Now I'm an Artist!

I know I'm pretty late to the party, but I just came across an app that is so fabulous I had to share. It's called waterlogue and takes any photo and turns it into a beautiful work of art. Look at what I created!

See!!  Amazing, right?

Client Project Update

Wow, you're probably wondering what happened to me.  Well I've been in the UK for the past month visiting family and friends.  I had meant to post pictures and updates about my trip but unfortunately my good camera was stolen from outside of Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Cornwall, boo hoo!  So I lost a gazillion photos of the first half of my trip which I'm still sick about.  Anyway, life goes on.

Since I've been back in the States a client rug has arrived and it's looks perfect in the space (rugs are always a tricky thing to get right!).

Here's how the space looked before my client hired me.

It's a huge space with a very tall cathedral ceiling.  The client had recently installed the cherry floors and painted the room.  The dining set was also new; so there wasn't much that could be changed in here.  But my first suggestion was to move the dining table into the alcove with the windows thus allowing the fireplace to become the focal point with seating around it.  The clients were willing to sell the leather sofa which they had had for over 10 years because although it was in perfect condition, it just didn't go with the rest of the room.  I suggested a linen or linen look sectional with an accent chair to go in front of the mantel, but my clients really like the look and easy maintenance of leather so we found a leather sectional from Macy's which is a little more contemporary and seats more than the previous sofa.

The rug is from West Elm and really helps to anchor the space.  We decided on a 9 x 12 rug to delineate the seating area from the dining area almost like creating a room within a room. I also love how the graphic lines update the space and keep it from looking too formal.  The black on the rug also ties in with the granite on the fireplace and the the black of the grand piano which you can't see in these pictures but is to the right of the sofa.

I would love to see a colorful fabric ottoman in here maybe something in a cherry red, vibrant yellow or a color taken from the painting for an unexpected pop but my clients are happy with the way it is for now.

*I'm currently taking on new clients so if you're interested, please give me a call.  I can help you with something as simple as rearranging your current furniture, helping with suggestions for window coverings to whole room and house design.  If you don't live in the Salt Lake area, I also offer e-design.*

Battle of the Home Offices Update

So it's been over 2 years since I threw down the challenge to the hubby to design the best home office.  Originally Damian was going to have a say in his design.  But I couldn't let him do it and completely took over!  He did though end up being a great laborer and did all of the work including laying the floor, framing, installing windows and doors, drywall, painting, cabinet installation, electrical.  You name it, he did it.  And it looks great.  I haven't posted pictures before because it's still not finished, but as with most projects, it may never be.

Here's a reminder of how it looked before:

Here it is in progress:

The garage doors were removed and replaced with two sets of french doors.  It's a long story, but you couldn't drive into the garage anyway, so replacing the door doesn't diminish the garage's functionality.

And here's how it looks now:

As you can probably tell, the majority of the furnishings is from Ikea.

The sconces and white lights are from West Elm.

The red office chairs are from Staples.

The wall was painted with a dry erase paint.  The boys love to draw on it also.

Well we are British, so why not have a London bus picture?  The clocks show the times in England, Salt Lake City and Tokyo (all the places where Damian and his partners work).

Damian's Lego Sophwith Camel.  He'd been asking Santa for this for a couple of years.  He finally managed to buy it for himself in the Lego Store in New York.

Damian's self-help book section!  As well as his toys.

Of course it used to be a garage, so where else are we going to store the bikes!

And here's a picture of my home office which I know you've seen a gazillion times before.

I think I succeeded in designing a non-girly workspace for Damian's new business and a totally girly space for me!  Which do you prefer?

Client Project Progress

Things are moving along quite nicely with the Federal Heights project.  The curtains are up and look amazing.  They add just the right amount of color and pattern to the far end of the room.

And remember in my last post when I said it was really hard finding decent throw pillows that weren't either really expensive or cheap and crappy.  And remember when I said that I wouldn't recommend decorating a room from one source.  Well, I found some pillows.  Guess where from?  Yep. Ikea.  Couldn't beat the price or the quality.  The client was surprised when I turned up with 7 of them, but it's a large sectional and it definitely can handle it.

My client gave the green light on this chartreuse storage ottoman from CB2.  Notice the accent trim on the rug.

And to tie in more chartreuse, we're adding the Bernhard chair from Ikea to go in front of the keyboard.

I asked if it was OK to add another pillow.  I'm thinking this one from World Market.

The client said no.  But I think I might sneak it in anyway and ask forgiveness later ;)

Things are moving along quickly.  Can't wait to show you the big reveal.

New Client Project

Big news!  I'm finally realizing a dream that I've had for many, many years.  It took some friends with a big house that has huge potential to ask me for some help in finding some cohesion in their newish to them home.  I'm thrilled that they're giving me this opportunity.  And I'm happy to say that they're allowing me to document the process here.

I'll be tackling a number of rooms including 2 boy's bedrooms, a guest bedroom, a family room, a mudroom, a mezzanine and a great room.  Whew, I'm exhausted thinking about it, but I'm more than up for the challenge.

My clients are huge outdoors people and travelers, so thinking about decorating has not been high on their list of priorities.  But they did realize that they needed some help in unifying, as well as, cozying up their home.  Here's where I came in.

We won't be changing any wall colors because they'd just recently had the whole house repainted.  And we won't be doing anything drastic with the decor because they're modest kind of people.  But I think that you'll agree that from the before and in-progress photos, small changes can make huge differences.

Family Room Before

Um, where to begin.  Notice how all of the furniture, the treadmill, and the exercise bicycle are pointed towards the TV.  Funny thing is, to the left of the picture is a great gas fireplace with built-ins that actually have a section for it.  Sometimes things that seem so obvious to some people, like furniture placement, are not so obvious to others.  This is an easy fix.

My first reaction was why is the TV the focal point and not the fireplace?  I know lots of people decry placing a TV over a fireplace, but this is a family room and here it would absolutely work.  All that was needed was a TV wall-mount and a quick visit from an electrician.

The next thing that needed to happen was to get rid of/donate/sell the couch, chair and bookcase.  They're too small and random for the space.  Do you find your eyes bouncing from one thing to the next?  Luckily my clients were up for changing out these elements.

In the picture below you can see the hugeness of the space.  This is their basement, but it is a walkout and gets great light.  It really needed a large piece of furniture to anchor the room.

 The blue tape is masking out the outline of a new sectional!  Perfect size and shape for this great area.

And a quick visit to Ikea, and we ordered this:

It's the Karlstad sofa, and it is huge, but nothing this room can't handle.

The rug is also from Ikea.  And although I don't usually advocate outfitting an entire room from one store, a few things are ok.

The rug may be too small, and I do have one that I like better, but it's a bit more expensive.  Plus, it's an internet buy and you know how risky it is buying stuff without seeing or feeling it first.

We moved the football table into the alcove.

These curtains from Ikea will be flanking the doors and windows.  Aren't they cute?

This is the rug that I love, we'll see.

I just stumbled across this picture by one of my favourite designers, Betsy Burnham.

 It has a similar feel don't you think.

And I'm hoping to persuade the client into purchasing this ottoman from CB2.  It's a great size and perfect for storing Nerf guns!

I also need to find some cool art and obviously some throw pillows.  You'd think that that would be easy but pillows can be either super expensive or really cheap, small, and crappy.

So, as a recap, here's the before and during side-by-side for your comparison.

See the rug in the corner.  I wanted to put that on the wall behind the keyboard.  Suffice it to say, the client is not sharing my vision ;(

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of the bedrooms, and show you my plans.  And, I guess it goes without saying, if you'd like me to spruce up your home for you, just send me an email, I'd be more than happy to help.