Before & After

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Tales From The Set

Letter From Debbie

Nadia's dream was to live in a converted city loft with today's calming, Zen-inspired colors. This mood of tranquility was the complete opposite of the exuberant surroundings she was used to. She and husband Angelo, both in their late twenties, who have been married three years, were high school sweethearts. They had been brought up in the same traditional, tightly-knit neighborhood, and they both wanted to stay around their friends and large Italian families.

Nadia's lofty ideas came down to earth when she and Angelo moved into a small duplex around the corner from both their parents. Angelo is a policeman, but at home, it's Nadia that has the stronger character, and she set the decorating rules. The deal was that she would be responsible for the first floor, and Angelo was given the basement to tackle. By the time Angelo contacted us, he was desperate.

There was nothing Nadia liked about the basement, and we couldn't blame her. It was straight out of the 70s, all heavy brick walls, dark wood paneling and parquet floors. Definitely not suited to a young, hip couple. The problem was that Angelo was extremely lovable, but not so hip!

Our plan was to give Nadia the open loft space she had always wanted. But tearing down all that depressing brick, and building new walls took way more time than the four days we had. We never would have made it without the help of Angelo's brothers. And as the weekend progressed, more eager helping hands arrived--Nadia's brilliant dad, mom with pizza for 40, and a legion of cousins.

We spent the first day demolishing the brick walls and tearing out the stair railing. We replaced heavy, textured materials with streamlined walls. During the night we built a wall that would separate the stairs from the room and allow for a new sofa to sit along it.

During the second day, the wood paneling was covered up with drywall. To give the fireplace a contemporary look, we built up the edges with plywood and covered the brick with rough plaster. The last days were spent replacing the Spanish-style shelving with a modern, open system of simple, ready-made cubes. These were glamorized by inserting mirrored tile at the back of each cube.

The parquet floor was sanded and then painted a low sheen charcoal gray. A large, checkered pattern was produced by applying high gloss varnish to alternate squares.

We chose tactile textures--silky leather sofas, and a deep pile shag rug, as they are both soothing and inviting.

When I guided a very shocked and excited Nadia downstairs to see her new basement, she was more concerned with the state of Angelo. He was physically and emotionally exhausted after four days of total mayhem and little sleep. Through the tears and hugs, she reassured him that she LOVED it, and that he had given her an unbelievably wonderful present. Witnessing these two young lovers and the devotion the entire family had shown was overwhelming for all of us, and made the time crunch and the hard work more than worth it.

Debbie

Letter From Nadia

Dear Debbie;

Has it ever happened to you: That feeling when you know exactly what is happening, but your mind still doesn't register what is going on? That's how I felt when I got home from a weekend at the spa with my buddy Jennifer. I walked in and thought, "Why is the door locked it? Oh, look, Debbie Travis is here … this must be a surprise for me … OK, smile, go with it. How is my hair?"

And then I realized that Angelo was downstairs. I wanted to see him and give him a big hug. And I wanted to see my basement. First thing I noticed was the wall beside the stairs. "Hmmm, not sure about this, but hey, I'm certainly not about to complain. This is Debbie Travis' show. This is going to be on TV one night. Relax, stay calm."

Then I turn around the wall and see Angelo on the couch (new funky white couch by the way) and he looks like he is about to explode. His eyes are full of tears and he's shaking with nerves. All I could think of was "It's OK Ang, I love it and I am totally surprised. YOU DID IT."

After the hugs and kisses I had a chance to take in all the changes in the room. It was just amazing. It looked like a condo apartment in a magazine that I'd buy to get design ideas. I couldn't believe I was in the same basement that I used to avoid unless I was going to do laundry or we were having our annual New Year's Eve party.

This has been a real dream come true for me. And I cannot express in words how thankful I am, how blessed I am to be married to such an incredible man. And how fortunate I am to have friends and family, who, I understand, came at the drop of a hat when Angelo called them over for the so-called emergency.

The renovation is great, but it's more than a renovation, it's an event, and a piece of family history now. Everyone got involved and is still talking about it. Thank you Debbie and the Facelift crew for this priceless gift.

Forever grateful,

Nadia