merrilee mcgehee designs

merrilee mcgehee is a woman after my own heart. with a fine arts degree, the austin designer is known for creating interiors with graphic punches. and lately her punches have been gray, white and chevron (my favorite combo of all time). with boat loads of creativity, tons of patience and rolls and rolls of tape, mcgehee transforms boring blank spaces into vivid statements. the girl's got talent!

i would especially like to thank merrilee of merrilee mcgehee designs for sharing her transformations with us straight from austin, texas.

dawn bennett's kitchen

when a tree came crashing through dawn bennett's home damaging her kitchen, she viewed the devastation with a positive outlook and used the accident as an opportunity to aesthetically jazz things up. the bennetts were able to save and reuse all of their existing cabinetry, although they did rearrange it. with dawn’s experience as a principal at splice design in georgia, she had the wherewithal to move and transform the stove’s upper cabinets to a tower unit to the right of the sink. in addition to storing dishes, the tower houses the microwave and an organization station. the bennetts also added recessed lighting and two pendants above the sink, replaced their laminate countertops with granite and wenge wood butcher block, and got a new cooktop, oven, dishwasher and hardware. what can we learn dawn bennett’s renovation? that she has excellent design sense and wholeheartedly views her glass as half full!

i would especially like to thank dawn bennett of splice design for sharing her transformations with us straight from atlanta, georgia.

galveston beach house

sunny galveston texas is known for its sandy beaches, sizzling nightlife, and tantalizing gulf coast cuisine, but i’m pushing for it to also be known for munger interiors’ bay house redesign. sisters, elizabeth and amy munger are the principals of their houston firm where they offer interior design and art advisory services. together their art and design backgrounds have seamlessly combined to create a dream-team partnership. known for their use of luscious fabrics, layered lighting, and mixed textures, the sisters’ interiors are rich in color and depth. the galveston house is no exception, materials range from concrete to acrylic to wicker, while the color palette is nautical with loads of navy, white and turquoise. when i think of galveston i’ll always think of the mungers’ bay home design. happy first day of summer!

i would especially like to thank amy munger of munger interiors for submitting redesigns straight from her houston texas studio. the after photos were taken by the talented troy covey.

happy! happy!

it's a big time celebratory weekend for the thomas family, today my beautiful mother turns another year older and on sunday we high-five my dad for being a standup father. it's a big year for our little family what with their 35th wedding anniversary in august and my wedding in october. i'm so very lucky to have them by my side. my mom, the birthday girl, is truly my best lady friend and has been the world's most extraordinary wedding planner. and my dad, well he's a stellar guy, just look at his excitement as we prepared for the father/daughter girl scout square dance back in 1991. we're heading up to our cabin in upstate ny to celebrate this weekend's festivities but in the meantime i'd like to wish my mom a very happy birthday, and my dad, the happiest father's day yet.

kimball starr interior design

we’ve revealed so many fantastic san franciscan transformations on raenovate we thought we’d nearly exhausted the city’s entire cast and crew of designers! that is until we realized that we’ve never featured the one and only kimball starr. known for her tremendous attention to detail and innovative money saving DIY projects, starr is a star. her recent revival of a handsome edwardian residence in pacific heights beautifully highlights these qualities. after scooping the coffee table’s marble top at a thrift shop, kimball paired it with a steel base from room and board, creating a big look for less. she and the homeowner also produced the 9-grid canvas piece that sits above the sofa in the living room. it was an inexpensive way to tie in the room’s color palette, fill the expansive wall, and to give the homeowner the opportunity to create his very first piece of art. with a view of alcatraz island the home and its designer are true san francisco staples.

i would especially like to thank kimball starr of kimball starr interior design for submitting redesigns straight from her san francisco studio. the after photos were taken by the talented eric rorer.

our bedroom! (sneak preview)

before renovating our master bedroom, the existing space reminded me of babies. the walls were the color of baby poop, the carpet the color spit-up, and the closet’s depth could only accommodate baby clothing hangers. fortunately for the room, it was the next stop on our home’s renovation circuit. for the last two weeks tyler and i have feverishly been working to de-baby the space. we’re still waiting on our new hardwood maple flooring and window treatments to arrive so today’s post is simply your lemon palette cleanser.
after drywalling over the lumpy plaster walls i whipped up a wall panel design and tyler executed it BEAUTIFULLY, he also added his signature crown molding. the walls are martha stewart’s pebble, while the trim paint is benny moore’s decorator’s white. i hope your palette is cleansed because the main course (full reveal) will be here before you know it!

a STRIPETASTIC playroom

i’m afraid my love of stripes is phasing into an addiction. i find myself only purchasing striped articles of clothing and exclusively pinning stripey pins on pinterest. i’ve tried to tone it down but with designers like kirsten kaplan i can’t, and quite frankly i don’t want to. kaplan recently made over a client’s playroom/basement and the result is STRIPETASTIC! designed for a family with two energetic munchkins, the goal for the space was to create a visually striking area where the children could get wild. with the help of her child and the client’s children, kaplan selected vivid colors for the two walls of stripes and paired them with multihued wall-anchored lockers, perfect for stashing away toys and allowing loads of floor space for cartwheels and jumping jacks.

i would once again like to thank kirsten kaplan of haus interior design for submitting redesigns straight from her maryland studio. the after photos were taken by the talented helen john photography.