What $300 will do for your bathroom.....

Being an amazing designer that I am, I field several calls a week from friends and family asking for advice on what they should do and how they can do it. OK, so maybe not several but I do get some calls now and then. I enjoy getting the opportunity to expand my design experience when friends call. I enjoy the challenge of different personalities and budgets to work with. So when a friend called and told me that her bathroom needed help, wait......let's see, she put it, my bathroom has no sex appeal, and I'd rather shower with the water hose, I knew I needed to help her. I might have exaggerated that last line just a bit, but when I saw her bathroom, I really did feel sorry for her. She has a beautiful house, upgrades galore, great furniture, baby toys scattered everywhere, ugh and just the right stuff to add to. She has all the right pieces but needed my help to put it all together. BTW, you shouldn't blog and watch Chelsea Lately, Hilarity........OK, so her bathroom literally had nothing. I wasn't allowed to take a picture of her "hair clip holder". She was using her hand towel holder as a hair clip holder. It was a mess. What is it that I have told you about starting any new design plan. Pick your theme!!! I decided a beach theme would be the perfect idea for my friend and her husband. She loved it. Remember this.....

This little gem was created around my beach theme. My client, we'll call her Erin, not because that's her real name, but because I like the name Erin. We found some fabric that we just loved. Some to recover the bench and the rest to make simple curtains. The colors in the fabric were what we used to match our towels. It's very important to make sure that you coordinate colors and accent pieces. It's great to be practical too. You can't add things that serve no purpose in a space that requires functionality. I'm not going to put a chase lounge in a bathroom and tell a client that it's a piece that invites you in to rest. Bologna. This bench was the best size and shape for what I intended it for. When decorating a bathroom, don't think you have to use traditional pieces for soap dispensers, tooth brush holders and also putting your q-tips and cotton balls on display is not a faux pas anymore. Lets take a look at the before pics....

As you can see, great bones, just needed some accessorizing and pops of color. 

Like this for starters....

This would be the the coordinating fabric with fantastic bling we added to make the curtains sparkle. I love a good floor to ceiling curtain panel in any room, except bathrooms. You really cant be practical in the bathrooms with fabric draping on the floor. So I am watching Burlesque as I write this. Everyone said it was horrible. It's not bad. Sorry attention span very small. So instead of traditional curtains, I made cafe ole' panels to give the room color and sparkle just where we needed it.

As you can see I am not the greatest at taking pictures of the after, so you get the finished product here. Concentrate on the curtains. It's the right touch on a small window that brings the colors of the room from entry to the furthest end of the room. IMPORTANT, bringing the color from one end of the room to the other is very important. Reason being, you want people to stop and think, hmmm that's a great idea.....we should do that....never thought of that. The room has to flow and flow right. We can't have people saying why did they do that.

Like this......

One word.........HEINOUS!! 

When I was shopping for accessories I was looking for something that would again, be bitchy, I mean beachy...beachy!! Seashells make the perfect accent in glass jars and when clustered together make the perfect complement to any room. 

See I told you I was horrible at taking pictures, but I think you can get the point. These two glass containers are the same shape but in different sizes. Both are filled with several different shells in size and type. I added three glass votive holders for romantic candle light for "Erin" when she takes her baths. This is where you can have some fun. The candles are in the same color family as the towels and fabrics. 

Here is that stunning bench. I laid a sea grass runner underneath it to enhance the beach look. It's not a rug that you will be stepping on after a shower or a bath, but it gives nice texture to a small space and breaks up all the hard lines that the tile gives this room.

The bench is the perfect wow factor in this room. It ties all the colors together and adds the elegance to the room that it really lacked from the beginning. I love to layer towels of coordinating colors to all bathrooms. I know I am supposed to be practical, but I tie the towels together to give it that clean, untouched look.  Had we had a bath/shower combo, always add 2 shower curtains for the heavy layered look. It really does add a lot to a space when you have multiple shower curtains. Remember it's ok to layer!!!

 

Here is the finished look. 1 hour instal and a $300 budget. I love the new soap holders.

 Personal touches like this family picture are great in any room.

Please don't think you can't add flare to toilet paper when displaying it. I mean it is what it is, so have fun with it.

Thoughts????

Time to "Dress The Table"

Hear we go again, this is the second go at this entry... Literally about to cry, I have been working on this bloody thing for hours and for it to delete like snapping your fingers really makes me wanna throw my MAC across the floor.

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(me cussing without writing it)

When I get up in the morning I think about what I'm needing to wear. Depending on the day, I dress to the occasion and whether or not I will be meeting a client. You have to be careful, impressions are made at hello and can be ruined before your time is up. For example.

As you can see, I'm dressed for a wedding in July, IN JULY. OUTSIDE!! HOT!! The other I'm at a movie, with my boo, in freezing weather. I dress for the occasion. Just like your house you make an impression anytime someone comes over. Your house is in direct relationship with you. What people see influences their judgements on you no matter what. You can't help what people think or say, but you can give them opportunities to have great conversations about what they see in your house. I'm in dire need of a shower, my hair needs to be washed. Ugh sorry ADD attack, and look a commercial for Design Star....exactly where I need to be.

Lets get back to the idea here, Dressing Your Table. For me, my table is the perfect place to add flair anytime. My table is dressed for every holiday and any occasion. Pretty much anytime I can dress it, I do. And now that summer school is over I have time to look at the mess that is my house. My table has been neglected for some time now. Sad. So, first things first. Start with a clean slate.

 Now that you have your space cleaned, collect your available accessories that you're not using for the dressing. I literally have oodles and oodles of accessories laying around the house screaming for attention. Lay everything out that you have so you can get a good idea of what you want to use. When I did this I almost called HOARDERS myself......

Books, feathers, candles, metal urns, clay urns, baskets, more books, pine cones, STICKS, grapevine. I mean who has all these STUFF laying around in rooms not being used. Me..........Ok, so start picking things you want to use. Eliminate the stuff you think would be to much. MY starting point is always a runner. Runner's add color and texture depending on the one you choose. 

Find your centerpiece. Find that one object that everyone's eye will do directly to. Mine, an old metal hardware cart, complete with screw bins. YES PLEASE. I had this at the end, front and finally in the center of the table. Hence CENTER-piece. Now find a complement that will add not take away from your show piece. I love some good topiaries. They add just the right amount of green to any space and will never over take the show. Remember that when you are decorating, never go at it unless you have the time to dedicate to it. Never do it angry and never, ever do it drunk. I know, you will end up sanding walls in your living room and painting a chalkboard over it. It turned out great when the dust settled, but that's another time. See my ADD plays havoc on me when I try to do anything productive. During this dressing of my table, I finished 4 Dr. Peppers, finished a horrible movie and destroyed my gumball stash. My addiction, sugar. Back to the table.....

Now that I have my table in place, it's time to accessorize it. I was minimal here and very monotone. It was my mood during decorating. I love it too. Think back to the previous picture of the table empty. There was a floor mirror that I have now removed. Another space empty, what to do. Add another mirror and a console table. Where to find one, oh yeah it's in another room. I seriously have issues. I have to many things. Now that I have a table and mirror in place, time to accessorize. Lamps and those metal urns make for a very dramatic effect on a narrow table. You can put things in front of a mirror anytime, not only do you see the objects but they reflect in a dramatic way. I love the way my table dressing turned out. 

A few candles, some books and lots of pine cones!! People, no matter what anyone says, books will never go out of style. At least I hope so, I have tons of them.... :)

Remember, there is no wrong way to decorate a table, unless it's bad, so be vigilant on what you bring to the table. HA! get it. Ugh it's 3am and I have been doing this project since 10:30. 

Your dining room table is the perfect place to add flair, color and humor. Have fun and look around for inspiration. Using uncommon items in an uncommon place make for a great eclectic look.

As you can see, this is why I love doing this!

P.S. I don't care if there are errors......It's 3:20 am.

Thoughts??

What's your THEME?

"What's your theme?"

Is a common question that I like to ask all of my clients. It's the first thing I look for and talk about when coming up with a plan.

For example, I have a lot of "wood" elements intermixed with old and new pieces in my house. It makes for a very rustic/eclectic look that I truly enjoy. Take a look at a few pieces I have. The first pic on the left is my fireplace screen.

I know, silly to have a wooden fireplace screen, but look at it! It's pretty amazing.

There's also a great story behind it! I happened to be in one of my favorite stores in Canton when I saw it on top of a tall armoire. I walked up to the lady and asked if it was for sale. It was priced at $100 or so, but she said, "It's yours for $80."

YES PLEASE!!

This second piece, which by far is my most favorite in the house, came from an estate sale. FOR FREE!! The lady, who owned it previously (before going to the white light) had wind chimes screwed into it. I had it in my entry way when I first moved in, but it has since been moved to above my television.

This third picture is my coffee table.

I found this little gem in Canton, as well. I first noticed these hardware carts online at Restoration Hardware for upwards of $700. They were selling them as coffee tables too. Well, my friend Matt and I were ending our shopping trip when we walked down our last aisle. We started talking to a man who was packing up and getting ready to head back to Nebraska. He had carts, identical to RH carts. He only had 3 left. One was the right shape and color for my "theme", and was priced at only $150. Much to my surprise, I couldn't get to an ATM fast enough.

Take Care When Choosing A Theme:
If by chance your theme is the color red, don't go crazy. I feel like I am using the word theme way too much!! Good thing I'm not writing this paper for a grade! :)

Whatever it is that you pick and go with, mix it with what you have, then when buying new things make sure it all goes together. I may have a lot of "wood" pieces, but I've brought in accents with color and texture that tie in with everything else. Adding the right accessories can help tone down too much of one thing. Taking a look at my coffee table now, you can see wood elements on top of wood elements. My accessories, colored books and a single orchid, helps make everything blend together.



Color Theme:
Your theme can be a color, such as blue. My friend and client, Amber, found this pillow that she had to have. There was only one and we spent weeks and looking into several cities until we found it's pair. Literally, this pillow was the bane of my existence. The colors were what we were going for in designing each room. These two pillows are in the living room, which is adjacent to the breakfast nook where Amber's white hutch is. Her hutch is filled with this blue, as well.

As you can see, I have added pops of blue to pull the color through each room. I have toned down all the blue by adding the baskets in different shades of brown. A neat feature within this hutch is an old book in the same blue opened to add something unexpected to an almost predictable furniture piece. 

Amber has a large open floor plan that makes it very easy to pull this color through the whole house. In her entry, we took a new piece in the same blue tones, changed the hardware and added a few simple accessories. Wait for Hobby Lobby to have their knobs on sale. 50% off is the best thing they have going!! We chose knobs that were all different to create an eclectic look. The entry is a nice welcoming point for all guests. You can't see the knobs that well in this picture, but I think you can get the idea. 

Pick your theme and run with it. Be wise about your purchases and wait for the bargains. Look for that piece that sticks out and creates conversation. I can't tell you how many people ask me, "What is that stick on your wall?" I love it and the story behind it. I can't tell you how to design your home, but I hope this will help you create a space that is filled with things that are totally you. Thoughts??