i don't know about y'all but i am super excited that today is actually halloween b/c i feel like we have been celebrating it for about 10 days now!!  walker is obsessed w/ candy so tonight should be interesting to say the least!

*images courtesy of calder clark, lonny, the glitter guide

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Opinions Please...Umbrella Strollers

We are in the market for an umbrella stroller and I could use some advice.  These are the finalist so far but I am open to suggestions!

Above Maclaren Volo, Below First Years Ignite

Above First Years Jet, Below UppaBaby G-Lite

And yes, I am looking for black or dark colors.  Our UppaBaby Vista (which I still love) looks like it needs to go through a car wash.

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Clients' Family Room & Dining Room; "Before" & 2 years "after"

A couple of years ago, I met Aimee & Dave and wrote about their design plans & project here.  With life being so busy for me (& them! :) I never ended up taking pictures of their finished space.  It's always been one of my favorites because they were willing to take some BIG design risks!!!  We finally got together & I snapped a few quick pics to share.  We started working together when the home was still under construction & looked like this:

 Now, a couple years later & lived in and loved, it looks like this: 

  The orange floral sofa was thought about - long & hard- by all of us.  It was a really bold move by Aimee & she is still totally loving it so I am so glad she took the risk!!!  Walking into the room with this sofa in it made me smile instantly.  It's soooo much fun and just so pretty in person.   You might remember the design plans & the VERY rough skectches I made, helping Aimee & Dave visualize what their space would feel like: 

 

This is how the actual space looks now:

 

 

They've kept the center of the plan fairly open for the kids to spread out & play on the floor.  We still have plans to swap out the sunburst mirror with an Audobon print and move it to the bedroom.

 

Here's a close-up of the super-comfy velvet chairs with a peek into the dining nook in the kitchen:

 

 

I didn't get a good pic of the 19th Century barley twist table with original needlepoint insets that I'd found for them but here's an old photo I took of it before it went in.  THIS THING IS INCREDIBLE:

 

 

It sits between the two velvet chairs.

 

 

I love the lamp by Haeger Potteries atop the media cabinet:

 

 

 And then here's the kitchen dining nook when it was under construction: (hey! looks like how we're living at our place right now!! ;) ;) 

 And here it is now, truly being used:  

 The custom parsons dining table is by The Lorimer Workshop in Rhose Island.  (They're amazing.)  I loooooove the kids artwork collection simply taped to the wall!!  (You may have noticed a few other artwork walls in the other shots too ;)  They can add the collections whenever they want.   And finally, here's one last pic of the family room with Aimee & Dave in it.  (They are STILL the cutest!! :) 

 I'm so thankful to have such wonderful clients like them who have let me into their homes & lives!! 

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good morning!!  right now, i am totally digging dark nails...mine are painted the color of the girl's above.  i hope y'all had a wonderful weekend.  ours was filled w/ lots of halloween activities!

*images courtesy of design darling, ciruelo interiors, apartment therapy, anthropologie, abundance

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St. V's Nursery Details Part II

Hello there, I hope you had a great weekend.  Shall we continue with the details of the St. Vincent's/ABC3340 nursery?  First up.....

The glider came from Storkland and the pillow from Etsy.  We added another pillow that matched the ottoman, not pictured here.  Ottoman was custom made, e-mail me @ mstronginteriors@aol.com for quote.  

Bedding- Sheet and crib courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids, skirt Robert Allen available through Marianne Strong Interiors.

Not a great picture but the best I had of the skirt close up.

Frames Target, painted custom color.  Prints inside frames are actually pages from the book Wherever You Are by Nancy Tillman. AKA the book that makes me cry every time I read it.

Light, to the trade, available through Marianne Strong Interiors.

Ceiling- you probably already know since it is a cult classic- Osborne and Little's Coronata Star.

Dresser available through At Home.

For specific pricing or questions e-mail me or Laurl @ mstrongint@aol.com.
Images Wynter Byrd and Marianne Strong Interiors

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Quiet Time

Via

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Destruction

Well I thought the second part of the nursery details were coming today but that didn't happen.  Instead I wanted to share these pictures from the St. Vincent's Nursery that I thought were so telling.  The family who won the nursery lost their entire house in a tornado.  Through the window you can the destruction of a neighbors house...

The rest of their house was still in the construction stage when we revealed the nursery.  Photo taken from living room looking back into the nursery.

Images Wynter Byrd and Marianne Strong Interiors

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A Client's Home Office Before & After

Since having Luke (our 5 month old) and unexpectedly selling our house & moving to a new one a couple of months ago, I've felt like time has truly been passing at the speed of light.  It's been a whirlwind.  I don't think life ever really slows down but I think it might calm a little once our house is through construction.     Since being in such a busy phase, I haven't had the chance to take many photos of finished projects to share...

 

Before Luke was born, I began working with a client who occasionally works from home and wanted to have her office redesigned.  The project was installed when I was around 9 months pregnant & when I was able to visit afterwards, I had my brand new baby with me so there wasn't time to take pictures.  I received the sweetest thank you card in the mail from her last week that she'd made from photos of the office & I just had to share! 

 

Here's what the loft office looked like when we started:

 

 

My client has very defined tastes and she's a minimalist.  I think she's also the neatest person I've EVER known.  (I'm seriously envious of how perfectly she keeps her home/ office.)  She likes her spaces to feel clean & open & airy & natural and loves a warm modern feeling.  We decided to reuphoster a pair of her existing chairs & to change out pretty much everything else. 

 

Here's what it looks like now:

 

We used a glass table between her reupholstered chairs so that the view from the new daybed to the living room below would be unimpeded.  To make the daybed exactly as my client wanted it, she & her (SUPER-handy!!) husband actually cut down the legs of the daybed for a lower/less traditonal vibe and painted the feet.  We used some of my fern star linen for throw pillows on it. 

We used a lot of glass & metal throughout the space but the live edge desk is one of my favorite pieces in the room.  We had it made by the Lorimer Workshop. It's a live edge top on metal legs.  I love it juxtaposed against the white leather & chrome chair.

I'm off for an installation (so be sure to check out instagram where I'll be posting photos of the project) but hope you enjoyed & thank you so much to my client for sending me the photos!!

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St. V's Nursery Details Part 1

Alright, let's get back to the St. Vincent's Nursery.  Some detail shots and information for y'all.  

The first time I met the winners they told me their son was going to be named Boston in part because of  Dad's love for the Red Sox.  When I saw this mobile I knew it was meant to be.

Above, custom color stool from Stray Dog Designs, available through Marianne Strong Interiors.  Below,  just one of the amazing frames from Scripture with Pictures, thank you Paula!

I have received lots LOTS of inquiries about these letters.  They were my starting point in this space and I LOVE them just as much as y'all do.  They are from Frontera in Birmingham, I also saw some similar at Scotts in Atlanta.  

This light is a trade item and available through Marianne Strong Interiors.  I included this shot though because you can see the inside detail.  I knew I wanted an iron/industrial look to the light but when it went up it needed something else.  All brown iron was too much, too dark and imposing.  So, I painted the inside a metallic silver to match the stars in the wallpaper and it ended up being just what the light needed.  I swear it is the smallest details that matter.

A HUGE thank you to the vendors who helped make this room possible.  The design of the room did not start until after the winner was chosen.  I felt it was important to really design the space for the specific family so I did not try to start a design before I knew who it was.  That left less than 3 weeks to pull everything together and that meant a lot of express orders/shipping/overall general break-neck hustling.  I could not have done it without wonderful companies.  More to come tomorrow.

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