Recently, I had the joy of working with a friend to update her home in Athens. Laurie wanted to move away from the rich, dark colors that filled the home and create a light, airy, fresh feeling throughout all of the spaces. Doesn't every family need a home that reflects them? The Curtis's are a fun bunch-- a husband and wife, two girls, a new puppy, and lots of dreams on the horizon --- and they needed a little refreshment in the house.

All projects are unique, but Laurie and Matt had a special request: incorporate several family heirloom pieces throughout the home-- they had recently inherited several antique pieces and wanted to use as many as possible. Luckily, the furniture not only fit in with the style that Laurie was going for, but they actually fit great in the spaces where we needed them (wiping sweat from brow here… lots of measuring involved…I was a little worried at first! but each piece ended up being the star of the room!)

One of the pieces was this armoire. We had it cleaned and the doors refitted to slide into recessed pockets (so that it wouldn't block your path to the stairs or the armchair when open.) One of the interior shelves that was moved in the process was so unique and beautiful that we even decided to mount it to the wall on the right of the armoire. Not quite sure of its original intended use, but the pegs and hardware on the piece really looked lovely and added rustic charm that complemented our updated style.

This was the living room BEFORE. Love how adding the armoire maximized the height of the room!

Another goal that Laurie had was to reuse her red armchair from the living room. We really couldn't work with the existing red floral print on it, so we had it recovered. A lot of times recovering a piece is just as expensive as going out and buying something new, but when your chair has a lot of sentimental value like this one, it's totally worth it! Here's that chair looking as good as new…

The family also needed an office space. They had the room for it, it was just occupied as a playroom… a very organized playroom :)

With the girls getting older, they were able to find other spaces throughout the home that they could keep fun stuff and dedicate this space for Matt and Laurie to have a room of productivity and organization… and really show off the sweet art from Tara Lowry's etsy shop with all the area codes from places they've lived.

I'd love to have known LA Laurie ;) …

Speaking of the girls getting older-- here's a before shot of Paige's room. Super fun pink, but she was tired of it and wanted a more grown up/fun teen room.

I had Paige make a wish list of things that were important in her room. It including a reading space, a desk, and rearranging the beds. The room couldn't fit both beds with the added furniture, but still plenty of room for sleepovers on the floor :) And we even kept some fun splashes of pink.

Laurie and Matt were also ready to update the master bedroom. There are some tall walls in there that weren't being utilized.

Doors with sconces to the rescue. And some light, fresh, fluffy bedding.

Really wanted to get a good shot of Andy (the newest and furriest Curtis) scampering through his redesigned home, but alas, he was too shy…

He did mention that he loves the new dining area rug though.