When we expanded our home three years ago, we added a small studio above our garage.  We wanted to add value by building a separate “granny” unit, and also provide a place for guests.  The studio was intended as a source of future income.  With its own small kitchen, it can be rented out to a tenant, or perhaps even turned into a vacation rental someday. 

For the first two years after our remodel, this space was completely unfinished.  Over the last year, we’ve slowly brought this space up to livability standards.  We even had my folks staying with us while their house was on the market. 

Since we are expecting a boatload of family and friends through the harvest season and holidays, it was high time I provided my guests with a comfortable space.  This weekend I focused on the media wall.  Formerly plain and sad, it is now organized and media friendly.  I built my own media center by repurposing some bookshelves and adding a custom display ledge. 

Here is the Before:

Here’s the After:

Here’s how I did it.

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I’m a big believer in making your home your personal refuge from the world. I’d rather spend my money on feathering my nest than taking a grand vacation. When we planned our home expansion, I insisted on creating my own sanctuary by incorporating a courtyard into the design plan. In truth, my courtyard is my favorite “room” in my home. I begin and end each day in this very spot.

We’ve been landscaping our barren backyard in several stages, and for several years. When choosing plantings, I find myself drawn, time and again, to anything with deep purple flowers or sage green leaves. Jackpot, if both occur. In nature, I find the color combination of aubergine and sage green irresistible.

Rainbow Elephant Bush Succulent 

In my outdoor decor, I also return to shades of green. To me, green is a color that is fresh regardless of the season. I never tire of it.

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For the last few years, my entire family of five has been sharing one small shower/bath combo in the hall bathroom.  Even though we added on to the house in 2006, we still only had only a partially completed master bathroom.  For years, the master shower was nothing more than a storage closet.  Not any more!  I’m talking about 35 square feet of pure bliss that we just finished tiling last week.

And my dream for just a bit of Oceanside glass tile finally came true.

Hello gorgeous.

Two weeks ago, the shower was in a very raw state, having only waterproofed sheetrock and a tar floor.  We started by

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If you thought you were getting a juicy discussion on Hollywood’s best lifts and enhancements, I’m truly sorry to disappoint.  This topic is not nearly as scintillating. 

I’m talking about closet doors.  Those standard white doors installed by contractors in every house built in America in the last 15 years.  (That is, unless you can afford those upgraded wood or custom doors that we drool over in glossy décor magazines.) 

As you regular readers know, I am in the process of remodeling my home office.  I have ignored this space for years, but no more ! I’m starting from scratch this time.  A blank canvas.  I realized that before I could hang my gorgeous grasscloth wallpaper (in the most amazing slightly luminescent gray blue, oh joy!), I had to touch up some trim.  And I had to paint the closet doors.  The paint was dingy – yellowed from years of sunlight – and they are the first thing you notice when you walk in my home office.  No. Thank. You. 

Instead of just painting them white, I thought I’d give them a bit of interest and a hint more sophistication.  After all, they practically take up the entire wall, so why not embellish? 

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