous magazines!

I hope everyone has a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend!