Friday, July 29, 2011

Bathroom Re-Do

WHOA, 2 kids! I feel tangled in knots most days, which is why this blog is oh-so-sparse. Yesterday my little Noah (now 9 weeks) did not sleep from the hours of noon to 10 pm, except for a couple cat naps. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? HOW IS HE EVEN STILL ALIVE? I realize now that it was just too busy a day overall and I need to slooooow down. Anyway, between all the madness, I've had a few moments here and there to redecorate my sad bathroom.


Remember my bathroom inspiration post with all that black and white? Well, I finally made it happen. 


Here are the grotesque before shots. Don't you love those sexy Hollywood dressing room lights? Blech. (That's me trying to get the boy to sleep. Come on, Noah! You can do it! [No, no he can't.])



And I would love to get rid of that door, but my landlord said no. Booo. Wait, I have a better idea: let's tear the whole bathroom down and start over again. But, it is what it is, and we will refer to all the quirks in our apartment as "charming."



 So, here it is. I added the chair decals that Cyndi got me for Christmas. (Thanks, Cyndi!)
I put new paper in this Ikea frame I've had forever. (Isn't that the most CHARMING unnecessary hook right there?)


 I painted this once-blue earring holder black and kept the white in the middle.

I talked more about doing this in my Jewelry as Decor post. It's an old picture frame with some wire strung from end to end.



You'll notice the little cupcake plate-turned-jewelry-holder that I mentioned in the same post.



Here are the chair decals again. I think you got them from Target, right Cyndi? These decals could be easily taken up a notch by framing them with white mats and classy, thin, black frames. 


 Tah-dah! 
*Martha

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Nate Berkus Associates

I was watching Nate a loooong time ago when he gave a tour of his design studios in Chicago. I was dyying over the industrial ruggedness of them. I scoured the web for pictures and finally happened upon some great ones in the latest edition of Lonny Magazine.

I love the open shelving and all the samples hanging on the sides of the shelves. I love the exposed ceiling and all the lighting.



*Martha

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Client Project - Modern French Country Living Room

Several months ago we finished a client project and we never got around to posting the design boards. Here they are!

A little background and description: The client's living room is small but multi-purpose, so it needed to serve as an entryway, family room and entertainment room. She wanted to keep a few items and buy a few items, plus she needed more storage/shelving, seating and art.

The first board shows several pieces of her furniture she wanted to keep: the couch, side table, bench and mirror. We gave her a fabric option to use to reupholster the bench. The framed music is a visual idea of what the sheet music would look like on the wall (more on that below). The picture gallery wall is an example of something we suggested she put over her couch - a combination of art and family photos.

The design board below shows all the products we chose for her living room. Her color scheme is light blues, browns, grays and cremes. They love French things, so we found a couple accessories to reflect that; the sheet music is French sheet music from Etsy which we recommended she frame to put on the wall. The ladder serves to heighten the small room as well as for shelving and to add visual interest. We recommended wall sconces instead of floor lamps for lighting since floor space was limited. Multiple ottomans are to serve as flat surfaces as well as additional seating.




The design board below features some additional options to switch out or substitute, since the client admitted she gets tired of things easily. She also likes vintage items, so we added a few more of those.



This was done on a budget of just over $1,000, meaning all the items on the middle board add up to just over $1,000. Killer, right? The most expensive items were the rug, the drapes (which she might even sew herself, saving even more money) and the furniture. By keeping a few items she already liked, mixing in a few additional large pieces, plus accessories, she can have a total room makeover for not much money! She doesn't even have to buy everything at once - this type of thing can happen gradually over time. Buy a pillow here, an ottoman there and before you know it, your space can come together. That is what I love about these e-design boards - you can see everything together at once, and then you get to mull over it and do the rest at your pace. 

Hope you enjoyed it!

Click here to read more about starting an e-design board for yourself.

*Martha

Friday, July 1, 2011

A Picnic Perhaps?

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday! And how perfect that it's a 3-day weekend this time! And how perfect that there will be sun in Seattle at this perfect time! And how perfect that I threw out my picnic basket that I got for our wedding because I thought we'd never use it! NOT! I can't believe I did that, but it's true. I did. And I don't know what to do this weekend without it. Hopefully you'll have your own perfect picnic, perhaps with some of these fun items I found for you. Have a great one! (Someone please buy that grill! It's so rad.)







1. Mini paper lantern string
2. Patriotic paper bunting
3. Picnic basket
4. Condiment jars with tray
5. Stripe beach towels
6. Adirondack chair
8. Beverage tub
9. Outdoor rug
11. Charcoal grill


*Martha
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