Install of the Day !

Hi There . . .

Just finished a quick install at the Egan's brand new house.  With all the craziness at the office I was so thankful to have both Bree and Maggie there to help put this room together.  Thanks girls !

Cammie and Joey, client's of mine from a while back, moved recently to a brand new house south of Charlotte and wanted a few new things.  With a brand new room, new colors and a gorgeous new kitchen I was happy to help with phase one . . . the family room.  With this growing family, getting this space done first was the high priority.  I did come up with a game plan for the adjoining breakfast room and hope to work phase by phase saving Joey's office and the dining room for a little later.  We can just work our way through the house !

Take a look at their new, pulled together family room.

With a large sectional in a neutral and the punch of the yellow curtains, I wanted to mix in a few unexpected pieces like this great waterfall console and glass lamps

Slate Interiors is alway the best go-to for the one of a kind pieces - check them out !!

Love the "hand table, aka bench," I believe there are two still available, but don't wait too long, things get snapped up !

Don't forget the details, like a little nail head trim !

photos by mekenzie france

Was happy to help the Egan's with their brand new home !

Install of the Day !

Hi There . . .

Sharon Freeman.  She's thoughtful, careful, and the sweetest client ever.  She needed some design help. With three rooms lacking everything from furniture, color, window treatments, accessories, and rugs, she needed a plan from the front door forward, everything.  Where to start?  I started with fabrics and she liked the idea of blues.  

I started pulling all sorts of patterns, textures and shades of blue, mixed with neutrals.  Sharon's look tended to lean toward the traditional, in this plan my goal was to mix in some transitional pieces with that look . . .  baby steps!

I think my first round of fabrics were a little too graphic for Sharon, I tweaked a bit and found a few more options . . .

After choosing all the fabrics, it was time to filter in the furniture.  I had a few things to work around, a dining room table with chippendale chairs, and a husband that loved all his wood built-ins in the family room.  I won the built-ins ! Now,  it's always my goal to install everything in one day to give my clients a full room all at once.  This helps in visualizing the reason why I did what I did and chose what I chose.  They see the whole picture and my whole vision, plus it's much for more fun, a big reveal.

The first room we carried in the door on install day was the family room.

We both watched the design boards come to life.

The built ins were stained the color of the beams, they were pretty heavy.  Painting them white along with the wainscoting and walls lifted the entire room.

We did choose to keep the wood beams, doors and windows.  I love the contrast.  A new, large 8 x 10 foot sectional gives everyone a place to sit and watch the TV and or fireplace.  Pulled away from the walls gives you access to the french doors to the porch and allows for a console with back lighting.

A new custom ottoman in leather with this great greek key detail,  and a lighter rug helped in the goal for bright.

above photos by mekenzie france

Part two of install day was the Dining Room.  I added wall paper and new wainscoting from the chair rail down, a new chandelier, curtain panels, upholstered end chairs, a gorgeous sideboard, lamps and art.  Working around her existing table and chairs, I wanted to mix in neutral pieces with pattern and texture keeping it elegant.

Take a look at a few of the dining room details . . .

The front living room, totally empty.  With the family room the center of the home, and the most used with this young family, I wanted a slightly dressier space, yet still casual and comfortable.  Simply divided by a set of pocket doors it was important to me to have the colors work with each other.  I feel like we accomplished that !  Take a look where it started, with the design board.

Light and airy with texture and a good mix of graphic and organic.  We added a blue and white grasscloth above the trim and paired it with these gorgeous floral linen window treatments.  A new chocolate brown sofa and pair of modern wingback chairs.

I found a coffee table at Slate Interiors that was very similar to my big ticket version on the design boards.  This table had a black base, simple adding gold leaf to it changed the entire look and stayed on budget.

A large modern wall unit with silver knobs pulled in the greys from from the dining room and family room and I love the contemporary look.

We introduced gold in the accents, and . .

Keith created the perfect piece for the space . . . love its texture and colors.

Now this space isn't just a big empty room right by the front door !  Much better . . .

Loved helping Sharon create such a bright, yet warm and cozy home, all pulled together !

Install of the Day !

Hi !

Ran by Kassie Hunsgate's the other day with Mekenzie to shoot her family room.  We installed it just before Christmas but recently stopped by take a few pictures.  Having Mekenzie working with me has not only spoiled me but help built such a good looking portfolio.  Good photography is everything and while I would love to do more of it,  I will be the first one to let the professionals do their thing.   This project also included my new design assistant Maggie.  With such confidence in her, it was so nice to just send her over for a little bookcase styling for me and not have to worry, I knew she would do fine and she did.  With all the multiple installs we did the week before Christmas, we were all scattered, Bree included, another one I have complete trust and confidence in.. so thankful for such a great team to help me pull off 7 installs in 10 days !!

So back to Kassie . . . she came to me in need of a sectional not too long ago and if you know me at all, I didn't really want to leave it at that.  Yes, a sectional was a great idea for that space, but I really wanted to help her tweak the rest of the space. That new sectional not only was custom to give her the perfect style and size for the space, it pulled the area together.  But I wanted a few more things to really tie it all together - accent pillows, maybe a console behind it, and her existing chairs a little recovering action.  She was game.

Kassie's colors are very tone-on-tone, neutral, shades of tan, brown, and cream.  I stayed with that but decided to layer in more patterns and textures.  Neutrals don't have to be boring.

I worked around shades of hazel, coffee, sepia, mahogany, umber, beige, buff, fawn, cafe au lait, chestnut and camel - had fun with the thesaurus .. sorry, but all sounding so much prettier than "brown."

Kept her existing wall color, window treatments and area rug, but filtered in shades of grey and a little warm gold paint color on the back of the bookcases. 

I worked on a quick design board for Kassie to give her a visual of what I was proposing . . it helped her see it.

With the new sectional, the room looks more encompassing and cozy.  The neutral color allows for layering of patterned pillows.  

I recovered her existing club chairs in a grey graphic and added yet another pattern for those pillows.

Her built-ins needed some styling.  I sent Maggie over to give it a stab.  She did a great job, wouldn't have changed a thing.  I knew I had a keeper when she #1 stayed on budget, #2 took it upon herself to hand paint a few of the accessories the night before, that is so something I would have done.. love that.


The key to styling shelves, in our opinion, larger items.  A few tips on styling these bookcases in this particular style room:

> Books in both horizontal and vertical positions

> Try turning them backwards for a cleaner look

> Larger frames

>  Keep the amount of pictures at half of what you want to do

> Mix in art

> Stagger the shelves

> Add a contrasting back paint color

> Similar vases, pots and boxes

Meet Maggie (with Izzy),  filled with enthusiasm, eager to help and has a great eye.

When doing a tone on tone room, remember that patterns are the key and layer then a lot !!

Happy to get all pieces in prior to Christmas for them to enjoy and loved this email I received on Christmas.  It made my day and loved she stopped for a minute during all the craziness to glance around and say thanks.  I appreciated that so much.

Install of the Day !

Hi All !

Wrapped up Regina and Tommy Wagoner yesterday as well.  Now you know . . .  all of this installing is only possible with the help of a great crew.  Bree and Maggie both were one place ahead of me and we tag teamed each other all day, Mekenzie was following me with camera in hand, and Betsy stayed at the office holding down the fort. . . Takes a ton of organizing and they are all so great and I appreciate each and every one !

Love this bonus room and love that it's started a slippery slope at the Wagoner's (I face lifted their son's room and guest while there, couldn't help myself)  The big, empty, toy filled bonus room... what to do with it... give it some style I say and stash all those toys in big (pretty) bins behind a floating sectional ! (right Tommy?)

This is a TV watching, gaming , computer playing hang out for all.  The toys are there, but stashed and it's now a comfortable room for the entire family to hang out in - away from the main family room.

When Regina contacted my a while back (I call her my facebook stalker) I was happy to help create a space with color and fun.  Her husband Tommy and I became fast texting friend and this install went off so quickly and without a glitch.   Take a look at the finished product !

I started with this new wall paper from Harlequin, one of my favorite vendors.  It's geometric cubes add just the right amount of pattern and style to this space when used as an accent on just one side.  This is a great way to give a big room some intimacy, and a bit of drama.  I pulled the grey-blue from the paper and painted the remaining walls with that, knowing I would load it with art.

I chose to use a mix of furniture all with a bit of an industrial vibe.  The wire and wood side shelf, the metal side table and floor lamp and an indestructible wood coffee table.   The sectional is large and I had more than one person tell me it wouldn't fit . . I beg to differ... more is more !

Absolutely loving this leather chair !!!

Details include a hammered metal side table and shaggy rug.

. . . and amazing new light !

The pillows and TV pieces both have a worn look which I love.

As with all, I create these design boards to give a visual !

photos by mekenzie france

Came a long way . .  

Pleasure guys and looking forward to finishing your guest and son's room tweaking !

Week almost over . . . and when am I going to do that Christmas shopping???