Local Client Project Reveal: Not So Girly Girl Teen Bedroom

I'm back today with another local project reveal. A former client of mine contacted me a few months ago and asked me to makeover her 12 year old daughter's bedroom. The catch was that this young lady is a bit of a tomboy and she was very opinionated about what she wanted, no pink, no purple, and no flowers! She did, however, request that I incorporate a very specific shade of electric blue into her room. :) I was up to the challenge!

Since this room was for her daughter, we wanted to be budget conscious, so I kept the cost down by using a few IKEA pieces. We did splurge on the nightstands and a fair amount was also spent on giving the space a fresh coat of paint.

Here is what her room looked like before.....

And now....

She is thrilled with her new room! Her Mom loves it too! It was so much fun to work on this space. I especially love that she had definite ideas of what she wanted and was involved in the design process. I think we mad a great team and her not so girly girl room is perfect representation of who she is! Mission accomplished!

Local Client Project Reveal: Baby Girl Nursery

 Hello, Friends, I hope you had a great weekend. I'm back today to share with you one of my latest projects, a beautiful nursery for a very special baby girl.

Since I first showed the design board and a little peak of this project on Instagram, I have received many comments expressing excitement to see the full reveal of this nursery. I too, have been excited to post this completed room, but there were some events that took place this past week which made me question whether or not I should post and share this particular project. With permission from the family of my client, who has become a very dear friend, I am sharing her story.

I first met my client when she contacted me about helping her makeover the family room in her home. As an interior designer, I regularly spend many hours with my clients and their families. I often get to know these families in a different way than others do. My clients let me into their lives and into their homes. Because of this level of exposure, designer - client relationships can often turn into true, meaningful friendships. That has been the case with this client and her family. I have come to love her and her family, consisting of her husband and 2 sweet little girls (ages 5 and 18 months). After designing her family room, she asked me to design her Master Bedroom. Again, I spent many hours in her home and with her darling children. You can imagine how happy and excited I was when she told me that she was expecting another baby. After she and her husband discovered they were expecting their 3rd baby girl, she asked me to design a nursery for their new addition. I got right to work. I presented her with this design board.

She loved it! Products were ordered, walls were painted and wallpaper installed. Things were moving along well.  On a Tuesday, I checked in on my dear friend and the nursery. She was overdue and would be going to the Hospital the next morning to have her baby girl. Her sweet baby was born the next evening. Both Mom and baby were doing great! They were discharged from the hospital and returned to their home 2 days later.

It was 2 days after that, on Sunday evening, that things fell apart. No one had any idea, but my friend had suffered some complications, either during her pregnancy or her delivery, we are still not sure, and she was stricken with a heart attack 4 days after she gave birth. 911 was called and she was taken to a local hospital and was then life flighted to a larger hospital. Through a series of miracles, her life was spared. She is currently still in the hospital in the ICU and has a long road ahead of her. Her heart was severely damaged from the heart attack and she also has a tear in her aorta. She will likely need a heart transplant in the future. She will be in the hospital for quite sometime, but she is a fighter. The strength, courage and faith she has displayed over the past week is remarkable. She is such an amazing woman! I know she will be coming home and be reunited with her Husband, daughters and her sweet new baby girl soon.

I'm sure you can understand why I wasn't sure if I could or wanted to share this nursery with you. So why did I? I knew that my client had planned on having her baby's newborn pictures taken in the Nursery. I know how excited she was to see the nursery complete and to have me share it with you. This past week, her sister and I worked together to make sure that the Nursery would be absolutely perfect for the newborn pictures. On Saturday morning, I had the privilege of being there as the photographer took pictures of my friend's little angel.

My sincere hope is that this nursery, and the newborn pictures taken, help bring some joy to my dear friend during this time. I hope that she knows how much we love her. I hope she knows how many prayers have been said for her and her family. I hope she knows that her Father in Heaven is aware of her and her family and is watching over them. If you are willing, I also ask you to pray for her as well. I can't wait for the day that she is able to come home and rock her baby girl in this new nursery.

Client Project Reveal - Midlake Basement Project - Colorful & Family Friendly Design

Hello, Lovely Readers! Today I'm back with another local client project reveal. I have had the opportunity to design a few rooms in this home. You can see my previous work in this home here and here. This time, my clients asked me to help them with the design of their basement. They wanted to transform their basement into a multifunctional space. Here is a breakdown of the wishes they had for their basement.

 

1. It needed to be multifunctional. An area where not only their kids and their friends could hang out and play, but also a space that the family could get together to watch movies and entertain other family members and friends.

2. It needed to be comfortable and colorful. This family loves color and they wanted a bright cheerful space. No neutral color pallet for them!  

3. The furnishings needed to be extremely kid friendly. The children in this family range in age from tween to toddler. Everything in the room needed to be able to withstand the abuse it is sure to receive at the hands of the kids and their friends.

I could handle that! I got to work and came up with a plan. Here is what the space looked like before...

BEFORE

AND NOW...

 

I started by giving the entire basement a fresh coat of paint. The newly made over fireplace and built-ins are now the focal point in the space. V-groove paneling was added to the wall with the new theater screen, and painted white to add interest to the large wall and help lighten the room.

I had the backs of the new built in bookcases wallpapered with Schumacher's Imperial Trellis wallpaper. I adore this pattern. It is a classic in my book.



 

These leather storage ottomans are super kid friendly and functional. The top of each ottoman is quartered and flips over into a tray. Perfect for entertaining multiple guests.

 

Lots of throw pillows add pattern, texture and color to the large, durable sectional.

 

 

We also added a wet bar area to the basement. It's perfect for popping popcorn and storing cold drinks!

 



Another look at this newly finished space.

 

 

 

My clients are thrilled with the way the basement came together. I think all of their requests were successfully fulfilled. They told me that they have already spent numerous hours in their new space and are enjoying every minute. It has been a joy to work with these wonderful clients. I am so thankful to them for the trust and faith they put in me to design the spaces in their home. I really do love my job!



Scout & Nimble - Shoppable Designer Rooms

Hello, everyone! It's been a while since my last post, but today I am back to share something with you that I believe in, whole-heartedly, and have the honor a being a part of. That something is Scout & Nimble. What is Scout & Nimble? Scout & Nimble is an innovative new website that is changing the way YOU think about and shop for the spaces in your home.

A few months ago, my friend, Jesse Bodine, reached out to me and asked if she could share with me a "project" she was working on. I, of course, said yes. A few days later Jesse introduced me to the her brain-child, her passion, the vision she and her husband were bringing to life, Scout & Nimble. This is how she explained the vision for the new website:

• Scout & Nimble’s mission is to bring exceptional designers & enthusiasts together with unique & stylish products so consumers can browse, discover, & shop fully curated rooms.  

• Each room is created by the massively talented group of Room Designers, who combine their favorite pieces together to create a room using their own signature style & aesthetic.  

• We know that a person’s surroundings can greatly affect their mood, happiness & confidence.  We also know that decorating can often be a paralyzing task.  We want to make having a beautiful designer styled room accessible to everyone. 

• Scout & Nimble removes the guesswork in home design and the chance to have a room designed by their favorite designer, blogger or stylist.  

• The chance to discover new designers and bloggers.  Many of the Room Designers specialize in custom e-design and customers can contact them directly for those services. 

• We offer FREE Shipping on many of our products, including the larger pieces. 

So what does that all mean? It means that you can go to Scout & Nimble and browse through numerous design boards, thoughtfully created by a group of talented designers, for every space in your home. When you see a board that you love, you don't have to search the internet or stalk the designer's Instagram to find out where to buy the products you see on the board. Instead, you can buy each and every item right from the Scout & Nimble site. 

Shop this room HERE

What I love about this is that it makes good design truly accessible to everyone, even if you can't hire a designer. No, you aren't getting a space that a designer creates solely for you, with only your style and space in mind, like you do with traditional design services or E-Design. But Scout & Nimble isn't meant to be a substitute for either of these. It is meant to help those of you that can't hire a designer, and still want a designer space. 

Jesse also asked me if I would join the talented group of Designers that have signed on to be part of Scout & Nimble's launch. I am so happy she asked me and feel honored to be amongst other designers whose work I respect and admire. 

Shop this room HERE

Today through Wednesday, the design boards/rooms I created for Scout & Nimble will be featured on the site. I hope you will all take a moment to stop by and take a look around. And if you feel inclined, show Scout & Nimble some love and spread the word about this great new resource for the design enthusiast. I wish Jesse and her team all the best! I know they are going to do great things!

Client Project Reveal: The Summerwood Project Renovation

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Today I am sharing a local renovation project that I had an opportunity to work on. The client contacted me to ask if I would consult on their kitchen and family room renovation project. They already had an idea of what they wanted to do and had most of the plans in place. They had also hired a General Contractor to do the renovation work. They wanted me to consult on the overall plan and help them choose finishes, paint, lighting, etc. They also wanted me to decorate the space once it was completed. My clients indicated that their home, while beautiful, was dark and somewhat dated. Their children are also getting older and they felt they need more space to accommodate not only their family, but also the many teenage friends that frequent their home. They wanted a bright, airy, pulled together space, but stressed that it should be casual and comfortable at the same time. They were also budget conscious when it came to furniture and decor, since the bulk of the budget was going towards the remodel of the home. They did not have any existing furniture for the space, so I was given the opportunity to start with a blank slate. The first time I saw the space, demolition had already begun.

Here is what the Family Room area looked like the first time I saw it.

The Family Room Before

And here is the completed space...

The Family Room After

The big opening you see behind the sectional (below) used to be a set of double doors that led to a deck in the backyard. The doors were removed and the opening was widened and it now leads into a sunroom that functions as the dining area with built in banquet seating and a huge farmhouse table. We are still waiting on some pieces for the sunroom. Once they arrive, I will absolutely share that space with you! 

Here is what the kitchen looked like during my first visit to the home...

The Kitchen Before:

And here it is post renovation...

The Kitchen After

Isn't that island just dreamy? I absolutely love how this renovation turned out. The clients were wonderful to work with and they have said over and over again how much they love and are enjoying their new spaces. Working on this project was so much fun and seeing my client's reaction to the finished product made all the hard work worth it. There is nothing better than working with a client to help them bring their vision for their home to life!