project: room to grow

 I love doing teen rooms, especially girls rooms.  

Items left on the list of things to find: twin beds with storage, a reading lamp, and a rug.
The bedding has been ordered from Eastern Accents and while it looks really Asian in the catalog we are toning it down with walls painted a soft grown up pink, Beloved {by Kwal} and splashes of pink in a few accessories.  Our young clients {sisters} loves dance and cheer. 

+ Note! + Sign up to follow design sparrow to be eligible to win a fun kitchen gadget very soon.

project laundry room: decisions, decisions

We're in the home stretch with some finishing touches in the laundry room I have been working on over the last few months.  The 'let's start with the laundry room' approach soon turned into a much bigger project with the whole main floor being painted, accessorized and organized.  We are just now getting back to finishing what we started.

I picked up the knobs from Anthropologie for the new built in shoe storage drawers below an existing bench.  The four fabrics above are some options for the new cushion to make the bench a bright spot shining out from below beautiful new beadboard flanking the walls above it.

My choice would be the top right for the funky twist, my cute client is leaning towards the top left diamond pattern, care to weigh in while she is off rafting a wild river somewhere?

in the works: country club charm

Imagine driving down a quiet lane with spring green golf course grass stretching out on either side of the street {you can practically hear golfers exhaling joyously right?} This was the blissful approach to a new client's home earlier this week. I felt the familiar tug of the driving range but it was quickly forgotten when my new client showed me her home.

She is midway through a kitchen remodel and needs a few finishing touches to bring it all together. Any designer would like to be involved from the beginning of a project but I'm happy to help with the details. After all, those are what really make a room shine.
The walls are painted a fantastic Sherwin Williams Ryegrass, with dark alder cabinetry and a giant white brick fireplace flanking the south wall with bookshelves and work space for the kids to do homework.

Stretching from the front to back of the home, there is plenty of room for a giant dining table to be custom made by our woodworking geniuses. With room to spare at the west end of the room for a funky red leather sofa and some comfy reading chairs tucked into what used to be the breakfast nook.

The result: Country chic with old charm and eclectic whimsy.

I searched high and low for the right fabric for the window treatments. It couldn't be serious or bland. It needed some black and it definitely needed a lot of color. I love asking a lot of my fabric but I never fall in love with it too soon because I've learned no matter how much I want to invite it over for cupcakes, my client has to love it too. This picture really doesn't do it justice. It is vibrant, cool, unpretentious.
I'll find out on Monday if her heart beats a little faster when she sees this beauty from Stoheim and Romann. It's discontinued with just enough left for us to work magic if it grabs at her heart too.

I like candles in the kitchen. Especially in any kind of glass vase or hurricane. Clean and classic and adds that special touch at meals if you choose that romantic route. {why not?!}

And surprisingly, if having fresh flowers around isn't an option, I'm starting to be swayed by the option to have a preserved arrangement around for color and texture. I'm not saying just any one would do, I'm ultra picky when it comes to that kind of thing. I've never been keen on the fake stuff, but these are quite nice.

A globe in the kitchen nook with the red sofa and reading chairs would be a fun, unexpected item. Just think of the conversations started by thoughts on travel, adventure and the great unknown.

sorting ideas

I knew I was getting ahead of myself when I stopped in quickly to check out some accessory possibilities for the laundry room I mentioned in my last post. Of course I found all the perfect things and had to resist loading my trunk full of treasures and taking them home to wait for their glory day. {self control comes along when I least expect it, best to grab at it when I can}

Wouldn't this be the quirkiest lamp for a laundry room? I love it!


you can't hear me, but I just sighed the biggest sigh ever. The search for the perfect dress has gone on for months. {and months.} High and low for something colorful, not too casual, not too fancy, just pretty. And this was it. Yes, I said was. It arrived, I hung it up lovingly and made plans for the way we would go out together and have wonderful times wherever we went. I won't go into the why of how it got to be that our days were cut short together. It was just not meant to be, but I will hold all future dresses up to this dress. {'why ask why?' as my brilliant big brother would say.}


This one really doesn't fit into my stream of thought at all right now, but I took it a couple weeks ago one lovely night spent on the slopes after a giant snow storm. I was pried away from 'that portfolio of yours' and was so glad for the respite.

spic & span

I spent some time this afternoon with one of my favorite clients talking about ways to make her laundry room {and other areas in her home} more functional.
She is so fun to be around, so of course her laundry room should be too!

If there is any one room I especially love in a house; the laundry room is right up there on the short list for their warmth, spring meadow/mountain rain/lavender freshness and the heaps of organizational opportunities maxing out my need for order.

Some things I think should be included: work surface, storage galore, easily accessible things to make the chore not so chore-ish, and whimsy. Whimsy in unexpected places. {I'm thinking pretty patterned lining in drawers and cupboards and the details usually saved for less industrious spaces.}

I'm curious what works for you in your laundry room in your home? What would you do differently? Do you dream about laundry rooms like I do? I would love to hear your feedback on this.

less lodge, more earthy-modern

 

meet the newest project: A family friendly space with a need for comfortable seating and some warm colors. Our clients got a steal of deal on this place. Twice as big as anything else in their budget, they jumped on it knowing it'd take a lot of work to make it home. Great layout, great light. Great great great! The only minus? Not exactly the style they are after.

The 'lodge' aesthetic is hard to ignore with all the cut logs everywhere but they don't want to do the expected woodsy thing. It would be very expensive to replace them and a mistake to ignore them hoping they'll fade in somehow. Personally, I think they add character, I like anything that makes a home different from the next. We'll take the emphasis off of them a bit with the right colors, accessories and furniture.
It will be fun to play up this couples laid back style. Our meeting to discuss fabric selections was unlike anything I've experienced as a designer. They didn't change one fabric anywhere. {And they've already painted the rooms the colors I selected with out hesitation} I'm feeling spoiled.

The great room will have a more formal seating area at the front of the home using their existing furniture. We are designing the family room at the rear of the home, adjacent to the kitchen. Seating is important with 6 kids and lots of entertaining.

And then there is the artwork. The hardest part for me is picking someones artwork for them. I want them to do it. I don't want to pick something that just has the right colors for the room. I want it to mean something. It really, really should.

Project: Fun Front Rm

Heidi is a super fun, energetic client with a desire to branch out from her traditional style and spice things up with{you guessed it}color and pattern. She has been surprising herself with the things she is drawn to, but is a little hesitant to let loose and have fun w/it all. It really can be daunting to do something new right? I'm her biggest fan because her eye for style is great and her ideas will work, if she dares. I'm there to give her the encouragement to go for it!

With the sofa on order and the new chairs hanging around looking gorgeous, we are now on the hunt for great accessories. The thing I love about this room is the natural light and the neutral color scheme that will be fun to play with as the seasons change. Very classy, but it won't have that hands off vibe most front rooms snub you with as you tip toe by so as not to disturb their grace.

Project Townhome: The Rug is down, next up: COLOR!

an update on Mr. O.'s project:
If you'll remember we decided to find the rug for the kitchen first to narrow our choices for paint/accessory selection. Surprise, surprise when this monochromatic deal of a rug stopped me dead in my tracks and said boldly, 'I'm the ONE!' {no, it isn't weird that rugs talk, don't lie to me and tell me something hasn't practically jumped off the shelf into your arms and whispered sweet nothings to you all the way home.}
We both had in mind something with a bit of red in it, but this one leaves the door wide open on selecting the perfect red for the walls. Benjamin Moore's Caliente might be the very red, selecting colors is next up on our agenda.

side note surprise: His roommate is a graphic designer and I was so impressed with the composition of his photo collection he was nice enough to let me have a picture to remember it by.

TheTownhome Project

My newest after hours design project is going to be a fun break from my female clients.
The client: Mr. O. stockbroker/photographer
The challenge: Bachelor pad with some great existing style ready to take the plunge from 'almost there' to 'Dude... Wow.'


The entrance and staircase are going to set the stage with inviting color and a display of personal photography that will lead up the stairs where a display of artistically placed mirrors will make you wonder what treasures are in store around the next corner.

The color scheme is up in the air at this point. We are going to find the perfect rug to go under his counter height table and from there create a scheme that will be modern, happy and fun.
{2010 color trends are all about emotion: happiness, relaxing, enjoying life. I've usually shied away from trends when it comes to picking paint, but with one based on personal tastes that lend to good emotion? Seems like a trend to follow.}

Accessories will be minimal and selected for color and interest. Going with the modern look he wants, and my belief that less is better, it will be easy to achieve it here since there will be plenty going on with a mix of color/texture and photography from his travels. Nothing better than exploiting talents to create the most unique designs. And it will mean so much more to him to have his own work displayed rather than a lot of 'stuff' hanging around begging for attention. {and dusting}

A roommate has taken care of the furniture for now with lots of black leather. Working with them we'll break it up with well placed splashes of color on the walls, pillows, and artwork.
Because of the limited space, when he gets furniture my advice was to select a sofa with exposed legs to create the illusion of more space and to also go with lighter materials because dark colors have more weight making them visual space suckers.

When I'm working on concepts I let my imagination run free, then par down as I go. I thought this table rocked! It'd be perfect in a guy's place, and it looks easy to make. Directions can be found here. The design comes from a class called 'How to make crappy stuff awesome'. Great class. I want to go.

over a fist full of cookie dough we came up with a great plan for the place, I'll keep you posted.