Farewell Bachelorette Pad

Every time I get my place just right after years of deliberation (or procrastination, if I were to honest with myself), I move. A couple years ago, I was convinced I was going to be a single girl in the city for the rest of my life, and I found the perfect pad to live my "Sex and the City" lifestyle. I hemmed and hawed and hesitated over the art, furniture, rugs, drapes and accessories. I bought and returned countless tchotchkies from Target and Pier 1. I even bit the bullet and spent a stupid amount of money to remodel my bathroom and replace all the pipes so I wouldn't have to bathe in or drink brown water from the rusted galvanized pipes. And what happened 1 week after the the contractor finally completes the remodel? I run off to Vegas to marry the man of my dreams and move to the *gasp* suburbs!

My last place in the city gave me so much comfort, pleasure and joy. Looking at the before and after pictures gives me a huge sense of accomplishment. You've come a long way, baby, but it's time to move on to the next chapter of your life.

Living Room


The living room was spacious and got amazing light, but the dark paneling sucked it all away.

I brightened up the place with baby blue walls and put in glossy cherry floors. The cherry floors were a mistake. I thought I picked out a browner, darker floor, but the floors were already half way installed when I realized the mistake, so I worked with it. It's actually quite stunning. Quite often, it's the first thing people comment on when they first enter the place.

The built in bookcase and fireplace surround were the only redeeming features in this room. I've been meaning to paint it white and put in a mirror backing in the bookcase but never got around to doing it.

Dining Room

I originally wanted an exotic, Moroccan inspired dining room, which explains the rug. I had grand visions of luscious, stenciled walls in jewel tone colors. Instead, the dining room evolved into something more traditional with a hint of French country. I guess I'm more traditional at heart. Almost everything in this picture is from Craigslist and in total cost me around $500.

Kitchen
The kitchen was a total gut job. Nothing was worth salvaging or refinishing. There was a weird hall way entrance that cut the kitchen in two. I closed it off so I could create a U shaped floor plan that is much more conducive to cooking. My last kitchen was all white, and I was craving the warmth of rich wood.

There used to be a wall dividing the dining room from the kitchen that made both rooms feel small and claustrophobic. That wall was one of the first things to come down.

Can you imagine cooking in this kitchen? Check out the rotary phone on the wall.

Half the kitchen cabinets were fake wood laminate and the other half was painted avocado green. Yuck.

Bedroom 1


The first bedroom had the same dark paneling as the living room. I think I choose the yellow in a knee jerk reaction to the paneling. I gave up finding the prefect piece of art to put above the bed as I'm terrified of it falling on my head in an earthquake. I adore my vintage inspired dresser, but the new husband hates it. It will be interesting to see where it shows up in the new house.

Bedroom 2


The rarely used guest room. If I'm not careful, this room becomes a place to dump all my crap.

Bathroom


As much as I love wallpaper, the before pictures convinced me to stay away from it. Nothing dates a place faster than trendy wallpaper past its prime.

The marble mosaic floor, subway tile, pedestal sink and bead board create the vintage look I was trying to achieve in the bathroom. The coffin shower behind the door was converted in to a spacious closet.  I chose black and white tile for a timeless look. I painted the walls a crazy lavender color. I thought it would be too over the top, but so far, it's been well received.