Perfection

Where has this week gone?  It's flying, I tell ya.  This week I received a photo of my client's new art in her living room!!  I can't wait to share some pictures!!  In the meantime, this room below has my name ALL over it.  Seriously, there isn't an element in this room that I don't love!

I love how fresh (and not dowdy) Colefax and Fowler's bowood (fabric on the sofa) feels in this room!!  Love the touches of pink, ticking club chairs, morrocan tables, candlestick lamps, rattan ottoman, animal print rug, that drum pendant and Quadrille's Persepolis wallpaper!!  I mean it all works!!  So genius.  I found this picture via I Suwannee.  I'm dying to know the designer!

Anyone know??  It reminds me of Hillary Thomas' work??

Summer Project Updates

Do I dare say that we are halfway through summer?  It's going by at break neck speed and I just want to push 'pause'.  Anyone else feel the same way?

I've been doing a little work here and there.  One project is helping one of my closest girlfriends, who lives in Maryland, with her sunroom.

My girlfriend has great taste so she really doesn't need my help, but I introduced her to Serena and Lily and suggested ways to 'freshen' up her classic taste.  We visited her home over the fourth and I should've taken pictures because it is so great!!  

And, I am helping a new client with her family's great room.  Her room is big - so we've broken it out into sections.  This is the inspiration for her TV area (for lack of a better word).  She wanted to showcase her family photos and actually hang the flatscreen on the wall.  

She just ordered the console and I love the Serena and Lily baskets underneath which are great for holding toys, DVDs and/or blankets.  She will probably go with a different rug, but I love the light gray herringbone here!

Get this Patio Look on the SUPER Cheap

I have always LOVED Olivia Brock's patio from the Lacquered Life blog.  I remember seeing it in Southern Living and just loved how comfortable, casual and chic it looked.

In an effort to recreate the above look, I am proud to say I've created this look on the super cheap!!
Here is my inspiration.

Here are the details.  

The hardest part was finding a metal/aluminum clean lined patio set with green cushions that literally wasn't over $1000.  I found this set for $299 from Walmart and it has great reviews.

via

I ordered it and it'll arrive this week so I will update you to let you know about comfort, etc.  The key is not to have things matchey-matchey so I plan on breaking up this set.

I will pair the sofa with two Byholma Ikea chairs (see below) and then I plan on putting the two Walmart lounge chairs in a separate spot to create another small and intimate spot for conversation.

via

For the sofa, I plan on putting the pottery barn sunbrella trellis pillows in putty to break up the green.

And, then I would add Serena and Lilly's pinstriped pillows in navy on each one of the Ikea chairs (and if budget allows one on the sofa too).  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these pillows.

I love World Market's garden stools for $60 and would use this as an accent table.

And, this look isn't complete without an antique galvanized metal watering can to be used for your hydrangea clippings!! ;)

So, there you have it!  I am really excited that I was able to get all these super cheap but chic pieces for our outdoor deck/patio!  Next week we have family visiting us from MI, MD and FLA to celebrate my son's first Holy Communion so this is all perfect timing.  

Once, everything is in place I will come back to share pictures!!  

Inspiration: A House Tour in Georgetown

I hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!  We did and I am a bit overwhelmed at how soon Christmas will be here!  I love the Advent Season and so I am trying not to let all the crazy holiday stuff get to me too much.

Over the Thanksgiving break, I came across this Georgetown home tour on Apartment Therapy.

An aesthetic that is relaxed, comfortable, layered, neutral with touches of blue and green is perfect in my book!  All those elements I want to achieve in my own home.  Hope you enjoyed!

Patio Inspiration

With summer slowly coming to an end (boo), I have my dream set on purchasing a new patio set with the intent of taking advantage of the 'end of summer' sales!  I am eyeing the Galante sofa and lounge chair(s) from Ballard Designs.

Even on sale, I'd have to save a pretty penny or two.  But, oh, how I love a rattan look.

I created a design board using the Galante loveseat and some of my favorite fabrics from Peter Dunham.  I'd order the loveseat cushions in 'spa' and would use Dunham's following fabrics for cushions: Fig-leaf, Udaipur (indigo) and Rajmata (indigo).

His fabrics are so inviting and would really make a patio area so warm and comfortable.  Of course, our current wooden deck would have to go and instead, I would install bluestone pavers.

I'd say this would be the perfect spot for an evening outdoors and a glass of wine (or two)! ;)

Mother's Day and Miscellany

For all you mothers/grandmothers/moms-to-be, I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day.  I did - I received a card from my son with a coupon for "5 free chores"!  I can't complain about that!

On Mother's Day, we tend to think of our own moms and thank them for all that they sacrificed.  For as long as I could remember, my mother was always 'giving' - her love, time, gifts to others, her "shirt off her back", etc.  This year, I made a couple of lemon cakes and gave them to some of my favorite 'moms' here in Louisville.  In many ways, the act of giving reminded me of my mom.  I was very thankful.

In other news, right before we left for vacation, I spruced up our front entry and back deck with some small updates.  Nothing major.  For our front door, I spray painted two terra cotta containers black and planted mini boxwoods and got a new doormat.

I don't love the black pots, but they are fine for now.  In case you're wondering, my inspiration for our front is something like this….

I also planted two containers/planters (that I bought in CT for a steal) and planted them with my favorite flower - geraniums.  My mom always had red geraniums planted in containers during spring time.  I love geraniums and lavender.

I SO want to paint our deck gray, but it isn't high on our priority list of things to do right now.  Our old house (in CT), the side deck was painted gray and I loved it.   See below.

I love the color combination of honey brown with gray and touches of either green or powder blue.  Rene, from Cottage and Vine, just painted her deck gray and it is lovely!

Ok, I know this post is all over the place so I'll stop while I am ahead.  I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!!

A Charming Home

I recently found this home via pinterest which led to a new blog (at least to me) Trisha Troutz.  It is a very charming family home.  The fact that it hasn't been staged or decorated for a shelter magazine appeals to me more.  I adore the antiques and persians throughout mixed with the home's modern day to day finishes.

Charming, no?  And, original.  Love it!  Go check out Trisha's blog, she posts homes that she finds real estate stalking.  

Another Favorite Spot

While I love our patio off of our kitchen (see here), this is another one of my favorite spots in our new house.  This is a small deck off of our dining room.  Just large enough to house our adirondack chairs.  Directly across the patio is a small garden with a fence.  I have definitely found some time, albeit very little, to sit out here with a cup of coffee and magazine in hand!

The previous owners left the planters which I think are the perfect accessory to this quaint little outdoor spot.

Getting there...

It's been nearly two weeks since we've moved into our new home and we're slowly making a dent in all the unpacking.  To say I love this home is an understatement.  What makes it even more special is the neighborhood.  It is always the unknown when buying a new home and you just pray you have nice neighbors.  It's one of those intangibles you can never put a price tag on.  And, we've seem to hit the jackpot.  Our neighbors have been incredible, bringing over cupcakes, bringing flowers, inviting us to a dinner/birthday parties, helping Luke on his first day of kindergarden and just stopping by to say 'Hi' or lend a helping hand.  It sure has made the whole unpleasant experience of moving so much more enjoyable!

One of the reasons we bought this home was for the outdoor spaces and, in particular, the backyard.  We have a small patio right outside our side door leading off of the kitchen.  Tonight we finally had the chance to have dinner outside on our patio.  We got to use the teak patio set we bought four years ago in Portland, ME (and never had a chance to use because we didn't have a patio at our old home).  I finally set it up tonight and it looked great with the wisteria vine lit up in the background!  And, how about that cute little flower box outside the kitchen window?  I can't wait to plant geraniums in the spring!

A Perfect Layout

One of things I am struggling to find while searching for a home is an ideal layout for a family especially with small children.  The town we're looking at in CT has a lot of charm and is known for their 'older' houses.

Unfortunately, with many of these older houses, you sacrifice a lot of today's 'wants'.  Many of these older houses have smaller rooms instead of an open concept, lower ceilings as oppose to higher ceilings, a confusing layout as oppose to an ideal layout for a family with kids.

So, it came as no surprise at all, when I stumbled on this beautifully designed home by Sally Wheat via Cote de Texas, and thought the layout was perfect especially for a family.

The Entry

Okay, besides the absolutely gorgeous decor, let's look at the architectural details for a moment.  You walk in and immediately can see to the back of the house!  The french doors lining the back wall of the house immediately make the house feel spacious bringing lots of natural light.  It is wide with tall ceilings - more than one person can stand in the entryway at a time! 

See how wide and how tall the ceiling is?  My dream.  Immediately off to the left and right of the entry is the formal dining and living rooms.  Perfect layout in my book.  To see more of those rooms, please read Joni's entire post here. 

Another view from the entry leading into the family room.  And, for the record, I am absolutely in love with the brick flooring.  Your eye is immediately drawn to the flooring and it adds so much texture and warmth!

The Family Room

A bright and airy family room lined with french doors leading off to an outdoor space.  Brilliant.  Great for entertaining and bringing the outdoors inside!  Built in bookcases flanking the fireplace.  Again tall ceilings which always makes a space feel a lot larger.  

Directly behind the family room couch is the kitchen!  Yeah!  Perfect if you have small children because you can cook and watch your children play or watch t.v. in the family room.  I like how the staircase is viewable from the family room, kitchen and even the entry hall.  

The Kitchen

And, the piece de resistance (in my book) is the eat in kitchen.  How gorgeous is this kitchen?  Where we are looking, it is impossible to find an eat in kitchen.  It seems to get that, we'll need to go up at least 50 to 100K in price!  Unbelievable!  

And, you can't see it here, but the kitchen has a small hallway that links directly to the dining room which looks like it houses a bar or a butler's pantry.  This home is absolutely stunning and I need to write an entirely different post to capture all the beautiful decor details.  To see more of this home and to learn more about it's stunning design, go to Joni's post here.

So, this is my perfect layout for our future home!  Is this too much to ask for? ;)  

  

A Chic Brooklyn Heights Greek Revival!

  

I stumbled across this incredible Brooklyn Heights Greek Revival via CWB Architects.  This project entailed a complete structural and mechanical gut renovation of this four story, 3200 sq. ft. row house and extension.

The designer?  Jennifer Eisenstadt Design and Decoration, LLC.  Why have I not heard of her before?  Check out this incredibly chic home (I believe this might be her home.)

I am completely speechless....

Keep a look out for her use of modern and vintage light fixtures.  I believe this and the kitchen's fixture might be Lindsey Adelman's bubble light which I posted about here.  I am in love!

Pocket doors, brass fixtures, modern lighting, oh my!

For real? A leopard print runner!! Brilliantly done.

Black and white graphic wallpaper and mirrored furniture - I love it.  Do you notice the ruffle trim on the curtains?  Such a nice feminine detail.  And, the brass doorknobs?  I love the dark walls in the adjourning room.  I just wish I could see more of this bedroom.  

How chic!

The marble veining in the shower, the vanity's lucite legs, hexagonal floor and wall tiles and the brass hardware are all so wonderful!

I am so using balloon shades in our next house.  Remember this post?

So tastefully done.

Do you notice how glossy the trim is?

This is probably her office, no?  What an amazing space to work in!

And, just when you thought you were done with the surprises - she throws this into the mix!  Holy Cow!  She is incredible!  The mix of the chinoiserie wallpaper with the inlaid wooden chevron floor - crazy good!

I love the primary colors and the kilim rug!  

Oh my goodness!!  So amazing!

Okay, how incredible is this home?  I can tell you that I will be studying each and every one of these pictures for a long time.  I haven't felt this inspired in a while. 

Can some magazine publish her space so I can get all the sources, please??

Jennifer Eisenstadt is my new hero!