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Easy Steps For Renovating Your Bathroom
By Elle Decor | Work + Money – Thu, Aug 25, 2011 12:32 AM EDTPlanning an overhaul? No matter how big or small, start here
Written by Brooke Lea Foster
Photo: Pieter Estersohn6 Months Out
-Get inspired. To figure out what you want your new bathroom to look like, tear pages out of magazines and catalogues, and make a scrapbook or inspiration board.
-Ask around for contractor recommendations. While it's not necessary to talk to a contractor yet, it's a good time to start poking around for recommendations.
-Start sketching. It's essential to consider layout early on.
See more: Sexiest Celebrity Bedrooms
3 Months Out
-Finalize your budget. According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the average person will spend about $11,000 renovating a bathroom.
-Hire a contractor. With a few months to go before demolition, it's a good time to bring in a licensed contractor.
See more: The Manhattan Apartment Jennifer Aniston Bought
Two Months Out:
-Purchase tile and fixtures. While some tile orders can be fulfilled in two to three
Read More »from Easy Steps For Renovating Your BathroomThe actress shares her must-haves with ELLE DECOR
Photo: Michelangelo Di Battista/Management + ArtistsAct, cook, write, sing: Gwyneth Paltrow famously loves to do it all. So it comes as no surprise to hear that she is also a serious design buff. Last year, she and her husband, rocker Chris Martin of the band Coldplay, combined two London townhouses with the help of his architect brother, Al Martin.Look inside Meg Ryan's Beach House!
They restored the period details and added such funky touches as a rumpus room for the couple's two children and a skull-and-crossbones motif on the library's mantel. Paltrow-whose lifestyle website GOOP will release iPad and iPhone apps this fall-may one day design her own furniture and tabletop collections. "That's kind of the dream," she says. "Maybe when the kids are older."
See some of Gwyneth's favorites here, more on ELLE DECOR and make sure to check out the September issue of ELLE DECOR, on newsstands August 16.
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Read More »from What Gwyneth Paltrow Can't Live WithoutDesigners share what they love about blue and how they like to use it
Read More »from How to: Decorate with Blue
Written by Tim McKeough
They don't call the stocks of America's biggest and most powerful institutions blue chips for nothing-the color blue signifies strength, wealth, and dependability. However, in skilled hands, blue can just as easily be used to create a casual atmosphere-think blue-and-white nautical stripes at the classic seaside beach house. No matter how you use this powerful color, the result is always clean and fresh. We asked a few designers to show us how they've used blue in all its forms, from powdery shades to royal hues to brighter options like teal.
How to: Decorate with Gold
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew-Patrick Smyth
"Blue is strong and provides a nice clean statement," says New York designer Matthew Patrick Smyth. "It's very reassuring. There are also so many shades, from dark blues to something with silver-it has such a range. I did this library in a really strong electric blue for a client who loves color. It was an old paneled room,Today's sacred spaces take an adventurous turn
Written by Laura Regensdorf
Notre Dame, the Parthenon, the Hagia Sophia-the history of architecture is studded with groundbreaking structures erected in the name of religion. Proof that today's sacred buildings are no less innovative and inspiring, a new book catalogs nearly one hundred 21st-century creations. It's a diverse lot, including a tiny Vermont meditation chapel, an imposing steel-clad church in Vienna, and a portable Finnish sanctuary shaped like a triangle. And inside a baroque Czech Republic church, there are even Verner Panton chairs, customized with crosses and reimagined as pews. Here's a look inside.
See: 6 Chic Gray Rooms
Credit: By Baladrón & Grass from Closer to God, Copyright Gestalten 2010Junquillos Chapel: Junquillos, Biobío, Chile
Design: Baladrón & Grass
Dining With a View: The Best Rooftop Restaurants
Lilja Chapel of Silence: Portable chapel, Finland
Credit: By Vesa Oiva from Closer to God, Copyright Gestalten 2010Design: Vesa Oiva
Inspiring Historical Houses
Credit: By Merkx + Girod from Closer to God, Copyright Gestalten 2010Selexyz Dominicanen Bookstore: Maastricht, Netherlands
Design:
Read More »from High Design Houses of WorshipFoolproof instructions for creating perfect painted floors
Written by Tim McKeough
Photo: Simon UptonAlthough it's relatively uncommon to see painted wood floors today, as clear-coated hardwood has become the preferred option for most homeowners, they were once a staple of interior design. From decorative patterns, some of which mimicked parquetry, to monochromatic schemes, painted wood floors were in widespread use in American homes by the late 1700s. Popular colors included white, yellow, red, and green. But it wasn't just about aesthetics-paint also helped protect the wide-plank pine floors of the time.
Get Inspired! See the Best Painted Floors
After taking a backseat to carpet and clear coats for decades, painted floors are now making a comeback, in both historic and contemporary homes. John Lahey, founder of Fine Paints of Europe, is a big fan. Painted floors "are dear to my heart," he says.
Interior Designers Share Their Favorite Paint Colors
Lahey has plenty of advice for
Read More »from How to Paint a Wood Floor
