When choosing to remodel more than one room or space at the same time, you can reach a point where your entire world feels upside down. I know this because after more than two years of living with most of our first floor under construction, my life (and often my mind) was one big mess. I felt as if it were never going to be finished. We were just going to live with saw dust and caulk splattered floors forever. For-ever! Well, it felt like forever, until… I saw results. Seeing real results is the best medicine for any construction frustration. Heck, just looking at my first before and after photos (below) has me so excited I’m already planning our next project! Now, my husband, he might be thinking of a little break first. We’ll see.

Before…

After…

How’s that for results!?

Now, I have to be honest. My after photo does not do this part of our kitchen justice. I hope to share a better quality and complete photo post soon.

Also, coming soon are all the details that got us to our before and after. How did we make out on appliances and cabinets? A Q&A with the builder, a.k.a. my husband. Was DIY really worth it?

To be continued…

Mirror, mirror now on the wall (and why wasn’t it before?).

Here’s the blank canvas we had to work with.  Look past the fake plant and the area rug (if you can), they are long gone.  They are now in the garage sale pile.  Sigh! just thinking about that project.  Anyway, we repainted our walls for the 3rd time in 10 years.  Hoping this will be the last.  But, what I can tell you is that our entire family, friends and guests absolutely rave over the Sherwin-Williams Aqua-Sphere.  It’s very calming.  And I love the smokey hue it takes on most of the time.

Foyer: looking into from open dining room.

It’s now safe to say the glam mirror is hanging on the wall – all 55 lbs.!

55 lbs. holding strong!

And here’s pulling the industrial chic look all together.

Marrying industrial chic with glam.

It’s now time to accessorize the cart. I already have my eye on this lamp.

Photo: Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao

Those who live in the “flyover” zone of the United States may not know Park Slope, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, although they would likely recognize the iconic brick and brownstone townhouses and tree-lined streets (where parking is nearly impossible).  The neighborhood is located near Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Brooklyn Museum, offering relative quiet compared to Manhattan.  Park Slope’s proximity has historically made the neighborhood an area of authentic community.  Suleiman Osman, a Slope native and assistant professor of American Studies at George Washington University told the New York Times that the urban revitalization of Park Slope that started in the 1960’s was a “postwar middle-class search for urban authenticity as a refuge from mass consumer culture.”  Fifty years later the neighborhood is a family-friendly mash-up of hip New York, vibrant café life, organic restaurants, co-ops, museums, galleries, creative capitol and good schools.

The landmark architecture of Park Slope is comprised of blocks of row houses, brownstone, Queen Anne, Renaissance Revival and Romanesque mansions.  Thanks to preservationists, many of the historic 19th Century and early 20th Century buildings are still in tact despite having undergone subdivision and then reconsolidation back into single or double family dwellings.  But working on historic buildings requires special care.  Susan Leboff learned this during the recent renovation of the kitchen in her Park Slope townhouse.  “A contractor we know advised us against Corian or anything heavy without reinforcing our basement because in his experience, those materials made the old Brooklyn row houses sag,” says Leboff.  “Having already reinforced the basement, I could not see reinforcing it more.”  So Leboff started researching other countertop materials that could give her the sleek look and durability she wanted without compromising the integrity of the structure.  “We had redone a country cottage kitchen with laminate counters and they looked just as good, if not better than, Corian,” says Leboff.  “Then we read the Consumer Reports kitchen guide which gave laminate high scores, so we started looking at Wilsonart.”  In the end, Leboff chose Wilsonart Premium Laminate in Black Alicante, a large-scale black marble accented with fine white and black veining.  “The countertops look stunning,” says Leboff.  “You can come see for yourself.  People don’t need to buy Corian or stone, the Wilsonart laminate is every bit as nice.”

Wilsonart Premium Laminate Kitchen - Black Alicante, 4926; (c) 2012 Susan Leboff

While Park Slope’s family-friendly gentility and creative, crunchy hipness sometimes make it a target for razzing from other New Yorkers (“What’s with all the trees and mommies?  This is supposed to be Brooklyn.”), it was ranked the number 1 most desirable neighborhood in New York in 2010, according to New York Magazine.  If you visit, plan on using the great public transit system and keep an eye out for historic architecture and interesting locally owned endeavors.  The residents are also known to be friendly, even offering to show you their renovated kitchens on occasion. But watch out for the strollers.

Sponsorship
Wilsonart for the second consecutive year sponsored Altitude Design Summit in Salt Lake City.  Alt is a yearly blog conference where great minds for Design, Lifestyle, Photography, Fashion, Events, Styling, Art Direction, Food, and Interior Design all come together at the luxury Grand America Hotel!

Mini-Party Retro Theme:  Today’s laminate?
Wilsonart isn’t your grandma’s laminate…
Laminate’s fun, offers wonderful choices and looks terrific – no matter your budget or style!

Wilsonart isn't your grandma's laminate...

Grandma's Old Fashioned Apple Pie recipe card.

Summer is Here!
The ladies with dresses (and aprons!) along with HGTV’s Design on a Dime‘s Summer Baltzer hosted a Summer Tea Party, a modern vintage rendition of the retro 60s.

So what’s with all this paper?
Did you know?  Wilsonart Laminate is a 70% paper-based product (not plastic).  So, you guessed it.  Paper was everywhere

from the The Lady in Red greeting bloggers as soon as they stepped off the elevator,

Wilsonart "Pomegranate" deco paper from the wave series. Photo: ©2012 Moss and Isaac LLC

another vintage dress with its paper accessories and shoes

Wilsonart HD "Bainbrook Grey" decor paper dress

Wilsonart HD "Bainbrook Grey" decor paper shoes

paper pom poms floating from the ceiling,

Lilly Pulitzer paper pom poms

to paper brown take-home gift bags.

Brown paper bags are part of Wilsonart Laminates makeup.

And bloggers had a chance to drop off their business cards for a chance to win a KitchenAid mixer (and the lucky winner? @jeneanmorrison).

Drop off your business card for a chance to win this KitchenAid mixer.

And now to the main stars
Wilsonart HD and Wilsonart Premium laminate countertops.

Additional Party Favors
A party just would not be a party without the memory of the night.  Say hello to the Wilsonart Custom Laminate photo booth (all pics here).

And we can’t forget the vintage cakes and petit fours (yum!).

All topped off with a music playlist of Etta James, Harry Connick, Jr., Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble shuffling through the night.

It was an amazing, unforgettable night!

Oh yes we did (the cake was real)!