Amber B Design Studio

Interior Design & Decoration for the South Florida region

Picture Outtakes from Woman’s World Magazine Feature

by Filed Under: chevron, design, foyer, magazine feature, mom's inspiration


When Woman’s World magazine contacted me about including my mom’s stairs in a spring feature, they asked if I could reshoot the pictures to include yellow flowers. The article was about a black + white + yellow color scheme and we were missing the cheery yellow color. So after picking up pretty yellow spider mums from a local florist, I went crazy taking a bunch of pictures and trying out a few different pots and vases. I wanted to make sure they had plenty of options to choose from! The editor mentioned choosing a fairly neutral pot, so the stairs and color scheme would take center stage.

First, let’s look at the picture that did make the cut…

And here is a sampling of the many, many pictures I took over the course of two days…

See- I told you I gave plenty of options! You would be shocked to know how many other pictures there are, too! Sometimes, you only get one chance to make a good impression, so you might as well go for it and do the best you can. It’s so fun being able to share this magazine experience with my mom, since we have loved design together for so long. A huge thanks to the hubby for surprising me with a new camera a few days before, which made this all so much fun! I loved trying out the new camera, as you can tell. 🙂 To see my post about the magazine feature, go here.

{Before and After} A Master Bedroom E-Design Project

by Filed Under: before and after, design, e-decorating, e-design, personal design style


As I’ve said before, I love getting after shots of completed e-design projects. These pictures are great to share, since this room is already so beautiful to begin with. This e-design client was looking to add some texture and pattern to her master bedroom. She already had all of the main furniture pieces. I just came in to help add some fun accessories. Here is her space before…

Before…

First, we added some driftwood art for the wall space above the bed. I originally posted about that part of the room here. The art took us in a coastal, masculine, rustic, chic direction, which is a great style for a master bedroom retreat. Here are the afters…

After…

My client is so happy with the space and I love the calm, serene feel the new accessories bring. She did a great job bringing the design vision together. The ottomans beside the dresser are so versatile… when my client wants a change, she can easily move them to the foot of the bed or use them as foot rests with her ikat chairs. I actually cannot take any credit for the last image (ikat chairs vignette). My client already had the ikat chairs and shell and they made the tree stump table themselves! I love the texture it brings to the room. She did a great job taking the pictures, because the mirrors above the dresser beautifully reflects the other side of the room. Thanks so much to my client for allowing me to share these pictures!

A Woman’s World Magazine Feature!

by Filed Under: chevron, design, foyer, magazine feature, mom's inspiration


I have to pinch myself a bit to actually believe this just happened, but I’m mentioned in this week’s issue of Woman’s World Magazine!! It is all just so surreal.

I’ll back up a bit and explain how this all came to be. It all started when we were at my mom’s house over Christmas. She had just completed these amazing chevron stairs, and I wanted to write a blog post about it. I posted about it here {on Christmas Eve} and used the pictures my brother had taken with his phone. The pictures started to move around pinterest, which is how the magazine’s home decorating editor found out about this project. Jodi Kahn, the amazing editor I worked with, reached out to me and asked if they could include my mom’s stairs in a spring issue about a black + white + yellow color scheme. The only problem was the original pictures had beautiful poinsetta plants on the stairs, which is a winter flower. They were looking for a spring look. So they asked if I wouldn’t mind taking the pictures again with some bright yellow flowers. I got right to it and found some gorgeous spider mums at a local florist. {My first ‘photo shoot’!} We tried out a few different vases/planters, and they chose to include the milk vases you see above, for the magazine. {They were a great find at Target, by the way!}

I would like to give a huge thank you to my mom for allowing us into her home  and giving the go ahead for this project to be included in a national magazine! And a huge thank you to Jodi Kahn, the home decorating editor for Woman’s World, who was so great to work with!

I will be back soon with a gallery of picture outtakes from my ‘photo shoot’!

{E-Design Before and After} The Basement

by Filed Under: before and after, design, e-decorating, e-design


You are all in for a treat today! I have the most amazing clients ever and was happily surprised to see loads of after photos in my inbox this week! First up, I will show some beautiful pictures of a basement e-design I worked on over the winter. This client has done a tremendous job putting her spaces together and she has been such a joy to work with. Her basement is a great space and gets loads of natural light. Since the basement is such a large space, I will show just the bar/seating area today. Before contacting me, they already had plans to add a bar to this side of the basement. My client had great ideas for this zone and we worked together to select the bar stools and paint color for the bar. I also helped add some color and finishing touches to give the rooms a modern edge. Here are some before shots of the space…

Before

The existing pillows on her sofa {from the other side of the basement} had pretty shades of blue, orange and green, so I wanted to carry that color scheme into the rest of the basement. Here is the design board I came up with…

The Plan

We made minor adjustments here and there but kept the overall concept the same. There are pieces from this design board that you will see later, since I am only focusing on the bar/seating area today.

So without further adieu, here are the afters…

After

I am so excited for this client! She has done a wonderful job putting it all together. The contractors building the bar also made this space shine! I love the way it turned out, and I’m pretty sure my clients love it too!  🙂 To see my last post about this project with progress photos, go here.

Just Some Updates…

by Filed Under: before and after, design, foyer, living room, personal design style, styling


I purchased the curtain tie backs for the foyer panels and hope to have that installed today! But I do have some new updates to show you for now… I finally put a down filled insert into the foyer pillow. I can’t say enough about how important it is to use down filled inserts whenever you can! I am guilty of this too, but have seen the error of my ways. I was being lazy and cheap, thinking I could just throw a poly filled insert in and be done with it. I thought I was saving money, when actually, they’re about the same price! Jo Ann Fabrics sells 20″ poly filled inserts for about $18 when not on sale. That’s exactly what I paid at Pottery Barn for the down filled! The look is so much better and more inviting! Here is the pillow with a poly fill…

Before

And here is the same pillow, but with the down filling…

After

 
So much better! I also want to add how much better a photo can look with proper natural lighting. It brightens up the space and looks so much more cheerful when you can take pictures on bright, sunny days.

While at Pottery Barn picking up the insert and curtain tie backs, I came upon this lovely turquoise accessory. I have had my eye on this for a while, but didn’t want to pay full price. When I saw it on sale a while back, I still wasn’t convinced. Then, I thought it was sold out for a while, until I hunted and found a bunch on clearance for $13! It was meant to be and proudly sits in our living room…

The coral that was once there is now on our secretary desk in the same room. I needed something to fill this space in between our lamps, and this pop of color was the perfect choice. I pulled this color from our suzani print pillows in the foyer. Sprinkling the same palette throughout the home unifies the spaces. It also makes it easier to move accessories from room to room when you are bored with the current location!

Have you made any new updates to get you ready for spring??

{Before and After} An X Bench is a Better Fit

by Filed Under: before and after, design, DIY, foyer, personal design style, project


I recently posted about my pom pom fringe curtains, and as I was looking at the pictures, I noticed the bench was now a bit too long. Well, I actually noticed it when seeing it in front of me, but the pictures drove the point home even more. It was time for the bench to go somewhere else in the house and this spot needed a smaller seat. Here is what the foyer looked like about two days ago…

Before

The curtains were being pushed to the side by the bench. Once we install the tiebacks for the drapery panels, I think it would be that much more apparent. I love the bench and its new home. It is now in the guest room, where it be a great spot to place towels, small suitcases, etc. And here is the new option…

After

I have had my eye on this X bench for a while. It was finally on clearance at Target, and I scooped up the last one! Originally on sale for $69 and I bought it for $41!! I love their Threshold line of accessories and small furniture pieces. Yet again, Target is brining their ‘A’ game! The seat is actually much deeper than the black bench, so it will be much more comfortable when taking off shoes. We will actually use this one! And if I ever feel the need to move it around, X benches are one of those versatile pieces that will work anywhere. I love seeing two under a console and at the foot of the bed. Since I have only one, it will also work great as a side table, with the additon of a small tray. You may have noticed that I also switched out the pillow for the suzani print. I brought up this conversation on instagram, and my blog friend Holly liked the suzani option here better. I would have to agree, so here it is! In my last post about my master bedroom, I mentioned that if you keep a fairly consistent color scheme throughout your home, you will easily be able to switch out accessories from room to room. I was mainly referring to this pillow. Since I have had this suzani print pillow, I have been pulling colors from it and sprinkling it throughout the home. This new bench has the same coral color as in the pillow, the living room wall color has the same brown, the secretary desk lamp has the same turquoise, etc. This way, I can easily shop around my home without worry if it will work in each room.

Still to do… add the curtain tie backs and replace the polyester pillow insert with a down filled option. Always a better alternative! Oh yeah, and paint the stair railing black! And that door in the last picture, too. So much to do, so little time!

New Touches in Our Master Bedroom

by Filed Under: design, personal design style


I am always moving things around and shopping within my own home. When you keep your color scheme fairly neutral and similar throughout the home, it’s easy to move items from room to room and still make it work. I try to use a color scheme of blue grays, creams, browns with pops of coral to make every accessory versatile. There are always variations of the colors, but it all ends up making sense and creates some flow.

I am a huge fan of mixing metals. If you look closely, you can see three different metals in just this last picture. The silver jewelry box that sits on the right side nightstand is close to the bronze swing arm sconces, which are near the gold mirror. If you gather elements that you love, it just makes sense and brings a collected feel to the room. The sunburst mirror has actually been in this room for a while, but I’ve never shown the after photos on the blog. It was a steal at Home Depot and can be found here. The zebra print lumbar pillows were in other rooms in our home, but I think I like them together in this space. They are a Waverly fabric and can be found on a great sale here. In the second picture, you can see the side of the new quilt we found. It has this pretty orange color and I love the subtle batik chevron pattern in the fabric. This is a great blanket and comes in several different colorways. I think I need the gray one, too! It can be found here.

I have big plans for this space this summer, that involves a paint sprayer. That’s right… I want to try and paint this bed! I also would like to find a second nightstand for the left side of the bed (not matching). Currently, we have a suit stand that we found in Germany. Not very practical for books and magazines. Since this room will undergo some big changes this summer, do you like to see the in between process, or would you rather I just wait to show the finished product? Since a home is never really finished, you might have to wait a long time. {Especially, the way I work on my home!}  🙂 I would love to hear your thoughts! And if you have any experience painting large pieces of furniture, I’m all ears!!

{Before and In Progress} Curtains Are on the Sidelights!

by Filed Under: before and after, design, foyer


A while back, I mentioned that I wanted to add a decorative option to cover our sidelights. When we first moved in, we had stationary sidelight panels, but that didn’t give us the option to move them during the day. I wanted a more modern approach for covering these windows, that would also be moveable and let the light in. When I came across these inspiration photos, I knew this would work for us…

Adding drapery panels was such a clever and stylish way to add privacy. My walls are wallpapered and busy, so I knew I didn’t want patterned drapery panels. I decided to try my own take on this project! Here is the before shot of our foyer…

Before

And here are the afters in progress, with the curtaind rod and panels…

After

I say in progress, because I still plan on installing some sort of tie backs for the panels. I ended up using the same panels that are in our kitchen and family room, but I added pom pom fringe for a special, fun touch. The curtain panels are from Target and are the Farrah Curtain Panels in Cream. They can be found here. I ordered the panels in size 54×95 so I could hang the rod high and near the ceiling. I think it helps to draw your eye up and create more space when you can mount your curtain rod as high as possible. I will be back next week for a full tutorial on adding the pom pom fringe!

To all who are celebrating Easter tomorrow, have a wonderful, special day!! We plan to do just that!

{E-Design} Adding the Accessories

by Filed Under: design, e-decorating, e-design, personal design style, styling


As I’ve written in past posts, putting a room together is really all about the accessories. I recently wrapped up an e-design project where the client had the main furniture pieces for her master bedroom, but just needed to add the fun details. We started with her nightstands. I wanted to create a his and hers side, to make the space feel more meaningful and work with their own personal styles. Here are the options I gave…

Option 1

Option 2

Both options include a vase of fresh flowers, because I think that’s a great way to bring warmth and personality to any space. Both options also include whimsical, rustic and glam elements, to create both a masculine and feminine style. Adding accessories that are unique and fun take a space to the next level. You can find great vintage accessories like these from this great shop.

Next up, we chose blankets for the foot of the bed. I gave options that were both serene and calming and those infused with color. Here is the board I presented…

I also threw in a great pillow option for good measure, because you can never go wrong with this textile line.

We also styled the dresser. Here are the two options I presented…

The room is already beautiful, so we wanted to accentuate that by adding texture and unique accessories.

She is thrilled with the boards and has already started the fun accessory shopping!

{DIY} Backing Shelves With Wrapping Paper

by Filed Under: design, DIY, shelf styling, style


In my last post, I mentioned that I was looking for a floral paper to use for the back of my secretary shelves. After reading Emily’s suggestion to try a bright floral, I knew this would be a great option for the room. The wood is a very dark mahogany which I love, but the accessories were getting lost in the space.

Before the Paper

I didn’t want to choose anything permanent, because I didn’t want to ruin the wood finish on the antique piece. How can I make this paper removeable without compromising the wood underneath? Blog friend Pam suggested using double stick removeable poster tape. I went to Jo Ann fabrics, and did just that! While I was out, I thought I might browse through their fabrics to see if I could find something to line the back of the shelves with. I did find some great fabrics, but didn’t want to spend $20-$40 on something that I might want to switch out later. {By the way, did you know that Jo Ann Fabrics now sells an HGTV line of fabrics? They are pricey, but beautiful! I think I’ll wait for a great sale!} So back to the drawing board. I left with the tape and decided to go into Target, since they usually have pretty cool wrapping paper. And there it was- a beautiful vintage looking wrapping paper for $3.99! I immediately loved it and decided this was the one! And if I didn’t love it on the desk, at least it would be great for wrapping presents. Here is the paper and tape I found…

The Materials

Since this paper has a white background, I knew it would brighten up the dark wood and make a difference in how the accessories stand out. Luckily, the shelves slide right out, so it was easy to place one large piece of paper on the back of the shelves. Here is the process..

Without the Shelves

I needed about a 2×3 piece of paper for this project. I cut it to size and made minor adjustments to the paper before attaching the tape to the back of the desk. I placed about 9 pieces of double stick tape to the back of the desk, making sure I got the corners and the center. When the shelves are put back into place, I knew that would also hold it well.

Attaching the Tape

Those little square pieces you see are the double stick tape. It was great to work with, because if I didn’t get the paper in the exact spot I wanted, it was easy to remove and start over. {Which happened about 3 times!} Here is the paper all ready and wating for the shelves…

Paper is Up

And here is the desk with the shelves installed…

Shelves Are In

And now it’s time for the accessories! I have been changing the styling since the paper went up, so I may even edit it some more. Theare are many options for shelf placement in this desk, so I can always adjust that later on. But here are the afters for now…
After


I have been having fun with this new change. What I love most, is that it’s versatile and can easily be changed when I come across a new paper or fabric that I love! All of the accessories were already in my home. I just shopped around my house and changed things up a bit. I only spent $3.99 on the wrapping paper! Just to recap, here is another before, without the paper…
Before
And After
Have you ever tried to use wrapping paper for projects that don’t include wrapping presents??