Reformation Painting and Design

06/21/2025

Sometimes trash removal is well into the project and sometimes it’s what kicks everything off! Either way, Call Owen to help you clear away whatever you need gone, and call me to help you plan what’s next! 🤩

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10/09/2024

Fun project today, adding one more touch of wallpaper to this gorgeous new event space in downtown Harrisonville on the Historic Square! Lexington on the Square 💕 Those high ceilings are no joke! 😅

I’ve loved installing wallpaper in Jennifer’s other locations— Peoples Theater and Brick & Mirth in downtown Pleasant Hill. Check out the beautiful spaces she has created if you’re in need of a unique event location!

06/19/2021

Our last project was so much fun, and I am excited to finally be able to share it with you all! Not only were the homeowners wonderful to work with, but they are good friends, and trusted me to surprise them with the design while they were away on vacation! (Now THAT is trust!)

Here’s a peek into how the process works, with before and after pictures below!
-We met to discuss what she felt was working in the room and what wasn’t, what Lydia’s design vibe is (70’s boho, with color, nods to nature, and BOOKS), and the budget. Her main concerns were creating a more cohesive look and solving a few functional issues.
-Rather than elimating things from the room, sometimes it is helpful for clients to instead choose several items they know they absolutely need to keep in the room. I asked Lydia to put her must-haves on the mantle for me to incorporate into the design. (This feels a bit like when reality show producers hand three random ingredients to the cooking show contestant, and they have to use them all in the same dish… Thankfully, Lydia’s choices, while disparate, played well with each other!)
-After putting together a preliminary design plan, I was then able to go back through the room with a vision in mind, clearing everything that would definitely not work, and reserving what we might be able to use later.
-The design was guided by the custom mid-century-style corner sofa the couple had built, a previously purchased lime green settee, and a lovely boho picture of a woman Lydia said was her inspiration piece.
-When initially discussing the room, Lydia mentioned to me how sad she’d been that the previous homeowners had painted the solid rough-hewn wooden beams. I knew immediately that Aaron’s surprise project would be fauxing the beams to look like their original dark walnut. And WOW, the beams are almost my favorite part of the room! They are transformative!
-Aaron also removed the acoustic ceiling and repaired and painted it. For the walls, I chose a vintage, natural white to show off the dark woodwork and fireplace, and to provide a calm backdrop for the other color elements in the room.
-Everything purchased for the room is genuinely vintage—sourced from estate sales, thrift stores, and online marketplaces. So much fun to gather and put together!
-We kept the basic floor plan the same, only choosing other pieces and types of furniture to solve functionality issues, display what needs to be displayed, and hide what doesn’t.
-And the greatest single addition to the room in my opinion: a custom walnut and glass wall installation to go above the sofa! It all started when I asked my friend Dan Campbell at Dandy Acres to help me figure out how best to mount these incredible beveled and tempered glass shelves I had found. He said, “You know, I have a wood guy that has beautiful walnut slabs, and you could add more shelves like this…, and really make it awesome.”
That brainstorm led to me feverishly drawing up a detailed design, and him making it a reality in less than 4 days time! 😮 Dan did absolutely amazing work, from planing every piece of wood, to sanding and finishing, and onsite installation! I think we were all a little bit blown away by how it turned out!
-I was able to incorporate much of what Lydia already had in the room, adding a few extra touches, such as the framed art above the doors— all drawn by Lydia! She had so many beautiful drawings just crying out for frames, that I had trouble choosing. I loved being able to incorporate so many interesting items that had been collected by the family over the years. When we have the opportunity to edit a bit, we allow these items to shine!
-In the end, the big reveal was worth every bit of the effort! Lydia and her family love the room, and are finding it the peaceful and functional space they’d been hoping for! The room is a strong reflection of Lydia’s warm creativity and the casual brightness of the whole family. My hope is for them to feel as if this is the room they had imagined in their hearts all along. Home! 💕

Contact me through our page if you have a design project or space management issue you’d like help with!

06/27/2019

Sometimes you have to live with an empty wall for a great deal of time before you know what in the world to do with it. This is one of those walls. A balcony hallway, open to the first floor, cathedral ceiling, essential off-center HVAC hardware littering the wall... a nightmare. But we had piles of art waiting to be hung, and with an open-concept home, even fewer walls to hang it on.

We started by evaluating all of the art we had available, probably 30 items. We each chose our “essential” pieces, and we set aside a few pieces that just don’t fit anywhere (or we’re tired of—it happens). Then, out of what remained, we looked for connections.

How could we unify our favorites on a wall like this? Are there any themes? Strongly repeated colors?

Aaron gave me a mental workout by choosing as his favorites, two paintings that couldn’t be more different: an abstract orange, yellow, and purple painting he did with our oldest when she was about 5 (there’s a story here, ask me about it sometime!) and a large, dreamy tree painting in teal and warm oranges and browns.

As I sorted through everything we had to work with, it became obvious that photos wouldn’t work here, so we set those aside. From the remaining pieces, we noticed several repeated themes— watercolor paintings our kids had done, travel sketches, and art nouveau— all things we love. This could work...

Since the colors vary widely, we decided to unify the collection with black frames, which most of these already had.

Our first idea, a long (bottom or top-aligned) row of art, would look very modern, but we’d have to work around the thermostat, and some of the ductwork in the wall might make that idea impossible. Ultimately, I threw out that idea because it didn’t really work well with the art we have just out of view in the wings upstairs.

Since Aaron was a fan of aligned frames, I transferred that idea of an unbroken row into an unbroken “line” of wall space with pictures hung above and below it. I grouped the pictures around those two dissimilar paintings and found two groupings that worked.

The angle of the ceiling offered the idea of hanging the groupings to echo that line. But once everything was laid out on the floor, it just seemed something was missing. It wasn’t working. I realized that although the groupings had equal numbers of pictures, they didn’t have equal weight. And the left side needed... red.

I happened to have a gorgeous tiny red oil painting I had picked up at a thrift store sitting on my night stand, so I called it up to the big leagues! Once it was mounted to float on a white mat, I think it became my favorite part of the wall!

An art wall like this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love that it allows us to display things that are beautiful and meaningful to us, rather than letting them languish in a closet, unseen and unappreciated. I’m glad for these to be in the background of pictures we take, in the background of memories we are making. (Who doesn’t remember that one picture in their grandma’s kitchen??)

The moral of the story is: if you have an intimidating blank wall, and you’ve lived with it that way long enough, don’t be intimidated! There IS a solution! Several most likely. You may have to start with your favorite things and work from there. You may have to say goodbye to a few things that don’t fit anymore. You may have to add in a few new pieces that tie everything together. Take a deep breath and break out the picture hanging kit! Nail holes are tiny, I promise. 😉

But if at any point you need outside assistance, set up an appointment. I’d love to help you!

05/16/2018

Stop in to American Dwelling for our latest piece! A live edge cedar console table with hairpin legs. 😍

04/28/2018

News!! Starting today, you can find refinished furniture by Reformation Painting & Design at American Dwelling in Historic Downtown Pleasant Hill, Mo! Come down this weekend for the grand opening during the Railroad Days Festival and stop by Brown's Vintage and Variety (another favorite) while you’re here! ❤️

04/25/2018

Our new business cards are here! 💕

04/17/2018

What design task do clients ask for help with most often? (Besides choosing paint colors. Everyone needs a little help with that!)

Space management!
"Where do I put the sofa?"
"How can I make the entryway more attractive, when what I really need is a mudroom?"
"My dining room table hosts more dinner parties for piles of mail than it does people! How can I make the space work for us?"

If you look closely at these problems, you'll notice that they have less to do with style than they have to do with logistics.

For most of us, our design problems stem NOT from our things looking shabby, but from our things not functioning usefully for us.

It's helpful to ask yourself a few questions when you're faced with a space that frustrates you. If you KNOW the function of your space, you can work at solving the function problem. (You would be surprised how little we pay attention to the way we use our spaces every day!)

First (and obviously), ask yourself, "What do I want to use this space for?" If you are arranging a living room, you will set it up differently if you plan only to snuggle up and watch Netflix with the family, than if you plan to host your book club. Prioritize what you want most out of your space!

Second: "What do I use this space for now?" Be realistic. If those school papers ALWAYS end up on the table because that's where the kids do their homework, create a space for them in the dining room to store their backpacks or coloring books or your unsorted mail. Who says sideboards need to hold dishes?

Third, (be honest): "How do I function in this space?" (Not, "How does a random person on Pinterest function in this space.") In other words, the cute wire baskets with sorted shoes and hats and gloves you saw on a friend's page, may not work for you. You may hate it after two days and really, really wish you had saved the Target receipt. Take a close look at how you operate. Do you like seeing your things? Or do you like them hidden away? Does open shelving allow you to display your cherished collection, or does it cause you constant anxiety because nothing is ever put away the same way twice? Part of knowing yourself is being okay with the fact that your answers to these questions are not going to be the same as your friends'. But the reward for honesty is that you will come much closer to developing your own sense of personal style than any design quiz could ever take you.

Sometimes, you may be too close to the problem to see clearly, and you feel you need another set of eyes. If so, message me and we will set up an appointment! I'd love to walk you through the logistics of your problem space and hopefully come out on the other side with a space that feels (and functions!) like home.

❤ Lori

03/13/2018

Here are some examples of design projects we have done in the past, including kitchen design, bathroom design, furniture arrangement, accessorizing, children's room decorating, holiday decorating, and staging. We can offer guidance at any stage of your project, whether it is as large as new construction, or as small rearranging the furniture you already have! Please feel free to contact us with any questions!

02/26/2018

Reformation Painting, owned and operated by Aaron Chally, prides itself on a reputation of quality interior and exterior painting and satisfied customers for over 20 years.

Need design services also? We can help you with that too! Please call now to schedule a design consultation, or a free estimate. 913-636-3466