The Home Office - Must.Get.Done.

Today's Agenda:  Finishing up the Home Office -- for real this time.  I mean it.

The best part about being pretty busy with design work these days is that my own projects at home get put on the back burner.  I say it's the best because I don't feel like I have to have mine complete and I can then find things while I'm out and about that I may want to try to see how they work.  I like to think of our home as a bit of a design lab where I can try out various items, paint colors, arrangements, etc.  I'm sure my husband loves to think of our home as a design lab too :).  But there comes a time when you just have to get it done...

And I honestly think I am close on optimizing our home office {okay, I've completely taken over this home office so the our is a bit lost but I'm trying my hardest to carve out a space for husband + husband's laptop!}. 

I have my computer {love!}.

I have the right desks {one for me, one for husband; or, let's be honest, one for computer and one for embossing stationery}.

I have the right lamps.  {Shades from Urban Outfitters bought on sale.}

I have my amazing couch I bought in Charlottesville in 2002 for $250.  {Used to be in the dining room...}

I have the right set of shelving and organizers. {Photo via Ikea Hacker -- massive time suck!}


For receipts {each drawer labeled and ready to go}...

For samples {from Urban Outfitters -- vintage, but not all rusty}...

For tools, samples, books, etc.

I have my curtains up.  {With Ikea's Velvet curtains in bright red as the outside curtain panels to anchor the space.}

I have my inspiration. 

{Yes, from the pages of Domino.}

 {from here.}

I know my wants + needs for the offices.
- No cords to trip over. 
- Lots of light.
- Large space for embossing stationery.
- Place to set iced coffee which I won't then set precious Domino magazine on top off and curse and I see the pretty images bleed together into a pool of wet magazine paper paste.

I know my weaknesses.
- Piles of "great deals I couldn't live without."  Really??  4 rugs and 5 lampshades???
- Magazines.  Loads.  That I love. 
{Yes, these are also wants and needs...but isn't that always the case???!}

And now I just need to crank up the Sugarland, drill the right holes, put everything in its right place and have fun doing it!  Oh, and take some pictures.  Hopefully tomorrow is a sunny day, perfect to shine on my newly outfitted home office digs.  Stay tuned for pictures!!

Mood Board Monday - Hosted by Pewter and Sage

Today's Agenda:  It's Mood Board Monday over at Pewter + Sage! 

These are fun -- a chance to do a room from scratch!  No budget.  No oddly-placed window.  No existing furniture.  And it's always fun to see how different people do different rooms with the same items!

For today's Mood Board Monday (click here for the last one I did), there were three choices of bed linens.  I chose the brightly colored linens.  It seemed a little bit more difficult to work with simply because it wouldn't be something I would choose for my bedroom but I thought where's the fun in doing only what you would do for your room??!

But who would have such brightly colored linens??  Most likely, not an adult.  Maybe if they lived in a tropical location.  A little too old of a pattern for a teenager and would look too cluttered with all of their stuff.  How about a beach house???

Done.  I'm designing for a guestroom in a beach house (I think a New England beach house!).

Here is the board!

And sources + thoughts below.  To start off with, I hope this beach house has a whitewashed brick wall and white painted floors...and, we go from there...

Bedding - I like how they styled the bedding -- so would keep the shams and sheets as shown in the stock picture.  I then tried to pull my favorite colors out of the linens and into the room.  Especially the cooler ones, if it's a hot summer day.
Chandelier - I have always loved this chandelier.  And, amazingly it seems to have all of the colors that are in the bed linens.  I thought why not really play on all of the colors in the bed linens.
Table lamps - I like to add some sort of graphic element or whimsical element to a room.  These are another layer of interest, are fun and whimsical but still blend in nicely with the room.
Side Tables - Space for lamps, magazines and an empty drawer for guests to put their jewelry, glasses, etc.  I like that these aren't white but still a neutral, metal look.
Rug -  An easy rug with bright colors.  I couldn't use any other pattern but was hoping for something a little more interesting than a white shag carpet.  And for a beach house, I'm not going to invest too much in a rug.  Would likely buy two or three to change out each year.
Accent wall - Accent walls can be controversial.  But in a guest room, and in this kelly green color, who wouldn't like it?? And if you don't, you don't have to see it every day :)  Just fun.
Decoration - Since it's a guest house, I didn't want the art to be too personal.  I love how these look with clear strings hanging from the ceiling and tealights inside.  A little bit boutique hotel, but not too much.  Use battery-operated tealights for no worries lighting them.
Dresser - Easy, affordable piece.  Can store linens and extra guest towels in here.  I'm keeping the top of the dresser clean so guests can place their stuff on top.
Curtains - I can't get enough of the Merete.  All I have to say. They are perfect.
Floor Mirror - Was thinking what else do guests need??  A full length mirror!  Always great especially if there is a shared bath and guest get dressed in the room. 

All I need is to add a pretty vase and some lovely wildflowers and I'm all ready for my guests...

Pretty Pillow, Sweet Sofa

Can sometimes be hard to do a pretty, not stuffy floraly pillow.  I think they did it.

Jayson Home and Garden has some great sofas on sale too. 

All under $2000.

You know, to put the pillow on.

I Love Great Finds

And I've had two of them recently!

ONE! Eatmann's Carpets in Raleigh, NC -- best remnant selection ever!  Check out this Schumacher remnant below for $750 (12' x 8')!  {And note the table/ottoman.  Seriously, in love with this entire piece.  Worth whatever it cost.}

{photo from playing around with fabrics and textures with a client; and from iphone}

TWO! The Outlet Store at Robert Allen.  Discontinued fabrics marked down -- some from $135/sqft to $35/sqft.  And we aren't just talking about 10 out of style fabrics available on this site.  Nope, lots to choose from here.  {I'm loving a lot of their newer, modern fabrics as well!}  AND, great search function + most of the fabrics have a repeat view and a close-up view.  LOVE it.

{Retail $40; Outlet $10}

{Retail $92; Outlet $23}

 {Retail $69; Outlet $18}

{Retail $142; Outlet $35}

 {Retail $186; Outlet $46}

I have to restrain myself and remember that I don't yet have that storage space to store all these great finds.  Soon, though, don't worry.

Lusting After Furniture Sales

Today's Agenda:  Wishing I was making plans to go to this sale at JVB Furniture.

JVB Summer Sale

Trade Preview Friday 25th June

Open to trade and retail clients Saturday 26th June

Sale continues Monday 28th June - Friday 2nd July

Up to 75% off furniture items

50% off accessories, cushions and glassware

Friday's Organizing Item

Today's Agenda:  Toilets + Tubs.  That's all I have to say really.  The options aren't glamorous, but decisions must be made. 

I have been working with a new client on pulling together her and her husband's home in North Carolina.  The centerpiece of the home is this beautiful cherry wood floor.  We are designing around the floor -- which is really fun, actually.  Instead of usually trying to hide the floor, we are layering neutrals and textures into this open floor plan with the floor being that bold statement every room needs.  We are also moving some pieces in their home around to showcase some amazing photographs and art they have. 

One of the pieces we are looking to move is their Waterford crystal.  Waterford crystal has the possibility to take on a staid, dated look.  It's just true. 

But organized differently, I think it can take on a whole new life.  And look classic and modern at the same time.  I mean, why can't you use Waterford crystal for your morning glass of orange juice? 

Crystal organized in a modern but classic piece like this pharmacy cabinet would really make it more functional and modern.  And moving this piece from the formal dining room to the breakfast nook will encourage use of what are very beautiful pieces when organized, moved around a bit and showcased to their full potential. 

Best thing about this type of cabinet is that you can use it elsewhere later on.  In a bathroom for towels, guest bedroom for blankets, even a walk-in closet for all of those pairs of jeans...

Friday's Organizing Item

Today's Agenda:  Appreciating my life!

I love keeping a date book.  It's great for staying organized.  Both to keep track of what I have done and to plot what I need/want to do over the next few days.  But nowadays my date book has migrated to Google Calendar so my husband and I can keep track of what's going on in both of our lives and to reduce our chance of "doublebooking". 

But I still love the look and feel of a date book {I remember a beautiful orange leather one I had in 2006 and deep navy leather one from the early '00s.}  And I especially love looking back at date books from 10 years ago and see what I was up to.  Unfortunately while Google Calendar is great at keeping me organized on a daily basis, it doesn't do a great job of organizing my memories so that with a quick glance I can envision that day as if it were yesterday.

Well, I ran across this book the other day at a local boutique, Serendipity.  {Note:  The store itself is much better than the website and it has some really nicely priced tables, lamps and artwork.}.  Each page is for one day with 5 sections on each page for each year.  Within each section/year there are 6 lines to jot down memories from that day.  It's not an organizer for your to dos or appointments but an organizer of your memories! 

This book is perfect for keeping track of memories and the best part is that it's five years of memories in one, small, Carolina blue book!  The past couple of days have been filled with great memories and I know that I will be happy to remember them next year when I fill in new memories on those dates.

This is what my day is looking like today.

 

How do I put this into words? 

A Nursery {modern + loose jungle theme}

Today's Agenda:  Writing all about this nursery! {Oh yeah, and checking out some tile, bathroom vanities, awesome retro chairs, and a potential new project!!  Good day ahead!}

When my friend Dina announced that she and her husband were expecting my first thought was, man, this kid will have it totally made with such cool parents.  They are an amazing couple!

Dina and I worked together last year to transform her office space from an underutilized office to an office that inspires!  {See below for a before + after; and here for more fun photos, especially of the Graham & Brown wallpaper!}

Now we are working together again on her nursery!  I was ecstatic when she asked me to.

So, our theme was again an even blend of modern, vintage, function, interest, color, calm.  We wanted a gender neutral look to keep it flexible as the baby grew up or for the baby's future brothers or sisters.  To keep it sophisticated but fun we introduced a loose jungle theme to the design {which is easy to do given all kinds of jungle/safari-inspired elements in non-baby/kid stores}. 

And, just like with her office, I kept function at the forefront of the design -- questions like what kind of printer do you have and how do you use it were replaced with when you are done feeding the baby how easily can you transport the baby to crib and then close door before they notice. 

Dina is great because she is so creative and always has a ton of ideas at the ready to start with.  She knew she wanted to incorporate these amazing Jonathan Adler giraffe wall lamps.  And, I'm not sure she was going to be able to live without this pouf!

With those two design elements in mind, I got started brainstorming with various pieces keeping in mind cost and size/scale.

And, here is the design board that we are now working from! 

Follow the numbers on the design board to the item below! 


1 /Ceiling Light

2 /Mobile {no longer available; from Gap.com}

3 /Curtains

4 /Wall Light

5 /Wall Art

6 /Frames

7 /Dresser {this was our inspiration for the dresser -- click here to check out the progress being made on painting the actual dresser!}

8 /Dresser Knobs

9 /Wall Art

10 /Crib 

11 /Bedding/Changing Pad Cover {yellow crisscross}

12 /Rug - Over 

13 /Rug - Under

14 /Side Table

15 /Hamper

16 /Shelves

17 /Bins

18 /Window Seat

19 /Fabric

20 /Pillows

21 /Pouf {last but not least!}

You may be wondering where the chair is -- Dina already had this chair and some fabric so she is having this chair reupholstered with an ivory/cream chenille fabric and larger black buttons to go with our color scheme.  And at very little additional cost!

After going over the design and getting so excited about how it is going to look, the next phases of purchasing, making, tweaking and then setting everything up are in the works! 
 
Here's a sketch of where I envision each item:

Knowing Dina I made sure to leave some room for some of her amazing finds at local antique markets and ebay!  Sure enough -- these are now being worked in -- I love them!

 

Stay tuned for a proper before and after!  In the meantime, follow the progress of putting this nursery together on Dina's blog.