Aaaaand we’re back, friends. Last month, I took you on a tour of the first half of the Finley residence, our 1940s Oakland home that we completely gutted and remodeled over 10 painful yet glorious months. If you missed the kitchen and entertaining areas, it’s well worth stopping right this second and going to take a look here.
If you’re all caught up, let’s continue with a trip downstairs to our personal spaces: the principal bedroom, ensuite bathroom, Zoe’s bedroom and bathroom, our private family room, and of course, a home gym that will knock your socks off and work up a sweat.
But first...
What 1940s Origins Look Like
How can you truly soak up the magic of this remodel if you don’t know how these spaces began? My thoughts exactly. As you saw in Part I, this home was in rough shape, poorly maintained, and still decked out in the 1940s’ finest: wood paneling, musty carpet, beat up flooring… etc. You name it, we had it. For example...
The spaces you see in these before photos are unrecognizable from what they look like now (see below). That’s partly because I wanted zero memories of how this house started and partially because we revised the floor plan during the remodel. These two spaces would become our living room and a bedroom. Also, no your eyes are not fooling you… that’s a sparkly gold painted wall.
Not even sure where to start here. When we bought the place, we found a lot of bedrooms with these corner windows. One became a cute reading nook for Zoe’s bedroom (stay tuned), but others didn’t make the cut.
Okay, I think you’ve seen quite enough to get the picture. Scary. Ugly. LOTTA work to be done. Again, I’ll skip right over those long months of remodeling (you’re welcome) and fast-forward to the good stuff. Come take a look...
Family Room Design with Full Built-In
Our family room is small in stature but mighty in function. This white oak built-in spans the whole wall and is a light, gorgeous addition to the space. It houses our books (the Finleys used to be great readers but now we just pretend), a TV, a family-sized sectional, and one of my favorite pieces of art from Kader Boly.
We also have Zoe's playroom off to the right side, where she keeps her Legos, toys, and games. We added this built-in desk so she can do her homework here or get creative. Oh, to be young.
Principal Bedroom Designed for Winding Down
For our personal bedroom, we wanted it to feel relaxing and with a touch of depth and moodiness for winding down. I see a lot of bedrooms that feel airy and relaxing with neutrals, but I knew we wanted some rich, saturated colors that would feel grounding, too.
Our inspiration piece was this rug I purchased in Morocco, and I have not for one second regretted buying it. It’s filled with deep maroon tones, yellows, and navy. I designed this custom headboard using the maroon tone in the rug and found some sheets in sapphire to bring out the blue.
For texture and a touch of elegance, we added grasscloth wallpaper on the walls, modern brass sconces, and this artwork we purchased in Egypt for our second anniversary. Cozy and classy, right?
Ensuite Bathroom Design
Our ensuite bathroom might look simple at first glance, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Initially this was a bedroom that we converted to our dream bathroom. We installed heated floors with a gorgeous black herringbone flooring, a Japanese style toilet with heated seats (because….why not??), a steam shower, separate his and hers vanities, a gorgeous bathtub, and best of all? No neighbors behind us. Just a view of nature to start a new day or relax after a long one. I’m game.
Zoe’s Bedroom & Bathroom Design
Zoe loves purple, so we picked out a lilac and teal combination for her room. We painted the ceiling and trim, added speckled wallpaper (Thibaut in Tanzania), and found this gorgeous Caitlin Wilson fabric for her window treatments. We also added a built-in nook for reading (and some much-needed storage), hung this Moroccan lamp for some shine and topped it off with a duvet cover I purchased in India. Zoe loves her room, and I have to admit... it’s a great place to be a kid.
For Zoe’s bathroom, we used the same shade of lilac on the vanity, selected brass hardware and plumbing for warmth (mimicking the gold tones of the Moroccan lamp), and created a custom colorful, floral shower curtain to bring the design together. If possible, I like to have custom shower curtains to allow added drama with the height (obviously with a liner behind it :)).
You’ll also notice that there are some timeless features in here, too — like the herringbone marble floor and countertop. If Zoe gets tired of purple, we can easily paint the vanity and it’ll still look great. A parent has to be prepared, right?
Home Gym Designed for an Energy Boost
It can be hard to pump yourself up for a workout, especially one that happens adjacent to your cozy family room, which is why I pumped up the color in our home gym...
Wait, you’ve already seen this space?! I bet you have. I revealed it a couple of years ago for the One Room Challenge here, long before our full home remodel.
If this is the first time you’re seeing it, here’s the scoop: this space didn’t exist and we created it from a large dirt patch (or as one person said on Apartment Therapy the befores looks like the Blair Witch project!). We painted the ceiling this sunny yellow, and I added custom cut and colored Flor tiles on top of the functional, but boring, black gym floor. I chose matte black for this accent wall to make this space feel tough and motivational… and to help the wall visually recede a bit. Otherwise, the room would look pretty narrow. Trick of the trade.
I also designed a built-in storage space for our fitness essentials: foam rollers, bands, a jump rope, and more. How often do we use it? I won’t tell… but the last time I got on the Peloton it asked “who ‘dis?”
Alright, now it’s official — you have seen the whole Finley home. What did you think? Ready to start your own renovation so you can live in a personality-filled space, too? I got you. Reach out to us here, and let’s get started.
— Kelly
