A Dining Room Refresh

I recently completed a design for a client's dining room who I have been very lucky to work with for a while now!  She wanted to update her dining room and wasn't sure where to start. We initially talked about just changing the paint color and well, one thing led to the next, and you know how that goes! :)

Here is a breakdown of how her space will get a new look:

1) The things that couldn't change were the aqua colored window treatments and her mahogany chippendale dining room set.  To start, I wanted to break-up the all the brown in the furniture and so my client boldly agreed to PAINT her dining room chairs a creamy off-white!  The dining room table and chairs pictured above in the design board are actually hers (after she painted the chairs)!!

2) My clients LOVES audubon artwork.  I suggested a large framed audubon print over her buffet table.  It's the perfect spot for something dramatic because you immediately see it in when you enter through the front door.  The audubon's colors are fantastic and determined the rest of the color palette for the space.  Below is a more detailed shot of what I was envisioning....

3) We decided to go bold and paint the walls a beautiful blue green teal.  

4) She also has a beautiful hutch I suggested that she re-paint in a chalky, plaster like off-white color with distressed edges.  The hutch will be flanked with two Ballard Designs Louis chairs upholstered in green velvet with some contrasting welt.  

5) I suggested the Brunschswig and Fils Les Touches fabric for the pillows on her Louis chairs and a warm peacock hue check for the seats of her dining room chairs.  

6) Lastly, we will be accessorizing with a lot of blue and white accessories and bamboo accents as a nod to the hollywood regency look!  

Before and After: A Client's Family Room

I started working with my client from Philadelphia last year and we recently progressed from working on her family room to working on her kitchen.

When we started on her family room, her budget was tight.  We had to work with her existing furniture and there was not a huge allowance for new fabrics, pillows and such.

We've also changed directions in regards to the design of this room……in the end, she found her style and knew what she wanted.

The biggest impact areas I saw were changing the wall color and investing in window treatments.  She did both.

She painted her entire great room a new color and actually sewed the window treatments for her large window wall.  Can you believe that??

She wasn't sure about installing woven shades, but after some convincing, I'm glad she did, because they make all the difference.  She loves how finished and cozy the room now feels.

Client's Photo (not professional)

Above, you can see how the room looks like today.

She recently told her husband that she finally feels comfortable in their home and how much she truly loves it.  They are a young family with two toddler boys.

As part of my design consult, I recommended that she:

1. Invest in a new media console
2. Hang her flatscreen on the wall
3. Place a sofa table behind the sofa (against the window) to add some depth/interest to the window wall
4. Purchase large gourd lamps to go on sofa table
5. Add a round end table to connect the two sofas and break up the hard lines.
6. Lots of light colored pillows to break up the leather sofas which she did and chose all by herself
7. Paint walls lighter and brighter color
8. Add window treatments and woven shades

She has done an amazing job!!  And, just to emphasize where we started.  Below is the before picture when we started working together.  Notice the large blue painted window wall - so happy that no longer  looks like that!

She has come such a long way and has been such an incredible client.  I can't wait to show updates on her kitchen when it is all said and done!!  They say the greatest form of flattery is when a client you love working with asks you again to help them with a new space! I couldn't agree more and am certainly grateful!!

If you need help decorating a room, feel free to contact me!

A Living Room's New Look

A new client from the Palmetto State recently contacted me because she wanted to spruce up her formal living room.  If I remember correctly, the subject of her email was titled, 'Design Help' and then preceded to say, "I know you are the person for the job!' which made me laugh.

She had all the furniture in place and was happy with her layout, but she needed help pulling it all together with new fabric selections and accessories.   In her words, she wanted 'styled', but cozy and approachable!

She ended the email saying, "Please help me as I am going crazy thinking about this room and on the verge of divorce if I can't finish this room!"  Ha!  A Southern girl with a sense of humor - my kind of girl! :)

Here is the final scheme!!

I really feel attached to this project because I adore every detail that will go into this room and selfishly want it for my own home! I can't wait to see it all come together - it is going to be beautiful!

And, now I can sleep better at night knowing my client will be married happily ever after! Wink! Wink!

Thank you and A Beautiful (Renovated) Cottage

I just want to say 'THANK YOU' for stopping by to see my One Room Challenge and leaving such incredible comments!! I felt the love you guys - thank you so much!!  It truly was icing on the cake after having worked so hard on it and not knowing how it would be received.  I would be lying if I didn't say that I had a nervous stomach for most of the day!

Today, I thought I'd leave you with some pretty pictures found on StyleBlueprint of this beautifully renovated cottage designed by Julie Couch.

This home is a great testimony on how to maximize the most of your natural light when you have a small home!  I'll let the pictures by Alyssa Rosenheck Photography speak for themselves.

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To see more of this beautiful home designed by Julie Couch, go here.  Have a good week!

ORC: Week Six - Final Reveal

I can officially say that I have completed Linda's One Room Challenge and survived to tell about it!!!  I might've neglected my family, our pet fish and the house for the past week, but I am very, very happy with the outcome!!  AND I can also officially say (and my husband will agree) that our guest room is soooo much nicer than our master bedroom - and there is something completely not right with that!

I am happy to share it with you.  Here is my guest room reveal….

Those beautiful brass nailheads caused a couple of gray hairs and took so painstakingly long.  For every one I got right, I ruined about twenty.  No joke.  But, it worth the hundreds I saved from buying a new headboard.  

If you remember, below is a picture of our guest room BEFORE:

And, this is our guest room (and which also pulls double duty as my office) AFTER:

Below is a snapshot of my huge homasote DIY bulletin board that also serves as my catch all inspiration and design planing board. 

And, my little desk below surrounded by all the many things I love and treasure.  

For those of you who have followed along, thank you so much for sticking with me!  This was a great challenge for me personally and professionally!  If there is enough interest, I'd be happy to put a blog post together about my DIY headboard.  I think I spent approximately $180 in materials and supplies at the end of the day. 

If you are just tuning in, I've just spent the past six weeks participating in Linda's One Room Challenge and you are welcome to read more about my guest room's transformation during the previous weeks here.   Thank you Linda for hosting my first ever ORC.  Hop over here to see the other participants and their crazy transformations. 

Also, I'd like to thank Nicole Pullen who helped me with the photography! She is based in Louisville.

Sources are listed below.

Paint // Euro Fabric // Lumbar Pillow // Coverlet // Scalloped Sheets // Bed Skirt // Sconces // Headboard Fabric // Headboard Nailhead // Bench // Bench Pillows // Desk // Desk Chair // Mirror // Desk lamp //

Helping a Client Select Fabrics

I recently helped a client decide which fabrics to use where in her soon to be baby's nursery.  She already had the fabrics selected, but needed help putting it all together.  We discussed what fabrics would look good as window panels, crib bedding, pillows and on upholstered furniture. She was particularly on the fence with whether to do solid fabric with trim or a fun print as the window panels.  I suggested the fun print as I think it can really make a fun statement!

If your budget is flexible, I think picking a fun print as window panels can make all the difference.

Above is NOT the design of my client, but rather an example I created using a fun print as panels.  I have always wanted to use Katie Leede's 'Thebes' fabric!

If you need help designing a room, please feel free to contact 'me'!

One Room Challenge - Week Three

Originally, I thought we had until November 19th to finish the ORC, but found out last week that it really is November 12th!  What??  Needless to say, I've had to shift into high gear, chop-chop.

If you haven't read week one or two, I've decided to focus on our guest bedroom (which doubles as my office).  But guest rooms tend to get the short shrift because they get used less frequently than other spaces in the house; mine is no exception.

I wanted the headboard to be a focal point.  I also wanted a tall headboard to give the room more height.  But tall headboards tend to be pricey so I knew going into this challenge that I would need to make my own.   Oomph's Charleston (below) is one of my inspirations.

Oomph's Charleston Headboard

I didn't want my headboard to be exactly like Oomph's, but I designed it to have a similar look and feel.  The middle peak is higher thus making the headboard feel taller!  Here is a shot of our guest room painted (BM White Dove) sans headboard:

Here is the skeleton of the headboard made from plywood and MDF (minus the batting, fabric, etc.).  Not finished yet … but it's on the move.  

So happy with how it turned out.  I will be upholstering it in a raffia fabric - see below!  I have trim and naihead picked out if I decide to go down that route.  

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I was able to hang woven shades and get my bamboo curtain rod hung this past week.  Ignore the blue painter's tape on the bamboo rod!

I also tried out my budget-conscious Ikea panels.  I'm not sold on this look.  I think these drapes achieve the casual look I'm aiming for (they're sheer and light).  But a pinch pleat would be more professional looking, however it might be too formal.  I will keep you posted.  

I wanted a bench on the wall opposite the window.  This will be a place for guests to sit, put their luggage, lay out clothes, etc.  

Moreover, I plan on mounting a huge fabric-covered bulletin board above the bench.  This is where I will pin my inspirations, fabrics, notes, etc.  Recall: this room doubles as my office.  

Back to the bench: I chose a bench from Ballard Design (below).  When I saw it online I liked it.  When it arrived at my house, I fell in love with it.  It is perfect for this space!! 

And, lastly, to give you a preview of what other elements will be going in the room, here is a snapshot of what is yet to come.  Oh, and don't worry, I haven't even gotten to all the bedding (shams, bolster and bedskirt) and pillow fabrics!!

Does this really have to be completed by the 12th?  Yikes.  With friends coming in from NY this weekend and the guest room in still disarray, I foresee perhaps an all-nighter in my future??  Hopefully, this room will turn out better than my accounting final did in college.  :)

One Room Challenge - Week Two

Week 2 -Here we go!  This past week was all about designing and making the headboard for the guest room.

Since our guest room is small, I want something 'big' to give the room more presence.  So, I am going 'tall' with my headboard.  This will hopefully create the illusion of a taller ceiling (which we don't have - only 8ft ceilings).  Here is a snapshot of my DIY headboard (constructed out of plywood and MDF):

This weekend, I will finish building it and then I need to decide on the fabric.  I'm leaning towards white duck cloth with brass nailheads, but I might be swayed to do raffia.  We'll see…..

I FINALLY found an antique tortoise shell bamboo side table for less than $150 at a local antique store!  I was very excited because these tables are hard to come by for anything less that $300!  This will serve as one of the nightstands.  Here, she is in all of her beauty and glory, hanging out in our dining room until the guest room is ready.

I dropped off John Robshaw's fabric at my local seamstress to be made into euro shams.  See below.

I will be channeling my inner Heather Chadduck with the window project in our guest room.  I bought a bamboo rod from Hobby and Lobby and some oil rubbed bronze brackets that will serve as the guest room's window hardware.  Here is my inspiration:

So, this is where things stand!  Still tons more to do!  You can see my guest room inspiration from week one here and please check out the other amazing guest participants here.

A Fresh Perspective

I am drawn to interiors that are classically designed but are infused with a fresh perspective.  By that I mean rooms that have traditional design but are layered with modern elements.  Great things can happen when you carefully mix traditional and current elements.

Take for example, this beautiful bedroom designed by Henry & Co. Design (Elle Clymer and Stephanie Woodmansee), one of Traditional Home's 2015 rising stars of design.  

I have always loved the classic Colefax and Fowler's Bowood chintz fabric seen here on the upholstered headboard.  I actually plan to use this fabric as an accent fabric in our master bedroom.  It is such a classic and here, it is beautifully paired with the Chelsea Textiles streamlined bedside table.  A perfect example of classic and current elements carefully mixed.  

A beautiful blue Christopher Spitzmiller lamp sits on top of what looks like Ikea's malm dresser.  And, I love the custom banding on the pretty quadrille roman shades!  I think panels would have made this room too fussy - roman shades gives it a casual yet sophisticated feel, that is also practical.  

A Martha Vineyard's Home

There are so many elements I love about this home.  The nautical touches, the subdued, but fun use of color and pattern and all the classical elements running throughout the home.  

I love how colonial this dining room feels.  The above room was the inspiration for my dining room; see our dining room progress here.  

Is that Katie Ridder's Peony pattern in a rug? (above).  I've never seen it as a rug before.  

This home has all my favorites - striped walls, painted floors, spindles, empire lamp shades, gold framed nautical oil paintings, Katie Ridder fabrics, blue and green colors, antique furnishings and colonial touches.  To see more of this home designed by Molly Luetkemeyer (m. design interiors), go here.  

Window Solutions for Two-Story Windows

Do you have one of those gigantic two-story windows?

Are you at a lost for what to do with that large two story window?  I recently was approached by a friend for some suggestions.  She has a similar window (to the one pictured) and here is my suggestion to her.

The two-story window is so large that even if you frame part of the window (i.e. the wings of the window) with panels, you won't sacrifice much natural light coming through the main window.  And, depending on your preference, you can always open and close the panels to let in more or less natural light.  The top portion (half circle) of the window acts as a transom and should not get covered.

Now, to finish it off, I would put a roman shade (my preference is woven) behind the panels.  It should be hung at the same height as the top of your panels so as to create a unified line across the window.  This will help pull all the elements together.

Here is a mock-up I drew up if you have this type of window.

This mock-up, at least, gives you a visual of how all the elements are supposed to look and work together.  What do you think?

When you enter the room you'll eye will be drawn to the back of the room where the window is and to the views to the outside.  And, if you have a ceiling fan in your two story room, I would replace it with some sculptural (like the lantern) to give the room some presence.  You have the height so you might as well maximize it!!

Hope this helps!

PS:  Drapes shown are PB Velvet Panels.  Lantern can be found here.