DESIGN INSPIRATION

I was window shopping the other day and came across this little boutique with this adorable little orange, white & black outfit with gold jewelry accents.  And I turned to my husband and said: "this would make an awesome room!".  When I got home I ran to my computer to try and recreate the outfit, then took that and designed this little SoHo living room.

Heres the outfit:

And the room:

Its just goes to show you how much fashion and interior design go hand in hand.  I always tell my clients- go look in your closet and there is usually a color palette that you gravitate to.  It could be lots of bold graphic prints, subtle neutrals, bright & cheerful florals, or warm & ruddy colors-your clothing choices can really help you when it comes to decorating your home.  So if your stuck on trying to decide what would look good in your home-head to your closet for some clues. Because if you like "wearing" it, your probably going to like "living" in it.


****ALSO Dont forget if you havent entered my e-design giveaway go enter HERE******

Its a Giveaway

*****contest is closed******* 

winner will be announced Friday June 3rd

Im giving away 1 e-design board!!!!  The winner will receive one free on-line design consultation with inspiration board.  The e-design will include a detailed shopping list.  


To enter subscribe to my blog (if you arent already a subscriber) and leave me a comment telling me what room in your home you'd like to have made-over.  For extra entries subscribe to my blog, like my FB page & Tweet about this entry.  Good luck!!   Winner will be chosen next Friday June 3rd.

**also** if you dont have a blog-please leave me your email addy in the comments so I can contact you if you win.

*****contest is closed******* 

winner will be announced Friday June 3rd

Layla Grace Love

Have you heard of Layla Grace?  I use to think of it as only childrens bedding & decor.  But they have so much more than that.  Their Home Decor section is AMAZING!!! furniture, fabrics, lighting, accessories.  Here is just a sample of some of their goodies:

Love this weather finish on this little dresser.  It would be great in an entry with a large gilded gold mirror hung above it.

And this French chair that is so popular- you can get them at Restoration Hardware, Ballards, and...... I saw one very similar at HomeGoods the other day-oh yes I did!!!

This piece is just beautiful-hmmm maybe a Goodwill find with a great white-wash finish?

Ok and just when you thought we were done with burlap--these drawers have painted burlap on them!!  I smell a DIY project coming on. 

Ok so this chair-love it but it is quite pricey... $394 .  

But tell me these Preston Chairs from Overstock.com dont look VERY similar!  and the price?  $394.99 for the PAIR!!!

(your all gonna go order these now arent you?)

This floor lamp!!! need I say more?

OK now this chandelier from Artieriors is of course beautiful-price tag-hmmm not so much. But tell me you wouldnt do a serious bust-a-move happy dance if you found one for $40!!!?  Cuz thats exactly what Shannon from Anythingology did.  Go here read all about it.

Ok and last but not least this little summer-y mirror.  Girls go grab your jute and get to wrapping!!  This would be sooo easy to replicate on a budget.

So head on over to Layla Grace for more inspiration.  Then get your DIY on make something similar yourself.

Mixing it Up

So after refinishing my dining room table I am at a stand-still as to what to do about my chairs.  Staining them to match the table is the "old me".  The "new me"-go big, go bold or go home!!  
The current design trend is to move away from the matchey-matchey and be different.  I mean were talking mixing dark woods with painted pieces.... *gasp*..... 10 years ago that was just only something high-end designers dared to do. Now its becoming more the "norm". I've seen it in kitchens, dining rooms and even wedding events. Here are some great examples of "mixing-it-up":

 Source

 Via: DecorPad

Via: DecorPad

Via: DecorPad 

Source:Gerald Pomeroy Design

Horchow

Houzz

Source: Here  

Southern Accents

 Via: Stark Carpets

Veranda

Veranda

Veranda

I am currently loving the ghost chairs with the wooden table.  But the practical side of me ask - is that really comfortable?  Kinda like those sexy stiletto shoes you just HAVE to have- they look good but they feel like hell? (come on girls-we all own a pair, or two or five) a-hem.  So Im leaning more towards some yummy wing-back chairs, and some Louis-style side chairs.


Here's my inspiration:

Horchow

And Im loving those chandeliers.  You could totally get that high end look with the Maskros chandelier from Ikea.

Speaking of which have you seen Amy Butler's apartment where she took that chandelier and spray painted it gold?  See even Amy Butler uses spray paint!

See her whole house tour on Apartment Therapy: Here

Its amazing! and if you don't know who Amy Butler is- go ask one of your crafty friends-they LOVE her.

**Edited to add**- Guess what Pearl Street Interiors is going to be doing a tutorial on this exact chandelier soon! stay tuned!

Photo Shoot

I had the honor a few weeks ago to help design a "mock" wedding reception photo shoot with Christa Elyse Photography.  It was so much fun working outdoors and with lots of fresh flowers- a fun departure from decorating interiors.  We choose a simple location that had some great old oak trees and a wonderful barn-like structure that was actually an entrance to a neighborhood.  It was so funny to have all the cars stopping and asking us if we were having a wedding.  One little man stopped and asked us if we were selling flowers for Mothers Day!  
And you should have seen me standing on top of the table trying to hoist the chandelier over the tree limb!! We forgot rope to hang it from so we had to think on the fly and just used the electrical wiring and some zip ties to secure it.

To see more pictures from the shoot visit Wedding Chicks

It makes me almost want to have another wedding! (with the same groom of course!! LOL)

Monday Eye Candy

It's Monday- the weekend is over-Mother's Day here and gone- back to laundry, dishes and changing diapers.  So I thought I'd share a little eye-candy from my Inspiration file to get us all going:

Via: Aiden Gray

Via: Traditional Home

Via: Brooke Ginnetti Velvet & Linen

Via: Better Homes & Garden

Via: Muse Interiors

Via: Ashley Goforth Design

My First!

Well my first design project is *almost* done. My client Christa Elyce Photography
was sooo much fun to work with. We have such similar taste so I felt quite at ease working with her. To read more about it & see before & afters go HERE. We still have a few things to finish off the project but we are both so excited about how it turned out!!

Modern White Kitchen Design for 2010

You might remember a mannish kitchen design done as a collaboration between Poggenpohl and Porsche Design. The kitchen manufacturer, Poggenpohl, has presented an another awesome kitchen design that is in collaboration with German architect Hadi Teherani. The kitchen has a very flexible, modern, minimalist and open design that consists of white cabinets and wooden walls. Thanks to these walls and complex shapes used in the design the boundary between cooking, eating and living could easily be blurred. The idea of the new kitchen goes beyond furnishing the room by giving the possibility to create a complex sculptural area.

Luxury Living Room Furniture Design

Living room is one of the main rooms of the house because it is that room where generally there are sittings of family members, relatives, friends and many others. So arrangement of furniture coordinating with the room and other articles or items is the basic thing that one should keep in mind. Also, living room should be able to distinguish from other rooms that could be easily made out. Some of the factors that everyone should bear in mind are as follows:

• The foremost thing that one should do is measuring of the room. To check whether the room is big or small. There are many people living in small patio and rest of others living in luxurious flat or big rooms. You should know the type and size of furniture in accordance of the room.

• Before you start decorating your living room furniture it would be more advisable to work under some interior decorator guideline or some experts. The simple way out would be to search it online or by way of magazines which can be the great helping hand for your living room furniture.

• Plan out properly by making a list of things that all you need. Experimenting with new ideas or innovative way will give you good result.

• Now the next step would be shopping for furniture, wall hangings or if any item is missing. Shop from discounted stores or where is sale available. Sometimes, you can even get all these items from a garage sale, where the used or second hand pieces are kept.