Before and after: Home makeover in Virginia! : Annie Elliott Design

Hello, Gentle Readers! In the previous post, I included a photo of a bedroom we designed in Virginia. I thought you might like to see some “befores” and “afters” from that project, so here’s a makeover special!

The client didn’t want to replace EVERYthing. Just most things. You’ll see what we kept and what we didn’t.

Bedroom with four-posted bed — Before – primary bedroom

Grand bedroom with blue canopy bed — After

The bed, bedside tables, and lamps all made the cut.

Window seat with no pillows — Before – window seat in primary bedroom

Bright window seat in tones of blue and cream — After

The next one is really fun. (Sorry for the blurry picture – it is the ONLY “before” we have of this space!) This is the anteroom to the primary bedroom suite. The space without a purpose.

Small room with windows and heavy drapes — Before – anteroom

Let’s be honest: no one may ever ACTUALLY sit in here. But why don’t we make it look inviting and purposeful and see?

Bright room with blue velvet settee and light linen window treatments — After. So much light!!!

Here is one of the bedrooms. It had a great run; it just needed updating.

Light green bedroom with whitewashed wooden headboard — Before – bedroom

Bright gray bedroom with green and white pattern on upholstered headboard — After

The kitchen was fun. There was no need for a full-on renovation, since the cabinets, backsplash tile, and countertops were in great shape, and the layout was logical. No, the magic here was in paint. From gray stained cabinets and (it’s hard to see) a dark wood island…

Kitchen with gray cabinets — Before – the kitchen, connected to the family room

…to white painted cabinets and a charcoal gray island. Magic, right?

Bright white kitchen and breakfast area — After. Dramatic, right? Paint!!!!

The living room was tricky, because the homeowners wanted to keep the beautiful rug, window treatments, and lounge chairs. And coffee table if possible. They wanted a lighter and brighter room, but white walls would have made the rug and drapes, with their pretty the gold tones, look dirty and tired. White wouldn’t have pulled things together.

Living room with traditional tone on tone rug — Before – living room

Living room with gold sofa and painting of boat — Another Before. You can see that the room gets beautiful natural light

Instead, we pulled out the blue/green tones in the rug and did a grasscloth on the walls in a similar color. We convinced our clients that the classic sofa — while pretty! — was simply too small for the room. The chest and tier table flanking the sofa went into the dining room, where they’re attractive AND useful. Here’s the living room After:

Living room with light blue walls and layered rugs — After

The rug-on-rug is unexpected, but their current rug is gigantic and gorgeous quality…we didn’t want to lose it completely. We reupholstered the lounge chairs, brought in a more substantial sofa, and got new side tables and lamps. And new pillows, of course ;) There is an ottoman visible in the lower L corner of the “after” picture above; it usually sits between the chairs in front of the fireplace.

Lounge chair in front of a window — Across from the sofa

I love a makeover, don’t you?

Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, DC, with offices in St. Michaels, Maryland and Middlebury, Vermont. Our style? Where classic and modern hang out and drink gin.