The White Box Challenge

 A month or so ago, one of my super sweet & talented blog friends ("blog friend" is going to be added to the dictionary soon, I'm sure of it ;) Bryn of Bryn Alexandra of the popular blog Bryn Alexandra Interiors  invited me, along with a few other bloggers, to participate in her joy + revelry "white box challenge."  The idea was that we would all receive a surprise gift in the mail (who doesn't want that?!!) to style in our own way for photos we'd share on our blogs.  Even though we'd all be receiving the same gift, it would be fun to see how differently we all used it.  Our readers would then receive a 10% off coupon code to be used towards any purchases.  Joy + Revelry is a new online store where bloggers have set up "shops" selling carefully curated items in their shops.

Anyway, when my white box challenge gift arrived in the mail, I was surprised to see that it was actually a white box.  Too funny.

I'm using mine on the nightstand to as a little corral for my jewely & the hair bands that seem to accumulate there:

The white box's beautiful lucite lid keeps me from hoarding because I want to be able to clearly see what's inside:  

It's the perfect little modern touch for the rustic dresser we have beside our bed:

And, since I'm the procrastinating blogger, I'm also the last one to post, so I thought it would be fun to share snippets of the other bloggers' white box challenges with you.  (And I didn't peek at these until I was all done, promise!)

I love what Stephanie of A Brooklyn Limestone did.  It's the perfect place for the remotes!!!  (I may have to change uses now ;) ;)...

{To view Stephanie's full post, click here}

I also like Chassity of Look Linger & Love's white box photos.  I love how she's hung her art over the bookshelves with library lights!!! So pretty & fresh:

{To view Chassity's full post, click here}

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed our different takes on the same little white box.

What would you do with yours?

To check out Bryn's shop, click here.  She has some really great things you'll love!!!   To see out the actual white box, click here.   Thank you so much to Bryn for including me & congratulations on the new endeavor at joy =+ revelry!!!  And don't forget to use the coupon code for 10% off: BRYN_WHITEBOX_10



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

Pretty Little Friday

So... you remember my client who loves bright & bold color, right?  Well, we installed her new dressing room yesterday and I just had to share a pic I snapped of her incredible shoe collection.  If you follow me on instagram, you've probably already seen my pics, but for those who don't, here it is:

With the way the room is set up, the shoes now feel like art.  They sparkle from across the room and you immediately want to walk over there and start touching them.  (Especially me!! We wear the same size!!!)  And when I say "shoes" these are not just shoes... These are shoes.  

I fell in love with a few pairs (leopard @ bottom left and black lace heels two over from those)  but was blown away by a pair of pail pink feathered stilettos  (middle right) and I think the feathers would look like pretty little flames going up your ankles.  (In my daydream of wearing them, I'm also capable of walking in them ;)

I didn't even get the boot rows in this picture, which rival the heels in "Oh my, I want these"-ness.

We're now waiting on this beautiful Cole & Son wallpaper to arrive for the walls...

... and I cannot wait!!  I'm off for the day but thank you so much to my sweet client for letting me help put together her dream dressing room.  It's been so much fun!!!

Which pair of shoes is your favorite?



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

Clients' Master Bath Before & After

In the clients' home I shared with you last week, I also mentioned that we did their master bathroom.  I took some photos of it to show you the "before & after" of the construction.  We're in the process of adding towels & accessories & things to the walls so I'll be sure to share when it's truly finished. The original bathroom was large but my clients weren't loving its functionality (or lack or it) or the materials.  Here's what it looked like before: 

{The tub butted up to the side of the shower, which had a glass surround with a thick chrome frame.}

{My clients didn't need a sitting vanity area but preferred his and hers sinks.  We also saw that there was a big chunk of wasted space in the corner between the counter tops.  My favorite thing about the original bathroom was that the toilet was in its own room & we kept it that way.}

We decided upon a palette of pale blues & creams and worked with our friend Mike Carr of CarrMichael Construction to design the new cabinetry & layout. We settled on timeless fixtures and I was thrilled when our clients said "yes" to painted shiplap walls.

Anyway, here's the bathroom now:

The shiplap walls add so much warmth and texture to the bathroom.  It feels so much more substantial now and has that slight coastal eel that my clients love.  We had them painted the same color as the ceiling.  The pale blue floors are made up of 4x4 tiles which we had laid in a brick pattern.  

I'm a tad obsessed with their new soaking tub:

The polished nickel hardware is just so substantial and pretty in 'real life.'  (I took this photo before we hung the natural woven shades, which add a warm wood element to the room I love...  and more importantly, privacy ;) ;) 

The shower surround is now a frameless glass one (our clients selected clear glass) so it takes up so much less visual space in the room.  It was tough to get a good photo:

When I'd originally presented this design, we were planning in having a percentage of cream 4x4s mixed in with the pale blue ones.  I'd done something similar before & had loved it but when the tiles arrived and were laid out in the bathroom for approval, it just wasn't right because there was too much contrast between the creams & blues.  It looked a crazy person had designed it!! (Which I guess is true ;) ;)  We quickly ordered more blue tiles & of course the project was held up slightly because of it.  I felt really terrible but my clients were very understanding.

For metals, we used a combination of polished nickel & antiqued silver.  I like to mix metals so that rooms have a bit more interest & are a bit more relaxed feeling.  I think rooms with mixed metals just look a bit more effortless & stylish than ones where everything matches perfectly.  

I'm in the process of scheduling photographer (and good friend!!) Helen Norman to come & photograph my clients' home because she will do it so much more justice than I did!! :)  As soon as I have those pics, I'll be sure to share them so you can see the difference. But I hope you enjoyed what you did see!!  Have a great day & stay cool.   (AC broken here = really fun!! ... But honestly makes me feel very fortunate for being able to have AC.)

To view the rest of my clients' home, go here.  

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

We're Really Moving In!!!

My eyes will barely open right now (honestly, the left one's kind of twitchy this morning too!)  but I am SO HAPPY because this weekend we got to truly unpack and move into our house!!!

{A pic of a part of the boys' section in the new library...  I doubt it will stay looking like this for long although right now I've been a bit of a psycho about it:  "Ok, Christian, you've finished with a little golden book.  See the books with the golden spines?  They all go here."  Poor child. }

The guys finished our bookcases in the upstairs loft this Saturday and we stayed up all night to unload all of our books.  (The shelves are packed but for the most part, everything fits with a little bit of room to grow our library.)  Buried in our garage amongst the books were the boys toys, things for our kitchen, clothes and tons of other random things we'd been missing.  Here's the fallout:

{Don't worry Mom, it's not going to the landfill}

Our books have never been so organized (My husband- a former English teacher- broke our books down into American lit, English lit, world, etc. and I had fun taking stock of all of my herb books, junky fiction and and design books.   The boys have their own - super-accessible- section and even Louie has baskets for his board books at the very bottom.   I had a little room to fit in some of my favorite natural things that we've collected over the years like a huge crystal geode we found at my favorite antique store, shells & coral we've collected on vacations, feathers, cool pieces of wood, etc.  Everything is right where we need it and it feels so good!!!)

We're at the point now where we're emptying out the garage and will be pulling the car in today!!!  ... And I'm staring at an island full of random stuff that I don't know what to do with but that I'm not sure I can get rid of.    That last pile takes the longest but I'm leaning towards getting rid of most of it just so we can breath again.  

This is so freeing.

Have a great Monday & I'll be back with more pics!

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