Sunday, January 31, 2010

new blog design and a few of my faves

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it took me all day but i’ve finally gotten my blog to look like i want it to.  html code is not the easiest thing to learn, and i by no means learned all there is to know.  i did learn enough to give my blog a complete design overhaul though.  i also updated my website thanks to some tips from my friend lindsay.  i wish i could have edited my actual company website to look more like my blog but i’m limited to the webs.com templates.  at least the colors and backgrounds are similar.  i feel like the new blog and website definitely reflect my personal style a lot more than the old designs. 

i have a really large handful of blogs that i read every day.  i’m so drawn to the blogs with a great designs.  here are just a few of my favorites.  if any of these are new to you please go check them out.  not only do these blogs have a funky and fun design but they are also great reads.

Little Green Notebook

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High-Heeled Foot in the Door

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urban grace

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coco+kelley

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Making it Lovely

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Holly Mathis Interiors

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design*sponge

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The Lettered Cottage

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Design Esquire

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Friday, January 29, 2010

Graffitti Chic




We have the Design & Decoration trade fair coming up in Sydney this week and it's got me to thinking about what we'll be loving next.
I found this interesting story on Jimmie Karlson from interior design duo Jimme Martin in Living Etc. They rework classic and often ornate furniture and give it a very British, punk edge.
I think its a bit much for a whole house but fabulous in small doses.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

loving…

1.  this very cool wall that was featured on design*sponge.  i can’t imagine the time it took to create this.  see the whole story here.

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2.  beautiful tile.  i saw it here on this blog.

cary ed tx ct for web monty medium rb ct

coco ct nm marlene ce tx for web

3.  this very cool tutorial on how to make your own industrial chandelier.  i saw it on d*s.

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4.  lisa fontanarosa pillows.  pillows don’t get much prettier than this.

artichoke-jade-grn-red-apl chinoiserie-red-hazel

OMBRE%20TISCHCA%20pumpkin%20orange tulipa-grey-happy-yllw

5.  this darling alphabet wall.  saw it here.

Nautical Boys Room LismanStudios7-17thumb121

i’ve been out of town the last few weekends so i’m looking forward to a weekend in town with my hubby.  hope you all have a fab weekend.

Eclectic Style




It seems eclectic style is everywhere but I hope it doesn't get so trendy that we'll all be 'over it' in six months. I just love this quirky pink kitchen with ridiculously glamorous dining area in the recent issue of Living Etc.
Yes, it's busy, but what atmosphere and personality! I could just imagine sitting there with a cup of tea and having a good old chat.
What I love about eclectic style is that its not too self conscious. You can feel the spirit of the owner - not just the vibe of the store the furniture came from or the too careful placement of objects and matchy-matchy signature of a hired decorator.
Can't say too much, but there's an interesting feature in the next issue which goes into it some more....

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

fit for a princess

i saw this pet “tent” in the new march issue of traditional home.  how cute is it!  this tent is surely fit for a princess with four teeny tiny paws.  it’s from boutique tents.

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speaking of princesses here’s a picture of my four-pawed princess.  she also posed for the traditional home photo but they said she was too pretty to make the magazine.  they were looking for a more “dog-next-door” look.  sweetie tent ok, ok, so i got a little carried away with photoshop.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

70’s rancher turned vintage cottage

for the last few weeks i have been working on a design plan for a new client and have also been working on a few other small jobs.  in the meantime i’ve had little extra time to write some fun blog posts or respond to emails/comments.  i tried my best but still can’t get to some of them.  so, if you’ve sent me an email i’ll try to get back to you soon.  it’s becoming harder and harder to write a blog and have a design company.  don’t worry though, i love blogging way too much to ever give it up!

my new client is a man from huntsville who is wanting to renovate basically half of his 70’s ranch-style home.  he started off trying to do everything himself then realized that he needed help designing it.  he’s already demo’d most of the area.  for the last three weeks i’ve been putting the plan together for the finishes in his main living areas: the family room, living room, dining room, kitchen, bath, laundry, fitness center and office.  it was a lot of rooms so planning it took a lot of time. 

i met with my client to go over everything yesterday evening, and thought i would share the design boards with you since he has seen everything now.  he really loved all the finishes and i was excited about that because i really loved them too.  now he’s trying to figure out which floor plan to go with (he can either have a 1/2 bath and a fitness center or a 3/4 bath and no fitness center) as well as deciding if he’s ready to put that much money into his home.   

the first phase of the plan(the one i’ve been working on for the last few weeks) is mainly finishes and lighting.  once the first phase is underway then i’ll be selecting furniture, window treatments and accessories.  the new style of the home will be a vintage cottage look and the furniture i will select will have a masculine flair.

Paint-Colors

**the 3 grays in the middle showed up much more green on the scans than they really are.

Kitchen

Guest-Bath

Addional-Elements

Monday, January 25, 2010

exciting find

this weekend i was in murfreesboro, tennessee working on a nursery for my friends jenny and brock.  you can see the work i previously did a few years ago on their home here.  we got a lot accomplished but it’s not put together enough to take photos yet.  i’ll be putting the finishing touches on harper’s nursery when i go back up there in about a month. 

before i left town last week i picked up some cabinet knobs from anthropologie for the antique buffet that we are using as harper’s changing table.  i also wanted to purchase some of the regular door knobs that they had, but they were really pricey.  i knew that brock (jenny’s husband & soon-to-be harper’s father) would never give in to that idea.  i’m having a hard enough time convincing him that we need to exchange the ceiling fan for a chandelier.  i keep telling him that sweet little baby girls really need chandeliers in their rooms.  i think he’ll give in before harper gets here.  at least i hope he will.

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anyway, back to the story.  while we were out shopping for the nursery i came across a great find.  we were at hobby lobby looking for some wide ribbon for the crib bedding, and i somehow ended up on a decorative hardware aisle.  i’m not a regular at hobby lobby so this hardware aisle surprised me.  i’m not sure how long they’ve been carrying hardware but i didn’t see it the last time i was in there.  i was even more surprised when i started looking more closely and found out that most every piece was extremely similar to anthropologie’s hardware with the exception of the price tag.  anthropologie’s cabinet knobs range from $8 - $15.  the hobby lobby ones were $4 - $6 and they were on sale for 1/2 off.  i had my handy-dandy camera with me so i snapped some pics.

hobby lobby’s version

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rosehobby lobby’s version

DSC05659 anthro’s version bluehobby lobby’s version

anthro’s version

red hobby lobby’s version

DSC05656 anthro’s version

glassthere were others that resembled anthropologie but didn’t look identical to any particular one.

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they also had door knobs that were about 1/2 the price of the ones at antrhopologie plus another 1/2 off of that with the sale price.  harper is getting her decorative door knob after all and at a fraction of the cost of the real ones.  i’m using the cream and red painted one below for her closet doors.

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i was so excited about my hobby lobby find.  it made my weekend!  isn’t it funny how little things can make you so excited sometimes.