Joyful Designs Studio's Apartment 1A FINAL REVEAL | Week VIII One Room Challenge Spring 2021
Veni Vidi Vici! And just like that, it’s a wrap.. As a designer I am used to tight deadlines and hiccups during the renovation process but I must say we pulled out all the stops just in the knick of time to see our vacation apartment to completion.
As the "client" on this project I am happy with every space and the design choices are tailor made for me and #TheBabe. My goal is always the same for my design clients. The mark of a good designer is one who can capture your individual sense of style and make it functional for how you want to live. Your living spaces should emote and the feelings you get when you are in them matter. My personal style is Afro Classic Style, which blends modern traditionalism with heavy doses of culture-centric textiles and decor.
Before I give you what you came here for, I'd like to thank Linda Weinstein for another fantastic season of the One Room Challenge, as well as Better Homes and Gardens for being the media partner. My first challenge was last Fall and I relished the opportunity to again meet other designers, DIYers and design enthusiasts. The community is always supportive and engaged.
I'd also like to thank several partners who gifted products and made sure that our spaces succeeded. We could not have done it without them. I will be highlighting specific products below and in future blog posts. So don't worry, you will get all of the deets I promise. But huge thank yous are owed to HUDSON VALLEY LIGHTING, ELKAY USA, ZEPHYR and FIRECLAY TILE.
And finally, I could not have done this without my partner in crime - #TheBabe! He has worked tirelessly along side me, cosigning my design ideas, building, hanging, doing carpentry, electrical and whatever else I needed him to do. I am so thankful he chose me.
Just a quick peek back to really appreciate how far we have come with the Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen and Bathroom renovations of this apartment. It's unbelievable.
Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen BEFORE.
Old tub and fireplace in living room/dining room.
Kitchen - BEFORE.
Bathroom - BEFORE.
And now these spaces have been transformed into this:
Our new living room has a king size sofa sleeper from American Leather that feels like heaven. All of the lighting in the space is from Hudson Valley Lighting. The original art above the sofa is by LaDara Fine Art. And the beautiful wallpaper is based on designs by Lisa Hunt from Lori Weitzner wall coverings.
Our new dining nook is as functional as it is beautiful and it’s giving us all the classical feels with repeating architecture. I designed this slatted look and #TheBabe executed it to perfect. The slats are open at the top because we needed to maintain uninterrupted access to the HVAC return on this wall. But behind the less transparent sections are a treasure trove of storage cabinets that double the storage capacity of our kitchen. And the bench opens to reveal more storage. Win Win Win Win!
The woman in blue print is from Cristina Martinez at Juneandmars.com.
This GagaGorgeous Fenwater Chandlier by Hudson Valley Lighting was the perfect accompaniment to the architecture of the built-in dining nook. The beautiful white lacquered brass bamboo chairs were a vintage find. They are solid and weighty and were originally an off putting gold-greenish color but I reimagined them in white lacquer. I could not have been more pleased with how this DIY turned out. The vase is also a vintage find from a local shop in Augusta called The Savvy Shopper.
More views from the living room. Our new fireplace will come in handy to knock the chill off the mild winters here. The black lacquered urn vase is also a vintage find and was a DIY. It was white when I found it. It spoke to the classic lines of the space and the home which has Corinthian columns on an expansive southern front porch. The multicolored print over the fireplace is by Khari Turner and is appropriately titled ”The Ancestors.” The other artwork is an original piece by a Chicago born artist, Glenyse Thompson.
Our kitchen is a standout in our eyes because it took a lot of hard work and design thoughtfulness to make such a tiny kitchen work on a large scale. Our countertops arrived just in time and we couldn’t be happier with them. While there isn’t much cabinetry in the kitchen, we make up for it with full size appliances. Our partner, Zephyr, gifted us the Roma Groove Wall range hood that comes with a built-in Bluetooth enabled speaker system.
Also, the beautiful sink and faucet were gifted to us by our partner Elkay USA. The sink is from their quartz line of sinks and is the perfect size for our kitchen because we know the work horse will be the dishwasher. The Avado Faucet is sleek, beautiful, and fits the space perfectly.
Zephyr also gifted us this French Door Dual Zone Presrv Wine and Beverage Cooler that we plan to use to the fullest extent. It’s wine o’clock somewhere right! LOL.
The splashes of hot pink you see in the spaces are courtesy of this YaeletValerie fabric we bought two years ago. We had custom pillow covers made by a local seamstress and we could not love them more.
These beautiful art books came quickly and were a last minute purchase from shop keeper and Featured Designer of this Spring’s ORC - Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio. Ariene went above and beyond to get them to me in record time by gifting the shipping costs. Thank you, Ariene! This challenge really is all about community over competition.
A couple of things, first we will never forget Breonna Taylor and how she was senselessly murdered while sleeping in her home. She was a first responder who sacrificed daily to help love ones like my mother who lost her battle to the COVID virus at the beginning of the year. We honor her in our space and were thrilled when my little cousin - Olivia Williams - could deliver this exceptional portrait literally the day before we posted this Blog. Second the bench/coffee table wood sculptural piece you see under the painting is an antique African Senofu bench purchased at High Point Market from Farafinya. And the colorful glassware is Italian made from Conarte America.
Artful living is a mantra of my firm so you will see art that is reflective of who I am and how I live and love throughout. This sculptural necklace is one of several pieces I’ve collected from Cheryl R. Riley who is a renowned artist and friend. There are also traditional african artifacts and art throughout the home that I sourced from Dressing Room Interiors and Reflektion Design.
The bathroom turned out exactly how we imagined it even with the last minute change to the floor and wall tile. The Kasbah tile by our partner Fireclay Tile is even more gorgeous in person. I have long admired these tiles and had been waiting to use them in a project. The tile arrived expertly packed and not a single one was broken. I would not hesitate to recommend these to my clients. The lighting over the sink is another Hudson Valley gifted light. It’s called Giselle and it’s from their Mitzi line, We loved it without the glass orbs that cover the candelabra bulbs but it is beautiful either way.
And the blue Aegean Sea tiles are just the perfect shade of blue and the perfect complement to our Afro Classical design aesthetic. The color is so consistent. Fireclay Tile for the win!
Finally, this ceiling deserved a moment of its own. This was also a last minute rework and different than how we originally designed it, but we could not be happier with how it turned out. Our painter meticulously painted these stripes after I showed him my vision. This bath is a huge change from the one we had to gut but it will be our spa away from home for sure.
Thank you so very much to all of you who have followed this journey. We can't tell you how much we appreciate you enough. And if you missed any of the previous Blog posts for this Spring's challenge, feel free to catch up here: WEEK I , WEEK II , WEEK III , WEEK IV , WEEK V , WEEK VI and WEEK VII. I would also like to congratulate all the Featured Designers and Guest Participants on finishing their spaces. You can see all of their reveals over at the One Room Challenge Blog.
We love comments and will answer any questions you have. Please comment below and we will see you soon to share even more behind the scenes details in future blog posts and on our Joyful Designs Studio Instagram feed so please follow us there as well.
All photos are credited to Joyful Designs Studio.