Design Spotlight: Great Spaces From Top To Bottom with Carrie Leavitt!

Welcome people!  

Come one come all to the DIY spotlight!  The DIY spotlight is devoted to those who have enough gusto to tackle those projects on their own, have fun, save money, and beautify their environment. Carrie Leavitt is a self taught design diva.  Not a day goes by that she isn't diving head first into a home makeover project.  Carrie has invited The Grande Design team into her home to showcase her canvas and the masterpiece that she, her husband Andrew, and their three children, Dee Dee, Sissy, and Allie, call home.  The living room is the pioneer in a series of posts that will feature the many rooms of  “Leavitt Crossing.”  Rescued from the clutches of 6 college students, this 1970's rambler in suburban Orem Utah, was anything but beautiful.  This potential frat house was transformed from it's tract build appeal to a custom villa. 

Carrie and Andrews living room has morphed through the years to this butterfly of a space.  Hand scrapped hard woods adorn the entry way.  The couple opted for solid wood doors over the builder grade doors that were original to the home; it just supplies a custom look.  The color is a neutral tone that was practically stolen from the local Habitat For Humanity, ReStore...  five dollars!  

The fireplace is marvelous!  The grand mantel is a concrete finished to mimic a solid limestone piece.  Carrie found it post in the online classifieds for seventy five dollars.  After a grueling install, this fireplace was finished off with honed travertine tiles.  Accessories purposefully placed are the icing on the cake.

Carrie was able to find budget furniture and make it shine.  She repurposed a night stand as an end table and painted it a soothing cream.  Carrie was able to find an over sized coffee table at a local consignment shop.  She left it in it's original state and simply accessorized using a department store mirror as a cleaver tray.

The two arm chairs are an Overstock.com purchase.  They were sold as a two pack for just over six hundred dollars.  A slash of turquoise paint refreshes a simple console table between the two chairs.

The Leavitts received a free grandfather style clock when they purchased furniture at a local home retailer; Carrie couldn't be satisfied until the honey stain was covered by this warm olive green.

 Along with the doors and the floors, this entry way was given the royal treatment with a large black credenza, over which, Carrie hung an ornate mirror...  Of course restyled using flat chalky gray paint.  This over-sized beauty grounds the space.  Every room should have a black element.

Carries design advise: use down-filled pillows always!  They fluff and crease perfectly, not to mention, down pillows don't slid around on leather furnishing.  Carrie says to splurge on a few nice throw pillows, they beckon comfort and are perfect for design pallet inspiration and add a finishers touch.

Money saving tip: find accessories at thrift stores and spray paint them a solid color to cover ugly and create cohesion.