Expanding Space and Inspiring Romance

Tell us about you?

We're Odalis and Oscar Mino. We met over 20 years ago when we worked together at a Bronx hospital. Oscar works with the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a federal supplementary food program, and I (Odalis) work at Maritime College as the Director of Communications. This summer we’ll be married 10 years!

What started you on your renovation and home improvement journey?

It all started with a long overdue master bathroom renovation, and that expanded to the flooring in the bedroom, and the living room.

Why did you contact This Bronx Girl Designs?

I heard about This Bronx Girl Designs, and as a supporter of Bronx small businesses as well as women-owned/minority-owned businesses, I contacted Vanessa. Our work together began with the goal to make the bedroom complementary to the newly renovated bathroom. After our first meeting, as she viewed our entire home, she helped me realize that I needed help with other spaces in the home. Our work together totally transformed two spaces: the master bedroom and living room. We put our complete trust in her ideas, expertise, and choices, and we have no regrets. We love our home, and our family and guests love it. We’ve never loved our home this much!

Vanessa brought a calm approach and beautiful aesthetic. She worked closely with us, offering suggestions that helped us better understand how to improve the function and beauty of our space. And it wasn’t about ditching everything we had and buying new things. It was more about repurposing and giving a new life to older items (like some of our art and small tables). She helped us utilize everything in a different way, and that saved us money.

Master bedroom: Dark wood furniture was donated and replaced with lighter, more modern pieces from West Elm. A cozy reading area was created by bringing furniture and carpeting from the living room. Shimmery bedding and pillows complement the gold chandelier, and romantic photos were added over the bed.

What surprised you most about the process?

One thing I learned is how different types of lighting and placement of lamps can create a unique ambiance in both our bedroom and living room. In the bedroom, we only had a chandelier, so very minimal lighting. We now have different types of lighting (a lovely standing lamp which helped create a reading area), and beside lamps. Altogether, it made the bedroom spectacular.

What surprised me the most when we worked on the living room was how the placement of furniture can give a room a different look, maximizing function and bringing energy by creating spaciousness. I hadn’t realized that our original furniture placement was off. These relatively minor changes through better groupings of furniture ultimately made a huge impact.

I also learned that adding a touch of whimsey completes a space. Unique elements were also what our space needed. Vanessa created a fun sofa pillow for us that is now

our favorite.

Of all the changes you made, what do you love most?

That’s a difficult question! The bedroom and living room have really been transformed to more tranquil, serene, and completely beautiful rooms – qualities we weren’t feeling before. We weren’t aware of the difference an expansive large rug could make in our living room. The texture, colors, and greatness of the rug have pulled the entire room together in a way that still surprises us. It completely changed everything. That one rug, plus some furniture being moved to create better flow for entertaining, socializing, and cozy television nights, was the key to transforming the entire space. The room expanded, and a new set of lamps in just the right place took the room over the top.

The bedroom was our biggest challenge, and why we reached out to Vanessa. Our furniture looked bulky, dark, and dated. We created a fabulous modern bathroom, but when we stepped into the bedroom, something wasn’t right. The bedroom didn’t match the beauty of the bathroom. Some investments in furniture, fabulous bedding, elegant window treatments and lighting brought cohesion between the master bedroom and bathroom in terms of beauty and function. So it isn’t simply any one thing that we love, it’s that the whole space is in harmony.

How does your home make you feel now?

The newly designed rooms represent what we always wanted. The master bedroom is a romantic oasis that we couldn’t have achieved on our own. Our home is so much more special and meaningful to us. We comment on how much we love our bedroom almost every night!