Little Things


I'm in the process of preparing to bunk my two boys together soon, so I have been trying to get a plan together for decorating the room. Before we do it, we have to get our oldest to sleep without the overhead lights on. We have been looking for a night light alternative and he spotted this lamp. He loves it because it matches his stuffed animal dog "Pistol" and now Pistol won't get lonely. I like it because its clean and simple... so we now have our starting point.

Speaking of kids rooms, studio bon has some great handprinted fabrics (as well as plenty of grown up fabric too) that are are modern & sweet. I love the simplicity of her line, clean patterns with zesty colors. They could work in so many different settings.












This ric-rac pattern is great, just screams summer. (Pillows available on her site)


One last little thing on a different note... these chandelier sleeves from Kaarskoker, I absolutely love them. They come in several different patterns and colors. What a simple, easy way to make over a fixture and add a pop of color to your space.
























A Colorful Monday




I have always loved Easter eggs. One of the earliest dreams I remember having as a kid was about running down a big grassy hill to a swimming pool that had an enormous brightly colored Easter egg floating in it. (I know it sounds strange, but the imagery was so vivid I remember it clearly to this day.) So to end a gray damp weekend I broke out the PAS Easter Egg kit and let the kids go nuts. After a lot of stained little fingers and clothes we have a bright and punchy bowl of gems. Easter eggs are one of those things that make me happy. Each one a unique, mottled little work of art and when grouped together just look like a fun.
A pile of paint chips brings out the same feeling, be it strips of graduated colors or big over sized swathes. While this gets me excited, for many looking at paint chips produces anxiety and indecision. Just remember... it is only paint. That being said, there are many great color tools out there that make the process fun. I use Benjamin Moore's Personal Color Viewer a lot. Just upload your space, set the boundaries you want to paint and pick colors to preview. I use this a lot with furniture pieces before I paint or reupholster them. C2's giant paint chips are great, and they have an extensive color library online to preview. Another fun site is the BHG color tool. You can work with existing room arrangements and play with color and pattern on walls, furniture and window treatments.

A few things to keep in mind when searching for that perfect color...When looking at small chips the eye is naturally drawn toward a shade brighter/ more saturated. This is one of the biggest mistakes. The yellow that looked so cheerful on a chip becomes a screaming nightmare on the wall. Always lean toward a shaded quieter when dealing with clean, bright colors.

Paint a swatch or two on the wall and look at in in all types of light. See how it works with other elements in the room. Also, when looking at sample always look at them on the plane they will be painted (vertically for walls). -

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. It is the only way you will learn and ITS ONLY PAINT!



Some Easter Egg inspired rooms to brighten your Monday...










Photos from Domino Magazine

Things I'd like to own...

This Jonathan Adler chair...





These wallpapers from Design Your Wall. Would love to use the glass beaded one as a backsplash, behind shelves in a glass doored cabinet or to glam up a bathroom.








Saw this mirror at Ballard Designs , bright and fresh and I love the octagonal design. Also comes in black.


The chevron rug is from West Elm, big fan of the Chevron Stripe!




Loving AQUA (as always) and YELLOW











The latest color combo in my house. Been getting pumped up for spring and have lightened things up with pops of daffodil. One thing I have learned (after countless trips to the paint store)is to keep the majority of the room nuetral and add color with pillows and accessories. You can always splash one wall with color.




I am also loving fuschia. I love it, but the rest of my household (all male) probably won't.

What I have been up to

So this is the after.... Sorry the pictures are out of order, can't figure that out yet.
My inspirations... Love the beachy cottage feel of these houses as well as the pergola. This is our house below during renovations. We added new windows, a pergola to the left side over the deck, a fence and sodded the front yard and took down a big tree. The previous owners had hot topped it... there was enough parking for 8 cars! Still contemplating shutters.



















And some more favs...

Love this chest, bold and makes a statement. I love this... gets me excited for spring.








Loving these chairs...





My attempt at Blogging...


Not sure how this will go... I am super slow at anything involving the tech world so please be patient while I learn. My goal is to create an inspirational design blog offering lots of ideas, tips and how tos. My background involves an art and interior design education as well as working in the design field as a decorative painter, color consultant and interior designer. Currently I have taken a break to stay home and care for my two young sons.

During this time I have had the opportunity to become my own client, not an easy job. For some reason I can choose colors and design schemes for others no problem, but for myself... its agony! I have been working on decorating the house we moved into a little over a year ago, and after gallons of paint & yards of fabric I think it is finally coming together. Anyone that has been here knows that an entirely new color scheme can be going on the next time they visit. I love taking on new challenges and will try to do it myself with anything at least once. The biggest struggle has been finding the time to do all of the things I would like to do, naptime is only 1-2 hours.

SO... to get started I'd like to post some of my current inspiration, mostly coming from the change of seasons... (wait, I might need to figure out how to add pictures)

A few of my favorite bedrooms



Dug through my favorites folder and found these. Love the calm airy feel of these bedrooms... very restful. Although I am a huge fan of graphic and contrast, I like my sleeping space visually quiet.


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