SURPRISE DECORATING

I cannot fathom that it has been a year since we pulled off this big surprise/reveal.  But, as we all know, time flies and it was a year ago this week that we pulled a fast one on my friend/client's husband.

They had recently moved into their "new to them" but old historic home that had been renovated a few years back. They were waiting until they could buy a few new pieces of furniture before they actually decorated their home.  After shopping for furniture and finding some great pieces that they both loved, we decided that it would be fun to TOTALLY transform the house while her husband was away on a business trip as a surprise to him.  We would completely unpack and decorate the house in just a few days. (We work great under pressure!)  We were literally working until about 10-15 minutes before he arrived back at the house. 

 He was completely in shock when he stepped through the doors that evening.  He loved it all!  I actually received the sweetest thank you note from both of them.  I absolutely love getting to be a part of such wonderful memories.  The fact that it was right before Valentine's Day made it even more special.

Below are some before and after pics.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

 

Another angle of the room! The dining table actually belonged to her husband's father.

BEFORE

AFTER although not completely finished at this point.

This home has such an eclectic look and I feel it represents this family so well.  They had so many unique pieces to work with.  The husband is an artist and his dad was too so we had so many wonderful original pieces of art to work with in their home.  After we finished the project we counted all the art and we had hung/placed 96 pieces!

The sectional that we added to the master bedroom is the perfect place for this family of readers! It is a great spot to cozy up with your favorite book.

Hope you're having a great start to this new month.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Savannah and Ashley's Dorm Room

Well, I haven't blogged in so long and again these pics were just taken on my iPhone.  But, I wanted to hopefully give out some information to those of you decorating dorm rooms this year.

It's hard to believe that last year at this time we were busy busy designing/planning Savannah's dorm room for her freshman year at college.  It was a crazy time trying to figure out measurements, colors,  how things were going to hang or actually work in a room that we had never stepped foot into. But, it was so much fun to see it all come together once we got there and got to work.  It actually turned out better than I had even imagined it would.

I've had so many texts and emails from several people wanting to know how we made/did certain things that I decided a blog post would possibly be a great way to answer everyone's questions.  I honestly wish I had taken better notes and measurements, but at the time I was just trying to figure it all out myself.

Two things I get asked about most often are the bedskirt and the headboard.  I'll start with the bedskirt, which actually is the one that everyone wants to know about.  We made three separate panels. One for the end of the bed and two for the front side of the bed.  We attached ribbon/ties to the top of each panel and that allowed us to tie the panels onto the bedsprings under mattress.  That also allowed us to adjust the length of the bed skirt, (which I sorta figured out by counting the cinder blocks on the wall in a pic I had seen.) This design functioned so well and held up beautifully all year. Having a middle opening makes for easy access to get to storage units under the bed.

We totally guessed on how to make the covers for the chairs, and we "actually kinda" sewed them onto the
chairs so that they would fit.

The headboard I made by buying plywood at Lowe's and having a friend cut the oval design.  I used a staple gun to attach the foam to the headboard.  (I actually used an inexpensive twin foam mattress pad for my padding...which is much less expensive than regular foam). I then used indoor/outdoor fabric to complete the headboard. We attached the headboard to the wall with command strips and zip ties.  You can also just lean it against the wall.  Whichever you prefer will work.

The faux roman shades/window treatment we chose for the room were attached/stapled to a small board.  We then attached the board with zip ties to the blinds.
They added so much warmth to the room.

Our curtains that covered the closet were made out of the same fabric as headboard.  We lined them for a more custom look.  We also added rings for ease of opening. We used a heavy duty spring shower rod to hang them on.

Loved these acrylic barstools that we customized by adding their monograms to the top.  

We attached all art and wall decor to the walls with command strips!  You will need MANY command strips.  We used them for everything!

Hope this helps.  If you have any questions feel free to ask!  Hopefully the pics will help too.

Designing this room was hard because you really don't have much information to go on, but I truly loved how it all came together!

Love these girls!

I made the art above the desk by layering two canvases using command strips.

Ordinary Days Are Wonderful Days

Well, sometimes life does not go as we plan it. So far 2015 has not gone at all as I had planned when I sat in that chair at our cabin on New Year's Day dreaming about a new year. Some hard things have happened that have interrupted my day to day life with such a blow I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. As I have watched my oldest brother lay in the hospital for the past six weeks fighting for his life, I'm reminded how fragile life really is.  How it can change in an instant. Today, we are rejoicing that he is making progress toward being moved out of CCU. He has a long road ahead of him but we are thankful just to hear his voice again.  It really has me thinking how ordinary days are such a blessing. I don't think I will ever complain or take them for granted again.

With that being said, my design projects have gone a little slower than usual.  I want to share with you a home that I worked on right before Christmas.  We met in the fall and picked out some paint colors and discussed some remodeling that was going to take place.  We decided to add some bookshelves to the main living area and change what was an office into a dining room.  I wish I had taken more photos of before.  (I'm really forgetful about not taking before pics because I'm always in such a rush!) I also wish I would take the time to get some "real shots" with my camera instead of my iPhone, but again I'm usually rushing.

 I have a few of what I will call  "sorta" before pictures.  At this point we had finished the new built in shelving and entertainment center and painting was all complete.  So I guess you would say "midway" through I remembered to take pictures!:)

My client really likes an art deco look.  She loves interesting pieces of art old and new and loves mixing antiques with modern pieces. She loves bold color. It was fun to see how it all came together. As with most of my clients we added some new pieces mixed with pieces she wanted to continue to use.

This is a before of the entry.

 

 This is the after.



This is a very small area that you walk in to when you first step inside their door.  We decided to add a small table and piece of art to this tucked away corner.  Wish I could have gotten a better shot of this, but the area is small so it was difficult to capture.



 This is the "sorta before" shot of the living area.

 

 Here is the room after the install.



Here is another angle of the room! The bookcases that we added show off the homeowners eclectic pieces of art and pottery that she has collected over the years.  She has some great items.



A little closer shot of the bookcases after we styled them.







































 This is another "sorta before pic" of the area that we changed from office to dining room.







































 Here is the after.
The homeowner wanted to keep the original antique armoire, bookshelves and the stained wainscoating . This space is long and narrow  but works great as a dining room and for entertaining. We added the homeowners collection of glassware to the bookshelves along with her art pieces.

I love helping people make their home something they love and enjoy sharing with others.  Even though there are still some finishing touches to go it is really starting to come together.  My client has now moved on to other parts of her home. The master bath is getting updated as well as another room or two. You know how one thing calls for another!:)

Hope you are enjoying this snowy day!  It makes me want to rearrange some things!:)

Lisa

 

Sun Porch Turned Man Cave

Hey everyone,

I hope your 2015 has started off a little better than mine.  We have had the flu around here for about a week.  It is the worst.  Paul came home with fever and chills and a few days later I was down for the count!  So while I am cooped up nursing this fever and cold, I thought I would share with you an amazing room transformation that I did last fall.

This client is one that I have worked with on many occasions.  I really love working with her.  She has become my good friend through all of her projects. She contacted me earlier in the summer and said her husband had bought a freestanding bar. He had an idea that they could turn their sun porch into a "man cave" and he felt that this would be the perfect place for his bar.  If you can imagine the late 1980's early 90's decor....hunter green paint on the walls and green and white checkerboard tile on the floor, with floral chintz fabric on wicker chairs, then you would have a pretty good idea of what this room looked like before. There was also a shelf that extended around the entire room that housed several small decorative items.  This is probably the only room in the house that had not been renovated.  I only have a couple of before pictures and these were during the renovation stage but I think you can get a picture in your mind of what it might have looked like.

We first met with the contractor to make sure that all of our ideas would actually be doable and for the most part they were.  We began by ripping up all the old tile and removing the shelf that went around the room.  The back side of their den fireplace is in this room.  It was brick that had been painted white that extended up to the ceiling. We knew we wanted to cover the white brick with faux stacked rock and built a hearth for extra seating.   And what "man cave" would be complete without a big screen TV?  Right? We mounted a big screen TV on the backside of the fireplace.  We came up with a great idea on how to store all the components.  On the front of the fireplace, below the hearth that we had built, we made a removable door that has the rock attached to it.  We put the components inside the hearth and then set the door in place.  It worked great and you cannot tell that there is a door there at all. It blends in with the rest of the rock on the fireplace!  Love it when an idea that's in your mind actually works.:)

 

We added wide stained plank boards to the ceiling.  (The ceiling in this room is a cathedral, which makes the room feel larger than it actually is.)  This added so much depth and richness to the room. We added porcelain tile that actually looks like a rustic weathered floor. Absolutely LOVE it!  Painted all the walls and trim, added new gooseneck lighting on either side of the fireplace, installed the coolest ceiling fan and then we began the really fun part furniture and accessories!!

We found great leather recliners that are perfect for relaxing and watching a game!  The curved sofa gives extra seating and the pillows on the hearth add comfort for anyone that chooses to sit for a moment. We splurged on the coffee table!  It is an Uttermost piece and I love it. The wood is so unique and so beautiful. The cowhide rug just might be my favorite thing in the room or maybe the pottery barn floor lamp, or maybe the coffee table!:)  I really love it all!! We bookended the sofa with floor lamps that make it an ideal spot to curl up and read a book.  All the glass windows make you feel like you are sitting in the middle of nature.  This room has become one of their favorites to lounge in. So much so that they are now adding a screened porch off this room.  (I will post pictures when that is complete.) (We also have custom iron double doors on order that will be installed a little later.)



 

This is not a large space at all, but with all the windows, high ceilings and the right placement of furniture it lives large and comfortable.  I love how this room looks manly but yet classy. It flows with the rest of their home so well. Truly one of my favorite redesigns.

One other thing I might note in this room is the beautiful custom art that my client had commissioned for her husband as a gift.  He is an avid bike rider and this art is absolutely amazing!  It was the perfect touch for his "man cave"!

Hope you enjoy! What is your favorite thing in the room?

Glancing back to 2014

Happy New Year!

I love the first few days of a new year.  So refreshing to get to start over.  It doesn't matter what happened the year before, you have a new chapter in your life book that you get to start writing when the calendar turns to January 1.  I think it is always good to reflect just a moment on the year that you are closing the book on before you start writing the new one.  You will learn something from the year that you leave behind that hopefully helps you move into the next one with a better perspective on how God wants to use you in the upcoming year.

2014 was a year of extreme busyness in both my personal life and business life.  (It's a crazy life but I kinda love it!) I thought it would be fun to recap some of the design highlights of the year.

I feel blessed to work with each and everyone of you.  Getting to work in your homes is an honor for me.  I strive to make each home I work in a place that the homeowners look forward to coming home to each day and a place where wonderful memories will be made.  So thank you to all my friends and clients for making 2014 a wonderful, memorable year!

c