This is a very typical home in these here hills {sigh} And I have been hired to work on quite a few
of these 'knotty-pine-covered-everything' homes. Apparently, they can also be found in the Catskills.
This was how this 900 sq ft fishing camp looked when PR guru Melanie Brandman discovered it :

After she took the ceiling down, replaced the linoleum and wood floor with 12" {beautiful} dark
stained pine, added stone to the fireplace and covered the walls and ceiling in {gallons} of
{wonderful} white paint, then this is what happened: 

{cue the angels singing}

On the other side of the room before:



The walls came down in the kitchen and pantry to open it up to the rest of the living area
 and the new kitchen went in:

 

Ridonculous, right?  

It's always a struggle when I have the 'should we paint the wood' conversation with clients.
 But, if this little lovely can't help you answer that question then shut. my. mouth.  

 Mrs. Brandman wanted a big white space that she could fill simply with art. check. She did not want
anything too country or cluttered. check. And she had no interest in spending a ton of money on either
 the remodel or the furnishings {my kind of gal} check. Case in point: The kitchen is from Ikea, the
 appliances came from a salvage house and most of the furnishings and accessories came from ebay.  

Another view of the living room:



The 3 hanging lamp chandeliers were made of wood veneer shavings from XY Decor. They were
 inspired by a cluster of hanging lamps that Mrs.Brandman saw in the lobby of the InterContinental
 Hotel on Bora Bora. Being a world traveler has given her the great opportunity to collect gorgeous
 vintage pieces that give such great sophistication and a lovely bohemian vibe to her lakeside home.

 



























She's not afraid of mixing it up: an Aboriginal tapestry from her native Australia in the dining area and
punchy citrus colors in the bedroom.

Wouldn't you love to sit here with an old Domino, sipping your coffee on a cool spring morning

 
 while you look out over this....

{story NY times...pics freshnest} 

I love some good Sharpie Art! This is a great project that Sara Robbins achieved
when she wanted a new light fixture but didn't have the resources to buy a new one.
 This was her existing pendant: 



With her dad's advice on how to reuse the wiring, she removed the metal shade and bought
a new lampshade from Target.

She used a pencil and a ruler to draw the design on the inside of the shade. She then
held it up to a light source {to see her lines} and filled it in with a metallic sharpie
{did you know these came in metallics??!}

 

Pretty great, right?

{Sara Robbins via Apartment Therapy}

I showed you a Condo I remodeled and staged in yesterday's post. Today, I wanted to share
 with you some great sources that I used.

The living room had a big back wall so I needed pieces that were substantial. I used the Ikea Ektorp
slipcovered sofa. It's a great price, perfect size, it looks great--it's terribly uncomfortable {sorry, but let's
 call it like it is}.$499. I flanked the sofa with a pair of Ikea Hemnes Bookcases $180/pc. To jazz them up a little, I attached lattice fabric to the back of the bookcases with spray adhesive. The sconces were a steal from Shades of Light. They were a horrible chartreuse color that I spray painted turquoise. They were originally @$175 but I scored them for $24 {unfortunately they are no longer available}. The console I made out of 2 1/2 yds of fabric {$25}, a 5' x15" piece of plywood for the top {already had} and 2 Mainstays Modular storage bases from Wal-Mart.$19/pc. I added a little of the lattice fabric along the hem. 

The 2 chairs are from Overstock. $261!!! They are really cute AND they sit really nice. The large mirror
is from an auction. $15. It got painted. The small round mirror was on clearance at Homegoods for $15.
 I velcroed it on to the larger mirror. The small cute white table is also from Homegoods. $49. The glass vase on top is filled with vintage pool balls {ebay]. The Parson's coffee table is from Wal-Mart $29! {You do have to put it together, and, I must insist that you cover it with something, but it makes a great 'base'} I cut a piece of foam for the top and then I slipcovered the whole thing with 2 yards of turquoise fabric piped with a terra cotta fabric. The butterfly prints were $50 for the pair from Homegoods. I made all the pillows and the curtains. The curtain hardware came from BigLots. All the accessories in the bookcases came from Homegoods and an Antique/junk store in Sylva {most got spray painted}. 

The kitchen furniture was bought at an unfinished furniture store in Franklin. The store had a drip in the
ceiling that caused some damage. So I got the table, 3 chairs and a bench for $300. I stained the 
table top and painted/glazed the chairs.

  
The Roman shade is faux--I ironed the folds and then they were sewn in place {I's hung about 10" above the window trim to make the room/window appear taller}. The oil-rubbed bronze cabinet hardware knobs are $1/pc on Ebay.

The bathroom mirror was reused by simply adding some molding to frame it. New oil-rubbed bronze
light fixture, $45 and the faucet,$75 both came from Lowes. I found a 'kit' from Wal-Mart that had the
oil-rubbed-bronze towel bar, towel ring, and TP holder for $29 {score!!} That's Giallo Ornamental
formica on the countertop..you gotta do what cha got to do...$$ {that back wall isn't blue--it's the camera] 

Here's where you can save a ton if you are staging. The mattress is actually a queen size air mattress from Big Lots, $39 {I know, right!} It is really, really thick so it makes a great looking finished bed. I made a 'bed frame' out of 1"x 12" pine boards, turned on their sides and screwed together, $32. The dresser is the Hemnes from Ikea in gray-brown. I love this color and you can not beat the $149 price tag. The mirror is from Homegoods, $30 {painted} as well as the artwork, $50. The curtains are actually shower
 curtains from  target. They were really wide so I cut them in half, $25 per window {cha-ching!} 
I don't think they are still available.

       
 The bedding is Dwell from Target $80. I can't remember if the lamp came from Target or Homegoods.
 It's a really pretty milky blue. I added some trim to the bottom of the lampshade. My hubby and I made
the headboard. It is a piece of plywood, painted a deep navy, with small molding added around the edge.
 A piece of foam covered in batting, then covered in fabric, was glued to the middle and then a piece of
 rope was glued around the edge of the fabric, $50. The side table is from Target $49.

In the master, the same mattress trick was used. Because you can't use a bedskirt on a homemade
 air mattress/pine bed frame, I bought a sheet set from Overstock {for each bedroom $30}, cut the flat
 sheet into 18" strips and then hemmed the bottom. I then glued them onto the air mattress creating the
 bedskirt. It's staging people--it doesn't have to be 'for reals'. The white comforter is from Overstock.
The little square storage ottomans are the perfect little accent at the end of the bed, $49. The lamps are
 from Target, $39. The side tables {Target} were originally a really bad creamy sponged treatment that
 I sanded and painted white.$79.

 

I had a little bit of the floral fabric left over from the living room curtains. So, I cut it a little smaller than
 the front of the drawer and spray glued on. I painted the knobs orangy-red. This combo adds a little
 punch to the plain white tables.  

The dresser is also the Ikea Hemnes in white. The print is from Homegoods $59. I like the way it brings
 this side of the room a great dose of color. {I didn't hang the pics because I hated to put holes in the walls!} Accessories are from Homegoods.

  
Ribba frames from Ikea filled with scrapbook paper from Michaels. $15 +.50 {LOVE this frame}.

For consistency, I used the same color scheme throughout the entire condo.I like the flow that it gave and it also allowed me to shop faster because I didn't have to be specific in following a room by room plan. I knew if a piece didn't work in one room then I could easily use it in another.
 
This became a whopper of a long post--sorry. If there is anything I left out that you are curious
about, then shoot me a comment below.