Time Flies... Better Late Than Never!

Well, time's really flown since we moved into our new house. It's been 6 months! I've been pregnant the whole time & when we first moved (during my first trimester) I was pretty worthless with helping out. I fell asleep on the sofa almost every night around 7 & poor Dave got so much done.

Second trimester (and summer) just flew by with an insane amount of home improvement projects and travel plans....

And now, here I am with a baby due in a little over a month & I can't believe how quickly the time has flown!!! (haha and back on the couch again! - but not really ;)

First pregnancies & second pregnancies are VERY different. (at least for me.) For my first pregnancy with Christian (now 2) it was pretty much all we talked about for MONTHS. We had lots of name ideas & found out as soon as we could that we would be having a baby boy. (I really thought I was having a girl & wanted one badly!! haha) We talked to Christian the whole pregnancy long. The nursery planning & painting began in February & he wasn't due until July. It's really a magic time & there's nothing like it. (Christian's nursery below.)

Now for my second pregnancy... sometimes I forget I'm even pregnant! Christian takes up so much of my thoughts & energy that I just don't have as much mental room cleared out for this pregnancy as I did the first time. (I can only imagine how subsequent pregnancies go! :) We don't know if we're having a boy or a girl and decided that when Baby 2 gets here, he or she will be loved & coddled an insane amount so that for now (while he/ she is still "inside") we'll focus on Christian. But, when we sing & talk to Christian, this little baby is hearing it too so I'm okay with this.

Anyway, what this is all leading to is the fact that we've done NOTHING with the baby's nursery. eeeeeeeek It's definitely a lot harder to plan a nursery this time not knowing if we're having a boy or a girl. Of course we're keeping all of the same furniture, but I do want to do something a little different from Christian's nursery. (Hey, I'm a decorator! I live for this stuff! ;) And, let me be totally frank here: a nursery is for the parents. (in our case, for me.. Dave could really care less how cute it is ;) But no baby cares what his room looks like. They just don't. So when planning this nursery I'm under no illusions that this is going to make my baby happy or that the color of the walls will matter at all to him or her. It's for me. It will make me happy. Below is the seashell mobile my cousin & I made for Christian's nursery over 2 years ago... It really did make me smile...

Here's the chaise lounge that we're still using: (pictured in our old house/ nursery)...

And now sad & lonely in the new nursery:

Here's the new nursery... just waiting to be done!!! We're keeping all of the furniture you see along with the bumper & sheets. (We're doing a new blanket- the striped blue one I made for Christian & I'll do a new one for the new baby- and also new mobile, and crib skirt & pillows... don't worry the pillows won't go in the crib to suffocate the baby ;) And of course we need some paint!

So... I was thinking owls a bit back if you remember... and then I came across this awesome owl lamp from Gallery Designs: (top 2 pendants are from them as well.)

Finally when I saw this lamp, a vision started forming. (It took long enough! ;) Since we don't know the sex of the baby, I'm going to stay super-neutral: creams, browns, oatmeals, black and white... I can always add in color in accents once the little one arrives... (really more likely once the "3-6 month blur" passes over this house ;) But I just want it to be totally relaxing & subtle & textural with a little hit of fun. I loved the tone-on-tone stripes in Christian's nursery & want to do the same thing in cream in here. Since we sometimes call our house "the treehouse" I thought that owls & trees would be great for the nursery... So I want to make a huge tree growing on the wall behind the crib out of decoupaged newspaper... Then we can tape up photos and pictures & little notes & fun things all over it.... Sort of like this wallpaper tree from Romp but out of newspaper:And I'd love to add a sculptural natural chandelier similar to this one from Arteriors Home. (This one is unfortunately too big with only 8 foot ceilings.)

And for a fabric option, I love this: Does anyone know what it's called or where to get it?? I found it at southlandpology.com:

And I'd love to add a Dash & Albert rug:

Anyway, I'll be looking for some good artwork to hang above the toy/ book shelf and of course a bunch of fabrics, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!! For the windows I'm just doing Sears Roman shades in 'natural.' (I probably won't add any ebellishments to them because I want to keep the window treatment pretty blank for future room switches..) We plan on painting in the stripes (SO TEDIOUS!!) this weekend...

xoxo,

lauren

ps- for the full story & photos of Christian's nursery, click here

***UPDATE: Ok, I decided to go "cuter" than originally planned. After talking with family & thinking about how Christian will be in there enjoying it too, I'm going a little more "baby" than I wanted to go. It's still going to be really textural with some hits of color (and we're doing the newspaper tree) but it'll feel like a little more of a vintage-modern mix & maybe a little more "fun" than originally planned. I ordered the Dash & Albert pale blue rug above (boy or girl, I like it ;) and am sticking with the cream striped walls, but am using this colorful mobile made by a super-talented etsy -seller.

I found this vintage concert poster & will have it framed with oversized matting for one wall:

I'm loving this owl fabric. Such a pretty pale blue... I'm thinking either for a blanket or a pillow or bedskirt or even as banding on the roman shades... depends "how" cute I want to go ;)

And I'm crazy about this vintage crewel owl family (below). They look so lovingly-created! I plan on layering them above the shelves with the toy baskets along with a large mirror, lamp & some other things...

Finally, depending on if we have a boy or girl, I'll still add in "girlier" fabrics, curtains & accessories or some more boy colors...

My Chinoiserie Mirror & Entry

I found this crazy vintage chipped Chinoiserie Mirror at Lucketts yesterday & just went for it. My entryway is dull and uninviting to use the nicest of terms. It's really bad. (below) yummy linoleum (before.)






And you can see it from the Living room and the main wall is actually a focal point of sorts when in the living room (which is where the pic above is taken from. ) I'm putting it high on the main wall so it reflects all of the windows in the living room, not a person's face, when you're in the entry (I'm doing a smaller one across from the door for that.) Here's the mirror below (not hung yet- sorry!) in the repainted entry (white white) which now has wall-to-wall seagrass.



Red is NOWHERE in my house. I'm not usually a red fan but something about this mirror just made me grab it. I just love its patina & chips & cracks. It matches nothing I have but the love was there so I'm sure it'll work.



This 4 foot tall caged lantern (below from Bellacor.com for around $200- what a deal!!) arrived yesterday and I can't wait to install it to replace the sickly-light-producing-globe one that's there now!!!


And one last pic of the chips & cracks!! (I know I go overboard taking pics of the same thing sometimes but just can't help myself)

Have a great weekend everyone. We're hoping our floors have arrived on time so we'll be installing those along with all of the installs for a client's SURPRISE master bedroom. (She is surprising her fiance and they will be gone for the weekend & will come home to a completely new room!!! She's seen nothing in person - only the design plan- and I'm so excited to make a nice romantic space for the newlyweds!! I was thinking how cute it would be to have champagne & rosepetals or something waiting for them but then I also realized how weird that might be.. hahaha maybe just some pretty flowers!) wish me luck!!

xoxo,

lauren

Master Bedroom Design Plan

As most of you know, we moved to our new house a couple of months ago. We've been working on it pretty much non-stop. Usually when I move to a new place, the bedroom is the one place I get feeling good right away... not so this time:

Above is our bedroom when we first moved in. Clearly I added in some functional things like blankets on the bed & a lamp but we pretty much lived like this for a while. About a month ago we painted the paneling white and I got to planning it out on a super-tight budget. I'd had designs on a homemade upholstered white linen headboard... until we found an antique brass bed for trash on the side of the road: (It's not exactly like the pic below... it has no porcelain knobs & is a bit thicker.) I LOVE free things. Really love them. And it's just so old & beautiful & has the perfect patina.

I know we all got sick of brass a bunch of years ago, but to be honest, I'm actually starting to love it again in the right context and when it's a bit burnished... (hahah should I be allowed to write a design blog??!! ;) ;) I want the whole house to feel like a fusion of modern & antique with a serious nod to the outdoors... SO, in this room I went with the antique bed and paired it with these (really cheap!!) ikea "MALM" dressers as nightstands:

I love having a dresser as a nightstand. No knocking off my water (I really used to do that a LOT) and I get to have fun with vignettes (flowers don't get in the way) and now on top of of my closet, I finally have a dresser too!! (There's so much room and I feel so much more organized!!! hahah I know it's such a normal thing to have, but when you're without one for long enough, you really appreciate it!!)

Anyway, since we're going with major color shots in every room of the house, I really wanted this room to be my white haven. I want to be able to add in color (with accents) or take it away on a whim. Below is the duvet cover I ordered from West Elm... I ordered it specifically because it looks good even when unmade. And with baby #2 on the way, I know this bed will rarely be made for a good 3-6 months.

For now we have these ikea curtains and I'm adding in white roman shades from Sears. (wish me luck!- I'll let you know how they do.) (The curtains are super-light and are really summery-feeling but the price was right! ;) hahahah PS- IS IT WRONG TO BE JEALOUS OF CLIENTS??!! "custom shades, custom curtains, custom bedding.." hahah ;)

I've been using my Chinoiserie ginger jar lamp that I found on the flea market trip with Eddie & Jaithan last year. (I had been searching for one for SO LONG!!) I paired with with a modern linen drum shade from Target and it's not the perfect fit, but it's gotten me functional for now...

On the other nightstand, I ordered this beauty from Arteriors Home. It's about the same size and I love its modern juxtaposition against the Chinoiserie one.

It perfectly pulls the warm brown out of the wooden mirror I found at the Old Lucketts Store. (Sadly, no pic but this mirror is CRAZY.) It was the one splurge in the room (okay $250 but for me that's a splurge) and I'd had my eye on it for months. It's huge and hand-carved and really ornate--- again, I'm loving it against the modern lines of the ikea dressers.

Above the bed, I hung 2 of my botanical prints. At $1 each, they added the touch of nature I wanted in the room. (Found the frames for $1 each with bad art on them, and ripped pages out of a book I had for the prints.)

I found a yard of the PERFECT greeny-goldy ikat in the clearance section at Calico Corners. I'm having a large rectangular bolster pillow made out of it. (I 'd been stalking this fabric for a while... When I saw it in the clearance section for a few weeks, one day I finally carried it around the store with me- haha more like clutched it protectively to my chest- until it hit me that it would work in the master bedroom. yay!!!)

And finally on my list is this chandelier (below) with the same burnished brass as the bed. As you probably remember, I've been also stalking this one since last December. (oh please cross your fingers it's still there... I check on it every couple of months!!)

Anyway, when we get home from our trip, everything should be in & I'll take some after pics!!

I also wanted to say thank you again for all your kind comments & wishes--- Christian is doing great & we're off to his check-up right now!! He's healing so quickly!! (I'll do a little trip recap soon with some pics soon)

xoxo,

lauren

Entryway Plans

I was putting together a little entryway design together for a client & thought I'd share. Below is the mirror I chose, which looks beautiful in both traditional & contemporary settings:


Here's the demilune console: (which I LOVE & have ordered from Ballard but isn't available until May 28th!!! I have been scouring for something like it & haven't been happy with what I've found. Any ideas anyone??) She needs lots of storage for her dogs' leashes, their "plastic baggies" for walks, and for the jumble of things that naturally collects near the front entry.



I've purchased a mix of garden cloches in 3 sizes & will be putting potted plants in them for the top of the table. My client has a much greener thumb than I do & will hopefully be able to keep them alive! :)

Below is the lamp in a dark bronze finish. It's got a more contemporary feel to pull in the modern art that will be filling the large stairway across from the console table. (16 paintings framed in shadowboxes done by the client's brother- I can't wait to show you pics of this!!!)

And here's the little entryway design all together: (Click on it to see it larger)

( The image is a PDF saved as JPEG & I can't get it to show up any larger on blogspot. Does anyone know how to make it larger??)

Also, I just wanted to thank Camila from High-Heeled Foot in the Door SO MUCH for being such a sweet (crazily sweet!!) friend. I was feeling a bit down about the whole house situation yeterday & there was a knock at my door. There were flowers!!! She sent me a beautiful bouquet of hydrangea, snapdragons, roses & carnations!! Really, if you haven't gotten to know her yet, you must go check out her fun, stylish & witty blog, where her sweet, exuberant personality just shines through the pages/ screen.

Anyway, thanks everyone so much for all the kind wishes, advice & support. I feel silly for getting so emotionally involved in a HOUSE when there are real issues going on in this world & we've got so much to be thankful for. I'll get over this & just wanted to say thanks.

xoxo,

lauren

A Black & White Table Design for Fun

Here's a quick dining room design I did. I saw these gorgeous plates from House Beautiful's 101 plates & just had to do a room around them. Start with Knoll's Saarinen Dining table in black granite. (Yes, we're pretending we don't have a budget!) Its contemporary silhouette will look awesome with this white glass vintage style chandelier from Heal's above it.



Have some fun with the chairs & go with a clean-lined wingback chair in an oversized damask. The chairs will warm up the look & add some needed pattern into the mix. They'll also create a cozy feeling that'll have everyone lingering way past dinnertime.
Choose between this plate or the one above: (Both from House Beautiful's 101 Plates) This one's neoclassical print is such a fun take on a classic element.

Stagger these white glass candlesticks & black flower candleholders from Z Gallerie. They'll look randomly elegant. You could even add a simple white linen runner accross the table so the black flowers will stand out more.

This table setting ends up looking fresh & modern but has some more transitional roots- i.e plates, damask, chandelier. It just feels fun to me. Add some good eats & you're ready to go! enjoy!

PROJECT: Fun Living Room

I wanted to share with you a living room I'm working on right now. It's for a young client with a really great sense of style. She loves a contemporary, bright look with classic elements. We're going fairly earthy & monochromatic-textural with fun punches of orange fabrics and olive walls. Floors are a wide-planked ebonized hardwood.

The sofa: (Bisque leather frame & natural linen seat & cushions)

Large, rectangular throw pillow on sofa:

Coffee Table: (color in picture is a little off)

Zebra Chair:

Cane-back chair: (we'll toss a pretty orange bamboo throw on it)

We're installing a wall-mount in electric fireplace surrounded by custom wooden built-ins, which will be very contemporary- forming a brick-like pattern for all the beautiful objects the client has collected in her travels. Recess lights will point at the built-ins to showcase them. Walls will be in an olivey-beige and draperies are in a really textured, nubby linen. I'll also probably do a few pillows in it. We're doing natural woven shades & simple rods & rings for the drapery hardware.

The breakfast room will have this banquette in the black & white bird fabric:

We're painting her existing chairs orange & putting them around a contemporary pedestal dining table with the custom banquette. We're reupholstering the dining chair seats in the same nubby linen as the draperies in the living room.

As soon as it's been completed, I'll post pictures!