Bachelor Pad - The Bedroom. It's a Wrap.

Say it ain't so! But yes peeps, this is the final reveal of our favorite bachelor's now swanky pad. 

If you've been following along, he's gotten quite a few stylish updates to his Miami condo over the past few months. If you missed it, you can read here, here and here. So here's where he'd been sleeping for a few years.

 

 
Lots of red - duvet and curtains - and lots of furniture crammed into this bedroom. Much like the rest of the house he'd just gone out and purchased what he thought made sense without much care for style or function. The bookcase and desk became a haven for junk and though he needed lots of storage, dresser took up lots of space and was a doozy to walk by every day. 
Since I knew the dresser would have to go, we sourced items that offered loads of smart storage.



This bed from Room and Board has a large storage drawer and now holds lots of items. Ditto for these trunk-inspired nightstands we found at Modani Miami that offer a total of four deep drawers and storage in the upper half that he uses for items he won't need to get frequent access to since it doesn't have a drawer but needs to be lifted open much like a trunk. 

Simple accessories like a storage box for cuff links and other knick knacks and a photo of his grandfather adorn the nightstands.

 

While we ditched the dresser, we needed this floating console to store all the media equipment he needed with the newly installed large television. The two drawers again offered more storage. 

 

Awww how we argued about these lights! Debbie sourced these and we felt it was a great way to add a fun element to the room but at first he balked. No way he said. Then he polled his closest friends who all loved it, and he decided to trust us and the friends and go for it. It is now one of his favorite elements in the space. 
If you'll notice the room now has many lighting options from the fixture, lights we added in the bulkhead and the two lamps. 
 
Though the room is flooded with natural light by day, it was pitch black at night with nothing but this one sad and lonely lamp you see on the nightstand.

Goodbye red curtains, hello brown silk and chartreuse - pulled from the green foliage in the central park image and ties the space to the living room which also has green throw pillows. Bamboo shades now filter the light as he sleeps in and a similar bamboo shade with blackout lining, now covers the glass door in the room that leads to the patio.

Central Park in New York is by far his favorite place to visit and this custom-framed image was the perfect way to remind him of the park.

All photos by Circle Ten Media

Last but not least, the mattress and pillows are from his favorite hotel, the Four Seasons. A pricey splurge but the man swears they are the most comfortable bedding he's ever experienced and wanted to replicate that feel in his own bedroom. 
Thanks to our amazing bachelor Al, who allowed me to share his makeover with the world - warts and all! Eternally thankful/grateful to have had you as a client sir and thanks even more for that inspiring pep talk encouraging me to spread my wings and leap into this design business on a full-time basis.  
Thanks to everyone for following along here and even more intently on Instagram. The feedback and love has been much appreciated.
So did you have a favorite room in this reveal? Would love to hear your picks.
TGIF and have a freaking fabulous weekend.


Source Guide


Bed - Room and Board
Nightstands - Modani
Light Fixture - Lightology
Rug - Modern Furniture Warehouse
Lamps - Target
Duvet - Overstock 
Mattress/bed linens - Four Seasons Hotel collection

Bachelor Pad - Stepping Outdoors

This outdoor space is now the space Mr. Bachelor gets to enjoy on these very balmy Miami nights; a space where he sips a bottle of beer and soaks in views of the city he loves so much. It once looked like this:

 

 

A space to step outside and enjoy a stunning view of the city but nothing more. When I first saw the condo, I knew immediately we needed to embrace the patio as an extension of the home, which is always a critical thing to do when you have a small space. Every square foot counts. 

 

 

 
We scored the chairs on our shopping trip to Modani. Once we had those anchor pieces everything else fell into place. We sourced the Ottoman and ceramic stools which double as end tables, at Overstock. The rug was a steal from the clearance rack at Pier One, while the throw pillows and planters are from Target and low maintenance plants from Home Depot. He's hardly home so we needed plants he could water once a week at the most. 

I wanted low planters to block the not so sexy views of neighborhood rooftops, without losing the more pleasant views of the Miami skyline. We also chose green accent to emphasize the outdoors, a color we also pulled into the living room with the use of green throw pillows on the sofa.

The two spaces are now connected and he can now entertain at least five people seated outdoors, and even more standing. 
Whether you rent, own a small condo or home, remember to always factor in the outdoor space in your design plans, especially in warmer parts of the country where you can sit outdoors all year. I guarantee you'll enjoy spending some time outside, breathing in some much needed fresh air.
This is the last reveal until we finish the master bedroom in a few weeks. The bed has been delayed for a few weeks (aaarghhh) but I promise it'll be worth the wait. Thanks for all the love you've shown our bachelor - and his pad. It's been a blast. What's been your favorite area of the transformation so far?
P.S. I'm over on Houzz this week sharing tips on how clients and designers can best work together.    

Bachelor Pad - Part Two Kitchen

So what do you think happened once we transformed our bachelor's living room from frumpy to swanky? 

The kitchen, with it's all white everything - walls, ceiling, cabinets and appliances - became a glaring eye sore. Our original plan was to wait a few months to tackle this space but Mr. Bachelor had been bitten by the design bug. No, no, no, he said, let's just tackle it now. Alrighty then sir. Let's do this I said. This is where we started: 

 

There was no budget for a major gut job, and as much as I love to rip things out to renovate kitchens, there was no need for that here. The white cabinets were in great shape and just needed some sexier companions. 

The existing cabinet handles were too small, so new handles were a quick fix.  Since he's rarely home, it means he rarely cooks and so there were some empty cabinets that we decided to convert into wine racks.

Because seriously people, propping a wine rack atop a random table in your living room does not a bar cart make. We clearly needed a solution and thank goodness we found one.

  

The fabulous Shaggy again worked his magic as he did here for our bachelorette Jina - hmm, should these two meet? We removed the cabinet doors on either side of the microwave, and installed wine lattice to create the racks, which now fits over 30 bottles. Partyyyyy...To further soften up all the white, we painted the ceiling in this color and replaced that pesky white light fixture with six recessed lights - on dimmers of course. Lighting my peeps, is the key to great design. Always, always splurge a little, if you can, to upgrade your lights and place them on dimmers to control the mood.

Hello eating area. Thanks to the mammoth loveseat that once suffocated this area, Mr. Bachelor had never once eaten a meal at this area. It had simply become a place to stash mail and other chotskies but no more. Let the fine dining begin, while seated atop these new white leather bar stools. 

With a new place to sit, eat and entertain, the sink and leaky faucet became another eye sore. *Sidenote: why do I always forgot to remove my purse/suitcase from these before pictures??? Lord help me.

We updated the sink and faucet with a modern double sink and a very sleek faucet.

Before this transformation, he had no idea what a backsplash was. He's now a huge fan of this simple upgrade of a glass tile backsplash. We did splurge a bit on these new appliances and included a double oven (I love these new options) since the smaller oven was a great way to prepare a quick meal aka a pizza, and free up much needed space on the counter top for the important things like a Keurig coffee maker.

 That's all folks. A somewhat brand new kitchen for our favorite bachelor.

Thursday we'll step outside and check out to his new balcony, which is now kind of a fab space to chill and enjoy these cool Miami nights.  

Bachelor Pad Makeover - Part 1

One of the most fun projects we've done this year, has been the bachelor pad makeover for our amazing client, Al. More than any other makeover, this one has developed quite an Instagram fan club. I cannot tell you how may IG messages, emails and texts I get each week about the status of this reveal. Hmmm, I wonder if it has something to do with his bachelor status?
Anyway, back to the lesson at hand.
I met Al last year when I redesigned his office. He was so impressed that he promised to call when it was time to revamp his condo.
We finally caught up over the summer and he decided it was time to take the plunge to make his home as swanky as his office. And boy was it a doozy.
Al is a client who has become a dear friend, so our conversations are pretty frank and I think I said something along these lines when I first saw the condo: "No sir. No respectable Miami attorney should be living like this."
He'd purchased the condo a few years ago and then did what most bachelors do - went shopping and just purchased a bunch of furniture - good pieces though from Pottery Barn - without any rhyme or reason.

As you can see, the pieces were too bulky for this small space and did nothing to reflect his personality - his love of New York, Beirut, London, tennis and most important, Jay-Z.
We started with this design inspiration. 

I knew a sectional was the best way to utilize the space and to create maximum seating, while allowing for easier access to the bar/breakfast area, something he couldn't even access thanks to the bulky sofa.

This sectional, from Crate and Barrel, was the first one we tested on our shopping excursion and it was so comfy, that every other sectional paled in comparison. Notice that it is not leather. There is an assumption that men need or prefer leather seating and that was definitely was not the case for our bachelor.  
I also wanted to use wallpaper on the focal wall. This bold, yet smoky grey striped paper from Graham and Brown, reminded me of a man's suit so I was happy when he agreed to it. I've been smitten with the HGTV collection of paints from Sherwin Williams and though Al doubtful that the colors I suggested were too dark and would make the space feel small, he trusted my instincts and gave the go ahead to use two colors throughout the main areas - Mink and Expressive Plum.
The artwork was selected to reflect his heritage and favorite cities. Al was born in England (center photo of the famous cathedral in Exeter), to a British mom, his dad is from Beirut (photos above that amazing floor lamp from Modani, similar lamp here) and he loves New York so much we had to have two photos. 

 

Although we had pitched some rustic elements in the initial presentation - i.e. the coffee table and bar stools, we decided to go for a completely contemporary look and settled on a much some sleeker coffee table and bar stools.
When designing a small space, I always look for ways to maximize storage and seating. This coffee table came with an ottoman that he can rest his feet on as he watches tennis or his new favorite addiction, Flipping Out. It can also be pulled out completely and used as seating for extra guests. The white end tables are also stools and again, can be used as extra seating when he entertains.
If you're followed me for a while, you may have noticed that I love to layer my table tops with trays as they serve as functional pieces for eating, and as a place to anchor a cluster of decorative items. I settled on the pattern play of the rug, scored at Overstock and mix of pillows from West Elm and CB2 because they reminded me of the fun pieces who could pair with a stylish suit aka our striped wallpaper.

The media unit and television area were a mess of wires, a TV hung way too low, speakers jutting out from the wall and dumb bells - because every single guy thinks dumb bells are decorative items.



No man's castle is complete without a well functioning and organized media center and television. We removed the unsightly speakers, and instead purchased smaller speakers that give off so much sound you'd think you're at the movies. How small? You can barely see them atop this console. This is a small wall just 60 inches, and it wasn't easy to find a low media console to fit the space. I eventually found one at Antonini Modern Living and loved it because the wooden portion can slide out to make it even larger should he one day move to larger space. In lieu of a plant, I added a bit of greenery with a collection of his tennis balls.  But the thing he the loves the most about this area, is that image of Jay-Z. The personalized hand-drawn image was made by this Etsy artist, who used the lyrics of two of his favorite Jay-Z songs, "Empire State of Mind" and "Forever Young". Nothing beats a personal touch in a space, and that was by far one of our favorite finds for this projects.
With no formal entryway, or space for a console table for keys, mail and nicknacks, a floating shelf was the best solution for both style and function. We topped it off with a duo of mirrors with leather straps from Target, for that masculine touch and capped it off with a mantra from who else? Jay-Z.

Photos as always, by Circle Ten Media

There you have it. The space he now calls home. I have received some of the most expressive emails of gratitude I've ever received from a client, from Al, who remains in awe every time he returns from a long business trip and steps inside his once unassuming condo. This photo gives a hint that there were some changes made to the balcony, and the kitchen and I'll reveal those changes in later posts, including some details on all the lighting upgrades we made - there were no lights at all in his living room or master bedroom. Stay tuned. 
Thanks as always to the team who rocked this one out. Thanks too to all the Instagram followers who made this one a fun project to share each day.
Apologies that you had to wait so long for the reveal, but there are often delivery delays and so many other behind the scenes stuff at play - like remembering all these details/anecdotes for a blog post- that a reveal can take some time. I hope, it was worth the wait. Holla back. Do you have a favorite area/item?