Thanksgiving preparations: Before & After

Hardwood and I are celebrating Thanksgiving with his family. It will be the first, big holiday we host at our home. We have a kick-ass vegetarian feast all planned out. But there was the little matter of carving out a spot in our apartment to serve it. I was tired of eating all our meals at the sofa and I'm sure Hardwood's 99 year old Grandmother (That's right 99!) wouldn't find it all that comfortable. Plus six people sitting around our coffee table eating a massive feast would be really tight and awkward. So a month ago I snapped up a giant Norden table at one of IKEA's Seize the Day sales.

The table is in our front room, which acts as my painting studio. I just needed to convert the room from crazy, messy art studio into a clean and comfortable dining room. That's how I spent my Monday night. I thought I'd show a few before and after shots of the space. Behold the Madness!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I think it turned out pretty good. It's still a little cluttered with the canvases and books, but there was only so much I could hide.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! And good luck to all of those cooking and cleaning the next couple days!

Stage Yo' Self!

BEFORE: Living/Dining Room

I think I've only seen one episode of HGTV's The Stagers. I wasn't too impressed because there seemed to be more "reality" drama than true Before and Aftering. Yet I just came across a prolific slideshow of some of the actual work and...wow!

AFTER: Living/Dining Room

Seeing the photos (without the annoying commentary and hijinks) is much more powerful than watching the show. The slideshow has about 13 makeovers and each one is worth a glance or a double take. I also must admit to falling in quick love with that sideboard above (xoxoo).

BEFORE: Loft

Whether you're thinking of selling soon or just find yourself stuck in a design rut, the slideshow is a handy reference tool. Of course, you could just hire your own stagers, an agile troupe of decorators, flinging sleek lines and coordination all over your place. From what I figure, that'd be one easy but costly circus. Yet this slideshow, with its inspiring pics and helpful captions, might be all you need to make your home look its universal best.

AFTER: Loft

So bookmark this post for your future dealings in escrow and then get straight to work on that Craigslist ad for your puffy pleather sofas.

The house from Nightmare on Elm Street

The cover of Living Etc.'s May issue featured the gorgeous home of former model/actress Angie Hill. I fell in love with the curved archways (inspired by Ugly Betty's Mode set), beautiful white interior, and the gorgeous pool. It also turns out that this was the house featured in Nightmare on Elm Street. The article included a link to Angie's Picasa albums, which had some amazingly awful before, crazy ripped-to-the-studs mid-renovation, and beautiful serene-after photos. I've snagged a few choice before and afters, but check out more of the before, middle, and after albums.


House BEFORE: Very appropriately moody looking photo

Shed BEFORE: What the hang happened here?!!

Living Room BEFORE: There's so much crap in this room. I feel really sorry for those windows!!!

Living room AFTER: Aaaaaah!! Much better!!!

Kitchen BEFORE: Dark, dingy and just sad.

Kitchen AFTER: Cover shot! Light, airy, modern, hip, and totally freakin' sweet!

Pool BEFORE: Ew! Just ew!!

Pool AFTER: SPLASH!!! (Sound of Porcelain cannonballing into the pool.)