We survived! Barely. It’s now been four months since we closed escrow and we basically built a new house in that time. There are still things that aren’t complete (like the downstairs powder room…don’t get me started) and the patio will be next, but all in all, we are very happy with our home renovation. Thank you for coming on this crazy journey with me…I’d love to know what you think! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going on vacation (I wish).
Sadly, I didn’t get as many before demo photos as I thought I did, but you can check our progress photos here, here and here. Now for the home tour!
BEFORE
AFTER
Credits: Kitchen (Ikea), Rug (Anthropologie), Faucet (Delta), Pendants (Rejuvenation), Flush Mount (CB2), All the White Paint is Benjamin Moore Decorators White
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AFTER
Cabinet Pulls (Atlas Homewares)
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AFTER
Floor Tile (Granada), Shower Tile (Hexagon from Royal Stone), Rain Shower (Delta)
Paint: Benjamin Moore Onyx, Vero Towel Bar (Delta)
Provence Vanity (Home Decorators), Turkish Kilim (Vintage from Ebay), Lotus Pendant (Vintage from Etsy), Wall Sconces above Mirrors (Light with Shade on Etsy), Mirrors (Restoration Hardware Baby & Child)
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Rug (nuLOOM), Pillows (One Kings Lane), Side Tables (One Kings Lane, though I want the ones from Restoration Hardware…one day!), Lamps (Vintage), Bed (Ballard Designs, Similar one here)
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Vanity (Home Decorators), Rug (Lulu & Georgia), Sconces (Lamps Plus), Mirror (West Elm)
Decoupage Tray (John Derian from Liberty London)
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Floor Tile (Royal Stone), Rain Shower (Ouku)
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Paint: Benjamin Moore Smoke Embers (Nope, I can’t get enough, we used in our last place too!)
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AFTER
Light (School House Electric), Frames (West Elm Gallery Frames)
Of course I could never have done it without some very special people…thanks to my rockstar realty team The Louvet Group, who listened when I said “this is it” even when our first offer was completely ignored (we actually didn’t buy the place until 3 months later), thanks to my patient contractors Richard Sterman & Ken Bass of Palisades Kitchen & Bath, to Caitlin Murray & Caitlin McCarthy who consulted on the design, to my dear friend Karen Rauber of Rauber Homes who gave me so much great advice, to Kishani Perera for always helping with the final flourish. Dave’s dad for flying out to help with the paint. My mom… for EVERYTHING she does for us. To my friends who listened to me talk about this renovation ad nauseam. AND, of course my amazing husband for not divorcing me through this process and for making my home wherever he is.
Photos by Ragan Brooks
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Before + After before and after Benjamin Moore Best Realtors Los Angeles Black and White Decor Cailtlin McCarthy Caitlin Murray Hancock Park interior design Los Angeles Contractors Los Angeles home Modern Vintage Design Palisades Kitchen & Bath Palisades Kitchens and Baths remodel renovation The Louvet Group
I told you it would be worth all the toil and tears, and quite obviously, it is! Everything is immaculately coiffed just waiting for my arrival to christen and bless it!
Oh Molly it’s beautiful. I knew I knew it would be! Can’t wait to come visit. So proud of you and Dave. Come do my house. 🙂
It’s so so amazing!!
A new vocation? I love it!! Would love a tour when we are next over. I will bring the champagne
Absolutely!! It’s a date!
Wow Molly, it looks beautiful! I felt like I was looking through a magazine spread. You guys did an amazing job! Can’t wait to come see it!
just gorgeous!! I knew you would blow away those before pictures with something amazing. You both have such a great eye for designing something beautiful. Love the detail of the frames in the stairwell. I’ve always wanted a place where I could do that.
Your home is gorgeous! I don’t know if you even know – I do all product development for Delta Bath Hardware – the Vero collection is a great choice! I love your style!
You do??? Man, I wish I would have known that beforehand. I bet I could have gotten a discount ;). Thanks so much fo your sweet words. Hope you are well!
Beautiful-digging the vintage finds, so lovely!
Xoxo
Wow Moleficent, gobsmacked and agog!!!! Not even Windsor Smith could have done a better job, and I mean that quite literally, having been in her home, and that having been the first thing that came to mind when I saw these pix. Can’t wait to see in person and be all pea-green with envy (even more than I am now!). And what a nice finishing touch that you look like your usual supermodel self in all photos. You and the place complement each other perfectly in the beauty and chic and cool and class dept.
Awe Sandra! You made my day…thank you for your sweet words. I want to see you asap!!!!
More than I expected, it is just beautiful. You two have done the home and its location justice. When your neighbors will see this it will be an inspiration for them to up grade as well. Good job for the both of you. Now the front and back porch, I am sure they will become just as nice as the inside.
Success and blessing with this “your first home”
Papa
Absolutely, positively, breathtakingly A M A Z I N G ! What a gorgeous home you two have created. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, I have a bottle of Champagne that needs drinking!
Thank you so much!! We would love you to come over…especially if you’re bringing champagne!! 😉
Molly! It is gorgeous! Come home and help me do the farmhouse.
Molly and Dave, it looks fabulous and the dedication to sticking to your plan is obvious. You definitely have a lot to be proud of and all the special touches you did to the house. The envy of the neighborhood I am sure.
Thank you so much!!
Molly – you outdid yourself, I loved seeing it first hand, and Ragan’s pictures truly bring out the beauty of the work you and Dave created. You are one talented (and patient) lady!! Hear me clap (and thank you for all the hyperlinks, too!) <3
I love it so much Molly! I can’t belive the kitchen is IKEA! The black & white bathroom looks so luxurious
I want to come see everything in person! You did such an amazing job, and congrats on the new place!
Thank you doll! I would love to see you soon!!!! xoxox
thats pretty f’n great work
It is gorgeous Molly!! I hope I can find an excuse to use your guest shower one day. Are you feeling a power-walk soon?
Wow! Beautiful job, Molly, and CONGRATULATIONS! What is your kitchen countertop? Did you get an Ikea Ceasar Stone Countertop too? It looks so white and shiny! Thanks!
I sure did! Everything except the cabinet pulls, the appliances and the faucet is ikea! Thank you so much!
Very well done. Everything looks very nice.
Very creative and interesting.
Mia 🙂
Tell me about the hardwood floors from start to finish .
Hello! Happy to give you any info. What would you like to know? We had to pour 2.5 inches of concrete downstairs and quite a bit upstairs to level them out before they were installed. They are a fabricated dark wood.
Hi! We are about to start on a renovation of our own and are planning to use the same IKEA kitchen grey cabinets with brass hardware. Brass faucets are very hard to find. The Delta faucet comes up as a “champagne bronze” color in Wayfair. Do you find that the faucet matches your brass hardware well? Thank you for all the inspiration. What an amazing renovation!
Thanks so much for your kind words! It’s funny, we actually thought we were getting shiny brass fixtures when we ordered them (rooky mistake), but now I actually prefer the champagne bronze. It mixes and matches so much better with everything so I can use gold and silver with it and it doesn’t look weird. The brass hardware on our IKEA cabinets are also champagne bronze so those go really well with the faucet. Had I used a shiny brass faucet, I think I would have been more limited in what I could put with it. Hope this helps??
Stunning home!! I love, love the cabinet hardware. I went to Atlas to figure out which ones they are and can’t tell. Would you be able to tell me the name or share the link. The one above just goes to their site, not the link of the hardware.
Thanks so much!!
Sure thing! Here you go: http://www.atlashomewares.com/athoucomepul.html
The color is Champagne and they are the U-Turn Collection Single Medium Pull. Check Amazon as well!
Thanks so much!
My pleasure and thanks for reading & for your kind words. Would love to see your project when it’s complete!
Hi, im interested in your kitchen island lights black and gold? what brand style are they?
Hi Sara!
They are from Rejuvenation :): https://rstyle.me/n/des4gib7nm7
Molly thank you!!!! question what finish did you pick? antique brass or brushed gold ??
It doesn’t look like they have my exact one anymore. The finish of the pendant is oiled bronze, but the hardware where the lightswitch is is brushed gold. You may want to call and ask if they can still do that one. It looks like they replaced the gold with wood, but maybe you were able to find it!
Yes I found them and the name is different!! thank you so much, also found the bathroom lights but they look very Gold. do they match ok with the champagne bronze faucets
I’m not sure which bethroom lights you’re referring to. Can you send me a link?
I absolutely love how your reno turned out. It’s so nice how you shared all of the pieces that you bought but would you be willing to share how much your actual reno cost were? For some reason no one will share the actual cost. It’s like it’s taboo. I would love to hear and I think a lot of other would too. Thanks! Kim
Thank you so much! Well, it’s not really that I mind sharing so much as we honestly lost count. BUT…if we had to guess, when all was said and done, it was probably a little over $100K. We paid $55K for the labor/contractor costs, but what most people don’t realize is that most contractors don’t include materials, or if they do, they often don’t budget enough. So for example, things like our hardwood floors, toilets, light fixtures, sinks, etc. weren’t included in that original budget. It gets a little tricky too when you are interviewing contractors because often times you aren’t getting a comporable bid. We had another contractor quote $100K, but that did include all of those things, we just didn’t realize why one bid was so much more than another, so we went with the cheaper bid. Now we know. But honestly we were thrilled with our contractor because he was very trust worthy and was always looking for ways to save us money (family friend), so despite it being more than we thought in the end, we were happy. Hope this helps!