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San Diego Interior Decorator/Designer, Susan Sutherlin in San Diego, California

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Colorful Industrial Interior

04.11.2015

BLOG Entry 2015-04-09

Yikes, I know I’ve been “quiet” lately on the BLOG but have been so busy working with some wonderful clients. So let me give you a little glimpse into one of the projects we’ve been creating lately.

First lets talk about this busy, fun and young couple. They’ve purchased a quaint house in the historical area of San Diego called North Park. When I was brought in to work with this professional couple they had just had a darling little girl, and a loving dog called Milo. Needless to say, they didn’t want a fussy living area but they were also tired of the furniture they had collected in college.

Together we came to the conclusion that a industrial and colorful look would work well with their lifestyle, and fit in with several pieces they planned on keeping.

The pictures above reflects a couple of the selections that may or may not make it in their rooms.

1. The metal stand may be re-purposed to become the vanity in their powder room.

2. The dining room will consist of a black farm table, a couple of black chairs, a couple of those awesome yellow “worn” look metal chairs and bench which will sit up near a wall and have some colorful pillows.

4. Isn’t that lighting fixture fun! That is being hung over the dining room table.

5. Those lanterns, they will go on the dining room table and contain some sort of plant.

6. The picture of the “Dancing Lady” I have hopes for her making onto a feature wall when you first come into the house. It’s nearly six feet tall and and about four feet wide. BIG . . . what’s that saying, “Go Big or Go Home”, this fits!

In a couple of weeks we do the full installation. It will be fun to see it come together for this hard working and very kind family.

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Bathroom Remodel {Master Bathroom}

02.19.2015

THE BEST THINGAVAILABLE

I feel as if I must apologize for the pictures you are about to see, the “before” pictures of the house before we bought it. It was horrible! We knew we wanted a “project”, but this room took the cake, it was the worst room in the house, or did I say that about the last bathroom. I’m sure our Realtor thought we were nuts when we decided to make an offer on this home.

Here we go . . .

Take a look at that shower, can you see the tiles popping off everywhere? We still can’t figure out why there was a space left between the shower and the vanity.

This picture (above) just gives me the creepy-crawlies . . . just the mold alone was enough to make most run. During our remodeling process we did take this room down to the studs so that mold is H I S T O R Y!

To the left of the original shower there was a small make-up area. In the “after” photos you will see that this area became part of the grand shower.

We kept the new vanity in the same location as the old white one. We saved a “little” on the plumbing by being able to make this compromise. When remodeling rooms with plumbing, this should be a major budget consideration.

It’s the bars on the windows that got me. Needless to say they are no longer there and there is also an entirely new window.

I’ve never seen an electrical switch over a toilet, still trying to figure that out.

Now onto the new bathroom, take a big cleansing breath, you made it through the yuck!

When looking in the door (which we moved to the right), the shower now takes up the entire wall to the left. It’s a great area which we are very thankful to have.

Can’t see it in this picture (above), but there are no more bars on the windows. A good thing!

I should also mention that we also installed all new baseboards and crown molding throughout the house. Amazing how just that simple addition can dress up just about any room.

We kept the same cabinetry and hardware throughout the house, and we continue to be happy with our decision.

Here you can see the pony wall in between the shower and the vanity. Just on the other side of that pony wall is another one of those “cubbies” that I love. This cubbie is storage for the necessities you need in the shower (ie., shampoo, conditioner, razor).

We should also talk about lighting while were here. In the bathroom where you need to get up close and personal (ie., make-up application, etc.), it is very beneficial to to have overhead lighting and lighting on either side of the mirror. If you just have overhead lighting your forehead will cast a shadow on your eyes.

We’ve also put lighting in this shower, just like the shower in the guest bath. This should be a must on everyone’s bathroom remodel list.

Here (above) is a close-up of the tile we selected. Large format 12 x 24 size, we stacked them in a straight pattern for a more modern look.

We’re very happy with how well the counter top works with all of the various tiles.

What is not shown in these photos are the very large unit to the right of the door when you enter the bathroom. This is a great storage area for so many things.

The other thing, is a full length built in mirror on the back of the bathroom door. Another investment that was worth every penny.

Every house needs fresh flowers, they just make you smile.

Hope you enjoyed this tour. I’ll bring you back to this room when I have a chance to dream up a window treatment . . . to busy working on clients rooms right now.

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Bathroom Remodel {Guest Bath}

02.08.2015

The time has come . . . the time to share one of our personal bathroom remodels.

I’m working with a couple of clients on their bathroom remodels and they have asked to see what we’ve done in our own home. Hang onto your hats! I can’t promise that you won’t feel the need for a pair of gloves and some hand sanitizer after seeing these “Before” shots.

Here we go . . .

This is what the guest bathroom looked like when we purchased the home . . . scary! Can you see the layers of dirt on the floor, counter tops and around the light switch?

I hope you are laughing out loud just about now, we certainly were when we toured the house the first time. I’m sure this was quite the look in the 60’s when the house was built, but it had run it’s time in the spot light, unless of course you wanted to hang a disco ball.

Aren’t you loving that marbled glass tile surrounding the tub/shower? That “beautiful” tile was on all three walls and went all the way up to the ceiling. Having this surround the entire tub seemed like it came with all sorts of safety issues.

You can just tell by the dirt that it had been awhile since someone lived or bathed in this house . . . thank goodness.

Just three months later we had this comfortable new shower where once the marbled glass tiles graced the walls.

My favorite parts of this shower are the tile and the light. My husband’s favorite feature is the ceiling rain shower head.

I must say, our contractor and his team of professionals did a great job on our remodel. On one of our many stops at the house to look at the progress of the changes, we noticed that the tile was not being installed the way that I had designed. They quickly ripped it out and re-installed it the way that we had planned. As I’ve said before, frequent stops by your construction site are vital.

The brown tiles that are inset on the bottom floor of the shower work beautifully with the tiles that are on the back splash of the bathroom vanity (see photo near the top of this post).

For the clients that have worked with me, you know I’m big on having the “cubby” for all of the shower necessities (ie – shampoo, shavers, soap), out of view when you enter the bathroom. You will see this “cubby” to the right in the photo above. There’s just no need to see all of those various neon colored bottles popping out at you when you walk into the bathroom, un-needed eye clutter.

Here you can see a good shot of the ceiling rain shower head and light. I can’t even think about doing another bathroom without including that light. It comes in handy when shaving legs, cleaning, and making the bathroom seem larger. Light is a highly under-rated design tool.

Our Wave Wall, it makes us happy, especially my husband who loves the beach. These tiles are only on the back wall of our shower and truly make a statement. These tiles measure 24″ x 24″ which means less grout, which means less cleaning issues. So many reasons to make me smile.

I’ve purposely not shown you the window or the potty area of the bathroom remodel because I’m still lacking window treatments and art. Once I get a chance to get those items created, ordered and hung, I’ll make sure to post more photos.

Hope you enjoyed this small glimpse into our “new” home. Leave me a note, I love hearing from all of you.

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