Happy Halloween!!

I don't know what's scarier - Charlotte's eyes or the fact that my husband carved a Nascar pumpkin. Just kidding! Love you Matty!

Tomorrow is my first monthly giveaway, I can't wait to share it with you!

The Friday Random

+ These kitchen cabinets are, in my opinion, the perfect finish. Not too glossy, not too flat. I'd call it "perfectly satin".





+ See the fold of the roman shade in Suzanne Dimma's dining room? It, too, is perfect. Exactly what I want to re-create for my dining room window treatments. It lets the fabric sing.



+ Crystal, founding editor of RUE magazine, wrote the sweetest post about me this week. I definitely blushed when I saw it. She's so very sweet and very inspiring.

+ I recently got this necklace on sale from Banana Republic. I've been wearing it with everything. It's feminine but a little edgy because the beads are asymmetrical on the chain. I love it!




+ On MONDAY I'm going to be posting the big November giveaway. I cannot wait to share it with you! I hope you'll like it! If you remember, I was inspired by Emily of Jones Design Company. She has her November giveaway up, so be sure to go enter!

Tis the week for pumpkins!

Only a couple days until Halloween and I have pumpkins on the brain!

I found this unique wreath idea from myhomeideas.com:



Isn't it awesome? The directions read:
Tiny grocery store pumpkins and pale, early-season nandina berries affix to a wire wreath frame for a lovely fall welcome. Not just for Halloween, these miniature gourds are meant to last -- extending your decor well into November.

We have two pumpkins sitting on our front porch and I think I'll set a date with the husband this weekend to carve them. I haven't done that in a while and I think it'd be fun! Martha has the best carving ideas of anyone...

Pumpkin Projector:


Cute little noses!


Such a great party idea:


My favorite.. but looks soo hard:


This is perfect for a family! Everyone can have their own..

I'm curious to see if we'll have trick or treat-ers in our new house!

Our Dining Room - Design Board

(Sorry for the late post.. I had a morning meeting.)

Even though Halloween has yet to pass, I'm kicking it in high gear to "finish" our dining room. I've already started painting - next up is a new light fixture and window treatments.

I've posted this image before, but here is our dining room:



It's a very traditional space (with the detailed moldings), so I want to keep the design somewhat traditional, but still fun. I've pulled together a very simple design board to give you a sneak peek into my plans for the room.

[ fabric is from Schumacher, chandelier is from Robert Abbey, console is from Overstock ]

I've decided not to reupholster the chairs before the Holidays. I haven't decided which fabric to upholster them in, so I don't want to do it until I am absolutely sure. I'm hoping a good steam clean will make them look new(er).

I plan to create faux roman shades because: it will save money on yardage (that fabric is EXPENSIVE!!) and because the room is very private so the shades will be purely decorative. Something similar to Darby's faux roman, but inside mount. How am I going to do this? I have no idea. I think I'll save that project for when my mother in law gets here! :)

Considering the holidays will be here before we know it, I'll be sharing an "after" fairly soon!

Speaking of dining rooms... I love table Eddie did at a recent event in Philly:

[ image via High Street Market - her recap was awesome! ]

CReed: A Perfect Living Room

Are you familiar with Carol Reed Interior Design? She is SO talented and has a great blog called CReed.

I just discovered her living room on her sidebar (how have I missed it?). I really love it! It's mostly black and white but doesn't feel stark or cold at all.

(a different rug in this picture!)

My favorite part is the beautiful painting - I would love to have a piece like that in our home!

This room has the same feeing that I hope to (someday!) have in our own home. Love <3

Boardwalk Empire: My New Favorite

Anyone out there watch Boardwalk Empire? I love it. I love not only the story line, but the clothes and especially the interiors.







If you don't have HBO, you can go here to watch clips to see the costume and sets.

When the first episode aired, I told my husband that the 50's and 60's trend of Mad Men has now been replaced with the 20's and 30's.

I need some 1920's in my life... I recently came across these beautiful prints on Look Linger Love.

Both prints are by Etsy seller TUSH TUSH.

Aren't they amazing?!

Bits From My Week

I think I'm going to start posting random stuff from my week on Fridays. A mix between client stuff, blog love, etc. Thoughts?

- First up is this wallpaper. I recently had it installed in a client's powder room. It's awesome. Instead of running horizontal like most grasscloth wallpaper, it runs vertical. It's made out of jute and is fuzzy, in a good way. I'll share pictures when we get the mirror installed.



- I love this new fabric from Dwell Studios + Robert Allen. Who doesn't love peacocks?



- I've been getting little things here and there for Thanksgiving, including these awesome vintage salad plates:



- Did you see Erika's latest project pictures?!? They are ah-mazing. She is up there in my top 5. And it reminded me how much I love this fabric she used for curtains:



I used it on a cork board in an office earlier this year:



It's great on pillows, too!

- And last but not least, a big THANK YOU to Makeunder My Life and High Street Market for featuring me on their blogs yesterday. And a big THANK YOU to all your wonderful and funny comments this week.

I'll leave you with a picture of my girl Sam..



I'm still totally jealous some of you guys had (still have) her. ;)

This post is totally silly and random.

This morning I'm going through my normal blog roll, and saw Haven & Home posted about L.L. Bean's new winter stuff (which is totally cute btw)! I clicked on the link because my grandmother gave me an L.L. Bean gift card probably 6 years ago before the company re-invented itself... I wonder if it's still good?

Anyway, I came upon this picture and my heart skipped a beat.



Is that.. wait.. let me google. She looks so familiar!

YES I knew I recognized this from somewhere!!



Kirsten from American Girl!

(I mean no disrespect to L.L. Bean... it is a cute dress and they have some great stuff in their new Signature line!!)

Were any of you an American Girl doll fan? I was obsessed - I read the books over and over. But I never did get a doll - I hated my parents for it back then, but now I get it. They were very pricey and I was a little too old for dolls (9 or 10).

Samantha was my favorite, btw.

The Black Wing Backs

I got these chairs back when I got my green ottoman.. I can't believe I haven't shared them yet! Probably because they pictures aren't so great... sorry.

The before:



And the after:




The wing backs were reupholstered in black sunbrella canvas outdoor fabric, which is fade resistant and soooo durable. Which is good because Charlotte loves sitting in the chair by the window and looking out.

I love them!! I like how they look with the black entry console. Since I really like things in three, I'm thinking of painting the back of the front door black, too. Then there would be three black contrast pieces (in a triangle). hmm... I'll think about it.

Speaking of this room, my brother in law walked into our house for the first time and said "I like what you've done with the place" - looking at the near empty room. He's a joker, but it is true - it's funny how it's so empty, especially since I decorate other people's homes for a living. Slowly but surely!


Random question for those photographers out there - my camera seems to always add a pink hue to my images. Is this something I can adjust in the settings? If so, what typically would it be under? (It's an older Pentax). Thanks in advance!

EDIT- I had some questions about re-upholstery pricing. My work room gives me to the trade pricing, but you can expect to spend anywhere from $200 per chair to $500 per chair depending on the company and detail of the job. I'm sorry that's not very helpful! I recommend asking around in your town, or simply googling. Also a good way to find upholsterers is asking your local fabric store. Usually they have a print out of work rooms you can contact. Always ask for photos of previous jobs, or visit the work room to see their work in person.

Bathroom Rules

I think a bathroom should be three things:

1. Calm
2. Clean
3. Clutter-free

And yes, they all start with the letter "c", which was completely unintentional.

When it comes to what to decorating a bathroom, I have three rules:

1. Scale down and put only what you absolutely need in your bathroom. (And I'm mostly talking about products).
2. While furniture steals the show in the rest of your home, hardware and lighting steal the show in the bathroom.
3. There are some great exceptions to this last rule, but typically I like to keep bathrooms neutral and/or monochromatic.

Here are a couple bathroom design/accessory boards I recently have done...





And because we are on the topic of bathrooms, here are some of my favorites :)

Necklace Roundup & High Point

I was never really a jewelry person, but I've started to get the itch. I'll put on an outfit in the morning, then look at my bare neck or simple stud earrings and think.. hmm.. I could really use something here. (oh how I wish I were better at fashion..)

Anyway, here are some necklaces I really like from Etsy (my favorite jewelry source).. maybe I'll get (and start wearing) a couple!

crow & iris

Galit Barak

elephantine

In other news, I took a last minute trip up to High Point yesterday and I'm so glad I did. I had an amazing time with fellow bloggers Lauren of Pure Style Home, Crystal of RUE magazine and Plush Palate, Traci Zeller of Traci Zeller Designs and Maria of Color Me Happy. I took in and charished every second with these amazing women - they are so talented and inspiring. It was the perfect day to refresh my mind and appreciate the opportunity to do what I love and keep pushing myself along the way.

Thank you to my blog readers who make it all possible. Seriously - I couldn't do it without you!

I didn't really take any pictures of the evening, so once some start popping up I'll share them on the blog.

(Random transition from jewelry to sentimental proclamations, haha)

Bits From My Week

An e-decorating client of mine told me that she needed help with the pillow arrangement on her furniture. So I did a little photoshop action to show her exactly how to display the pillows:

(this is an 'a la carte' board billed at my hourly rate; my client wanted pillow and some accessory ideas.)

Wednesday was a busy day of running errands for clients. I stopped by a local "upcycling" store called Post & Gray and found some really great things.

We all know now that I love green ottomans!



I also loved that faux bois ceramic stool behind the ottoman.

Stripes - they get me every time. I loved this chair.. the fabric is Windsor Smith:



I loved this little stool too.



Then I stopped in Home Goods. They now sell "ghost chairs":



I liked this mirror.. it's very "West Elm".



This week I was feeling a little down about $ or lack there of. (Let's keep it real... life would be much easier if I was making the salary I used to make.) But this quote from Lonny made me feel better:



Amen, Palmer Weiss.

(the little boy next to Palmer's quote is my husband as a kid. What amazing hair! Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure curly hair is a dominant gene.)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!