My Parents’ Home Makeover With Target (And Everything You Need To Shop The Look)

As part of the Fab Five, I’m use to creating dramatic home transformations through design. But when it came time for my most recent makeover, things were a little bit different. I wasn’t just designing a few rooms, I was renovating a whole house for my most important clients yet-my parents.  

BEFORE 

LIVING ROOM

For the living room, it was important to me to make things feel bright, open and comfortable, bringing in a modern farmhouse vibe to go with the original architecture of the house. There are a few windows on the front of the house, but other than that there isn’t much natural light that comes into the room, so I went with a bright and light color scheme for everything, and painted the walls Pure White by Sherwin Williams. At the top of the to-do list in the living room was replacing the old wood floor. It hadn’t been replaced for quite some time, and by adding a lighter-toned wide plank wood floors from Build.com, it tied all the spaces together and brightened everything up. The wood tone worked perfectly with the colors that I was bringing in through the new pieces from Target, and also served as the perfect connection between all the spaces in the house. Up on the ceiling, I removed all the texture and resurfaced the existing ceiling beam (which was covered with a popcorn texture) to make it feel as if it had been there forever. Then throughout the space, I brought in soft, neutral colors and textures through pillows, draperies and woven shades . The woven wood shades from SelectBlinds helped soften the harsh lines of the black window casings, and also brought some additional texture to the space. To keep it from feeling boring or bland, there are black accents throughout that help create some contrast and bring in a modern touch, including the doors, trim and fireplace painted in Tricorn Black.

I also completely reoriented the room and created a defined living space for them, where they can hang out with family or friends, or watch TV. By placing the two matching sofas in the corner of the room, it opened up the entire living room to the rest of the space and made it feel much bigger. Because it is a small space, rather than adding a lot of different elements, I repeated the same elements (the sofa, chairs, and side tables) throughout to keep it cohesive. Speaking of coffee tables, once the room was reoriented, it called for one large coffee table to fill the space, so I used two of the same coffee table and stacked them next to each other to create one large square table. It’s something that we do a lot in design projects when we want to create one large piece and we can’t find just the right size. Opposite the new sofas, I added two chairs to give another area for people to sit and hang out in. By going with an option that has legs and was more linear vs upholstered all the way to the floor, it allows the room to still feel connected to the dining room and doesn’t block the visual flow of the space. These chairs were the perfect solution and look great in the room. Hey Mom and Dad, you might be seeing a lot more of me and Dewey now that you have all this new seating!

DINING ROOM & KITCHEN

The most dramatic change in the home came in the kitchen and dining room, where the wall that separated the kitchen and dining was completely removed. Before, the spaces were split up by a long wall that cut the kitchen off from the rest of the living area, and by ripping it out, we were able to create one seamless open space for my parents to enjoy, no matter what room they were in. Come back Monday for more on all of the structural changes were made and the construction that we did, but for now, let’s talk about the dining room before we all admire that brand new kitchen.

With the new layout of the space, the dining table now became a focal area in the middle of the room, so I kept it minimal and echoed the color palette of blacks, browns, whites, and creams that was used elsewhere. These cafe style chairs from Target brought the black from the kitchen into the dining area, and then to create a focal wall, we added two tall bookcases which gives them a place to display a few items. In between the bookcases, we hung a circular mirror which pulls the same wood tones from the beams in the living to the dining area, and also helps bounce the light around the room. And because there is no such thing as too much versatile storage or seating, we brought in a pair of ottomans between the two bookcases. They can be pulled up to the dining table when needed for the grandkids, and provide a spot to stash things away when not in use.

When I first started the project, this kitchen was actually the only room that we had planned to do… but you know me, I can’t just do one room. So we ended up redoing the entire house. Leave it to me to turn a single kitchen reno into a full house reno, but hey, what better project can you work on then one for your parents in your childhood home? But back to the kitchen- my mom loves to cook and I really wanted to give her somewhere that had everything she needed at arm’s reach, while maximizing storage so that it didn’t feel cluttered. I reworked the layout and floor plan of the kitchen, which then allowed me to add lots of additional storage. Because the house is an old farmhouse (really, there are cows across the street), I went with something that would complement the architecture of the home, and brought in a combo of solid and glass front lehryttan shaker cabinets from Ikea. We were able to customize every single cabinet to make it work for her, and I have to tell you, I am pretty jealous of this new setup she has. The team from Ikea could not have been more wonderful to work with and they really made sure that every inch of this kitchen was maximized for functionality while still staying to the look that we wanted. For hardware, we used a combo of brass knobs and pulls to bring some brass accents into the kitchen, and then to complement the black cabinet color and keep it seamless, we went with all cast iron black appliances with a matte finish from Maytag. For the countertops, we used an engineered stone which is virtually indestructible (AKA grandchild proof), and a brand new farmhouse style sink and faucet from Kohler. There will be lots more on all the kitchen details tomorrow, but in the meantime, bring on the cooking!

PRIMARY BEDROOM

PRIMARY BATHROOM

GUEST BEDROOM

LAUNDRY ROOM AND MUDROOM

With the long passthrough hallway we didn’t have a ton of room to add a big piece, but I did want to give them a space to take their boots on and off, as well as throw a coat, scarf or (cowboy) hat. So we added this windsor style bench just next to the door and then installed hooks above, which created an instant drop zone, and a functional spot for them to use everyday while still keeping the hallway open.

GUEST BATHROOM