Keep Calm

Those "Keep Calm and...." signs are everywhere for everything, aren't they?  I opened up an email this morning from Farrow & Ball, and along with this little Keep Calm sign, was an article featuring The Best of British Colour Schemes.  I love Farrow & Ball paint, and these schemes are fabulous - you should check them out here.  I'm actually in the middle of a project with this scheme, which I'm in love with - so energetic!

sack decor

While at market, I came across a great new source for vintage accessories - grain sacks, baskets, glass containers, linens, bread boards, etc.  These two cool guys, Dustin & Christian, trek all over Europe to find unique vintage pieces in excellent condition, and sell them at very affordable prices.

I picked up several grain sacks and linens, from France and Germany, that I plan to incorporate into a few projects.  Let me know if you're interested in anything that I purchased.  There are so many ways that you can utilize these vintage pieces into your decor - chair upholstery, pillows, benches, headboards, table runners..... Check out my Pinterest board "grain sacks" for some ideas.

Bizarre?

I spent most of last week visiting tons of furniture showrooms for the newest pieces and upcoming design trends at the High Point Furniture Market.  For the next few blog posts, I'd like to share some of what I found.  

Today I pose the same question that mom is contemplating -
Bizarre or Super Cool outdoor furniture?

Check out PolArt for more information on their molded resin product.

Decisions

Are you on Pinterest?  I took the plunge several months ago - it's such a useful tool to earmark ideas that I find on the web.  And since I'm a visual person, those nice thumbnail boards are right down my alley for sorting thoughts & ideas.  I came across this quote recently, and had to repin:

It's really true.  I've been designing for about a decade now.  When I started out, I was always so stressed - What's the architect going to think?  What does the contractor think?  The painter is probably going to kill me.  The electrical must talk about me.  I wonder what other designers think about my projects?  What does the client's neighbor think?
It's a shame that we put so much pressure on ourselves about what others think.  Finally, I'm at a point that I know I've been given the appropriate talents, and have the education and knowledge to make good decisions.  I provide my clients with good design choices.  Period.  Who cares if the electrician doesn't care for the cabinetry design or the carpenter doesn't like the paint color.  I don't. 

TGIF

It's Friday.  Woo hoo!  Another productive week is wrapping up.  I thought I'd share a few camera phone shots and sketches from my week of planning and decision making. 

at the carpenter's shop reviewing a full scale drawing of a custom kitchen island - do you see his pencil lines?  look closely :)

 he's working on a few custom barstools too.  this is his full scale sketch.

 paint color choices.

 windows measured for custom window treatments.

 sketch of custom bathroom vanity for the contractor to price out.

Just a glimpse into my work week.  Thank goodness for my camera phone - sometimes I forget what I'm suppose to follow up on until I review my pictures!  Have a great weekend everyone.

I'm back!!

As I walked in the upholstery shop yesterday, she looked at me and said, "Shelly! We thought you had disappeared!".  Sad, but true.  I kinda did disappear for about a month.  This whole last year I've been preparing for our local art show.

 

As the chairman of the show, the last few weeks leading up to it was well, time-consuming.  It was a great show and I worked with great people, but I'm glad to have it behind me.

A few other out of the ordinary things have kept me quite busy the last month or so, while still trying to balance two construction projects and various other design projects.  I can finally say "whew!", and get back to focusing on work...and those cute boys of mine.

Hey, did I mention that little James just turned one?! 

 

I can't believe how fast this last year has slipped away.  Time flies when you're having fun.

Client Project: Living Room

Do you remember me posting this fabric on Facebook?

{Savoy - Cowtan & Tout}

Ok, how about this one?

{Lomax - Stout}

Would you like to see where they ended up?

Well, since you asked.....