hi there fall, welcome back

fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  i love the way the air smells, the way the landscape comes alive with warm colors and the cool weather that is such a nice relief from all of the summer heat.  oh, and the breathtaking sunsets!!!  i love to take trips up to the east tennessee mountains around this time of year just to see the bright colors that are starting to be splattered all about them.  last year the colors were some of the prettiest i have ever seen. 

here’s hoping to a long fall with lots of oranges, reds, yellows and browns.

all images – martha stewart

light, medium or dark

when it comes to hard wood floors do you prefer light, medium or dark?  i personally prefer a rich medium wide plank.  i do think that each of them can look beautiful in the right setting.  i found some photos to help you decide which one you like best.

first up…light floors

 

image – amanda nisbit

 

image – amanda nisbit

rustic lighter floor are a close second to medium for me.

image – martha stewart living

image – martha stewart living

image – house beautiful

image – house beautiful

medium anyone?

image – house beautiful

image – robert grayson interiors

image – house beautiful

image – velvet & linen

image – metropolitan home

image – robert grayson interiors

and now for the dark…

image – burnham design

image – mary mcdonald

image – martha stewart living

image – martha stewart living

image – elle decor

image – house beautiful

so, which one will it be???

LiveJournal Tags: hardwood floors,amanda nisbit,martha stewart,house beautiful,robert grayson interiors,velvet & linen,metropolitan home,burnham design,mary mcdonald

crowne plaza worcester renovation

about a year ago i started working on the renovation of the crowne plaza in worcester, ma a full-service luxury hotel which is owned and operated by lodgian, inc.  the scope of the project was to renovate floors 5 through 9 including the priority club lounge and suites on the ninth floor for a budget of $2.9 million.  the renovation took about 4 - 5 months to plan and 3 months to execute.  it was officially completed back in july and i just got the professional photographs of the guest rooms.  i threw in some of my personal photos as well since the professional photographer didn’t get all the shots that i wanted to show you.

here are some before shots of the rooms.  they hadn’t been renovated for quite some time.  the rooms were worn out and dated and extremely traditional.

 

the bathroom was the worst part of the guest rooms.  the fluorescent “box” light was awful.  i don’t know who invented this light but it should have been banned a long time ago.

the color scheme i used in the guest rooms was deep salmon, beige and chocolate with brushed nickel accents.  in the suites i added a hint of blue.  my 2 favorite parts of the redesign were the guest bath and the window treatments.  i opted for custom designed pendant lighting in the bathroom instead of the typical sconces.  i also designed a custom millwork piece for the vanity with cubbies instead of a granite apron.

for the window treatment i opted for using a salmon colored blackout with a striped sheer in front instead of using a typical white or cream sheer and side panels.  these pictures don’t do it the window treatment justice.

double/double guest room

 

another shot of the double/double room

king guest room

sitting area in king and double/double rooms

jr. suite

 

executive king suite – the coffee table and dining table didn’t show up in time for the photos so the tables in the photo are the ones the hotel had to rent to stage the room. 

this is what the 54” dining table that is on order looks like

here is what the coffee table will look like

if you’re ever in the worcester, ma area stop by and check it out.

LiveJournal Tags: crowne plaza,worcester,ma,renovation,guest room,pendant