In full bloom...the biggest Blossom St. change

I'm giddy with excitement to share this reveal to you. Primarily because it made such a big difference. In older homes you can often find lots of rooms. A dining room, living room, small kitchen, maybe a den...they all are their own room with just small doors leading from one to the other but certainly not the open living plan we've come to love and desire. Life is just different now than it was 50-60+ years ago and the smaller rooms just aren't as functional all the time.

Enter the removal of walls. But before I show you that, let me show you the living room, which we kept in tact since it's a great space to visit, watch tv, etc. 

It really only took some cosmetic changes for the most part. Change out the fan, can lights, paint and of course new furniture. Let's go back and remember the before...

And now with neutral furniture, retro accents mixed with traditional and of course a pop of color on the wall...

And from a different angle...

There's also now an area for the TV (you'll have to use your imagination because one's not installed yet) and an extra chair in the other corner.

Since this is an Airbnb, I try to add little touches with the art or in this case, a book and the art.

And now the most dramatic change in my opinion...

Yep, we took out several walls in the dining room/kitchen area and it made all the difference. Let's explore that area a bit more. 

Before the dining room was functional but the kitchen was tiny with weird little nooks. 

With not only that wall facing us down, but also the adjacent wall, it makes it a great entertaining space. And it's so light and airy! 

I opted to paint the bench seat the same color as the ceiling to help tie in all the gray from top to bottom. Plus if someone spills, it won't really show as much compared to a white. The wear and tear should be much better. You'll also notice that the art captures the colors from the living room rug. Again, another way to tie it all together. 

I mean don't you just want to sit here and have a cup of coffee or sit around with a table of friends eating dinner? Now's probably the time to bring up the pink chairs you've undoubtedly noticed at this point. The table and chairs were from a Facebook post and were only $260. But the chairs were horribly country looking. That's certainly not the style of this house. So I spray painted them in Watermelon (gloss) and then used some old brown paint to age them. The went from country to funky. I had my doubts when I moved them in but as soon as the pillows and art went up, they were perfect. 

I also love that there's a fireplace in the dining room. A great spot for another of the dog prints and some fun accessories. I had the brick painted the wall color in this room so it faded and gave texture but didn't stand out completely.  

And let's move to the kitchen. Before it had a weird breakfast nook (I think that's what it was?), a small kitchen and a small pantry. 

Breakfast Nook

Kitchen from Breakfast Nook

The wall we removed leading to DR

And now the kitchen has so much more usable space...and of course a black sink. I'm now known for always installing the same black sink or something very similar. Oh, and the most awesome, functional island. 

There are also little touches like a bar area and plenty of prep space.

I just love everything about the space now. The neutral walls. The openness. The bright pops of color in the art. And what you can't see are all the fine details. The lights, the gray ceilings, how the colors flow from room to room. I might want to rethink my own house after this project! 

I mean, who doesn't want to come hang out here? To rent this space, check out the link here. Invite your friends! And if anyone wants to know details or sources, just message me. Now go paint something a bright color. 

Resting peacefully at Blossom

As I revealed earlier this week, the bathrooms at Blossom St. were a complete gut job. But they were a fun one. There's nothing more satisfying than ripping out old, worn out bathroom fixtures and seeing them back together in a classic, clean way. 

So today let's take a look at the bedrooms. Some say there are three. Some say there are 4. It really depends on if you count what I call "the nook" a bedroom or not. 

For the most part, the bedrooms were cosmetic updates. Ripping out old carpet, ceiling fans, door knobs, new paint...that sort of thing. The back den turned bedroom was the most transformed in that it not only needed the cosmetic work but it also needed a ceiling scrape to get rid of the popcorn and it needed new flooring. Here's what it looked like originally...

One word. Dark. This type of room is very typical in this style and type of house. In so many older homes they have a paneled den. Now if you have the money, you can take out the paneling and put in dry wall. In this case, and even in our house, we opted to paint over it instead. 

And let's not forget this room had lovely boob lights. <insert groaning>

And now, this room feels light and airy with plenty of room!

The love seat pictured above pulls out to a single bed. This room is PERFECT for a family with a child or even three friends. It houses a queen bed plus the pull out sofa. Not to mention it has large closets for plenty of storage. Did you notice the coral side tables? Those are your traditional 80's round side tables that usually are in a pecan wood color. A quick spray paint and they add the right pop of color by the bed. And they were less than $40 each. 

You'll start to notice a theme in the bedrooms...see if you can find it as we go along. 

On to the next bedroom, which houses the only king size bed and also the only fireplace. I'm assuming this was once the master bedroom as it also has a door leading to the bathroom. 

Before, it was not bad, just not great colors. This was really a good example of how basic cosmetic changes can make a big difference. 

And now, it has so much more character and a light, happy feeling. 

I really want to wake up in that bed. 

So have you seen a theme yet? I mean aside from the fact I used the same paint colors (SW Elder White on the walls and SW Repose Gray on the ceilings). 

Here's a hint.

All the rooms in the house will have a cute and colorful dog print. This Airbnb is dog friendly so when I found these prints at multiple stores (Tuesday Morning & Home Goods), I thought it would add a fun whimsy to the house but also give it more color. This one is my absolute fave. 

The last bedroom or two bedrooms, depending on how you look at it, is the most traditional. One had carpet with lovely hardwoods underneath and then the nook was just plain jane. 

You can see the nook that's sandwiched between the bedroom and the small bathroom. 

The nook was literally a blank slate. 

And now, this room(s) seems to be getting the best feedback! I think it's the art and rug combo. Despite not being sure if this would all come together, they all play together really well. If only my boys would do the same some days. 

The nook is now a cute little room with a single bed. I always wonder what these rooms were used for originally. A sewing room? A nursery? An office? 

The interesting part about both of these rooms is that aside from the queen bed, the rest of the furniture is all second hand from Facebook and consignment. Really! It just goes to show that you don't have to go new to be cute. 

So there you have the bedrooms. I shopped for all of these with a few things in mind...

1. Bright rugs with neutral walls
2. Every room has white and gray bedding
3. Dog prints and bright artwork to keep it happy
4. Make them peaceful. 

It's always iffy when you buy the furniture months in advance and aren't 100% sure it will fit in the room or even really coordinate. Then when it finally all comes together, it's so rewarding! 

So which is your favorite room?