Hi Friends!! I hope you all are having a wonderful week! I have been busy writing away on the new book. There’s still time to send your ideas or a compelling title! I couldn’t do it with out you! We have some great transformations this week. Hope these inspire you to see the possibilities in all things!!

This sweet young client of mine just purchased a new family home.  I had done quite a bit of work for her parents and was excited to work for the next generation!! Although she loved the home, the dark heavy look of the exterior was not her first pick. For her, the stained shutters and the gold tone of the stone just weighted down the exterior.

I let her know that we had amazing results with lime washing exterior stone for very reasonable pricing. And although she wanted distressed and aged shutters, we opted to pick a paint color that will look good now and could be aged in the future to give her some budget leeway for an interior project. We picked Sherwin Williams Mineral Deposit!! Stamped Concrete is also a great color and a bit less blue. Ready for the reveal?

She was thrilled and now when she pulls up to her home she smiles and feels-this is home!!  It is softer but still has interesting features which enhance its custom home feel!!!

This is her dining room before.  Honestly, the wall covering is from my friend Rusty Arena from Arena designs and I think it is beautiful!! She did love the pattern and had seen it in different color ways which she liked but this tone was not her!!  The trim, ceiling and drapes were all the dark gold. We brainstormed on things she could do that were budget friendly and would help this room feel more like her!!  She loves the Blaygeen-blue, gray, green- tones like what we picked for the exterior shutters!  She also wanted to dress up the console in the back which had been painted white. After brainstorming this is what we came up with…

I wish I had taken a close up of the finished console. We added gold leafing to the molding and lightly glazed the white which elevated the piece to an entirely different level!! This is a different piece we did in the same way-Imagine this bath vanity in solid white!!  Such a change!

Wanting to stay budget friendly, she had her painter prime and paint over the wall covering in Sherwin Williams Front Porch and we stenciled the top with a transitional geometric stencil with a pale metallic gold giving her an updated fresh contemporary feel.  She was so happy and ready for her big party!!

This powder bath designed by Trisha McGaw. It has a rich gray plaster background with an overlay of a silver metallic stencil and a polished layer of car wax to deepen the color and give the finish the most wonderful luster!

At the beginning we were playing with how dark to go with the plaster- haha I am learning how to alter colors on the computer so I thought I would show you two options-light and dark. Both are beautiful! Which would you choose for your home?

I love hand-painted designs!! I worked with designer Sallie Davis on this bathroom gem!! So soft and sophisticated and a fraction of the cost of hand-screened papers!! Fun part is you can personalize the flowers and birds to make it exactly the way you like!! This treatment I could have in every room in my home!! I have it in two!!

These chairs which were all dark mahogany got a paint makeover!! The shapes were so interesting and sizes perfect so revamping the finish gave them a a look perfect for an updated space!!

I should have taken a before shot of this fireplace. The paneling and exterior stone are both reclaimed but the inside brick was new and very consistent, taking away from the reclaimed feel the owner wanted. So Nest & Cot hired us to give a reclaimed feeling to the interior as well.

Starting with a consistent yellow firebrick this is the outcome after we finished. Even the dark patch in the back was added to insure the feeling that this has been used!

I hope you are opened up to world of new possibilities!!  I am constantly inspired by seeing how simply applying a painted “face lift” can reinvent  furniture pieces, rooms and almost any surface!! Just remember–all things have beauty and possibilities.

This is fun news!!  I was interviewed for Nosy Neighbor for The River Oaks Market Report and blog! Click the link to hear more about my journey and nosy info about me!! I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Till next time – XO Leslie