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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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Thinking about spring cleaning? Make it a makeover!

Annie Elliott | May 10, 2026

Gentle Readers, I’ve decided that spring cleaning is not enough this year. Spring MAKEOVERS are in store!

For inspiration, I thought I’d do a little before-and-after post of some past and present projects: heavy on pictures, light on commentary. It’s the blog version of a beach read to give you a jump on summer. Here we go!

Before: A serviceable but unexciting guest bedroom.

Bed with yellow walls, neutral rug, and beige chair.

After: Your guests will never leave!

Bedroom with bird-patterned wallpaper, green curtains, and a leather chair.
Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg

Before: A dark family room.

Leather couch, red and blue rug, and fireplace.

After: Lots of light for Henry the dog!

Light blue and white wallpaper, blue sofa, green chairs, and dog laying in the sun.
Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg

Before: Ho-hum. The sectional was new, though, so that was our starting point.

Gray sectional in family room

After: Crisp and bright! And the dark accent wall makes the big TV less prominent. (Accent wall…I know, I know; but sometimes they come in handy!)

Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg

Before: A festival of neutrals.

Living room in beige and gray

After: Blue and orange save the day.

Photo by Angie Seckinger

Same room before: The problem wall.

Two leather chairs against a wall

Same room after: The solution!

Blue built-in bookcases

For more in-depth reading about some dramatic makeovers, here’s a previous post about this family room:

Green reading nook - striped sofa in a bay window

And another about this breakfast room:

Brown and white desk against white floral wallpaper

Happy spring, everyone!

Annie Elliott Design is a Washington, D.C based firm, but we also love working in NYC and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. We’re now scheduling projects for early summer 2026. Please contact us to discuss.

Category: Before and after, How-to, Living Room + Family Room, RenovationTag: before and after, makeover, spring cleaning

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Jun 9

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Welcome to my new before-and-after series! 🥰 I take you through my thinking as I design a space — my “process,” as it were. Pretty pictures are involved too, of course. I hope you enjoy it!This was a super fun project: a historic townhouse with the challenge of a loooong shoebox-shaped front room. You know the kind. Here’s how we made this color-and-pattern-loving client’s challenging space amazing. Like this series? Please let me know! #interiordesigner #windowtreatments #wallpaper

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Jun 5

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Don’t let your porch be a throwaway space! Make it a room. Get a high quality indoor/outdoor rug. Make sure your furniture is COMFY. Find a cordless lamp (they’re everywhere now!). Hang art! You can even add a vintage console table or cabinet if you’re ok with it weathering over time 🕰️. #interiordesign #porchdesign

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Jun 3

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It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! This week we feature Paper Trail by Lewis and Wood. Lewis and Wood launched Paper Trail in the fall of 2025 as one of four patterns in their History Papers Collection. Paper Trail was inspired by ancient rock carvings - 600–2,000 years old! - from various sites in America. It was named after the site Newspaper Rock, Utah.You know I love anything with an animal :) But there are 2 genres, right? Juvenile and…let’s call it *versatile*. To me, Paper Trail falls into the latter category, featuring deer, horses, buffalo, and foxes on a background that resembles the texture of rocks. It’s primitive, not cartoonish. I could see using this in a small bedroom; a breakfast nook (why? Can’t tell you, it’s just a feeling); or a hallway, because the pattern isn’t overwhelming.#wallpaperinspo #interiordesign #homedesign

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May 28

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For those of you lucky enough to have a beach house, now’s the time to start thinking about decorating beyond traditional “costal decor!” Step one? Consider a color palette other than blue and white ;) See my latest blog post for more! 🏖️ 🐚#beachhouseinteriors #interiordesign #eastcoast

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May 22

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I follow two rules when mixing patterns in the same space: vary the scale, and vary the subject.I was excited to share this and other insights on pattern splicing with @ericafinamore from @apartmenttherapy! #interiordesign #patternsplicing #patternmixing #designopinions #annieelliottdesign

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May 20

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It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! This week we’re featuring Deconstructed Stripe by Schumacher (in collaboration with Miles Redd).This pattern pays tribute to the legendary decorator Albert Hadley. Redd was inspired by Hadley’s contemporary, streamlined designs that played with scale and proportion. Deconstructed Stripe is impactful on its own but also looks INCREDIBLE next to other patterns.@schumacher1889 #designinspo #wallpaper #interiordesigner

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May 19

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HuffPost asked for my thoughts about the new White House ballroom. As you can imagine, I have many. I was so delighted to be included in this conversation! Thank you, @huffpost and @carsar91!#interiordesign #whitehouse #designopinions #annieelliottdesign

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May 13

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I was thrilled to attend Imar Lyman’s exhibition opening at the Kreeger recently! I’ve loved his work for years and am lucky enough to own one of his silkscreens (ours is of Frederick Douglass). He’s moved from portraiture to abstraction, but he still does some work in collage, which I confess is my favorite ;) The exhibition is up through July 11. Play hooky one afternoon and go.(The last painting is by Frank Stella, by the way — an influence on the artist, as you can see!)@imarhutchins @kreegermuseum
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