Ever get tired of seeing those pristine, effortless renovations in glossy magazines like Better Homes & Gardens or Dwell?
So, it's refreshing in some macabre way to see the true face of home renovation. The New York Times has a great slideshow feature titled Niche Design, featuring the teeny-tiny apartment of Zach Motl, a junior designer at Robert Couturier & Associates. Here are some points that look all-too-familiar to me, or to anybody else who has done DIY renovation:
- His very inventive and super-cheap kitchen backsplash-cum-wall-thingy is composed of "planking from Home Depot that looks like beadboard; he stained it with Minwax's 'green tea,' a water-based wood stain, and sealed it with two coats of high-gloss marine varnish."
- What about the lovely mirrored tiles in the bathroom (pictured)? Motl "chipped [them] off in a frenzy one night."
- Ever made the wrong paint choice and came to regret it? Even though it's a lovely blue color, the bathroom walls are painted with "an industrial-grade high-gloss oil-based enamel, 'National Blue,' from Coronado Paint." Motl goes on to say that, "I probably shouldn't have used it in my apartment."
So, a few missteps ensue. Nothing wrong with that, when you end up with a nice space in the end.
Image Copyright Robert Wright for The New York Times
Comments
I wish more articles portrayed the true face of renovations. It would help to dispel some of the myths and provide a more realistic approach for anyone considering a home improvement project.