A smaller redesign than the other project I shared with you, this one is not quite so dramatic, but fun nonetheless. I had another recent client of mine, Kim in Chelsea, call me and wanted to add a few accessories to her home. She had purchased some prints, but didn’t think they were right, so I met her at her garden home and we made some decisions. Kim works part-time at Steinmart and wanted to get in on an employee sale, so we went shopping that day to take advantage of the savings. I made a list of what we needed and working on a limited budget, added a few things to enliven Kim’s livingroom, kitchen, and guestbath. This is what you see coming in the frontdoor, BEFORE.
BEFORE
She already had a neutral cream colored sofa, paired with 2 black floral wing chairs. I told her that we would need to pull colors from those wing chairs to add to the room, so we took along one of the seat cushions to make sure we stayed on track colorwise. Kim had already done a nice job with adding a few things to her home, like the pieces on top of the entertainment center, 2 floral arrangements and mirror on the mantel, lamps and a couple of rusty throw pillows for the sofa. All in all, good bones to work with. 
BEFORE
You can see the artwork she had purchased above with somewhat of a palm theme, so after looking at them, I thought we could do better with bringing in more color to the room and not have it so themey. She agreed and off we went shopping. She did have this black wing chair, floor lamp & side table pushed all the way against that wall above and I moved all of it forward to be more of a part of the conversation area of the other chair and sofa and it opened up the traffic pattern coming into the home a lot better. That’s the front door you see to the left of the grandfather clock. With a budget of just a few hundred dollars, we added quite a few things to her space and made it feel a lot more welcoming. Come and see……
AFTER: I forgot to take my camera (note to self…always pack the camera!), so we took some shots with Kim’s and here you can see the addition of 2 aqua pillows on the sofa to bring out the blue in the wing chairs. That’s a new print above the wing chair too and it has lots of color, but the flash washed it out. See next pic.
It’s more of a contemporary print, but works well with bringing more color into the room.
And for the large wall, we found this really pretty bicycle print that Kim loved a lot. I really liked the colors in it too and it was a large piece that made a nice impact coming in the door.
The aqua blue pillows really play well off the new print and you can see the bit of blue in the wing chair. I added one little floral on the table.
Here’s Kim’s kitchen BEFORE.
AFTER, we added 2 prints flanking the windows. She still needs window treatments and will get those later. 
We got a few things to add to the kitchen cabinets. Pottery pieces and some greenery and plates that she already had.
This little hallway had a nice table and floral arrangment, but needed a little more.
I added 2 prints to this wall that she had already purchased in the rusty tones, as well as an apothocary jar with faux pears and 2 ceramic pomegranites, which added a nice touch to the bar.
Last, the bathroom was really a blank space and needed a few things to liven it up.
With the addition of the oil painting, lamp, floral, and candle, it looks much more cozy now. 
So, that’s a redesign on a small budget. Just a few things can make an impact. Kim still needs a rug for the livingroom and a few more things overall, but she’s well on her way now.
Oh, I LOVE seeing the re-designs that you do. You do some GREAT ones!! I sure wish I had that decorators eye!!!
Hi, my friend,
I have so enjoyed reading over your last several blog posts. You are doing very good work on these re designs. I am so happy for you that your business is growing. That must feel wonderful, since you have such talent in this area. Feels good to be able to use it more than just your own home, doesn’t it? I always find it amazing that just a print and a pillow can bring so much life into a room!
Enjoy the Birmingham Autumn. I bet it is starting to look really pretty up there.
Take care!
Hi Rhoda –
Your redesigns are just wonderful. Small things sure do add a lot and make everything work! Thanks for sharing with us.
~Adrienne~
I can’t believe what a difference the little additions in the bathroom made! It looks beautiful!!
Well done, Rhoda ~ as always you do such a wonderful job!
I love the redesigns!
The picture of the bicycle is beautiful. Perfect for the space.
Rhoda, it really livened up the place, added color and made it look lived it.
Very pretty. Kim’s garden home looks like a nice place even before the fluffing. Nice job!
I really like seeing the redesigns and the explaination!!!
Hi, sweet friend!
Thank you and Kim both for sharing this project with us. I enjoyed seeing what the two of you found on your shopping adventure and how you implemented it. And Kim, I love Stein Mart! How do you ever come home with a paycheck? I worked in a gift/bookshop years ago during grad school, and I was lucky to get home with mine!
Kim, your home looks warm and cozy, and you’re right, Rhoda, it had such lovely bones. I wanted to sink right into one of those wing chairs. My husband has a leather one that he loves, and I steal a seat in it when he’s away. 😉
I liked the pops of color in the pillows on the sofa and the distributing of those colors around the living room in the art work to tie it together. The bathroom looks welcoming, too. And it’s amazing what two pictures on the wall of the breakfast room did. When Kim gets her new curtains, I hope y’all will invite us back.
Thanks for the tour. Enjoyed it!Hope you have a wonderful weekend…
Sheila
Rhoda,
You are such an inspiration to me. I love to recreate rooms too. You do have an awesome eye and I love reading your blog. I surprised my sister yesterday by decorating her bare living room. It was like “While you were out”. She is a school teacher and while she was at work, I completed the task. I will be posting the befores and afters on my blog in the next couple of days. Could you please include my blog on your blog list? It is debbietibbs.blogspot.com.
Thanks,
Deb
Looks wonderful, love the warm tones against the cool aqua.
I absolutely love that candlestick in the bathroom! It’s funny how everyone can look at the same pics and pick out their favorite thing and that was mine for the day 🙂
Bella
It all looks great!
I don’t care for the placement of furniture in the livingroom, I would have moved that chair out of the corner and pushed the tv cabinet down towards that area, angled the sofa with a chair on either end ie: for tv viewing and better conversational flow. Coloring wise it looks great though and the paintings are wonderful. Also it’s very difficult without actually being in the room I know.
Just my opinion.
Oh I love what you did with Kim’s kitchen. That really seemed to warm to room up!! Thanks for stopping by and offering your advice about my windows. It was nice to hear from you:)
Great job Rhoda! What a fun job you have!
HI Rhoda, I love the colors & everything looks great! I have a fireplace & a big entertainment center & had a hard time with furniture placement….it's hard to determine what is the focal point & I always ended up with dead spot. You did a nice job! Thanks for sharing your redesigns…you know how much we love seeing them. Take care, DebraK
Hi, Anon, this room was very, very small & it's hard to tell in pics sometimes. There really wouldn't have been room to move the sofa any other place except the wall where the TV armoire is now. When I walked in there I felt she had it just about as good as it could get considering the size of the room & the placement of the fireplace, which was right in front of you as you walk in the door. Believe me, there would not have been room to do what you suggested, but your opinions are welcome.
Debra, you mentioned focal points & you're right about that. With a big armoire and fireplace, it sometimes is hard to keep just one focal point. In a small room like this, it really gets difficult.
Thank you all for stopping by,
Rhoda
Great job Rhoda! Artwork and accessories make such a difference! I love lamps, and the one in the bathroom made it look so cozy!
Hi Rhoda,
That’s pretty much the way I’ve always had to do things…a little at a time.
The bathroom before and after is the most dramatic…it looks wonderful.
You other additions really tie it all together and give it a polished look.
thanks for the post and for the before and after pics!
diane
Great reDesign! I love the touch of blue.