Before, During, AfterApr 26, 2019

Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate These Diggies

Written by Amber Lewis
Photographed by Tessa Neustadt

When I say I’m excited to FINALLY reveal this project, I really mean I AM THE MOST excited ever…. We wrapped up this project a couple years ago and never got the opportunity to get profesh photos of it. So, we reached back out to our super cool, totally adorable, clients and begged them to let us come and shoot it. They obliged, and so we packed up the team and off to this goooooorge house in Connecticut we went! It’s been quiiiiite a while since we’ve done a proper ‘Before’ and ‘After’ from a project and I figured this transformation was as good as any to show off. It’s almost impossible to put into words what we changed without showing you the ‘Before’ pics, which is why we’ve included a hefty amount of ’em.

FUN FACT! If I wasn’t in love with California and my fragile warm blood could handle East Coast winters… this would 100% be my home. It turned out to be the perfect combination of traditional and cozy, but a little upscale farm, country cool, east coast bougie at the same time. All in the best way possible, of course. When we first arrived, we were tasked with quite a few major things… and for some context, this home was for a family of SEVEN: Two parents, four young kids, and one Bowie (The Golden Retriever).

One of the major things that we and the clients wanted to do was brighten the heck outta the entire home. To achieve that, we ended up keeping the original plank flooring which was white oak, because it was so darn beautiful, then stripped and refinished it all with a lighter custom stain (not engineered)!! A lot of you had been asking where the floors were from.. and that’s right… they are actual wood… which is less and less common nowadays. For optimum bright white-ness, we painted a majority of the home Simply White by Benjamin Moore. I have stated it before (in my White Paint Digest), and I will state it again.. Simply White is a good color.  We went ahead and broke down exactly what we did with each room below, so take a gander!

Okay, enough with my rambling… without further ado… it’s your time to FINALLY see the full reveal of Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate These Diggies!!!!!!! Thank you to my clients for being so trusting, kind, and so much fun to work with!!! xoxox Amber

Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Kitchen + Breakfast Nook

If it weren’t for the stove, oven and refrigerator in the ‘Before’ images, you would hardly be able to recognize the kitchen before and after. In fact, we ended up expanding and pushing out the kitchen and old sun room, where we added the Breakfast Nook and Living Room. With four children and a hyper puppy running around, it was a no-brainer that this family needed a big ‘ol open concept room, where Mom could have eyes on everyone. We removed the beams and added T+G to the ceilings, which elongated the room and made the overall feel of the room more interesting. We also added a big (and I mean really, really biiiiiiig) kitchen island with Calacatta marble countertops and painted the base Wrought Iron by Benjamin Moore. We picked Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore for the perimeter cabinets, to add yet another layer of depth and give the room a little more color. We added a built-in banquette, so the entire family could sit around the table. This is our Made By Shoppe Ozzie Dining Table in Oak and Bowie Chairs in Black Oak, which both added a bit of a modern feel to what is overall a more traditional home.

Before
After
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Shoppe The Look

Ozzie Dining Table in Bleached Walnut

From $7,650

Bowie Dining Table

$305

Vermont Large Colander

$215

Seagrass Pitcher

$35

Cereal Bowl in White

$34

Brass Small Mill

$85

Meghan Flynn Dinner Plat

$54

White Jar

$160

Noir Jar

$160

Heirloom Board

From $125

Noir Small Slim Cylinder

$80

White Small Slim Cylinder

$80


Family Room

Directly behind the Kitchen is this glorious Family Room, which we pretty much built from scratch. We added built-in shelves, because I needed another #shelfie to style… and because they are always a good idea. We add the biggest and comfiest custom Gwynnie Sectional in Pewter, which was wrapped around our Connecticut Coffee Table, our Collins Bench, and a pair of comfy lounge chairs. This entire room made for truly the comfiest living room… and if I could, would sink into that couch and literally never leave.

Before
After
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Shoppe The Look

Custom Gwynnie Sectional

From $5,900

Connecticut Coffee Table

From $4,800

Collins Bench

From $2,900

Domi Cotton Throw with Red

$305

Small Coupe Tray

$105

Winters 11 Blanket

$600


Living Room

To say that this room makes me happy is not doing it any justice, because this room makes me feel so much more than simply “happy.” The color palette is so warm and inviting, and it’s the perfect mix of found vintage pieces, new furniture pieces, and lots of patterns. Our Billie Sofa in Ivory is as pretty as can be in this room, and it was the perfect piece to help bring a bit of cool into the space. We added some built-in benches, a set of custom pocket doors to block a kids playroom off, and painted the space Simply White by Benjamin Moore.

Before
After
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Shoppe The Look

Billie Sofa

$5,700

Rhys Chair

$1,293

Vintage Spindle Back Chair Set of 4

$1,400

Domi Cotton Throw

$315


Mudroom

This has easily turned into one of my favorite rooms, ever in life, for so many reasons… just look at it! It was a small and dark utility entry, that we turned into a usable and adorably cute mudroom where the family could actually put it to good use. We added wall panelling, new cabinetry, widened the hallway a bit by using the closet space and opening it all up. By moving walls, and making this space much larger, we were forced to put new brick down, so I funked it up a little by running them in a herringbone pattern and patching in what we could salvage from the original brick. And of course, we painted everything a fresh coat of Simply White by Benjamin Moore to brighten it all up.

Before
After
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies

Kids and Guest Rooms

Gah these rooms spark so much joy!!! First of all, how could this little girls room not put a smile on your face?! We added all the pattern and color we could to give this room the happiest and most joyful space for the girls. The Shibori Wallpaper in Buff gave this room so much life, and the pink accents and patterns tied the entire room together. It’s just as sweet as can be, and that’s all I have to say! We kept the guest room simple, yet effective. We added our Latigo Bed, with all the Shoppe blankets and throws, and paired two leather sconces above the nightstands to give it a uniform, yet funky look. I would not mind being a guest in this house… that’s for sure.

Before
After
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies

Ainsley Bed

From $2,080

Shibori Wallpaper

$68 per yard

Latigo Bed

From $4,450

Grace Articulating Wall Lamp

$1,150

Oaxaca Blanket

From $585

Simple Linen Quilt in Olive

$375

White Jar

$160

Daisy Gold & Natural Pillowcase Set of 2

$108

Vase by Colleen Hennessey

$110

White Small Slim Cylinder

$80


Bathrooms 

These bathrooms really were so dark before. We wanted the spaces to feel brighter and more spacious, and tie in the new look of the house. Here was a another instance were we messed with the floor plans, and had to change things up a bit! We ripped out and donated as much as we could, and brought in custom cabinetry and new tile to fill in the space. Not mad at any of it.

Before
After
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies
Amber Interiors - Client Tupac Meets Biggie To Decorate The Diggies

Darya Swan Neck Wall Light

$520

ALL-SORTS-OF-SHOPPE-MADE-SOLID-TRAY

Made Solid x Shoppe Leather Tray

From $240

Noir Jar

$160

ALL-SORTS-OF-SHOPPE-HUMBLE-CANISTER

Small Ceramic Canister

$80

ALL-SORTS-OF-SHOPPE-SUSANNE-KAUFMANN-WINTER-BATH-OIL

Oil Bath By Susanne Kaufmann

$106

Natural Ribs Striped Hand Towel

$30

Small Coupe Tray

$105

Brass Bowl

$25

Noir Small Slim Cylinder

$80

Frama Hand Lotion

$75

Vase by Colleen Hennessey

$110

OK, hope you like these ‘Before’ and ‘Afters’!! Lately we have been building so much from scratch, so this is harder and harder to do, BUT they make me the most happy to share a snippet of all the hard work that goes into these jobs!

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