If there’s something we’re never tired of seeing, it’s a great makeover. Whether it’s converting the retro bathroom into a futuristic oasis or giving the sleek bedroom a fresh look, pros perform these design wonders all the time.
To give designers a chance to highlight their favorite makeovers—and to give you plenty of inspiration for your own home—we’re sharing the best before and after we’ve seen in our feature, Makeover of the Week. Take notes on the next renovation.
“Initially, the basement bedroom in this 100-year-old lake house was only large enough to hold two beds, so we removed a cinder block wall and pushed out another to create more space for a third bed, a closet, and a desk,” says interior designer Kate Lester.
Get to know the expert
Interior designer Kate Lester owns Kate Lester Interiors, a Los Angeles-based design company specializing in California-based coastal esthetics that is livable, curated, and collected
Before
“This basement bedroom is currently used as a guest room when friends and family come to visit,” Lester points out. It’s adjacent to another bedroom with two twin beds, so the owners can sleep five people on this level.”
After
“I wanted the room to feel the lake house-wise, but not too literal, so we went with a whimsical wallpaper that kept the room from becoming too serious or too nautical,” Lester says. “Architecturally, there was a single beam on the far right of the room that had to stay due to structural problems, so we focused on that in our ceiling design concept. We ended up adding a second beam for balance, and then painted all whites to create a sense of height.”
What’s changed
- Color Theme: Navy, beige, and white make up the base color palette of the room.
- Beds: Twin-woven headboards complement the navy and white elements and delineate each sleeping room.
- Bedding: Crystal white sheets and duvets are lined with antique washed cotton blue consoles.
- Wallpaper: Herringbone/chevron patterned wallpaper becomes the focal point of the room, while white framed prints depicting the beach resort lifestyle of the 1960s add vibrant pops to the wall.
- Pillows: white sham coordinates with a duvet cover, a kidney pillow with green and blue coral pops compliment the photograph, and a small kidney pillow with a mini print portrays the reverse pattern in the wallpaper.
- End tables: The nightstands, originally a deep green shade, were finished in white lacquer for instant refreshment, thus offering the ideal catch-all for books, candles and water carafes.
- Table lamps: the homeowner, a photographer, designed the lamps for a set he produced with the lighting manufacturer.
- Floor/rugs: In order to distinguish each bed as its own individual room, the bleached oak floors were covered in three cotton flat-weave rugs with a diamond/geometric pattern.
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