Antique Reading Chair

With the help of Hallman Furniture, I've recently custom designed a chair for one of my client's (A.K.A. My Mom). If you've ever done work for your family, you know that it's a no pressure, no expectation kind of job--just kidding. Of course, I want to do the best work for all my client's, but there's an additional desire to please when it comes to Mom.

She'd been looking for a couple of years for a cozy chair to put in the corner of her family room. Since 2007, she'd been eyeing Anthropologie's Corrigan Chair (who wouldn't?).

She liked the low seat, tufted back, castor legs and the feminine shape. Unfortunately, Anthro's Corrigan Chair costs an arm and a leg, and it never went on sale. Plus, she disliked the green leather.

I said, "why don't we custom design a chair for you based on the one that you like from Anthropologie?"

She said, "Great!"

We picked out a beautiful cotton/polyester blend fabric from Fabricut in the chocolate shade that she had originally wanted. I worked with Hallman on the design, making sure that the seat was the right height and depth proportions that Mom wanted.

And here's what we ended up with...

Success! Mom's happy, I'm happy...what could be better?

This Ones for You, Mom & Dad: Children's Rooms

Move over Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, your kids room's can't compete with these!

One of my client's introduced me to two awesome children's room retailers, and I've fallen in love with them. Rosenberry Rooms and The Land of Nod would make Mary Poppins smile from ear to ear. They have so many imaginative and creative pieces of furniture, accessories and decor that could make any child's room into a magical playground of a room.

Here are some of my favorites from The Land of Nod

And these are AMAZING!

All I wanted growing up was my very own playhouse, dollhouse or treehouse. For a while that's all I asked my parents for for Christmas. They said it wouldn't look good in our back yard. They were right, because what I had imagined was basically a 'storage shed turned dollhouse'.

But if they only had what I'm about to show you back then, I could have had a beautiful playhouse to enjoy (it's such a hard life...I was so deprived as a child).

THIS WAS (and STILL IS in BIGGER scale) MY DREAM HOUSE!

AND this treehouse!

All of these playhouses are available to purchase as a kit of parts that you put together yourself from Rosenberry Rooms!! There are some that are pretty reasonably priced, but as you can imagine, some may require you to take out a second loan for the mortgage.

This one's for you Mom & Dad, I'm still waiting for my dream dollhouse...Christmas is coming soon!

Ikea Makes It Easy

I was in Atlanta this past weekend to do some shopping for some of my clients, and I ended up spending the most time at Ikea (5 hours!). Ikea makes it easy--on the shopper, designer and the client's wallet! I found so many wonderful things that I filled my entire car from floor to ceiling with boxes, pillows, mirrors, cushions, fabric, lamps and just about anything else you can think of to decorate a room. Here are some of my favorite finds.

Love this kitchen! The butcher board countertops are inexpensive, practical and designer-friendly! The mini chandeliers are a beautiful touch!

These industrial looking metal kitchen shelves are a great way to add extra counter and storage space to any kitchen in a home, condo or apartment! The casters make these units super functional.

I love these wine racks!

Great shelves for storage in a kitchen pantry, industrial looking office or clothes closet.

There are so many chairs to choose from...

And look at the inexpensive prices...believe it or not, Ikea's furniture holds up well! I've had great experience with their solid wood and resin pieces.

Wow...sorry Arne Jacobsen, I'll buy this Egg Chair Redo at $399 any day.

Look at all the fabulous pieces for an office!

Love their lamps!

Ikea has wonderful fabric patterns that you can purchase by the yard! Can't beat the designer graphic prints and the price.

Thanks, Ikea! You've inspired me yet again!

Craft Weekend

The leaves are electric in Nashville right now, and it's the perfect time to start gathering them for fall crafts. It's an easy and inexpensive way to make your home feel like autumn. Below are three great crafts for decorating candles.

Fall Candles

Step 1: Buy an inexpensive vase or hurricane glass container from Joann Fabrics, Michaels or any other craft store as well as a strand of twine and a pillar candle (note: vase can be any size you'd like...big or small as long as the leaves are proportional).

Step 2: Gather bright fall leaves from your yard, neighborhood or a local park.

Step 3: Use two sided tape to adhere the leaves around the vase where you'd like them.

Step 4: Tie one big strand of twine around your vase.

Step 5: Place your candle inside and light it.

Step 6: Turn on Sammy Davis Junior, sip a glass of wine and enjoy your new candle.

Place Cards

Here are a couple other fun inexpensive fun fall crafts made out of paper (note: all paper crafts are available to purchase in a precut kit at Paper Source).
Pumpkin Place Card

Turkey Place Card
A blank piece of paper for you to make your own place card to decorate with the leaves you gathered. Simply write your guest's name and glue or tape leave to top corner.

Autumn Wreath

Another fun craft is to make a wreath out of leaves like the one above.

Step 1: Gather leaves.

Step 2: Cut an old box into a 16" diameter circle.

Step 3: Make the circle into a donut by cutting a small circle of 10" diameter out of the larger circle.

Step 4: Hot glue leaves onto cardboard donut and arrange so that leaves cover entire cardboard donut. I like the wreath to fill full, so I add a lot of leaves! Also, it looks nice to have the leaves hang off the edge of the cardboard donut.

Step 5: Hang on your front door.

Board of Thanks

This is one of my most favorite crafts of all, because you can add to it everyday!

Step 1: Buy a 24" x 36" bulletin board or take an old cardboard box and cut it into a 24" x 36" rectangle.

Step 2: Buy a piece of burlap or use a neutral fabric that you have laying around your house to staple around the entire 24" x 36" rectangle.

Step 3: Buy a picture hanging hook and hot glue it to the back of the rectangle. Let glue dry completely before continuing craft.

Step 4: Buy some of your favorite paper or use paper that you have around your house to pull together a grouping of colors and patterns that go together. My favorite paper is from Paper Source. You can buy this online if you don't have a local store. Wrapping paper works great to.

Step 5: Lay out your paper and do a mock up to see how your arrangement looks on your board.

Step 6: Pin or staple your paper to your board.

Step 7: Hang up your Board of Thanks in a place where your family and friends can see it.

Step 8: Write out several sheets of blank paper that say "I'm Thankful For:" and place them next to your board.

Step 9: Have your family and friends write out the I'm Thankful Cards and pin or staple them to your board. You can add to this throughout the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

Step 10: Have each family member and friend share their cards with you during your Thanksgiving Dinner.

I'm going to start working on my Board of Thanks this weekend. I'll keep you posted on the completed project as it gets closer to Thanksgiving.

Tub Be or Not Tub Be

Yes, that really is what I chose as my post title. Pretty cheesy, right?

In all seriousness, I'm helping a client design her master bath, and she's thinking that she may like a claw foot bath tub.

While they are beautiful, timeless and unique, do they stand up to the modern amenities that modern bathtubs provide?

You also have to consider where you will place soaps, towels and other bathtub accessories.

The faucet is another consideration. Will you like that it's exposed? Will it be freestanding or come out of the wall?

There are a lot of color options as well. Stainless steel legs, painted legs, or two tone bathtub like the one above.

Here is a free standing tub. While the look is similar to the claw foot tub, the modern amenities of jacuzzi jets are available.

Here's another example of an up-to-date bathtub that still has the craftsman style because of the tile detail and vanity selection.

Above is another example of a modern freestanding bathtub with the Victorian feel. Here are some more:

All that to say, the freestanding bathtub still leaves creative space to hanging towels and where to place bath accessories.

Another option is a custom low wall surround like the one above. The bead board wainscot adds some interest as well as detail and there's plenty of space for accessories. Below are some a few other examples of baths with custom surrounds.

If you want the modern amenities that an up-to-date tub provides you with, I think I'd go with a freestanding tub. If you need the space for accessories, then I'd say build a custom surround. If you don't use your bath a lot and like the look of a claw foot bathtub, then I'd go with a claw foot tub. The way your bathtub will function has to dictate what you chose--a designer can make any ordinary bathtub look great!

All images are pulled from Kitchen and Bath Magazine

Landscape Architect for a Day

It's that time of year...planting time. If you want your plants to look pretty in the summer, you have to plant them in the fall.

I did some landscape designing for one of my friends. I looked like one of these crazy people in the picture above who are climbing on steep ladders not really knowing what they're doing.

With the help of my brother-in-law, Dan (a landscape designer at Pollock and Associates in Atlanta, Georgia), my design ended up looking great. Thanks, Dan!

I chose to make the break line between the grass and flower beds organic and extended it a foot or so larger on the left side of the front yard. The asymmetrical shape is balanced by the Dogwood Tree on the right.
I chose a variety of plants, shrubs, trees and flowers that add color, dimension, height and fragrance. (See above)

Below is a rough sketch illustrating the various heights of the vegetation.

What fun! Who knew?

Hudson, Hudson, Hudson

I've returned from my visit to Hudson and have pictures to prove it. J and I had a wonderful time visiting my family. Saturday, we took my half brothers to the Fall Festival in downtown Hudson. It was so fun. I'm obsessed (and always have been) with this little New England style town.

One of Hudson's first churches

The Clock Tower on the Green built in 1912 by James W. Ellsworth, a native Hudson who revitalized the town by paving the streets, adding electrical, water and sewer services, telephone line, a reorganization of the school system, tree planting and revitalized banking. (Transforming cities isn't too much different in 2009!)

J and my brother, Mike, who turned 21 last week. This is his first beer!

Love the vibrant fall colors!

More color!

More color!

Mike, J and my other brother, Joey.

One of the newly developed streets of First and Main, a downtown rejuvenation project that began in 1995 to expand Hudson's commerce, city center and continue it's excellence as a thriving town center.

And then there are the Historic Homes.....

You may be wondering why this home and the rest of the Historic Hudson Homes are of Western Reserve/New England style architecture since they're not in New England???.

Long before Ohio became a state in 1803, it was part of Connecticut...hence the New England influence. They called this area the Western Reserve. (Not bad for snapping the picture in a moving car with my brothers chuckling behind my seat).

Another pretty cottage.

The contrast of color of the aqua blue exterior of the house against the orangey-yellow of the fall leaves really makes this house pop.

This says fall to me!

One for sale...hmmm...I'd love to design a house like this!

So quaint and charming!

Wouldn't you love a tree like this in your front yard?

So simple yet so uniquely perfect!

This says Cottage to me!

This is my FAVORITE house in Historic Hudson!!

If I could buy any house, this would be the one. I would design my interior similar to a house that Kay Douglass, interior designer and owner of South of Market in Atlanta, did that appeared in House Beautiful a couple years ago.

This is how it would look:

House Beautiful, October 2007

Simple charm with a twist of character through worn woods, pops of color but a mostly neutral palette. It would be a welcoming place where you feel comfortable taking your shoes off and putting your feet up on the couch.

House Beautiful, October 2007

The kitchen always ends up being where everyone ends up...so it has to be a place that can entertain yet still be functional. I'd design my kitchen with a center island, like the one above, so that my family and guests can take a seat while I cook and entertain.

The dark hardwoods are great for hiding dirt and stand the test of durability. I would suggest 100% hardwood floors--they last forever!

Light marble countertops with gray veining are a must! They are more difficult to maintain (marble isn't as tough and hard as granite or quartz), but it's beautiful. I'd make sure to seal it and maintain it every few years.

The stainless steel tile back splash, light fixtures, appliances and hardware really pop against the soft grayish blue/green painted cabinets. I'm in love with this color/materials palette.

AND the WOOD CEILINGS...brilliant! They add dimension, warmth (both literally and figuratively by helping to seal in warm/cool air as well as through the softness of texture and color).

Love this kitchen table. It's definitely a place where kids can spill their drink on the table and you wouldn't be worried about glass rings.

The soft upholstered side chairs mixed with the rustic wood table say elegant, sophisticated but not overdone.

Aahhh...what a haven for sleep and relaxation. I'm in love with the character of this bedroom. I love the upholstered set of chairs in front of the bed and the intricacy of the headboard. The mingling of orange with the neutrals makes this room come together without overdoing the color. Love it all!

With that being said, I'm feeling so refreshed after my trip to Hudson! I can't wait to design my own (or your!) cottage!