Uplifting for my design soul!

So.. as you may know, we were at the beach last week. It is now Wednesday of the following week and we are STILL not home!!! Here's the scoop. We got home on Sunday around 11.. so excited to be in our house, and start some projects!! We were in our house no more than 5 minutes when we discovered that our house was infested with bugs!!!

We are clean people...

I don't know how this happened...I guess not being there, cleaning and they just multiplied. So So disappointing! Anyhow, it's being treated, but we haven't been back and I haven't been able to do ANY projects! I need some uplifting in my design soul, so I found these inspiring images... with lovely colors, bold patterns... and layers and layers of texture.

I hope these make you happy as well!

Images courtesy of Hillary Thomas Designs and Angie Hranowsky

Let me count the ways I love thee.....

I'm really liking numbers incorporated into the home. I know its not a new hot off the press thing... Pottery Barn has been selling number pillows, vintage number signs and paintings for a while now. I've even used it in my home here, but numbers, I think are here to stay. If it's done in a tasteful way... in a way thats not expected and creative, like on the stairs or on pots in a laundry room. I also cannot wait to have an adorable room for my child with cute little number charts like the one below from Design_ski on flickr.

(Images courtesy of Pottery Barn and Songbird)

SCAD, your awesome!

Hello All!!

As an artist I love to find unique items....especially when they are created by other artists. SCAD, I discovered, has a website that sells their students' work, and for a reasonable price (for the most part). I absolutely love the acrylic dinnerware collections! They are cheery and fun and made by aspiring artists. Around $10 a dinner plate and $8 for bowls, these little gems are a steal! You can find them here.

I say mix and match...throw in sweet little glasses filled with flowers and herbs....a few fancy stemwares.....sprinkled with embroidered napkins....tasty treats......insert laughing friends..and you've got a perfect summer party.

Here are a few beautiful summer tablescapes found on flickr; hopefully you can find some inspiration from these designs. Its always good to mix (within reason), patterns, textures, and colors. I love to see whimsical dainty crystal glasses matched with bold summer dinnerware or bowls.

While I was searching through flickr I discovered a few amazing new blogs (well new to me), where these images were found. NYCLQ was founded by Lynda Quintero-Davids, she has a great eye for staging and design. Also I stumbled upon Olive Juice Photography; she has beautiful pictures!

Do ya'll have any good ideas for your summer tables and party's..please do tell.

Inspirational 'Pieces'

I don't know about ya'll but I pretty much live for projects and giving old things new life. So you can imagine my complete joy when I was walking back to our beach house and I spotted this little lady laying by a trash pile. I looked at Will and said "Do you know that it would be such a miracle if that was actually an old rattan beach chair?!" I love finding little treasures like this...free treasures! And better yet, I love having a man with me that will pick up the "trash" and carry it back for me!

One woman that I just find so resourceful and creative is Lee Kleinhelter, the founder of Pieces. She finds unique items and reinvents them in very beautiful ways! She was also just featured in the most recent Lonny magazine.
So here's my newest find.... can't wait to work a little magic!







Here are some items I love from Pieces in Atlanta.




Here are a few fabrics that I'm eyeing for the chair. They're from fabric.com and their all under $9! I am really liking the chevron pattern lately.



This would be SO cute for a baby's room! Maaayyybbbeeee.....later.


This fabric I adore....


Here's my advice.. get out there and explore the neighborhood, yard sales, hospice stores, and the side of the road! I recently stopped by a lady's house that had a rattan settee in her front yard, just to ask, and she gave it to me!! Reinvented furniture is SO in. I once read that if a piece is old and has not been redone, (painted, sanded, stained, etc.) then its most likely a good find.

Any other advice out there? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Pelicans, seagulls, and waves... oh my!

I've decided that Minnie needs to be a beach dog. It's in her blood. She's the happiest when she can chase the breaking waves and watch the pelicans and seagulls.

Minnie ran right into the water, not realizing that the wave would crash over her... pretty funny thing to watch.

(Image courtesy of Apartment Therapy)

So I am officially on vacation! We're at Edisto beach this week with the Merrell family residing at the Sea Biscuit! Hearing the breeze rustle through the dry palmetto palms and the distant crash of the ocean reaching the shore is SO peaceful.

On my way to the coast I have already found some great inspiration...now I just need to learn how to sew! My sister (in-law) told me about a friend, Helen, who had a Moroccan pouf that a friend made for her! I knew I had to see it and share!

She got the pattern here; it's an Amy Butler Gum Drop pillow! It's not exactly a moroccan pouf, but it's just as cute and very comfortable!

The fabric also comes from Amy Butler at fabric.com. You can find great fabric for less than $10 a yard.

My first tiny summer project

So I am four days into my summer break and this is all I have to show for myself. I'm not off to an amazing start. I was hoping to have my kitchen renovation under way by Monday, but since Im depending on my parents to come up and help, we have to work around their schedule. Boo. Now, after working through the calender, it's looking more like the week AFTER the 4th of July weekend. In Nikki Terry Merrell years, that is A LOOONNGGG time to wait. Oh well, here's how I look at it...I will start on the second guest bedroom and closet in the mean time. Ha! Nothing will slow me down.

This week I found a little inspiration, again, from Coastal Living magazine and started my jellyfish series. It's a fun start to a fun summer. If you like them so much that you have to have one or two, or THREE, just let me know, I can whip a few up for you. Same sizes, and their painted on wood, which makes them even more charming. $10 each!

Enjoy!!

Changing it up!

Well, we've made a few changes in our living room. Will had his "glorious" (his words) bookshelves built on the far walls in the room. They look so great. We thought Will had SO many books but, his books filled maybe half so it looks a little bare right now.

We also did a little funiture moving (Will's suggestion) and it really created a new look for the living room. It gives the room a cozy environment. The furniture layout before was just very typical, and I don't like 'typical' it's an ugly word when it comes to designing.

So here's before....


Here's the new look....there WILL be more books over time.

There's a sofa table behind...the sofa. Didn't get a good shot of that, but it's there.

What do ya'll think? Is it working or no? Do I need a rug? (I think I already know the answer to that one)

As you already know, I changed our guest bathroom recently, by adding crisp blue paint, trim on the mirror, and a cherry tree mural on the wall, and now my most recent addition to the bathroom...a little message board on the door. The idea came to me over the weekend, we had a lot of chalk board paint left over from the kitchen and I really wanted to incooporate it somewhere else in the house; somewhere you wouldn't expect it. I know creating chalk board areas in the house aren't exactly shocking and unique ideas these days, but..they're just so fun! Its always nice to have a place to jot down a quick note for that special someone. For example, last night I wrote the note on the door, getting it ready to put on the blog today, and Will walked in and read it. He said "Awwww...is that to me?" So sweet, of course, I said "suuurrreee."

Plus..it goes so well with the bathroom color scheme.

Memorial Day Makeover

Hey, long time no see huh? Last week was a CRAAZZZYYYY week at school, and since we only have three days left, it's starting to settle down just a little bit. I had a long weekend mostly by myself ):, so I was able to finish two projects. I got a new Coastal Living mag last week and I saw something that caught my eye and gave me a good idea for my guest bedroom.
Here it is below, I just painted it this blue that coordinates with the colors in the bedspread and pillows; but the walls needed something else-something more. (Besides curtains..I know.)


Here was my inspiration...a beautiful white pool fence....and here's what I did with it....

I drew out the pattern on thick paper, cut it out, and traced it over my accent wall.

I used the original wall color, but I just added a tiny bit of white, to add a small contrast...and this is what I got.

LOVE the difference it makes in the room.