Sarah Richardson

Do you know Sarah Richardson?

Sarah Richardson

I’ve admired her interior design work for some time, but I’ve only recently seen one (yes, she has more than one!) of her television series – Sarah’s House, which is now airing in the US.

Sarah Richardson

Have you had a chance to watch Sarah’s House on HGTV?

Truly, Sarah’s House is a show after my own heart – now in Season 2, the series follows the Canadian designer as she chooses a home and then flips it – complete with unbelievable staging.  As a Realtor, fellow flipper and lover of design, I don’t think a TV show could get any better than that!!  It’s really inspiring to follow Sarah through her thought process, from how to renovate each room to sourcing furniture and accessories to the big reveal.  And I think you’ll find that the spaces Sarah designs are completely liveable and approachable while avoiding an overly “designed” look.

This is the Toronto home that Sarah chose to conquer in Season 2 – which she purchased for almost $700,000!

Sarah Richardson

In the episodes that have aired thus far, Sarah and her design sidekick, Tommy, have completely swankified the second level:

Sarah Richardson

The boring nursery . . .

Sarah Richardson

. . . soon became this darling nursery (and I don’t use the word “darling” very often).  Ikea drapes paired with a snuggly chair upholstered in cheerful polka dots provide a fun, gender-neutral color palette for this space.

Sarah's House - Season 2

I think it’s particularly smart that Sarah chose to install a picture rail in line with the top of the window frames (with sky blue paint above) to bring the vaulted ceiling down to a more kid-friendly and cozy height.

Sarah's House - Season 2

And, of course, the whimsical alphabet is an affordable and easily-replicated design element that adds tons of character (and an opportunity for learning) to the room.

Sarah's House - Season 2

The home office began just as bland as the nursery . . .

Sarah Richardson

. . . but is now a modern, upbeat space with a hint of femininity brought in through the floral fabric on the bulletin board.

Sarah's House - Season 2

I find that the still shots of these rooms simply don’t do the spaces justice – you should check out these episodes to see the rooms in their full glory.

Sarah's House - Season 2

The master bedroom definitely benefited from Sarah’s decision to steal 27 inches of space (on the left-hand side) from the neighboring nursery.

Sarah Richardson

And I bet you never saw this gorgeous space coming, did you?  I certainly didn’t.

Sarah's House - Season 2

The entire color scheme for this master bedroom was pulled from those fabulous floral curtains in cream and gray.  The headboard was positioned below the low point of the vaulted ceiling so that one would have a feeling of space and height while lying in bed.

Sarah's House - Season 2

While I don’t know that I could ever be disciplined enough to commit to such a tight and subdued palette, it really is divine, isn’t it?

Sarah's House - Season 2

I always love the look of chandeliers in bedrooms, particularly master bedrooms, but I just don’t think I could take the plunge and part with my ceiling fan – even so, I’m totally tempted to nix my fan after seeing this room!

I am curious, though – does Sarah sell her homes furnished?  If not, it seems odd to devote such a large portion of the budget to furniture (some of it custom) and accessories that will, ultimately, need to find new homes.  Does anybody know?  Have you had a chance to check out the show and, if so, what do you think of it?

* There’s more to come for this series but, since most of the episodes haven’t aired in the US yet, I don’t want to spoil it for you!

Sarah’s House airs on HGTV at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday nights.  Images courtesy of HGTV Canada.

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Our Flip: Before & After

Now that our flip has been fully renovated from head to toe and put on the market, wanna take a peak at all the finishing touches?  Grab a cup of coffee and get ready for an all-access home tour that will knock your socks off!

Here’s what our flip looked like when we first saw it way back in April.  Dreary, dated, and totally hidden are a few of the descriptors that come to mind.  The drab peachy brick and the baby blue shutters were doing absolutely nothing for this diamond in the rough – not that you could even see the house due to the low-hanging magnolias that blocked out so much sun that grass refused to grow over most of the yard.

We're Flipping Out

And here’s how the flip greets you today!!  As you can see, new landscaping (more on that soon!) and a snazzy paint job instantly yanked this house out of the 1960s and into this century.  We also removed the outdoor carpeting, ripped out the old ironwork on the porch and replaced it with a simple wood pillar, which immediately shaved about 3 decades off the appearance of the house.  Now, the light cream paint really pops against the lush lawn, and the cheery red door welcomes you right in.  The simple black accents on the shutters and pillar ground the color scheme, while the nickel finishes on the hardware, mailbox and lighting add a much-needed update to the front porch.

Pick The Perfect Exterior Paint Colors In A Snap

Through the front door, you walk immediately into the entryway.  From that point, you can turn left down a hallway to reach three of the bedrooms and the jack ‘n jill bath, you could go to the right to enter the formal living and dining rooms, or you could continue straight into the den (which leads to the study, kitchen, and guest bedroom and bath).

Forgive me for these next few pictures – I know they leave a little something to be desired!  Here’s how the entryway used to look.  The tacky wallpaper and elaborately swagged crystal chandelier just weren’t working for me.  The standard doorway into the den also left a little something to be desired, as it made the entryway feel cramped and closed off.

Our Flip: Day 1

By simply removing the dated elements and expanding the doorways to the den and the formal living/dining, the entryway became a light, airy and beautiful way to welcome visitors into the home.  (And do you recognize that capiz ceiling light from the hallway in our home??)

Our Flip: Before & After

Our Flip: Before & After

Immediately to the right of the entryway was the dingy formal living and dining rooms, complete with a metallic focal wall – what’s not to love, right?

Our Flip: Before & After Our Flip: Day 1

By replacing the dirty carpeting with gleaming hardwoods, switching out the chandelier, and ripping down the curtains to let in the sunlight, the living and dining rooms now feel current and rich, just as they should.

After - Formal Living & Dining

Through those double doors at the end of the dining room, you immediately walk into what used to be a dark relic from the 60s:

Our Flip: Day 1

With clean new custom cabinetry, granite countertops, hardwood floors and a functional new layout, the new kitchen is practically unrecognizable:

After - Open Kitchen & Breakfast Nook

Like most homes built in the 60s, our flip used to have a closed-in galley kitchen that removed the kitchen from the rest of the house.

Our Flip: Day 1 Our Flip: Some Serious Progress!!

By removing half of the wall between the kitchen and the den, the kitchen is instantly open and airy, perfect for entertaining or feeding the kids meals at the new breakfast bar.  And best of all, now that stunning glass and marble backsplash can be seen throughout the house!

After - Open Kitchen

A great feature of this house is the breakfast nook at the end of the kitchen – who couldn’t use another place to hang out and enjoy a meal?  Unfortunately, the original breakfast nook was . . . um . . . a bit dated.

Our Flip: Before & After

We simply removed the floral chandelier and replaced the existing hutch with a floor-to-ceiling custom pantry, which added ridiculous amounts of storage and upped the attractiveness factor of this little nook.  And check out that snazzy hardware!!

Our Flip: Before & After

And I can’t resist pointing out a few fun features of the new kitchen – check out the trash pullout, the recess for an undercounter microwave, and the vertical base cabinet (on the far right) for cookie sheets!  Ooh, and here’s a little tip for those of you that are having new countertops installed – ask the fabricator to make you a custom cutting board out of the countertop remnants, like the portions cut out for the stove and sink.  You’ll have a gorgeous (and indestructible) cutting board that will blend in so perfectly with your countertops that you can leave it out all the time!

Our Flip: Before & After Our Flip: Before & After

So you may be wondering what was on the other side of that galley kitchen.  Well, here it is.

Our Flip: Day 1

Kind of a letdown, right?  I mean, I love that it has a fireplace, but the room just looked sad – dark paneling, a peachy-pink fireplace, scalloped bookcases and dingy carpeting just weren’t awesome enough.

So we changed it.  A bunch.  New bookcases and hardwood floors, drywall instead of paneling, recessed lighting and a fresh coat of white paint on the fireplace suddenly transformed the cave-like den into a family room just begging for a family.

After - Den

And it has a rockin’ view of the kitchen, so nobody gets left out.

Our Flip: Before & After

Past the breakfast nook (on the way to the garage), is a bathroom and a fourth bedroom.  The bathroom originally housed a toilet, sink . . . and the washer and dryer.

Our Flip: Day 1

The first step was 2009′ing the bathroom with all the fixins from a new toilet to a classic pedestal sink.

Our Flip: Before & After

And then we desperately needed to address the laundry area.  It was just sad.

Our Flip: Before & After

So we got rid of it.  Or moved it, actually – more about that later.  In its place, we added a gorgeous tiled shower/bath – I think the glass diamond accents are my fave!  And it’s awesome that this is now a full bath because . . . the fourth bedroom is right across the hall!!  Now it’s the perfect little guest wing, and guests won’t have to trek across the entire house in their bathrobe – definitely a necessary change (and one that adds value to boot!).

Our Flip: Before & After

So now onto that fourth bedroom.  The built-in desk is a great feature, but the whole room just looked a little dated.

Our Flip: Before & After

A fresh coat of white paint on the built-ins and some new carpet instantly freshened this room into a space perfect for guests, a workspace, or whatev.

Our Flip: Before & After

Through the doorway to the right of the den was this sad little enclosed patio.  Luckily, it was heated and cooled so it added some awesome square footage to the home.  But it was kinda gross, with the original brick walls (and random paneling), creaky sliding doors, and funky blue carpeting.

Our Flip: Before & After

By floating a new floor over the existing slab, we were able to continue the gorgeous hardwoods straight into the study (formerly enclosed patio) for a seamless transition to the rest of the house, which totally increased the open feeling of the entire home.  We also drywalled over the brick walls, added recessed lighting, and replaced the sliding doors with updated French doors to take in the beautiful new view.

Our Flip: Before & After

But the view wasn’t always so lovely.  The slab patio used to be confined and depressing, with a plastic sheeting roof, tired outdoor carpeting, and a brick wall that closed off the patio from the rest of the backyard.

Before - Back Patio

So we tore it all down, all the way to the concrete slab.  Then we added a rustic flagstone patio (to match the new pool coping that you’ll see in a minute), and topped it off with a fun and functional cedar pergola that defines the space and adds a little shade from that Texas sun (and the new homeowners can easily increase the amount of shade if they want by adding canvas right over the top of the pergola, or weaving it in between the cedar slats for a unique effect).

Our Flip: Raise the Flag

The backyard used to be completely overrun by the swampy pool and cracked concrete decking.  And that lone palm tree was just weird.

Our Flip: Backyard Oasis

We totally revamped the pool by adding new 3M quartz plaster in an island blue, fun mosaic tiles in a cobalt blue and earthy brown, and awesome flagstone coping that perfectly coordinates with the new tile.  Chipping up the old concrete decking allowed us to add tropical plantings and lay a grassy lawn that gives the pool a pond-like effect, and will also give the new homeowners a place to play with their kids and pets.

Our Flip: They Can Take the Heat

Back inside, a jack ‘n jill bath is down a short hallway to the left of the entryway.  This bathroom is shared with the second bedroom, and was also intended to be used by guests.  While it was big and spacious with lots of storage and double sinks, in its original condition guests were sure to run screaming for the hills.

Our Flip: Before & After Our Flip: Day 1

We were able to totally transform the bathroom by simply switching out the flooring and adding a new countertop and fixtures.  The existing cabinetry looks amazing with a new coat of crisp white paint, and the new travertine flooring, laid in a brick pattern, is totally gorgeous and makes the bathroom feel even more spacious.

After - Jack 'n Jill Bath

Even though the second bedroom just off the jack ‘n jill bath was spacious, it was a little dingy.

Our Flip: Day 1

With new carpeting and paint, an efficient ceiling fan and lovely crown molding, the second bedroom is now totally inviting.

Our Flip: Before & After

The third bedroom was almost as spacious, but the bright blue carpeting was a huge distraction from its potential.

Our Flip: Day 1

It got the same treatment as the second bedroom, and was spiffed up in a jiffy.

Our Flip: Before & After

This house was simply brimming with storage, like the two large closets on the right-hand side of this hallway that connects three of the bedrooms.

Our Flip: Before & After

Turns out those two closets were the perfect place to add a laundry area for a full-size washer and dryer (and with room left over for a separate linen closet!).  Now the new homeowners will be able to easily wash and dry their clothes without hauling their dirty laundry across the entire house – score!

Our Flip: Before & After

Just past the new laundry area is the master bedroom.  But there was nothing masterful about it in the beginning.

Our Flip: Day 1

So we swanked it up by continuing the beautiful hardwood floors right into the master bedroom.  And as an added bonus, it has a killer view of the pool and all of the gorgeous landscaping.

After - Master Bedroom

Perhaps the biggest eyesore in the entire house was the master bathroom.  It had blinding wallpaper, scallops, paneling, formica, and just about the worst shower I’ve ever seen.  It was going to be a huge challenge.

Our Flip: Day 1

Luckily, we conquered it!!  We ripped out the old cabinets to make room for dual sinks, doubled the visual space of the room with a fab beveled mirror, and added custom cabinets with tons of storage.

After - Master Bath

Like I said before, the shower was pitiful – I’ll spare you a view of the inside, but it felt cramped and was definitely not a place that you’d want to stand around in naked.  I’m just saying.

Homebody Query: Big Bath or Closet Space? Homebody Query: Big Bath or Closet Space?

But with the addition of a frameless glass shower enclosure and oodles of marble tile, the shower is now the showpiece of the master bathroom!  Bright and airy, the glass enclosure adds to the spacious feeling of this gorgeous shower.

Our Flip: Showered with Awesomeness

Our Flip: Before & After

So there you have it!!  How’d you like poking around our flip?  Got any questions about what we did or how we did it?  Ask away!!

For even more behind-the-scenes peeks into our flip, just click here.

This post is shared with Hooked on Houses.

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Our Flip: Open House!!

Alrighty peeps, our flip is officially on the market!!  And you know what that means . . .

Our Flip: Open House

Woohoo!!  I think it’s kinda cool that our very first open house is exactly two months to the day after we closed on this baby.

Just click here to find our flip on the map.  We hope to see you on Sunday!!  I’ll be in “realtor mode,” but if I know me I won’t be able to resist a little squealing over meeting a reader!

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