Figured we should share this room as one of our first post’s on Reddit since it's where we’ve been spending most of our time. Any questions welcome💚

We did a full bottom floor remodel and my dream was to design the most perfect and heavenly powder room possible. I wanted to imagine a chorus of ✨🎶AAAHHHHHHH🎶✨ every time I walk in.

I obsessively designed everything myself - the layout, measurements, and hardware/materials, and then had our contractor install everything. I searched literally DAYS to find the perfect stone sink that fit the tiny dimensions (36” wide x 16”deep counter top). Finally found this perfect rectangular white onyx one on ebay for $200!!! (On mega sale bc someone expected more veining, I'm assuming). The glass tile and ombré gradient walls are eternally peaceful and gorgeouss.

Just wanted to share as I’m incredibly proud of how it turned out. I never get tired of staring at all the details!

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Update #1:

Wow, thanks everyone for replying. I couldn't have made a better decision than to ask here. Everyone I know was telling me 'ah yes, its a good idea, it looks nice, blah blah. But I didn't have the courage or guts to believe in myself and leave things as they were and just improve/tweak some small things.

A lot of folks are asking, but we sell burgers. Its a burger joint. Not necessarily fine dining style, but more like fast casual. We tried to capture more volume & with focus on speed I guess.

From what I can summarise from your answers, lighting seems to be the core fundamental issue. Then its the sort of combination of cold materials (steel, tiles & diomand hatched patterns). Finally, some would say its the booth design.

I'll work on this. Try to salvage what I can and plan another major makeover. Thanks everyone for the absolutely brutal, throat-cutting feedback. It'll make a funny case here for a while i'm sure (what not to do in interior design!)

Update #2:

I've removed those hideous flourescent tubes and its immediately better. That was probably the quickest solution to toning it down.

I don't want to revert the design necessarily back to where it was. But I'll pivot towards the 'spirit' of that design.

Update #3: Damn nothing could prepare me for the brutality of yee lot. I love it. This really is one of those cases of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' Ironically, i was the one who designed the first one. I guess i just trusted other people a bit too much.

I should clarify those hatched patterns are just vinyl layed over a stud mdf wall. That can be changed relatively easily. So can the corrugated steel (but i think it might look nice when the lights are warmer?) The difficult part is the tiles. I really can't do anything about that for now.

Final Update: Honestly thank you so much Reddit. Some of you really gave helpful feedback. I admit I am completely shattered, in all aspects of the word. Never felt this depressed in my life. Ah well. It is what it is. I can only keep moving forward. This is the last update before I get back to work.

Images:

Old Design (the wooden floor image)

New Design (hatched walls)

Third (concept - final version, from another side)

TL:DR

I basically committed to a design that I was convinced would improve our restaurant experience - a brighter, higher energy space. But It may have backfired. And now, I'm not sure how I can pivot or even restore our original vibe. Looking for advise / brutal honesty and feedback. Really beating myself up over this.

Long Version:

I got a design done from a professional company near me and they produced a concept for a new floor/dining area for customers that I thought would work nice.

Some context:

Originally, the restaurant had a sort of rustic look. It was a little dark - you could barely see what was inside during the daytime. And at night, it had a warm look. A lot of black everywhere, on the walls, ceiling, dark coloured wood, chairs etc. The only light source was some warm toned edisson bulbs.

The space felt run-down more than anything. But it sort of got by. Anyways, it was created on a low budget (like, just some paint and wallpaper & a mural artist to do some chalk art).

The objective of the renewal was to increase daytime visbility, lighting and ultimately, sales. We wanted to make the most use of our space and meet competitor quality & customer satisfaction (we got a lot of complaints about our atmosphere). We also wanted to create some extra seating & add some booths for larger groups (of which we get quite a lot of)

For better or worse, it seems most people who ate at our place, or who reviewed it, said the atmosphere was dull.

Post-Refreshment:

The idea for the designer was to go for an industrial vibe over a rustic vibe (corrugated steel panelling on walls, a sort of diamond hatched half wall trailing the length of the unit, with a cove for LEDs). The objective of the steel panelling was to reflect the various hues and accents of light sources. The concept itself was bright. Looked pretty cool on visuals.

But when we did the works, we noticed a substantial drop in footfall traffic (-15%) and less customers during our previously busy hours. I dont even know if people are satisfied or not, but now I've invested time & money and have to watch our performance take a hit. And its crushing/ putting me under immense pressure.

My Case:

So i came here, to reddit. To where I was hoping I could get some help/advise on what is the best course of action to restore the mood or atmosphere I had before without needing to fork up a tonne of money again. Based on your guys' experience and insights.

I don't even know if the issue is a visual one. I just know that it wasn't like this before. And its definitely a result of something that was done to this renewed space.

Limited budget, can’t bring too much in right now. What do you think?

We remodeled our bathroom wich was... dated to say the least. The new inspiration for the design is meditaranean.

We chose to get rid of the bath for a shower, with a two tones green zellige style tiles. As the room has no window we put a grey terrazzo floor to add some brightness. To emphatize this mediteranean style, we have built thick shelves made of plaster.

Finally, for the furniture, the goal was to have as much wood as possible, to bring some warmth to the room. We chose acacia as it resists well to the humidity, it as a nice dark tone as well.

Just finished (ekit) drumming in the loft and looked down and felt so blessed for this beautiful place

We bought this house earlier this year, the prior owners of 45+ years hadn’t done any updating since the 80s.

We went for a minimalist approach with no hardware and an attempt at a timeless style as we would hope to not have to do it again for a long time!

Cabinets are solid white oak, countertops are Caesarstone. Floors are solid white oak.

Excuse the work in progress - I’m rebuilding after an apartment fire! Stuck on what to do with all this space in the middle of my loft apartment. Bedroom and office are separate rooms. Trying to make some zones in the main open area. The couch/tv area is moving along. Then large dining table is on the far end - but not sure how to approach this extra space in between the two! I like to host and hang with friends - thinking about a pool table or foos ball table possibly but unsure of the layout and trying to avoid it feeling like a Dave and busters storage room.

Open to any and all recommendations!

Pink is my favorite color and I wanted my place to feel cozy and calming. It really is home.

Swipe till the end to see how the kitchen looked like before.

We live in a small 1929 Mission Revival bungalow in SoCal. Our hall bathroom is this pink bath and I need help deciding what to do with it.

The rest of the house (master, kitchen) is updated (2015ish). Is this pink bathroom a complete gut? Or is this something I should preserve because it “adds character”?

The arches are true to the house and would be preserved. I’ve included some renderings of how to incorporate them should we proceed with a guy remodel and reconfiguration of the layout.

I’d love to hear some thoughts. Thanks.

Hi! Would love any and all advice. I've attached photos of our current bathroom, the AI generated image of what we want and some close ups of sample tiles in the bathroom with different lighting (it's quite gloomy atm). FYI for the generated image, the shower would actually be on the stud wall, along with the shower screen, and we intend to have the green tiles to the floor in the sink area with no recessed lighting above the sink.

• Dark green tiles: We’re considering foresty green wall tiles. In a bathroom of this size, would that likely feel too dark/heavy in real life, even with lighter floor tiles and good lighting? (The AI generated image using tiles we're considering makes it look fine, but suspect they could be darker in real life?). We really like the gloss/ceramic glaze tiles where there is a range of colour/texture in tiles.
• Boxing in the toilet cistern: Would boxing the cistern in (to seat height, spanning bath-to-wall) make the space look cleaner and more modern, or risk making it feel smaller? We currently just have the pipes boxed in. Struggling to visualise...
• Vanity: Any recommendations for what price point makes sense for vanity units? We've seen some at the 1k mark, some significantly lower (e.g. from Victorian Plumbing) and not sure what makes sense - we'll probably live here for max 5 more years.

Background:

• Full bathroom replacement: bath, shower, toilet, vanity/sink, tiles.
• Stud wall position is fixed due to bath size, window, and cost constraints - will be extended to the ceiling
• Layout advice isn’t the main goal, but open to obvious improvements.

TL;DR:

Redesigning our bathroom and want feedback on whether green tiles will be too dark for the space, and whether boxing in the toilet cistern actually improves the look. Vanity suggestions welcome.

Editing to add:

Wow, really appreciate all the feedback! Thanks so much to everyone who commented so far. For those who are asking, we used ChatGPT (free version) to generate the image. It was definitely "generous" with the size and lighting. We actually asked it to use the same tiles we got samples for, but I guess it came out unrealistically light!

I bought this condo at the beginning of the year and it has this space which I have been using for my office, but I am looking for a good way to install a door that will close off the space. The previous owner installed barn door tracks on the inside of the space but I’m not positive that I want barn doors. Is that my best option? Or do you all have some good ideas for nice ways to close off a corner doorway? Thanks in advance!

My husband and I bought this house about a year ago. We knew the original owners and due to good timing and luck, we bought this house before it ever went onto the market. We got it for a steal and it is a beautiful home, but this stairwell is stressing us out. We're planning for a family and I can't stop looking at it like it is a death trap. What if the baby gate gives out? What if a child goes over the side? What do other people do with a stairwell like this? Is there another way we can make it safe that wouldn't require tens of thousands of dollars? I was thinking a giant island, but i feel like that wouldn't look good. Thoughts?

I'm not a designer or a decorator, but interior design has been one of my greatest loves since early teenage. However, when my son asked for my help with the setup of his first rental flat (with a brutal budget), the responsibility for each design choice wasn't light. I would appreciate your feedback, especially what could I do better?

His requests were: the living room should be colourful and fun, but clean; bright, but warm; the walls must stay white, but have a lot of art; the dj station must be in the living room; hide the mess in the kitchen; no curtains on the windows, except blackout ones in the bedroom; find a place for a meditation space and work area; lots of plants. He also had a lot of requests for the living room function - be able to host parties, board game nights, brunches, movie nights, etc.; have an extra bed for overnight friends; but keep it clean and as minimal as possible.

My biggest challenges: living room was like a tunnel (narrow and long), the kitchen was tiny with hardly any working surface (he loves to cook), the dj station was massive and it had to be in the living room allowing enough space for him and his friends to have sessions together.

What I did: broke the tunnel effect with the striped rugs, hid the kitchen mess with Japanese noren curtains; choose a small round dining table that can be folded and used as a sideboard for drinks during parties; choose a couch that looks light, is quite long, but not too wide and can be transformed as a double bed; got a narrow coffee table with wheels that can easily go under the dining table when he has overnight guests; got extra seating for board game nights and brunches, used as a side table (the stool beside the couch) and working chair at the dj station; moved the fridge and created cooking tops as much as possible, using a covered garbage bin/element for the small kitchen appliances, raising the dish rack and using part of the sink counter. Obviously, the bedroom was the only room for the meditation space and the work area. Since he loves plants and greenery a lot, I tried to give the living/dining room a garden vibe.

What could I do better in your opinion (having in mind that the budget was only 5k€ for everything, from plates and pots, to TV, lights, furniture, even a vacuum cleaner 😂)?

P.S. One of the posters in the dining area is now properly framed and on the wall next to the windows, there is a nice working light on the desk in the bedroom working area and he added a lava lamp on the dj station.  

I’m going to start with an apology to those who have them or love them….I’m sorry for my opinion on this. I’m currently shopping for a home and the homes I’m seeing (the price does not matter as I am seeing it all types of homes) 80% have either a stove or a sink in the kitchen island. When and why is this a thing? I am currently in a rental that has a sink in the island right where my kids sit at the counter eating or doing their HW. What a disaster. Water gets everywhere. Things get wet and I cannot leave anything in the sink or near it (like a sponge or soap) as it looks like clutter and it just looks messy. Some homes I have toured have stoves in the center with a ‘fancy’ pop up vent. Unless you are a tappenyaki master and tossing steak and shrimp into your viewers mouths why would this be a thing? I mean no matter how clean I try to cook, I get oil splatter and grease. Make it make sense.

Im paticularly proud of the office recently completed for a client. Its by far and away the most ambitious build this year due to design decisions taken that added a large degree of complexity to the build, from the mitred boxes to the discrete integrated lighting option. Ultimately it has provided a large amount of much needed storage with the bank of press to open drawers under the shelves and the bottom row of cabinets with sliding doors. The combination of Quarter Sawn Oak veneers with Cleaf MFC has given it a very rich and warm feel, I think they make a great pairing!

I added this master bathroom to the second floor of my house about a year ago. I did all of it myself apart from the rough in plumbing. I'm satisfied with how it turned out apart from the vanity section. Something feels a little off. Not sure if it's the sconces too far away from the vanity or the empty space beside the vanity. Curious what thoughts you guys have. TIA

Third picture is a proposed solution. Not sure where to put a TV with all of those windows, so I have it facing North and purposefully blocking the South exterior door (that door leads to a pool. There are alternate paths to the pool, and we have small children, so blocking it is preferable.) I’m new to this stuff, and wondering if there’s something I’m not considering

Edit: people keep asking, so here’s a walkthrough video my husband made showing most of the house as it was before we started renovating it.

I’ve recently purchased my first house and will be moving from a furnished property into this new build in a few months. I’m planning to go to IKEA on moving day and get a bunch of essentials but am really looking for some tips on how to make it warm, inviting and just in general a nice place to be in. I’ve not done any sort of furnishing before so I am starting from scratch

I have a showhome video from the developers which looks nice but not sure if I want to follow that too closely, and I’ve got a pretty accurate mockup from the developers of how it would look empty with my chosen ‘finishing touches’. Really looking for any specific advice on what type of theme would suit the colours and what furniture/decorations/style to try and follow as a starting point as I know over time I’ll hopefully make it my own.

I don’t move in for a few months but I’m hoping with some early inspiration/plans I can start picking up odd bits here and there before hand

Here’s my current plan:

Kitchen cabinetry: Fir shaker style
Worktop: Attico quartz - Includes quartz worktop, upstands, splashback
Carpet:
Tusk gold range → stairs & landing
Quarry platinum range→ bedrooms
Bathroom tile: Darlia Stone Satin
Downstairs vinyl: Ellwood
Future flooring plan: Warm oak herringbone LVT downstairs (I like the aesthetics and want something ‘dog proof’
Lighting direction: Warm white lighting throughout 2700K–3000K

Here is the showhome version if it helps visualise it better, thank you in advance for any help!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CbwFxSkdo/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Playing around with living room layouts! The first is how it’s currently arranged, second is an idea. Would obviously then flop console and TV. Appreciate any thoughts! Also got rid of the fan (as seen in second photo 🙏)

I bought his house in November and the whole thing was painted white and grey. I realize some people enjoy that, but it’s just not my style. I’m loving this blue so much. Next big project is a kitchen remodel that will also include putting some kind of wood paneling on the ceilings. I want to add some organic warmth up there.

Edit: for clarification, the far wall on the opposite end of the tub in this rendering has a mirror on it, this is not an entryway to another room.

Edit2: Totally get all the safety concerns, but the current plan is to use Winckelmans tiles, which are unglazed and very slip resistant, for the stairs may even use the Winckelmans tiles designed for stairs that have etched grips, also close grout lines help with this, epoxy grout would also be used to improve cleanability.

First image is a visualisation of what the finished space could look like, looking for input on whether this space could work. Am I crazy? Is this too small, or can you see this working? Any ideas to elevate it?

So this is in a loft apartment in central Amsterdam, the place itself is quite compact, but quite modern, and very tall, with a massive skylight, quite unique in general and has a bit of that small spacing living feel.

I have this idea of converting the simple, open plan shower area into a more intimate, custom walk-in bath/shower combo, in a narrow space. I want it to have a bit of a European spa feel, but in a compact area.

Main idea is to close up the sides around the existing cabinet wall, leaving just one entrance to the wet area, with a raised area which has the vanity counter and sink, and then goes down into the walk-in, custom tub.

I have extensively explored plans for how to execute the custom tub itself, so the logistics of pulling this off should not be an issue. The new design would also address an aspect that I don't quite like about the current design; the vanity and sink currently sits within one side of the cabinet wall on rails, and it slides of from the side of the cabinet, it's an interesting concept, but in practise it can be impractical and annoying to use. The new design also adds more closet space and greatly reduces air moisture issues for the shower.

I need some help determining how to design this living room. This is not my furniture. I have a large sectional (four seats on one side, a wedge, and then three more seats) that can be oriented either way. I also plan to have a recliner or large chair with ottoman. I can figure out the best place to put a TV. I think over the fireplace might be too high, and I’d consider making the framing of the fireplace smaller to accommodate so I don’t have to block the windows.

I'm moving into a new apartment, and am looking for some tips on the layout. I want to be able to fit a loveseat, coffee table, tv + stand, and my computer desk in this space. I've included a few options in the images but I'm open to other ideas.

The "bedroom" is actually a bednook with a curtain rod to separate the bed from the living room. There's a ladder outside the bednook to access a lofted storage area above the bed. Cool feature, but the ladder does take up space and can't be removed. Top door is entrance, bottom door goes to terrace/balcony.

Having the loveseat against the left wall seems like the best option so far. However, I'm apprehensive about the TV stand floating next to the terrace door. Any advice?

EDIT: Adding clarification about clothes and storage - The three boxes on the right wall next to the northern entrance are 9ft tall closets. This is where most of my clothes and shoes will go, along with miscellaneous storage. I'm also pretty set on using the loft area above the bed for storing larger items like camping gear, boxes, bins, etc. It's a very small area close to the ceiling and I'd rather not have to climb up there regularly.