Organic Edible Gardens!!

This will be our first Spring in our new house & we're so excited to get to gardening!!  We've decided to do a pretty big vegetable garden... one that we can eat from, but -most importantly to me- one that we can enjoy being in.  It'll be a mix of flowers and vegetables and even fun structures like a living tee pee for the boys to play in.  To help me with the design and to actually create the garden, I've called one of my oldest childhood friends- Danylo Kosovych- who owns Organic Edible Gardens to help me with my 27' x 18' large plot.  

Danylo came over yesterday to take a look at everything and we started brainstorming together.  I was blown away by his imaginative ideas and willingness to make the garden a fun place for our boys.  You can take a look at the -not scaled- general idea we're thinking about right now.  The centers of the bed where the circles are will be potted fruit trees (lemon I hope!!) and the left side of the plan is my house.  The top of the plan shows my fence to the front yard, which opens as wide as the pathway.  We're planning on edging the gardens in chartreuse oregano.  (That's what I call it anyway ;) for a structured look that's full of mayhem and wildness inside the beds.
I'll share more as Danylo & his design team plan out the details (and create the actual design plans which are much prettier than mine ;)  and I'll be sure to share progress and after pics!!  
If you're in the DC area and are looking to get started planning an organic edible garden & need help getting started, check out Organic Edible Gardens.  (They're booking up quickly because it's Spring but it's so worth it!!!)  Danylo & his team are A-mazing!!
ps- I will be sure to show you our kindergarten pics next week!! haha

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Big Announcement- A New Venture

 Last week I posted a glimpse of a new venture for me and today I am so excited to share it with you.  You are looking at my new space, well the beginnings of my new space, inside Interiors and Antiques in Birmingham, AL.

Last summer my assistant and I were discussing options for what to do with extra items sitting around the office- pieces that didn't work for clients or "finds" I could not walk away from.  Soon after this discussion started, I took part in an amazing One King's Lane Sale.  The success of that sale led to additional sales on the blog and really spurred on the idea of a small space somewhere to serve as a physical outlet for me.

Almost a year later here we are.  There is still A LOT of work to be done but I feel a good foundation has been set.  

Pieces in my space are a combination of new and old, fine antiques and rustic treasures, locally custom made one-of-a-kind furniture, pillows, lighting, small gifts- a little of everything I love thrown in.  

I am going to give this a test run for a months and see how it goes.  I have already enjoyed the process but it is very time consuming and as far as work is concerned, being a Designer is definitely my first priority and I refuse to take additional time away from Henry so we shall see.

If you are in Birmingham (or close by) please come in and take a look.  I am in space #15.  New items will be added regularly so don't be a stranger.  And if you are not close by, don't worry- I will be featuring different items along the way, many of which I can ship if needed!

Where to find me:

Room #15

Interiors and Antiques

1069 Montgomery Highway

Birmingham, AL 35216

Look for the gray tags with my logo and information on the back!

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More Photo Shoots and some flower love

So...  we're doing a few last-minute photo shoots for our portfolio of some of my favorite projects.  I've been working with one of my clients for about three years now and she's got a really beautiful style so I cannot WAIT to take these photos!  The other project is a newer one (with progress shots shared a couple of months ago on Instagram) and this family also has really great style.  I think in this industry we give a lot of credit to designers., but the truth is that homeowner's personal styles and tastes are what really make a home special or a project "great."  A decorator may be able to create an amazing design, but without an open-minded client who has her or his own amazing sense of style and "gets it" the designer might never get the chance to actually implement that vision.

So... onto photo shoot details:  I am truly running around like a madwoman right now.  One of the most important elements of good photos are flowers and plants.  And I'm seriously behind on it.  So, I called my go-to flower guru, Holly Heider Chapple, who has bailed me out more than once.      

Holly owns Holly Heider Chapple Flowers, an amazingly successful boutique flower studio in Leesburg, Virginia.  As I called Heidi this morning, she was preparing for a booked-up seminar and workshop she's hosting in NYC, where she and other flower experts (including a Martha Stewart Living editor) will be speaking and teaching, getting ready for multiple weddings this weekend, welcoming a new employee on board today... yet she still agreed to help me. (!!)    The woman is a true whirlwind.  In a good way.  My hero.

Her floral designs are so good!!!  Going to her website and blog just makes me want to have a party.  

Holly & I went over what I was thinking about doing for flowers in my clients' homes, and of course she had even better ideas.   She gets that I like a loose, casual, relaxed arrangements that look as if they were just picked from a home garden.  (She also knows my favorites are green and white and that I like my own flowers a little wild. ;) ;)

If you're a decorator, when you style your clients' homes for photo shoots- what's your flower philosophy and do you have a go-to flower stylist??

 ps- Holly's company also does floral arrangements for homes on a weekly basis if you're into something like that.  (Sounds like an awesome gift to someone you love- hint hint maybe your spouse if you are reading this and your name starts with a 'D'??- ;) ;) 


*All images in this post are Holly's*

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Didn't I Swear Off Cheap Shoes?

 I thought this year I had sworn off buying cheap shoes...but then I was in Target.  I actually breezed right by these until I heard two women discussing them and I became intrigued.  I must say they are cute and comfortable.

While I was in the shoe section I also came across these...

Didn't I buy a much more expensive pair similar to these last year?  Oh well.  The colors grabbed me so I am taking these for a spin, we shall see how it goes.

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Open Up & The Chicago Tribune

A couple of months ago, during our renovation whirlwind, I was contacted by a writer, Elaine Markoutsas, who wanted to interview me about the choice to do open shelving in my kitchen and living with it.  We had a good chat about open shelves in the kitchen and about why I love it...  Things have been so busy that it totally slipped my mind & I was so surprised to see an email from my friend Debra this morning congratulating me on being mentioned in an article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday!

{The photo used in the Chicago Tribune of the kitchen in our last house... That's Christian, who's now 5!!}

I'm originally from the suburbs of Chicago (I moved to Virginia with my mom when I was four) and I have lots of family and friends there (most importantly, my Dad!! :) so it's really cool to have an article mentioning me in Chicago.

Open shelving in the kitchen is a concept I feel strongly about (not a joke, though it should be ;) and I feel like it really changed my view and outlook on other rooms in a home too.  The notion of functional beauty is one that I've now taken all over my home (and clients' homes) and just seems so natural to me.  There are things I'm okay hiding and things I like displaying, and I sort of draw the line here: 

1)When things functionally make sense in a room and 

2) When things have some aspect of beauty to them or can be displayed in a way that makes them beautiful

...that they may as well be exposed for me and others to see.   

In our new (old) house, I've opened things up pretty much everywhere I can.  In a small hallway leading from the garage to the house, we're in the process of creating a mini-mudroom out of a 4 foot wide coat closet.  We've removed the doors and taken down the closet rod.  We're adding hooks for coats and bags, a shelf up top for baskets, and a storage bench.  We now see our "junk" every time we walk in the house, but it's displayed in a way that looks as good as it can and it makes life more functional...  Now, my 3 year-old can hang his coat up by himself instead of needing us to hang it for him.  I COVET a mudroom like this:

{I looove these cubbies...  we don't have enough space for any in our house.  Image from here.}

Ours will look more like this:

{Except without the pretty sunshine streaming in ;) ;)  Image from here. }

The same goes for our loft family room...  We're in the process of lining the entire room with shelving for books, toys and randoms stuff.  I'll leave the books exposed and then do baskets for the not-so-pretty stuff like toys and games.  Here's the loft before we moved in:

Right now, the loft is a MESS...  It's half-pinkish-beige from when we moved in and partly primed and exposed studs from where we tore out the paneling and desk you see in the pic.  I have BIG plans for this room and will be sharing soon. BUT the biggest feature in the room will be its open shelving.  I'm so excited to be able to be surrounded by our books (We've been living with them in the garage this whole time and I can't even tell you how many times a week I want to grab a book to reference it or read it to the boys or whatever and I just can't.  I am so excited to be able to have any book we need at our fingertips.)  Most of my books aren't very pretty so I'll be working on some creative ways of displaying them to make them look better.  (wish me luck ;)  I love a mix of vertical and horizontal stacks like in this picture:

{image from here}

In our dining room, I follow the same line of thinking and have more open shelving for serving ware and our nature finds.  I love the simple utilitarian stacks of dishes in this dining room below:

{image from here}

In my office, I display my fabrics, magazines and client binders on large open shelving.  Don't get me wrong, I love cabinetry and hidden storage too- but- I reserve the cabinets and drawers in our house for the ugly stuff, trying to minimize it as much as possible,  and use open shelving for the useful pretties.

The concept of opening up and surrounding myself & my family in the things we use on a daily basis is one that fits the way we live.  We're very casual people, and in this new house, my main goal- besides making it something I love to look at & be in- is making is incredibly functional and easy to live in.  Opening up our storage and seeing the stuff we have is so freeing.  It forces us to ditch the stuff we don't love or use all the time and keeps us disciplined.  (And now I just need an empty room in my house to hide all the other stuff ;)

Anyway, I know it's not for everyone...  what are your thoughts on opening up and exposing your stuff?

To read more about my thoughts and readers' comments & experiences on open shelving, go HERE.


To read the Chicago Tribune article, Full Exposure, by Elaine Markoutsas, go HERE.

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Checking In...Lions and Tigers and Installations, Oh My

 Sorry for being scarce last week...things were busy to say the least.  There were installations I can't wait to share with you...

 And a marathon day at Scotts where I was this close to working some magic with these guys...if only they were slightly shorter....

 And then installations of a different sort...

This weekend didn't provide much of a break but I did get to watch the Rachel Zoe Project while Henry snoozed on Sunday.  I love any show which allows you to catch a glimpse into someone else's creative world and this episode revolved around her Spring 2013 Runway Show.  I have to say a special thank you to Jenny who made it possible for me to see this  runway show in person.  It made watching the episode even better.

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Quiet Time- Window

Love this, so simple but so pretty.

Via If Grace Was An Ocean

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Inspired by My Pals

I had a little extra time this morning (my kindergartener had no school!!) so I got the chance to visit some of my dear blog (and real life too!) friends.  Reading blogs is one of my favorite things to do,  but now that I have three kids, the time I actually have for it is almost nonexistant.  But, when I do have the time to visit my friends' blogs, I'm honestly never short of amazed.  It's kind of crazy, actually, how talented these people are.

First stop this morning was my friend Loi of Tone one Tone.  I went back a few posts (that's what you do when you're catching up so it's kind of like watching a TV series on Netflix all in a row = really satisfying and a bit obsessive ;)    and I am GAGA over this kitchen he did for his friend:

{Design by Loi Thai of Tone on Tone}

It's insanely beautiful and so warm and relaxed.  If you haven't already, you've got to check out his blog to see the whole kitchen and read more about about this Moroccan- inspired kitchen.  When I visit Tone on Tone, I'm always blown away by what Loi's saying and doing.

I have been meaning to mention for a while now, the new book that my friend, Maria Killam, (the paint color guru of Colour Me Happy ) wrote.  It's an an e-book that totally demystifies the paint color selection process.  It's fully of pretty pictures and really practical advice & methods so if you haven't read it and you're a designer or homeowner who dabbles in design, you have to check it out:

Maria is smart & funny and direct (a natural teacher) ...and you will love her if you don't already!!

And, as I'm sure you probably know, my friend Brooke Giannetti of Velvet and Linen is building her dream home with her architect husband, Steve.. It's seriously going to be one of the most incredible houses in the world.  When I stop into Velvet & Linen to see what they're doing, I'm always in complete awe.  

{A mid-project photo of Patina Farm}

When working on my own home, I find myself thinking about Brooke and Loi (of Tone on Tone) a lot...  Our aesthetics are of course different but what they do really resonates within me.  I'm so inspired by their clean, honest styles...  the materials they use, their palettes... everything!!  The BONES of what they're working on are always perfection because they've thought about every last detail.  Nothing is trying to be anything other than what it is.  I've visited both of their homes and they were seriously two of the most amazing homes I've ever visited.  (They are in my top 3 favorite houses I've ever stepped foot into along with with my photographer's house- Helen Norman- below) 

{Helen's Kitchen}

I always leave their blogs feeling so inspired and feel like I know a little bit more about my own style after reading their informative posts.   They're all so TRUE to their design visions and know themselves so well and really inspire me to try to be the same way. 

And finally, my friend Debra Phillips, the landscape designer and store owner who writes 5th and State just wrote a really beautiful post about following her passion & starting her business.  Debra is one of the funniest, kindest and mos insightful people I've ever met and she's truly driven to do what she does.  If you need to get a little pumped up today about following your dreams, check out Debra's most recent post:

{Check out Debra's post on Passion here}

There are so many more talented & inspiring friends I want to mention here but my blogging time is UP!! (The 3 little men in my life need me.)  Have an amazing weekend & thanks for reading!!

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Client Project: Midstage Pics

I'm so thankful and honored to be able to work with the people and families who are my clients...  My clients' dreams and needs drive the creative part of my life and I feel a really strong connection with them.  I love being able to help my clients turn a home that they've never really felt was right for them into something that they're crazy about.  Changing people's homes and helping them create something that they're excited about, that they can take pride in and that they can live in easily & comfortably is really fulfilling to me because it's not just about making something look pretty, it's about changing the way people live and improving their quality of life.  

I thought I'd share some mid-project photos of a renovation I'm working on for a special family.  The changes are pretty  drastic already and I thought you might enjoy seeing the project unfold...

  Here's a picture of the kitchen before, with walls in a hunter green wallpaper and pink formica that was in place when my clients moved in:

My client has been so ready to ditch the pink and green!!!  It was one of the first things she mentioned to me.  Functionally though, the two-tiered island with cooktop wasn't working for my client and & her family either.  The top tier left little room for the kids to spread out.  We thought that opening up the back wall by moving the refrigerator, microwave and oven to the left wall would really open up the kitchen, which had very little usable counter space and a closed-in feeling.  We put the range and hood in the center of the back wall to give the kitchen a nice focal point as well as make it more practical for the family.  (No one wants to worry about little fingers getting burned by hot pots on the island!!)  

My client's home sits on a beautiful little pond and her views all open up to the water.  She's drawn to blues and is attracted to high-contrast elements.  Her look is crisp and light and airy and almost coastal.  She's never felt that her home was the way she dreamed it could be, so we got to work creating a plan that I felt was truly "her."  Here's a look at her furniture & fixture selections:

You can see it's a that it's a pretty clean and classic look.  We've incorporated more woodwork into her home, which lacked architectural interest...  The new kitchen back splash will be a gray-blue beadboard which makes the home feel so much more solid, yet warmer and softer than stone would feel.  Because of her love of high-contrast elements, we went with warm white cabinets and honed black granite countertops and a dark mahogany island...  We stopped by to check on it earlier this week and I snapped this picture:

We're so close!!  

We're working again, with CarrMichael Construction and I love their attention to detail.  

Here's a peek at the palette...  These fabrics (and leather!) will be going in the family room, which the kitchen is completely open to:

The gray-blue at bottom right is going on a large comfy sofa and it's going to be so soft & cozy for my clients!!  A pair of chairs will flank the fireplace and they'll be in the blue pinstripe.  The leather is for the ottoman and the warm beige velvet on the right is for a chair-and-a-half.  (Trust me! A pretty one DOES exist!! Check out Lee Industries.)  The other fabrics are some of the pillows will be bringing in.

Here's a look at the main level powder room selections:

Again, it's a very classic look that I think works really well for a house on the water.  

Here's a peek at the powder room, which we had paneled in bead board and painted in a warm, dark gray: 

(While the kitchen renovation was taking place, my clients used the powder room sink as the kitchen sink so you can spy some kitchen stuff in the pic.)

The sconces are by Visual Comfort (who I'm sure you've realized by now is one of my favorite lighting manufacturers! ;) and the gray paint is Benjamin Moore's "Kendall Charcoal" #HC-166.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my clients' renovation.  I'm so thankful for people like my clients who place so much trust in me.  If you like seeing mid-stage stuff, just let me know & I'll try to include more!  Have a great day!!

If you're in the VA- MD-DC area and would like to join me next week at Architectural Ceramics for a talk on Blogging, check out this post!  

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