When I started this blog my family was living in a builder spec home. The finishes were cheap and I was doing my best to put my stamp on things. I turned to the internet for inspiration but was disappointed in what I found. Most looks weren’t achievable in our house. We had nondescript carpet and vinyl flooring – not hardwoods. There were no particularly alluring architectural features. We also had practical things like ceiling fans and light-filtering window shades. Tweaking that house taught us many things. Eventually, we came to value quality over quantity which prompted our downsizing adventure. But it also taught us that you don’t have to wait until bigger, future projects (i.e., installing new flooring) are completed to start making little changes that better reflect your preferred aesthetic.

“Nothing you do for your home is ever wasted.” – Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan for Apartment Therapy

We never did install new flooring in our previous home. But we did paint the walls & kitchen cabinets, install new countertops & a backsplash, experiment with furnishings and hang curtains & artwork. By the time we moved, the space definitely felt more like us than it had when we moved in.

All that to say, you don’t have to wait until you can do everything to do something.

And that’s what this makeover is all about. My clients moved into their home less than six months ago. They would love to upgrade the flooring, redo the kitchen, install statement light fixtures, fully furnish each room and improve the bathrooms but, as with most newly acquired houses, those things just aren’t in the budget right now. Instead, they’re tackling smaller projects as time and money allow, injecting their sense of style as they go. So far, they’ve painted nearly every room in the house and I recently helped them revamp the master bedroom. (You can read about my plans for the space and see a mood board here.) It’s a real room with carpet, blinds, a ceiling fan and even a TV. I hope it inspires you to do something.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We made a lot of changes but, in my opinion, rotating the bed, painting the walls a deep charcoal and bringing in mismatched furniture were the game-changers.

Relocating the bed to a blank wall makes it a natural focal point and lets more light pour in through the windows. The tufted headboard makes a grand statement. I love how the sides turn in for an intimate effect. So cozy!

My client’s style is decidedly more luxurious than my own. When she requested sequins, I cringed a little. But this Moroccan wedding blanket was the perfect solution. It jingles ever so lightly! I wanted to take it home with me. I searched high and low for a vintage one that was large enough to fit the king bed but not a bazillion dollars. I kept the rest of the bedding simple with a linen duvet and lumbar pillow. The bordered euro shams are a nice detail and tie in to the khaki stripes on the Moroccan blanket.

Patterned sheets are a fun surprise when the duvet is pulled back.

X-based campaign-style nightstands pop against the moody walls. The geometric lines contrast with the headboard’s curves. I LOVE the lamps. They’re oversized to match the scale of the headboard. Anything smaller would have been dwarfed. The wood bases warm up the white nightstands and bedding.

I turned to one of my favorite artists, Clare Elsaesser, to fill the void between the windows. I’ve always loved her work. The rich color combinations, tangled poses and fluid brush strokes create a dream-like quality making her pieces ideal for a bedroom. I framed the large print in a poster frame spray painted gold to match the curtain rods (also spray painted gold). At the eleventh hour, I decided to add black ribbon trim to the leading edges of the curtains for a little drama. It was more work but not expensive and totally worth it.

I think a TV in the bedroom is a personal choice and my clients choose to have one in theirs. To make it less conspicuous, we mounted it on the wall above one of the vintage dressers I rehabbed. (The dark walls go a long way in hiding the TV, too.) An accordion-like bracket allows the screen to be angled toward the bed for easier viewing.

I was the teensiest bit apprehensive about the dressers. I absolutely LOVE how they turned out and knew they would look great in the space. However, when I met with my client initially, she told me she didn’t like gold and preferred “rustic” furniture pieces. The minute she saw them, she was sold – on the gold and the midcentury style. I was so glad because the clean lines and warm wood tones were very much needed in the space. I made her a believer! (Her husband loves them, too, but I knew he would.)

The feather finish tops were a hit, too.

I brought in a bench and mirror for easy dressing and quick once-overs. (A hallway leading to his and hers closets is located just to the left of the bench.) The mirror actually came with the dresser I used in my boys’ room. I had no use for it but hung on to it because it’s a solid piece. It finally found a home! At night, the Moroccan blanket can be folded up and placed on the bench.

My client had her heart set on a chaise for the adjacent sitting area. She imagined it as a quiet space for lounging with a book and / or a glass of wine.

A metal accent table picks up on other gold details in the room and provides a surface for reading material and a drink. Layered textiles create a relaxed vibe. The kilim pillow repeats the color scheme of the artwork in the sleeping area. The hanging planter fills vertical space and adds life to the vignette. We treated the two smaller windows as one large one (one curtain rod, two curtain panels) to make the space feel lighter and brighter.

I paired the other dresser with black and white abstract art to give the sitting area a modern edge.

The best part? My clients absolutely love the room. I can’t tell you how good it feels to witness people go from detesting a living space to not wanting to leave it. I’m so grateful they allowed me to put my spin on things. Not everyone is willing to go dark or try things outside of their comfort zone, but they were game. Thanks Maggie & Jeremy!

Resources of note:

wall paint – Benjamin Moore kendall charcoal, color-matched in Valspar Reserve
ceiling fan – Amazon
headboard – Mariah headboard in taft pewter, Arhaus*
Moroccan wedding blanket – etsy
linen duvet, lumbar pillow – Ikea
euro shams – Ralph Lauren in polished bronze, Macy’s
sheets – Target
nightstands – Overstock
wood lamps – Lamps Plus
ring holder – Target
curtain rods – Amazon (spray painted gold with Rustoleum Universal pure gold)
curtains – Ikea
black ribbon trim – Amazon
large print – “Unclasped” by Clare Elsaesser, etsy
poster frame – Amazon (spray painted gold with Rustoleum Universal pure gold)
dressers – vintage, DIY
pierced hurricane candleholders – Target
woven basket – Target
bench – Overstock
mirror – vintage
chaise – Audrey chaise in tumble natural, Arhaus*
black and white abstract art & wood frames – Minted*
jute plant hanger – Amazon
olive throw – Overstock
kilim pillow – etsy
metal side table – Urban Outfitters
hide & sheepskin rugs – Ikea
task lamp – Ikea
ivy planter – thrifted

*Denotes items provided specifically for this project. This is NOT a sponsored post but I would like to thank Arhaus and Minted for providing the items listed above. I am grateful to be in a unique position to pass along quality products to my clients to help stretch their budgets. You can see more pictures of this space and read my tips for creating a beautiful bedroom over on Arhaus’s blog, Greenhaus.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Ah, the deck. We left off with the steel frame and joists in place and ready for deck boards. This is where things finally started resembling a deck and we got very excited. FYI: after setting the joists but before installing the deck boards, we put down landscaping fabric to keep weeds/grass from growing but still allow water to drain below the deck.

HH started off by cutting and installing the left side of the double picture frame. {You can see our original plans for the deck here.} Then he set to work filling it in with deck boards working his way from the yard towards the house. That way if any measurements went awry the oops would end up nearest the house where we plan on putting some furniture anyway. But do you think HH, a mechanical engineer by trade and a perfectionist by nature, wound up with an oops? Nope.

HH says the gap on the last board {closest to the house} is off by 1/8″. I say that’s pretty darn perfect. It probably helped that HH measured and planned the depth of the deck waaaaaay before this step. Even before digging any holes, HH designed the deck so that the boards running width-wise within each picture frame would all be full-width boards. No ripping allowed.

When we were first approached by Trex, we were drawn to the steel framing {that meant we could build close to the ground – ideal for the platform design we had in mind} and Hideaway hidden fasteners. The hidden fasteners secure the deck boards to joists without having to screw through the top of the boards. This gives the end product a clean, consistent surface uninterrupted by screw heads.

As for how the hidden fasteners work, HH quickly sketched up the diagram above for me. I labeled it and thought it might be helpful to share here. The long sides of each deck board are grooved. The hidden fastener is “T”-shaped and fits into the grooves of two adjacent deck boards. There is a self-tapping screw that screws into the joists. Obviously, you can’t place two boards parallel to each other and just screw the hidden fastener in. You have to place one board, screw in the hidden fastener then continue with the next board making sure the “T” of the hidden fastener catches the grooved edge of each board. When screwing in the first couple of fasteners, HH noticed that the “T” was prone to pulling towards the already set {first} board making it difficult to place the next board properly.

Being the clever guy he is, HH started using a small scrap piece of deck board to act as a placeholder while he screwed in the hidden fasteners. It worked like a charm! If you scroll up to the second image in this post, you can see the handy little deck scrap laying on top of the last placed board.

From there, HH slowly worked his way towards the house. Determined not to rip any boards, HH kept the spacing between the deck boards as accurate as possible with the help of two pipe clamps. This gave the boards a snug fit and ensured precise spacing.

With the left side of the double picture frame complete, it was time to tackle the right side. It was pretty much just like laying the left side until…

…HH ran out of hidden fasteners and grooved deck boards! Boo. It was the day before we were to leave for our vacation and we had both envisioned coming home to a completely finished deck. Long story short: it didn’t happen.

Why did HH run out of grooved deck boards and hidden fasteners? Well, apparently HH was supposed to use non-grooved deck boards and screws for the center pieces of the double picture frame. But he didn’t want to see any screws in the middle of the deck so he decided to use grooved boards and hidden fasteners instead. Our order was so exact that we didn’t have extra grooved deck boards or hidden fasteners to finish the last few rows of the righthand picture frame. So…we went on vacation. Ha!

When we returned, we tried to hunt down one box of hidden fasteners and HH brainstormed a way to make the leftover non-grooved deck boards we had on hand work. After no luck at any of the local home improvement stores and with the help of Trex, we were able to track down a box of hidden fasteners – 45 minutes away. Ugh. For the deck boards, HH borrowed a biscuit joiner from a contractor friend and added grooves to the non-grooved deck boards just where a hidden fastener was needed. He considered buying a special router bit to groove the entire length of the boards but it was like $50 so he decided against it. The biscuit joiner worked fine for the few boards he had left to install.

With the deck boards in place, all that was left to do was cut and screw on the fascia around the sides of the framing. The fascia is composite and matches the deck boards so the entire deck is consistent in appearance. Special self-tapping screws were provided to tie into the framing. These self-recessing screws are nice because they are color-matched to the deck boards and, once in place, their heads sit well below the deck’s surface. Thus, they blend in seamlessly and there are no worries about someone stepping on a popped screw head. HH did run into trouble with some of the screws breaking. His best guess is that they’re meant to tie into a wood frame – not a steel frame. But he made do and it worked out.

HH also used some of these self-recessing screws to screw down the ends of the longer picture frame boards. Throughout this project, we had our decking materials laid out over three horses in the backyard. Needless to say, some of the longest boards developed a bow. It took a few extra screws to get them to lay flat. Our mistake = your lesson. Store your decking materials on a flat surface!

Running out of hidden fasteners and grooved deck boards is the reason for my premature instagram pic above which I captioned “Nothing like finishing up a big project to get us in the mood for vacation.” It took us four more weeks to finish the deck.

Finished results {just a plain deck – no furniture or anything} tomorrow!

We have partnered with Trex to build our deck. They have provided us with some of the materials for the build but all other materials, designs, labor, injuries, flubs, four-letter exclamations, opinions and reaping of benefits {i.e. chillaxing with beverages on our new deck} are our responsibility.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking