{Designer Tip} Styling on a Budget

Here are 5 tips that I enjoyed reading from Lonny Magazine:

Images and tips from Lonny Magazine and interior designer, Vanessa De Vargas

{Get This Look} Cheery Bedroom

I've been searching for bedroom ideas so that I can redecorate my master bedroom and also my guest bedroom.  My hubby might think this is a little bright for the master bedroom, so I'll be taking tips for the guest room from this photo.  I love a bright, cheery room.  Especially on a cold, winter day!

What I love/ideas to steal for your own home:

1. A patterned rug on the floor adds a fun pop of color, defines the sleeping area, and adds soft comfort on those tootsies in the morning.

2. White walls, trim, sheets and bed skirt keep things bright and neutral.  Add that pop of color on the duvet, pillows and curtains.  This makes it easier to change your color scheme whenever you'd like.

3. Add another pattern with the curtains.  Make sure to mix the scale of your patterns and keep them in them same color family.  ie:the pattern on the rug is large, so adding a smaller scale pattern in the curtains looks better and an even smaller scale like the check pillow on the bed ties the whole thing together.

4. Love the dash of black in the lamps as well as the mirrors and one pillow.  Black keeps the room grounded and from looking too candy coated.

5. An unexpected item:  the front pillow on the bed does not necessarily "go" with anything else in the room.  It adds a fun unexpected twist, but doesn't look out of place.


Image from Canadian House and Home

House of Habit

While reading this months (final) edition of Metropolitan Home, I came across these unique, custom made furniture legs.  Designers can customize each leg by choosing the height, color and material.  They can be shipped to a furniture maker or used to update existing pieces of furniture. This product is available to the Trade only. A few of my favorites from House of Habit:

Painted

Stones

Glass

Metal

Metal

 Leather

Lessons Learned by Reading Design Magazines

 Every month I've been finding myself looking forward to the day that the latest issue of Coastal Living arrives in my mailbox.  I started receiving it because of my ASID membership, but I had never really paid much attention to it before that.  I am finding that I really enjoy checking out the Idea Houses in each issue.  I also like that not everyone on the internet is blogging and talking about the latest issue before I can get my hands on a copy.  Each issue is still a new surprise, unlike House Beautiful (which I love) that is written about so frequently that I've seen all the photos online before the issue even arrives in the mail.  So hopefully I am not ruining the surprise for any of you that have yet to read the latest issue of Coastal Living, but I was excited to show some fun photos of the Seawatch Idea House from the November issue.  I'll start by showing you the floorplans of the house.  I love looking at the floor plans so I can understand the flow of the home.  It's like putting together the puzzle pieces and seeing how everything flows together.

 I like the upholstered walls in this room.  It adds a layer of texture and coziness to the space.  I also like the uniqueness of the limed oak fireplace with no mantel.  Such a clean look.  I also am really drawn towards the bird prints on either side of the fireplace creating symmetry.

An interesting feature of this room is the matching fabric and drapery.  The designer, Phillip Sides, had the fabric backed with paper or latex so that it could be applied to the walls.  Probably not my favorite look, but innovative nonetheless.

What I am loving about this kitchen is the light fixture over the island and the fact that the island is a different wood than the black and white cabinets.  What a fresh way to mix it up and add interest to a kitchen.  The shades really tie in the medium stain on the island for a cohesive look.  Also, notice the back of the stools with the handles on the back.   Unexpected touches like that keep things interesting.

Seriously love the mix of patterns here.  I want to get better at this.  This is a playful space.  I am especially loving the fabric on the chair.   Here is a close-up shot of the fabric. 

I think it looks great on the chair, bench at the foot of the bed and as pillows.  Something to take note of is the repetition of fabrics in this room.  Even if this room is not your favorite, you can learn the value of repetition by studying this photo.  It really helps move your eye around the room and creates harmony in the space.

 

This kid area is so cute with the reading light cubby holes.  They are covered in raffia and embellished with nailheads.

This room grabs my attention for so many reasons.  I love the botanical coverlet which acts as the color source for this bedroom.  The blue walls and green draperies are colors pulled directly from the coverlet.  The bamboo bed adds a great natural, textural element that goes with the botanical coverlet.  Also I love the unexpected table at the foot of the bed and the striped rug.

Every room you see in a magazine is an opportunity to study and learn from.  You may not like the design or the colors, the design may be good or really bad, but as a designer I learn from both the good and bad points in every room.  As a client you can study these rooms to learn more about what you like or dislike in any given room, thus helping you and your designer out.  I encourage you to pick up a few design magazines and pay attention to what appeals to you in different rooms.  Tear the pages out and take them shopping with you or save them for when you are ready to work with a designer.  It will make the overall process easier for everyone involved.

Find more images of the Coastal Living 2009 Seawatch Idea House here.

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Barclay Butera

Today I attended an event at the local design center here in MN, International Market Square.  One of the main speakers was Barclay Butera.  He was a really a lot of fun to listen to after hearing all the buzz about him on the internet through design blogs and articles written about him.

Image found here.

His presentation was called Decorating in a New Economy.  He brought up some good points about how good customer service really needs to be the cornerstone of your business.  He spoke about things that he learned from his mother, also an interior designer, who had a very successful career.  It was interesting to hear that when he presents his design proposal to a client, he line items everything out so that there are no surprises for the client.  He says this works especially well when a client has a specific budget, but lets say they love the fabric used in the master bedroom and want to also use it in the living room.  Barclay can then point to that line item and say okay we can do that, but here's how much you will be going over budget.  He says that it is a great way to get the client to agree to go over budget when they can see every line item in front of them and make informed decisions without having to guess that they must have been overcharged for something.  He also shared many pictures of spaces that he has designed over the years and ones that have made covers of magazines, etc.  I didn't get a chance to take any pictures myself because I didn't want to be that girl, but I found some of them to share with you.

 This was a show house he did one year and said that it was the greatest compliment when the homeowner decided to buy the full suite of furniture that he designed for this house and he didn't have to return any of it after the show.

 This is the living room of one of Barclay's homes.  Barclay said that he incorporates some kind of animal print in almost all of the rooms he designs.

 Barclay loves blue and white and you'll see that combo in many of his rooms.

 

 

 

I love this one.   Barclay likes to add unexpected design elements like the antlers above the fireplace.  "Have fun with your designs, he says, there are no rules in design."

 

I believe this one was on the cover of House Beautiful.

 Many of his projects have gorgeous views.  He mentioned that if there is a great view he will not use window treatments.

 

 Blue and white again.  I love the freshness of this one with the white and pops of blue with the dark wood contrast.

 

Can you imagine this view!!

 

 This is Barclay's home that he bought from Lucille Ball's son, Desi.  He wrote Desi a letter asking him to let him buy the house (there was competition) and that he would keep the integrity of the house and design in the time of his parents.  The lights above the bed are the lights that Lucille bought her husband and are original to the house.  The pictures above the bed are photographs transferred on to lucite and Barclay said they took a day to hang!

 

 This was a 900 square foot space that Barclay designed so that you could appreciate the view throughout the whole space.

There was also a Barclay Butera book signing in Kravet today, but unfortunately I did not make it in there in time to see his new fabric line, but I hear it is gorgeous!  Barclay also has a furniture line so many of the pieces in the homes he designed above are his own.

 

Images from Barclay Butera's website.

Sweet Deal

If any of you out there love these lamps from Restoration Hardware, then you are going to LOVE the deal that I found!

Restoration Hardware-Rowan Pharmacy Task Table Lamp $269

 

Restoration Hardware-Franklin Pharmacy Task Table Lamp $159

Ok, so you like those, but they're a little pricey, right?  Well, how about this beauty?

 

I was lucky enough to stumble upon this Restoration Hardware look-alike lamp at TJ Maxx for only $19.99!!!!!

So, hurry, run! to your nearest TJ Maxx to snag one of these babies up for yourself!  When I was there yesterday, this was the only one!

Unique Floor Design

Just had to mention quickly how much I LOVE these floors in Tori Spelling and Dean McDermot's kitchen!  What a unique design and gorgeous wood!

 

Image found here while browsing Hooked on Houses.

Thrift Store Revamp

My recent project was painting and reupholstering two chairs that I found at the Goodwill for $4 a piece.  What I liked about these chairs was the backs.  I immediately pictured them painted in a creamy white color to really make the criss-cross design of the backs pop.

So, I took them home and began the revamping process by unscrewing the bottoms of the chairs and pulling out the old staples.  It turns out these chairs had been reupholstered three times!

Underneath all that fabric was a nasty pile of dust and foam so I scrapped it all and layed down a new layer of foam and batting.

 

The easiest thing to do is place the plywood seat on top of the foam and trim around the edges with a scissors.  I ended up having to use two pieces of foam because of the shape of the chair.  I used a glue gun to glue down the foam pieces to the chair so they won't slip around when sat upon.  I then wrapped a layer of batting around the foam and stapled that down.  Finally I took my fabric and cut it to the size of the seat by laying the seat on top of the fabric and trimming  around the edges leaving about 2 inches of extra fabric. Then I stapled that down on top of the batting.  The key to getting a smooth fit is to pull the fabric tight as you staple your way around the perimeter of the seat.  When it comes to the corners, wrap them as you would a present and staple the overlapping fabric.  You can go back later and trim the excess fabric off if you wish.

 

 

Once I had the seats upholstered I prepped the chairs for painting by sanding them down to create a rough surface for the paint to adhere to.  I then used a spray paint primer, let that dry and did three coats of Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint.

 

Because this chair had a lot of detail, I went back with a very small brush, sprayed some spray paint into a small container and used that to go through the tight grooves of the chair.

 

  

 

The last step is to attach the seat back to the frame by screwing it back on tightly with a screwdriver.  

Here are the final results!

 

  

{fabric close up}

 

Hope you enjoyed reading this as part of Metamorphosis Monday!