I got some good advice from furniture designer and TV host Amanda Pays. For those of us who want a consistent “flow” through our homes, Amanda suggests we limit our choices to five main colors, metals and textures and repeat those throughout. For instance, in her own home (pictured), Amanda chose burnished bronze hardware throughout,…
When Kathleen Schaaf and her younger brother Kevin bought a 1923 duplex together, their outdated kitchens — one downstairs, the other directly above it — were identical in one respect: “It was time to gut both of them,” Kevin Schaaf said. There the similarities ended. Kevin, a flight attendant, moved into the lower unit of…
I just spent a very pleasurable hour recreating my living room and dining room on this cool Better Homes & Gardens site called Arrange-a-Room. Why this should be so thrilling, I can’t say. All I have to do is walk 10 feet from my office to the room I’ve recreated here. But seeing it like…
When I visit newly remodeled homes, the owners often name their contractor, their architect, their window and door suppler, among others. They also name someone I wouldn’t think to hire: the person who helped choose the colors. I’m an intuitive color-picker, going with what feels right at the time. But if I did a massive…
So what do you do if you own a landmark California Craftsman home in Glendale whose cedar shakes have been painted some 20 times during the past century? Paint yet again? Kind of. If you’re Jeff Kurtti and Ken Martinez you hire Dan Gallagher of Gallagher’s Decorative Painting and Design (Lic. No. 733972) to apply…
More than two years ago, on April 19, 2005, John Park started blogging about the Burbank home he and his family had outgrown, and how they planned to add onto it. They struggled with the architecture and layout and colors and materials and styles. If you have big dreams for your own home, this robust…
When you come across a charming-yet-tiny Westside cottage, do visions of bulldozers dance in your head? If you want more space than a vintage bungalow can yield, you don’t have to mow it down and build a big stucco box in its place. You can add a sensitively designed second story — set back from…
So you’ve got this wet bar in your 1970s house or apartment and it’s screaming for a mirror backing, glass shelves, a collection of cocktail glasses, a faux leather ice bucket with tongs, and fifths of Jack Daniels, Tanquerey and Absolut. Trouble is, you don’t drink. So what to do with the wet bar? A…
When Cathy Nordlund decided to remodel one room in her Woodland Hills home to heart’s desire — the powder room — she began by looking through “millions” of decorating magazines. Eventually, she decided on a Victorian theme. But during her contemplation of fabulous Victorian bathrooms, it finally dawned on Cathy that they all shared a…
The first time we reported on Michelle Minch — a professional home stager and owner of Moving Mountains Design & Staging in Pasadena — she had just announced on her blog that she won two regional Chrysalis Awards (remodeling awards sponsored by Qualified Remodeler magazine) for Best Kitchen Remodel Under $40,000 and Best Whole House…