Where to find the most affordable place to buy rugs?
When it comes to rug shopping there is no one size fits all category. Every room, space and person is uniquely different from one another. Sourcing your rugs online might feel like a complete change in thinking, but we are here to reassure you that it can be done successfully. Read the reviews, make sure you’ve got the brightness of your computer screen turned all the way up, and look at all the details. These are the must haves to start sourcing rugs online. We source our rugs from all over, but below are just a few of our favorite places to source from, all depending on our client’s needs, wants and most importantly their budget!
A vintage rug is always a good idea. Here you need to remember you are buying vintage and that can come with an investment. With this investment comes the quality of the rug.
Looking for a really affordable place to buy rugs? This just might be your one stop shop. Keep in mind while the affordability is here it may lack some long lasting qualities.
I think one of the saddest things I hear from clients is when I ask them what they love about their home and their response is “nothing!” Nothing…like you really don’t love a single space of your home! Maybe that’s you too, hence the reason you clicked through to this post. I want to share some super helpful tips to help you fall in love with your home again!
Paint
I cannot say this enough! Paint should be your best friend. It is hands down the quickest way to make a major impact on a space. You can change the entire vibe of your home through the color of the walls, trim or ceiling. Look for whites or grays to make your room bright or neutral. To get you started, here are my go to white and gray paints.
Art
Art is a great way to make your house feel like a home! I personally love collecting art from travels, or making art with our kids. Photos are another beautiful way to showcase your family, friends and loved ones.
Vignettes
Another simple way to love your home is by displaying small collections of items you love. I love to look at them in groups of 3 to create a vignette. These small collections throughout my home make me happy every time I see them. They don’t all need to go together or match, they just need to be items I love at different height levels. If they aren’t all different heights I make them that way through collections of books.
Rugs
A good rug can do wonders to your space. Knowing what size to buy or how to scale the rug is a whole other game, but we’ve got you! Here’s our guide to finding the perfect rug for your space.
Pillows
Ooohhh how I love me some good throw pillows! This might just be my favorite way to change a room and change it fast. I love switching out pillow covers. Not only is this easy to store it’s a more affordable way to change pillows!
Live Plants
I love how much life a plant can bring to your space. And if you feel like you kill every plant you own you aren’t alone! These have quickly become my go to plants throughout our home and yes, they are all alive!
Removable Wallpaper
Another fun way to make a big impact on a space is through wallpaper! Removable wallpaper tends to be a more comfortable option for most as you are not making the same type of commitment! These are my go to removable wallpaper!
Here are a few other posts we’ve got on how to love you home.
This space has been so incredibly fun and rewarding. We took what felt like a Chicago studio kitchen where you could use the sink, fridge and range all at the same time and turned it to a true open concept with more than double the counter space. The ultimate goal was to create a more functional and purposeful space for our client to enjoy being home, entertaining with friends and family and maybe even do some cooking!
We started here
BEFORE
And ended here.
AFTER
Knowing that we had her chimney stack running directly through the kitchen wall we decided to work with the elements instead of against them. We exposed the brick and built the island around the stack, leaving one side on the bottom exposed. Based on what we saw in her basement we could tell that the stack was built properly and looked good…and we were right!
To help prevent the kitchen from feeling too closed in again we opted for corner L-shaped floating shelves next to the sink.
We styled the shelves with everyday items and of course a few kitchen plants that even you won’t kill!
Keeping our goal for a truly functional and purposeful space we needed to ensure we had enough room for a kitchen island and had to create a true golden triangle! We kept the sink in the same spot while relocating both the refrigerator and range.
BEFOREAFTER
The island has about 4 feet of space on each side of the kitchen for more than enough room to have multiple cooks in the kitchen if needed.
We extended the kitchen into the dining room to gain more countertop space. And to reach the dining room’s optimal seating potential we built a custom banquet, wrapping 3 sides of the table.
BEFORE
The banquet was built on site and customized to the new table our client purchased. There is now enough seating for at least 7 on the bench alone, and even more when chairs are brought in. Talk about a party!
Here’s How Easy To Build Mid Century Floating Shelves For Your Home
You guys, our mid-century modern floating shelves are absolutely insane. They totally made the living room space when we remodeled it as part of the Fall 2019 One Room Challenge, and now they are looking for a new home in our home because…we took that wall out! That’s right, these shelves are just sitting and waiting to be installed elsewhere. But we’ve received so many questions about them that we thought why not share with you all how to make them for your home. This is our tutorial on how to build mid-century modern floating shelves.
The shelf design we chose was inspired by a fellow husband and wife team – Weekley Design & Build. They are an incredibly talented duo who does the most insane custom builds, so check them out. And while their shelf design was slightly different than ours from a build and install perspective, this tutorial holds true on how to do it for yourself. We will cover a 5 shelf, two tier unit in this tutorial.
Measure the space where you want to build your shelves. You will need the total width and depth of the space to ensure your vertical runs are spot on.
You will now locate the studs in your wall…they should be spaced 16” apart on center, but may vary depending on the home. Once you locate them take your level and draw a line down the wall for reference, then measure the true space between each mark and write that down…we will come back to that.
Begin by cutting all of your horizontal shelf boards. Our design has 5, so in this case you will want to cut 5 at exactly the same length.
Choose 1 end to begin from, and mark where your studs fall on each horizontal board. Remember to consider where you want each side of the unit to start and end on your wall…this will determine where you mark those lines. You should have at least 2 marks on each board.
Next, using your pocket hole jig, pre-drill for stud screws on the marks you made for each board.
Determine the amount of space you want between each shelf and mark the remaining boards for your vertical runs. We spaced ours 10” apart, so had 3 total boards at 10” x 10”.
If you have a jointer and a planer available to you, this would be the time to use them. We set our jointer to remove ⅛” from the sides of each of our boards, then ran each of them through the planer for a smooth and level surface. You do not have to do this, but if possible it would be great.
Once you have the all of your boards ready it is time to make the 2 sections of shelves. You want to mark where you want your vertical boards to fall on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd horizontal shelf. This will help you line them up perfectly.
There are two ways you can attach your vertical divider boards to your shelves. 1st, pre-drill your holes using a 5/32 wood bit and attach together with construction screws. The 2nd, and most tedious way, is to join them with biscuits. More woodworkers and makers have a biscuit joiner but it is not a common tool you would keep at home. So for the sake of simplicity we will stick with attaching with screws.
Continue attaching the vertical boards until both units are assembled.
Remember those pocket holes you pre-drilled? You’ll be glad you did it early on because it is now time to install the top unit. A second and/or third set of hands would be ideal for this step.
With assistance, hold the top unit in place ensuring the top shelf is at the height you want and the pocket holes are on the horizontal line you marked for studs. Throw a level on the top shelf to make sure you are level, Once ready, attach with construction screws.
Repeat for each shelf, and place the level vertical on the sides too to make sure it is all installed level and plum.
Once your top unit is installed, repeat steps for the lower unit.
Pat yourself on the back and style those shelves!
And there you have it. As always, please let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below. And if you decide to build a set of mid-century modern floating shelves in your home, send us pictures and tag us! We want to see how you did it in your space.
Mixing metals in kitchen can feel strange or outside the norm when you first think about it. Most of us grew up in homes where all the metals were the same. Once you committed to a metal that was the metal that lived throughout your space, and often times throughout the entire home. As designs and trends change I am guessing you’ve seen the shift; more and more people are incorporating multiple metals into one space. Yet you might be finding yourself still lost as to how you are going to incorporate this look into your own home.
We’ve covered how to mix metals in your bathroom, but have yet to touch on kitchens. Seeing how we just did our kitchen, what time is better than now. So let’s get into it. Today we are going to take you through the steps on how to mix metals in kitchen.
The next step is to pick your supporting metal to act as the complementing metal that you see in the space. In our kitchen, matte black is our supporting metal. I love how the soft hues of brass contrast against the bold matte black. In our space you will find matte black in both faucets, island hardware and our dining nook light fixture.
Pick One Accent Metal
Use one metal to accent the others. We used chrome for our supporting metal, which you will see in our backsplash, espresso machine and inside our sink. I have also scattered chrome throughout the cabinets.
How To Know It Is Going To Work.
Create a mood board.Mood boards help show all of your thoughts and choices together. I love to begin my mood boards with Pinterest. From there, I collect all my inspiration images to make a working mood board where I’ll build my design choices. In my full mood board I add all my image choices together to see how they work with each other. I wrote a full post on how I go about creating a mood board.
A lot of this process is trial and error. I truly believe it’s ok to make mistakes in life, that’s how we all learn. But if you aren’t will to take a risk you’re never going to see the results of what could have been!
Wow! Eight weeks have come and gone and here we are at the end of our journey making several rooms into one big room! We are beyond thrilled, excited and proud to show you our final reveal.
But before we dive in, be sure to get caught up on all of the progress from the start.
Also, if you’re finding us for the first time from the One Room Challenge, welcome! We’re Danielle and Michael Gutelli! And together, we’re Clark + Aldine.
Clark + Aldine is named after the Chicago streets where we first met, and was born out of a love for purposeful design and everyday functionality. What we didn’t know then was that our passion and design influence would continue to grow, and we would soon leave our established careers to pursue Clark + Aldine full time. But like they say, when you know, you know! Learn more about us.
Sign-up for exclusive access to our Ultimate Kitchen Design Guide
[emaillocker] [/emaillocker]
This One Room Challenge has been an incredible experience for the two of us. We’ve been able to push ourselves to create a truly functional and purposeful space for our own family. It’s one thing to design and build functional and purposeful spaces for our clients in their homes, but doing it for ourselves is just so incredible, especially while managing simultaneous client projects and a global pandemic.
Without further ado let’s get into it! Here are some killer before and after images. All sources are listed at the end of this post!
Kitchen
BEFOREAFTER
Dining Room
BEFOREAFTER
Now let’s get into all the details. This project started as a kitchen remodel and quickly turned into a multiple room/most of our first floor remodel. Guess that’s what happens when you take down walls! Our number one goal for this project was to create a place for everyone to gather, be conversational and enjoy everyday moments together. Everything from electrical and plumbing to flooring and cabinetry is brand new, and everywhere you look there are details you didn’t see at first glance.
Kitchen
Our cabinets are from Lily Ann Cabinets, where we chose their White Shaker Elite for all perimeter cabinets and uppers. Four out of our six upper cabinets have glass fronts, which helped us create a completely open concept, and since our sofa faces directly into the kitchen we wanted to design a more open, less built-in feel to the entire back wall. The glass fronts allow the eyes to rest in many different spaces developing a well rounded back wall. By using glass fronts on more than half of our uppers we were able to style the cabinets functional yet still aesthetically pleasing. More on how we made that happen in a future blog post!
In all of our glass front uppers we added Philips Hue Light Strips inside and under to illuminate. The lights allow us to adjust the brightness and even change colors so the boys can have some fun with it around holiday times! We also have all of our lighting on smart switches. We chose to extend our collection of Lutron Caseta dimmers throughout the space, allowing us to control our lighting with voice via Siri and Apple’s HomeKit. We love that we’ve built a space that is so adaptable to our activities both inside and outside of the home.
For the layout we broke our kitchen into four spaces: the main cooking area, the countertop pantry and small appliance garage, island and the coffee bar. Each space it’s unique feature and function to make our lives easier and purposeful for our everyday lifestyle!
Main Cooking Area
Having extra countertop space was essential. Remember when we had just one 24 inch countertop to work off of! Yup, we do…and we do not miss it one bit!
Can you believe this used to be our sink and now it houses our refrigerator!?!
BEFORE
We knew from the get go we wanted to include this refrigerator. The matte white finish with the brushed bronze handles perfectly complements our cabinets throughout the space. Knowing you would see the refrigerator as soon as you entered our home we wanted to make sure it didn’t stand out, and due to a window adjacent to it we had to go with a counter depth refrigerator. We sacrificed a little space for a way better look…win!
Next to the refrigerator lives our countertop pantry and small appliance garage. The six drawers on the bottom will house snacks for the boys and everyday items we need. We had to customize our upper cabinet by removing the bottom and delicately cutting out the lower portion of the face frame to allow for the quartz counters to be the base of the cabinet. Inside the cabinet will live our blender and toaster, along with other well organized and functional pantry items. We promise to give you a tour in there soon once our new storage solutions arrive (thank you, COVID!). This section of the kitchen has three different sizes of hardware: 4 inch, 6 inch and 8 inch.
For our island we had Lily Ann Cabinets custom finish them in Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black. We wanted the high contrast between the two spaces, plus we brought in this killer slat design to tie in the living space with the kitchen space! Yes, we are working on two posts for you on our slat designs. We hear you and promise those are coming very soon!
You guys, can you believe this island used to be a wall and a closet!!!
BEFORE Closet
The island is jam packed with storage. The entire front of the island features cabinets that push open and we paired these Tarckbyn counter stools for our seating. The dishwasher is housed to the right of this black quartz Elkay sink! And, yes that is a walnut cutting board that fits perfectly on top! Our faucet is a Brizo SmartTouch pulldown from Build.com, and we love the SmartTouch and how the two tone metals bring together the elements of our space. Next to the faucet is a little gold button that is for our garbage disposal…it’s the InSinkErator Air switch and you need the InSinkErator kit to make it work. This is a perfect example of ensuring our space has purpose and function! On the other side of the sink we have a drinking faucet water filtration system. This was an add on and we are both so grateful for the change order. Having the water system easily accessible for everyone helps with the daily intake, especially with our boys!
To marry the kitchen with our dining room we did a couple things. First we connected the cabinets with an upper cabinet above the doorway and continued our backsplash across the room. We used Splendours White Subway Tile and finished this off on both sides with the Bullnose Splendous Tile. We also continued the counters to create a coffee bar!!! Our perimeter countertops are Hanstone Storm.
Coffee Bar
Well this space is a dream come true. Let’s just take it all in.
We landed on the Breville Barista Touch for our espresso machine and could not be happier with this purchase! We’ve had the machine for a couple months now and have it perfectly dialed in. The built in grinder keeps things quick and clean, and the ability to wake up and quickly whip up an Americano or Latte is amazing. We have saved a TON of money so far by making our coffee at home, which was inevitable due to COVID but hey, let us celebrate anyway!
A quick shout out to our friend (and Michael’s college roommate) Brent Goodale, founder of Good Brothers Coffee for supplying us with some great blends for the reveal. We have been a part of his monthly subscription for well over a year now and it is honestly some of the absolute best we’ve ever had!
Dining Room/Breakfast Nook
We’ve been calling this space our breakfast nook but in reality it was our dining room. Remember she used to look like this!
Inside the nook we lined the walls with Tempaper’s Travertine. The black and gold waves are mesmerizing and look incredible when they are lit up from the Duo Wall Sconces from BluePrint Lighting.
If you look hard enough you should be able to see our custom wall mounted dog bowls! We wanted to make sure everyone felt at home here and that we are making this space as functional and purposeful as possible.
We knew we needed a new dining table. Our old rectangular table would no longer fit inside our open concept space. A round table was a must. When we found the ‘MIXT’ Warwick Round Dining Table we knew it was the perfect fit. The table fit the space correctly while the Acacia wood legs and a natural stone top added the texture we were looking for to the breakfast nook. We paired the Tracy Dining Chairs from Overstock. We love the mid century modern design with curved backed paired with the bold black seat pad. Jill Rosenwald created us a custom Slim Keith, Bail Toile in Samoa Taupe vase that we are absolutely obsessed with. And our friend Brandi from Lee Floral Design made our stunning bouquet. We also have a subscription to her bouquets that bring us joy every time they come in!
To bring the kitchen and dining room together we painted the window casing the same color, Sherwin Williams Greenblack. We also had custom shades made for us by another local friend, Lauren from Shade Simple. She made the process so simple as she always does with all of our client projects!
Butler’s Pantry
The doorway between the kitchen and dining room leads to what used to be our pantry.
BEFORE
When we decided to relocate the refrigerator and change the depth to a counter depth refrigerator we knew we would be losing valuable square footage inside the refrigerator. We found this EdgeStar Bottles and Cans Cooler with French Doors from Build.com and knew we needed to own it. We then made the plan to switch gears and take off our custom black door to have an open space.
We then added 2 floating shelves inside the pantry and styled them to be functional, aesthetically pleasing and purposeful. We placed things we use on a daily basis in glass containers and layered behind them the items we don’t use as often but need in the kitchen.
We switched out our old lighting fixture for the Eastonfrom Hudson Valley. We love love love how it illuminates the hallway.
Our living space was our Fall 2019 One Room Challenge. We added this killer fireplace with built-ins on both sides. From there we created this killer window casing with oak slats that has made our front window a true statement piece. When we took down the wall from our kitchen to our living room we lost an amazing modern shelving unit we had made last fall. We also quickly realized the existing furniture we had in our space was no longer going to work. While the room has always been a long and narrow living space, removing the wall and adding the island in its place now created an even narrower walkway.
BEFORE
Remember, our goal for this space was to create a functional and purposeful home our family could gather, hold conversations in and just enjoy everyday moments. So selecting the right furniture here was key! That is when Apt2b came to the rescue. Selecting a longer sofa for this long and narrow space that allowed for all four of us to curl up on and enjoy pizza movie night was what we needed. We also needed to make sure the sofa wasn’t too long that it wouldn’t fit correctly with the rug size this room allows for.
We also knew our round coffee table was no longer going to work within the space. The Aiken Coffee Table has a cool modern feel made from Acacia wood and almost instantly brought out the warm tones in all the wood and furniture surrounding it to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Having two active dudes means we are always up to something. Game night has become a big thing around here and something we hope to continue as our kids grow. When we found these WovenByrd fun lightweight stackable stools we knew they needed to be added to our space. We typically house them below our hanging plants but when we are looking for extra seating they make their way into our space.
We wanted to optimize our space without making it feel overcrowded while creating as much seating as possible for us to entertain and use the home as we believe it deserves to be used! We have been on a hunt for a Mid Century Lounge Chair + Ottoman for timeless classic look and The Pasargad Home Florence Leather Lounge Chair in Black from Overstock fits perfectly into the space without taking up too much room and providing us with exactly what we’ve been hunting for! We added the Lindsay Lumbar in Mushroom Giorgio Linen from SWD Studio to unite the living space and breakfast nook. The mushroom color works well with the Tempaper Wallpaper!
All of our trim molding is brand new in the space too! We worked with Novo Building Products to pick the perfect elements for our space, all of which come from Empire Moulding and Millwork! First, we carried the Empire Modern Craftsman Baseboards in 5.5 and this absolutely incredible shoe molding throughout the entire first floor. The shoe itself has won us over, as we just aren’t that into shoe (shoes on the other hand, we both have slight obsessions with) but this right here has completely transformed our base molding and added another surprise element to the space. Our new window and door casing is from the same Craftsman Collection via Empire, as is our crown molding. We actually carried the crown into our kitchen and used it to finish the top of our upper cabinets…couldn’t have paired more perfectly!
Entryways
It’s wild to see how much natural light pours into this space now. Last year we replaced our exterior doors to allow for more natural light to flow into our home. However, the wall running the length of our upper and lower staircases trapped most of the natural light the doors brought in.
When we cut out both sides of the wall we immediately noticed the impact….hello natural light!
Our side entryway comes in off the driveway. This might be our most used entryway since replacing the doors last summer. Prior to that you guys it didn’t open! Taking out the closet that came into the kitchen space and removing part of the wall here has been a complete show stopper!
One thing we weren’t sure about when we were designing the new space is what time of knee wall we were going to use. But then Beth at LJ Smith provided a recommendation on a custom knee wall solution that was sure to please. We fell in love with this matte black flush mount panel and built it out using a white oak newel post and white oak handrail. The finishing touch…this insane matte black newel post cap! Yes, we are obsessed!
This One Room Challenge has completely changed our lives forever. Not only were we given the opportunity to completely transform our own home for the last eight weeks and bring you all on our journey we now get to live in this space and enjoy all the purposeful and functional elements we have created.
We want to give a huge thank you to Linda Weinstein for asking us to be a Featured Designer in this spring 2020 One Room Challenge, and for being such an incredible leader and supporter to all of us as we experienced an abundance of very tough and stressful times.
To all our incredible sponsors, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We would never be able to pull off a transformation like this with client projects and timelines without you! To all our readers, thank you for continuing to show up here, engage with us here and on social…we appreciate each and every one of you. We love what we do and hope this shows true in all of our work. To all our amazing clients, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your patience with us as we balanced complete chaos in our own home, worked on your homes and lived through a pandemic together.
Make sure to check out the other 19 amazing Featured Designers Final Reveals in the Spring 2020 One Room Challenge!
Hello again friends! And welcome to week 7…the final stretch for the One Room Challenge. We’ve been through all the ups and downs, the emotional roller coasters, and the “I don’t think I can handle much more of this” moments, and we’re alive and thriving! This is a big week over here and we’re going to bring you along for all of the amazing updates we have, and just how we plan to finish for next week’s final reveal.
But before we dive in, be sure to get caught up on all of the progress from the start.
Also, if you’re finding us for the first time from the One Room Challenge, welcome! We’re Danielle and Michael Gutelli! And together, we’re Clark + Aldine.
Clark + Aldine is named after the Chicago streets where we first met, and was born out of a love for purposeful design and everyday functionality. What we didn’t know then was that our passion and design influence would continue to grow, and we would soon leave our established careers to pursue Clark + Aldine full time. But like they say, when you know, you know! Learn more about us.
Sign-up for exclusive access to our Ultimate Kitchen Design Guide
[emaillocker] [/emaillocker]
All The Moldings
This week is all about the details. We have a thing for all of the moldings in a space – base, casing, crown and now even shoe. Fun fact – we’ve never really been a fan of shoe molding and refrained from installing it in our home or any client spaces unless it was asked…but that has changed after this project. Now we are obsessed as we found our new love affair with show molding.
We partnered with Novo Building Products for all of our moldings. Their company is super rad as it houses different brands under the umbrella, all of which have amazing products. We chose products from Empire Moulding and Millwork, Ornamental Moulding and Millwork and LJ Smith Stair Systems, all of which work seamlessly together in our space. Once we had the initial call and realized they were Michigan based and only a 2 hour drive from us we scheduled a date to visit the facility…and you guys, it was a dream!
We’ve talked about it before, but being owners of a design-to-build company we’re always looking to strengthen our list of prefered brands, products and vendors. We absolutely landed that here with Novo Building Products and the incredible team they have built. Be prepared to see their products in most of our spaces moving forward!
Baseboards and Shoe
When we purchased our home we went with a modern craftsman 5.5” baseboard throughout to update the space. And we didn’t veer far off with our new baseboards. We chose the Empire Modern Craftsman Baseboards in 5.5”, but there is a significant difference that caught our eye with these. They are actually significantly thinner, which allows them the flexibility to flow with walls, a feature not found in the thicker style of baseboards and moldings. See, even with brand new walls that are perfectly finished there will always be waves in the wall. It is inevitable, no matter the age of the home or remodel. Moldings with a thinner profile will allow for a much tighter seam and less caulk to fill gaps.
Now we have to talk about this shoe molding. As with traditional shoe moldings, this molding too is ¾” thick but looks like a mini baseboard with it’s profile. But when we saw it in person we knew we wanted to do something different. We had seen it installed with the ¾” laid vertically up and down along the bottom of the baseboard, and we flipped it so the ¾” is laid vertically against the floor. It makes such an incredible statement in our space and really adds that significant detail we feel is lacking in shoe moldings.
Window and Door Casing
Big shocker here…the window and door casing are from the same Craftsman Collection via Empire. It is such a sleek, elegant profile we had to carry it throughout our space. Again, the big selling paint for us with these is the thinner profile. And one major aspect we didn’t hit on above – it is not intrusive! Moliding is great, it is essential and it should uplift any window, door or wall. But it shouldn’t be an eye sore and that is what we felt our former trim was. Especially given the walls in this 1950 bungalow of ours….so uneven which meant so much caulk. We no longer have that problem.
Crown Molding
Ok, we’ve been dreaming about the crown since we bought the house. We knew we wouldn’t be able to add it into our living room and dining spaces due to coved ceilings, but those were destroyed during the demo so now we are able to feature it. And it completely elevates the space! We immediately fell in love with the crown molding from Empire’s Craftsman Collection. As with all moldings in this collection its elegance and simple profile caught our eye. We were able to get it in 16’ pieces, which meant we would have seams in only 3 of our wall spans, which you can not see!
Pro Tip – When installing molding on a wall that will need a seam, join them with a 45 degree miter cut. Once they are butted up tight and attached to the wall immediately fill with wood filler or plastic wood. When dry, sand them flush and repeat if you experienced any cracking. The smooth surface will prevent the appearance of any seams once painted, especially if you use a High quality trim paint. We have an entire post dedicated to painting molding, so check that out for some helpful tips!
Aside from the walls we planned to install crown molding to finish our kitchen cabinets. We were supplied with crown molding from the cabinet manufacturer, and the quality was great. But when it met up with the wall crown it clashed too much. So, we will be swapping it out for the crown molding from Empire’s Craftsman Collection and spray it with paint supplied by our cabinet makers, LilyAnn Cabinets. A win win!
We love all of the molding so much that we have decided to carry it throughout our entire first floor, and plan to update our 2nd floor as well in the near future. But after ORC we just need a little break!
Molding Paint
Molding paint creates a major impact to the overall feel and vibe of your space. We love experimenting with colors of molding. We’ve got you covered too, with a full step by step guide on how to paint molding! With this space becoming one open concept the molding paint color helps create individual spaces while still pulling the entire space together. Let’s break that down by the colors and why they work together.
The overall color we landed on for molding is Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams. What we love about this color is it lives in the brown family providing warm undertones without pulling out too much pink or yellow into the space. We were hunting for a color that is soothing, calm and welcoming. Accessible beige does just that. We used this color on all baseboards, shoe molding, most of the crown, all the door casing and the window casing in the living space on either side of the fireplace.
We wanted the living room and kitchen/dining room to flow together, yet still read as their own space. To achieve this look we used the color of our window casing, crown molding and baseboards to do this. In the kitchen and dining room we use Sherwin Williams Greenblack. We fell in love with the green undertones this bold dark paint has. While allowing for the window casing to be bold and dramatic, the green hues unite all the greenery we have inside the living space. Inside the breakfast nook, the contract with the Tempaper wallpaper is a perfect harmony, truly pulling out the green undertones! To complete the breakfast nook we painted the base and shoe molding Greenblack as well. We know that’s a bold move to change base color but we felt this really helped define this space as its own.
Crown in the kitchen is two parted. We are going to be using the same color as the kitchen cabinets for the color of the crown that will eventually live there and that color crown will continue around the window next to the staircase inside the kitchen. However the crown going around the header looking into the living space will be accessible beige. The reason being is we want to unite the two spaces together and having the crown from the kitchen match the crown in the living area did just that. Keeping the cabinet color with the crown the same in the kitchen space helps define that space!
Sign-up for exclusive access to our Ultimate Kitchen Design Guide
[emaillocker] [/emaillocker]
Stairs
When it came time to decide on our stairs we knew we wanted to go lighter to flow with our flooring. Our previous stairs were stained dark, to match the flooring, and was just too stark. We did not vibe with it at all whatsoever. So we went with a simple white oak stair tread from LJ Smith and paired with these incredible decorative risers from Ornamental Moulding and Millwork. Of course, with all things One Room Challenge, we ran into a challenge and had to rebuild our staircase leading into the basement from scratch. We will have a post up soon on how to do that in your home (the right way) but for now just know it was unexpected, and in the end quite reassuring to know that our staircase is now safe.
LJ Smith Stair Systems has been an incredible partner to us, ensuring we had everything we needed to pull the entire look together. While we aren’t quite ready to show it yet we have a custom knee wall, hand rails and some insanely detailed matte black hardware that is going to elevate the design in all the right ways. Stay tuned for more of that on Instagram and next week as we reveal the full space!
Lighting
Let’s talk about lighting! You guys lighting in a space like this really helps to define each individual space while continuing to develop the overall design aesthetic. We have two statement lighting with four accent lighting to complement the feature lighting. Our breakfast nook lighting is the absolute show stopper. You guys, people are stopping outside our house to look at it…we aren’t kidding either….we see you! I mean how can you not. This Fibonacci 9 Globe Chandelier by Blueprint Lighting makes my jaw drop every time I see it. The custom details and build of this light is absolutely incredible. We went with a matte black finish to marry our kitchen island features with the lighting.
Inside the nook we have two Duo Wall Sconces from Blueprint Lighting. The bronze finish on this wall sconces truly captures it’s beauty against our wallpaper. We love how these sconces are unexpected, yet completely necessary for a truly functional breakfast nook. They light the entire inside of the nook making it warm and inviting.
Our island lighting has been a challenge to say the least. We’ve gone three rounds with selection before landing on this linear light. The overall goal here was to have a light that paired perfectly with the Fibonacci without overpowering the space.
Having two staircases in this open concept space means we’ve got two entry lighting! Again, we wanted the lighting here to pair together while creating its own presents in the space it lives in. In our front entryway we are using a light we’ve own since we moved in. But now the light is seen throughout the house! In the side entryway we are using the Avery Pendant in aged brass and cream by Mitzi.
Mid-Century Modern Built-in Shelves
When we cut the wall open to let natural light in to our living space and funnel into the kitchen space we knew we wanted to create another pleasing element. A knee wall is what you would expect to live here. But we knew this space called for something more. So within a days time Michael built-out the design Danielle had envisioned. Together we were able to create our new mid-century modern built-in shelves. We didn’t want to leave you hanging on how we created them, so here’s our full blog post on how to build your own.
Countertops
Welp, we are still waiting for countertop installation. As we shared with you in week 4 we when everything closed down here in Michigan so did countertop fabrication. While this isn’t the end of the world to us this has made a major impact on what we can and cannot do. Turns out a whole lot of things in a kitchen space ride on having counters here! We are fortunate to have built out some killer plywood countertops that we sealed. But cannot wait to show you our new counters that come in today!
So, What’s Next?
We are so so so friggin close to being done! But this next week willo feature all of the finishing touches like countertops, backsplash, pot filler, cabinet crown, island trim, knee wall…oh so many things!
So be sure to hang with us and tune in next week for our final reveal! And check out the other 19 amazing Featured Designers taking part in the Spring 2020 One Room Challenge!
You can follow us along on our journey over on Danielle’s Instagram page. And stay tuned because tomorrow we are dropping a brand new podcast series inside our Stay True Podcast with all kinds of behind the scenes insight and interviews you aren’t going to want to miss. Subscribe today on Apple or Spotify and you’ll get the notification right to your phone!
Painting trim molding can completely update a space. It’s often a part of a room that can get overlooked or left out when painting a space. When creating a completely designed space having your molding painted is essential. Today we are going to walk you through our process. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions. We are always here to help!
Step by Step Tutorial On How To Paint Trim Molding
Step 1
The first thing you will need to do is make sure your trim is clean and free of any dust or debris.
Step 2
You will want to use your frog tape along the top of your base molding on the wall surface or along the wall surface to the edge of your door and window trim.
Step 3
You will then use your drydex to fill any nail holes that were made during the installation process. This material will go on pink in color and dry white when completely dry. Be sure when applying this you completely fill all nail holes leaving the drydex slightly higher than the trim surface to ensure a smooth finish once sanded. Also use this material to fill any miters that are slightly open to ensure a smooth finish once painted.
Step 4
While waiting for your drydex to completely dry you will use the white lighting caulk along all wall surfaces where your trim meets the wall to seal all cracks.
Step 5
Once your drydex is dry you can use your fine sanding sponge to sand down all of the applied drydex. Be sure you do not leave any raised on the trim surface.
Step 6
You will then need to clean up any dust from sanding before moving on to painting to ensure you don’t paint any dust into your trim. This will show!
Step 7
You are now ready to begin painting. Using your 2.5 inch brush you will apply the paint being sure to use even horizontal brush strokes on any horizontal trim and using vertical brush strokes on any vertical trim. The key to a good smooth finish is to make sure you continue your brush strokes from a wet edge. Do not allow the paint to tack up because it will cause a tacky unwanted finish. As you work your way along be sure to go back and check for any drips touching those up as needed.
Pro tip:
Use satin finish on any older trim, this will be best for hiding unwanted flaws. Semi gloss and high gloss is best used on newer installed trim if your desired finish is to have shiny trim. You do not want to use anything below satin because you want your trim to be washable. Learn more about paint finishes here!
Since we moved into our home we hated the tiny entryway. It felt dark, and claustrophobic, and just didn’t vibe with us. When we decided to completely remodel our Kitchen/Dining Room/Living Room space for the Spring 2020 One Room Challenge we went ahead and tackled the entry way too. This might be our new favorite space in the house because it lets in soooo much natural light and opens up the 1950 bungalow staircase leading upstairs…it is a long overdue update. But we didn’t just open it up and install a knee wall or railing with modern balusters. Nope, we created a completely custom piece. And today we are going to show you how to build a mid-century modern shelving unit.
After we completed the demo in the space we framed up the area where this shelving unit now resides. We really wanted it to be fully open, but due to the floor joists above we needed to leave a post in place near the end of the staircase – it was a blessing in disguise as, once drywalled, was the perfect width to tie our shelving unit in.
Measure the space where you want to build your shelves. You will need the total width and height on all sides to ensure your unit is a perfect fit.
Step 2
Begin by cutting all of your shelving unit top, followed by the 2 vertical side pieces.
Step 3
Once you have those 3 pieces cut you can marry them together. Start by holding the first vertical side board flush with the underside of the top board and pre-drill 2 screw holes using your drill and countersinking bits.
Step 4
Next, attach your two vertical side boards with the GRK white trim head screws. You will notice that the heads sink in, which is great for spaces that may be exposed once you install the unit.
Step 5
Now it is time for the bottom horizontal piece to be cut and installed. For us, we needed to cut a board that sat at a 42.5° angle and was connected to each of the vertical side boards with a 45° cut. That is a lot of measuring and precise cuts, but perhaps your’s is simpler.
Step 6
Once you have your bottom board cut, install just as you did the other boards.
Step 7
If you want any additional vertical boards inside of the shell you just assembled, now would be the time to cut and install those.
Step 8
Once complete you can begin cutting and installing your shelves. We staggered ours for that more mid-century modern look and to allow for various sized items, like planters. So decide what works best for you and begin placing those boards.
Step 9
Once you pre-drill the holes on one side of the shelf, fasten with the screws. Next you will take your speed square and square up the shelf to the other side you will be attaching to. Once square, hold in place while you pre-drill your holes. Repeat for each shelf.
Step 10
Now your shelf should be fully assembled and ready for installation. With another set of hands, preferably, carry the shelf into your space and carefully slide it in. If it is a little tight that is ok, just tap it in with a rubber hammer if you have one.
Step 11
Once you get it in take a level to the sides and make sure it is level. If it is not, grab some shims and shim it level on the bottom or one of the sides.
Step 12
When you have the unit level, fasten in place using your construction screws. 2 per side, top and bottom will be more than enough to hold it in place.
Step 13
Fill your holes using your wood filler, and caulk around any gaps between the unit and walls, posts and shelves.
Step 14
Once dry, sand everything smooth and you’re ready for primer.
Step 15
If you used primed molding boards all you have to primer is the filler from your holes. If you used solid wood, primer the entire unit.
Step 16
Once your primer is dry it is time to paint. We always brush our moldings for a smooth finish. Rollers will show tiny bumps caused by bubbles in the paint, which does not show well on a shelf such as this. 2 coats should do it.
Step 17
Allow time to dry (24 – 36 hours for shelving is our recommendation) before styling!
And there you have it. As always, please let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below. And if you decide to build a set of mid-century modern floating shelves in your home, send us pictures and tag us! We want to see how you did it in your space.
Well, here we are. Week 6! We’re well past the midway point, and honestly had planned to be revealing our space this week. But our reality as business owners, a family, a nation and a world has shifted our plans. Last week we all took a pause from content and shifted our focus to listen, learn, reflect, declutter our feeds and speak our views on the racism pandemic in our country. It was necessary, and will continue to be a priority for our family. But the renovation had to continue and we have a ton of things to catch you up on!
Before we get into all of that, if you aren’t caught up with our full project yet make sure to get all caught up!
Also, if you’re finding us for the first time from the One Room Challenge, welcome! We’re Danielle and Michael Gutelli! And together, we’re Clark + Aldine.
Clark + Aldine is named after the Chicago streets where we first met, and was born out of a love for purposeful design and everyday functionality. What we didn’t know then was that our passion and design influence would continue to grow, and we would soon leave our established careers to pursue Clark + Aldine full time. But like they say, when you know, you know! Learn more about us.
Sign-up for exclusive access to our Ultimate Kitchen Design Guide
[emaillocker] [/emaillocker]
Our Countertop Solution
The first project we tackled after the cabinets and appliances were in was countertops. As you may recall from Week 4 COVID-19 had a significant impact on the construction and fabrication business, therefore our countertop supplier and fabricator was forced to halt business. With no running water in our kitchen we had to think fast, and we came up with an incredible solution. We fabricated our own countertops using red oak plywood. That’s right, for 6 weeks we lived with red oak plywood countertops…and it was amazing! The perimeter tops were easy with simple cuts and a slide into place. The island was a full 4’ x 8’ sheet with a cut out for the sink, faucet and garbage disposal switch. While our sink is an undermount we dropped it right into the cutout and it worked perfectly.
The boys mounted each countertop with 3M double sided tape which held it perfectly, We tried to pull them up and it was really hard, which meant it did its job. Once they were securely in place we finished them with a coat of matte polyurethane.
Hardware
While we can’t get countertops at the moment this is not going to hold us up on creating a truly functional space. Adding hardware to our cabinets was a must. Installing cabinet hardware can run smoothly as long as you are properly prepared. Here’s our step by step guide on how to properly install hardware! Hardware is the jewelry to your cabinets picking the right hardware creates the overall look and feel you are going for. To pull off the perfect touch, you need to take the time to figure out exactly what you want to have in your space. We’ve got a full comprehensive hardware guide to help you through this process.
We love the look of mixing metals and with two different color cabinets in our space this really allowed for us to play with the hardware even more. We have 4 different styles of hardware going into our kitchen and 6 different sizes of hardware to truly complete the look we are going for. Below is a list of what hardware you will see over the next few weeks with an explanation of where we are using each.
Menlo Park, Pull, Signature Satin Brass, 6″ – This is the main pull you will see throughout our perimeter wall on mostly all of the uppers and base cabinet doors and drawers.
Finestrino, Pull, Rectangle, Matte Black, 5 7/8″ x 2 1/8″ – These pulls are installed on 4 faces of the kitchen side of our island. The knife drawer, pull out trash and recycling, and two pull out drawers in front of our sink for things like sponges.
Aria, Pull, 5 1/2″ – We added a different pull for the doors underneath the sink…they’re rad.
Breakfast Nook
Our breakfast nook area is really coming together. The bold Travertine wallpaper from Tempaper continues to make such an amazing impact on the space. Now, we’ve gone and lined the built-out with the Tile Shop’s Firehouse Brick. While the brick itself is absolutely stunning against the Travertine wallpaper is just too much. We needed to neutralize the brick while still allowing the texture to show through. To do this we primed and painted the Firehouse Brick with Sherwin Williams Alabaster. Michael created our floating bench to optimize on seating in the space. We finished the bench with Minwax Special Walnut. Currently we have a small white table we’ve purchased to accommodate our family and allow for us to live through this unexpectedly long renovation. While I love the cb2 table it feels too small for the space. Working through what’s going to land there permanently. Promise to bring you along on that journey. Having the appropriate size table is essential.
Furniture
We seem to have a running theme in this house with couch deliveries. This is the second time that we had to remove a piece of a wall in order to get a couch inside the house! A few years back we ordered a couch for the Living Room and the only way in was through our back door (which is in the office) and into our dining space. We got it inside the house but needed an extra ⅝ inch to get it through the walkway from our hallway into our dining space, so off came some casing. This time was much smoother but we still had to take out a portion of our post at the end of our upper staircase, which we placed right back in after the couch was in place. Good thing we didn’t get to the finish portion of that post!
Once we opened up the space we quickly realized our existing furniture was no longer going to work with our newly designed layout. Our current rug was oversized for the space running into the new island. The chase on our current sofa was taking up valuable seating space and the overall movement in the room. Not to mention our two chairs had nowhere to live now that the wall was gone! You guys can see the before of our living space here.
We are working with Apt2b for most of our living room furniture and you guys the quality of every item we’ve received is so good! Our sofa is absolutely perfect. We landed on the Dylan leather sofa in chestnut! Our entire family can sit on it which makes our hearts so happy and the brass detailing on legs is just too good.
We paired the sofa with the Ryder accent chair and Aikin coffee table to create a perfect marriage and harmony together inside our space. We’ve already styled a small portion to make our home feel more like us as we continue to live through this renovation. Loving these planters and this vase! We cannot wait to show you even more of our living space soon!
Art
Art is typically an element we place near the end of a project. But we had to put something on the walls to bring us some joy, and honestly free up space on the floor from where the pieces were sitting. We received some new pieces from Minted, including our large living room and hallway pieces. The living room piece is titled “Le Mirage” and adds some incredible depth and color to the space. It is the perfect piece for a wall that went from bland to being able to stand on its own with some incredible detail (you’ll just have to wait to see all of it).
The piece we have in the hallway is titled “Mother Embrace” and it is stunning. We can see this from inside our office and it is a reminder to us how important family is. We originally planned on a gallery wall in this space but decided a single larger piece is what we needed.
We wanted to make sure we had some art in our coffee bar. With all glass front uppers we have the opportunity to truly style our cabinets with items outside of the traditional dinnerware. We found this perfect piece titled “Nature Does Not Hurry” and at 8” x 8” it sits dominantly in the cabinet without feeling forced or jammed in a space where it doesn’t belong.
If you’re ever in the midst of a renovation project and hit a wall or an unexpected delay, put some art on the walls. It will bring your space to life and give you some peace in the midst of chaos.
Sign-up for exclusive access to our Ultimate Kitchen Design Guide
[emaillocker] [/emaillocker]
So, What’s Next?
Next week we are going to tackle lighting and all of our molding which includes all new baseboards and shoe, door and window casing, crown molding, stair nosing, stair treads, risers, handrail and our first ever knee wall! And then we have all of the finishing touches like paint, decor and styling, and…oh yeah, countertops, backsplash, pot filler and the cabinet stack and crown molding that can not be installed until the countertops are in.
So be sure to check back in next week to see where we are as we race to the finish line on this project! And check out the other 19 amazing Featured Designers taking part in the Spring 2020 One Room Challenge!
You can follow us along on our journey over on Danielle’s Instagram page. And stay tuned because tomorrow we are dropping a brand new podcast series inside our Stay True Podcast with all kinds of behind the scenes insight and interviews you aren’t going to want to miss. Subscribe today on Apple or Spotify and you’ll get the notification right to your phone!
