All posts filed under: decor

condo remodel: kitchen flooring

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As we slowly continue the remodel process, we finally and proudly can say the kitchen floors turned out better than he expected. I already knew it would turn out well, but convincing “my client” in this case was somewhat difficult. Again, just a reminder, we have to work with a small budget, a speedy turnaround time, while making an effort to modernized an outdated condo for a quick sell. Check out the before and after pictures of the kitchen floors. :). For product reference please click here.

sophisticated white marble bathrooms

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Every year I fall in love with one specific color even though I am not particular. Last year it was red  this year, it happens to be white (which is perfect) because, although I had tossed around the idea of  the color white in bathroom and kitchen decor for my dream apartment, I have often retracted my suggestion because I just couldn’t make up my mind. But this year, with me falling madly inlove with the color white, I decided to search online for sophisticiated marble bathrooms to give me  a visuals of what I have contimplated for years. So here are my favorite photos, which I found here:   Enjoy them and tell me what you think?

kitchen floor – a condo remodel on a budget

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Like the home remodeling shows on television ( HGTV in our case), I must repeat my opening statement just in case someone just tuned in. I have embarked on a condo remodel with a friend of mine and it has truly been a learning process but a fun one as well. The benefit of a d.i.y. project on a place that is not your own is easy to do with a tight budget. Because although your main goal is to make it a functional and safe environment for the future owners, it is also easy to opt for a low-end product, which still gives you the warranty, functionality and the look  you want without feeling too attached to the place once personalized. The kitchen floor of the condo is a 6×9 galley style space.  Currently the flooring is self stick linoleum tiles that are stuck together with no gap in between. Although it was a fairly new flooring, I knew we needed a fresh look to compliment the freshly painted cabinets and newly purchased appliances. …

an apartment with a view

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Since I work in the financial district of a metropolitan city and live in the suburbs, I often times cannot decide whether I prefer the view of the high rise buildings from my office window or the view of the ocean from my bedroom window for my future apartment. It’s a tough choice, but one I need to make up my mind about, if I plan to move out by the end of this year.  Help…

mental escape from condo remodel

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It has been an interesting week to say the least. With work and having to shop for all the necesaties for the condo project. I simply wanted to get the shopping out of the way so I can spend the entire weekend painting, cutting, pasting, well you get the point. Although I enjoy this type of challenge, last night I finally felt extremely tired from all the running around. So, I decided to escape online and find some of my favorite photos of home decor I would love to incorporate into my own fantasy loft.  Click on photo to see more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend.

never mix paint with pleasure

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Just in case you are scratching your head with the title, I must explain why I chose it. You see, I have a weird appreciation for painting various areas of a home and feel painting should be a pleasure rather than a chore. I love discussing the options, I enjoy chosing the paint color, the brushes and various other gadgets to handle the project and most of all I truly enjoy rolling up my sleeves and diving right into it. However, when the actual project begins, the fun can sometimes turn into a sad occassion, especially when you realize the outcome isn’t  as wonderful as you had hoped. Take for example our attempts to paint the kitchen cabinets. Although we spend several hours consulting with the paint experts at Home Depot (in this case) and followed their suggestions on how to proceed, the mid-way result has been a bit worrysome to say the least. We were told to prime the cabinets and then paint over them. Which made sense. We were also told that High Gloss looks the …

1970s interior design disasters

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I don’t know about you, but I don’t care much for the original 70s interior design or decor. I say original because since the 70s, we have been introduced to retro 70s design to consider incorporating into  today’s home decor. So, it’s important to understand I am referring to the original 70s sense of no style. With the remodel or revamp of the condo, I have pointed out some  items which must go and while I was compiling the list, I couldn’t help but wondered what the designers were thinking about back then? Here are some of my most dreaded items which we both agree to get rid of Can you think of anything else? If so, please share.

first stop: condo kitchen sprucing up

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First decision was to tackle the kitchen. His wish, of course, was to remodel the entire kitchen. Mine, was to reface, nip and tuck and voila a brand new look without spending the big bucks. Since the area is a small 6×9 galley style kitchen, I wanted to go with white paint for the cabinets in order to brighten up the small, dark space. However, knowing his taste in dark furnishing, I agreed to paint the cabinets a deep dark brown instead, using the below photo as my gage on how it will turn out once done painting. Stay tuned for photos of the before and after, coming your way shortly

happy blog anniversary to me

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One year ago, I decided to start a blog different than my other blog here. I dabbled at first at another blogger site and after a few entries and not knowing which direction I wanted to go, I opted to join the WordPress family to get inspired. Sure enough, within a week I knew what I wanted to write about and quickly imersed myself into the project. One year  later, here I am with over 50,000 hits worldwide and several hundred, subscribed loyal followers. Not bad if you ask me for a years worth of work. However, I hope year two will inspire me enough to keep the blog alive and fresh for my readers and for myself. I want to thank everyone for encouraging me to continue and praising me for a job well done. I can honestly say, if it weren’t for this blog, I  would probably be working at Starbucks to get my pop culture on 🙂 With sincere appreciation, your truly Manya

the inspiration of window seats in decor

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I don’t know what it is about window seats, but I love them. I suppose it is because I love to write and read and window seats are not only ideal for both hobbies, but they can be inspirational as well. For example, my favorite of course is the featured photo (above) but then again, I wouldn’t mind the rest below this section: