indoors
Simple pleasures
When redecorating,
it’s tempting to add to what’s already in a room and
call it a new style. To create a pared-down look on
a budget, Stephen took another tack and purged
this living room of clutter before adding items.
“Clutter affects your mood when you enter a house,”
Stephen says. “It’s amazing what removing things
can do.” The spread-out furniture didn’t help the
look or function of the room so he pulled the sofa
into the center and added a trestle-top desk.
Repainting an existing cabinet and finding other
items on sale saved the room’s style and its budget.
Painting the walls
a warm sand color
“makes the built-ins
stand out,” Stephen
says. Monroe
Bisque, benjamin
moore.com
STAYING POW ER
“The coffee table
works to tie in the
floor’s wood tone,”
Stephen says of his
choice to reuse the
existing table in the
room’s new design.
M AKE OVER W ITH LEFTO VERS
Stephen saw an opportunity to add character to the nice-but-
ho-hum cabinet already in the room. He primed the cabinet,
then used leftover wall paint on the whole piece. For a vintage
feel, he “scrubbed” it with a steel wool pad to distress the
edges and strategically reveal the black again. A quick switch
of hardware and the cabinet has an entirely new look.
LOOKING UP
Stephen gave the
smallish windows
more presence by
hanging extra-long
linen drapes high on
the wall. Drapes,
ikea.com
MAKEOVERS
6 2
AUGUST2008 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
