Before and After: Novato - Shake It Up!

When we're called on to do a one day room makeover, we never know what we will encounter until we walk through the front door. There, we're greeted by our clients and shown the problem area, often a living room, which just isn't working for them. We hear the same thing time and again: they don't know why but their room remains unfriendly and underused. The funny thing is we can see what the problem is as soon as we enter the room: the seating is lined up along the walls, very prim and proper. But most of us don't live formally- we want our living spaces to be warm and appealing, inviting conversation and interaction. This can't happen when all the seating is around the perimeter of the room:

This room is very large, and the idea of having more than one seating area is a good one. But the distance between them is so great that in order to talk to someone you'd be yelling across the room - how can you make it feel cozy and warm?  Get the furniture up and into the room!

 Before, the chairs look lonely back against that side wall with all that space in front of them- the small pictures look spread apart and lonely too- and what's that cabinet in the corner?

After, by switching those chairs out with one of the sofas and then pulling both sofas off the walls facing each other,  the room feels much more inviting:

 We placed the chairs here, where they welcome you in. A larger wood table with a beautiful pedestal base we found hidden under a cloth in another room now stands front and center between them, creating an impressive entry to the room. Those small pictures now flank a larger more substantial one- much more impact:

We shake it up some more- What about those 2 lamps that were on either side of the sofa on matching end tables? And the 2 coffee tables?

Those lamps look more interesting behind the sofa, placed on that cabinet we saw in the corner, now opened up. The heavy wood coffee table wasn't needed, so out it went:

Before, there was a large framed piece of art traditionally hung over the fireplace:

We replaced it with some unexpected sculptural pieces that are more exciting:

After all our changes, the room feels more contemporary, yet warmer and cozier. It's more conducive to entertaining or just hanging out with friends and family. 

Come on in and relax!

Before and After: Terra Linda

This weekend we worked in a charming home where the homeowner was really into decorating and moving the furniture around, but just couldn't achieve the look and feel she was craving in her surroundings. We could immediately see that this wasn't a case of tightening up the rooms (as it so often is), but rather pulling them apart, allowing them to relax and be more used friendly.

The Family Room BEFORE:

AND AFTER:

BEFORE:

AND AFTER:

What did we do?: 

-We removed the big jute rug and replaced it with a smaller white rug that was in the dining room. This added contrast to the wall to wall carpeting and defined the seating area. 

-We separated the sectional into a sofa and a chair. We pulled the sofa off the wall and into the room, making it feel cozier. We added some throw pillows and placed the chair on an angle facing opposite, creating a conversation area which balanced the room. We found the white garden stool in a back bedroom and placed it as a fun end table for the chair.

-We substituted a longer console table for the small end table table that was placed along the long wall. This anchored the art arrangement on the wall above, which we rehung and added to for more impact. We also placed a leather dining room chair along the wall, where it can be pulled in to the room for extra seating when needed.

The family room now feels sharper yet cozier. 

The Living Room BEFORE: Our clients said they didn't use their living room because it felt too formal and they enjoyed a casual lifestyle.  Their oversized furniture was from their former Victorian flat with big rooms and high ceilings, and they thought they had to replace all of it with smaller pieces. We felt that the placement of the 3 huge upholstered pieces blocked off the room and said "Don't come in." 

AND AFTER:

We wanted to create a lighter, airier feeling:

-We moved the sofa to the wall on the left and angled the chair opposite, opening up the entrance to the room. 

-We separated the corner bookcases and flanked the fireplace with them, adding height and interest.

 -The painting over the mantle was too large for the space and the colors overpowering, so we replaced it with a vignette of a round mirror and bronze horse - their fluid lines soften all the straight angles of the hearth and their shine welcomes you into the room.

- We removed the leopard bench as it was closing off the room and blocking the patio doors.  But our client had told us it was her favorite piece- we knew we had to find a place of honor for it....

The Dining Room BEFORE: Again, our clients said their room felt unwelcoming and didn't invite intimacy. Although we loved the drama of the chocolate walls, more color was needed to punch it up. And while the white rug provided contrast, it was too small for the table and chairs. 

AND AFTER:

Small room, Big changes! 

-Here's where we placed the large jute rug we removed from the family room. It's scale fills the room and makes it feel bigger, it's color adds warmth to the walls, and it's rough texture contrasts beautifully with the soft leather chairs.

-We removed 2 dining chairs and brought in that much loved leopard bench - by placing it up against the wall we created a fun banquette. We added softness with some white pillows we took from the family room sectional.  

-The red color accents we removed from the living room are just the ticket here : The red shaded standing lamp creates a sexy corner, and the massive size and saturated colors of the oil painting from the mantle stand up to the dark walls, creating drama for dining!

More photos:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Our clients were "thrilled with the transformation", saying that now their living areas "made sense and made a statement".  As we always like to say, you don't have to go out and buy new things- you often have everything you need right in your own home (although it may be in another room!)

Before & After: San Anselmo

Yesterday we did a quickie room makeover in a charming home in San Anselmo. The homeowner knew

how she wanted her rooms to look, and just as importantly, to feel, but just couldn't do it on her own. She read the article about us in the San Francisco Chronicle and wrote to us that same day, asking for help. She said her home was "boring, with neutral color schemes and minimal personality" and wanted it to be "cozy, fun and interesting." She also said "It's about time to make my home a place my family and I love!"
When we arrived, we asked her how she used her living room and she replied that she never sat in it. She wanted to have a book club but didn't feel comfortable having people over because she didn't think the room was welcoming. Here is the Living Room-

Before:

And After:

Before: 

After: 

Before: 

After:

So what did we do? 

-We tightened the whole room arrangement, centering the rug on the sofa wall and bringing the chairs out of the corners and into the room, creating a cozy conversation area. 

-We searched the house for furniture :

-The tall bookcases were being underutilized in an office, so we brought them in to flank the sofa and create a niche, filling them with plants, books and family memorabilia.  

-The little desk was downstairs housing misc. kids stuff, so we brought that in to make that far corner of the room more inviting, and asked the homeowner to buy a small chair to place by it when she next visited the fun shops San Anselmo is known for. 

-The end tables that had been next to the sofa we placed alongside the armchairs, where their scale was better suited

-Color was introduced with pillows, throws, books, plants, accessories, and art.  The black and white family portrait was relocated to the family room, and a bigger more colorful piece was placed over the sofa.

The Dining Room-

Before:

After:

Here, we simply removed the rug (too big and overwhelming) and rotated the table 90 degrees. We added interest and color with some of the homeowner's accessories and created a bar on an old marble chest for fun.

When we were done, our client said she was "amazed" that such a change could be achieved with things she already owned- she wanted to have people over right away and start entertaining- music to our ears- We love nothing more than helping someone love the home they're with! We'll return and work our way through other rooms in her home. (Thanks Sue!)

TransformationsHome Featured in the San Francisco Chronicle

Design duo helps when his and hers becomes ours Anh-Minh Le, Special to The Chronicle Sunday, February 14, 2010 Print E-mail Share Comments (0) Font | Size: It's a classic love story: Girl meets boy. Girl moves into boy's home. Girl and boy recognize that the decor reflects his personality and taste, not hers, but don't know where to begin with a makeover. IMAGES  View More Images For Carla D'Agostino - the girl in this case - chance encounters with Sissy Latino at a dog park proved fortunate. Latino and fellow stylist Robin Preussker are the duo behind Transformations Home Stylists in Mill Valley. The firm specializes in reinventing spaces - sometimes in as little as one day, mostly utilizing the client's existing pieces. "We were their motivation to get on it," recalled Preussker. "Our impression was that Carla moved some stuff in but there was no real emotional or physical space for her." D'Agostino and David Parkinson met on Yahoo Personals in October 2006. After corresponding via e-mail for a week, they arranged to meet at Blackie's Pasture in Tiburon. "It was a neutral, public site," he said. "We weren't obligating ourselves to dinner if it didn't work out." The meeting went so well, their casual stroll turned into a dinner date after all, and they soon discovered a number of coincidences and connections in their lives. After Parkinson moved out of his parents' house, they bought a home in the New Jersey neighborhood where D'Agostino grew up. He remembers her residence as the one that was always undergoing construction. And she knows the people who now live in his parents' old place. Back in Martinsville, N.J., she was close friends with her next-door neighbors, one of whom is Parkinson's fraternity brother. In Tiburon, they attended the same church; he went to the early service, while she went to the later one. Now they both go to the early service together. About two years ago, she moved into his home of 25 years in the Tiburon neighborhood of Paradise Cay. He and his wife, who died in 2001, raised four children in the house. 'We needed to edit' "I felt like we needed to edit," said D'Agostino, "but I was sensitive to the fact that David had lived here a long time. I wanted to be respectful of him and his feelings. "It's a lovely house, but there was a bachelor who was in here for a while. There was no one around to say, 'Hey, this doesn't work.' " BEFORE: In the family room, they made one decorating decision before summoning Preussker and Latino: There was a television set placed on another television - "the poor man's picture-in-picture," Parkinson joked. Since there were no shades or drapes, a surfboard was propped against the window to eliminate the glare. The two TVs were replaced with one wall-mounted flat screen. For everything else, the couple felt that a third party would provide a fresh perspective. "We were going to get a new sofa anyway," said D'Agostino, "but decided to call Sissy and Robin because it's a major purchase, and I didn't want to make a mistake." Out went the 20-year-old teal leather love seats. Preussker and Latino suggested that the shape and scale of a sectional would be a better fit for the room. D'Agostino and Parkinson found an espresso-hued tufted leather one that they liked; Latino and Preussker gave it the thumbs up. The family-room rug, which didn't look quite right with the old sofas, got a reprieve. A coffee table that had been relegated to a bedroom was returned to the family room to display D'Agostino's art. An ottoman, which was tucked in the corner behind a rocking chair, was also relocated. Situated next to the sectional, it acts as a footrest or, with the addition of a tray, a serving area. The ikat and floral pillows were repurposed from the patio. "We're not pushing the idea of buying everything new," Latino said. "We like to see what you have and make it work better." Vertical element Remarkably, aside from the sectional, the only item that D'Agostino and Parkinson purchased for the space was an upholstered side chair. Its earth-tone pattern complements the tile flooring. A pair of oars that once hung above the sliding glass doors now grace a corner of the room. "We needed a vertical element there," said Preussker, "and they just happened to look great there." The bookcase, a prominent feature, was formerly a hodgepodge of Parkinson's autographed footballs and baseballs, as well as football helmets, baseball caps and books. Latino and Preussker pared down the collection and mixed in some of D'Agostino's vases and other artistic treasures. BEFORE: AFTER: The result is a contemporary and decluttered space that blends her style, which she described as "whimsical and arty," with his style, which he called "more traditional with a sporting flair." "One of the things I'm pleased about is that we're going to be able to really live in this room," she said. "It's not just pretty. It functions for us." D'Agostino and Parkinson also enlisted the stylists to convert D'Agostino's home office into a dressing room for her. (She now shares an office with Parkinson. A floral designer with Waterlily Pond in San Francisco, she doesn't work much from home. Parkinson, a vice president with Experian, does.) Raspberry and turquoise Although the dressing room benefited from a handful of purchases - a rug, textiles, a lingerie chest and a Venetian mirror - most of the "shopping" for it occurred within the confines of the house. BEFORE: With the addition of solid and patterned textiles in vibrant shades of raspberry and turquoise, the plain twin bed has become a "fun and feminine" daybed, said Latino. A distressed turquoise and cream cabinet, which was already in the room, serves as both storage and display for D'Agostino's objects and accessories. The perfume bottles and photos create a lovely vignette. The office armoire was replaced with an armoire from the bedroom, which Parkinson outfitted with shelves. A chair that belonged to D'Agostino's grandmother was painted gold and topped with a fuchsia cushion. For lighting, a chandelier was salvaged from the garage. "It's really funky," D'Agostino said of the fixture. "I love it, so I asked Sissy and Robin, 'Where will this fit?' I was so excited that they found a place for it." AFTER: Given their past careers as display stylists for Bloomingdale's, it's no surprise that Latino and Preussker have a keen eye for detail. In the dressing room, D'Agostino pointed out two things she would not have thought of on her own: placing the lingerie chest at a diagonal to add interest and a focal point, and hanging a vintage purse on a cabinet knob. "It was in my closet and no one could see it sparkling," she said of the latter. "Now it just looks really sweet." 'Interest and personality' Preussker and Latino also incorporated a framed cover of "The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center," a book that D'Agostino co-authored, into the room as artwork. Every holiday season, her family finds and delivers the tree for the New York City landmark. "It's fun to see all of the changes without having spent a fortune," D'Agostino said. "And it doesn't look like a Pottery Barn catalog because it's our stuff. It has character, interest and personality." D'Agostino and Parkinson's story does indeed have a happy ending. In addition to the successful room makeovers, they have another reason to celebrate: In December, during an outing to Blackie's Pasture - the setting of their first date - they became engaged. Reinventing your space Sissy Latino and Robin Preussker of Transformations Home Stylists (transformationshomestylists.blogspot.com) are experts at "use what you have" decorating. They offer hourly and day rates that are tailored to the client's needs. For one Sausalito project, they met with the homeowner in the morning, and by dinnertime the makeover was complete. Here are some of their tips for reinventing your space: Get focused: Every room needs a focal point. Work with what you have - a fireplace, a view - or create your own with artwork or a major piece like a piano. Room for conversation: Whenever possible, move the furniture away from the walls to bring energy into the room and to create conversation areas. Be seasonal: Change your home with the seasons. Freshen the color palette with accessories such as pillows and throws, and bring in elements from nature, including branches and fruit. Mix it up: Integrate the old with the new, the accumulated with the newly acquired, and the distressed with the polished. It's all about the mix. Keep it fresh: Move furniture and objects from room to room to keep a fresh perspective. Shake it up and have fun! Her style Carla D'Agostino has a whimsical, arty style. She wanted to introduce more color into the rooms and have a place to display her art and pottery. His style David Parkinson's tastes are more traditional with a sporting flair. He likes a neutral color palette and loves to surround himself with memorabilia. E-mail comments to home@sfchronicle.com.