Formerly Forlorn to Fantastically Formal

Do you like to go to model homes? I do. They’re a great place to pick up fun ideas and inspiration for home design. However, they come with a downside. You know that feeling you get when you go to a model home, and everything is so well put-together and dazzling, and each room beautifully compliments the next, and you leave feeling slightly depressed and tempted to burn your own pathetic house to the ground? That’s how I feel when I go to Denise’s house.

Denise is a dear friend of mine, and one of those people who makes everything look effortlessly perfect.  She’s thrown baby showers nicer than my wedding reception. She’s the worst. Just kidding, she’s the best, she’s everything I want to be. Love you Denise!

She moved into a new home not long ago, and has been busy making it Denise-worthy, so let’s take a look!

This was her formal dining room before. You would think a room with a sweeping staircase and a chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling would be pretty impressive on its own merits, right?

Not so much. That’s exactly what this before room had, but it wasn’t about to knock anyone’s socks off. Some of the problems were that the the wall color was a squeamish flesh-tone, the furniture was way too small for the room (although to be fair, it does look like the previous owners were in the process of moving, so perhaps they just had the tiny furniture in there temporarily … it’s possible), the curtains were limp and the carpet washed everything else out.

But look what a beautiful difference some small (ok, mostly big) changes made! For starters, she replaced the carpet with hardwood, the paint was toned down into a light neutral ‘flesh-free’ zone, and she added plantation shutters and a new chandelier.

Of course that’s going to make any room look better. But I think the real key here is SCALE. The new hutch takes up nearly the entire wall, vs. the itty bitty buffet in the before picture.  The eight-seater dining table is substantial enough to anchor the entire room, the curtains are voluminous, and the even the curtain rod has been upgraded.

You might think that this room cost tons of money, but it might surprise you that beautiful doesn’t have to mean expensive.  Or, it probably doesn’t surprise you at all, if you’ve been a reader here long enough.  Check out how that hutch started out:

Yep, total Craigslist find. Denise ain’t no fool.

Now, let’s head across the hall to the former formal living room. Same story as before. My socks are still firmly attached.

Oh but not anymore! This room officially knocks my socks off.  Let’s talk about that new mantle. And the wainscoting. I’ll wait while you do a little scroll-up scroll-down, if your eyeballz can handle it. SO MUCH BETTER.

And again with the scale. Floor to ceiling drapes, furniture pulled away from the walls, and another grand chandelier to dazzle the eye and make me want to come home and punch my own light fixtures in the face.

And she does it all with two boys and a toddler girl. Once I find out her secret, I’ll let you know.