February is the month to celebrate love so I thought I would celebrate my love of design. Pieces that are well designed serve a function while being aesthetically beautiful. They evoke a feeling in us and represent a part of our soul. Sometimes you can’t explain why you love something, you just know you do. A little like the people we love, too. So, here are a few things that have captured my heart this month…
Red Envelope – Sugar Bean Love RingCrate & Barrel – Cameo GlasswareWest Elm – Wood Tiled BuffetPottery Barn – Hailey MirrorPBTeen – Alston LoveseatPBKids – Jordan Side TableWest Elm – Tiered Tower BookcaseCrate & Barrel – Avery Table LampWest Elm – Heart BowlsWest Elm – Canted Rug Salmon
Choose things for your home carefully & it will come alive with your energy!
I was excited to be asked back to Great Day St. Louis again this morning! I had a lot of fun creating vignettes of patterns to help viewers mix & match with ease. View the segment below and tell me what you think!
Again, many thanks to Victoria and the team at Great Day for making me feel so welcome!
Welcome to 2011 – the land of over-scheduled, underpaid, technology-addicted persons racing through life whilst forgetting what it is we are moving towards. To quote Ferris Bueller “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
classic and original – love those Brits!
It’s no wonder then that the British goverment’s posters, produced in 1939 to alleviate stress from the impending war, have been reinvented as the latest decorating craze. With it’s simple yet effective motto and signature crown, the posters have been popping up everywhere in dozens of bright colors and unexpected creations.
For me, the poster’s bold color balances it’s somber message and reading the phrase instantly provides a reassuring hand as I push through my never ending to do list. Feel free to share your own personal motto or mantra for perseverance!
this is pretty popular in nursery rooms!i have a few friends who could use these!and some mommies who would want this, too!love the more natural version!what a way to come home…how does this not make you happy?great way to start the day!
So, you love all the berry branches and amaryllis flowers that are abundant in stores right now. But how do you use them without putting them in the “usual” tall vase? How do you incorporate simpler elements to your holiday decor? Here’s what I did with one of my favorite hurricanes to give it a holiday “facelift”…
empty hurricane...what should we do?candles, flowers & berries, oh my!
I purchased a large white unscented candle which burns within. This is important as you don’t want wax dripping on the botanicals surrounding the candle. Unscented is also a must if you are entertaining a lot. It allows you to burn the candle without interfering with multiple aromas such as perfumes or yummy entrees! Lastly, notice the scale of the candle. Sometimes I bring my candle holders with me when I shop for candles so I don’t guess and have to make several trips to the store!
Okay, I also have some winter berries and these beautiful white amaryllis stems. My idea is to chop the amaryllis really short and frame them around the candle at the base of the hurricane. Time to cut…wire cutters or strong scissors are a must!
time to cut...
So, unfortunately, my idea didn’t work so well. I only cut one to test and it was too squished once it got closer to the base of the hurricane…now what to do with it. Well, I have this cute little red vase that I normally don’t put flowers in but figured it worked nicely for the season. I cut a second amaryllis stem and situated them so they offset the shape of the vase nicely.
looks better here!
Okay, back to the hurricane…how can I incorporate the berries? I remembered I had some black rocks leftover from another project and pulled those out. I love how the black creates a nice base for the candle. You don’t have to fill the rocks too far, just use your best judgment on proportion.
hmm...black rocks may workalmost done!
Now for the finishing touch, I must say this is harder than it looks. I cut off 2 parts of the berry branches and I still have enough leftover for a future project; that was the easy part. The hard part was placing them ever so gently in the rocks without them scratching the candle or falling over. I ended up using scotch tape to hold them together, only from the back so you wouldn’t see the tape. I love how it turned out and I can’t wait to see how nicely it burns!
So, after a couple years of deciding that I needed a larger media stand (you’ll see what I mean in the before photo) and not finding one that fit my budget and vision for the room, I decided to get creative. When most people do home improvements, they tackle DIY projects. I prefer the HDDI method, also known as, Have Dad Do It.
My dad is very skilled as a carpenter but committing to a time frame is not his forte because he is in high demand. Luckily, my grandpa and my cousin were willing to help out with painting and hauling the completed piece to my apartment. Now to get my dad on board with my concept. As you can see by my sketches, I was definitely more focused on the little accent pieces…I did give him dimensions, I’m no dummy! The goal was to get the baskets of movies in the console but still functional and hide all the wiring to my components. I’ll let you judge the photos for yourself. I bet you are already thinking of your very own HDDI project! Thanks for all the hard work guys!
Before Media Wall - Yes, it's an end table...
My Concept SketchesPhase 1 - The boys got carried away with the red paint on the center linesPhase 2 - I created the shapes out of cardboard with my arty friend Brent's helpVoila! Finished product - Functional & Pretty!New Media Wall - so much cleaner!Team Photo Take 1 - Eric, quit moving!Team Photo Take 2 - Grandpa's not smilingTeam Photo Take 3 - This will have to do!
