New home: Family Room and Dining Room

This was a fun job for Draga Designs helping a family set up and decorate their new home!  Having moved from a smaller home to a much larger one, our clients weren’t quite sure where to start. We noticed they had limited seating in their family room and could use a furniture placement plan as well as add new pieces and decor. We were able to increase seating and create a conversation area with a matching sofa and loveseat (which they previously had in another room.) Finding space for the TV was challenging, but all things considered when a homeowner does not want it over the mantel (which is also our least favorite place for a TV!) sometimes a partial window block is the only option. In this situation what had to be given priority was enough seating combined with good viewing areas for the TV and since the room had ample windows a partial window block was the best choice. The homeowner was inspired by Draga Designs furniture creations and did a piece on their own; a beautiful console table. The table serves as an anchor piece along the back wall of their family room which now displays their collection of crosses. Several more décor touches were added to create a homey and cozy feel to this comfortable and stylish family room.

The dining room was pretty much a blank canvas, so we had a lot of fun designing this room from scratch! The homeowners were leaning towards a more casual, farmhouse style and chose a beautiful farm table. Draga Designs helped with chair selection, hardware, lighting and found the gorgeous hutch for them with our personal shopping service. We also created the drapes which blend well with the side chairs and overall design of the room. We relocated the thermostat (which was previously located smack dab in the middle of their only free dining room wall) to the family room on the other side making way for the wood wall hangings to complete the room. Additional decorative touches were added and the overall result is beautiful! We are so happy to see this home come together for this wonderful family!

Kitchen Remodel: from Dark & Dreary to Bright & Cheery!

When we first saw this kitchen we were impressed with the size and layout, but it was all original with dated appliances, granite that was just too drab and dark which clashed with the reddish-stained cabinets.  Even with 12 can lights this kitchen was too dark. To begin, two of the can lights over the island were converted to hang these gorgeous, statement pendant lights. The kitchen was then outfitted with a KitchenAid appliance suite and the old microwave was removed to make way for a sharp looking, quality vent hood. The homeowners were not heavy microwave users and therefore opted to have a small microwave in their pantry in order to make the vent hood possible. The brown granite had to go and the choice was the “Ornamental classic” color with lots of lighter, creamy tones mixed with some browns for accent. The existing cabinets were decent quality and looked nice, just not in the red stained color. We had these painted in antique white and both the island and butler’s pantry area in caviar black. To further the contrast, we used black iron knobs for all the white cabinetry, which coordinated nicely with the black iron on the pendant lights as well as the pewter faceplates and hardware throughout the home. The black island and butler’s pantry got the specialty hardware treatment with vintage glass knobs with satin nickel trim, which also blended nicely with the pewter hardware. We are delighted with the results of this kitchen remodel!

 

 

Farmhouse Master Bath remodel

This master bathroom was anything but master-suite worthy. In fact, when we first saw it, we dubbed the shower the “coffin shower” because it was so narrow and enclosed to stand in it felt like you were just in a vertical coffin!

As if that weren’t bad enough, it was made of plastic (“cultured marble”), had no door (prior owners had removed it) and to complete its charm it had a brass faceplate on the faucet that was not even attached and just dangled! 

Beyond the ugly, there functional issues with design as the bathroom door actually opened right onto the opening to the shower. 

Of course the rest of the bathroom was no prize either. 

 Old white tiles, many cracked, gold tone faucets and more of that lovely cultured marble for the countertop.

Our inspiration for the redesign of this bathroom came from our decision to use a sliding door or “barn door” which would eliminate the door opening onto the shower. This was custom built by Draga Designs.

When we made this design choice we ran with it and did a whole Farmhouse theme for the bathroom which included reclaimed wood mirrors, cage lights with Edison bulbs, tiled wood plank flooring and square sinks with old timey “water pump” faucets. But let’s get back to that coffin shower for a moment. It was too small and options were limited for extending its size, but with removing the angled opening we were able to extend several inches forward towards the bathroom door opening since there was no longer a door that opened into the room. Then removing the wall to the right and extending out to the closet door opening gave several more inches as the seamless glass no longer took up the footprint the wall did. The partial wall at the front of the shower remained in order to keep the faucet in the same place and avoid moving the plumbing, which worked perfectly as that is where the shower door was attached. With new tile, a pebble floor and granite counters the look was complete! We were very pleased with how this turned out and so were the homeowners!

Draga Designs Blog

We thought having a blog with posts about our various projects might be fun and helpful. We wanted to be able to share with you some of the past projects we've completed as well as those we're currently working on. While you can find pictures of our work under the "Portofolio" tab on the main website dragdesigns.com, here on the blog you'll find more detailed info such as how or why we created a certain item along with tips and tricks as well as fun before and after shots. We hope you'll enjoy these posts and please feel free to leave us comments or suggestions about things you'd like to see and hear about.