We have been sneezing like crazy and making extra trips to the pharmacy for allergy meds! Fun times! And in our house, that means one thing; Spring has arrived! Well, that and the yellow tinge that everything has from the coating of abundant pollen. But Spring is a happy time, and I do love this season, even though my sinuses hate it. I start dreaming of days that are warm and sunny early in the year; like while I’m taking the Christmas tree down. Thankfully in the weird little part of the world where I live, the winter is short, and spring and summer are nice and long. I kinda have a ritual every spring of trying to make the inside of our home feel as fresh and new at the budding trees outside. Here is a rundown of things that can make your home feel like spring has sprung in your neck of the woods, even if winter has long overstayed its welcome. 

See more design ideas at http://www.confusedroom.com

This week’s design challenge comes from a family, in our neck of the woods, that is having a little trouble thinking outside the box. They had found themselves in a situation where they inherited a cabin that they want to rent out nightly for visitors to the area. The problem is that their cabin is literally exactly like every other cabin in their resort neighborhood. So, what they want to do is figure out a way to make their cabin stand out against the rest, to people searching online for vacation rentals. Only catch is that the outside CAN NOT be altered in any way due to community restrictions. This sounded like a great opportunity to push my design boundaries and have a little fun in the process.

Because this is a vacation rental, and not a permanent residence, there is a little more room to play with the design. The risk of “getting tired” of a design is a little less when it is not a space that you are 1. Spending a lot of time in, or 2. Seeing on a daily basis. The cabin was built in the mid 2000’s and the bones are good. But the interior is dated and kitschy, and not in a good way. The design played on the “mountain lodge” feel, mixed in with a little bit of “southwest” and “cottage”. It’s a little confused, but that could be from attempts to update the décor over the years, and never quite getting it right. The owners would like us to focus on the main living / kitchen area, as that is where the most photos will be taken and where the first impression will be made. They want WOW factor.

When I spoke to the owners, they were completely open to any possible “feels” (I say feels instead of themes. I hate themes) that I thought would work, and not feel wrong. They weren’t too big on the thought of “mountain lodge”, but I asked if they would just humor me, and let me present it in a modern way. I think they thought I was going to throw in a bunch of log furniture and call it a day. I immediately thought of what draws visitors to the area (outside of corny comedy and classic country music). The lakes, the mountains, and the hometown feel. I knew these were going to be the basis for each design I presented.

So, what the cabin looks like right now isn’t too bad and would probably get a fair amount of interest if it was the only cabin of its kind, but as I stated above, it doesn’t stand out at all. The walls are a pale-yellow cream, and that plays upon the yellowed maple floors and the yellow pine tongue and groove vaulted ceiling. The cabinets are pine, and the trim is pine. Its basically a sea of yellow. The light fixture over the dining table is black iron with moose soldered on. Just to be clear, we do not have moose in southern Missouri. The corner fireplace has oversized river rock below the mantle and shiplap above the mantle to the ceiling. Its cute, but I think it could be improved as the mantle is an orange-yellow beam. The kitchen is a small galley style that has a wall at one end. It probably is five feet wide at most, with beige laminate counters and a 12x12 tile backsplash that probably was a rust color once, but now has a pinkish hue. Below are the key elements of the five designs that I presented.

Just like your favorite HGTV shows, get Fixer-Upper and DIY ideas on how to reclaim a room or space and make it how you always wanted. From rustic farmhouse to modern design, we cover it all. Submit your room picture through their facebook page or at http://www.confusedroom.com and they may give your space a free digital makeover on a future episode of Confused Room!

I thought I was being sooooo smart! Really, I did!! Finally, I had a house with a dedicated laundry room! And, being that the laundry room was next to the garage entrance, I thought “what a great place to sneak in a mudroom too!” Great idea, if your laundry room is 12 feet by 12 feet. Not if your laundry room is 6 feet by 8 feet. And on top of that, I built the “mudroom” wall the week we moved into the house. That was a mistake. I figured out after living in our house for about 6 months that not only do we never park in the garage, because the weather is mild 95% of the time (so we never enter the house from the garage) the 6 foot by 8 foot laundry room becomes a battlefield every morning with two little girls and myself trying to get in there, put on shoes, grab bags, purses, etc. and get out the FRONT door (on the other side of the house) every morning. A space that I initially was very excited to have, quickly became a dreaded hole where everybody’s junk gets thrown at the end of the day. And did I forget to mention that it is a 1999 special, complete with golden oak cabinetry and ugly linoleum. Ugh! And laundry sucks to begin with; who wants to go into the cramped, cluttered space to do laundry, let alone stand in there and blissfully fold clothes (like I imagine women do when they have the laundry rooms ala Pinterest). This MUST change. So, I am working on a plan to make this 6 foot by 8 foot laundry room become just that A LAUNDRY ROOM, and only that. Plus, there is no way to expand this space (believe me, I investigated that). Don’t get me wrong, this is actually a perfect size for a laundry room, if that is its only purpose. So, the “mudroom” will soon be relocated to a more logical place in our house (which will be in an upcoming episode). Now the hard part begins, deciding what I want MY laundry room to look like and feel like. And what features do I want it to have, that it currently lacks. Since this will be a gut job, I can make it anything that I want, and that almost makes it harder for me to decide. Sometimes too many possibilities are more difficult for me than having to work with a certain item, or parameter. So, I got busy, and sketched several different laundry rooms, and I feel that they are all dreamy. I have narrowed down the options to 5 completely different laundry room styles, and I thought it would be fun to highlight the different styles and do an episode on what makes each style feel the way it does. This is essentially a series of recipes to capture the elements of 5 different design styles. I found one that makes my heart happy and cannot wait to have a more efficient space. Maybe one of these styles will speak to you and inspire you to make the dreaded task of washing socks and panties a little more bearable in a space that speaks to you.

Find out more at https://www.confusedroom.com/2018/05/30/5-laundry-room-design-layouts/

When you think about changing things up in your home, people often overlook their bathroom(s) and opt for a more “visible” space to spruce up. Truth is, we spend time in there; a lot of time. With home owners and home buyers today looking to maximize every square foot of space in their home, the bathroom has come into the equation. Bathrooms are no longer being looked at as a completely private space, and a trend of incorporating more furnishings traditionally found in other areas of the home, is changing the purpose of the bathroom.

Here is an overview of some ways that bathrooms are feeling less like a sterile space and are becoming a player in the area of where we want to spend our time.

1. Technology. Everything has a “smart” feature these days. Whether it is a fridge that can compile a shopping list for you or cars that can parallel park themselves (which is great because I still can’t do that), technology is a bigger part of our lives than ever before. But one place where we are seeing a great shift is how to make a bathroom a smart bathroom. Products are now coming on the market to do just that. There are mirrors that have integrated lighting that can adjust based on what you are doing. So, if you just rolled out of bed, and are brushing your teeth, maybe a softer light versus the ultra-bright lighting that women use for applying makeup. Toilets are now coming out with a technology that makes them self-cleaning (thank God), and sterilizing. But the biggest change you are going to see is in the shower. Imagine while going to the loo, you can use your phone (because apparently 90% of us look at our phone on the toilet) to turn on your shower to a pre-programmed setting of your preferences. You enter the shower and on a shower TV is your favorite program, and a calming shade of light encompasses the shower in whatever hue you need for a personalized light therapy session. And when you are done, just grab a warmed towel from your integrated towel warmer. Not sure how to make my small shower have all these bells and whistles, but I can dream.

2. His and hers everything. Ok, part of me thinks this is awesome, but then part of me says this isn’t really a great idea. And by everything, I mean everything! We are way past just a his and hers vanity (if you’re lucky) and we are talking about separate showers and separate water closets. I think it would be more feasible to just have separate bathrooms, but buyers are looking for a Master bedroom with separate facilities for both attached. It was mind blowing when I began to see model homes with a his and hers separate walk-in closets. But now, I think we are just getting silly. And we all know that ONE will keep their vanity, water closet and shower clean, and the other will not. Thus, leading to twice as many showers and toilets to clean. I like the idea of a single separated water closet, for obvious reasons that I don’t need to address, but really, two of everything?

3. Bolder colors (especially shades of blue). Hooray!!! I love a clean white space as much as any designer out there, but I am really loving the trend of incorporating color back into our homes. I just flat out got sick of the beige, greige, gray everything trend. I did it (actually, overdid it) and now it can go to die with other home décor trends like avocado appliances. We need color, people!!! Especially if you are affected by colors emotionally; gray is not your friend! So, I was super excited to see that bolder jewel tones, especially blues are coming into play in bathrooms. And I’m not just talking about wall color either, although that is the cheapest and biggest bang for your buck. Cabinetry in shades of sky blue and navy are all over the place. Or if you are super bold, try tiling a floor to ceiling shower in a bold hue. Just make sure it’s a color you love, even when its not the latest trend, because you don’t want to get sick of it. And my biggest piece of advice is to make sure there is balance between your bold shades and neutrals. A blue vanity with a blue counter top and backsplash, is just too much. Pick and choose where you want to experiment with color carefully. Overtime your confidence will grow, and you will be ready to commit to a bold color in a more permanent way.

4. Matte Black. Hardware, believe it or not, is one of the fastest ways to date a space. For example, an all-white bathroom is timeless, and it can be hard to tell how old it is if done properly. But its that greenish gold bronze hardware from 1984 that screams UPDATE ME!! But it is also an easy fix. The latest shift in hardware in bathrooms has gone to matte black. I kind of like it, when it contrasts with light cabinetry. I appreciate that it hides handprints and doesn’t need to be polished with wax paper (we are talking about you, Chrome). But I personally am still riding on the trend of the last couple of years in hardware, where there has been a shift back to gold tones, and brushed brass from silver tones and oil rubbed bronze bonanza. With blue tones (as mentioned above) being a big player in bathroom design, I like the warm tones of the gold shades to balance the cools of the blue. Think of the hardware in your space like the accessories you pare with an outfit. It can make or break it.

5. Stand Alone Bathtub (not necessarily in the bathroom). There has been a gradual shift over the past decade away from bath tubs in the master bathroom. My last house was a tub less master bathroom house with a killer shower. The thought was that people are just too busy to sit and bathe. True, but I believe the purpose of the master bathroom bath tub is not for hygiene, but rather relaxation and comfort. And, I can tell you from experience that the tub in the shower/bath combo in the hall bathroom just didn’t cut it when needing to soak sore muscles. I made sure that my current house had a bath tub in the master bathroom. And in general, people are realizing that taking time to relax is important, so tubs are back! But not just any tub, they want a stand-alone tub. It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s a claw foot tub, or a jetted spa, people miss bath time. There is, however, one kind of weird trend that is happening with tubs. And this may be a product of years of master bathrooms built without a tub, and nowhere to put one. But there is an emerging trend to put the bathtub in the master bedroom. I get it. But I can’t help but think about houses from the 70’s with shag carpeted steps up to a sunken tub. If its done tastefully, I think it can be beautiful. Or it can end up looking like the “honeymoon suite” at a Day’s Inn.

Just because you have a house, doesn't mean it will sell.

Just because you love your house, doesn't mean others will too. These are two thoughts that seem to be significant hurdles for many home sellers.

It all comes down to "looking at something from another's perspective." In the case of selling a house, it's about seeing your home from the prospective buyer who isn't you, and may or may not like your taste in decor, color or design.

You undoubtedly can't "be everything to everyone", but its good to at the very least pick a direction for your home design before putting it on the market and doing it well. In the 90's and early part of the 2000's, this meant to make everything vanilla and beige. Today that is not the case. Home buyers want to be "wowed".

Home shoppers want to walk into an HGTV style home.

If you don't have a massive budget to put into the property you're trying to move, don't worry. Staging and creating a presentable and appealing home doesn't have to be impossible.

Here are some mistakes to avoid when staging your home for sale. Watch our video in full to learn about each one of these points and how to implement them into your home sale plan.

Bad Photo's

Hire a professional photographer that understand how to use a wide-angle lens and can color correct as needed for the MLS listing pictures. If your real estate agent's idea of getting shots for the MLS listing involves 5 minutes walking around with a camera phone... Get a different real estate agent.

Outdated Staging Materials

Stage correctly and with what people want TODAY. It doesn't matter what you "like" from 1998, you need to speak to the potential home buyer of today. Are you selling a "first-time home buyer", are you selling a "forever home" or are you selling a "vacation home"? Understand the demographics of who is most likely to be looking at your home (Age, income, interest, style) and stage to speak to those people.

Kill the Personal Stuff

I'm sure your proud of your degrees, vacations, awards, family gatherings and everything that says your name on it. But guess what... No one else is. No one will buy your home based on those vacation photos from '03 that are lining the hallway to the master bedroom. Take down ALL personal effects and make the house "buyer friendly" to help other picture their lives being lived in your home.

Smell That? 

You likely have no idea what your house smells like. It may not smell bad at all, but I'm sure it has a "smell" to new people coming in. Be sure that smell is not a turn-off. Get an outside opinion on what the "smell is", and if needed - fix it or mask it. Fresh baked goods when people visit is a great temporary fix, but there is no amount of chocolate chips that will ever mask an uncontrolled pet or other problem. Those need a permanent fix, including new carpet if need be.

Too much stuff

We all love our stuff. But if there's one thing buyers don't want to explore is a cluttered house. Most, also don't want a completely blank slate either. Find a balance between to two that fit the tastes of today's home buyer.

Tony & Jenny take a hallway guest bathroom and give it personality and charm. Learn how you can transform your guest bathroom with these design ideas.

Tony & Jenny discuss life working on home renovations and take "confused room" pictures submitted by you and give them a 3D Digital makeover with interior design ideas and DIY home design tips & tricks. Watch amazing before & after videos on their website!

Just like your favorite HGTV shows, get Fixer-Upper and DIY ideas on how to reclaim a room or space and make it how you always wanted. From rustic farmhouse to modern design, we cover it all. Submit your room picture through their facebook page or at http://www.confusedroom.com and they may give your space a free digital makeover on a future episode of Confused Room!

We show you how to make create a rustic shelf that can be used for almost anything. The shelf can also be moved from the room in one piece. We use plywood, stain, copper spray paint and metal plumbing pipe to make it all come together.

Tony & Jenny discuss life working on home renovations and take "confused room" pictures submitted by you and give them a 3D Digital makeover with interior design ideas and DIY home design tips & tricks. Watch amazing before & after videos on their website!

Just like your favorite HGTV shows, get Fixer-Upper and DIY ideas on how to reclaim a room or space and make it how you always wanted. From rustic farmhouse to modern design, we cover it all. Submit your room picture through their facebook page or at http://www.confusedroom.com and they may give your space a free digital makeover on a future episode of Confused Room!

We take a now-vacant boys room and turn it into the perfect space for a little girl to grow up in! Check out our full re-design video and reveal in this video.

Tony & Jenny discuss life working on home renovations and take "confused room" pictures submitted by you and give them a 3D Digital makeover with interior design ideas and DIY home design tips & tricks. Watch amazing before & after videos on their website!

Just like your favorite HGTV shows, get Fixer-Upper and DIY ideas on how to reclaim a room or space and make it how you always wanted. From rustic farmhouse to modern design, we cover it all. Submit your room picture through their facebook page or at http://www.confusedroom.com and they may give your space a free digital makeover on a future episode of Confused Room!

We take an ordinary, slightly used kids playhouse and give it a complete makeover to become the playhouse of a little girls dreams! See how we made over this children's playhouse on this episode!

Tony & Jenny discuss life working on home renovations and take "confused room" pictures submitted by you and give them a 3D Digital makeover with interior design ideas and DIY home design tips & tricks. Watch amazing before & after videos on their website!

Just like your favorite HGTV shows, get Fixer-Upper and DIY ideas on how to reclaim a room or space and make it how you always wanted. From rustic farmhouse to modern design, we cover it all. Submit your room picture through their facebook page or at http://www.confusedroom.com and they may give your space a free digital makeover on a future episode of Confused Room!

We turn an empty room into a Zen meditation retreat! See how we did it in this episode!

Tony & Jenny discuss life working on home renovations and take "confused room" pictures submitted by you and give them a 3D Digital makeover with interior design ideas and DIY home design tips & tricks. Watch amazing before & after videos on their website!

Just like your favorite HGTV shows, get Fixer-Upper and DIY ideas on how to reclaim a room or space and make it how you always wanted. From rustic farmhouse to modern design, we cover it all. Submit your room picture through their facebook page or at http://www.confusedroom.com and they may give your space a free digital makeover on a future episode of Confused Room!

Tony & Jenny discuss life working on home renovations and take "confused room" pictures submitted by you and give them a 3D Digital makeover with interior design ideas and DIY home design tips & tricks. Watch amazing before & after videos on their website!

Just like your favorite HGTV shows, get Fixer-Upper and DIY ideas on how to reclaim a room or space and make it how you always wanted. From rustic farmhouse to modern design, we cover it all. Submit your room picture through their facebook page or at http://www.confusedroom.com and they may give your space a free digital makeover on a future episode of Confused Room!