Better Homes And Gardens Maddox Crossing Dining Chair Antique Sage

library and dining room

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Library-Dining Room

"I totally overhauled this room," Mary Jane McCarty says of the combined dining-library space in her Yardley, Pennsylvania, house. In addition to raising the dropped ceiling and painting the dark molding white, she framed the pocket-door entryway with built-in shelves that showcase her reference, gardening, and children's books.

library and dining room

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Yellow and Blue

As for the furnishings, "I really played with different patterns," McCarty says, explaining that it works because the palette is limited to blue and white. A grouping of Art Deco Chinese rugs echoes the charmingly mismatched pillows and vintage chairs, as well as a collection of similarly hued English transferware.

blue carpet

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Carpet

This hand-knotted rug echos the rich look of McCarty's Art Deco Chinese carpets. ($79; 2' x 3'; homedecorators.com)

blue ikat fabric

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Ikat Fabric

Bohemian ikat upholstery loosens up a formal chair. ($20 per yard; decorativethings.com)

mary jane mccarty

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The Homeowner

McCarty's favorite spot—a dining table that cost $35 at the Salvation Army—is usually piled with books. "I eat around them," she says.

living room before makeover

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Before: Living Room

The living room used to be weighed down by dark wall-to-wall carpet. Once McCarty pulled it up, she discovered that "the floors were a nice pine, so I just refinished them."

living room

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Finished Living Room

White plantation shutters take the place of heavy drapes. The yellow pillows—adorning a late-Victorian sofa McCarty inherited from her grandmother—are from the designer's home accessories collection (maryjanemccarty.com).

bathroom before makeover

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Before: Bathroom

The overcrowded upstairs bathroom lightened up after what McCarty calls a major renovation. She ripped out the plastic shower and tub, moving a new sink and toilet into its place.

blue and white bathroom

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Light Bathroom Makeover

A claw-foot tub from Baths from the Past now offers a view of the garden. The room's dark wainscoting got a fresh makeover with white paint, while a coat of seafoam blue livens up the top half of the walls. "I wanted it to be the color of bathwater," McCarty says. She also tore out the old linoleum and then repeated the same angled-tile style used for her kitchen floor.

kitchen before makeover

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Before: Kitchen

McCarty's "kitchen de-modernization" plan included replacing dated linoleum with stock tile from Home Depot, laid at an angle to achieve the charming look of an old pharmacy.

blue and white kitchen

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New and Old Kitchen

McCarty also hung custom cupboards above a vintage basin, installed a teakwood countertop around the sink, and added a marble backsplash. The flower-shaped table belonged to the designer's grandmother.

green bathroom