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SMALL BATHROOM SOLUTIONS, So you're renting, and the bathrooms aren't quite the same size as what you use to have? Lack of storage space? Lack of wall space? Just lack of space - period? Here's a few small changes I made to one of our now small bathrooms. In our FL townhome before, we had 2 and a 1/2 bathrooms, offering both space + storage. Now we've gone to two, probably equally the size of our master bathroom before. A small space transformation like this can be done in a day. It's simple enough for a rental, or even a home staging if you need to sell. If you're looking for a simple weekend project for your home, this would be a great project to do, plus maybe add stencil or stripes to the walls for extra wow. Read more of the details & process at my Focal Point Styling blog: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/2012/03/rental-decor-small-bath-space-awkward.html, Bathrooms Design

SMALL BATHROOM
SOLUTIONS

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GUEST ROOM READY, After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, I made a major purge of closets and storage areas around here I made donations to local thrift establishments and sent donations to New Jersey Sandy Survivors. With the spaces being cleared, it made it easier to get the house holiday & guest ready. Using items I already had plus some pieces I had collected from thrift, I was able to convert the last room in our rental home into a guest space for under $450. Mixing in wood pieces and collected baskets added texture plus helped warm the otherwise grey + black + white space. I created another gallery wall with photos I captured in Florida & framed - a nice little escape for us here in AZ. Because most pieces were already on hand - minus the sleep sofa - I was able to get this space done in a day. What helped a lot was the existing neutral foundation of gray walls and the beige carpet. Read more details at my blog Focal Point Styling: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/2012/11/done-in-day-guest-room-ready-for-under.html, Bedrooms Design

GUEST ROOM
READY

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INDOOR GARDEN ROOM, It's no secret - Arizona is HOT. And I don't mean South Beach HOT. I mean dry desert heat hot. Some east coasters coming from the tropics may miss some of the outdoor living of days gone by. I know for sure we do - including our cat Sephora. We would spend mornings with coffee, afternoons reading or gardening, and evenings grilling and relaxing outside on our patio - which when we left Florida, was nothing like when we first moved in. It took time to live in the space, figure out what we wanted and how we wanted it, and of course, a budget to consider. Even though we're renting, those same considerations applied when I created our indoor garden room. Read the details from paint color, to process, to thrift finds on my blog Focal Point Styling here: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/2012/05/creating-indoor-garden-room.html, Gardens Design

INDOOR GARDEN
ROOM

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BACKYARD SPRING SPRUCE UP!, Renting a house vs. owning can have its ups & downs. The upside: if something like an appliance breaks down, you can call the owner to have it repaired. The downside is though, you see opportunities for layout flow and finishes that you can't change. What do you do? You make do and make it work. Living here in Arizona the past year took some adjusting, especially when it came to our living outdoor style. In Florida, our townhome had sliding glass doors that opened up to a paver patio I designed and was FULL of greenery and privacy. Here in Arizona, the place we're renting lacks color and greenery [except for the AstroTurf which I am so grateful for vs DIRT!], but with a little thrifty TLC and savvy styling, I've been able to rescue & recreate our outdoor space for us to use before the summer heat & dust storms arrive. Here is what I did - Read details at my blog: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/2013/04/rental-restyle-budget-friendly-backyard.html, Patios & Decks Design

BACKYARD SPRING
SPRUCE UP!

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TOWNHOME TOUR, After sharing so many individual spaces here on Rate My Space throughout the years, here is a "Home Tour" of our Florida Townhome when we sold to move / relocate to Arizona. The house was listed on the first week of October 2011 - It had about 5 veiwings, plus three offers that same week. By the end of October, the townhome had sold, and I packed us up for our journey to Arizona [hubs job relocation]. Unfortunately, it was a short-sale... but at least it wasn't on the market long at all [esp. during the peak of the weak market]. I truly believe not just clearing the clutter & depersonalizing [removing personal photos] but Life- Styling the house [during Fall] to the 'Miami Market' , along clean curb appeal, organized closets and creating a comfortable outdoor living space helped tremendously. The Realtor was from Better Homes and Gardens Realty: He hired a local professional photographer for the wide angle shots. enJOY!, Living Rooms Design

TOWNHOME TOUR

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Thanksgiving Tablescapes, Using items I already had, plus mixing a few thrift finds [like dishes] and updating exiting items with [gold] paint, I was able to create an organic tablestyle for Thanksgiving., Dining Rooms Design

Thanksgiving
Tablescapes

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Spring Stoop, While living in Florida, I learned about container gardening. It was a great solution to add color to our house front or patio, without having to dig into the not so soft ground [mostly coral rock]. Over the years in Florida, I had grown and nurtured several plants, but because of state laws, I was unable to take any of the plants with me when we moved to Arizona. Although I gave away most of my plants to friends and family, I did keep several of the containers. Refreshing the containers with a quick cleaning & a fresh coat of paint helped spare the expense of having to start totally all over again. All I needed to do was invest in a few flowering plants to give our now stacked stone stoop a shot of color for Spring.

If you're renting, like we are, this is a great little Spring Spruce-up for outside, to welcome family home with color, as well as say "Happy Spring!" to your neighborhood. Read more about the expense + savings at: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/2012/03/rental-restyle-welcome-spring-on-stoop.html, Porches Design

Spring Stoop

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Spring Tablestyling Ideas, Something about Spring awakens a time of celebration! Whatever the Spring celebration, it will probably call for a refreshing Spring table setting to rise to the occasion. Start your Spring Tablestyling inspiration with a few I've created + explained here http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-tablestyling-ideas.html, Holidays Design

Spring Tablestyling
Ideas

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DINING RM GALLERY WALL, NO TEMPLATE GALLERY WALL: Created last August in our FL Townhome, a month before learning we were moving. Although it was for Fall, it's simple enough to use for anytime of the year. The gallery wall created from thrifted frames, free frames (were fitting room frames) and a mix of animal prints. Animal prints are scrapbook paper prints and faux fur fabrics. Bottles on table are wine bottles white washed inside. To give the space a cohesive feel, the rustic accent wall is a wash of three colors currently used the home - light grey, dark grey and mocha. For more info on how I created this NO TEMPLATE galllery wall, visit my blog to read the post: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-make-no-template-gallery-wall.html, Dining Rooms Design

DINING RM
GALLERY WALL

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FALL SLEEP RETREAT, I've been contributing photos of our townhome here on HGTV's RMS since September 2007, and now it's time to move on. After a week of listing our townhome, we sold it and shortly will be packing up to move to Arizona for my husbands promotion & our relocation. I've enJOYed sharing all the various changes and transitions of our home here on RMS, and hope to share more updated pics of our new (rented place shortly! Until then, I'm posting the last few seasonal changes I've made here, including staging a lifestyle setting for our place to sell.

The changes I made in our bedroom started back in August, with changing textile accents from fuschia to orange. In years past, I've used orange downstairs in our LR / DR for Fall - but I did crimson this year [to be posted later]. The orange worked well paired with grey, black & white to transition from Summer to Fall. Adding more textures & layers to the bed gave the room a warm feeling. Switching out fresh cut greens & coral to burt orange autumn leaf sprays - also used downstairs in previous years - gave the space a simple touch of Fall. Prior to selling, I had mixed our NYC wedding photos with photos of NY. To depersonalize, I removed the personal photos, but kept NY mixed with horses - again for an Autumn feel. The framed horse images I made last year from a calendar and used them in our LR / DR. To add in some wood accents to our black furniture, I used some of my thrifted trays on night stands & displayed some of my wooded bead necklaces, I also found through thrifting.

The wall color is RALPH LAUREN - Urban Loft Collection - MERCER UL240., Bedrooms Design

FALL SLEEP
RETREAT

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SUMMER RESTYLE 2011, Over the years, my personal style has changed. And so to has the look of our home. Through out all the changes, I've managed to merge old pieces (like my white sofa from 1998) with new (simple pillow covers from Crate & Barrel) and thrift, like this years $15 faux bamboo coffee table I painted gold with a pair of modern end tables I picked up at the Salvation Army a few years back.

It's definitely been a labor of love, but it also shows that you don't need to run out to RoomsToGo and buy a whole room, nor do you need expensive custom pieces for your space to stylishly represent your lifestyle today. If you build your space on a strong foundation - neutral colors and quality furniture - your space can adapt through your changing lifestyle or your latest color obsession!

Accessories and textiles in textures and prints has also been key to the (many) updates. I think because I like and use similar lines in my finds, but various scale and proportions, I'm able to mix & remix my pieces for fresh looks. Here's a peek of yet another update downstairs in our living space and some of the dining area restyled for Summer...

To read about the DETAILS, come visit me at my blog: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com THANKS for stopping by!! xo, Living Rooms Design

SUMMER RESTYLE
2011

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HIP HOP PINK POP, While experimenting with various versions of table styles for our Easter table, I also tried the refreshing trend color for this year - Pink - but in a more saturated verion to pair with my already vibrant Lime Green dining room walls. What also helped to keep the look fresh & modern was pairing the duo of pink & green with black & white. One other detail was added to create a trendy look - the addition of gold touched with gold. Although one version is more specific for Spring / Easter - the other can be an alternate for a fresh Summer table., Holidays Design

HIP HOP PINK POP

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BLOOMS IN THE ROOM, From those thrifted Easter eggs spray painted gold and thrifted Easter bunnies sprayed white, to thrifted white dishes adding texture and even West Elm after Christmas clearanced gold table runners added some chic shine to our table. Place cards I made help personalize the place settings on the table, which I reused later in mini chocolate filled Easter basket giveaways. Spring touches surrounded us, from the inside out: Spring bunnies were in the container garden out front and hidden eggs out back on the patio.

Some last minute fresh flowers [white roses the hubs brought home Saturday evening] were added to the table in another thrifted vessel on Sunday morning...

Our semi-homemade meal consisted of a Honey Baked Ham complimented by fresh brewed ice tea, homemade mash potatos, sauteed string beans and glazed carrots. I also used baby carrots in mini pots to create a indiviualized veggie tray., Holidays Design

BLOOMS IN THE
ROOM

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$A MODERN NEST, Go streamlined with a black, white and green color palette for a more contemporary table. Merge the modern look of your home to your tablescape for Easter with this simple detail: Golden Eggs. You can keep decorative touches to a minimum with just a few candles and some moss - it can be enough for a fresh and modern look. For more drama here - I also included my fave decor items from our home like black glass vases filled with white hydrangea - and I perched them on simple gold painted & thrifted $2 pedestals for height. To change the look, just remove the black vases and add in simple glass hurricanes. To personalize the place settings, add a simple monogram to the gold egg by using scrapbook rub-on letters. Set it all on a graphic base of B&W patterned table linens. If you can't find the right patterned napkin, try using Fabric Quarters, easily found at JoAnn's and usually on sale for a fraction of big-box store cloth napkins. Use this as inspiration, and then make it your own. More tablestyling ideas can be found on my blog at http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com Happy Spring & thanks for visiting!, Holidays Design$

A MODERN NEST

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Easter Elegance, For a simple & understated look for an Easter, Palm Sunday, or even Passover table, you can't go wrong with a classic palette of cream, green, and accents of gold. For Easter, another use for those hanging eggs: Paint them in this years metal trend color - gold and use them as your napkin ring for folded or rolled napkins. Add a simple pattern to your place settings like the Wedgwood plates I found thrifting [set of 6 @ 3.79] or gold detailed glasses [set of 20 @ $12] also found through thrift. Layer in lacy details like embroidered napkins or fluffy flowers like bunches of hydrangea.
As an alternative to flowers for Palm Sunday, simply use fresh cut palm fronds.
More tablescape ideas are shared on my blog at http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com Happy Spring and thanks for visiting!, Holidays Design

Easter Elegance

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ROOM FUSION, I thrift. I love green. I live for black. I love accessories. I'm totally diggin' gold as well as pops of pink. I appreciate playing with patterns, solids, textures and light. This space is a total reflection of all that. Even in a recent Home & Design article in Sunday's paper, they had featured how everything is coming up rose motifs as the latest trend for the home for spring. That doesn't always mean you need to run to Pier 1 Imports to buy a new floral print club chair. Maybe YOU can become the fresh accessory you add to your room. To read more about the details of how this room came together, come visit me at my blog: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com and thanks for visiting and Happy Spring!, Dining Rooms Design

ROOM FUSION

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EZ Garden Update, The quickest and easiest way I have found to add color to our garden is with container gardening. Color pops in pots, in various sizes, play peek-a-boo amongst our landscaped greens. I wanted our town home front to be more individualized than the others, so I chose to use rocks vs. the community mulch. I arranged two types of rocks [salt & paper marble chip and red lava] in a curved pattern to have an organic element breaking the straight edges seen from all the pavers. The stones add texture and are less of a mess than the red mulch - which when it rains, splatters on the base of homes and causes stains. Using containers has helped personalize our curb appeal. It's also a great way to take the colors from inside - out. This years colors of pinks & greens really pop against the Ebony wood-stain freshly painted pots. The Spring garden was finished off with an updated [4 yr. old] wreath I hung on the door for Easter. More details are available on my blog at http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com, Gardens Design

EZ Garden Update

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Hoppy Spring!, Over the weekend, I did a simple update to my Thrifty-Three Spring vignette. I simply switched out the green apples for green grass [found on clearance after Christmas at West Elm] and decorative crackle eggs I found at Homegoods [back in February - only $5 for 16]. I removed the metal & glass candle holder and replaced it with a cluster of three bargain bunnies I found thrifting [at only $3 each]. They were all different colors, so I cleaned, primed and sprayed them satin white for a refreshed look and simple add for Easter. While thrifting, I also found a tube of multi-colored textured eggs I also primed - but sprayed gold. I hung them from the mixed blossoms & branches already on the buffet., Holidays Design

Hoppy Spring!

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Vignette Thrifty-Three, I created a fresh spring vignette with three thrifted pieces I found last year - a white & gold speckled pedestal bowl [$5] with fresh green apples, a pair of brass candle sticks [painted white $5] and pair of white glass lamps [$15 for the pair] with Ikea white shades [shortly to be trimmed with ribbon]. The frosted glass hurricane was from Peir 1 [5yrs ago] and I stacked books with the jackets flipped to white. These are all set on another thrifted piece - my $30 vintage buffett [found & refinished back in 2006]. The chain link wall piece was a mirror. Since the mirror broke in shipping, I flipped it to the back side and wrote on it in chalk. The mirror was originally purchased for a client. Thankfully, because the mirror was damaged, the company sent a replacement - so this piece was FREE. Also free: I added a branch in the white glass vase [from BigLots in '06 at $8] wrapped with some existing white blossom sprays I already had. For Easter, I'm adding hanging eggs. The small white trellis chachki is a Victoria Hagan piece I had picked up on clearance [for only $6] at Target back in '07.

The simple fresh green apples were not only an inspiration for a shot of color, but relate to the entry vignettes adjacent dining space - refreshed for Spring! Mixing a balance of thrifted finds with some existing or old pieces can create a new look on the cheap. For more ideas from a simple shift to shopping thrift, stop by and visit me at my blog: http://nyclq-focalpoint.blogspot.com
, Dining Rooms Design

Vignette
Thrifty-Three

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Fireside Dining, No fireplace? No problem! A romantic setting of a table for two can still be created by getting creative with your TV as a backdrop - and the TV unit displayed as a mantel. Comcast has screen savers for FREE and Amazon sells Fireplace DVD's to turn your black box into hot spot!

I swapped the two white ottomans for my two $5 thrifted chairs [previously on either side of the TV unit], added a 36" round folding table layered in coordinating colors for our space [white sheet with a paisley cream printed window panel as an overlay], utilized some gold pieces [previously used on the Thanksgiving table] as well as a centerpiece [another free branch in a vase - displayed in another room] - and couldn't forget the candles - including one I found at Target that actually crackles like a fire ... enJOY!

EZ romance - done in less than a day and at $0 from reusing & relocating items I already had., Holidays Design

Fireside Dining

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View More Living Rooms

Neutral Living Space Gets Chic Accessories and Accents, Neutral Color Scheme of Taupes, Creams, and Chocolate Browns is accessorized with vintage pieces, exotic prints, bold and paisley pillows, wicker textures, shag rug, fur throw, and chrome accents.
, Living Rooms Design

Neutral Living Space
Gets Chic Access...

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room with a view, Our room has large windows with unique views that are very Chicago, the el, lake and some landmark buildings. We used a mixture of mid-century and contemporary and kept the views as our main focus., Living Rooms Design

room with a view

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Classic livingroom with modern color update, The update continues to the livingroom and diningroom. Classic and traditional furniture was given a modern twist through the use of a modern color palette of grey, yellow, and plum. Sofa, chairs and ottoman were reupholstered in fabrics that incorporate grey. Diningroom walls have texture with the use of grey grass cloth. Yellow is used as an accent color but makes a bolder statement in the office with yellow horizontal stripes on the walls., Living Rooms Design

Classic livingroom
with modern colo...

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Decorating with recycled old items, Living Rooms Design

Decorating with
recycled old item...

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Our Great Room has come a long way!, Open space great room / dining room. , Living Rooms Design

Our Great Room has
come a long way!

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Mediterranean Coastal Redesign, Tired of the formal stuffy monochromatic browns and beiges so I decided to update my small living room in a cozy Coastal Mediterranean Theme. My focus on colors were earth, sky and sea. , Living Rooms Design

Mediterranean Coastal
Redesign

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New Gallery Wall, This is the newest version of our ever changing living room. I have been looking at pics of these kinds of art arrangements for some time and finally took the plunge. Very small 1980's townhome. This is definitely a repost., Living Rooms Design

New Gallery Wall

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Nautical Themed Family Room, The main living area of our Bayside Cottage at the NJ shore decorated with nautical accents., Living Rooms Design

Nautical Themed
Family Room

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My picture creation :), My Living room, Living Rooms Design

My picture creation :

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My new living room (Teal/turquoise with brown and creme), I decorated my first home living and dining room. Would really appreciate if anyone have any idea to enhance it., Living Rooms Design

My new living room
(Teal/turquoise ...

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