Year In Review

I'm back! I'm sorry I've been MIA... my family has been in town from Texas and I've been enjoying my time with them and trying to kick an annoying cold.

Anyway.... can you believe it's already New Years Eve? 2010 was an amazing year and so many things happened.

In January, I had two BIG announcements - I was leaving my day job and moving to Charlotte, NC!

I finished up my California jobs in February and had pictures taken for my portfolio.







In February we were living in an apartment and I painted our bedroom black.



In April we started house hunting and in May we bought and moved into our very first place!



We have done a lot of painting including the kitchen, the living room, the family room, the guest bedroom and the dining room is almost done.




Also in May, I got a job working two days a week at a little design shop here in Charlotte. I've learned so much from the industry and the job has been invaluable to me.

During the past couple months, little by little, I've been adding furniture..









Who could forget the last minute whirlwind trip to NYC in September to see Nate Berkus?



I had so much fun with Traci and got to meet some of my favorite bloggers - Jenny and Kirsten.

The past couple months I've gone to some fun events here in Charlotte and also had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know GW and Amanda.



In fact.... if there was one thing to take away from this year, it was my experiences meeting and connecting with the most AMAZING and talented people. Along with the designers/bloggers mentioned above, I also connected with Lisa Sherry and Lauren Liess. Just thinking about these talented individuals makes me excited for what's to come in my own future.

And last but not least, Amanda and I started up our very own booth here in Charlotte and it has been SO fun. We'll be adding a lot of things in the next week and I'll be sure to share pictures!



I've been working with a handful of clients here in Charlotte and I hope to have "after" pictures early this year.

The January giveaway will be posted on Monday since the 1st falls on Saturday. If you like horses, you'll love this month's giveaway!!

I also want to thank you so so so much for reading my blog. When people ask me about what I do, I tell them that everything I do is possible thanks to my blog and my amazing readers supporters.

Come on 2011, I'm ready for you!!!



ps - I am behind on emails. If I haven't emailed you back.. please know I know it's there and will be answered very soon!!!

Fabric Love

Someone on my twitter posted this fabric from Calico Corners (I wish I remembered who, but I went back and looked and I could NOT find it!)

[ link here ]

I really like it! I'm thinking it may work really well in our master bedroom.

hmm, we'll see! :)

Winter Wonderland

Welcome back, I hope you all had a great Christmas!

I'm sure you've heard by now about the snow that has graced the East Coast.. it fell here in Charlotte and it was so beautiful!

Of course I had to take a picture of the first snowfall in our house.



Christmas was a good one with my side of the family out here. We ate a lot and visited more family and overall it was a great day!

I LOVE having my dad here to visit - he is very handy and has already installed our dining room chandelier. I'll be sure to share pictures soon!

A Christmas Miracle

Yesterday I was running around town and decided to stop by Goodwill. And there I saw it - a brand new white Christmas tree, pre-strung, for only $9.99. I've been wanting one for years... now THAT is a Christmas miracle!!

I brought it home and set it up (yes, only 3 days until Christmas) and was admiring it all night. I'm so glad we have a tree we can open presents next to on Christmas day next to a warm fire! (Our other tree is in the furniture-less living room).





My mom, dad and brothers are coming in for Christmas so it will be a packed house. I can't wait!

I hope everyone has a very HAPPY and SAFE Christmas and a big THANK YOU for reading my blog!!

Painting a Stripe

It's been a while since I've had a DIY project on the blog! This one I did yesterday for FOUND (our booth located in Slate).

I started with this console we had in California:



Ew to the faux finish! But it has really good lines.

We don't need this piece in our new house, so I painted the piece to sell in our booth. I thought a stripe down the middle would be pretty cool. This was the first time I've done this, but it was SO EASY and turned out perfect! Here are the steps...

1. First you prime and paint the piece like you normally would. I used some mis-tint paint I got from Lowe's a while back in a Satin finish. I won't walk you through this step but you can check out my painting tips from this post.

2. Once your piece is primed and painted and has dried completely, tape the stripe down the middle (or where ever you'd like the stripe). I used a ruler as a guide to make sure the line was completely straight, so my stripe was 12 inches long. (this made things really easy)







3. This is the most important step! Paint over the tape with the SAME color as the piece. This "seals" the tape so there are no yucky drips underneath. I don't care what the advertisements say, there are ALWAYS seepage.





4. Once the "sealer" coat has dried, paint on your contrasting color. In my case, this was white.



I did two coats.

5. Now for the fun part!! Peel the tape off and you'll see a PERFECT line. I peel the tape off when the paint is still wait.. mostly because I am impatient.

(paint is still wet in these pictures)

Let everything dry overnight and then lightly sand with a fine grit sandpaper and you're done!

I'll take a final picture with the hardware when I bring the piece to Slate. If you are local, this piece will be for sale!

Guest Room Updates

The last I've left you with the guest room is this image from this post:



I've been (slowly) working on this room. I painted the room before Thanksgiving so my in-laws didn't have to stay in something that looked similar to our bedroom. I never really showed an "after", so here are some pictures of the bedroom now!



The paint is "Vintage Linen" by BEHR. It's a really great neutral.

It's been cold here in Charlotte and I didn't think the coverlet would be enough to keep my mom warm (she is cold natured as am I!) I added our summer duvet and then remembered I had these throw pillows in a box.



The throw pillows I purchased from Pottery Barn forever ago and I don't LOVE them.. but they work for now.

I DO love the light that this room gets!





Yesterday I was out Christmas shopping and spotted this beautiful mirror at Home Goods. It was in the clearance section for $15! It's capiz shell in a herringbone pattern. It was so pretty I just had to get it.. I told my husband it was a little Christmas present for myself :)



This is it's temporary spot, but I think it will stay in the guest room.

As you can see, I desperately need window treatments and lamps. I'm always keeping lamps for this room in the back of my mind, but so far I have not found any I like. As for window treatments, I think I will do a simple dark bamboo shade.

Later down the road a great headboard is in this room's future.

The Best Hostess Gift

This is the BEST hostess gift. I'm surprised someone hasn't snatched it up yet.... here's your chance!

FOR THE HOSTESS Vintage Book Set - $20

Darn, it has sold. But this is a great idea to store away for the future. You can find similar books at flea markets :)

Answering Some Questions about Grasscloth

I had some questions about grasscloth so I thought I'd answer here!



Love it! Grasscloth walls are just gorgeous- so natural, and warm and neutral! Does it come like wallpaper? or panels? or what?

Yup! It comes in rolls like wallpaper. For example - 36 inches wide x 8 yards long per double roll


I was warned, as a just out of school interior designer, not to use grass cloth in bathrooms or kitchens because the natural material can hold on to smells. This might be something you want to ask your wallpaper person about.

This wasn't a question but I thought I'd address it. I have used grasscloth in powder rooms before and I have never had that issue. I have never used grasscloth in a kitchen, though, so I'm not sure about that.

Also, what do you know about its durability? Will it start to peel after a while in the high humidity of the bathroom?

I have heard to not use grasscloth in any bathrooms with a shower/bath.Ours is a powder room only (toilet + sink) and there will be no shower-induced humidity. I don't recommend grasscloth in a full bath unless you find something specifically made for bathrooms.

I have an archway between the livingroom and stairwell area that is not trimmed out in wood (just drywall) so I feel like the transition from grasscloth to drywall with the cut edges around the archway would look BAD! What do you think? Do you have any experience with "ending" the glasscloth somewhere other than against wood trim?

I'd have to see pictures on this one. If you'd like, shoot me an email!

ohhhh...I want to do that for my den...I guess I need to remove the wallpaper that's there first?

Yes, you will have to remove the previous wallpaper. (it'd look great in your den though!!! hi mom!)

Will you strip down the current wallpaper or just paper over it?

Yes, I will strip our wallpaper off.

Do you have any tips for hanging it? Do you suggest to drop the DIY spirit and hire someone? I've always heard it is a beast to hang.

I HIGHLY suggest having a professional hang wallpaper. I will be using a professional for my bathroom.

A Grasscloth Bathroom

I LOVE Grasscloth. I've decided (which is a big step) to put grasscloth in our powder room.

Our powder room is another room I cannot stand one more minute. Here is what it currently looks like:



I know! Can you believe it?!

Natural grasscloth is actually relatively inexpensive. I've used this website for a number of clients and I highly recommend it. I've already received round one of sample but none of them worked, so I'm on to round two.

I've decided to go natural. I have a lot of cool colors downstairs, so I would like the powder room to be warm. Here are some samples I'm about to order:







Here are some inspiration pictures with natural colored grasscloth. Yummm

[ Nate Berkus ]

Next step... pick a grasscloth and build a design board!

One of My Details

I thought I'd share a little shelf on one of the IKEA bookcases in my office.





I hung a painting my grandma did and a framed page out of Madeleine (one of my favorite childhood books) right onto the back of the bookcase. Super easy :)

It's In The Details

Many bloggers have recapped the newest issue of Lonny so I won't bore you with that. But what I'd like to do is dig a little deeper.

When a new e-mag launches, I usually flip through quickly soaking in all the pretty pictures. But after I look at the magazine as a casual reader, I try and go back with my "decorator" hat on and learn. I go through the issue again, taking note of the details and the unexpected. I think that is an important part of decorating.

Here are a few things I personally took note of in the newest Lonny:

[ some picture are very blurry because they are literally the LITTLE details ;) ]


Magnolia Leaf Arrangement - we have a magnolia tree in our front yard, and this is a beautiful (and new to me) idea. I may try this for our Christmas table.


Framed Notebook - not really a new idea, but there is something so beautiful about it. I think it'd be especially interesting if there wasn't anything that special written on the page.. just a grocery list or something. Almost like catching a simple moment of time in someone's life.


Only one pattern! - I am guilty of "the more pattern the better!" rule.. but this is such a fresh way of thinking about throw pillows. Only one pattern and the rest are the same (the same as the sofa! And the walls!). Who would have thought....


The Goblet - I love the idea of leaving a (glass) bottle of water for your guests with a goblet to drink out of. A little touch of luxury.


Two Lamps - I really like the idea of putting two lamps, exactly the same, next to each other like this. What can I say, I love symmetry.


Floor to Ceiling Curtains - A new meaning to "floor to ceiling". Putting panels ON molding. May not be a new idea, but new to me! I like it. (Although it would only work with pleating in my opinion).