Before & After

house& home | May 2012 | house and home on l ine . com22

before && after

Step by step, a couple erased that ’70s look from their entry hall with grand results

BY JOETTA MOULDEN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANET LENZEN

Welcome Change

Your entry hall is what visitors see

when they first enter your home and it

is worthy of your attention. Melissa

Taylor and her husband know this

truth and did something about it. They

first heard about me from their Realtor,

who had given them a copy of

Houston House & Home. After we

discovered that there was wood under

the carpeted stairs and that she could

paint the railing, Melissa got right to

work.

“The flocked wallpaper was original

from 1970,” Melissa explained. “It

had a very formal feeling that did not

suit our style. Since the wallpaper was

neutral and it would be difficult

AFTER: The owners painted the stair riserscreamy white to match their wall trim andrepainted the stair rail for an oil-rubbedbronze look. Because of the two-storyheight, the wallpaper was removed andwalls painted by a professional crew. Aninherited grandfather clock fits nicely by thefront door niche, replacing the glass wallcabinet.

BEFORE: The lovely woodwork was practi-cally invisible, and the flocked wallpaperreally monopolized the view.

BEFORE

23

On Site Repairs

• Etchings

• Transoms

• Sidelights

• Beveled Doors

• Stained Glass

• Stained Glass Domes

• Shower Enclosures

ART GLASS BY WELLS

CUSTOM GLASSWORK

Since 196212307 Chimney Rock • Houston, TX 77035(713)729-3699 • www.artglassbywells.com

Save now on choice leather seating!Shop the oldest and most experienced leather specialty store. You’ll find more styles and a bigger selection from the bestbrands: Flexsteel, Palliser, Bradington, Young, Elite, Hooker, American Heritage,Barcalounger and more!

That’s why we say “Don’t Compromise...Customise!

10784 Kempwood Dr. at Beltway 8

713.690.9400www.leathershoppes.com

*with approved credit thru GE Financial

MIRROR MAKEOVER• Average makeovers from $150 to $250• Conceal black edges on aging mirrors• Wide selection of frame styles

Call Now to Schedule your Complimentary Design Consultation!

* Conditions apply. Call for details

281-305-4555Or Schedule Online:

www.MirrorMakeover.com

Have questions? Ask us at:facebook.com/mirrormakeover

See more makeovers at:youtube.com/mirrormakeover

Before

After

MOST GENEROUSOFFER EVER!

$55.00 OFF*

When you buy 2 or more frames

MOST GENEROUSOFFER EVER!

$55.00 OFF*

When you buy 2 or more frames

*Order must be placed within 77 ddaayyss of estimate date.

Expires 5/31/12.


to remove without professional help, we

worked around it for several years. The

white wrought iron railing and carpeted

stair were a very dated look that I just

hated,” she said. She wanted a beautiful

wooden stair railing and banister, but she

was shocked at the high cost. Melissa

quickly warmed to the idea of buying a

small jar of paint for under $20 to give the

railing a whole new look.

The couple had the carpet on the stair-

case removed, and shortly after they had

the wooden treads refinished. The first

thing Melissa painted was the metal railing

with a jar of Modern Masters Collection

Metallic Paint in “English Brown.” She

then painted the stair risers to match her

home’s trim, Sherwin Williams “Off

White” semi-gloss latex enamel (be sure

and tell the person behind the counter the

color is in the old fan deck.)

TIP: You can paint anything if you use

the right paint and primer.

The couple did their entry hall in

stages. Later, the walls were stripped of the

wallpaper by professionals, who then tex-

tured, primed and painted the walls with

a Sherwin-Williams flat latex wall paint,

computer-matched to Benjamin Moore’s

“Saybrook Sage” (HC -114) paint.

AFTER: A landscape print replaced the family photo on the den wall and new paint on the walls and railing add simpleelegance to the space. Even the chandelier seems more current and less formal now.BEFORE: The painted white railing, wallpaper, carpeted stairs and dated flocked wallpaper were spoiling this dramatictwo-story entry hall, giving it a very formal, retro vibe.

BEFORE

25

6265 FM 1960 WestHouston, Texas 77069281-444-9299www.lightinghouston.com

Lighting Your Way® Since 1974

WWhheetthheerr yyoouu aarree rreemmooddeelliinngg oorr jjuusstt uuppddaattiinngg aa ssiinnggllee rroooomm,, lleett tthhee AALLAA pprrooffeessssiioonnaallssaatt TThhee LLiigghhttiinngg GGaalllleerryy hheellpp yyoouu ccrreeaattee aa llooookk tthhaatt ccoommpplliimmeennttss yyoouurr ssttyyllee.. TThhee bbeesstt pprriicciinngg,, sseelleeccttiioonn,, ssttyyllee aanndd vvaalluuee ssiinnccee 11997744..

• Interior & Exterior Fixtures • Lampshades • Lamps• Mirrors, Pictures & Accessories • Crystal Chandeliers • Ceiling Fans

VViissiitt oouurr ccoonnvveenniieenntt llooccaattiioonn iinn tthhee CChhaammppiioonnss aarreeaa..

38 th AnniversaryAnniversary

SALE!CELEBRATING OUR

EEmmmmeett PPeerrrryy&&CCoo..Fine carpets and Rugs

SUMMERSAVINGS GALORE

Get the beautiful rugsyou’ve always wanted

INTERIOR SHOPS ON WASHINGTON8200 Washington Ave

1/2 Mile N of Katy Freeway

713-961-4665

Jennie Perry


Joetta Moulden offers home makeovers using your own home furnishings to create the home you’ve always dreamed of. Joetta believes your pieces collected through the years reflectyour personality and can be artfully arranged. Her ability to focus on your personal style and not let her own preferences influence the design of your home makes her unique.See more makeovers on her Web site at www.shelterstyle.com, e-mail her at [email protected] or call 713.461.2063. If an initial appointment or referral is booked byMay 31, a 15 percent first meeting discount will be given. Shelterstyle.com holds a "Pages of Happiness" rating and, for the fifth consecutive year, a “Super Service Award” pre-sented to 5 percent of companies that achieve and maintain a superior rating on www.angieslist.com.

before && after“I loved your written homework assignments,” Melissa explained. “As

an avid do-it-yourselfer, the homework takes awhile and having your

written guidance complete with sketches is great to refer back to when

your memory dims,” she said.

TIP: You can do projects in stages. In this case, first the stairs and rail-

ings were completed, then the wallpaper was removed and the walls

were painted.

The couple did not have a budget for their project because it was

done in stages. “Having the treads refinished was much more expensive

that I thought and much messier than I wanted it to be. The great sur-

prise was there were great wood treads and finished risers under the car-

pet and no carpentry was required,” Melissa explained.

She said that having professional help with the plan and color choices

was invaluable. “I think your color recommendations were much more

subtle and longer lasting than what Alex and I would have selected on

our own,” she said.

“I think doing the foyer in stages taught me that changing even one

small thing—like the color of the wrought iron, can change the feel of

the entire room. You helped me come up with ways to “calm down” the

busy pattern of the wallpaper by choosing complimentary paint colors

for the adjacent rooms and the rail color.” She was able to paint those on

her own even when she did not have the budget to hire the two-story

foyer work.

“Our friends and family were quite shocked at how different the entry

hall feels and looks. I am always thankful that you see each room as an

extension of the whole house and thus force me to see colors for

how they look from one or two nearby rooms,” Melissa smiled.

TRADE SECRETS• PAINT—it consistently gives the most bang for thebuck. If you use the correct primer, you can paint justabout anything.

• THINK GREEN—painting your existing stair railingsand risers keeps them out of the landfill and savesmoney, too.

• SOMETIMES THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGYis not to gut your room but to first rethink the piecesthat are already paid for.

AFTER: Paint can go on anything if you use the correct primers. The couple wasdelighted there was attractive wood instead of basic sub-flooring on their stairs,which saved them thousands of dollars. Refinishing wood floors costs pennies onthe dollar compared to installing new flooring.

27

PROFESSIONAL REUPHOLSTERY

11330 Northwest FreewayHouston, TX 77092(290 West b/t 34th & Antoine)713.957.0003 Phone713.957.1450 faxM-F 10-6:30 • Sat 10-6

Home Furnishings Accessories Fabrics Trims

w w w . m a x i m u m f u r n i t u r e . c o m

Before & After

Documents

Transcript of Before & After