Graham and Brown, you have done it again!

Today's Agenda:  Figuring out where these lovely wallpapers can go!! 

I love Graham and Brown wallpaper.  Okay, I love a lot of wallpapers but their paper is such good quality, designs beautiful and price point great for the quality.  And their samples are fantastic -- I'm like a kid in a candy store the day they arrive! (my poor husband...)

I'm not sure which one is my favorite but I know that if I had a little girl that pink plaid would be my starting point for her room...

While wallpapering a whole wall or room may either not be what you want to do or not in your budget, there are some other fun options to work wallpaper into a space.

Recently, I worked wallpaper into a space by making a coat rack.  This was the inspiration.

 

I had found some ready made coat racks at Target and Ikea but they were just so boring and not terribly sturdy.  Plus, we really needed as many hooks as possible for coat hanging for this client's awesome parties.

So, I went to work finding a wallpaper that was perfect for the space and hooks that were above all sturdy and great for coats and reasonable. 



I found this wallpaper from Graham and Brown (through Target so if you end up not liking it it's easy to return to the store).

And, these cute (and inexpensive!) hooks from Ikea that went well with the style of the house and coordinated with the hardware that was in the kitchen which is just down the hall from this space.  

Then went to Home Depot and picked up the rest of my supplies -- (1) two pieces of plywood cut to the exact measurements I needed and (2) some brown little screws that would blend in better with the color of the hooks (but you can easily just paint the screws to match with a little sample of paint or a permanent marker). 

I already had wallpaper paste at home so I then laid out all of my supplies on our kitchen island and went to town covering the plywood with the wallpaper and measuring the space between each hook (definitely the most tedious part of the project!)  

Just a little bit later I ended up with this!

I couldn't wait to get them up on the wall and see how they looked! 

The next day, we went to install them.  This is what was there before. 

And, now!  {We've made changes to the living room as well but am saving those for later!}

The hooks worked out really well!  To install the boards, we removed one of the hooks on each end and drilled through there so that there would be no visible signs of how it was hung.  See?  Seamless :)

As you can tell from the after photos, we made some additional changes to really max out this space and to try to keep all "entryway clutter" -- shoes, hats, coats, etc." in one spot.  In DC, it's really important to use every bit of space smartly to eek out a bit more storage!

To max out this space, we went vertical using all of the available wall space and I chose things that used all of the depth of the wall as well.  I used a simple white shelf and some brackets that mimicked the scrolls in the wallpaper for additional storage for things that you don't use every day -- hats and gloves for really, really cold days, sporting equipment, etc.  The baskets are from the Container Store and are made of a plastic woven material that is water resistant and really durable and they are slightly oval so that I was able to fit two on the shelf instead of one large one to be able sort the items a little bit more and make it easy to find things. 

Below the coat racks, I hung one of the most versatile items out there -- the Ribba picture shelf from Ikea.  In the morning, you can set your phone, keys, important piece of mail here while you are putting your coat and shoes on and in the evening, you can empty out your pockets when you are hanging up your coat at the end of the day.  I had to be sure to put something there that had a narrow enough profile so you could still sit on the bench and the coats could hang over and the Ribba shelf is perfect for that. 

We then found this great storage bench from Grandin Road that fit perfectly in this nook.  I was a little hesitant about the storage bench -- most of the ready made options I found online looked a little cheap to be honest and I wasn't sure how they would hold up.  I then found this one at Grandin Road and while he was a little bit more expensive than some of the other options out there he is really sturdy, has a safe opening mechanism and looks classic -- I was psyched about how well the molding on it went with the molding in the house! 

Look at all that storage in there!  

 

Finally, I added a runner that will hide dirt and be easy to keep clean but still look nice enough to finish off the space. 

This is what you see when you first walk in to this home.  I think it really maximizes this space but still looks pulled together and will be easy to keep neat.  

Yikes -- I need to go run a few errands for clients but I'll post a step-by-step how to and some tips that I learned along the way tomorrow!



**PS Did you know that Graham and Brown has a pretty decent sale section on their website?  Check it out here.  This could be dangerous...

Designing My Master Bedroom...Finally!

Today's Agenda:  I'm psyched.  We have decided to...wallpaper in our bedroom! 


This all came to be because our bed broke.  Yep, our bed broke.  Why is that so embarrassing??  Even the woman at Room and Board laughed a little bit.  It's not what you think though.  We bought the Anders bedframe from Room and Board about 5 years ago. 

It's a great, modern look with a low profile.  The problem is apparently the way the slats were designed there is no middle beam for support.  So all of the weight is going into one attachment in each of the four corners of the bed.  Apparently, not enough.  Well, I made the service call and Room and Board offered to just replace the whole bed for us with no questions asked (how nice is that after 5 years???).  And, then I thought I would just ask the question...could I pick out a different bed??  Part of me just didn't want the problem to happen again (although they had already redesigned it to now include a middle beam but the reviews were still so so especially as compared to some of the other beds) and the other part of me just wanted a change.  So, for the difference between what I paid for the bed five years ago and the cost of a new bed ($300!), I now have the jumping off point to my new room!  The Sherwood bedframe. {Note that I already loved Room and Board but now especially love them.  The woman I spoke with was so nice and worked with me on the phone to find a bedframe that was in stock.  We spoke on a Monday and that Friday I had the bed delivered, set up and they were half an hour early for delivery!}

While the bedframe is pretty much the same color/similar style, it is taller.  And sort of threw everything just enough off so that it wasn't working. Isn't that funny how just a few tweaks can make a big difference? 

So, I made a few minor adjustments so that I could sleep peacefully.  A couple new lampshades later,  and switching out the bedding from a gray coverlet to a lighter coverlet I had, we have our current "during" photo.

 

I can live with this while I focus on other things -- like my client projects!  Which are in full force right now -- three clients are in the middle of painting jobs two of which I saw yesterday and am THRILLED with the results so far.  I feel like seeing the paint colors on the wall is a little bit like final exams.  The night before I'm equally nervous and excited! 

While I'm working on client projects, I have a basic plan for the bedroom redesign sketched out so I can easily refer to it when I have a few moments to think about it:
-- A THEME:  I like the theme of natural curiosities.  It's a bit playful but still subtle.  It's both masculine and feminine and it helps tie the patterns together. {I do love pulling patterns together and seeing what works...and what doesn't ;))

-- COLORS: I love my navy curtains and gray dresser so that was the starting point for the color scheme.  I'm going to do layers of navys/greens/creams/whites/grays/browns. 

- AND, Chiang Mai!  This is the chair + extra fabric that I found on Craigslist for just $50!!  I was jumping around like a kid in a candy store that day.  I like it sitting next to the bed as a place to put your glasses, books, etc. when in bed. And I'm going to use the extra fabric to cover the top of a storage ottoman that I found at Marshalls for just $50. 

I felt like the room needed something else and then remembered the awesome Liberty of London faux bois wallpaper that I found for just $10/roll that I have.  And gave it a try on the wall behind the bed.  And was surprisingly happy with it!  

It's a funny green that I think really goes well with the blue and cream and the Chiang Mai ties everything together nicely.   And, fits in well with the theme of the room. 

So, here's a preview of the color scheme.

Now, can't wait to have the wallpaper installed!  

I'm working on getting some new bedding and just the right accent pieces and place for all of our books...am excited to finally have this room fully designed! 

Asparagus

Today's Agenda:  Yum, asparagus.

One of the really fun things about my family is that we all love to cook -- mom, dad, sister.  And, that we each have our own style of cooking and "go to" ingredients.  Our common thread in cooking though is that we love fresh ingredients and aren't slaves to recipes.  It's really our creative outlet -- making sure each meal has the right balance of colors, textures and tastes.  So we can learn a lot from each other, enjoy each other's company and food when visiting and be constantly inspired by each other.

I'm trying to talk them into documenting our adventures in food together -- we already take pictures of our food and send them to each other so I think we are halfway there.  In the meantime, I'm constantly inspired by the colors of food and the fun that you can have with cooking.

{In the dish above:  asparagus, lemon pepper pappardelle from Trader Joes, gimme lean sausage (it's good, i promise -- you just have to really let it brown for awhile), parmesan + olive oil and salt to taste}