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Squealing Little Girls...

...make for great inspiration!  My girls, ahhh....my girls.  The high-pitched squeals they let out are just unbelievable.  I'm sitting in my office, scrolling through blogs and, well, let's be honest...stalking Facebook...and I hear those girly screams coming from the back of the house; I thought to myself, "Girls' Rooms!  There's a fun blog post!"  So that's what I'm writing about today.  I wrote in an earlier post that my style is changing and evolving lately, and included in that is the decor in my little girls' rooms.  They each have their own style and personality and they are POLAR opposite.  Ava Gray is my little tomboy--skinny jeans, vintage rocker shirts and converse, all the way.  Scarlett Jane, on the other hand, is completely different--she insists on wearing a tutu every single day, no matter what the weather or what she's wearing with it.  Skinny jeans and a t-shirt like her sister?  She wants a tutu on top.  Striped leggings and a sweater?  Tutu on top.  You get the point.  Right now their rooms are still, for the  most part, decorated like they were when we renovated and moved in two years ago, and because I have design ADD I think it's time for a change...

The first images are inspiration for Ava Gray's room--things I thought fit her personality.  They have a very relaxed bohemian vibe.  She's such a hippy chick, at heart:

Image via Lonny

Image via Lonny

Image via John Robshaw

Amanda Peet's daughter's room, Image via Google (I've been obsessed with this room forever, thanks to the spread in Domino Magazine....oh how I miss thee, Domino!)

These next few images are inspiration for Scarlett's room, a little more feminine and traditional:

Image via Little Green Notebook

Image via Houzz

Image via House Beautiful

Image via Isabella & Max Rooms

Every once in a while I think, "What if we had a third kid??  What if I had to put the girls in a room together?  How would I DO that?  Ooooh....if I had to do that, what would it look like?"  So I've been pinning a lot of images of twin beds and bunk-rooms lately.  Pinterest rocks, like I said earlier:

Image via Phoebe Howard

Image via Apartment Therapy

Image via Heather Peterson, design by Melissa Rufty

Image via Apartment Therapy

The dreaming never stops....and to top it all off, Ava Gray says she wants a rainbow room--painted every single color of the rainbow, with a blue ceiling, bunk beds and ship lights, like these...

I have no clue where she comes up with this stuff, but do you want to know a secret?  I'm thinking about giving her what she wants.....

Art, Nature, Family and More!

I've been such a slacker this week and last week, totally M.I.A. in the blogging world.  Sorry!  Halloween took over and then we went out of town for some much-needed family time (my side of the family, that is).  I took a long-overdue trip to my hometown of Cartersville, Georgia this past weekend for and event that is very close to my heart--An Evening Under the Stars to benefit The Pettit Preserve.  My amazing and spirited Grandmother was such a true creature of this Earth, it was in her bones...and she was fortunate enough to have some amazing property close to the Bartow County/Paulding County Line.  She has dedicate 60 acres of that land to found The Margaret & Luke Pettit Environmental Preserve, Inc. (a.k.a., The Pettit Preserve).  Every other year, the Pettit Preserve holds a Silent Art Auction Fundraiser.  I was so excited to be able to make it up there this year for the event!  Thanks to Sally Sparks Edwards, and amazing Atlanta artist who also happened to be one of my Grandmother's closest and most cherished friends, we had some absolutely stunning art donated by some of Atlanta's greatest talents.  We also auctioned off a Getaway at the Preserve (to stay in my Grandmother's peaceful cabin on the property) and a Getaway at "Windswept" on St. Simons Island (our family beach house that we just recently renovated--see my Before & After photos for a little glimpse!)  The fundraiser was a fun success and I just can't tell you how wonderful it was to be back in the North Georgia mountains for just a few days.  I needed that breath of fresh air.  Here are a few photos from An Evening Under the Stars to benefit the Pettit Preserve.  Enjoy!

I believe the piece in the middle is still available, Contact Me  if you're interested!  Aren't they all beautiful?!

I really loved this piece, it reminded me of the creek that runs through the Pettit Preserve.  I'm not sure who bought it but they sure are lucky!

This piece is still available, Contact Me if you are interested!  It's gorgeous!

That's me on the left, with my back to you; didn't realize I was in the picture or I would've smiled for the camera! 

The centerpiece was auctioned off as well, those flowers are hand-sewn and made of felt!  They were amazing!

Hand blown glass by a local Cartersvillian, Daniel Hart.  Purchase his amazing work HERE

Everything's better with live music!

Handmade wooden art by Julia Speer (I have to brag...she's family!) Purchase her work HERE

Pettit Preserve VP Hil Harper (left) and my amazing mother, Dee Bishop (right).  Hil and mom both did the most fantastic job with this event.  It could not have been a more beautiful night.  Kuddos to them both for working their tails off for the Pettit Preserve!
Side note:  Hil is coming out with a blog specifically for the guy in your life soon, I can't wait to be able to share it with you!  Please check back!  Oh, and he's also the brother of the incredibly talented Lindsey Coral Harper of LCH Interiors, She is all over the design world these days, I'm obsessed with pretty much EVERYTHING she has done!

One happy bidder!! I hear that piece has found a home in his bathroom now. Nice!

Some lucky bidder won this Getaway at the Preserve...4 days, 3 nights in the  most peaceful place on Earth!  I'm a little biased....

(From left to right) My aunt Marlu Smith, Dianne Pike, Larry and Helen Taylor .  Helen was one of our amazing artists, and anther one of my Grandmother's closest and most cherished friends.  Helen does the most vibrant, inspired work.  The blue fish painting below is one of her pieces:

Some of the amazing art we auctioned off, Contact Me to find out more about the artists!

My beautiful mother, Dee Bishop, on the left with her youngest sister, Marlu Smith.  They did such an amazing job preparing for this event!!!

Hooray for new artwork! 

More happy bidders!  Melanie Collier got the pear painting I really wanted, and Erin Stepp ended up with a gorgeous  Rothko-like painting!  Love them both!  The picture in the background is by Sally Sparks Edwards and my mom bought it for the beach house, I was so excited!!!  I can't wait to see it hanging over the bed in the master bedroom.

A HUGE thanks to everyone who attended this year's Evening Under the Stars event and opened their wallets for some beautiful new artwork!  It is because of these donors that the Pettit Preserve can use the land to host school tours and educate children in North Georgia!  For more information on the Pettit Preserve please click HERE and to "Like" them on Facebook please click HERE.

Because this place is so special to me and was so very special to my late Grandmother, I am including some pictures of her cabin (and of her) below:

The open concept Living Room;  this was the original cabin (it has since been added onto but this front part of the cabin remains untouched)

The view into the kitchen and up to the loft/sleeping area.  That paper rainbow has been on the ceiling in the loft since I was a little girl.  There is enough room for a mattress on the floor up there and that's about it, but that's all you need when you're in a cabin in the woods!  Don't you just LOVE the old ladder???  

The heart of the cabin, the kitchen.  Some of the most wonderful meals have come out of that kitchen.

To me, THIS is what a kitchen in a cabin should look like.  I know I'm 100% biased, but come on....isn't it just perfect?!  Ok, maybe I would change the old 70's brick flooring....but that's all!

One of the most beautiful women I have ever known, and the one who named me Gussie.  If I can be half the woman she was I will feel like a huge success! This was Thanksgiving 2009, a year before she passed away (Damn you, cancer.  Damn you.)

There she is making her famous salad in the most gorgeous wooden bowl...she was adamant, you ONLY make salad in a wooden bowl, and you never clean it with soap.  For those of you wondering, that's Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil, chives, avocado, lemon juice, salt and pepper to get things started....

Can't you just see her spirit?  We were on a swinging bridge that crosses the creek at the Pettit Preserve.  Ava Gray (now 4 yrs.) was 2 at the time, asleep on my shoulder.

Can you tell it was cold that day?  She let me borrow a hat and a vest....super stylish,  huh?  

I didn't mean for this to be a post about my Grandmother, but she was (and still is) such an inspiration to me and I am so grateful to have had her in my life for 26 wonderful years.  She will be sorely, sorely missed every single day; she is one of the main reasons I started my business and I can still hear her pushing me to do more.  Daily, I feel her spirit.  She may not have known it but her style and design sense may have been where I first got the interior design bug.  One day I will share pictures of her beautiful home (this cabin was not her full-time residence).  Her home and her cabin were both filled with things that she loved--things that spoke to her.  She surrounded herself with beauty, nature, pictures of family, and things that made her feel good.  The trip to Cartersville this past weekend and the time I was able to spend out at her cabin in the woods gave me the extra nudge I needed to keep pursuing my dreams....and even though I don't have any pictures of them, the fall colors all over the North Georgia mountains on the drive up were just breathtaking!  Thank you, Mother Nature (and thank you to my Gandmother) for the continued inspiration each and every day!!!

A Work-in-Progress!

Sorry about the grainy pictures, I took them with my ridiculously outdated, "upsettingly" old non-smart phone.  Here are some work-in-progress photos of my clients' master suite redo!

Like I said in an earlier post, we have pushed the finish date to Thanksgiving Week because of more changes we've added, so I will post the final photos then.  Please check back!

xo

Mood Boards

In case anyone is curious as to how E-Design works, here is an example of what I can do for you!  Mood Boards are great tools for clients to be able to visualize what a designer has in mind....mine will come complete with product information, pricing and dimensions:

In this case I created an "If you could have it all...." board for my client and then we re-evaluated, simpified and gave it another shot (budget gets you every time!)  Some of these items are new and some are the clients' own treasures we are working into the room.  She has some amazing stuff to work with!!  This particular client has been a DREAM to work with and I am so excited about the finished product....stay tuned!  See my Design Services or  Contact Me with any questions or requests!

Happy Monday!

I'm gearing up for a super fun week ahead...it's going to be a big one!  I get to temporarily load in my clients' master bedroom this week--I can't wait!  I say 'temporarily' because they have decided to add a few steps, so we're loading in what we have now because they have guests coming in town for the weekend, but we'll take it all out again Thanksgiving week and more changes will be made.  It's actually the ideal situation because I get to load in and re-evaluate, which is a blessing; I get to play with things and make sure we have what we need to finish it out then spend the next few weeks tweaking it to make it perfect.  I'm super excited!  I promise to post "in-progress" pictures soon...

On top of that, I get to get together with a FANTASTIC group of girls Wednesday evening to celebrate a job well done on our 2nd Annual BBQ, Brews & Bluegrass Fundraiser to benefit Backus Children's Hospital.  I am so blessed to be apart of this amazing group, The Next Generation of Savannah.  At this year's BBQ, Brews & Bluegrass event we raised $40,000 for The Children's Hospital and we've decided to get the committee together one last time to celebrate our success (and begin discussions on the next exciting fundraiser coming up in the Spring!)  Really and truly, it's just a great excuse to get a fun group of girls together to eat, drink and get out of the house...I'm pretty excited!

And last but not least, it's Halloween Week!!!!!  Well, maybe I'm a little ahead of myself but a week from today is Halloween and I know my kids are certainly ready for a little costume and candy fun.  Ava Gray gets to dress up on Wednesday for a class field trip to Marsh View Senior Living community here on Isle of Hope (where her great grandmother lives!) to sing for the residents...so cute!  So to get in the mood for the season I've decided to overload you with images of the season's most popular color--orange--used in various ways to enhance a room's decor.  Maybe you could take some of these ideas and incorporate them into your own home!

Let's start with Orange On The Walls:

I know, it's a BOLD step.  Holy high gloss orange walls, batman...but I mean, if you're going to do it, do it right.....right?!

Orange walls are balanced well here with the black furnishings.  It's almost got a Spanish feel to it...I would change the leopard seat cushions out with something a little more modern, though.  Maybe an ikat in neutral colors?

Sparse, simple, white ceilings, lots of light....good balance.  The lines of the bed are gorgeous!  Love the little stool at the foot of the bed, too.  

The choice to use orange curtain panels against the orange walls is a smart one--it minimizes contrast in a very powerfully colored room.  The color is enough, no need for a jarring pattern to compete!

Speaking of pattern....um, hello gorgeous wallpaper!  Seriously, what little girl (or teenager...or single woman in the city....) wouldn't ADORE this bedroom?  No, it's not exactly restful but it sure is fun!

If orange walls aren't your thing, maybe you could do a little Orange Upholstery?:

Not sure why this image is so small...sorry.  Love the rust colored loveseat.  Can't you just feel  how cozy that would be to sit on?

Another small image...what's the deal?!  The orange velvet tufted chaise is dreamy...the perfect spot for reading by the fire!  

One of my all time FAVORITE kids' rooms ever!  I love the simplicity--yet it's still bold, fun, young and playful.  So great!

Ok so it's not orange fabric upholstery, but orange leather counts! 

If adding orange at all to your home is really a stretch for you, then try and Orange Accent here or there:

A beautiful, traditional way to add an accent color for any season---this room has a distinct Fall feeling.  I could cozy up by the fire with some hot cocoa and be well on my way to a nice long nap....ahhhh

The lamp shade, relatively small desk chairs and flowers are all super easy to change out seasonally (or as your taste changes) for little cost and major impact.

Orange side chairs are the perfect hit of color to this serene, neutral room.  They could have gone with any color but orange sure does work well!

THIS is my idea of using orange to really set off a room!  Those low-sitting director's chairs are fantastic upholstered in the perfect shade of orange, set atop a sparkling chrome x-base.  To. Die. For.  Placed in front of a wall of windows painted out in navy??  Are you kidding??  Heaven!  (Side note: are you paying attention to how well orange and blue compliment each other in so many of these images? They are opposite one another on the color wheel...it's planned, people!  Crazy, I know.)

So there you have it!  Easy ways to infuse your home with a little bit of a bold color.  Have a Happy Happy Day today and SMILE!!!  It's almost Halloween!!!

xo



*All images courtesy of Pinterest and Lonny Magazine.  And if anyone wants more info about Next Generation Savannah click here and become a member or contributor!  Every little bit helps!!!  I'll be sure to post more info about our Spring 2012 Fundraiser--a Fashion Show!!!--when all the details start coming together!