The Tiny House is coming along. It's mostly done except for us cleaning up... same old story, blah blah. But the good news is, we already have a sofa. Well, technically, we had that sofa for more than 2 years already, and it was in the Tiny House for more than a month, just wrapped up to keep it clean from all the construction mess.

No, we didn't buy a new one. Nor had one made. If you've been reading this blog for quite some time, maybe you'll remember this sofa makeover I did for the Stylist's Home Office?

It's the Ikea Erktop 2-seater sofa.

That I had redone into this.

It was used in this office for a few years. But since they expanded, they had to let it go to make way for work desks. I benefited with that expansion by inheriting the sofa. Just to be clear, I don't go out there asking clients for their old pieces, she's a cousin who gladly gave it to me. Haha...

I stored it in our old house for the past 2 years. When the Tiny House came along, I knew that I wanted to use it here. It's just the right size, it's spacious for 2 people, and could fit 3 if you're really close with each other, literally and figuratively. 

But we wanted to update it to better fit the look we wanted. We've always wanted a chesterfield sofa, but it's too expensive and we wanted a higher backrest for movie nights. And I wanted to have a tan leather look as stated in this dream sofa post. (Oh my gawd, I just re-read that post, and it's so fulfilling to read that that time I posted about my sofa dreams, we still didn't have the Tiny House. We didn't even have an actual plan at all. And now we're here. *Thankful*)

 So that's what we did. A hybrid of the classic chesterfield.

We had them put tufting in the arms as well.

I love it!! It's so cozy with all the pillows we accumulated (we got more!) and I had fell asleep here a couple of times despite the fact that we didn't have a fan yet. I wanted to have a complete experience so I endured the heat. Haha

Also had them do stitching on the front just for that little added detail. It's petite, it's comfy, and most importantly, we got it for the cost of reupholstery. Very good deal indeed.

Maybe you're thinking that we already have a nice place based on the photos above, but just to keep it real, here's what's actually going on around that sofa.

And I'm not sure how it happened, but it's getting worse.  Trying to organize is just making things more chaotic since we are unboxing all out stuff. Haha.. But, it's a house and it's all ours so I'm not complaining.

If you've read my previous (very long) post about the what-the-hell-is-going-on-about-project-dream-home update (thank you!), then you might remember that we needed to relocate the bf's mom to another room since the room she was using would be part of the tiny home renovation. That was a so-so room, a single bed, and lots of clutter she doesn't own/need. So this is a great opportunity to give her a space she could relax in, meaning, take the grand kids in which happened as soon as we revealed the room to her! :)

This is the room where we relocated her. It was just a spare room that houses all stuff not needed elsewhere. Don't be fooled, this was shot after we have cleared most of the stuff in here. 

It needed so much tlc. Rundown of what we did to this place:

1) Put a proper wall between this room and the maid's room.

2) Added pinlights

3) Repainted everything

4) Sanded and sealed the floors.

5) Installed aircon and exhaust fan

5) Wiring for new outlet / light / aircon / fans

6) Move in furniture

7) Accessorize

On reveal day, we actually had a ribbon cutting "ceremony". Haha.. 

This is what four days can do to a space. TADA! 

It's a very simple makeover, but it is so so worth it! We painted the walls a bluey purpley pale gray. We think it would be great with all the wood tones we're bringing in. All of the furniture in here are from around the house. They have a lot of beautiful vintage pieces so we have no trouble furnishing this room.

Oh and some of you might remember the curtains, it's the curtains I used for the very first makeover of my bedroom. (Pre-professional-decorating days) I love the print, but never loved it in my room. It just didn't clicked. But in here, it's perfect. Bf's mom loves plants, so this is a great nod to that. And the colors works better with all the wood tone in here, unlike my very ordinary furniture.

Just look at these wardrobe cabinets, gorgeous details, solid narra wood, and a very nice finish as well, not the plasticky shiny thing we used to seeing.

A simple gallery wall is in order. Even all the frames we already have. The main peacock print is something we found while cleaning up, and we have more of those prints! I need to decoupage something with those. There's a vintage portrait of their family, and others have placeholders that we're planning to replace with family photos. 

So that's the four day makeover challenge. She loves it so much, she even texted the bf that night to tell us how much she loves the new room, and all the details we put in there. Super worth it. 

As for the bf and I, we're still in a hazy organizing spree. And I'm guessing we'll be on it for the next couple of weeks. And after that, it would be a hazy renovating spree. We are looking forward, and a little bit dreading, the process. We know that this will be a step closer to the dream home, but I can just imagine the stress! Haha.. We'll get there. Slowly, very budget-consciously, get there.

I'm currently doing an office with two separate areas-- a private space for the owners (2 office, meeting room, lounge area, bedroom) and the staff area (big communal working space, meeting area, and receiving space). I'll share them once I've got some photos. Hopefully next week!

One of the offices is for the lady owner who loves loves french chic, purple, and pink. Gotta love those combination! Actually did her condo unit which I've yet to introduce. Anyway, one of her requests is a fun wing chair to be her primary seating. It's quite difficult to find a wing chair for standard desk height. But lo and behold, we found one...

It was french, yes, but it's neither pink, purple, nor fun. But that's an easy fix. There's a huge potential for everything people. When I see some old crappy piece of furniture, I can totally envision what it can become..

Which is sometimes, this....

Combined everything she loves. I wanted it to be very playful and interesting so had them upholstered in two different fabrics. I think it gives it that much depth and contrast.

Had a matching pillow made for better back support. Pretty and comfy is perfection. (Just much like a gum. "Gum is perfection". If you know what I'm talking about, I love you. Haha..)

I super love the velvety deep purple fabric. It looks luxurious and makes this piece looks more expensive. 

Sanded all the wood and left it in it's natural wood color.

She's so pretty. Oh and this office will have a hot pink settee! Watch out for it. Haha...

Real Living asked me if I wanted to participate in their Mini-Makeover series for their anniversary issue, and of course I said Oh yes yes yes. I love makeovers, I do it just for fun, and now they wanted me to do it for fun and for a feature, ummm... I'm so in.

The deal was, they'll asked 7 designers/decorators, to re-do a piece of furniture or home accessory, with just the guideline of: walnut, blues, reds, yellows. Not all together of course, unless you wanted to.

What I got was this vintage side table. (sorry for the blurry photo, shot this with a phone, at night, and minimal lighting. haha)

I fell in love with its shape- simple rounded corners, with tapered legs. So much potential. The bf and I brainstormed on what to do with it. He mentioned that it looked like a vintage suitcase and that's where the inspiration came from. Originally, we we're looking for suitcase-ish looking hardware, but we found none of those.

Instead, we found these...

Super nice but dirty hardware from old storage dresser. It's perfect.

Buffing goes a long way! Here's before (above) and after (below) buffing.

We don't want to make it like brand new. Just the right amount of patina and shininess. 

As for the piece itself, while stripping everything to raw wood, we noticed that the borders were solid narra while the inside were just ordinary plywood. Which is why we left the borders in stained wood, and painted the side and front drawer blue. Reminiscent of vintage suitcases with their contrasting trim.

The hardware went into the drawer front.  (which the bf installed, thank you!) The corner piece and the statement handle really made the table. Without them, it's just too simple. What I love most about vintage furniture: shape, structure, and hardware.

Here's the table together with the pieces the other designers redid. Really cute set-up!

And here's the table in all it's professionally photographed glory!

If only I could keep it! Haha... This was fun and thank you again to Real Living team for making us part of this series. Grab your copy of Real Living July issue. Full of great stuff, pinky-promise. 

Welcome to the most rarely used area in our newly revamped showroom/office/headquarters-- the kitchen. When we first saw this place, everything is in bad shape. They were all yellowy and peeling, the walls and ceilings in dire need of fresh coat of paint, and marble tops literally falling off. But we looked passed that and see the potential-- the brick look-a-like walls, the solid paneled doors, high ceilings, and well, just a place to call ours. So we wanted to personalized each area of this apartment, including this dingy kitchen. 

After a couple coat of light gray paint on walls and ceiling, upper cabinets switcheroo, white paint for upper cabs, dark gray below, black with white trim for the backdoor, new cement counter top, new tile backsplash, freshly painted appliance, new lights, painted floors, and some accessories, here's our kitchen now... 

We removed the upper cabinets and replaced it with the one you see peeking on the right...

It is such a tiny space so we wanted it to be fun and colorful. So we have an old stove and fridge painted yellow and teal respectively. Everything is just neutral, and just pops of color through the appliance and accessories.

Love how the door turned out. It's painted in a satin black with white detail. We have yet to use this kitchen as actual kitchen. The cabinets now houses spray paints, and other construction materials instead of actual food! Haven't even plugged in the fridge yet, afraid of Meralco too much. Haha... But we'll get there. Looking forward to do some cooking in here. Actually I'll do the eating and the Bf will do the cooking! Yes, I'm spoiled like that. Haha

Here's to food coming out of this newly renovated kitchen...Cheers!

After months of doing over the space and simultaneously building our inventory, we are now officially open! :) Check out our newest shop DuoDecoStudio.com. 

Whew! It has been a very stressful, tiring, but fun couple of months, and I can't wait to show you what we've done with the space. If you want to know the whole story about how we got this place, and how DuoDeco Studio came about, you can read it here. 

I have a lot to say about this makeover so before I start blabbering non-sense, lets get to the reveal, shall   we? 

AFTER

We turned the enclosed outdoor space as showroom as well to utilized square footage. There's a little living room set-up happening the moment you enter the place. The entrance to the main showroom is complete with a floor mat ala red carpet. :) 

AFTER

This is what you'll see when you enter the main door. Chalkboard accent wall with display shelves. The whole wall on the right showcases our mirror collection.

AFTER

That is the view of the main door. We switched it to open outside to maximize the floor area inside. The BF made that door Eiffel tower silhouette. Cute noh?

AFTER

The other half of the showroom. Our mini reception / office is on the far left. That's where we can all sit to discuss your purchase and make chika. Haha

AFTER

By removing the wall, we opened up the whole floor for better flow. Artworks and painting are all over the walls, and even though hard to maintain, I love love love our labor of love, the painted floors.

Here are more photos of the space. I did took what feels like a million shots of the space just to document this big milestone. Haha...

Here's the wall art I did on the blank wall outside. And yeah, we painted our gate gold.

Our biggest piece is this mid-century modern sofa set. The three-seater sofa is actually 3 pieces which I find cool, and I'm not even fond of the word cool.

Chairs! More chairs! Told you I'm into chairs. Haha

One of my fave is this shell accent chair.

Our paintings on the wall ala art gallery. 

Eeeeehhh! Dizizit! So thrilled on how this place turned out. Hope you guys can come visit and see our hard work personally. If I'm not in meetings, client calls, or site visits, you'll surely find me here. Come over for a meet and greet. (Meet and greet??? Feeling artisita? Haha)

Please do check out our stuff and get some pieces for your home. These are one-of-a-kind pieces so if you see something you like, grab it. :) 

Website: http://www.DuoDecoStudio.com

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/DuoDecoStudio

Like us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DuoDecoStudio

See you guys soon!