When a mag like Better Homes & Gardens hits my mailbox and I see that one of my blog friends has been featured, I get all kinds of excited.
You may remember when I showed you Mary Ann’s kitchen makeover a few years ago. Now it and the rest of her made-over “Beachy Bungalow” in California are in the May issue.
Her kitchen has come a long way since those mellow yellow days, that’s for sure.
The photo of Mary Ann above is from the magazine. Have you ever noticed how they always have homeowners handling fruits and vegetables in these shots? If I’m ever in one, I’m going to see if I can sneak in a bags of chips and a box of Ho-Hos to mix things up. 😉
This is what the other side of the room looked like before…
And here it is now, with a seating area by the window:
Quite a transformation!
The magazine also featured other rooms in her house, including the dining room and living room.
Pick up the May issue of Better Homes & Gardens to read the article
by Paige Porter Fischer and see all the photos by Edmund Barr.
Maybe I’m nuts, but I liked the yellow. It’s still gorgeous, of course, but I feel happier with more color.
You’re not nuts for liking yellow. Everyone has their own preferences! It just probably wouldn’t have worked very well with the grays in her new kitchen.
I liked the yellow too.I know gray is the current trend, but it’s too sterile for me. I would consider those tile floors for my bathroom though. I don’t mind the sterile look for the bathroom, hehe.
I think the kitchen is really well done.
Generally I am not a fan of white kitchens, but this one is so welcoming and homey feeling. They did a great job on their house and kudos for getting it featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine (but look who saw the great remodel first, you Julia!). I had to laugh at your comment about the “chips and Ho-Hos.”
Yeah, I’d have to keep it real. Although I have to say our lettuce is coming up nicely in the garden this year, so maybe I can include some of it in my Fantasy Photo Shoot, too. Ha. 🙂
The new finishes are lovely, but I’d need to add a little color to that kitchen. I actually liked the yellow walls in the before as well. Those hanging cabinets were just bizarre, though! I liked your idea of being photographed arranging Ho-Hos on a plate, or pouring a bowl of potato chips (or just having your arm in the bag!) Hilarious!
Love the image of my arm halfway inside a big bag of chips! Or maybe they could capture a candid of me eating ice cream right out of the carton, which would be an equally realistic scene from my kitchen some days. 😉
Haha, I can just picture it. Also eating it standing over the sink, not even bothering to sit down (or worse still, in front of the still-open freezer door). So elegant. [Not that I would do any of things, of course. Right?]
Yes, as a mom I have definitely eaten standing up a few times in my life! Ha.
Beautiful kitchen! I didn’t think the yellow was terrible either, but this layout is much more functional. What we can see of the rest of the house looks pretty fabulous as well. I love the elegance and tradition of the older furniture pieces. Seems like a really comfortable home to live in.
I too, enjoyed the vision of you indulging in some junk food, Julia. Too funny! 🙂
Happy Birthday to Lillie and your dad! Hope your birthday celebrations were less stressful than my daughter’s birthday sleep-over this weekend. We totally underestimated the noise, mess and general chaos that seven nine year olds can wreak on a household! I have a renewed respect for elementary teachers! Coming into work this morning was like going on vacation in comparison! ha!
Oh, yes, we survived a sleepover this weekend, too, so I know what you mean, Alie. Lots of squealy, girly fun. By the time they left, I needed a nap. Ha. I always say the same thing about elementary-school teachers. Every time I’ve volunteered to help out for a couple hours in the classroom, I’ve come home exhausted. I don’t know how they do it every day!
SO.
I loved everything, + those stool slipcovers had me telling myself, “You could make those!” — followed quickly by, “Oh, but it looks too hard!”
Nobody loves the comic photograph more than I do, so kudos!
Same thing with HGTV — the homeowners are always chopping something.
Yes! Like on “House Hunters” when they visit the couple at home, they’re chop-chop-chopping enough vegetables to feed an army. Ha.
You’re so right, Kay and Julia! It would be so much more realistic to see them putting nacho chips and salsa or pita and hummus out on the island!
How fun to be featured on BHG magazine or any home magazine I do love the kitchen makeover and pinned the dining room because I like the table and chairs so much. I read about a blogger who posted a photo of her home on Facebook and a magazine saw it and contacted her for permission to feature it.
It does seem like they’re discovering more and more of the houses they feature from people who have posted photos of theirs online, doesn’t it? I love seeing some of my favorite bloggers getting attention from magazines like this! 🙂
Gorgeous kitchen! I love the natural light that flows in. It makes the kitchen look brighter. I also love that huge island. I would love to have that much counter space to prepare stuff on.
I love you, Julia…you definitely spotted us first!!
What you don’t know about that old yellow kitchen was that it reeked of dog urine (previous owners little old dog) and cigarettes and the ceiling was low even though there was no second story above it….and the cabinets were chipped and falling off their hinges. Yeah…I was told to get chopping for the photo–but that felt pretty real to me (like an EVERY day occurrence). But you are right…bags of chips and cookies would have been even MORE real. We really did all have lunch on the patio together (kids and photo crew). It was such a fun day! Thanks so much, Julia. I’m still on Cloud 9!
Oh, my. Didn’t know it was that bad before, Mary Ann! Yikes. So it smells a lot better now, too, I imagine? Ha.
So happy you got such a major feature in the mag and that the article turned out so beautifully — congrats!! 🙂
“… dog urine … and cigarettes…”
Seems yellow was actually a fitting colour for this room…
Yeah, I can see why it might there might be unpleasant memories attached to the yellow. Ha.
Really loved Mary Ann’s kitchen!! I took a peek at her 1920’s San Francisco apartment on her blog, and WOW! Everything is so fresh and classic like her Lido home. And the views!!! I love the way she combines patterns and textures in soft soothing colors in an elegant way. That view out of her kitchen window is fantastic!!
I know, right? I’m so glad you saw her apartment, too, Claudia. Love her style!
I just finished reading May’s issue of BHG, and the first thing that caught my eye in the beach makeover house was the gorgeous black wood frame chairs in the living room. While I love grey and white together, it can come off as cold and sterile at times if there isn’t some statement piece with a pop of color.
What a lovely home!
I’m also a yellow fan, and cannot bring myself to jump on the gray bandwagon. Having said that, I do like the fresh new feeling and counters of the new kitchen. Not a fan of the old or the new kitchen floors, but like the wood in the adjoining family area. Great light fixtures!!
Just a beautiful job. Well done!
Oh, I *love* this place! Love all the white, airy spaces. I saw it in BH&G (thank God for Zinio–I can’t get the US version of BH&G in Australia “for real”) and I loved reading your original post and discovering Mary Ann’s blog. More sighing over houses is definitely on the agenda.
Hi Julia, I love the dinning room, the kitchen could use a bit of colour and some junk food would be nice. It’s funny now that the weather is cooling down over here (he coldest start to May in 60 years) somehow junk food is looking very appealing right now. Thank you for sharing. Happy Birthday to your Dad and Lillie. The Instagram photographs are lovely. Regards Esther from Sydney.
The table looks like an all in one package.. looks cool
What a lovely home.
Your comment about the featured-food-on-counter cracks me up. Perhaps we can get some chips or ho-hos photographed, but only if they’re artfully staged in beautiful containers.
You’re right, Cheryl — they would all need to be transferred into a lovely vintage glass jar or something. Ha.