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Tips for updating outdated decor
Author:alvin Date:2009-2-4 23:39:49 Read:47
Interior designer Greta Guelich was hired by a homeowner to make his 80s house in Scottsdale more marketable in the 21st century. Here are her updates:
• Not all fireplaces built in the 1980s were beehives. Many were built with drywall mantels, which in 2009 can look as dated as the beehive, Guelich says. A quick update for accomplished do-it-yourselfers or professionals is to redesign with wood and molding and to add a mantel. Guelich suggests that, given fire-safety codes, a professional be consulted before tackling any extensive fireplace remodel.
• Guelich removed Saltillo tile and installed wood floors and 20-inch-square travertine tile.
• In the bathrooms, Guelich had semivessel sinks installed with a narrow glass-mosaic backsplash and oil-rubbed-bronze fixtures. In this case, the fixtures are wall-mounted, a recent design trend. But sink-mounted fixtures in darker finishes accomplish the same updated look.
• "In the 80s, everything was whitewashed," Guelich says. Although she kept part of the cathedral ceiling in the dining room light, she had the beams stained dark to add dimension and to remove the dated monochromatic look.
• In the kitchen, ebony cabinets replaced whitewashed oak. A travertine-tile backsplash was added.
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