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Archive for the "makeovers" Category

Combining Households–How to Make It Work

Susan Bach and Doug Egan combined their households some years ago. When they asked Emery & Associates for help redoing the entire house, it was apparent that what they needed help with the most was integrating Susan’s family pieces and whimsical country style with Doug’s more formal, traditional French style.  We began in the TV […]

Redesign–What does it mean?

Emery &  Associates did a major remodel of a client’s living room fireplace several years ago (see my previous post  “Hot New Looks for Old Fireplaces,” February 24, 2011).  The clients liked the remodeled fireplace so much that this year they rearranged their furniture so that the sofa faces the fireplace, which has become the […]

Winter White–A Budget Makeover

When it comes to interior design, most people think of me as a colorist.  Fact is, I think of myself that way.  But recently we needed to replace the flooring in our guest room, which is on the lower level of our home.  After consulting with my good friend, interior designer Jamie Devlin, who works […]

Sweet Dreams

Often the master bedroom is the last room in the house a homeowner tackles, probably because it’s a private space–not the first room seen when guests enter the home.  However, it is a space where the homeowners will spend a large part of their time, so it’s important to make it inviting and comfortable. The […]

Pulling it All Together

Often one of the first things homeowners say to me is that their rooms don’t feel “pulled together.”   This post explains how to accomplish that feeling of cohesiveness, and demonstrates how you can do it without pitching everything out and starting over.  In each of the rooms below, the homeowner wanted to keep some of […]

Master Bedroom Makeover: Light and Luscious!

The young couple who hired Emery & Associates in 2009 to do the main floor of their 1903 foursquare home in Ladd’s Addition called me back this year to do their master bedroom.  “It’s really dark.  What can you do to help us?”   I gave them the obvious answer:  add lighting!  They really didn’t […]

French Dressing for Kitchen Nook

When Sue and Bob Van Brocklin first contacted Emery & Associates about some help for their family room, they also mentioned wanting to re-paint the kitchen. After talking with them at length about their interests and their favorite colors, it became clear that they were passionate about travel, especially in France, cooking, entertaining friends and […]

Hot New Looks for Old Fireplaces

Even though we Portlanders aren’t buried in snow, it IS still winter in the Pacific Northwest, and we are using our fireplace a lot.  A few years ago I got really tired of the original red brick surrounding the firebox of my 1930’s Colonial home fireplace.  I searched for a long time before I found […]

The Dog Did WHAT?

It didn’t seem all that many years ago that we had re-decorated the clients’ family room with lots of sunny oranges and yellows–they wanted a warm, Tuscan feeling.  Then, the dog chewed up the sofa upholstery, and they decided they were ready for a totally new look.  Time to call Emery & Associates. I was […]

Tricks for Transformation

A busy professional couple had been living in their 1920s Colonial home for 15 years. They were ready for a change, their children were now old enough (teenagers), and they didn’t know where to begin, so they called Emery & Associates.  Their beautiful windows were hidden by Roman shades; their furniture was good quality, but […]

houzz interior design ideas