Ocean-Inspired Makeover

This boring bungalow was in serious need of an upgrade.

Designer Melanie Cavileer came up with a colorful makeover that incorporated Nadia's love of the ocean. The drab paint was replaced with blue-gray ocean shades, and the old concrete was removed and replaced with paving stones on the driveway, walkway, steps and retaining wall.

Here's a list of other changes that completed the home's transformation:

Ironwork doesn't have to be black. A little paint makes this detail really pop.

• The porch was rebuilt with a new floor and railings. Colorful scrolled ironwork was added to the porch railings to reinforce the nautical theme (right); the old porch railings were reused as a fence to separate the front and back yards.
  
• The front door was painted with bright colors and now features a stained-glass mermaid.

An ocean-inspired quotation gives the front steps a unique touch.

• A colorful nautilus-themed grate adorns the outside attic vents.
  
• An artist added some whimsy to the front steps by paraphrasing a Loren Eiseley quotation on the risers (right).
  
• The new paving stone walkway flows gracefully up from the driveway, and low-lying landscape plants complement the bungalow.