ONE ROOM CHALLENGE - WEEK 3: THE OFFICE

Okay....I thought that the One Room Challenge would challenge me to work super-duper fast to finish this Office Basement project that's been looming over my head since June.   Instead, I'm second guessing my choices and wondering if there are more fabulous fabric and furniture options out there for me!  What it amounts to - is I hate designing for myself!  It takes me forever to make decisions - I'm my own worst client!
If you are a designer out there reading this - you MUST understand!  I, typically, have to pull a scheme for myself and look at it for about a year (give or take a few minutes) until I can pull the trigger.  But, because the ORC opportunity became available, I went for it!  I didn't think about my scheme or how I was going to implement it - I just started in!

The BEFORE photo (yikes!)

AFTER:  Painted walls and re-organized!

Week One - posted my embarrassingly messy Design Library photos.  I felt a little "dirty" after Week One - exposing my ugly basement trash room!

I didn't realize it when I signed up for this Challenge - but, for Week Two - I would be out of town!    Before leaving, I had to make an agonizing decision - do I order the Pottery Barn Bedford White Office Collection?  Or, do I order the Home Decorator's Martha Stewart White Office Collection?  This kind of decision can wear me down quickly and consume my waking hours!  I knew that I had to take serious action and decide quickly!  Week Two would be over before I knew it - tick-tock, tick-tock - I HAD to order quickly and now!

Martha Stewart Living Craft Desk

I opted to go the Martha Stewart route.  Why?  I LOVE Martha!  But, seriously - cost was a factor.  Also, I kind of wanted the furniture to be bright white - to create a more stark contrast against the beige walls (the PB desk is creamier).  Also, the MS Desk and Filing cabinets are leggy.  This will make my Basement Office appear visually larger and more airy.  Also, I just thought the Martha Stewart collection was more feminine!

So, before Week One ended - I ordered all of my desk stuff and the

Pottery Barn Bedford Desk

Chinese knot bookcases (in black).
I find an inexpensive White Office chair from Costco ($62) and bring it home.

Week Two  - my boxes from Home Decorator's Collection arrive.  However, I am already on vacation.  So, I do not post.  I feel bad about not posting, but obviously, not THAT bad!  I enjoy my time at the beach and worry about what progress I will be able to talk about for Week Three!
Happily, I got (some) of my act together and put together my new White Martha Stewart desk and filing cabinets!  It looks good!  I love the wide expanse of working space.  I add my white Desk chair and, VOILA!  Tres chic!

It is in this "white" moment that I wish my brown IKEA Billy bookcases were WHITE.  I curse the day (two years ago -when I thought I'd be "edgy" and buy Wenge bookcases!  What was I thinking!  So, I won't paint them white (already thought about that) and buy trim to make them look like custom built-ins .  Instead, I've decided to embrace my "edgy" bookcases - leave them as they are and just paint the back boards a pink color.

Week Three - stay tuned.  I will put together my two Chinese knot bookcases and paint them white.   Hopefully, I'll have the stamina to paint all of the Billy bookcase backs pastel pink, too.  I'm just hoping that I survive this Challenge and can limp across the finish line in time!  (fingers crossed)

Drafting Wall - will replace those 2 Lowe's laminate cabinets with "Chinese Knot" bookcases.

"Chinese Knot" bookcases - in boxes.....calling my name!

One Room Challenge - Week One!

I'm super-excited (and slightly dreading) this One Room Challenge event.   I think it's fantastic that Linda from Calling It Home  blog has graciously opened the doors for other bloggers and heartfelt design enthusiasts - to accept the challenge and join in the fun!

My Project:  THE OFFICE

I can't wait to get started transforming my scary basement Fabric Library into my new "luxury" office space! Over the summer, I mentioned that I'd been hoping to transform a room in my basement into an Office space.  Now that I've committed myself full-time to my interior design business, I'm feeling the urgency to escape my current office- located on the first floor.  It's just too easy to get up and start doing laundry, or cleaning, or, well...snacking!  So, this past summer, I painted the room and purchased a single lamp for the space.  I needed a pair - but, after scouring all of the Home Goods stores in Atlanta and Pittsburgh, I settled with just owning one.  That's all I've done so far.  This challenge will force me to finish what I started.  So, for that, I am grateful!

THE BEFORE:

Wall A and Wall B

BEFORE....Wall B and Wall C

My basement is the dumping ground for all things unwanted.  I, literally, pile all of my "Office" things in this room and shut the door!  Wouldn't you?  It's a disaster zone!  No one would want to work in here. YET.

MY PLAN:

Integrate my dark wenge IKEA Billy bookcases with a lighter palette.   Purchase an afforable, but large desk with filing cabinets, purchase more white shelving storage.  Utilize leftover Osborne & Little chinois fabric from an old project.  Cover the dark green wall-to-wall carpet with a lighter prettier area rug.

If budget allows, add a cream area rug and dashes of PINK!  It will be the only room in my male dominated house that will have pink! yea!

NEXT WEEK:

More photos and a better plan!

Fabulous Finds at the Atlanta Gift Show, July 2013

The Atlanta Gift Show was HOT, HOT, HOT this past July!
JULY?!  you say?  It's now September...September creeping into October!  Barclay!  What's up with that?
Well, okay - truth be told.  I couldn't download my photos onto my laptop computer and.....well....things like that slow me down!  Anyhow - the Gift Show was such a blast this year - as I went into a corner of the Market that I've NEVER been in and I found numerous, wonderful vendors!

Dunes and Duchess (www.DunesandDuchess.com)

Dunes & Duchess lacquer lamps

Beaded Bargello pillow by Callisto Home

MooMoo Designs - FAB Orange Leather picture frame

Deco-inspired Coffee Table 

"Audubon" Coffee Table

Phoenix Sun Mirror

Modern Chest in Ivory

Stepped Chest - love the organic look!

Tara Shaw's nod to New Orleans

As you might have expected - orange is still the hot trending accent color!  You'll see pops of it in my small sampling of photos.

Amy Howard chair

Mr. Brown chair

Love the fun bubble mirror!  Very feminine

Bliss Studio chair

Tara Shaw chair

I saw several "duplicate" styles of furniture out there.  But, the ones I photographed were exceptionally beautiful and well-done!  Both of these examples are very haute couture and sophisticated, but selling at a reasonable price.  They would be considered the "jewels" in your room or the show-stoppers!

Amy Howard

I have a bit of a penchant for Coffee Tables!  I can't help myself - but, I love them!  (and occassional chairs!)
So, whenever I hit a furniture market - you can know, for sure, that my camera will be out and clicking when I see a fantastic and affordable coffee table!  I spared you all and thought better of not posting all of my luscious tables.  But, here are a few!

Which coffee table is your favorite?   I'd love to know!!

I've got to run and post this blog.  I'm accepting the ONE ROOM CHALLENGE and need to figure out how I can link up with the group this morning!
See you soon!

Introducing the 2014 Colormix collections by Sherwin Williams

I just returned from a really interesting Color Forecasting seminar hosted by Sherwin Williams.

photo: courtesy of Sherwin Williams

Carolyn Noble, Marketing Manager for SW, spoke and showed us the many numerous influences that shaped the color palettes for the 2014 forecast.  Sherwin Williams always does a fantastic job with this annual forecasting seminar and this year's program was hard to beat!  It was inspirational and eye-opening!

SEPTEMBER'S COLOR OF THE MONTH:  SW 7045 Intellectual Gray
"Welcome Back to School month!"

Sherwin Williams (SW) is forecasting four distinct color palettes for the new year.
1.  Reasoned - is a collection of blacks, greys and whites.  "Grey is the new black, and math is the new sexy".  (I didn't say it -they did!)  But, it's true!  I've seen an emergence of grey/white or black/white rooms lately.  SW emphasizes that this popular color palette was influenced by the structure and forms coming out of fashion - pleats, folds, outlines that define shapes.  And by artists - using positive and negative space, pen and ink forms, the typewriter.

photo: courtesy of Sherwin Williams

2.  Intrinsic - is the second collection with a more Bohemian, worldly and culturally authentic look.  Inspired by Eastern Europe and heritage crafts like embroidery, intricate lace and crochet - this color collection is bright, vibrant and earthy!

photo: courtesy of Sherwin Williams

3.  Diaphanous - is a collection of light, delicate colors that evoke an atmospheric, billowy, spiritual weightlessness. OK - sounds a bit dramatic - but the colors are soft, feminine and soothing.

photo: courtesy of Sherwin Williams

4.  In contrast, Curiosity, the final color collection jars your sensibilities.  The color selections are inspired by the strange and unusual colors associated with weird science and eccentricity - think deep purples, acidic greens.  Geology and the natural stones collected from the deepest recesses of the earth - like copper and metallics.

photo: courtesy of Sherwin Williams

The best part of this seminar was the inspirational photos from featured influential artists.  I am sad that I wasn't able to write down all of their names!  But, I was able to track down one of the artists.
Her name is Olga Kostina an artist from Siberia Russia.  She has collected over 30,000 bottle caps and has decorated her wood frame house with them.  Honestly, this was amazing!!

What are your design inspirations?  I'd love to know!
Have a great day -

Hump Day Happiness!

Happiness is HOMEGOODS!
I'm creating an office for myself in our basement.  It's a bit of a challenge - for many reasons:
1.  our basement is one of those scary, partially unfinished basements!  Dark and murky with no light.
2.  the room that I've designated as my "office" has few electrical outlets, peeling plaster walls, and a hideous dark green wall-to-wall carpet.  It also has a ceiling fan/light combination (REALLY special when you're trying to work on a client's color scheme!)
3.  lastly, most importantly, I have very little funds to make this space look AB FAB!
So - where does one go when one has limited funds - well - HomeGoods, of course!

I scoured all of metro Atlanta to look for the perfect pair of HomeGoods lamps for my office.  I found lots of great lamps and all of them were really well-priced.  Here are a few of my favorites. 
Do you have a favorite?

Loved the texture on these two white lamps.  The one on the right was perfect for a beach house.

The blue/white combination of these bamboo lamps with acrylic bases caught my eye....

I, especially, loved these owl lamps - so charming!  I'm not normally an owl lover - but, they just spoke (or hooted) to me! 
Anyhoot...I foudn and bought a gorgeously affordable crystal column lamp that had my name all over it.  But, sadly, there was no match to be found (despite spending needless hours traveling all of metro Atlanta to find its match.
BUT, while on my quest, I found many other HomeGoods goodies!

These smaller scale mirrors would be great in an Entry or Powder Room.

This circular rope mirror would look great in a beach house or a teen girl's room!

Thought this might be nice in my son's nautically-inspired room.

                  Faux rustic painted board mirror.  So many places to hang this baby! 

     Maybe a beach or mountain house, boys or girls room...I was thinking our playroom...

And, HomeGoods always has a great selection of well-priced baskets.

Happy Shopping!

HAPPY FOURTH of JULY!

Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July!

Arlington National Cemetary photography by Rebecca Clever

via Chinoiserie Chic blog

The Wianno Club, Osterville, MA