"Risk And Its Rewards"

We got home from our trip to Puerto Rico last night & I was thrilled (ok, I totally squeeled) to see the article about my family & house in the Washington Post on news stands. 

{photos by Katherine Frey}

I was so excited when Terri Sapienza asked us to do the story & when they came to our house to take photos.  The story- one of its bi-lines being "Risk and Its Rewards"- is basically about us purchasing our 70s bilevel & fixing it up on a tight timeline & budget and a little bit about my career.  (Those of you who've been following this blog for a while have been along for the ride so you probably already know the story, but it's a fun read ;) 

To read the story, click here.

To see the photos taken, go here.

Buying a house we could afford & fixing it up was a dream of ours.  As a designer, I wanted to use it as a lab & portfolio.  Our house still not "finished" in my mind or at the quality level I wish it could be at, but we love it just the same.  Thanks so much to the team at the Washington Post for including us as one of their stories this week! 

Also, I'm guest posting for my friend Alison over at My Little Happy Place about something in my house that really makes me happy.  To check it out, go here.  I love Alison's colorful & fresh style.

And finally, my cousin's wedding in Puerto Rico was amazing. I'll definitely share photos as soon as I have them but check out this one the photographer, Rebecca, shared:

{Jen & Brian are so happy together}

Jen's like a sister to me & we were both maids of honor at each other's weddings. (Well, I was a "matron" - yucky word! ;)   She truly has found the perfect partner for her in Brian.

 Here's a pic of the "LBJ's" (me, Brant - her older brother & my cousin & Jen) in the cave we visited a couple of days after the wedding:

{still having our adventures}

We  are heading out again to another cousin's wedding, but I'll be done with weddings for real next week.   The vacation was pretty crazy with 2 little kids and travelling around, but we had a ton of fun and some really relaxing moments.  My favorite part was horseback riding through the forest & beach with my husband.  There was a TORRENTIAL downpour for the first hour of the ride but it was still amazing.    I'll be back soon!!




If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Whoah.

We're heading to Puerto Rico tomorrow for my cousin's wedding.  I'm going to be her maid  matron of honor & we have SO MUCH to do between now and 6 AM tomorrow morning.  (Doesn't "matron" just sound so serious??  I think it needs to be said in a very deep voice.)  I cannot WAIT to get on that plane but going on vacation honestly isn't the same when you run your own business.  I've felt sick about leaving for the past couple of weeks because there's just so much to get done. 

On the wedding note, I referred my cousin to a seller on Etsy to make us custom bridesmaid dresses (For the 3 bridesmaids) and $450 later, they have not arrived.  Yeah. And we leave tomorrow.  SO...  we've all been racing around finding backups and I'm using something I had recently bought because there's no time.  It's this dress in a different color:

{Free People}

In this color:

{not taupe...  pale blue/ pinks}

Although when I was just on the free people website grabbing these pics, I came across this and kind of love it:

Anyway, the wedding's on the beach and my cousin is one of the most beautiful people I've ever met and she truly looks like a goddess in her dress.  (And her fiance is awesome.) I'll share pics when we get home.

So...  It's been craziness getting ready to leave.  We've presented a bunch of designs to clients:

{a recent design board} 

We're finishing up an installation for a client who's on vacation today:

{Here's what it looked like as of last night...  We're accessorizing & receiving the rest of the furniture today although we just found out the our SOFA is not arriving in time.  I feel TERRIBLE and if the factory wasn't closed for vacation this week I'd seriously be driving down to North Carolina myself to get it.}

The kids have been enjoying the packing supplies for the install:

We had a photo shoot at the house this week including my office which was all prettied up and now looks like this:

{yummy.}

Justin just wandered down to the office and he looks like this:

{Love the morning sleepy eyes & behead}

And we haven't packed.  BUT...  my husband did just drop off a plate of pancakes to me in the office so I am OFF!  I'll attempt posts but may just be out!!




ps- Remember my plants form the Fall?  Most of them are still alive & now they'll live thanks to our house sitter!!  (i think the dog will be okay to ;) ;)
If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Better Homes & Gardens Mag: 50 Ideas Under $50

Thanks so much to Better Homes & Gardens Magazine for including me in the "dream team" of designers, stylists & bloggers rounded up for their "50 Super Stylish Ideas Under $50" article in this month's issue.  (Some of my favorite people were included in the experts, including my friend Liz Levin)  

In the issue there are so many great ideas for style on a budget.  On the cover (above) I love the stenciled pillows the team at Better Homes & Gardens (Including stylist Jessica Thomas who did our BHG Christmas story a while back ) did using one of my ideas.   Royaldesignstudio.com is where I found the stencil for my living room wall & they really do have a beautiful selection of stencils.

A little while back I used a variation of  another one of my BHG ideas in my house.  I found a cheapie picture frame tray at Target...

(The only kind of DIY projects I truly anjoy are the ones that take under 10 minutes ;)

 ...I took out the pictures of other people's cute kids and folded up a vintage piece of fabric I had lying around & put it inside...

...And now it's a tray on my living room coffee table:

I can switch it out whenever I feel like it & it's a great place to get to enjoy all vintage fabrics & wallpapers I've picked up. 

To read all of the ideas, check out the July issue on news stands now.  To read some of the ideas that wouldn't fit into the magazine article, check out this online slideshow/ article at BHG.com.  I am completely head-over-heels- in-love with the vignette they created using homemade botanicals: 

Have a great day & enjoy!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you're enjoying yours!!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.