I have been periodically working on the mood board for our Master Bedroom. It is still definitely a work in progress, but I thought I would show you some of my selections. I also just found the cutest chair (aka a place to throw all of your clothes). It is from Urban Outfitters and it is upholstered in the Zig Zag Fabric from Premier Prints that I love and the price is quite reasonable. I think if I go with the red curtains this would look great with it. I still need to order some fabric samples. I am also really stuck on the final paint color. I think Gray is one of the hardest colors to pick. All of the paint samples have different undertones and I don’t think I have found the right one yet, even though I have 5 different colors on the way right now! I am also still on the look out for the perfect carpet and duvet.
Archives For INTERIOR DESIGN CLIENTS
I want to make some full length curtains that will sit on either side of the 2 front windows and go from the bottom of the crown molding to the floor. These would be wide panels and each would cover the window and completely move out of the way on either side when not in use. This way they won’t interfere with the radiator (although I may need to put some snaps on the bottom to shorten them when they are over the window and radiator).
I’ve been scouring fabric stores and websites trying to come up with a fabric that is affordable, has a large pattern, isn’t too busy and comes in either gray or red. The pattern has been a tough choice for me. A lot of the patterns out there that I am drawn too won’t work with the BIG metal panels. I need a pattern that is graphic but isn’t “busy”. It is funny now that I am putting this together that all of my favorites are by Premier Prints Fabrics. They sell their fabrics through their website. Also several other sellers also sell it at a discount (although not all of the fabrics). Fabric.com sell quite a bit of their fabric for about $8-12 a yard. The thing I like about their fabric is that they typically sell them in a number of colorways. Their patterns can be a little trendy but I LOVEÂ large over-scaled patterns a lot.
I started with these fabrics. Big scale with large flower patterning, fits my modern play on a classic style but not clean enough for the “modern” look the room is taking on.
Next I tried out some graphic patterns. The ZigZag is very HOT right now. I am a little concerned it could lot dated quickly. I am also concerned that the pattern might be too distracting.
My current favorites are these two options. I like that the pattern is abstract and I think once it is draping that these could look great. If I go with the gray I am going to need to get a sample before I finalize the wall color (so that they have a similar hue). I might just get a sample of both so I can see how bright the red is.
What do you think?
I worked with Sarah this spring on the redesign for her upstairs bathroom. Now that it is finished (I know, I still need to shoot the final photos), I am helping her with her downstairs.
Current Issues:
-The Living Room feels dark (partially because the front windows are adjacent to the screened in front porch). There are also no windows on the staircase wall.
-The Living Room couch is very dark (and well loved by Stanley, their cat).
-The narrow screened in front porch makes furniture placement difficult.
-The Dining Room is a little boring and could use a new light fixture and some accents to brighten it up.
-The current Dining Room color is almost exactly the same as the Living Room wall color.
Goals:
-Create a color palette for the first floor, including wall colors and accent colors.
-Brighten up the Living Room.
-Highlight Sarah’s beautiful and eclectic art collection.
-Find ways to use Sarah’s vintage accessories and furniture.
-Look for a new modern, comfy and affordable couch for the Living Room.
-Look for a mirror for the stair wall in the Living Room to help reflect light.
-Look at options for additional Living Room lighting.
-Look for new colorful accessories to complement the spaces.
-Find a new light fixture for the Dining Room.
-Rearrange the furniture on the porch. Possibly add an indoor/outdoor rug or paint a rug on the concrete floor.
Process:
We are still early in the process. We spent a good bit of time trying to decide on a wall color for the Living Room. We looked a series of yellows (both citrus and golden) to try and brighten up the room. None of the selections seems quite right. So Sarah asked me what I thought of using white. I usually reserve white for trim and accent, but I had to agree with her that white might just be the perfect choice! This way her artwork could be center stage and we could maximize the light in the space. We also decided to leave the Dining Room its current green which pairs nicely with the pinky/terracotta walls in the kitchen.
She has a lot of great antiques and vintage items that I think with a little bit of rearranging will look great. She also already has a lot of beautiful artwork, which I think helps make the decision of white walls the right one. The beautiful painting over the fireplace contrasted with the print over the couch is quite nice. She even has another modern print (in yellow) that we can add next to it.
Here is my first round of marked up photos and potential products:
Stay tuned for more details!
I was over at JoAnn’s earlier this week to pick up some felt for our Fourth of July creation (more on that later). While I was there I checked out the fabric. All of their outdoor fabric is 50% off (most were $9.99 a yard). I have been looking for new outdoor pillows all spring/summer. So far I haven’t found anything that I loved that wasn’t expensive. The closest thing I had found to buying were this Jiti Pillow (which I am pretty sure is a Waverly Fabric). Fortunately I found a couple of nice fabrics with pretty large scale flower patterns that I scooped up (they don’t seem to have these patterns available on their website). Ideally I would have 2 big square pillows and then two smaller rectangular pillows. For now I may sew new pillow covers for the existing pillows. Now if I can just get around to painting the swing the terracotta color to match the top of the house.
Fun Bright Colored Fabric:
More Muted Colored Fabric:
Also while I was JoAnn’s I checked out some of their designer fabric. As a lover of a good pattern, I can’t seem to help myself! So I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are now carrying Annie Selke’s line of fabrics. The fabric is kind of pricey but JoAnn’s has all of their special order fabric 50% off right now. I thought I would show you a few of my favorites. I don’t have a place to use any of these at the moment but I am now on the hunt for a spot (maybe Maisie’s Room).
If you are not familiar with Annie Selke but love playful colorful pattern, I highly suggest checking out her different product lines:
– Her Pine Cone Hill bedding is always beautiful and colorful (although sometimes a little too feminine for my taste)
-The Dash and Albert rugs are amazing (in both cotton and indoor/outdoor). If you get any home magazines, I am sure you have seen these lovely striped and patterned rugs, although you might not of realized who made them. Some day I would like to install one of them as a runner on the stairs.
-She also has a line of furniture made by Vanguard
I’ve been working with Andi and Neil for a while on the design for their kitchen renovation, but we have stepped in into high gear this week! The Ikea Kitchen Sale starts tomorrow and the cabinets they are planning on using are being discontinued, so we have to get ready ASAP. I just put together a mood board for them to look at. I thought I would give everyone a sneak peak! So here it is…
I will add additional source info later. In the meantime most of the items are listed on their pinterest board, which I am still updating as we go. The current plan is to paint the oak cabinet doors, door fronts and trim. We are still trying to locate a suitable painter. So if anyone has any suggestions for a painter/refinisher who can apply a lacquer finish please let me know!
I know I am just about the last blogger/designer in the world to start to use Pinterest, but now that I have started to use it, I LOVE IT. The website lets you “pin” your favorite things from the web. It stores the photos and the link that it came from. I find as I am working on a design or just trying to make a decision about an accessory, it is useful to have everything in one place. You can also search other peoples boards and follow them.
You can check out my constantly changing boards here:
www.pinterest.com/statelykitsch/
Send me an email if you want an invite to join for yourself (I didn’t have an invite so it took about a week to become a member).
Here are a couple of screen shots from my current boards:
Sarah and her girls are using their new bathroom (which is a big relief after 2 1/2 weeks), and it looks so fresh and lovely! There are a couple of items that still needed to be installed. Once these are finished I will post up a final with a recap of all of the products. In the meantime if you want to see the list of products click here for all of the related posts.
Items to be Finished:
-The sconces are on back order and won’t be here until June.
-The pictures for the wall are also not framed yet but they look great and I can’t wait to see them installed.
-A couple of extra knobs are needed for the vanity
I also forgot to take a picture of the new ceiling light fixture (which is a beautiful shiny fixture from Restoration Hardware) and the side of the vanity. The contractor moved the electrical outlet to the short wall next to the tub down low. Then we added a couple of hooks to the side of the vanity to hide the hairdryer and brush (finding a place for the hairdryer and brush was on Sarah’s wish list).
So without further ado here it is…
As a Reminder here are the before pictures and the mood board:
Sarah’s Bathroom is well underway! They started last week. Demolition is now complete (and there was some interesting lincrusta underneath the old tile and closet), the new drywall is all in, and a new closet is partially installed. The tile guy is due tomorrow and next week they will install all of the fixtures! If all goes well the whole thing will have taken 2 1/2 weeks.
For the new closet, we went with the PAX closet system from Ikea. We were concerned about the bottom being adjacent to the tile floor and toilet so I had them raise it up on studs so that the tile base would be continuous underneath. At the top they will install crown molding to cap it off. It will then get doors installed on the front. This should really add to the storage capacity for Sarah’s family.
IÂ also like the wall color (I need to go double check the color). We went with a fairly light color that resembled a light beach glass. The second coat should go on today. Once the white wall tile goes up, it should be different enough to be noticeable.
For reference here is the mood board for the room:
I wanted to find something interesting for the artwork for Sarah’s bathroom. I had octopus and sea creatures on my mind because of a beautiful Japanese octopus print that her daughter had hanging in her room. I also thought something with seashells would work with the iridescent accent tiles. So I did some searching around on Etsy. There were a surprising number of octopus prints to choose from. It appears that they are quite popular at the moment! Anyway after looking for around for a while I found the perfect fit; the sea creature prints of Ernst Haeckel. I had never heard of him before but his drawings are very beautiful and also have a fantastic graphic quality. The colors also looked good with the room! I also discovered that several of his books are still in print. I had Sarah order up Art Forms in Nature: the Prints of Ernst Haeckel. Now she can choose from the many beautiful prints in the book. We are currently planning on putting one above each hook. And the nice thing is that she can change these out and she does not need to worry if they get a little damp. There are also several Etsy vendors selling prints.
The Sconce:
One of the first things we picked out for Sarah’s bathroom was this sconce. So beautiful and sparkly! We looked at several sconces including some plainer options but Sarah instantly loved this one. I like that there is a frosted glass diffuser to help soften the light at the mirror.
Overhead Light Fixture:
Finding a coordinating ceiling light proved more difficult than I was expecting. I considered a small chandelier but almost none of them are UL rated for damp locations. For surface mounted fixtures, many manufacturers are not currently offering Chrome/shiny finishes (it seems like rubbed bronze is the finish of choice). In the end we went with this simple but elegant fixture from Restoration Hardware. Although not cheap, it seems like a reasonable value to get the UL damp rating. I also wanted to avoid fixtures that have an open top above the diffuser. I find that these collect a lot of dust and bugs. A closed fixture should minimize this problem.
Good to know:
UL Rated Fixtures:
When you are picking light fixtures for the bath you really want a UL damp rated fixtures due to the humidity in the air. These will hold up much better in the moisture, particularly for a ceiling installations. Also for fixtures in the shower or above a bathtub you should pick a UL wet rated light fixture. The specifications for any light should tell you whether it is rated for this application.
Wall/Task Lighting:
-Ideally locate light fixtures on either side of the mirror at eye level. This will provide enough lighting around the face to avoid shadows.
-Use fixtures that have frosted diffusers/glass in front of the bulbs to soften the light.
-If you don’t have space on either side of the mirror consider a light above the mirror. In this case you are better off choosing a higher output fixture that lights upward so that the light will bounce off the ceiling and down. A direct downlight will tend to cast unflattering shadows.
-Consider separate switching and dimmers. For general use you don’t typically need a full strength light at the mirror, but for those times when you need that bright light to put on your makeup, you can adjust the light all the way up. Dimmers are economical because you are saving energy by reducing the power going to the fixture and also extending the life of your bulb. (Note: Not all bulbs are designed for dimming. Many florescent bulbs won’t work with dimmers).
General/Ambient Light:
-Use overhead ambient light for general illumination and to help balance the light from the task lighting.
-Again consider a dimmer for this application. These are especially nice at night when your eyes aren’t use to the bright light.
Additional Lighting:
-Consider a separate light in the bath/shower area. This should be UL rated for wet locations.