house&home | Apr i l 2013 | house and home on l ine . com18

before && after

PalettePerfection

PalettePerfection

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When Denise Strittmatter called me, I did not know that herhusband Mike had already checked out my website and lookedat my “before/after” photos. He advised budgeting my services intotheir overall plan to ensure quality.

“Even when we bought the house, we did not think the wallpaperlooked right against the tile.” Denise said. “We wanted a much warmerlook and knew the wallpaper had to come off,” she explained.

They loved the layout of the room but not the colors—too much whiteand brass for their liking. “I felt overwhelmed by our first meeting.”Denise said. “You had such vision not only for the bath but the entirehouse and our visit encompassed so much more than just choosing paintcolors—thank goodness!” she laughed.

TIP: Just because the builder envisioned the bath one way, does notmean you cannot change it.

It turned out that Mike was onboard a lot sooner than she was—he wasthe steady one “who made me do everything on your written plan,”Denise explained. She just could not wrap her arms around all of my sug-gestions and said, “frankly, I thought some of them were just crazy. Over

BY JOETTA MOULDEN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANET LENZEN

AFTER: Removing the wallpaper and painting the walls flat Sherwin Williams “Latte”and vanities Sherwin Williams gloss enamel in “Coconut Husk,” changing out the ceil-ing light, removing the 2-inch blinds since the window is frosted glass, brass towel barand hanging a modern giclee from Overstock.com updated this bath.

BEFORE: Busy wallpaper that did not match the tile, mismatched brass and chromehardware, dated ceiling light and dated vanities were spoiling this master bath.

Color coordination revivesa couple’s master bath

BEFORE

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house&home | Apr i l 2013 | house and home on l ine . com20

time, I came to understand thatyou were really right about every-thing.”

TIP: Paint is cheap and consis-tently gives you the most bang foryour buck.

The hardest suggestion for her tovisualize was painting the vanities adarker brown from the BenjaminMoore “White” Interior Roomgloss enamel that they had alwaysbeen. I explained that one of thethings she hated about her bathwas all the white surfaces and thevanities would look more like free-standing cabinets if they werepainted. To save money, the coupleopted to leave the chrome/brasstwo-tone faucets rather than replacethem with brushed nickel faucets.

She admits she was uneasy untilshe saw the finished product. “Ispend a lot of time in this roomgetting ready, and now it is a warm

AFTER: Painting the vanity with SherwinWilliams gloss enamel in “Coconut Husk”and changing accessories made a hugedifference. Denise replaced the old benchwith a new rattan bench from HomeGoods.

BEFORE: A boring builder white vanity,colorless accessories and thick beigecushion on the stool dated this bath.

BEFORE

house&home | Apr i l 2013 | house and home on l ine . com22

and inviting space to be in,” Denise said. She saidtheir friends and family love the changes, too!

“I am a firm believer in hiring a professional,” sheexplains. “If you are going to spend money to doanything to your house, you want your choices towork.” She would recommend budgeting for profes-sional services as a must.

Joetta Moulden offers home makeovers using your ownhome furnishings to create the home you’ve alwaysdreamed of. Joetta believes your pieces collected throughthe years reflect your personality and can be artfullyarranged. Her ability to focus on your personal style andnot let her own preferences influence the design of yourhome makes her unique. See more makeovers on her website at www.shelterstyle.com, e-mail her at joetta@shel-terstyle.com or call 713.461.2063. If an initial appoint-ment or referral is booked by April 30, a 10 percent firstmeeting discount will be given.

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TRADE SECRETS• HIRE A DECORATOR to look objectively at your spaces and make sugges-tions that will help you redecorate on your budget.

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• SOMETIMES THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGY is to first rethink what’salready paid for.

AFTER: Replacing the shower trim with brushed nickelinstantly updated the bath. Another option here would be aframeless glass shower with brushed nickel trim and showerguard glass.

BEFORE: Brass shower trim added decades to this bath.

BEFORE

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house&home | Apr i l 2013 | house and home on l ine . com24

Dear Plantophiles,Flowering trees reign supreme in many spring planting schemes andnone are better suited for our Gulf Coast gardens than redbuds. Thisgroup of approximately 10 species, in the genus Cercis, occurs through-out warm temperate regions in Europe, Asia, the Middle East andNorth America. They are large shrubs and small trees ranging from 10-25’ tall, and make perfect border plants or accent trees for tucking intosmall spaces. They decorate our early spring landscape for nearly amonth with tiny flowers produced in masses along bare branchesbefore their leaves emerge.

All save for one rare Chinese species, Cercis racemosa (flowers inhanging clusters—if you find one, please do let me know), exhibit cau-liflory; popping their flowers directly from stems, branches and eventrunks. Redbud flowers are not actually red but a rich orchid (as permy childhood box of Crayolas). Cultivated varieties vary from a darker,red-violet shade, to clear pink. White-flowered forms are also avail-able—called “whitebuds”, and they are exquisite in bloom—makes theubiquitous Bradford pear look like a hippo in a hula skirt.

Plant breeders have worked extensively to go beyond attractionbased on flowers: the handsome, heart-shaped foliage appears in a vari-ety of colors: gold and apricot; “Rising Sun”, burgundy; “Forest Pansy”& “Merlot”, and white variegation; “Ace of Hearts”. There are alsospectacular weeping varieties; “Lavender Twist” & “Ruby Falls”. Theseand other cultivars tend to fly off of nursery pads as soon as they areset out!

Redbuds grow well in full sun to light shade, and tend to be rathertough and forgiving of anything but soggy soil. We are fortunate tohave three species (some botanists classify them only as varieties) nativeto Texas: Cercis canadensis, from our eastern region, C. texensis fromthe western limestone ridges and C. mexicana from extreme southwest-ern Texas. The European native redbud, Cercis siliquastrum, is com-monly known as “Judas Tree”; legend has it that this is the tree thatJudas Isquariot used to hang himself. Please don’t let this name deteryou, as redbuds are completely reliable and will never betray you,beautifying your garden for many years.

Keep on growing!

the hortwhisperer

Y O U R G U I D E T O H O R T I C U LT U R E I N H O U S T O N BY DARRIN DULING

Darrin Duling, Director of Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens, is a botanical horticulturist, environmentalist and landscape designer. He holds aMaster of Science Degree in Plant Taxonomy from the University of Reading in England, as well as the Royal Horticultural Society Certificate of Training

and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Diploma of Horticulture. Duling has managed major gardens in Thailand, New York and Florida. For information on Mercer Arboretum, visit www.hcp4.net/mercer.

“Rising Sun” redbud has golden leaves that emerge pinkish-orange. “Merlot” features dramatic, near-black leaves.

Whitebuds are a most elegant spring flowering tree.

A beautiful specimen redbud complements a gazebo at Mercer Arboretum.

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