raenovate

our medicine cabinet!

noreply@blogger.com (RAENOVATE) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:00:44 PST

when we redid our bathroom we disposed of all that was existing except the medicine cabinet. i was charmed by its carved frame and knew that with a good scrubbing and a fresh coat of paint it would freshen right up. and it did, it totally did, until i was poking around the internet and saw that i could paper the inside of it. this was seriously the fastest and easiest before + after ever. i swung by my local paper source, grabbed a sheet of faux bois paper, dug out an old can of spray adhesive and went to work. after measuring and making a template with the cardboard from a diet pepsi 36 pack (we love dp), i traced it onto the faux bois paper, cut the shape out with scissors, double checked that it fit, sprayed the back of the medicine cabinet with the adhesive, and slowly pressed the paper on with my hands. that’s it! easy peasy. and now whenever i go to apply one of the 17 deodorants we have in there i’m greeted with a fun design surprise!

[sources: pottery barn mercer single sconce and benjamin moore gossamer blue wall paint. photos by rachel grace.]

nyc home office

noreply@blogger.com (RAENOVATE) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:27:08 PST

trg and i are gearing up to renovate our home office. besides the kitchen, redoing our home office is the room i’ve been looking forward to the most. i believe that in the presence of an organized, good looking space i will become a well-oiled, bill paying, email replying machine. if hilary unger could make this happen for her lower manhattan clients, so can we!

the small 115 square foot space was aching for stylish storage solutions. by creating a two person desk, unger’s design firm, perianth, was able to lay the room out with a maximum amount of storage space. glass doors from the sliding door company replaced the bi-fold closet doors, while across the room lumicor architectural resin tortoise reed panels separate the office space from the foyer. perianth also filled the room with CB2 bubble chairs, artemide lighting and benjamin moore’s metallic paint, liquid silver. the financial district apartment is now brimming with style and one grand organization station!

i’d once again like to thank seth cohen for submitting hilary unger’s breathtaking new york transformations. the after photos were captured by the talented matt vacca.

cupid is in the house!

noreply@blogger.com (RAENOVATE) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:20:00 PST

happy valentine’s day! in roman mythology, cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. in raenovate mythology, cupid is the god of desire and affection for good design. rather than shooting his bow to inspire romantic love, he shoots it to inspire transformations. he recently shot the mother of all arrows in greenwood heights brooklyn, alongside architect ben herzog. what had been a tired 2-family townhouse in south brooklyn was transformed into a home, made for entertaining. herzog was able to rearrange the floor plan while honoring the existing architectural details. the columns that were in a rear library space were kept in what has become the kitchen. while out back, the brooklyn-esque aluminum awning was demolished to make way for a new deck, plantings and a fence with embedded lights and cubbies. THANK YOU CUPID (and ben)!

i would especially like to thank ben herzog of ben herzog architect, pc for granting me the permission to borrow photos from his portfolio. the after photos were captured by the great marco valencia.