moving time

Now that I've officially graduated with my interior design degree (woo hoo!) I'm going to be switching over fully to my website: stacygravesinteriors.com. I have imported this blog there, but I plan to only stick to posts relevant to the interior design side of things.

I hope you'll continue join me over at Stacy Graves Interiors (where I'm still making lots of improvements!). I'll be posting next week about all of my recent e-designs and Quick Design Fixes, as well as our master bath remodel that we intend to start in the next month or so! You can also always catch these project updates on instagram, where I regularly post peeks into my projects and the world of Dallas design!

one room challenge - laundry room reveal

>> update: you can now see the full reveal here! <<

Wow, I had been ahead of the game for most of the One Room Challenge, but reveal week definitely snuck up on me! It's almost finals week, and if you've been in school for interior design, you know it's full of a whole lot of all nighters. Between working on final projects, an open house presentation of my work, portfolio reviews, program interviews, volunteering, and Charlie being out of town this weekend I had absolutely no time to finish up and style our laundry room. I'm pretty bummed about it, but I figured I would still go ahead and show you the progress we've made over the last six weeks. You can read all about the transformation in these posts.

We used Ikea's new line of Sektion cabinets. These hang on a rail and don't sit completely flush against the wall which gave us a bit of a gap between the backsplash tile and cabinets. We have a small piece of trim to close the gap, it's just waiting for me to paint and install. I've also found some crown molding that will close the gap between the cabinets and ceiling to give the room a finished look.

Things we still have left to do:

• Install baseboard behind the door
• Install trim to fill gap between tile and cabinets
• Install crown molding to fill gap between cabinets and ceiling
• Install trim to finish washing machine outlet box
• Install tubular skylight
• Baskets for shelf
• Hang hooks
• Styling

I want to give a big thank you to Linda from Calling it Home for hosting this challenge, and to everyone else for following along and leaving encouraging comments along the way! If I hadn't participated I'm sure our poor laundry room would have sat in its unfinished state for many more months. After my finals are over next week I'll get to work on the finishing touches, so keep an eye out on instagram for the final laundry room reveal, as well as other exciting remodeling projects we have planned for the summer!

Don't forget to check out the 20 amazing transformations that were revealed on Wednesday, and the linking participants sharing their reveals today!

>> sources << 

flooring

cabinets

countertop

hardware

4x10 beveled subway tile - Floor and Decor

shelf brackets

pendant light

wall color

door color

rug

mirror

sea urchin wall decor

basket - HomeGoods

one room challenge - week 4 progress

Wow, I can't believe we're now only two weeks away from the One Room Challenge reveal! If this is your first time visiting, you can follow these links to catch up on week one, week two, and week three!

This week there wasn't a lot of visual progress, but there was still a lot completed. We changed our minds for the third time, but we have finalized our backsplash to this oversized beveled subway tile. We like this option better than the plain subway tile we had originally planned to use since it will bring some more texture into the space. This is going up this weekend once our countertops get installed.

 Speaking of countertops, after searching all over Dallas our fabricator was able to get this carrara marble remnant for us! They measured yesterday, and we're on the schedule for installation today!

Here is a close up of the floor tile. It was very affordable, and I really love its linen texture. We used a warm gray grout that we will also be using on the subway tile backsplash.

 My Hicks pendant arrived this week and we'll be installing her this weekend!

I also got our water heater closet door painted. I debated about painting the vent the same color as the door, but I don't have a paint sprayer and I was worried it would look sloppy with a brush. I left it white because no one will ever see this door unless they're in the laundry room with the door shut (which will never happen). We're still waiting on the matching lever to arrive, so we have a temporary knob on here for now.

To recap, here is what we have left to complete:

• Install new flooring
• Install baseboards
• Possibly install crown molding This might be back in the mix due to some adjustments - I need to make my mind up on this ASAP!
• Install new cabinetry
• Paint interior door and water heater closet door
• Replace water heater closet door hardware - ordered!
• Install cabinetry hardware - ordered and on it's way!
• Install marble countertop - getting installed today!
• Install backsplash - installing this weekend
• New light fixture - installing this weekend
• Finish painting walls and ceiling
• Install solar tube lighting for natural light. We got a quote to add in a window. We're still deciding between a skylight and a window. Either way, there is no way we'll have this finished in time for the reveal :(
• New rug, art, baskets, and hooks - All ordered and all on their way to me!

By next week everything should be installed and ready to be photographed for the big reveal in two weeks! 

You can check out the rest of the linking participant's progress here.

one room challenge - finalized accessory selections

So, my laundry room design has already changed since yesterday's post! After doing some measuring I confirmed that the light fixture I had my eye on definitely wouldn't fit without moving the electrical. I went on an extensive search for something that wouldn't interfere with the cabinet door swing and just as I was ready to give up and convert to recessed lighting it hit me - the Visual Comfort Hicks Pendant! I have wanted to use this for years, but I never had the right place for it. The small pendant measures in at 8.5" wide, which is the exact measurement that we need! To solidify the deal, Horchow had them in stock and 30% off, so this baby is on its way to me!

Since I splurged a little on the light fixture, I had to re-evaluate my art selection. The paintings I had originally chosen were on the small side, which meant I would need to buy two to make them work in our long room. I found this round mirror for one of my recent e-design projects, and it's just the right size and style for this room. I lucked out and also scored this on major sale, so I officially have all of the accessories purchased and finalized. Now I'm starting to get excited to see it all come together!

one room challenge - week three

Welcome back! If you're just now joining me for the One Room Challenge, make sure to check out where we started in week one and week two!

Here is a look at some of the finishing touches that I plan to add to our laundry room. I'm going for a modern coastal sort of vibe in here, and I think this artwork by Susie Bettenhausen is total perfection for this space.

>> light fixture, brass hooks, painting one, painting two, runner <<

Last Thursday we took out our old flooring and prepped for the new floor.

We started tiling on Friday night, and surprised ourselves by getting the floors tiled and grouted by early Sunday evening, allowing us to have a little bit of time to relax over the weekend.

We put in the new cabinets on Monday and got the door painted and hung by Monday night.

This floor-to-ceiling cabinet is my organizational dream. It holds all of my cleaning supplies perfectly.

We will lower the shelf above the washer and dryer once we tile the backsplash, which we've decided to extend along the back wall (thank you for your input last week!). It looks a little plain now, but once the countertops, backsplash, new hardware, and accessories are installed, it will add much needed texture.

I'm still on the fence about my light fixture situation. The cabinet doors clear our current light by less than 1/2", which makes me a little nervous about my light fixture choice. Right now, moving it isn't an option because we just recently had the walls and ceiling skim coated and I really don't want to mess with repairing the ceiling myself. If the light fixture I chose doesn't work, my plans are to use it in our hallway and convert this to recessed lighting for now. Stay tuned for how this pans out!

As always, don't forget to check out the rest of the linking participants to see the progress they've made, and come back next week when we plan to have baseboards installed, new countertops picked out, and the backsplash started!

project reveal: mid-century inspired music room

You may remember back in May when I shared a small update on this room after we put in new flooring. We didn't touch it for almost a year and we never, ever went in here because it had no function. I had always planned for this extra bedroom in our house to be used for Charlie's music/"man" room (you can see the beginning of my plans for this room in this post and this post). I also wanted it to function as a secondary guest room because we occasionally have extra visitors and I feel awful when they have to sleep on an inflatable mattress.

I was convinced I wanted to paint this room a dark shade of green, but I could never get Charlie on board. I let him pick out the paint color, and it totally surprised me that he picked this airy shade of mint green. It is called Breath of Spring by Behr. At first I really wasn't sure about it because I thought it made the room look like a nursery, but after putting everything in the room it's definitely growing on me. We also replaced the outdated ceiling fan with this gold semi-flush light by Minka Lavery.

You may have seen my instagram post about this little ottoman that I found last week on a HomeGoods run. I envisioned using it as a movable ottoman/small coffee table for the sofa bed, but the proportions were all wrong. I'm saving it for when we upgrade to a sleeper sofa, and for now I'm using it as a temporary side table for our Eames look-alike chair, which was one of the first (and one of my favorite) purchases we made for this house! 

This sofa bed is very temporary, and is only here to keep our extra guests from having to sleep on the floor. Unfortunately the color is much more blue than it appeared online, so it sort of clashes with everything. Since we're only keeping it for a short time I refuse to buy things to make it work, so right now I'm using things that don't necessarily "go" with it, but I plan to keep long term. I'm kind of mad at myself for buying it in the first place, but for now I'll just have to deal with it making everything look a little off.

I created a small whiskey and scotch bar in this corner, complete with one of my favorite prints from the local Dallas business, Read Between the Lines.

This dresser functions perfectly as a mid-century inspired media console, and right now you can find it for a total steal on clearance! Also, in real life these photos aren't hanging as close to the TV as they appear in this picture, but I can definitely see that they need to be spread out a few inches. I hung these up by myself one night when I couldn't sleep and didn't have an extra set of eyes to help!

The part of the room that you don't see in these pictures are the 80's mirrored closet doors and an unpainted interior door. I've ordered the new closet doors, and once they're painted and installed I'll share with you what a difference it makes!

one room challenge - week 2

Welcome back for week two of the One Room Challenge! I don't feel like we got much done this week, only because much of the progress that has happened can't be seen. We purchased our cabinets and backsplash, but didn't get to install the flooring like I had planned. After a lot of research on the subject, I had a strong suspicion that our original 1970's vinyl sheet flooring might contain asbestos, so to be extra safe we sent it off to a lab to be tested. We got the results back last night and we're all clear, so this means the old flooring gets ripped up this evening and we'll start tiling tomorrow!

After we purchased our cabinets we were excited that we managed to fit them all in my car, but it meant there was nowhere left for Charlie to sit! I had him drive and was able to squeeze myself into a small space in the back. Luckily we didn't have to go too far!

Last week I promised to share the finishes and accessories that we plan to use. Since it's such a small space I had originally planned to go with some funky, expensive tile, but ultimately decided that it wouldn't fit in with the updates we've already done to the rest of the house. I've decided to keep it consistent and use subway tile like we did in our kitchen and bath remodels. This flooring doesn't look like much online, but in real life it has a linen look and texture to it that makes it perfect to use in the laundry room. We plan to go check out countertops this weekend as well. I had planned to go with carrara marble, but there is a calacatta slab that I have my eye on, so stayed tuned for our decision!

Hardware for the cabinetry is still up for debate, but you can see some styles that I'm eyeing on my One Room Challenge Pinterest board. I'm also still debating on whether I want to continue the subway tile along the wall behind the washer and dryer, or cut it off at the end of the cabinets. Since we're going with a cheaper tile I feel like this could make it feel a little more high end. Thoughts on this?

Make sure to check out the rest of the One Room Challenge linking participants, and come back next week when we will hopefully have a completely transformed space. Our goal is to have flooring, baseboards, and cabinets in by next week, and don't forget you can follow along with our progress on Instagram!

one room challenge - laundry room design plans!

Hello! I'm so glad you're joining me for the One Room Challenge! This is my first time participating, and it could not have come at a better time. Over the last year Charlie and I have been renovating our 1970's ranch style house, and after we got our laundry room functional, we abandoned it as we went to work on more visible parts of our house. This week I'm sharing the "before" photos as well as sketches to show you what the "after" will look like.

Sadly, this is the way it has looked for exactly one full year. I'm not even going to sugar coat it and try to make it look more put together, because the truth is this is how it always looks. We put a new shelf above the washer and dryer, installed a new door and hardware, and painted the walls plan to put in a 90" high cabinet to hold our all of our vacuum cleaners and cleaning supplies - something I'm very excited about since we have very limited closet space in this house!

We have our flooring purchased and plan to buy our cabinetry this weekend. Once all this happens the fun part starts! I've put together a few sketches to show you what it will look like once it's complete, and I'll share the planned finishes with you next week! This will be the view as you're walking through the door. 

 This is what it will look like once you're in the laundry room.

This is a view through the wall that shows the entire layout. 

Here is a summary of what we plan to do:

• Install new flooring
• Install baseboards
• Possibly install crown molding
• Install new cabinetry
• Paint interior door and water heater closet door
• Replace water heater closet door hardware
• Install cabinetry hardware
• Install marble countertop
• Install backsplash
• New light fixture
• Finish painting walls and ceiling
• Install solar tube lighting for natural light

We're really hoping to finish in six weeks, but I just found out the backsplash tile I'm eyeing has a 4-6 week delivery time, so we've got to hit the ground running! Make sure to stop by next Thursday when I'll be sharing our week one progress and all of our selected finishes! 

Check out the other One Room Challenge linking participants in this post.

last day for giveaway!

Happy Friday! Don't forget, today is the last day to win a FREE Quick Design Fix Consultation!

You can enter by liking this Instagram post, or you can enter one (or all) of the four ways below! Winners will be announced next week. Also, if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out my webpage to read all about my new $20 Quick Design Fix service!

UPDATE: Winners are Sarah Cotton and Kristin Kriegler. Please e-mail me at [email protected] to claim your prize!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

project: fireplace update

I've finally convinced Charlie to help me tackle updating our fireplace. We painted it all white last year, and while it was an improvement, it's still a heavy wall of brick that feels outdated.

I've been pinning ideas and tutorials for adding millwork over brick, and we've decided to frame out the brick above the mantel as well as both columns to get a look similar to the photos below.

 >> via flourish design and style <<

>> via swing n cocoa <<

>> via ralph lauren <<

I'm also very excited to announce that I'll be joining the upcoming One Room Challenge with Calling it Home starting April 2nd. We'll be tackling our laundry room that has sat unfinished since May, and I'll be sharing some of my plans next week!

If you haven't already, don't forget to enter my giveaway for a FREE Quick Fix design consultation! You can enter through this blog post, or this post on Instagram!

project: guest bath remodel reveal

I can't believe I'm finally saying this, but our bathroom remodel that we started nearly one year ago is finished! This has been such a long road for us and more work and frustration than either of us could imagined (thanks to a horrible contractor), but we're so happy with it now. After months of realizing our contractor wasn't going to follow through with fixing his mistakes, we ended up taking on completing everything ourselves. We've had it about 90% complete for a few months, but we were so tired of it that we took a break and left the details unfinished. We finally got around to the finishing touches and I can now share the reveal with you!

We added a second sink, put in a new vanity with a marble countertop, added a second light fixture, centered them above the sinks, and put in new faucets and pivoting mirrors.

We knocked out the unnecessary soffit to open up the ceiling, put in a vent, raised the shower head to the correct height and put in a new window.

We also changed out the bathtub for something deeper and more modern.

We updated the plumbing fixtures to a more modern one handle valve and added in a chrome shower basket for shower storage.

The old texture was awful, so we had the walls skim coated (which I later redid because they were so poorly finished) and it has totally changed the look of the bathroom! We also changed out the door and lever, as well as all the outlets and switches.

So much work, but so worth it in the end. While we were doing this we both said that we'd never do it again and planned to completely hire out the work on our master bath remodel, but now we're both ready to tackle the master and we plan to do it all ourselves... Stayed tuned for more details!

$20 quick design fix + giveaway

Almost daily I am receiving design questions from people with projects that aren't big enough to justify hiring an interior designer, but they still would like a designer's advice before proceeding with a purchase. Other times they know what they need, but they just want help finding the right pieces in their budget. When I searched for a solution, I found people have very few options for when they want to consult with a designer, but don't need to actually hire an interior designer. My answer to this problem: $20 Quick Design Fix℠!

Here are a few examples of what you will get with a Quick Fix.

This client needed help finding a 9' x 12' rug that was under $1,000 and also fit into her existing living room decor.

 This client was having trouble finding affordable and attractive storage for her open bathroom shelving.

 This friend had her paint color and rug picked, but wanted help deciding between finishes for their TV console:

Other examples of questions that would qualify for a Quick Design Fix℠ are:

"What pillow combinations would work with my sofa?"

"What type of drapery do you recommend for my nursery?"

"What are some neutral-toned gray paint colors I can try?"

I've been cleaning up my website to make it easier to navigate and find what you need. You can check it out here, and find the $20 Quick Design Fix℠ here, as well as from the link at the top of this blog! To kick off my new service I'm giving away TWO free Quick Fixes to my readers. All you have to do is make sure to follow me on Instagram and like today's Quick Fix post! For extra entries tag a friend in today's instagram post that might be interested in a Quick Fix for their home and visit my other social media sites via Rafflecopter below. You have until next Friday, March 27th to enter!

UPDATE: Winners are Sarah Cotton and Kristin Kriegler. Please e-mail me at [email protected] to claim your prize!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

project: master bath remodel

We've finally received the wintery weather in Dallas that the rest of the country has been hit with all winter. I know I'm in the minority, but I absolutely love it. I'm sure it's partly because I don't have kids in school and I'm also lucky enough to not be forced out in it because of my job. I feel like a kid when I wake up to a yard covered in snow.

It's hard to believe that in just a few months we'll be lounging in that pool!

While I've been cooped up in the house I've started scheming up a plan for our upcoming master bath remodel. I'll be sharing many more details of the renovation in the coming weeks, but here is our current plan:

I've been really leaning towards adding cement tile for the flooring, but I keep going back and forth between this and just doing the entire floor in the 2 inch hex. The hex is definitely a classic, so for resale this makes the most sense. I'm ordering samples of the moroccan cement tile to hopefully make my decision easier! Which one do you prefer?

One thing I'm definitely excited about is mixing the chrome and matte black fixtures. We've decided to do a chrome rain shower fixture, possibly two depending on the design, and we're going to add extra overhead lighting because it's incredibly dim in here at night. I'm completely obsessed with these modern matte black sconces, towel rack, and paper holder.

Also, I can't believe I'm finally saying this... but our guest bathroom is officially finished! It's been about 95% finished for a few months, but we only just recently got in there and finished out the small details that really make a difference. I'm shooting the bathroom next week, so keep an eye out for the reveal next Monday!