Los Angeles Design Blog | Material Girls | LA Interior Design

As an interior designer, I love to see a great transformation. Whether it’s a piece of furniture repurposed or an entire room transformed – the process of changing or transforming things is usually really exciting.  So recently when I was invited to experience two new products in kitchen transformations from Rust-Oleum – I was curious to see how this product could work and what the outcome would be.

Rust-Oleum Transformations has two kits for the DIY-er to transform kitchen cabinets or kitchen countertops as an inexpensive and efficient alternative to replacing cabinets or countertops entirely.  Experiencing the product for myself, I can say the process is simple and easy to use (that’s coming from a person who isn’t capable of anything DIY-the fact that I could actually do this was a bit exhilarating for me!). The kit includes everything needed to complete the project. (The kits can also be used for bathroom counters/cabinets or even furniture.)

With the help of the people from Rust-Oleum, each of us got to test out both the countertop kit and the cabinet kit, using the easy step by step process.

The kits come with everything needed to complete the project. The countertops involve five steps, and the cabinets involve four steps.  Depending on the size of your kitchen most transformation projects could be completed in a weekend.

Here I am, happily sanding a laminate countertop sample (in preparation to resurface it).

The countertop kit comes with five color options, from light to dark, replicating a “granite like” finish (solid finishes are not yet available).

There are many options to chose from for the cabinet colors.

The kits can be purchased from local home improvement stores (such as Home Depot, Lowe’s, etc) or visit the Rust-Oleum Transformations website for more info, including details and tutorials. The retail price for a newly resurfaced countertop kit is $250 and cabinets $150 (depending on your square footage).

The outcome?

Countertops and cabinets that look like they were custom without the custom price!

Thank you to Rust-Oleum for inviting me to experience the products hands-on!

As much as I enjoy residential interior design, I like retail design too. In this day and age, retail design has really taken traditional store design a step beyond.  Commercial interior finishes are truly intriguing and having worked for commercial design firms, I often find myself applying finishes used in commercial projects into my residential projects.  To keep up on the trends of retail design, I follow such sites as DDI and Retail Design Diva.

A recent post on Retail Design Diva featured this wine shop located in Greenwich Village, NYC.  I thought it was so interesting, just had to feature it!  It was designed by the commercial design firm MADLAB LLC based in New Jersey.  The 600 sq ft store just happens to be located right next door to Jonathan Adler’s Greenwich Village boutique.  (Speaking of having a little wine with your design…)

The story behind the project is the typical scenario:  design process underway, custom features & design elements drove the costs way up, and the price tag was beyond what the shop owner had ever imagined.  Instead, MADLAB brought in an artist/design team to work with second hand furniture/thrift store finds  and leave the raw space as is.  The result is a 25-foot long massive assemblage of furniture (all painted in white) in which to display the wines in a clever way.

I guess this story reverses the philosophy of bringing commercial finishes into residential projects, instead second hand furniture turns into retail chic!

Take a look:

Le Vigne NYC

It’s always so much fun to see the versions of “High” and “Low.” Often, they will be from two different manufactures. For example, in reference to the post Lauren had done awhile back: “Would you fake it?” which featured a high end rug from Madeline Weinrib or Ikea & Pottery Barn’s knock off version of the same rug. Well, with Shabby Chic you have both high and low from the same company! There is the high end line at Shabby Chic stores or the retail line at Target called “Simply Shabby Chic” which we all know would account for low-er priced. Check out some of these finds:

SHABBY CHIC: BAROQUE MIRROR $255

SIMPLY SHABBY CHIC: MIRROR $69.99

SHABBY CHIC: 3 DRAWER ROSALEE DRESSER $895.00

SIMPLY SHABBY CHIC: 3 DRAWER DRESSER $249.99

SHABBY CHIC: PETITE CHANDELIER $690.00

SIMPLY SHABBY CHIC: METAL FLOWER CHANDELIER $39.00

SHABBY CHIC: AUSTIN CABINET $1850.00

SIMPLY SHABBY CHIC: ARMOIRE $449.99

SHABBY CHIC: CAMILLE BEDSIDE TABLE $450

SIMPLY SHABBY CHIC: VANITY TABLE $129.99

SHABBY CHIC: ROUND LEAF OTTOMAN $292.00

SIMPLY SHABBY CHIC: VANITY STOOL $37.99

So I’m sure many of you have seen those ubiquitous Ikea “LACK” tables. They come in the form of coffee tables, console tables, side tables. They are truly inepensive, have a range of colors, are functional, modern, simple – and they are in my own apartment AND imagine my surprise when I discovered they were in Sarah Jessica Parker’s own home! In the book, “So Chic” from Elle Decor they are featured in her house in the Hamptons!

Ikea LACK tables featured in the living room of Sarah Jessica Parker’s house in the Hamptons:

Ikea LACK tables featured in the living room of…um, my apartment:

Ikea LACK tables: