Our Shopping List

After all the major renovations have been completed I compiled a wish list of must have furniture. Much of the items I intend on finding in and around Dallas, at flea markets & online. I can't wait for Round Top Antique Fair in the Fall...lots of stuff too look forward to. In the meantime, here are some visioning boards for much of the furniture and helped create a budget for that furniture.



More to come................I'll keep you posted! See http://www.cieladesign.com/interior-design-portfolio.php?project=14 for more

So Far....

Here are some shots with the furniture we have....there is still a lot more to buy!

Our informal breakfast nook


What was previously another sitting room is now the dining room


The New Family Room


The Master Bedroom

See more pictures at www.cieladesign.com

Lighting Makes Everything Better!

So we've been in the house for about a month now and have learned a bit more about its ins and outs. During this time, JR, the handy-man that he is, installed new brushed nickel door lever sets replacing the old brass ones. He even added brushed nickel door stops and cabinet door pulls! Right after we moved in, we visited our local Lamps Plus (www.lampsplus.com) and purchased some unique funky light fixtures. One other tidbit about fifties homes - minimal overhead lighting....So add that to our to do list. Finally, after our beautiful light fixtures arrived, we had them and various recessed cans installed to brighten up the space and add that wow factor. Here they are:

Probably my favorite fixture purchased, we installed this in our dining room - making it the "heart" of the house. It also worked really well with the existing Le Klint pendant in the kitchen.


In our dark hallway, we placed this Anenome fixture at the ceiling. Very dramatic and it has a kind of mid century boudoir feeling to it.














This fixture was installed in the study and will go over the desk we will HOPEFULLY soon purchase.


Finally, we installed fans and compact fluorescent recessed cans (yes, we are trying to act responsibly and save some money with energy efficiency where we can) throughout the sitting room and dining room. What a difference some overhead light makes!

Paint, Restaining, & Carpet

Now that all the carpentry was complete, the painters we chose entered to freshen up the space. Light, neutral colors were chosen to make the interior seem airy and clean - its amazing what a little paint can do! These colors also went perfectly with the wood stained floors....speaking of the floors...One of the unique features of the original home were the white painted hardwood floors - they are what made me fall in love with the house initially. Unfortunately, though, because the wall where we added openings divided the white floors and original red oak floors, we had some decision making to do. It was either paint all the floors white or restain them. Erring on the side of caution, and to make the entire house more open and seamless, I chose a dark ebony stain on all existing floors. I know, I know, dark floors show EVERYTHING, but having had them before, (and with a shedding dog no less!) I knew what they entailed. In the end both my husband, who was trepidatious, and I were extremely happy with the end result even if it did require a little more sweeping action.





















The final step before we could move in was new carpet. Having worked as a commercial designer for some time, I chose a durable commercial grade carpet called Bottom Line from Constantine Contract (www.constantine-carpet.com). The result was a space that had a fresh from the beach feel with sand colored carpet and light blue walls.

Props must be given to Joey Stone of Carnival Pro Painting who has to have the best crew and customer service of any contractor I have ever worked with (www.carnivalcustompainting.com). Likewise Robert with White Rock Floors did an excellent job on the hardwood floor and carpet installation (ph: 214.341.1667).

Carpentry for our Lakewood Heights House

As with many mid century houses, there is typically a front sitting room for formal entertaining - and so was the case with this home. We felt to open up the house and improve the flow, two openings needed to be created in the main wall that separated the sitting room from the future dining room. I interviewed multiple contractors and based on first impression and referrals chose the O'brien Group to follow through. Here are some shots of their progress:


Likewise, the previous dining room was going to be turned into a study so french doors were installed into an existing opening to create more privacy.


Thank you to Shannon O'Brien of O'Brien Group (www.obriengroupinc.com) for the excellent craftsmanship!

Phase I complete! Now time for some paint, wood finishing and carpeting!

Lakewood Heights House Remodel

Our most recent project is my own 1954 family home nestled in the heart of Lakewood Heights. After a 6 month home search in the central Dallas area, we finally found a little bungalow that I could imagine raising a family in and having some "fun" remodeling. This offered a wonderful opportunity to establish relationships with qualified local contractors and explore different design solutions. We wanted our home to be happy, fresh, bright, modern and reflect our young mentality while being welcoming and conducive to a new baby. Here are some before shots of the space:




I decided to treat this project as I would any other and produce a budget and time line. We first developed a laundry list of items to be done, and then prioritized the projects based on move-in date and budget restraints. We decided some minimal carpentry work, painting, carpeting, lighting and wood staining were the most important elements and would be tackled first. Here are some initial sketches of what I envisioned our future completed space to be like:

Front Sitting Room

Dining Room & Kitchen

Up next....contractor selection and demo time!

This Month's Inspiration - Living Rooms

Found these images on www.pointclickhome.com and adored them....a little inspiration for the tired living room.