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Who doesn’t love a makeover? Befores and afters

Annie Elliott | July 15, 2023

Gentle Readers! I apologize for falling off the blog track for a few weeks. Life overtook me ;) Thank you for your patience!

First things first: we are accepting new projects for the fall! Please head over to this page if you’re rarin’ to redecorate. I’d love to work with you!

For inspiration, I thought I’d do a little before/after post of some recent and ongoing projects — heavy on pictures, light on commentary. It’s the blog version of a beach read. Here we go!

Before: Ho-hum. The sectional was new, though.

Gray sectional in family room

After: Crisp and bright!

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

Before: Basement office, emphasis on basement.

Beige basement office

After: Grasscloth and greenery enliven a now-multi-use space. Replacing the wall-to-wall carpeting with ceramic tile plus rug made a big difference…it’s hard to see here.

Photo by Markus Wilborn

Before: A small gray bedroom (realtor photo).

Small gray bedroom

After: Still small, but infinitely more cozy and interesting! We blocked off that silly high window: it wasn’t centered on the wall, and it faced a brick building. Don’t worry, though; the window is still there if we want to uncover it later ;)

Moody teal bedroom with dramatic scenic Roman Shade
Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg

Before: An empty white box. (Hi, Amy!)

White family room in an open floor plan

After: Glorious banquette-d family room, featuring cork wallcovering and kick-ass art.

family room with long blue banquette
Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg

Before: A boringly staged open plan condo (realtor photo).

Open plan dining area with white walls

After: What isn’t different? Look carefully – there are 2 wallpapers! Schumacher’s Deconstructed Stripe is on the left, and Timorous Beasties’ Totem Damask is on the TV wall.

Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg

Before: Dreary gray paneling.

Painted gray paneled wall down staircase

After: Pink! We just photographed this space last week…professional pictures (by Markus Wilborn) coming soon!

Paneled wall painted in shades of pink

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 summer, everyone!

Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, D.C., but we work on projects all over the place. Weโ€™re experts in creating gorgeous, color- and pattern-filled homes and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.

Category: Before and after, Color + paint color, WallpaperTag: banquette, basement office, bedroom, before and after, bookcases, deconstructed stripe, family room, home office, Living room, makeover, open plan, paneling, Schumacher, Timorous Beasties, wallpaper

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Nov 14

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Is there a color youโ€™ve been dying to use in your home but have just been tooโ€ฆafraid? In my case, that color was a bold, eye-searing citron. As I write in my book, โ€œYellow is one of my favorite colors, but it can be a tough sell in decorating. When Iโ€™ve gotten a client to agree to it, itโ€™s been an extremely light hue.โ€To wit: I painted a clientโ€™s guest bedroom a soft, creamy yellow. It was lovely, butโ€ฆin a word, boring. Because this isnโ€™t a space in which someone would spend extended time, we could be braver. Enter @farrowandball Yellowcake. (Itโ€™s archived now, but theyโ€™ll still make it for you!) I had wanted to use it for quite some time, but it required a bravery and trust.This client has both. We both LOVE the result. @schumacher1889 Queen of Spainโ€™s Roman shade makes the overall effect even more zingy. Images of bedroom by @mw.concepts #ColorStory #FarrowandBall #Yellowcake #DesignInspiration #AnnieElliottDesign #Interiors #ColorConfidence

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Oct 24

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I LOVE large-scale wallpaper. I mean, REALLY large. It works especially well in double-height spaces like this one: the huge pattern creates drama and holds your interest across a large expanse of wall that otherwise would be a whole lotta nothing. Itโ€™s exciting.Timorous Beasties has mastered the art of large-scale wallpaper. Because Totem Damask is SO dramatic, we did it on one wall only. Then on all the other walls โ€” also double-height โ€” we did the smaller scale Deconstructed Stripe. (Look carefully and you can see it!) Large justaposted with smallโ€ฆyou know thatโ€™s one of my biggest tips for mixing patterns ๐Ÿ˜ŠIf you want space to feel alive and interesting, consider going big. You know what they say: Go big and go home ;) #ColorCourage #WallpaperDesign #AnnieElliottDesign #InteriorDesign

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Oct 21

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Ask me what I love most about Philly. Itโ€™s very, very hard to choose just one thing. Iโ€™ll skip the obvious (cheesesteaks) and maybe even the medium obvious (all the fabulous restaurants). Ready? One of my favorite things in Philadelphia is the incredible store JAMES by @jimmydelaurentis . In addition to super friendly, knowledgeable salespeople โ€” sometimes even Jimmy himself! โ€” thereโ€™s a great selection of furniture and lots of gifty things. Including books! Iโ€™ll be at JAMES to sign mine on November 1, and I would love the opportunity to meet you! Letโ€™s raise a glass, shall we? #PhiladelphiaEvents #InteriorDesign

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Oct 17

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Join me at ๐—๐—”๐— ๐—˜๐—ฆ ๐—ฏ๐˜† @jimmydelaurentis on ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜†, ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿญ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐Ÿฐ๐—ฃ๐—  - ๐Ÿฒ๐—ฃ๐—  for an intimate evening of design talk, storytelling, and a signing of my book ๐˜”๐˜บ ๐˜•๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜š๐˜ข๐˜ธ ๐˜”๐˜ฆ ๐˜•๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜–๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜™๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜•๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜‹๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด: ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜Œ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜‹๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ.Weโ€™ll chat about the stories behind the rooms โ€ฆ the why, Gentle Readers, not just the what! โ€ฆ and what it means to make a home feel like ๐™ฎ๐™ค๐™ช. ๐Ÿ’Œ RSVP via the link in bio โ€” space is limited!#BookSigning #InteriorDesign #DesignEvent #PhiladelphiaEvents

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Oct 15

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Itโ€™s official! The ๐™ˆ๐™ฎ ๐™‰๐™š๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™—๐™ค๐™ง ๐™Ž๐™–๐™ฌ ๐™ˆ๐™š ๐™‰๐™–๐™ ๐™š๐™™ book tour is hitting the road! โœจFirst stop: ๐—ฃ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฎ at the fabulous shop ๐—๐—”๐— ๐—˜๐—ฆ by @jimmydelaurentis on November 1. RSVP details in bio.Then weโ€™ll be in ๐——๐—– at ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜ on November 11, where Iโ€™ll be in conversation with the incredible @jasonreynolds83 And finally, a cozy weekend on the ๐—˜๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐˜. ๐— ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜€ at @bookhoundsmd on November 15.Come for the stories, stay for the laughs (and maybe a few design confessions). ๐Ÿฅ‚Canโ€™t wait to see you there!#MyNeighborSawMeNaked #AnnieElliottDesign #BookTour #DesignLife

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Oct 12

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Letโ€™s talk about the most important room in the house, shall we? Itโ€™s the one where you begin and end each day. Interestingly, though, the primary bedroom is often a space my clients neglect, placing a higher priority on the more โ€œpublicโ€ rooms of their homes. In other words, they place greater importance on spaces for ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด, not themselves. Please believe me: with the busy pace of fall, you must have a bedroom that functions as a true sanctuary. Itโ€™s not a luxury; itโ€™s a necessity. You ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ a space that quiets the noise and allows you to rest and recharge. In this Somerset bedroom, we achieved that calm through a whisper-soft palette and layers of luxurious texture. From the creamy-dreamy upholstered headboard to the light-filtering curtains and the impossibly cozy throw, every detail was chosen to soothe the senses. This is your reminder to prioritize your own retreat. Your well-being depends on it!

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Oct 8

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My prescription for the perfect autumn afternoon? A plush sofa, a good book, and a room that wraps you up like a hug. I used this brilliant wallpaper by Cole & Son in a NYC study to create a room thatโ€™s wonderfully snug. The paper is a bit whimsical, incredibly chic, and the perfect backdrop for getting lost in a story. Hereโ€™s to rooms that feel like a retreat from the world. ๐Ÿ‚#CosySesson #FallVibes #HomeOfficeDesign #WallpaperWedbesday #LibraryLife #ReadingNook #InteriorDesign #NYCDesign #CozyCorner #HyggeHome

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Oct 7

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Fellow jurist Marika Meyer and me at the Home & Design Excellence in Design Awards Gala last night! It was an honor to judge the submissions and attend the celebration. My heartfelt congratulations to all of the honorees ! Cheers to your hard work and dedication to our craft.

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Oct 3

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Recently, Iโ€™ve been thinking about how to keep our homes joyful as the days get shorter (and shorterโ€ฆ). The easiest way โ€” since wallpapering on a whim is something only crazy people like me do โ€” is to bring a dash of nature inside. In this North Cleveland Park dining room, we wrapped the walls in a gorgeous silk wall covering to provide a quiet yet glamorous backdrop for the clientโ€™s Chinese silk rug and antiques. The clean-lined Minotti dining table and iconic Foscarini pendant bring modern elements into the space. But the final, life-giving touch is the plants. Or the plant-like elements ๐Ÿ˜Š The mini-shrubs marching down the dining table and the dramatic leaves against the walls are wonderful, arenโ€™t they? Those dashes of green breath life into the room and make it feel fresh and alive. Itโ€™s so easy to cram a bunch of branches (hi, Trader Joeโ€™s) into a vase and set it on a sideboard or table. You canโ€™t believe how this simple gesture will life your spirits on a cooling fall day. #DiningRoomDesign #InteriorDesign #LuxeLiving #GoldAndGreen #DesignDetails #DCDesign #FallDecor #BringTheOutfoorsIn
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