Nursery On The Brain

Recently an e-decorating client hired me to help with her baby boy's nursery. And of course, since I'm expecting, it was especially fun for me to do :)

This is her second baby, and she already had some pieces including an amazing vintage-style crib. Here are some pictures of the space and her existing pieces:

And here is the design board I created for her to finish the space!

I love that this nursery is a very traditional baby style nursery, but I threw in some funky pieces, too :)

I've also been daydreaming out about our own nursery. We find out on the 18th whether it's a girl or boy, and I cannot wait!!!!! Saturday night was a low key night at our house, and while Matt was watching football, I pinned some ideas to my nursery boards on Pinterest. They are currently secret because I don't know if we are having a boy or girl, but when we do find out I'll definitely share my ideas!

I've always loved nurseries, and back when I got our glider on clearance a couple years ago, I threw together some boards for both a baby girl or boy. (I can't believe I'm even admitting this to you though... we weren't even ready for a baby at the time, but what can I say, I love to daydream about decorating haha). I thought it'd be fun to share these boards that I made way back before a baby was even in the picture.

I've since changed my mind on some things, but I think the overall vibe will be the same. I can't wait to get started! (Which is why I could never wait to find out the sex..)

As I've mentioned before, now that I'm working full time as a designer at Isabella, I've started doing more design boards on my day off and I'm loving it! If you're interested, HERE is some more info and you can email me at bryn@brynalexandra.com.

E-Decorating Design Boards

On Monday I mentioned this fabric scheme was for an e-decorating client:

I used to do a ton of e-decorating but within the last year or so I haven't really done much of it. The blog world has changed, and there are sooo many more decorators/bloggers that offer it now than when I started doing it back in 2006. I also got pretty busy with local clients, so I just wasn't able to do design boards like I used to.

Since I don't do e-decorating design boards as much any more, it was a treat to get to work on these last week. I didn't realize how much I missed doing them!

This is a living room/playroom combo (the pieces coordinate with some of my client's existing furniture, which is why you'll see a sofa, etc missing in the board):

 I also designed an entry that coordinates with this space:

If you're interested in working with me through e-decorating, here are my rates: http://brynalexandra.com/services.htm.

Since my clients pay for my design services and sources for their home, I cannot share the sources here on my blog. However, if you are looking for help with your own space, shoot me an email (bryn@brynalexandra.com).

Recent Design Boards

I have been so busy with local clients this year that I don't do as many design boards as I used to.. but I thought I would share a couple that I have done recently..... it's been a while since the last time I posted any!

Design Board Comes To Life

I really love when e-decorating clients send me "after" pics of their space that I helped them with. I helped Melissa with her baby boy nursery back in June. The little guy is here and her nursery was recently featured on Apartment Therapy!

Here is the original design board:



Melissa changed a couple things, but kept my favorite part - the custom orange window treatments (I like the navy even better than the green)! She did a great job incorporating her own touches to my plan.









Thanks for sharing, Melissa! And congrats on your adorable little guy :)

Baby Girl Nursery - 2 Ways

I recently worked on a baby girl nursery design board and it underwent a couple revisions. I thought it would be fun for you to see a somewhat similar nursery done two ways!

With Blue:



With Purple:



I love supporting other bloggers/designers in my designs. The boards above feature furniture O'verlays and Caitlin Wilson Textiles pillows!

Coral & Navy

I've been working on another space using Caitlin's pillows as inspiration. What can I say, I'm loving this print!

This is a "quick fix" for a master bedroom that already has the big items - the paint color, a bed and a dresser.



A little bit girly (the coral floral) and a little bit masculine (the leather mirror and navy blue). I'm also a huge fan of Visual Comfort's Antique Nickel finish.

On an unrelated note, how AWESOME is today? 11/11/11. I have always loved 11:11 and am one of those dorks who points it out when I notice it on the clock and makes a wish. And I'm not going to lie - I may be a bit jealous of all the couples who are getting married today and all babies that get to be born today. :) I hope your 11/11/11 is great!

A Design Board & Guest Post

I recently created this living room design board for an e-client. They had a really awesome floor to ceiling old red brick fireplace, so I took the colors straight from it to create the space.



Yesterday I wrote a post on Makeunder My Life about finding the perfect pieces at discount stores like Home Goods. It's all about what is worth taking home and what is best to be left so you don't accumulate clutter in your home. Here is an example:

Take It:


Leave It:


CLICK HERE to check it out!

A Bonus Room for Boys

I recently did a bonus room design board for a family with boys. The result is a mix of masculine/industrial mixed with bright color.



I think vintage WPA posters are so cool and they always seem fitting for kids/teens' rooms. Here is a link to a TON of WPA posters.

I love the vintage graphics and the straight-to-the-point messaging.

Bedroom Design Boards

It's been a while since I shared some design boards with you.. recently I have done a few bedrooms. I think bedrooms are actually my favorite rooms to do!







Thank you guys for the great feedback on the Oreck giveaway!

Moutain Home Design Board & A Fave

I recently did a design board for an e-decorating client who lives in a gorgeous home in the North Carolina mountains. The home has such great "bones":



The client wanted to get rid of the red rugs and I agreed. I added some cool colors to go with the warm space:



I told her a worn, vintage leather wing back would fabulous in her space.. just like the leather chair in this House Beautiful living room:



The image was scanned via Paula.. see the entire spread here. This spread is one of my all time favorites.. in fact the entire July/Aug 2011 issue of House Beautiful has become one of my all time favorites. It's perfect (including a spread from Nick Olsen.. love him!)

The client has taken the elements of my board and already made changes to her living room and it's looking great so far. She added this beautiful navy blue settee:



And the new entry!!



I can't wait to see the rest unfold...

outfit to room

I don't usually do outfit to room posts... mainly because there are a lot of bloggers that do, and do it much better than I would. But how cute is Kendi's outfit here:





A funny story about Kendi and her awesome blog.... I was sitting on the couch with my laptop going through my blog roll, and my husband was sitting right next to me. He glanced over and saw I was looking at Kendi's blog and said "man you're obsessed with that girl!" I was like "huh? I'm just going through my blogs" and he said "you have pictures all over the house of her." hahahaha. Okay, he was kind of right.... I do have a couple pictures hanging in my closet and on my inspiration boards in my office. But it's only for outfit ideas that would work for my own wardrobe. Kendi- I swear I'm not a super scary stalker :)

Anyway, this outfit reminds me of Lee Jofa's new Lily Pulitzer collection.. so here we go.

Lily Pulitzer fabric
sofa
pink pillows
green pillow
leather chair
stool
coffee table

This isn't a space I would normally design, but I thought it'd be fun to go outside my comfort zone on this summer Monday morning.

Baby Boy Nursery Board

This board was really fun to design. I don't often get asked to design nurseries, which is a bummer because I LOVE doing them! In fact there was so much I wanted to put in this design it didn't all fit in the board :)



If I had to describe this nursery, it would be rustic/contemporary/masculine. Definitely an eclectic mix!

And the pieces that didn't fit in the design board..











As a courtesy to my e-Decorating clients, I do not post sources on my blog. If you would like information on something featured in the design board, please email me at bryn@brynalexandra.com. If you would like more information about e-Decorating and design boards, please click here. Thank you for understanding.

A Kitchen Design Board

I hardly ever get asked for a kitchen design board, so when I do it's really fun :) This is your typical mini kitchen makeover.. keeping (but painting) the existing cabinets and replacing the countertops, backsplash, etc.



I have to give you a bigger look into my first choice for the backsplash:



It's by Mandala, and it's like jewelry for your kitchen :)

Speaking of kitchens.. SOMEDAY we are going to do a similar mini-makeover for our kitchen. In fact I found a picture on Pintrest of exactly what I'm planning:



Black granite, butcher block island, subway tile backsplash with gray grout. Simple, inexpensive, classic.

Small changes for a small study

This room is a very small "study" aka pass through in one of my e-decorating client's home. It wasn't really being utilized and we felt it would be a great little spot to sit and read.

Here it is currently:







We kept the current wall color + the blue in the background of the shelving. Here is my plan:



It's hard to explain to someone how to style shelving over email, so often I show them. Here is the inspiration I used for this particular space:

[ photo via here ]

ps - did I tell you I ordered this lotus shell chandelier for my own entry? I will never get sick of it.