Jessica's project #1

Jessica wrote us regarding 2 of her interior design projects. She works for a large design firm in LA (but is hoping to go out on her own), is a fellow blogger, and has an Etsy shop. She is quite talented, as you can see by this redo of her former home - a 600 sq. ft. co-op in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. They put alot of hard work into this place and the result is amazing (I love the blue trimmed windows)!

Some before photos:

And AFTER!!!

Stay tuned later for another of Jessica's projects!

Franco's apartment

We've gotten a few reader emails lately with some interior design projects that I wanted to share so I thought I'd feature them all today. This first one comes from Franco. He is a brand manager in São Paulo and wanted to share his new apartment with us. It's actually more like a little peek, but I think the photography is superb so without further ado, welcome to Franco's Brazilian pad.

Reader's home - a jaw-dropping renovation

Angela sent along the following email to Jo and I about her home:
Six and a half years ago, we bought a bungalow in the suburbs of Chicago, and rehabbed nearly the entire thing. Several months ago, my husband accepted a job in another state, so we will be relocating and just put it up for sale (sad...). I was going through the before and after images, and just shuttered when I looked at the before. I kind of can't believe the end result, and thought I'd send it your way.
She sent a post from her blog for a peek and I was immediately stunned into silence. I wrote back saying what a HUGE transformation it was. She responded:
Yes, it was huge. And so was I went the transformation took place (I due a month after we started rehabbing) -- so we just moved ahead to get it all done, but honestly, it was all kind of a blur. It really just hit me when I was doing the comparison photos. We are very proud of the place. I know people thought we were crazy, but we saw the house, looked past everything and knew exactly what we wanted to do with it. We did have to have an architectural company lay out plans to get it approved by the village -- but we used the architect from my family's company (they are in the cemetery business, so it was a bit of a side track from what they typically do).
It really is shocking how the result is SO much more modern and updated and if she hasn't already sold this house (after being on the market now about a week) it won't be long now!

Here are some before photos (the only thing remotely worthy is that dining room wallpaper!)...

And here are a couple of after photos - YES, it's the SAME HOUSE!!! (Many more after the jump!!!)

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Reader's home - when can I move in???

Anne had sent in a photo for a pets on furniture post (the first one here - and a gratuitous husband and dog photo at the end of this post) and I wrote back telling her how adorable her Vizsla is and how I loved the room. WELL, was I ever lucky that she wrote back with a link to a bunch of photos of her AMAZING home. She was kind enough to give me a bit of background that I could share with you all before I bombard you with photos 'o plenty:
"we live in the south austin neighborhood of bouldin creek, a 20 min walk to downtown ...we measure our proximity to everything by walkability since my husband, sam, spent 16 yrs in nyc prior to moving to austin at the end of 2008. the house is about 2350 sq' and we both work from home so we have an office that occupies one half of the entire 2nd story. we spent 8 months building and around 5 months planning (i should also mention we finished the project two months ahead of schedule AND under budget!). the house is a three bedroom/ three bath. we worked with the incredible architects at alterstudio who took the time to filter through our ideas, carefully considering how to incorporate our wild eclectic wish list – glass floor, reclaimed wood, loads of outdoor space, lots of windows, energy efficiency, a home office and music room and of course, a pool - with our desire for practical and efficient use of space – we wanted to interact with every room every day and not waste an inch of space - and transformed these components into the perfect expression that is our home. the result is a wonderful modern structure that feels welcoming not severe, fits seamlessly into our funky South Austin neighborhood, merges the indoors with the outdoors and provides us with a home comfortable for two (plus dog). i think the best part about our house is the light. there is so much sunlight that streams into every room and we refuse to get any window coverings. the glass floor actually serves a purpose - it allows light into the downstairs hallway from the skylight and a transom window further carries that light into the downstairs bathroom. given that this is texas and the heat in these parts is serious business, the majority of the glass faces north and south, passively heating in the winter and NOT in the summer. the one room people flip out about is the 9x9 TV room, or TV cave as we refer to it. we designed the room to perfectly fit ligne roset's togo sofa and is the only place there is TV in the house. a large sliding door closes it off from the kitchen/dining room. most people who visit think it is our pantry." There is so much I love about Anne's home - I HAVE to show this post to my architect. Thank you Anne! Consider me inspired!

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Reader's parents' home

Here is an email we received from Sue: "I'm writing because I wanted to show you a home created by two of the most creative, eclectic, quirky and capable people I've ever met- my Mom and Dad. They have recently finished their fantastic house near Bancroft, Ontario; a house they designed, built and decorated almost all by themselves. And what's the first thing they did when it was finished? Put it up for sale, of course. There are more home design projects ahead! This is the link for the webpage they created for potential buyers." This is pretty much my dream home. SERIOUSLY. It is absolutely gorgeous. The spaciousness, the cabin feel to it, tons of WATERFRONT land, the large plank pine floors, a bunkie (!!!)....I could on and on. Instead, I'll show you a whole bunch of photos of it so you can see what I mean.

*the foyer features an antique tin ceiling*
*The lower level is built around a sunken living room with a long bench seat in the window for reading and afternoon siestas. A wood stove is the warm heart of the house; a stone floor provides rustic character. The space is open to the studio level above.*
*The cabinets in the custom kitchen are recycled antique chests-of-drawers, buffets and display cases, refinished and integrated into counters and an island with butcher-block tops.*

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