It came to life!!

So, for one of my classes we had to design a light fixture from scratch and design it around one of our favorite designers. Clearly, I chose Kelly Wearstler because of her creative sense and ....her love of gold and metals!

  My light fixture was designed with scrap wood I had from previous projects. I used gold paint that I mixed in with some faux painting techniques I had up my sleeve to create the illusion of brass supports for the shade and a bronze base. I wanted the grain in the wooden shade to show through so I watered down the paint, and used a Drapery ring for the finial......it kind of pulls through the look of a modern lantern.?

The "Came to life part refers to the fact that we're building a lake house for a client and they were in need of some interesting standing lamps for their outdoor "Areya" ;-)  that wouldn't blow over. Btw. They're 5 feet tall too!!

I love them!! From a school project to a real life client's house!!! ;-)  I post some pics once the house is done  with them in the space!

A little paint goes a long way!!

So I was bored last weekend and wanted something to do and I thought about how boring my hallway was. I've always loved KellyWearstler's foyer in her house with it's funky, modern wallpaper in it and thought why not do something like that!! I wanted my treatment to have a little more strength to it as well as have some sort of architectural quality.

This was my hallway before, not bad but kind of boring don't you think?
I wanted the design to mimic 18th century Louis XV wall paneling......

I really love it, I just lightly free handed some lines on the wall with a pencil and went over it with some leftover paint. It would have been even cooler if it were two different shades of a brighter color!!!! Hmmmmm, lol

A taste of the past!

So I was going through my computer and cam across this picture of my old bedroom from when I lived in Montgomery. Apparently I wanted to be a 60 year old antique dealer who lives in Savannah Georgia?? I don't know but damn was I traditional!!

My taste has definitely changed since then, now I enjoy white walls, with a touch of modern, and traditional pieces mixed in and less pattern!

From a door to a chic console table.

In my living room/ foyer I wanted a table at the end of the room but I was having a hard time finding one that was long enough, as well as one that was cheap enough. I remembered having a couple of bi-fold closet doors that were white and knew that the length would be perfect. So I took one and cut it in half to the appropriate length, screwed the top piece to the legs I created from cutting the one piece in half and this is what I ended up with.

Works perfect for what I needed, and for only $20....you can't beat that!

Work it out.

Since I've moved into my new apartment I've been trying to get everything in order. I have two bedrooms, one little bitty one and a larger one. Now most people would use the lager on for the bedroom and the small as an office or overfill space, but I decided I would spend much more time in an office/study and less time in a bed so I chose to make the lager one an office.
Clearly some changes would have to be made to the space to make it enjoyable to spend time in. Below is a picture of the before, with it's existing tan walls, and a stereo that i found for $26 and painted white, two $4 lamps that needed shades and an oriental rug that I was not feeling in the space.

The first step for the new office was to paint it....now I love white, everything looks amazing on white and you can pretty much "plop" anything in it and it looks good. My other option was to do it really dark but i decided that would make the room appear too confined considering I was already interested in dressing the windows in heavy flannel drapery panels.

The rug I chose to anchor the room was a sisal that i painted in a charcoal brown to give the room a little modern edge and pull in the gray from the draperies. Since the room is so small i chose an antique walnut console table instead of your typical desk, considering i wanted seating in the room as well and couldn't fit a desk and a set of chairs in the room comfortably together. I wanted the color in the room to be brought in through the use of art, i chose to paint colorful abstract pieces because they were quick and easy with a powerful wow factor.

I layered two other pieces of art over the wall hung painting by simply leaning them in front of the wall hung art, this gives the room a less formal feel and adds personality to the space...details, details.

I always stress the fact to hang draperies from as close to the ceiling as you can get them, this trick always delivers and you get a great sense of height within a space whenever you do this. The modern, candle- platform chandelier gives the space a little taste of chic I think. I used two white Bertoia chairs for their modern lines and sense of weightlessness in the room.

A simple dark wood nesting table that matches the tones of the desk and some fresh flowers and this bad boy is ready for some amazing work and ideas to be made in it!!

Light it up!

How cool Is this chandelier, we're using it in a client's foyer at their lake house. Love the unusual shape, reminds me of the heaters that use to hang low to the ground to heat all the baby quail when I was little!

These are for the kitchen, love the rope detail with the glass!!!

Finally my favorite, these little sconces are so sweet, I love the antique mirror detail!!

Thrift sore find!

Found this bad boy at the LoveLady Thrift store for $26. Old stereo console. Before picture.

Simple white coat of oil paint......Yes please! :-) I found the lamps that day too, $8 for BOTH!! I added the black shades.

How to paint a painting!

For the first step I had to choose a surface for the piece. I decided to paint on a piece of particle board that was the backing for the frame, because that is simply how I roll, lol. Then I drew out my basic shapes I wanted.

Next step was to paint the background, the surface, and the bottom of the surface. I chose a grayish brown for the background and darkened the edges, the surface was a lighter color than the background with some simple shadows and some light gray which would act as a reflection on the tables surface for the silver cup. the bottom of the table was a simple black.

I added some blues in a linear fashion to give the appearance of reflections of the objects in the room,  blue will appear as light on the surface and strengthen the idea of metal on the cup!

 In this step I added the Lemons reflection the the cup. Remember to "stretch" the reflection in an upward manner, getting smaller towards the top.

When I added the lemon all i had to do was paint the yellow base and add a black and a brown to the underside. Then I added a white to the top left where my light source was directed from.

Now just let it dry and frame that amazing piece of art you just made!!! ;-)

How to antique a mirror....

I wanted a mirror in my new apartment but I didn't want one that when someone walked in they knew exactly where it had come from, I wanted something different and interesting. I remembered my friend Clint has this  huge mirror made up of 12"x12" mirror tiles that had been antiqued in his loft.

I wanted mine to have some sort of light interaction, maybe with candles or a picture light attached overhead or something in between to maximize the use of the mirror. I knew I needed a base of platform the attach the mirror tile to and I knew that I wanted it to have a modern sense to it as well. So,  I used a basic hollow core door from home depot as my base because it had some thickness to so when it stands alone it will have some solidarity to it.

Now I wasn't sure how they actually mirrored the back of the tile so I had to ask around and Google some of it. What I found out is that the mirror tiles have a coat of gray paint on the back to protect the mirror below, so you have to use an aerosol stripper of easy off oven cleaner to remove the paint. Once you've done that your ready for the mirror antiquing. This is done with a product called Muratic Acid that they use to clean concrete and pools, (you should be able to get it from your local Home Depot) THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF!!! It will clear you out of a room in 2 seconds, promise!! Lol. So use gloves and make sure your space is ventilated well. Spray the acid on the back of the mirror and let it sit for about 35 minutes to start, you might need to let it sit longer depending on the look you want. Here is a before and after picture of a mirror tile.

I attached all the mirror tiles with liquid nails to the door frame.I purchased some chain, slat of wood, and some screws. I stained the edges of the door in a walnut stain and the plat form for the candles. added some screws and done. You've got an amazing one of a kind mirror! ;-)

The best is at night with the lights in the apartment dimmed and the candles lit, with a glass of wine of course! ;-)

Trash to Treasure!

When I moved into my own apartment not too long ago, I realized that what I once thought was too much furniture was all of a sudden not enough and not enough by a long shot! I needed a dining room table, chairs, rugs, console tables, art, lamps and most importantly the stable of any household.....a Sofa! I looked online for one everywhere but there was no way I was going to be able to fork up $2000 for a sofa, or anything else for that matter. So I got the idea from a friend to find one at a flea market that had the lines and simply have the upholsterer to change the parts of the sofa that I didn't like!!
   This  is the sofa I really wanted! This amazing piece my boss has at the office, he had it designed a few years back.

One day on the way to my friends house I was sitting in my car waiting for the gate to open and it hit me!!! Right behind me was this sofa....

.This sofa that had been sitting by a dumpster by a back lot that was adjacent to me. I had seen this sofa sitting there for several months, at least once a day. I instantly remember my friend telling me about how the upholster could change the lines to my liking. I had the sofa picked up that night and delivered to the upholsterer a week later. I purchased a mink colored velvet off a website for $200 for 17 yards. One LONG month later I had my very own custom, knole inspired sofa with nailhead trim and bolster pillows that you see below!!!!! Couldn't be happier with it, What is one man's trash is another man's SOFA!! ;-)

Where do I put my Martini???

One of my favorite stores to go to is Circa Interiors in Mountain Brook Village, they have a wonderful mix of old and new that marry together beautifully with the use of neutral colors and simple lines. I found these wonderful little martini tables designed by Bobby Mcalpine called the Altar Boy table and instantly thought to myself "I can make something like that!!"

I knew I had a piece of left over wood that could act as the neck of the table. I went to Hobby Lobby and found a small base and top for my table, which only cost me about $9. 

I wanted the table to be about the height of a low sofa arm or a side chair so, I had to cut the long piece down to about 24". I wanted the base piece to be longer than the top and in order to bring a morn modern flair to the piece, I attached the neck of the piece to the far left side of the base.

I attached the top and base to the neck with some nails and wood glue, added some wood stain and all of a sudden I have to perfect little drink table for a sofa or arm chair that takes up little or no space!! How great is that!! ;-)

What is going on at Work?

I got bored....

I decided I didn't like where the living room was because it wasn't very intimate and when you entered the apartment, you walked directly into the Living space. So, I decided to switch the living room and the dining room. The new dining room would serve as a foyer area instead of a dining room with the removal of the dining chairs from the table, therefore acting as a central hall area or a foyer.

I wanted the new living room to feel like a cozy, dark library or den. I wanted it to have both traditional and modern elements.....I choose a dark tabacco for the walls and wanted the draperies to pull from that as well, thus creating a continuous flow through out the space. Making it a more inviting and warmer space to be in. 

 The Before, very traditional and spare.

The After, Much cozier and inviting.... :-)

My favorite meal! ;-)

Kelly Wearstler has an amazing line of home accessories available at Bergdorf Goodman that I would love to fill every available surface of my apartment with however, I'm not in a position (yet, lol) to pay $1795.00 for a 12" kaleidoscope.........So, I opt for the second option (not stealing one) but making one that looks like hers. I took some styrofoam balls, basic drink straws, forks, and gold paint and  decided to see what I could come up with!!

 $30 vs. $1795.oo   you choose!

How amazing is Kelly Wearstler!

Kelly Wearstler has an amazing sense of style, creativity, fashion and on top of it all this, this savy business lady knows how to market herself. She has her own fabric line with Schumacher Textiles, a line of china and stem wear with Pickard,  her own line of rugs with The Rug Company, a line of home accessories at Bergdorf Goodman, and has recently come out with her own line of jewelry and ready to wear fashion.

She says shes constantly thinking and evolving through her children's eyes and how they see the world and what inspires them. She enjoys painting with her boys because they have such a different outlook on the things around them and loves their creativity. 

Most of the fabrics from her ready to wear line are inspired by her fabric line and are hand painted with different dyes, paints and other concoctions that manipulate the fabric.

Recently she says she's been obsessed with stripes, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, chevron. Weather she's designing with them or wearing them, they're somewhere nearby!

Unpacking a new shipment of home accessories she recently designed, what better way to start your weekend!

One of my favorite things about her is her sense of originality and lack of fear to use something that is "correct" to the design world. I love her spaces because they're not predictable like some spaces designers creata today.......they always have a sense of fun and excitement to them and you're always left with wanting more.