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Sorry about the grainy pictures, I took them with my ridiculously outdated, "upsettingly" old non-smart phone.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!    

My Slight Pinterest Obsession...

Ok, I guess it's not that bad, but Pinterest may be my new favorite website.  I waste spend hours going through it but I find fantastic ideas for projects and for my own home.  It's the perfect website for categorizing anything and everything you find on the internet that you want to remember but aren't sure how you will.  It is genius!  So I've posted some new pins this morning (instead of getting ready for the day, cleaning the house, getting my kids dressed....that stuff isn't nearly as fun!)

For added fun, I discovered an amazing website dedicated to all things beautiful--hence the name The Beautiful Soup--and all of my new pins this morning are courtesy of this fantastic website.  Warning:  I used restraint, I could have pinned EVERYTHING!  Enjoy!!

xo

New to the blog thing...

So I just "linked to a post" below and didn't realize I could explain what I was doing and why I posted it, but just so everyone knows, my amazing 'cousin in-law' (yes, Hannah...it's real!  If not we're coining the phrase RIGHT NOW!) is the absolute best and she linked to my blog on hers, so I'm posting it and returning the favor.  She's the best  :)  And just to keep you on the edge of your seats a bit, Hannah and myself are collaborating with another wonderful friend, Lana Salter, and starting our own joint blog soon.  It will be filled with design inspiration, amazing landscaping ideas and DIY tutorials galore....stay tuned!

This Happy Life: hello cowgirl....

This Happy Life: hello cowgirl....

Changing It Up a Bit...

Lately I've noticed my style has been changing.  Evolving, I suppose.  It's funny how this happens so slowly, over time, and all of a sudden one day you wake up and realize you're a completely different person--stylistically speaking--than you were five or ten years ago.  Does that happen to you??  I'm assuming I'm not the only one, but recently I have realized that my style is starting to make drastic leaps towards a more edgy decor--one that I'm not exactly accustomed to.  I have always been drawn to neutral spaces, antique Persian rugs, classic pieces with a bit of history and character....something like this:

Image via For the Love of a House

Of course, while I still think this aptly named "Reading Room" designed by Joan at For the Love of a House is absolutely to DIE for and I would feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have it in my home, these days I am leaning more towards something like this:

Design by Molly Leutkemeyer for M. Design

Or maybe this.....

India Hicks' Bahamian Living Room

And even this....

Design by Emily Henderson

I am completely 100% head-over-heels totally in love with and obsessed with all things Emily Henderson, by the way.  She's my favorite and praise the Good Lord for the day America voted her the new Design Star and gave her a show on HGTV.  Secrets From a Stylist is the BEST show on television (my husband disagrees, but what does he know?)--except that it's in a tie with Home By Novogratz and Dear Genevieve, but that's another post altogether.  Sorry for the tangent.  While we're on the subject, though, I have decided that design TV is the reason my style is changing so drastically and I am now jonesin' for a mid-century modern hutch for my dining room or a cow hide (faux, of course) rug for my breakfast nook...or bedroom....or office....I'm not picky.  I have decided to change things up a bit (hence the post title) and I am starting in the living room.  Here is a current picture of my living room (minus the brown velvet pillow and the bird knit throw):

(Side note:  notice there's nothing styled on the coffee table?  I have two kids...it's their everything table.  Breakfast, stickers, coloring, workbooks, train set, play-doh, etc.  No fancy design books or tchotchkes can live there...yet.  Sigh.)  

So the changes I plan on making are few and simple.  The mis-matched lamps on either side of the sofa are going to be switched out with more modern swing-arm wall sconces that have yet-to-be-determined.  The table skirt will come off the round table on the left and I think I am going to go bold and spray it a high gloss navy or teal...something great.  I would love to recover the matching pink bergere chairs (barely pictured) but they were free hand-me-downs (thanks, Mom!) and not mine to recover, so I'll be searching for a great Craigslist find or two to replace them (apologies in advance to my poor husband who deals with my furniture obsession on a daily basis) and the giant fabulous rust colored velvet euro shams from Target (steal on clearance for $15 each!) may be switched out for something with stripes, an over-used chevron pattern (overused or not, it's still great) or something of the like.  

Other plans to modernize the home come in the form of wallpaper in the foyer (don't tell my husband), painting the inside of our double front doors a bold color in high gloss and possibly changing out a few light fixtures here and there.....over time.  Slowly but surely, I'm going out with the old and in with the new and promise to keep you all updated with pictures when changes are made!  

Happy Hump Day, Everyone!  xo

Happy Laundry Day!

Is that an oxymoron?  It's Monday...and for us, that means Laundry Day.  My mom says if I didn't let it pile up I wouldn't have to have a Laundry Day, but as much as I've tried to stay on top of it, life just tends to get in the way!  I mean, come on...I have two little girls (high-maintenance girls, I might add) and we live in sunny Savannah...who wants to stay inside and do laundry?!  Not me!  So to get motivated on this beautiful day I've found a few pictures of dreamy laundry spaces.  This is my excuse:  if I had a better space to do the laundry I might actually want to be in there doing it.  Anybody buy that??  Ha!  Enjoy  :)

Image via Design*Sponge

Image via Apartment Therapy

Image via http://sea-life-style.blogspot.com/

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Now time for me to head to my not-so-inspiring space (not yet, anyway!) and hop to it.  Fun, fun!

xo

Lowcountry Style...

Happy Saturday!  I hope you've got something fun planned for the weekend...being the mom of two little girls we always have something going on and this weekend is no exception.  We've got a princess birthday party to go to this morning AND it just so happens to be the 275th Anniversary of the beautiful Isle of Hope where we live!  This morning there is a parade on Bluff Drive (the iconic spot on Isle of Hope), a walking tour with information on the history of the amazing houses, an art show at the Isle of Hope Marina, tons of activities for the kiddos and so much more!  I can't wait to get this day started...and to make you just a teensy bit jealous, here are some of my favorite images of Isle of Hope.....

One of my absolute favorite houses on Bluff Drive....ahh.....one day.....

These are the cottages on Bluff Drive.  They are directly across from the Isle of Hope Marina, so this is their view...

...I know, right??  Amazing.  Marsh grass and yachts...I'll take it!

Can you imagine waking up to this every morning?!  Heaven!

Classic Lowcountry Style at it's best:  someone from Atlanta has just purchased it and done the most AMAZING renovation, pick up the newest addition of Savannah Magazine to see a picture or two!  Sorry, I couldn't find any online images to share with you, but I will tell you that in the back of the house they have added on a little addition and I drove by a few nights ago and of course I peaked (how could you not?!) and there were a few women inside dancing!  Not that kind of dancing, get your mind out of the gutter.  I swear it was a scene out of a movie...wine in hand, arms in the air, having the time of their lives in their newly renovated, unbelievably beautiful historic house on Bluff Drive...so jealous!!  The reno is still ongoing, I can't wait to see when it's finished!

Of course, this is the real reason we live on Isle of Hope...raising our girls on the water is the best, they absolutely love the water and since we don't have a boy, Matt is determined to turn Ava Gray (our oldest, 4 yrs.) into his fishing buddy....so far she loves it, and it won't be long until Scarlett (2 yrs.) can join in the fun!

Happy Saturday everyone!!!  xo...

p.s. Don't be too terribly jealous...we don't live ON the water (and certainly not on Bluff Drive), but a few blocks away suits us perfectly fine for now....

Hi Everyone!!  I want to thank you all SO very much for taking the time to look at my blog...I really feel like this is the start of something exciting and I am so grateful for all of the support I've gotten from all of you.  This blog is, in essence, my design journal.  I hope it keeps your interest and I truly can't wait to hear what you have to say!

To start things off right I thought I'd post a little cliffhanger....here is a project I am currently working on, a great converted attic my clients are using as their master suite.  It's in a fantastic bungalow here in Ardsley Park.  Keep in mind, these are the BEFORE pictures!.....

 (Don't miss sweet Daisy in that last picture!)  I will post updated pictures when this project is finished, check back soon....we've got a Halloween deadline!  That's right...cheesy pun, totally intended.

xo