Whole House Makeover in Mill Glen

Whole House Makeover in Mill Glen

by | Mar 19, 2020 | Bathroom, Kitchen, Living

Well friends, we are almost through week one of our new normal and if, like me, you are struggling to keep a clean house, your kids are eating you out of house and home, and you are desperate for a few minutes of peace to get a grip on your house, then you might appreciate looking at a beautiful, clean kitchen and enjoying from afar.  So for a few minutes today, as you enjoy your glass of wine and do a virtual cheers with your friends that you survived another day, take a little minute to step out of reality and enjoy dream world over here!

Last week’s kitchen was an amazing example of reconfiguring of space, but this week’s shows that you don’t always need to remove walls to give your kitchen a new look.  The Burns’ family live up the street from us and they did a complete overhaul of their house before they moved in.  It made a stunning difference.  Steven and I always joke about my love of white… seriously if I could live in a house that is all white I would.  I’ll never let him live down the day we were registering for our wedding and he told me that I was boring as I kept choosing white things, but as the years have passed he too has grown to see how nice white can be!  Before I have even seen the Burns’ house I had heard from another neighbor that they had brightened the whole place up, so I was sure I would love it!  Their house shows just what a difference making a space lighter with some white update can make.  Take a look at how their kitchen looked before:

And here it is after, so much lighter and it appears much bigger too:

Sarah shared that the house they moved from had very little counter space so their vision was to maximize the space they had using the current footprint.  They desperately wanted functional counter space, a large oven for entertaining, and for the room to feel clean and fresh.  Their kitchen must haves included a place where they can eat breakfast, do art, sit and hang out.  A pantry was also a must as their previous house didn’t have one.  I’d say they did a pretty amazing job of meeting all these desires and it looks phenomenal!  I love the double glass doors into the sunroom too!

The hardest part for her in bringing it all to life was choosing the lights, door handles, and kitchen finishes.  The floor color was also something Sarah said she agonized over for months, and it turned out great.

Seeing as we could all use extra distraction this week, I figured I would go ahead and show you the other updates that the Burns’ did while they were renovating their house – they did what we all wish we could do and took care of it all at once!  Very smart!  Here are the before and after of their half bath:

Check out how they changed the look of their living room.  New floors, just a touch of paint and lightening up the room with their choice of furniture, paint color, and drapes, make it seem like a totally different room:

How they managed to think through all these updates and changes all at once and have them all look amazing, is beyond me!  I’m hoping that you, dear readers, can gain some serious inspiration from this house!

Our goal here is to eventually provide you with a directory of people who you can call on to help you with your house.  The Burns really like their plumber, so over the next few weeks if life gets turned upside down even more with a blocked toilet from toys being dropped in or, heaven forbid, too much toilet paper, now you know who to call… Tim Chen is an Atlanta area plumber and small business owner who has been doing mostly residential plumbing service work in metro Atlanta area since 1998.  He specializes in emergency services like water heater, water line and sewer line repair and replacement. Tim also does bathroom renovations with beautiful tile work.  Click here for his information on our directory.  The Burns’ have been happy with his work and hope that you will be too.

Here is the master bath renovation to round us out for the evening, and then, unfortunately, you have to go back to reality: children, kids, and school… good luck!  Thank you for letting us into your gorgeous home friends!

Kitchen Renovation in Mill Glen

Kitchen Renovation in Mill Glen

by | Mar 12, 2020 | Kitchen

Have you ever walked into someone’s house and thought “this is like something out of a magazine,” and then head home to dream of how you might make yours look similarly breathtaking? The first time that happened to me here in Dunwoody was with the Libby’s house.  I went in for a play date for our boys and left wanting to knock down walls, add new fixtures and basically redo our whole kitchen.  Needless to say I promptly decided that living vicariously through her would have to suffice.

The Libby’s house feels like you are walking into an HGTV recently renovated home.  Thankfully our awesome 3 year olds were happily entertained while we held our littles and talked all things house and home.  Casey casually shared about the work they had done and dropped in that she had designed every inch of her kitchen from start to finish. I mean, way to make a first impression!  Some people just have an eye for these things and Casey sure is one of those gals. She and her husband Tim have done a lot of the work on their home themselves and Casey now works as an interior designer.

Here are the before photos of their kitchen:  

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And now take a look at what it looks like after their hard work and notice Casey’s eye for detail and practicality within the beauty:

The Libby’s added so much space to their kitchen with this renovation.  Their ultimate goal was for it to feel more open with a modern farmhouse feel.  The blending of metal and wood achieved Casey’s  combined vintage and modern/industrial look.  They commented that they really wanted to pick out exactly how they wanted it so they hand selected the wood for the beam and the hood so that it would give the room a cohesive feel.  Personally, the wood and the kitchen sink are my two fave features – I think I would actually want to do the dishes facing a bay window like theirs!

I asked Casey what her must-haves were when she started planning her kitchen and she said, her pot filler (a splurge!) and the large peninsular in order to spread out everything.  As with most families, she added that the kitchen is the new living room.  It is where they spend most of their time whether with kids, or entertaining guests, so it needs to be spacious and a place that you want to be.  The Libby’s biggest challenge in bringing it to life was towards the end and completing the punch list.  As contractors take on other projects it is hard to get the final bits and pieces completed.

Casey’s advice to anyone doing a renovation is: don’t live in the house while completing the renovation if you can help it.  You have to make a million decisions during the process, so just remember that you can’t make that many decisions and have them all be perfect.  It’s ok to make mistakes!

Casey believes that with the right planning and coordinating everyone can have a beautiful and unique home without breaking the bank.  She considers her personal style to be modern farmhouse, but truly appreciates all designs.  She loves to transform spaces into beautiful, cozy areas that make you feel like you’re home.  It is rewarding for her to freshen up older spaces, and she enjoys shopping for pieces to fill a home whether they be vintage or modern. For Casey’s contact information click here to view the directory.

Living Room Refresh in Redfield

Living Room Refresh in Redfield

by | Feb 25, 2020 | Living

It was about a year ago that I chatted to Jaime about the idea for this blog.  I remember it vividly… we were out in the yard and she was picking up her son after he had come over for a play date (we do a lot of play dates around here!).  The boys were going crazy on the trampoline and as always us moms were nattering away (that’s English speak for chatting) then she mentioned that she was about to begin a big renovation on her basement.  I briefly mentioned to her the idea for this blog and she instantly jumped on board.  Seriously this girl has a gift for encouraging!  It still took me a year to actually put my idea into action, but you better believe that she was one of the first people I called to say “hey it’s happening!”

The Russo’s are still working on final touches for their basement renovation but they also redid their family room too so I thought we would go ahead and show that first.  To me the most amazing renovations are when people make the best use of the space available to them.  Whether that involves, removing walls or working within the existing floor plan one thing is for certain, what you put into the room, and colors used, can transform any room.

The Russo’s worked with Kelly Bressler with Resource Design & Build to help them make the space work.  Kelly shared that the great room at the Russo home was a lovely bright and airy addition that the previous owners had constructed.  However the furniture was not to scale and the overall tone of the space was a muted gold and brown that no longer worked with their vision for the interior. Here is what the room looked like before the renovation:

Kelly said that the biggest challenge was the huge area that they had to fill with large enough furniture while still maintaining a cozy space for the family to relax and entertain.  Take a look at what they came up with:

They selected an oversized medium grey sectional sofa and a fun deep accent chair to pop some cobalt blue into the newly painted space.  A huge coffee table and a custom bound rug anchor the room, while a long media console fills the large wall under the television set.   Cobalt and cream became their accent colors by adding accessories and fun pillows, while a fun overhead chandelier adds just a touch of rustic warmth with wood and iron.

Kelly Bressler is the owner and designed at Resource Design & Build which is a full service boutique renovation company dedicated to unique design, exemplary customer service and quality project coordination. They love to build your dream! Click here to see Kelly’s contact information in the directory.

Dunwoody Living Room to Exterior View
Dunwoody Living Room TV View
Dunwoody Living Room Coffee Table Arrangement
Dunwoody Living Room Square View To Exterior

Bathroom Renovation in the Branches

Bathroom Renovation in the Branches

by | Feb 20, 2020 | Bathroom

There’s nothing quite like calling your friend to say “Hey can I please come use your bathroom… for my website?” But you’d better believe that I did, and thankfully Mary Stewart was happy to let me come admire their latest renovation on their new home.

When you think about adding value to a home, an updated bathroom should certainly be on the list of must dos. I like to think about it from the perspective that a bathroom is an importance place in your house. It’s where you start and finish your day, so it may as well be a place that you enjoy being.

Not only is this blog about providing contacts and resources to our neighborhoods, but it is also about showing you how people have made the most of the space that they have to fit their needs. Mary Stewart’s bathroom was a great example of this: they needed to create a full bathroom on the main level of the house for her dad who has limited mobility. Thankfully for them they already had a room that could be used as a bedroom and they were able to do a relatively simple change to the half bath to make it a full bathroom. Here is the before picture:

BEFORE: Half Bath, Main Level

The door on the right was actually a closet that they took out in order to add an accessible shower and larger vanity. Look what they ended up with:

It looks so much bigger with the closet taken out. Of course, not all of us have an extra closet in the bathroom, but maybe you do and this might give you an idea. If not, then take a look at the finishes and dream!

Some advice from your neighbors after doing this renovation was to research and pick colors before you hire the contractor so that decisions are not needing to be made in a rush. Thanks for letting us into your bathroom friend!

Welcome to Dunwoody Dreaming!

Welcome to Dunwoody Dreaming!

by | Feb 17, 2020 | Interior

 It’s launch day here at Dunwoody Dreaming and we could not be more excited! Our goal is to provide an online directory for Dunwoody, and surrounding areas, of service providers such as contractors, plumbers, electricians, gutter cleaners and basically anyone who helps to keep our houses functional.  But that is not all! What makes this site stand out from others out there is that we aim to link each of those service providers to a blog post featuring their work showing before and after pictures, that way our readers can see for themselves what the company is capable of and decide whether to choose to use them or not.  The benefit for you is that we will only feature service providers who have come recommended by your neighbors. 

 

The best part about this blog is that it is for anyone and everyone.  For the family who isn’t yet ready to pull the plug on renovating their house: come, look, and see the potential of your home and dream about what could possibly be.  For the family ready to do the big renovation: we will eventually provide a list of people who you can call to get quotes and who come recommended by your neighbors.  For real estate agents: use this site to show your clients what they could do with their new home to make it fit their needs.  For service providers: we hope that your business will increase as a result of featuring your work with Dunwoody homeowners on this site.  We want to help our community become connected and share the inside of homes so that you can see what is possible.  We will feature everything from big to small renovations, from plumbing jobs, to gutter cleaning, from landscape architects to tree companies. 

If you see a need and it isn’t covered, give us time and we will hopefully add it soon!  If you have recently worked with a service provider that you love, let us know!  The directory will take time to build and develop, so in the meantime enjoy living vicariously through your neighbors and take a peek inside their homes through us.  We would love to feature your home to help others when they have a similar need.  Please share this website with your neighbors so they can benefit from it.  After all, our goal is to connect neighbors one home project at a time.  It is a team effort – Enjoy!