Archive | Fabric

Before & Aftah Bedroom

Happy Valentines Day!

Today is all about love and I wanted to dedicate this blog post to my my wonderful clients who trust me enough and allow me to do what I truly love.

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And I also love this blog (even if I don’t update it quite as often as I would like… cue blog guilt setting in) But really, I love to write these fun little pieces and I especially love when you guys comment back when I ask for your opinions.  Remember the Million Dollar Bed Skirt blog post I shared last April?  The bedskirt was going to coordinate with this crazy 7 foot headboard we created using a fun Schumacher fabric.IMG_2876-1024x768

Well, although it’s been a while I can finally show you the “winner”  (Full Disclosure: the client picked the one she liked.)  So here’s the before…

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And here’s the Aftah!  MDBSA #7 (Million Dollar Bed Skirt Alternative) was the winner.

Bedroom

Photo:  Michael J. Lee

Totally fun right?!?  Grown up bedrooms don’t have to be so serious, let them be an expression of yourself.  Can you tell our client was a super fun and young at heart empty nester?  Is your bedroom a place you love to be?  If not, call me for a bedroom DoOvah!

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Before and Aftah Dining Room

I’m all about a pop of color and I love when clients embrace a fun color scheme in their home, but this…well…let’s just say it wasn’t living up to their dream of having an elegant dinner party.

Time for a DoOvah!

image_6Oh, and did I mention that this photo facing the windows didn’t fully capture the, um, POP that the color makes?  Kinda loud, huh?

image_7So clearly we had to address the color, but let’s face it, there was nothing special about the dining table and chairs either. This doesn’t look like a place you are going to want to sit and linger with friends long into the night.  But we did like the chandelier…yeah that can stay!

Dining RoomPhoto by: Michael J. Lee

I AM IN LOVE!  Seriously.  That Phillip Jeffries grasscloth wallpaper speaks for itself.  I literally want to put wallpaper in every single DoOvah these days!  The Schumacher fabric on the chairs brings in a fun youthful vibe for these empty nesters.  It’s such a cozy space, don’t you just want to linger here with a few too many glasses of wine?  Throw pillows…in a dining room…YES PLEASE!  Honestly, I’ve wanted to use Mary McDonald’s Don’t Fret from the moment I saw it, and the pillows on these leather Wesley Hall curved settees was the perfect spot.  Here we are discussing these pillows…or the wine…or the band at the party…or how we’ll be best friends for life…whatever.

IMG_3428I digress.  The dining room.  We are talking about the dining room DoOvah.  Anyhoo, we already told you that we kept the chandelier, but we also incorporated the rug from the living room DoOvah to use in this space.  Finally, we refinished the top of the buffet in a silver leaf and moved it to a wall that was better proportioned to the scale of the piece.

image_10Big wall + tiny buffet = doesn’t work.  Adding the silver leaf to the top brings elegance to the original kitchy country checkerboard pattern.  Since we were working on so many spaces in their home, the homeowner  was so glad we were able to reuse a few pieces in the new design.

Hall

Photo by: Michael J. Lee

We hope our clients spend many hours in their new dining room sharing stories and creating memories with friends and family, because let’s face it, that what these spaces are meant for.  Does your dining room need a DoOvah too?

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Million Dollar Bedskirt

I’m working on an amazing project in Cohasset, and I absolutely love everything about it.  It’s a dream job really…great clients, 9 rooms, big ‘enough’ budget…but I was brought in after another (absolutely fabulous) designer had to step off the project.  Here’s the thing, when said designer had to step off, some of the fabric choices were already made, well, before the budget was set.  Which brings me to my dilemma…the Million Dollar Bed Skirt.  Well, it obviously isn’t made of gold and lined with diamonds, but when the fabric is over $300 a yard retail and you throw in a couple of euro shams for the bed as well, were talking over $2,700 for 2 pillows and a bed skirt.  A BED SKIRT!  (that is not going into Oprah’s bedroom)  Which brings me here today.  I’ve already ordered the 7 foot custom headboard in Osborne & Little  (see…totally not a small budget project).

The walls are going to be Benjamin Moore Icy Blue 2057-70.  The curtains are a creamy white linen  and the bedding is linen greige (ya know gray / beige).  So, what do you think of these options?

MDBSA #1

OK, Thom Filicia for Kravet… we all know how I feel about Thom Filicia.  It will certainly work with the creamy white & grege linen and love the blues.  It’s a little more masculine of the options, but the green isn’t perfect.  Although…sometimes in design perfect isn’t, well…perfect.  Moving on.

MDBSA #2

Here is an option from Fabricut.  It certainly works, but it is too traditional?  Maybe.  But I like it.  It could work.

MDBSA #3

This certainly has the blues and the greens and even brings in a pop of yellow.  And it’s a little more fun!

MDBSA#4

Oooh…I love this one.  Seriously. Love.  But does my client like Ikat?  We’ll see!

MDBSA#5

Did I mention that the adjoining master bath is being decorated in pink?  This option pulls in the pink, and although it doesn’t have any blue in it, I think it would work well with the cool icy blue.  (sorry I didn’t snap a pic with the paint color swatch)

MDBSA#6

I am also falling hard for this option.  Is it because it’s been such a long winter in New England that the spring colors in option makes me so happy?   Or is it just awesome?  You be the judge.

MDBSA #7

Speaking of spring…loving the colors of this fun floral linen!

MDBSA #8

Or how about this large scale fun graphic print?  Here is a peek of what’s coming out of the top of the urn.

MDBSA #9

And nothing says large scale fun graphic print quite like these asian fans!

So let me know what you think, and stay tuned to see what my client decides.

* MDBSA = Million Dollar Bed Skirt Alternative

 

 

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Getting Cozy

Not only am I back to blogging regularly, the new year has also brought with it a chance for me to finally get back to designing my own home.  Ya know, the cobbler with no shoes?  I have lots of unfinished projects that I will be working on completing this year…and here’s the first one!  Do you remember the facebook post last spring where I was polling you about which fabric I should use to recover this chair?

Well, I decided to go in a whole different direction with the space.  Don’t worry I still used the amazing rug I won from Rue La La, but I thought it worked so much better in the MK Coastal office.  Buh bye orange and blue!  In the meantime, I added blue grass cloth to the walls and a walnut hardwood floor.  I knew I wanted to add glamor and femininity to the space, but still wasn’t sure about the color scheme.  That is until I saw THIS rug!

It was love at first sight!  And just like that I had my color scheme.  Oh, and then Pantone went and announced the 2014 Color Of the Year: Radiant Orchard.  NAILED IT!   Anyhoo…back to the chair.  Now I was fully planning on spending boat loads of money to make this chair amazing.  It was only $50 second hand, so I felt like it made sense to spend extra on fabulous fabric to reupholster the cushions.   That was, until I found these at Home Goods!

It doesn’t get much more glamours and feminine than that!  I had originally purchased a few of these to put together on the floor by the bed, but decided to try them on the chair instead.

Don’t you just want to crawl in there with a good book?  (My six year old is a huge fan of that)

I only needed 3 of these and for $16.99 I recovered my chair for just over $50.  All in, this chair cost me a little over $100 and I love how it feels in the space!  Gotta run…I have a book to finish reading.

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I’m Thankful For….

BURLAP (among other things of course)  But seriously I am always thankful for a fabulous utility fabric that you can use over and over again.  This year, I started with a simple white linen table cloth and overlaid it with a few yards of beautiful silver sage burlap (in that fab color…still only $3.99 a yard) paired it with a flannel tartan for an elegant fall tablescape.  Did I mention that I didn’t sew ANYTHING?!?  That’s right, a couple of yards of flannel fabric with a built in “cut here” line.

The inspiration for this Thanksgiving table setting came from the Blue Moon Squash I found at Idylwilde Farm last week.  Did you see my post on facebook?  In all honesty, this was to be my first dinner party at our new dining room set (I totally feel like a real grown up now) and I wanted the colors of the decor to match said furniture.  Nailed it!

New Squash Meet New Chair

My “newly retired” mom (congrats Peg O’Toole) is in the process of downsizing again, so I inherited her wedding china as well (see what I mean…total grown up territory!)

And here is a close up of a super simple flower arrangement. Hydrangea & Flowering Kale, are some on my favorites for fall centerpieces!

Don’t forget to add moss around the bottom of the hurricane candles for texture!

I was just so happy with how the whole table came together…and the food, well that’s another story for a different sort of blog!

And are you wondering about the numbered pumpkins?  Truth be told, this isn’t really my Thanksgiving table…in fact, I’m not even hosting this year!  (But don’t totally put it past me to set my table weeks in advance)  This post was inspired by a dinner party I was hosting.  As each of my guests arrived I had them pick a number which corresponded to seat for suppah!  Although some couples actually ended up sitting net to each other, it was a fun way to let fate decide how the night progressed. (And some chairs were clearly more comfy than others).

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

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