BEFORE & AFTER: Eco-Chic Living Room

AFTER Living Room (right corner)

BEFORE Living Room (right corner)

BEFORE Living Room (left corner)

AFTER Living Room (left corner)

Here's how some of those scary-tuned-chic vintage pieces from "Before & After: Vintage Furniture Rescued & Revived" (posted 11/15/10) came together in my clients' living room.  We've submitted this project to some shelter mags and sites, so I can't reveal the entire space.  But these images should give you a taste of how sustainable can be simultaneously good for the environment, comfortable to live in, and pretty to look at.

Design by Doreen Creede and Gina Pierantozzi for The Redecorators LLC.  Photos by Doreen Creede.

BEFORE & AFTER: Vintage Furniture Rescued & Revived

Club Chair BEFORE

Club Chair AFTER

Recently my decorating partner, Gina, and I worked with a couple for whom eco-design is not a trendy buzzword but a deeply held life philosophy.  Our clients, both university professors, hired our firm, The Redecorators LLC, to re-do the drawing room of their 1920s stone home in Philadelphia's Garden Court District with this mandate: make it elegant and welcoming for entertaining (which they would need to do on a regular basis as part of their professional positions) but still comfortable and liveable for family gatherings ... and don't use one piece of new wood doing it.

Chaise BEFORE

Chaise AFTER

In Part One of posts highlighting this project, here are Before & Afters of furniture used in the room.  Of nearly two dozen items the only new purchases were three floor lamps and two tables--one made of recycled steel, the other a current issue of a classic Knoll Tulip table.  Every other element was a vintage piece, refurbished and sometimes radically reconstructed.

Sofa BEFORE

Sofa AFTER

To find the furniture and accessories we scoured auctions, vintage stores, Ebay, Craig's List, garage sales and the basement of our upholstery work room.  We then altered finishes and recovered chairs, sofas, ottomans, with high-end yet durable to-the-trade fabrics in a palette ranging from soft ivory to deep charcoal. The results: an Eco Chic room that's luxurious, livable ... and sustainable.

Armchair BEFORE

Armchair AFTER

To see before and afters of the finished space check back next week.

Design and photos by Doreen Creede & Gina Pierantozzi for The Redecorators LLC

RE-USE: Armoire to Bar

My decorating partnership, The Redecorators LLC, began business with the premise that we would use what you have to give you a new look--often in one day. Immediately (as in, with our first client) that segued into full interior decorating services.  We've since ripped out kitchens, walls and floors; designed custom furniture and drapery; and turned completely empty spaces into beautiful and comfortable rooms to live in.  Still, Gina and I always look at how we can use existing furniture, art and accessories in new ways.  For example: turn a bedroom armoire into a living room bar, as we did for a charity event at the Grange Showroom in Philadelphia's Marketplace Design Center. (For more details, plus Before & Afters of that project visit Dust & Chandeliers.)  It's true: we're always looking for a place to corral cocktails! For more unconventional bar ideas, check out Everyday Style Tip: Set Up Bar from the style files.

Photo by Doreen Creede.  Yes that's me reflected in the mirror--and wearing the vintage silver and blue Victor Costa dress mentioned in last month's post, 5 Fabulous Sources for Vintage Fashion.  Funny how I didn't notice that until I enlarged the pic for this post!

DUST & CHANDELIERS

Behind-the-scenes.

Before and afters.

Tips, tricks and pretty pics.

We'll be delving into decorating 

(plus dollops of some other goodies) 

all month on Style Maniac.

Why dust and chandeliers? 

Because, as I like to say:

"Things usually have to get messy before they get pretty."

NOTE:  Dust & Chandeliers is also the name of a new blog I recently created for my decorating business, The Redecorators LLC, to offer an in-depth look at our projects and transformations.  If  you're crazy about decor, you might want to check it out.

Purple Chandelier image courtesy Cyan Design

FIESTA

Some Cinco de Mayo celebration inspiration.  Salud!  {To hear some of the tracks on my Creede Cantina playlist visit twt.fm/stylemaniac.  For my favorite Mexican cookbook click here. And to raise awareness of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill share this.}


Images 1, 3, 4 from InStyle Magazine.  Image 2 by Doreen Creede..  Image 5 by Doreen Creede/The Redecorators LLC.  Image 6  from Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic. 

PARTY RECIPE: Kooky Kids Table

As promised at the beginning of this month of Makeover Madness, here's the recipe The Redecorators used to transform a sedate corner of our favorite local bookstore into a colorful and kooky kids table all the adults wished they had been invited to sit at. (Yes, my decorating company does events and parties, too.  For more info click here or The Redecorators link above.)

1. Cover a bland brown wood table with a bright neon-yellow cloth (this one's a polarfleece blanket).
2. Roll up colorful washcloths to use as napkins.
3. Set each place with real china. Choose something modern, fun, and not too expensive, like these cartoon Blurb plates (Mmmm, Yum!, Help. Sigh...)
4. Add flashing glasses for pizzaz and crazy curly straws for silliness.
5. Create a centerpiece with vintage Mr. & Mrs. Potato Heads.
6. Bring in Ikea's sturdy, thick plastic Mammut chairs of lime and blue.
7. Give out Dr. Seuss books as party favors.
8. Have fun!

BEFORE & AFTER: Pink Studio

 

Pink Studio AFTER

Pink Studio BEFORE

 Pink Studio BEFORE

Pink Studio AFTER

For one of our HGTV Mission Organization shows, The Redecorators transformed a plain, cluttered room into a pretty and functional work space for a young fashion designer and her mom.   We chose a bold yet feminine color scheme of pink, black & white, and made sure every item in the small area worked double duty--such as fitting mirrors that also serve as a notepad and adorable tin hat boxes that hold trims, zippers and buttons.  The episode proved so popular it's rerun often (now on the Fine Living Network) so you may be able to catch "Stark Studio Gets Stylish"--and a peek of me organizing and decorating in 4-inch heels!

For more details visit HGTV or my new behind-the-scenes Redecorators blog dust & chandeliers.  For upcoming show times visit Fine Living Network. 
Photos by Doreen Creede

A GRINCH OF A TIME

Grinch grog, Whoville punch, tilted glassware, twisted trees, acid green and cherry red, disco lights and low overhead ... The Redecorators' recipe for a quick and quirky holiday cocktail party. 

FAVORITE: Parties with a twist

Photos by Doreen Creede.  Grinch Cocktail Party created for The Redecorators Holiday Event at Citibank Chestnut Hill last December.

THE SUMMER WIND

Although most of us consider Memorial Day the start of summer, officially it's today. Celebrate with an elegant twist on outdoor entertaining, like the Summer Solstice party I put together for a Redecorators' Philadelphia Magazine Home feature. Use rocks glasses as vases and funky vintage jewelry to wrap up napkins and silverware. And if you can, drape curtain sheers for softness and drama.

MOONLIGHT COCKTAILS

With a quick change of accessories the brunch set-up featured in yesterday's post transforms into a sexy cocktail lounge--complete with glamorous outdoor chandeliers and a gleaming disco ball. (The chandeliers were an end-of-season find from Urban Outfitters and the disco ball comes from my secret supplier of all things wild and whimsical. So secret I won't even tell my business partner where her birthday gift came from.) Some of you may remember the entire vignette from the Summer in the Citi event Gina and I created for Citibank last summer.

A BEAUTIFUL MORNING

Now that you have the outfit where will you go for brunch? If you're in Philly go here, preferably during the week to avoid massive crowds and plug into all the Northern Liberties action. If you're in New York City try this charming (and very popular) Tribeca spot. Or with a few trips to Ikea and Target avoid crowds altogether and transform your own backyard into a bright and cheerful brunch spot, like Gina & I did for a Redecorators' Summer in the Citi event for Citibank.

EVERYDAY STYLE TIP: Set Up Bar

I could say that St. Patrick's Day and 21st birthdays have me thinking about setting up bar. But it's something Gina and I ask our client's about during every assessment meeting with The Redecorators. By bar we don't mean an imitation pub. Rather a simple area to corral liquors, liquers and glasses. Somehow having cocktail fixings out and accessible makes it that much easier to throw together a celebration--whether for two or twenty.

A bar set up can be as simple as a bottle of cognac and a cut crystal glass perched on a desk...


... a tray of drinks carried outside (very top) or a rolling bar cart wheeled up to a table (below).



For a special event, put together something quirky (like this Grinch-inspired bar/instant party we created for Citibank holiday event).



For something more permanent, repurpose a piece of furniture. At an event in the Grange Showroom in Philadelphia we set up bar in an armoire where a TV would normally sit.


Whatever spot you choose, cheers! cent d'anni! a votre sante!

Photos by Doreen Creede for The Redecorators LLC