when it comes to bathroom makeovers, i tend to prefer something light, bright and airy over something darker. but lately i’ve found myself oddly influenced by some of the cooler restaurant restrooms around brooklyn. a lot of the new hipstery restaurants tend to have dark, moody bathrooms with a vintage feel and it makes me want to turn my bathroom into something dark and a little more masculine. i have a feeling ac would dig that, so when i got an email from nadia haddad about a recent bathroom makeover she did for a friend, i thought it would be a great example to illustrate that darker style.

nadia’s friend inherited a seriously pink bathroom, but was looking for something a bit different, so nadia repainted the walls, added dark wainscoting and installed some seriously cool lighting fixtures, along with a few vintage accessories (love the abe lincoln print). i love the new wallpaper and, despite having a soft spot for pink bathrooms, love the new link in here. thanks to nadia for sharing!

[have a before & after you'd like to share on design*sponge? shoot me an email right here with your (low res please) images]

this amazing before & after comes from RISD professor wendy seller. along with fourteen other artists, wendy converted an old elementary school into beautiful live/work studios called “the claflin school studios” in newtonville, mass. this particular section is wendy’s space, which took her six years to build (between 1988-94) single-handedly. i can’t get over what the space looked like before and how much she’s transformed it into a livable space- great work wendy! [and thanks to anne for sharing this!]

[have a before & after you'd like to share on design*sponge? shoot me an email right here with your (low res please) images]

CLICK HERE to see nina of swanky swell’s loveseat makeover after the jump!

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today’s first before & after comes from salt lake city decorator caitlin creer. she loves retsoring and remaking vintage pieces and recently finished this chair with a green and white fabric from kelly wearstler. after the jump there’s another green and white chair makeover and a yellow chevron studio update so be sure to click “read more” below.

[have a before & after you'd like to share on design*sponge? shoot me an email right here with your (low res please) images]

CLICK HERE for tess’ studio makeover and kathy’s chair makeover after the jump!

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i’m really enjoying shanan from eskayel’s newest collection of wallpapers, “the island collection.” inspired by shanan’s travels to indonesia and iceland, the island collection is a digital representation of the landscapes, colors and wildlife that she saw on her trips. i especially love the polar bear pattern below- i find it pretty impossible to resist something with a bear on it. click here for more information on eskayel and the new collection!

good morning! i’m waking up from the first full night of sleep i’ve had in over 3 weeks so i am finally approaching blog posting with excitement and a non-groggy head. it is so nice to be back among the land of the normal-sleepers. to kick off thursday i wanted to share christine from yellow owl workshop’s new nyc stamp set, available at kate’s paperie. i’m a HUGE stamper- i stamp everything from tea towels to cards so i love seeing a cute new set. especially one about my own city. christine’s set is available for $12.50 right here! thanks, evan!

today i am officially finished with the full 400+ page manuscript for the design*sponge book! so i’m going to be taking the day off to catch up on some of the sleep i’ve missed over the past few weeks. i just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who’s helped me through this process, namely our amazing team of editors, photographer johnny miller and the world’s greatest interns stephanie and kari. thank you! i’ll be back tomorrow with a full day of regular posts. until then, here’s another little peek at one of the new homes in the book…image courtesy of hallie burton.

To celebrate the triumphant return of “Living In” from our two week hiatus, I bring you what may be my favorite post in the series so far, National Velvet. Perhaps you may not geek out about old children’s movies as much as I do, but it’s a proven fact you cannot go wrong with horses, cute dresses and little Liz Taylor. Pop some popcorn and your heart will melt. Promise.

[image above, clockwise from top left: wool blanket $158,horse show ribbons $3.35 each, Lover sailor dress $580, cup and saucer $14, pears, needlepoint pillow $98, vintages breyer horse, yellow beret $12.99]

Set in the late 1920s in Sussex, National Velvet follows the story of Velvet Brown who trains her wild and wonderful stable horse to ride in the Grand National Steeplechase. (and can we all just pause for a moment and appreciate how adorable the name Velvet is?) Flannels, plaids, berets, barns, sweet dresses, riding boots, rosy cheeks and hair ribbons- this movie is truly and sincerely my holy grail of inspiration. -amy m.

PS- I would like to dedicate this post to all of us who wished and hoped and prayed for a pony for Christmas but never got one. Grace Bonney and design*sponge are happy to announce that, Oprah style, we will be hand delivering ponies to each and every reader this holiday season.

[image above, clockwise from top left: winner’s circle necklace $14.99,vintage saddle bag $62, wool blanket $158, felt headband $4, riding boots $189, plaid belt $90, antique carved bookends $650, henning sofa $3998]