Surrounded by potted flowers, veggies, and herbs it's easy to forget that this "garden" is actually a concrete lot. With a tray full of refreshments and some reading materials, it feels like being on a tropical vacation!
Here at HomeDesignRx we recently designed and DIY-ed a luxurious garden bed that definitely rivals those at 5-star resorts! You would never know from a glance that this bed was created with inexpensive supplies and household tools! We painted fence posts and 2x4's a neutral grey to match weather resistant decking from Home Depot, and added mesh curtains from IKEA. Our splurge was a custom outdoor mattress from one of our favorite vendors, Designer Custom Source. Next we will have to add a footboard to accommodate more lounging because the whole neighborhood wants to hang out here!
Surrounded by potted flowers, veggies, and herbs it's easy to forget that this "garden" is actually a concrete lot. With a tray full of refreshments and some reading materials, it feels like being on a tropical vacation!
0 Comments
Thanks to our friends at Wayfair for featuring a great interview with Felicitas—full of lots of small space design tips, and a new Shop the Look shout out! Recently we revisited the Harlem building where we had worked on this beautiful project. We'd been recommended to our client's friend and neighbor, who was looking to redo her one-bedroom apartment for her and her young daughter. Felicitas developed a design plan that accommodates the client's desire for more seating to entertain guests, a reorganized foyer area, and an updated child's room. This was designed to grow with its young inhabitant, in part by repurposing the living room's IKEA Besta system to serve as functional and more sophisticated storage for a young girl. We recommended a color palette and furniture selections that approximated the sophisticated yet livable design of our first project, but incorporated the warm tones and the more organic feel our new client preferred.
Using IKEA to make a rental look like a home...HomeDesignRx often works with clients who would like to spruce up a rental on a budget. Stores like IKEA often have great pieces for unbeatable prices if you are able to look past the college dorm classics! Lately they have been debuting new pieces and finishes that have a high end looks at IKEA prices. See below for a list of tips to transform a rental with simple items that can all be found at IKEA. 1. Choose unusual finishes. The always classic MALM bed now comes in a White Oak Stained Veneer. Many local stores do not have this in stock, but it was well worth the cost of shipping for the higher-end look this finish gives you. Another new twist on an old favorite are the high gloss finishes in the EXPEDIT storage/shelving units. We like this white one for easy bedroom storage. 2. Change lighting. Switching out cheap-looking and often impractical stock lighting is a relatively easy way to make a huge impact in a rental. We love these LEDING track light, which come in 3 and 5 light variations and cost only $20-30, but look infinitely chicer than the original lighting. (Just remember to turn off the electricity before switching out hard-wired light fixtures--and if you don't know how to do it, get help!) 3. Add window treatments. After light fixtures, another large expense in a new home is window treatments. It often doesn't seem worth the effort and price to outfit your rental with custom window treatments, but the KVARTEL track system is changing that! We have installed these on the wall or from the ceiling with draperies, panel curtains, and as room dividers, and have found it the easiest and most affordable drapery solution out there. Check out the KVARTAL product guide for detailed buying information. 4. Repurposing. Using items for something other than there intended use is another great way to find storage solutions. The most obvious way we implement this is by using IKEA's excellent kitchen cabinets for custom office storage, something we have been doing for years to great effect. Whenever possible, it is far less expensive that having custom cabinetry made, with the bonus of being able to moved to a new location with you. Another of our favorite IKEA storage fixes is using kitchen wall organizers with and without hooks for storing bags, coats, and scarfs. These can be easily installed on walls and inside closet doors for a custom closet look at a temporary price. We also love the BLECKA hooks, which look high end but cost less than $2 a piece! Our Miami project has been completed! This bachelor's two bedroom condo already had interesting architectural details and a beautiful view; we were easily able to use furniture and accessories to bring a hip, fun and modern feel to it. The biggest change was made in the previously dark and traditional kitchen, which was brightened with sleek white cabinets. The black, white, and silver color scheme is straight out of a trendy boutique hotel, which is exactly what our client wanted this second home to feel like.
We were recently fortunate enough to be invited to see the results of the Brooklyn townhome we helped update last year. The homeowners incorporated a number of our design suggestions into their home, including paint colors and wallpaper, lighting selections, and furniture placement and selections.
Above you can see the Elitis wallpaper accent wall we recommended along with a Discoco pendant from Y Lighting. Happy Holidays from Home Design Rx!
Images are from Felicitas's impromptu holiday party in the lower level of our new home in Red Hook, Brooklyn which had to be gutted post Hurricane Sandy's flooding. Remember the unattractive paint job on the Fort Lauderdale condo building... Well it took some time to get it all done, rain showers in southern florida ( hurricane season has started) made for a few delays but the crew did an amazing job and the paint job is done. Now all we need is the new sigh on one of the large white walls and the neighbors can celebrate with a pool party: Last year we prepared a new color scheme presentation for this South Florida condo building. The idea was to update the building with fresh and modern colors. Above a reminder what the mid century building looked like before. The faded coral color scheme did not do the interesting architectural details justice! Now the paint job is under way and the building has been primed white. Some touches of our aqua accent color can be seen. Still the railings will all be pained white and the formerly brick red floors will be stained a light grey. |
HDRx at WorkFollow us as we tackle the smaller projects that other high end firms would not take on. Archives
April 2016
Categories
All
|