Ellen's Story: From Blank to Beautiful

From Blank to Beautiful: How our Jane in Training made her new home fit her life

" />When it comes to home improvement, sometimes a blank canvas can be harder to work with than a dated and dilapidated monstrosity. After all, in a 'fixer-upper', you usually have a set of bones to start with. Usually it just needs a few things to be replaced or updated, right? At the very least, a typical 'fixer-upper' home often reflects a certain era or sense of character that you just need to either slightly alter to your own taste or rejuvenate to give it new life.

But the unfortunate fact of today's newer construction is that character, charm and those little elements that can give a home a unique sense of style cost money. So, they're often ignored.

Ellen, our Jane-in-training, had recently bought her first home, a modern condominium. The building was only a couple of years old and in good shape overall, but her particular unit was nothing more than a blank slate. She struggled with what to do with her stark white walls and abundance of space. Unlike moving into an older place, there was really no need to declare war on chartreuse linoleum flooring, shag carpeting or plastic accordion doors. But Ellen knew she had to make her modern home hers. She just didn't know where to start!

This may be you. If your plumbing and electricity are up to date and most of the fixtures don't pre-date your own birth, you might feel like there is nothing to do. But there is. There always is!

Ellen didn't know what to do with her space, but we knew that if we showed her how to think a little outside her four-walled box, she would quickly realize that a little creativity and confidence goes a long way.

We started with an analysis of Ellen's front room. She had mentioned that the one thing she hated was the layout. The fact that her "eating" area was situated at the far end of the room, and that her kitchen was at the other end with an awkwardly shaped living space in between. We began by showing her that just because the builder decided that's the way it should be, it was up to Ellen to decide ultimately how she would use the room.

The builder defined this space as the dining room because of a low-hanging light fixture that they chose to install there. To Ellen, it didn't make sense that the dining room table was to be placed so far away from the kitchen. But, that's where the builder put the light, so that's where the table has to go, right? Wrong. Changing out a light fixture didn't seem feasible to Ellen at first, but soon enough she was up on the ladder installing track lighting. Cool and contemporary, you too can install track lighting in any room you choose.

For a little ambiance, we then showed Ellen how to install a dimmer switch to the track lighting. This project costs less than $20 and took less than 30 minutes, even for a Jane In Training.

We then looked at her walls which were stark white. Ellen simply didn't know how to go about choosing the right color. We say, go with what you know. If you love blue, then go blue! If purple is your color, then go for it. Your potential color palate is as vast as your imagination.

If committing to a color is too difficult, sometimes you might consider using a favorite piece of furniture that you want to showcase. You can use the furniture piece as inspiration to build your room around, starting with complementary or accent colors.

Working backwards from a furniture piece that she loved helped Ellen determine a look for the finished room. She knew that the light green color in her couch appealed to her, but she worried that it might be too much in such a long room. We came up with the idea of using horizontal stripes to give the room a sense of depth while at the same time, minimizing the chance of having too much of one color. Stripes are a great option for any room as they help to create movement and aren't much more difficult than regular painting.

Even though you may have a lot of space, you still want to make the most of it. Because once you throw in furniture and décor into a room, that space disappears quickly! Sometimes it's difficult to decide on what furniture to buy (or get rid of) so try to start by deciding on what color/style you want the room to be. Even this can be an undertaking, so look at magazines or check out decorating stores for a little inspiration.

But sometimes, the right piece of furniture just isn't anywhere to be found, so you might want to consider constructing something of your very own.

Ellen had a large wall space that she wanted to use to display and store some of her belongings. So, we came up with a custom-built cabinet and seating design that all of us constructed from galvanized piping and plywood. We'll be honest-this was not an easy project, but it was far from impossible. Decide upon a pattern that works, and then head to your home improvement store for the materials. (Opt for a simple pattern if it's your first woodworking project.) Remember, the store can always cut the wood for you to your exact specs if you don't have the power tools to do so on your own.

The finished result? A perfectly balanced combination of living and entertaining space, with a distinct and defining look for the whole room. The projects worked as a whole: striped walls that were accented by the linear shapes of a custom wall unit, a length of track lighting helped connect and define the rooms within the room, and a dimmer that further defined areas of specific interest. In the end Ellen created a room that functioned beautifully, yet had a true sense of style that reflected her. Mission accomplished.

If you're currently living in a blank slate, you may think that you are at a loss for ideas, or perhaps you are overwhelmed by them and can't decide. Just remember, that you have the power to change it. And even if you make a change that you inevitably can't stand, you can change it again. That being said, we have some parting advice: if you are in any way hesitant about upgrading your blank slate, start small. If you aren't 100% sold on a particular idea, project or style, introduce it little by little. Eventually, you'll learn to love it or simply move past it on to the next idea. The trick is to make a commitment to something no matter how small it may seem. We promise you, it will be a decision you'll be glad you made.

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