Domino Magazine: How to Makeover Your Home, Step-By-Step

7/23/2019 Domino Magazine: How to Makeover Your Home, Step-By-Step

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DOMINO

How to Makeover Your

Home, Step-by-StepDomino'sdecorating genius Dara Caponigro guides Ruth

Altchek toward a new, grown-up style that's also way morepersonal.

HAIR AND MAKEUP: MASHA/FORD ARTISTS |CLOTHING STYLIST: KRISTEN NAIMAN AND THOMAS TREUHAFT


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Tell people you work atDomino and the reaction isalways the same: "You must have an amaaaazing place."This was beyond not true in my case. The Brooklyn one-

bedroom I've lived in for five years was a disaster zonetoo much furniture, books in precarious piles on the floor,

a strange paint job I thought was "artistic" I neededsaving. I needed Dara!

Our insanely busy style director graciously took me on asa project"I love solving these kinds of problems," she

claimed. (It's true: As a child, she spent holidaysrearranging her cousins' closets.) Dara trekked out andwe assessed my most pressing issues (one closet, no

storage, inability to throw things out, no clear sensibility)and the parameters (limited budget, eco-friendly focus).

And so began my yearlong journey of decor self-discovery.

Graduation day: The result is a neutral yet cheerfulscheme that's both mature and totally Ruth.


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Call in the Experts

Our first order of business was sorting through mybelongings. Dara calls it "editing"; her motto: "Be

ruthless." (In my case, Ruth-but-less.) Over four visits,we edited down my furniture, kitchen items, artwork,

accessories and personal mementos. Clothes were a hugechallenge. I was harboring T-shirts from middle school.

We summoned fashion stylist Kristen Naiman to gothrough my wardrobe. "Do you wear it? Do you love it?"Kristen asked of each article. If I didn't answer "yes" to

both questions, buh-bye. Eight hours later, my closet hadslimmed by two-thirds and my local thrift shop got one

helluva delivery.


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Finding My Style

We perused my existing furniture (the stuff that Iactually liked): a mid-century sofa I'd bought from

Design Within Reach (my first-ever adult purchase); twoAlvar Aalto chairs and a classic orange coffee table

inherited from my parents. My look had emerged:Scandinavian Modern!


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Research, Research

Our senior web editor, Cathy Halley, appointed meguinea pig forDomino's online decorating tool, "My DecoFile," which allows you to gather all your finds at a singledestination. Dara and I could trade ideas back and forth

without being in the same place. Genius!


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It Has to Get Worse Before it Gets Better

Dara warned me this would happen. I imagined thatonce we decided what to keep, what to toss and what tobuy, everything would just snap together. Not so. Withthe walls painted (the perfect "greige" in the living room,

a light sage in the bedroom

both environmentallyfriendly), new furniture on deck (albeit in boxes), I

booked our set-production ace Chase Booth. Now themessy part: The Parsons shelving I ordered to serve as a

pantry didn't fit (we called in a replacement fast); around rug we ordered was too large (luckily, a little juteversion I already had worked fine); every cupboard and

shelf had to be emptied, their contents edited down andthen the good stuff put back in a logical way (Dara's a

real stickler).


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(Top left) Installation Day: Chase and Ruth figuring outwhere to mount the bedside sconces and what to do with

the shelves that didn't fit.

RUTH: I had a plethora of junk but also some goodpieces that I wanted to retain, for financial and

sentimental reasons. I was thrilled when Dara gave thethumbs-up to the hand-me-down Aalto dining table from

my parents.

DARA: Once we figured out Ruth's style, it was fun toput it into practice. But there were practical

considerations, too, so in some instances we just made

do. I would have replaced the sofa with something lessbasic, for example, but she couldn't afford it. And we gotingenious with the TV table by topping a store-bought

metal base with a piece of wood that we painted blue. ButI did insist that she swap out the dingy window curtains

for roman shades and ditch the futon and ugly ceiling fan!


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Red, orange and blue tables give the neutral schemepops of color. DINING CHAIRS Jens Risom $506 each,

SOFA "Bantam" $1,750, PENDANT LAMP 23 1/2"

"Coral" $500 and FLOOR LAMP Arne Jacobsen $848,all at dwr.com BUTTERFLY CHAIRS $218 each,circa50.com STOOL "Milk Maid" $32

urbanoutfitters.com for stores MULTICOLOR PILLOWSJosef Frank $188 each, justscandinavian.com

BLANKET "Avalon Day" $192 Brahms/Mount Textiles(800) 545-9347 RUG 3' 5' jute boucl $49

westelm.com SHADES Roman flat $398 each,theshadestore.com ARTWORKS (on mantel) Lilach

Benchaim "Moon Light Swans," [email protected] for information; (on wall) CaraErskine "Untitled," caraerskine.com for information


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DARA: The bookshelves were a major first step. Solvingthis problem allowed us to see other ones. I find that the

most successful interiors come together over time.

RUTH: This was my "wall of shame"

the blue andgreen rectangles I'd painted, the puny storage, the messy

cords. What was I thinking? The new shelves use thespace so efficiently (and they were cheap!).

WALL PAINT Aura Early Morning Mist #1528,benjaminmoore.com for stores BOOKCASE "Stockholm"

$649 (as shown) and LADDER $89 ikea.com for stores

An oversize pendant centered above the table establishesa distinct dining zone.

DARA: In a small area, organization is key: If there's noplace to put things, the decorating won't work


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aesthetically or functionally. We went with simple metalshelves and nice baskets to store all Ruth's kitchen stuff.

Three hooks on the wall gave her an instant coat-and-bag

"closet."RUTH: It's so much easier to cook now that everything

has a designated homebaskets for pasta and grains,jars for raisins and nuts, recipes and take-out menus in

one pretty tray.

SHELVES (in kitchen) MUJI powder-coated steel $250

(as shown), MoMA Design Store (646) 613-1367BASKETS Rattan $69 each, Saffron Trading Company(845) 353-3530 WALL HOOKS "Anonymous" $48 each,

conranusa.com


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Downsizing the bed made the tiny room feel much larger.

RUTH:My bedroom was a collection of forehead-slapping mistakes. The queen-size bed blocked part of

the closet, while a goofy paper lantern pinned to the wallserved as a reading light. I absolutely adore my new

boudoir.

DARA: Ruth had to bite the bullet and switch to a full-size bed, which can become a guest bed down the line.

Furniture roles evolve as your needs change. Her

bedroom finally feels as if it's a real room

a fun andpleasant place to live.

COVERLET Lotta Glave wool blend "Candy" $275fjorn.com SHEETS Organic cotton $89/full set, andpillowcases $34/pair, westelm.com DRESSER Birch

"Shaker" $459 (as shown), gothiccabinetcraft.comPENDANT LAMP Kevin Patrick McCarthy $240

mxyplyzyk.com WALL LIGHT "Lytegem" $125 dwr.comLAMP "Phantom" $99.95 cb2.com WALL PAINT Light

Sage #C67-3, olympic.com for stores

This content originally appeared asHelp! My ApartmentLooks Like A Dorm Room in Domino magazine.

Domino Magazine: How to Makeover Your Home, Step-By-Step

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