Blast From The Past: Family Circle 10/01/1988

While I was cleaning out the entertainment center in the family room this morning (see post below), I came across a folder that had old magazine pages torn out, including this entire article.  In the days before the internet, websites and blogs, magazines such as Family Circle gave us practical advice with photographs of transformations from blah and bland to va-va-VOOM! 

While some of the colors, some of the styles and the liberal use of wallpaper borders (the last of which was only recently removed from Maison Newton) are currently out of fashion, one never knows what may come back into vogue again.  The underlying approaches to refreshing and improving blah spaces to something else on a modest budget are still sound today, as we see by abundance evidence in D-I-Y and decorating magazines and blogs.  Check out the kitchen redo -- yep, darkish-finished cabinets painted white, and the room was transformed with a few coats of paint!  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G :)  Some things are just timeless.  I hope you are able to read the smaller print -- and for some reason that I could not figure out, a line of text at the bottom of the pages was cut off sometimes, but you should be able to get the gist of the advice tendered in this article.  Oh, and try to ignore the ragged edges of the pages.  I wasn't kidding when I said these pages were torn out of a magazine! 

My comments:  If I had had a nursery like the one above (old panelling was painted and tromp d'oile touches were added), I'd be President of the United States today, I'm certain of it.  The closet redo - what a transformation!  It's hard to believe I'm looking at the same space.  Adding the skylight was also amazing, but I would not classify either of those projects as something I'd ever attempt on my own as a D-I-Y.  But I know some of you courageous souls would/could and probably have!

Lots of good design going on in these 1988 rooms, and some faux-pas -- like tiling the kitchen countertop and using that so out of place vanity in the master bath and too-small mirror over the sink.  Overall, though, in MHO, the design has held up well.  Only goes to show, good design never goes out of style.  Colors come and go and so do fads (such as the current mania for painting perfectly good furniture with white chalk paint), but good design principles are forever. 

I am adding this post to Throw Back Tuesday #14, woo woo!  Check it out.