Hip Bachelor Pad

Before: White Walls and No Style
Designer Kristan Cunningham visits Ali Zareh in his newly-purchased condo to look at his living room. The room is large, empty and without any accents or decoration. It lacks a worthy focal point but the fireplace has potential. The furniture in the room was a donation from Zareh's mother. The couches are blue, in great shape and look comfortable. The coffee table, however, is very white and does little in helping to create that extra layer that the room lacks.

Zareh finds the room to be boring and would like a hip and modern space.

After: A Modern Design
The pearly white walls are warmed up with taupe and blue paint, custom art pieces and a geometric design above the fireplace. Design coordinator Spender Anderson creates a spectacular coffee table. Cunningham contributes shelving and shops for the perfect furniture pieces to fill out the room.

Design coordinator Dave Sheinkopf creates a trio of art pieces for the dining room. Read on to find out how the rooms come together.

Furniture - $444

• New pieces include a console table and a pair of round ottomans. (ottomans: Target - Khaki/067081058; console table: Target - 074090226)

• Anderson creates a maze-inspired coffee table masterpiece. He constructs a base out of medium-density fiberboard (mdf) and uses 3/8-inch Plexiglas for the legs, sides and top. Smoky-colored Plexiglas is used to construct the maze inside. (He generated his own maze design using a program found on the Internet.) Steel spheres are placed inside and the clear Plexiglas top is glued on with a special adhesive that's used on aquariums. The spheres can be manipulated with a heavy-duty magnet from the exterior of the table.

Check out these makeovers for more do-it-yourself art ideas:

Large-scale painted art

Wood wall sculpture and canvas paintings

Art and Accessories - $240

• Sheinkopf uses various shades of blue paint to create a trio of art pieces featuring an interlacing maze pattern.

• Cunningham uses mdf to create brown shelves on either side of the fireplace. Matching mirrors are placed on two of the shelves. (wall mirrors: IKEA - Stave, 20054412)

• Sheinkopf creates a modern mantel out of mdf. Silver gazing balls are used for decoration. (gazing balls: Jo-Ann Fabrics - 7180730)

• A fluffy new rug defines the seating area. (floor rug: Urban Outfitters - Brown/05210811809384322)

Fabrics and Window Treatments - $172

• The blue sofas are enhanced with pillows and the windows are dressed with new panels in coordinating neutral colors. (pillow fabrics: Jo-Ann Fabrics; (window panels: Anna's Linens - Sand Rod Pocket Panel; rods: Anna's Linens - Scallop Pewter)

Lighting - $82

• Silver floor lamps with linen shades add visual weight and symmetry to the design. (floor lamp bases: IKEA - Arstid; lampshades: Urban Outfitters - Silver 052202021 10264406)

Paint and Supplies - $55

• Taupe and slate blue paint is used to warm up the walls. The wall over the fireplace is given a geometric treatment with four painted squares. (wall paint: Behr - Shale Grey, Blue Fox, Smokey Blue, Velvet Evening, Garden Wall; paint: Benjamin Moore - Chocolate Truffle)

Project Total - $993