I recently received an e-mail from a reader, in search of some new design ideas! She was looking for some changes to her living room and den, to match the gorgeous dining room remodel she recently finished. There is more on her inspiration image and dining room furniture here. I continue this week with the living room design. As I stated in my last post, she was looking for beach inspired colors, along with pops of color in the furniture and accessories. Here is a snapshot of her living room now:

I love the wood floors and all the room’s natural light from the big window! Behind this photo is the entry into the house, with a staircase and doorways leading into the dining room and kitchen. I completed the entry’s design here. Across the wall of windows are double doors leading into a den. With all of the rooms exposed in some way, she was looking for a better flow with color and furniture selections. Here is what she was looking for in this room: she wanted to keep the existing tv cabinet, lighten up the walls with a blue/gray/white color and add colorful furniture and accessories. With a toddler in the house, she was not looking for a coffee table at this time. So, here’s what I came up with!

I tried to keep the room’s overall look light and airy, by suggesting the walls and baseboards be painted Paper White (1590) in an eggshell finish by benjamin moore. (Which is the design board’s background color!) On the tv cabinet wall, I suggest painting two, wide horizontal stripes in Sterling (1591), the next darker color on the swatch. These stripes will be in a semi gloss finish and give the wall some added interest and depth. (This wall is opposite the chain link stenciled wall I spoke about here.) On this wall, I also suggest she purchase two large, rectangular mosaic mirrors and hang on either side of the tv cabinet. (This is on the bottom right of the design board.) With a toddler, I wouldn’t suggest she lean the mirrors against the wood floors at this time. I suggest she purchase the same chenille/jute rug as in the entry, but in a 5×8. It’s a soft and durable material on little feet! The main seating in the space will be this comfortable sofa in a flax color. This sofa is smaller than her existing sectional and will help with ease of flow in the space. The chic, affordable pillows on the sofa will add pops of color to the space. In front of the sofa is this beautiful ikat ottoman, which is a great alternative to a coffee table. On the ottoman is a sturdy tray, for placing sippy cups! When it’s naptime and the adults have free reign of the space, this beautiful vase can be out for show, while also incorporating a pop of color. Flanking either side of the sofa will be two of these floor lamps. They can be placed about 6 inches behind the sofa on either side, to keep out of child reach. On either side of the couch, she can purchase 2 natural wood side tables at a great price! The chosen drapery for this room is a pretty floral, which ties the inspiration colors together. She has 8 ft. ceilings, so I suggest she purchase this drapery in 96in. and hang to the ceiling. It draws your eye up, giving the illusion of a bigger space. To add extra depth to the window, I suggest she also hang woven shades onto the window casing. Since these shades come with long cords, I suggest always securing the cords out of reach of children. The clock is a fun accessory and can be hung to the right of the door leading into the kitchen. (Not seen in the living room photo above.) The sailboat pillow is a nod to the beach inspired theme in the space, and is a great deal! I suggest she purchase 2 wing back chairs and place opposite the couch, a couple feet in front of the double doors leading to the den. To me, this style of chair is reminiscent of coastal inspired living! The pillow on the chair brings a pop of color into the space. In between these chairs, I suggest this fun side table in a shiny green finish. It can easily be moved out of the way when not in use, but also have safe, rounded curves when in place. So there you have it! My interpretation of beach inspired living with pops of color for fun!
Check back later this week, as we move on to the den!   

If you would like some design ideas for your home, e-mail me at [email protected]. I would love to work with you!    

I was so excited when I received an e-mail from a sweet mom looking for design ideas for her first floor. She has a one year old and is looking for kid friendly spaces, more storage and a beach inspired color palette. She wanted to have soft blue grays/whites on the walls with pops of color in the furniture and accessories. She recently purchased this beautiful farmhouse table and gray wicker chairs from restoration hardware for her dining room.

With the dining room well on it’s way, she was looking for some design changes in the rest of the rooms on the first floor. She sent me this beautiful inspiration photo when thinking about the colors in the rooms.

It’s time for the series If My Blog Was A Room… where I pose the challenge to think of your blog as an actual space. What would that space look like? I am so excited to have this blog group here today! The wonderful, amazing Chic Coles is a beautiful design blog written by a mom and her three daughters. I love that this family stays connected and is inspired by design! Here is their beautiful blog header:

I love their style already! And here is what they came up with. Take it away, Ladies!

Thanks for being here, ladies! The rooms are gorgeous and very fitting of your blog! I love all of the beautiful graphic prints. Definitely stop by and check out their stylish blog.

When thinking about the color choices in our home, I realized there is one color that I hardly ever use… purple! It’s not that I dislike the color, because shades of purple are actually very gorgeous in design. If I end up incorporating this color into our home, I think I am more drawn to the deep, dark hues of purple. I recently came across some beautiful rooms where purple is used. It might be in subtle ways or the main color- either way, it can be striking!

I love the look of mixed seating at a dining table. Using a combination of chairs, benches and settees always gives the space a unique, designed over time look. I love the use of upholstered seating at a dining space, whether it’s a pair of wing back chairs at the ends of the table, or a settee pulled up to the side- those spaces always seem to catch my eye. I have recently come across some gorgeous settees, I would love to share with you today!

All images via Ballard Designs. These settees are gorgeous and would look great pulled up to a dining table! Do you like the idea of mixing up the seating?

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful moms, especially my own!

I am always amazed at the power of fabric when it comes to transforming the look of a design. I wrote a post here that showed 2 versions of a masculine chic design and asked your opinion on your favorite. You overwhelmingly voted for design #1, which I have to also agree is my favorite! I also liked some of your ideas about combining the two designs, blending some of #1 and #2 together. When I wrote the post, I said I would get into further detail about the room and design later. Well, here it is! I designed this space for my brother, who will be soon moving into a new place and starting with a blank canvas when it comes to the living room. He hasn’t decided on a place yet, so the amount of furniture and scale was only a guess. I do know that he likes neutral colors, mid century modern design and doesn’t prefer overstuffed furniture. He loved the two design boards I came up with and would probably go for a mix of the two designs! Here are the two designs I originally came up with:

  And here is a combination of the two, that might best describe his style:

This design is a blend of the two, with one exception: I found this new entertainment stand that fits the modern, mid century style a bit better. This was so fun to create, and I can’t wait to see the house come together! I have to say, that this might also be my favorite version of the design and probably best fits my brother’s style! (To see the sources for this design, go here.)

It’s Wednesday and time for the series If My Blog Was A Room… where I pose the challenge to think of your blog as an actual space! What would it look like? I am so excited to have Emily here from her wonderful blog, Name 5 Things. Emily has a beautiful home and style, and I’m so happy to have met her through blogging! Here is her stylish blog header:

I was excited when Amber asked me to be a part of her great “If My Blog Was a Room” series.  It was so fun to consider what my blog would look like if it was an actual room.


First, the room would have to be welcoming.  Someplace that’s put together, but not at all stuffy — someplace that’s comfortable and that you can kick your shoes off and stay a while.  

The room would also have to have at least some gray in it.  I’ve recently found myself loving all things gray — blog background, clothes, shoes, rugs, and paint color (heck, even my car is gray!).  

And of course the room would also have to be a little on the fun side too!  

Frankly, I’m not sure if that’s what my blog is, or what I would ultimately like for it to be!  But regardless, it certainly was fun to think about!  Thanks for having me, Amber!

Thanks so much for being here today, Emily! Your blog is definitely like these rooms- elegant, fun and inspiring! I will have to bookmark all of these amazing images. If you haven’t already, stop by and check out Emily’s blog– you’ll be so happy you did!  

I just can’t get enough of Olioboard’s design challenges, so I’m at it again! This time, the challenge is to create a master bedroom design using furniture and accessories from the elegant, coastal inspired Layla and Grayce. And the top three designs win a very nice gift card to use in their store! Yay- why not?!? A while back, I wrote a post here, where I created a design board using only one store- it can be done! With this design, most of the furniture and accessories are from Layla and Grayce. I named this design Layla and Grayce Style:

I knew Marcy wanted to keep the same design aesthetic here, as in the rest of the house. I tried to do that by bringing in natural elements, pairing wood pieces with neutral fabrics and keeping the overall design modern and rustic. Starting with the bottom left and working clockwise, here is a break down of the ideas behind the choices and shopping sources:
1. The dark gray color on the bottom left is Marci’s room color now. It is Willow by Benjamin Moore. I love this color- it was a great jumping off point!
2. The gray/white stripe pillow and yellow ikat pillow are both from this etsy source here.
3. The next two pillows are from a source Marci loves and can be found here. She also plans to incorporate their bedding, when it becomes available.
4. The chosen drapery panels are from Pottery Barn. Marci has 9ft. ceilings in this space, and I would purchase these drapes in 108in. and hang the drapery rods up to the ceiling. That helps draw your eye up and takes advantage of the height in the room.
5. Since we’re on the topic of window treatments, I also chose the woven shades for a layering effect to add depth and texture. These are blackout lined, for mornings when you want to sleep in and can be found here.
6. The starburst mirror will hang above the bed and is from Wisteria.
7. The upholstered headboard adds a soft element and is from Pottery Barn.
8. The table lamps can be placed on end tables next to the bed. Marci can either choose one design, or use one of each. They are both from West Elm. She already has end tables and an armoire that she plans to stain a gray color, which will work great in the space!
9. The leather cube ottoman from Ballard Designs can sit at the foot of the bed and Marci can use two to give the effect of a bench. It will help to visually add more depth to the headboard. The woven basket is from West Elm and will be great for blanket throws and books.
10. The bedding is from Dwell Studio and adds a sense of whimsical nature to the space. Marci has a bird statue on her dining table, so I thought this tied the two spaces together.
11. The armchair and side table are both from West Elm. I would add two of these armchairs to the space and place the side table in between. I chose the headboard and armchairs in a light fabric, to help balance the darker colors in the space. 
12. The wood accessory is also from West Elm and adds a rustic touch to the space.
13. The gallery wall is from Pottery Barn and gives Marci a place to add family photos or this Love art piece from this etsy source here.
14. Last but not least, is an idea I have for the main wall where the bed will go- this is actually a stencil Marci can apply to the one wall behind the bed. It will act as the focal wall and mimic the look of expensive wallpaper. (Marci’s beautiful craft closet is proof that she can stencil!) This stencil art can be found at this amazing etsy shop here. At first, I was going to suggest grass cloth for this wall, but when I found this, I thought it would be great! Marci can apply the stencil to her existing wall color and get a designer look without the expensive price tag! She can use a lighter shade of the wall color for a subtle touch, or a creamy white (like in the above design) for a more dramatic effect.  

Now that we’ve discussed the design in more detail, I can also show you my inspiration for this space, as well as Marci’s! After she described her style and what she wanted to achieve for this room, I found inspiration in this design:

This room has a lot of natural elements, and I instantly loved the bedding! Designed by Linda Woodrum for the HGTV Green Home 2011.

Marci already has an armoire and side tables that she plans to refinish in this gray stain color:

This was an inspiration photo Marci sent, and I love the stain color from this piece!

Here is a wonderful inspiration pic from Marci that shows her modern rustic style. http://www.archinspire.com/

There you have it- the story behind this design! I truly enjoy interior design and thanks so much to Marci for this opportunity! And she loved the design- yeah!!

If you would like some design ideas for a room in your home, please e-mail me at [email protected]. I would love to work with you!

Today, I’m doing a guest post over at Marci’s blog, Timber and Lace. Her blog has amazing DIY projects and beautiful design ideas. Marci has given me an exciting challenge- to create a master bedroom design! I’m honored and thrilled to be asked! Stop on over here and check it out.

I will be sharing some of the design details on my blog tomorrow, including Marci’s inspiration pictures and my own! Thanks again for the opportunity, Marci!