Summer happenings….

Hi Guys!  Remember me?  I apologize for the radio silence!!  Summer has been 'happily' full-on with my kid's daily swim practices, baseball games, ballet and hanging out with friends at the pool.  Moreover, I've been up to my eyeballs in client projects!!  With my kids home full time, I'm doing my design work part-time and am so thankful for these opportunities.  Here are some snapshots of what has been going on….

My local client has moved into a new house and we will slowly be tackling one room at a time, starting with her powder room!  The minute I mentioned and showed her Farrow and Ball's color Hague Blue, she fell in love.  Here is the inspiration for her powder room….

Painting to start Thursday…….I can't wait to see it in person!!

We also are working on her home office, dining room and kid's rooms.  Hence, the recent order of Mally Skok purple, pink and orange fabrics.  I love her textiles!  I am looking forward to using one or two of these fabrics in her youngest girl's bedroom.  I think it'll be the perfect complement to BM Silver Bells.

I'm also working with a wonderful, repeat client, in South Carolina on her foyer and den.  You might remember my post on hexagon table skirts; well, her dad has graciously agreed to make her a hexagon table top for her foyer table.  Below are the fabric and trim samples I recently sent her for the tailored table skirt.

We are also working on her den and I love it when I get to work with clients whose design aesthetic I just 'get'!  I love her sense of style and every inspiration picture she sends me, I get so excited.

Recently, she sent me the below inspiration she spotted on OKL and you know you 'understand' your client when you have the same exact picture saved on her 'pinterest' design board!

And, lastly, but certainly not least, there's my newest client from Birmingham, AL.  She's a long-time reader and one of my first followers.  While we've never met, I already feel like she is a good friend!  She has always left the kindest and supportive comments on my blog and IG posts.

She contacted me over a month ago to help her with her guest bathroom. She wants it to be timeless;  using classic elements suitable for guests, but she also wants it to be suitable for her 9 year old daughter who will be using it on a daily basis.

The design plan I forwarded to her includes subway wainscoting for a truly sophisticated and classic look, but it also includes a bit of fun and whimsy for her daughter.

This is where Galbraith and Paul fabrics enter the picture to give the bathroom a youthful and fresh feel!

But, we didn't stop at the fabrics and the plan is to include light blue hexagon tiles for the flooring!  It'll be a lot of fun watching this take shape!

So, lots of fun and pretty projects.  This summer has been so great and I'm particularly looking forward to the end of this week when we leave for vacation!!  Two weeks!!  Whoohoo!  Happy Summer!

Out of Africa: Antelope Rug

I thought that title, Out of Africa, was a-pre-po given we are looking at an antelope rug for my client's family room (den).  Originally, we were considering it for her formal living room, but when the sample from Ballad Designs arrived, she thought it would be best suited for her family den.

Fast forward, she has also received a sample from Myers.  See below.

{L: Myers, R: Ballard}

More decisions still need to be made, but she really would like to have an antelope rug and I was all giddy when she was on board with that!   It really will 'up' the cozy factor in her den. Let's take a look at this beauty….

I love how something so unique and bold when looked at it on it's own can be so subdued in the right environment.  It really is the perfect neutral.  

If you have the budget, the Antelope Ax from Stark seems to be the one I frequently see in shelter magazines and such.  There are also less pricer options from Myers, Ballard Designs, and I would check out your local rug/carpet retailers.  I think Biscuit even carried them (I'm not sure if they do any more).  

So, what say you - are you a fan?  Do you own one?  I would love to know!!

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'!

Inspiration: Little Girl's Room

Last week I was waiting to pick up my son at school and I was casually talking to a mom there who was waiting for her daughter.  We got to talking about kid's rooms and how she wanted to update her daughter's room.  Her frustration was trying to keep the green and pink palette without it being too in your face (a.k.a. 'gaudy').

I devised the below design board to give her some ideas and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.

I would paint the walls a very pale pink like, SW Verbena, and use an aqua green, BM Palladian Blue, for the accents.

Sources: Pillows (Galbraith and Paul Lotus, Quadrille Bangalore Paisley, West Elm), Daybed, Lamp, Nightstand, Basket.

If you need help designing a room, feel free to contact me.

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.  

E's Bedroom - Finally the Reveal!

In approximately two weeks, we will have lived in this house and in Louisville, KY for one year!  Woohoo!  I can't believe how fast the time has gone. When we first moved into this house, one of the first rooms I was determined to work on was E's room.  For the past three years, the poor girl has not had a proper room!  When we lived in Vienna, her bedroom was a large walk-in closet (with a huge window), but still, it was a closet.

So, I set forth designing her room with gutso.  If you remember, this was the inspiration board I created for her room.

I mainly stuck to the plan, but had a departure here or there as things got underway.  Here is her room now and I am happy to say that my little E loves it (and so do I)!

The window is the first thing you see when you walk in the room and I wanted it to be the focal point.  I picked a neutral buffalo check fabric and had it made into a custom balloon shade that will grow with her as she transitions to a big girl room and so on.  I painted the walls a soft cream to complement the biscuit color in the buffalo check fabric.

I had a scalloped slipcover made for an old glider we had in a white matelasse fabric and created a cozy reading nook.

The framed watercolor above the chair is of the town my mom is from and grew up in - Trier, Germany.  The watercolor was given to us from my mother's family as a wedding present.

The book shelf is actually an Ikea Hemnes bookcase that I painted BM Prescott Green.  I LOVE this color.  Painting the bookshelf wasn't part of the original plan, but as the room progressed I felt it needed a cooler color to offset all the warm tones.  I am so happy how it turned out.

Here are some close-ups of some of the really special things on her bookcase.  

We love reading Little Bear! 

The mirror below is from Target that I whitewashed.  My blue and white lamp is from my step mother and dad given to me for my birthday which I love.  And, her monogrammed baby cup is from her grandparents.  

The dresser below is from Restoration Hardware which I am very happy with and I love how the gray tones work well with the cream walls. 

E just turned 3 and will be transitioning out of her crib soon.  This was previously Luke's crib.  Her crib is very simple nothing fancy, but I love the bolster and touches of blue.  The bunny plates above her crib are my favorite and I had them custom made from etsy. The picture below was taken at a different time so the lighting is a bit off.  The walls and fabric are much more saturated.  

Below is my husband's rocking chair when he was a little boy and I had a custom toile slip made for it. I found the hooks at an antique store and painted them BM Prescott Green.  That is Peanut sitting in the rocking chair! 

E's grandmother made her tooth fairy pillow hanging on the peg hooks.  

So, that is it!! It was a labor of true love as I guess all children's rooms are!  If you are interested in seeing this room when we bought the house, see below.

BEFORE:

Yes, those are some really purple walls!!  I hope you enjoyed my little girl's room and have a wonderful weekend!!

Little Girl's Bedroom Inspiration

A friend of mine has asked me to help update her daughter's nursery to a little girl's room with the hope that this will be a room she can grow into down the road.  Her one request is that the room must have the color 'purple' in it (her daughter's favorite color). Purple can be one of those tricky colors - it can either look beautiful or just frankly, over the top.  And, if I know my friend, she doesn't mind the color 'purple' as long as it doesn't steal the show! :)

When we were throwing back and forth ideas, I mentioned that the color green and purple work very well together and can look sophisticated.  She recently saw a picture of my daughter's room with the newly painted 'green' bookcase and loved the color.   She wasn't really sold on that color palette until I sent her this photo below...

via

See, how the purple is not the center of attention, but clearly stands out??  You definitely notice the color, but the whole room is not purple.  She loved this and so did I.  

Still, she was a little doubtful on how this could translate to a little girl's room, so I created an inspiration board below.

I would paint the walls BM Tranquility (the beautiful green swatch color in the upper left corner).  To keep the room from feeling romantic and light, I would keep the furnishings light (distressed white/cream colored) which luckily, my friend already has an antique white dresser she plans on using.

I would infuse purple through the bedding - she could either do purple duvet with ivory sheets OR purple sheets with an ivory duvet. This will allow the purple to stand out without overpowering the room.

The window treatments should be a simple relaxed roman shade either in the same color of the walls or in an ivory linen.

I love the idea of adding feminine touches through scalloped trims (light fixture, light shade, basket liner, or bedskirt).  The scallops will mimic the feminine lines of the headboard, relaxed shade, etc.  My girlfriend collects vintage french baskets so we already are having a scalloped basket liner made for one of her baskets.

I think this color palette will be one her daughter can grow into and if down the road, her daughter wishes to add additional colors of pink, blue, gold, florals, etc., it'll all pair nicely with the greenish walls.  

In the early stages of going back and forth, I sent my friend this picture of Christy Ford's daughter's room and I think this is exactly the feminine look she and her daughter would like to have!! 

Don't you love it??  Ribbons, teddy bears with bows, florals, ruffles, polka dots!!  Perfect for a little girl!!

New Scenes around our House

I finally joined instagram!  Come follow me here!!  I can't get over it……it is a whole different level of stimuli and inspiration.  It's pretty insane….I have no other words for it.

Around the home front, I have been making strides in certain areas of our home.  I am very excited for the kids to start school next week and hope I can start making faster progress, but here are some snapshots.

Our Entry - in progress

We are painting our entry this holiday weekend.  The entry is already primed and I am still undecided on the hall color - see swatches on the wall.  I am leaning towards the color swatch on the bottom row third from the left.  When I asked my husband what color he liked, he responded, 'leave it as is (primed), it's cheaper'.  Typical! :)

BTW, the whitewashed mirror is my latest find at World Market.

Our family room - in progress

Earlier this summer, I bought Serena and Lilly's outdoor/indoor 'captiva' pillows in chambray.  It's more of a summer look, and I've enjoyed the change from my original pillows (which are more for the fall).  See below picture.

Do you have a preference?  Excuse the wrinkled linen!! :)

E's room - in progress

My daughter's window treatment is finally up!  Love, love, love it.  It completely makes her room.  I am so close to finishing her room, I can hardly stand it!!  See previous updates here.

I have more home updates on my instagram account so hop over and follow me here!!

Well, I do hope you all have a lovely and safe long weekend!!  See you next week!

Progress: E's room

Remember this post?  My inspiration for my daughter's room?  Well, I am happy to report we are making progress in E's room.  We are in the process of painting her room and will be finished this weekend.  See below.

It still looks pretty non-descript as only one coat is on the walls, but it'll be a huge improvement.  The color is Pointing (Farrow & Ball) and I had it color matched at the Benjamin Moore store.  It's a soft creamy white without the 'yellow' tones.  The color before was purple (see below - this was the color when we moved into our house).

If you remember here, I told you that I was on the fence about what to do about her glider.  I really wanted to have a slipcover made with scallops.  I went back and forth about whether to buy a new chair or have a slipcover made, but when I found a seamstress who would be willing to do the scalloped hem, my decision was easy. And, I am so happy I went with the slipcover.

Before: Glider

After: Glider

Such an improvement, huh?  It's so sweet.  It is a white matelasse fabric that I got on sale and it'll be easy to wash (and bleach) if I need to down the road.  

Also, if you remember, I talked about doing a little slip for E's rocking chair.  This was my husband's baby chair when he was little and I am so happy to use it in her room.  Long ago, I remember I wanted to paint to it and I am so happy I didn't!  

Rocking Chair: Before

Rocking Chair: After

Isn't it sweet?  I love the toile fabric and the bows on the back of the chair.  And, I love how the main setting of the two girls and the boy fishing is centered on the seat of the rocking chair.

I can already see telling stories about this scene with my daughter.  Well, that is it for now.  It's coming together and I can't wait to have her window treatment installed!  It won't be long now.