Sentimental Susan

Just one year ago, my sweetest Fred (Sneelock), and my son Ryan , disassembled my prized work table from my design studio. It was a very emotional night for me. If you'd like to review my post of that night, click here.

Those same feelings came flooding back to me last week when I saw my new design studio poised with the 12' long, 50" wide table standing in the center of the room. The tears came back as I recalled the gift of love as demonstrated by Fred and Ryan last March 22. I feel loved and cherished by these men in my life, and I know that I am a lucky woman.

Here's to a few more years with my loved table in my new design studio. There are hours of work to do to get the rest of it set up, but I feel like the anchor of my work space has come home. Thanks, Sneelock.

I'll let you know in a few years when I'm ready to retire how my design table fares. As of right now, both Ryan and Sneelock claim it's coming out in pieces for the last time. *sigh* For now, I'll use it with joy.

Bedroom Makeover Reveal!

VOILA!

Although we completed the bedroom makeover (remember the contest many months ago?!) in early December, it has taken me this long to finally compose the post to include you all in the final outcome.

Thanks greatly, to Suzanne, for many of the photos.

The scope of our project seemed to grow and grow! Our initial consultation was to work within the basic framework of the existing furniture, change paint and bedding and possibly window treatments. Of course, accessories would complete the update!

By the second appointment, Suzanne had decided she liked the idea of a new headboard, something more current and soft than the Arts and Crafts style bed that was a part of an entire set. We intended to work around the rest of the pieces!

(Before shot of former bedroom furniture)!

Suzanne also decided that the master bathroom needed to be included in the face lift! (And, it did.) Using the same color pallette, we began to put together a complimentary vision for the bathroom.

Check out this "vanilla" master bathroom!

No surprise, that as we went a little further, we added painted furniture pieces from vintage collectibles for both bedside tables, a beautiful chest and a desk, an engaging chair, and the list goes on and on!

Vintage chair and desk. *Note the monogrammed "S" on Suzanne's desk chair! This was one of her absolute "must-haves" on the punch list!

Vintage dresser hand painted, hardware and all. Lamp and accessories from Black-eyed Susan. It's a little difficult to make out the framed photo, but it is a stack of books in the exact colors of the room from The Paris Flea Market! Susan found the mirror. Suzanne added the artist's touch to the paint for the mirror! Too perfect!

The photo below shows off the stylish chest we found for one of the bedside tables. I happen to love the height of a chest of drawers for bedside use. Lamps sit well and make for easy reading.

Also note the framed botanicals, compliments of handy Sneelock's work. I purchased the original botanicals and Fred (Sneelock) photographed them. He tinted them a slight and fabulous aqua just for this application! They are quite stunning and original in this color.

This perfect chair was on clearance from Black-eyed Susan. The last piece, left from an entire collection in these colors...finally, a home for one of my favorites! And, I must say, the perfect home.

The color was a dramatic change, from deep rusty Tuscan colors to one of my favorites, SW Halcyon, a soft gray/blue that is perfect for any room and sets the stage for cocooning. (Of course, the ceiling was included!) Inspired by a project I completed in Sullivans Island, S.C., Suzanne was totally immersed in the color pallet of aqua and soft lime green. After some searching, we found a fabric that tied everything together, and finding that this particular fabric would break the bank, so to say, we decided on this accent pillow with some fabulous trim to be the impact pattern for the bed.

Monogrammed boudoir pillow---found at Restoration Hardware! Custom monograms can be ordered from them on several of their pillow selections.

Suzanne had a stylish and dressy off white tone on tone patterned rug that was the perfect grounding for the new look.

Suzanne spent countless hours on Ebay searching for chandeliers! Her efforts were rewarded and you can see several places where they are used. Each one required extensive work, rewiring, painting, cleaning...well, you get the picture! The results--priceless.

Black-eyed Susan furnished the painting labor (thanks to Sneelock and my son, Ryan!), all of the design labor and fees, as well as the installation to completion. Suzanne and Joerg furnished the budget! Hmm, a pretty good combination! The budget grew and grew...the labor grew and grew, the design ideas grew and grew...I guess you could say that the ideas were plentiful and the budget didn't disappoint! That being said, we did the whole project from start to finish on a relatively moderate budget. Suzanne did some of the shopping, Black-eyed Susan resourced the vintage items and the fabrics, bedding, and custom pillows. Yes, indeed, a great team! Did I mention that my sister, Denise, who was in town for my retail Holiday setup, was a great help for the installation. She also provided the entertainment and energy for the night!

I had the vision of using plates above the bed from the beginning. Often this shape of a headboard determines the art or mirrors used in a room. Arched headboards provide an unusual challenge. Suzanne and I collected these plates, which were the absolute perfect color for our wall! I arranged the plates on the floor within a "tape template" of our usable space. Denise took it from there, made the measurements and working off of a digital photo with notes, set out to hang the plates while Sneelock hung draperies while Jackie and I dug into the rest of the details of the room.

Perfect! What can I say?

Layers of pillows in just the right colors.

View of the silk dupioni draperies with the "fabric to break the bank" used sparingly for a contrast hem!

And, check out the armoire between the windows. That was the last piece of the original bedroom set to succumb to the paint brush! A good primer is always required to insure bonding. Suzanne and Joerg had had their share of painting by now, but it was the perfect finishing touch and it could not be denied.

Beautiful view of the chest of drawers reflecting the tinted botanicals, plates hung in harmony with the mirror shape, and that fabulous chandelier find! You do good work, Suzanne!

Closeup of details on one of the bedside tables.

This is the top of the painted armoire. Suzanne found the hand blown vase! I provided the small potted orchid and ceramic dove. The photo frame came from Black-eyed Susan and Suzanne and Joerg put a sentimental favorite historic building from Austria in the frame. Suzanne, comment on the significance of that building! I'm afraid I wouldn't get it right.

Here are a few shots of the bathroom completed. The reverse pallette (green on the walls, blue as the accent) was used to compliment the bedroom. Suzanne selected this Robert Allen fabric with a leaf motif in just the right colors! This fabric brought the chocolate in as a third color. Towels repeated the accent.

I selected this pair of brushed nickel beaded oval mirrors, along with these rather hip light fixtures! I has a love of lids (!), a rather strange fetish...and we hung one right between the two mirrors!

Just another shot of the mirrors from another perspective. Paper whites in acrylic water add some drama to the vanity.

I just had to show this fabulous bead trim on the bathroom valance. Sometimes, it's worth going over budget to get the perfect finishing touch!

This wonderful towel rack had been collecting dust in the basement of Black-eyed Susan for quite some time! I decided that if the engineer, Joerg, could assemble it, it should be used in the master bath. And, I might say, he took no time at all to put the puzzle together! And, there you have it! Pretty cool.

I brought these vintage buttons back from Paris. Oh, my heart sings! The color of the buttons and the color of the border on the card. It was meant to be! I hung them with a single decorative tack within a vintage frame.

Before.

After.

A special thanks for Jackie Macli, Susan's project manager for countless hours of time and support; Ryan Taylor and Fred Taylor for painting, crown molding and installation; Suzanne for trusting me and following my promptings, hours of painting furniture and chandeliers, and many nervous indecisions conquered; Denise for installation support and attention to detail; and Joerg for blindly pushing forward with any assignment!

I'm happy with the result, completely. A job well done by all.

Now, relax in your beautiful new room!

Paris Day 1, Evening stroll

An evening stroll down this beautiful street, Rue Cler, was in order our first night to find the butcher shop. Very close to our apartment, it affords many delights from bakeries, boutiques, cafes, and fruit stands. The street is very active and exciting with bustling patrons, fresh baguettes in hand. Sometimes we make several trips a day down this cobblestone street and I never tire of the walk.

This is just one of our favorite stops...really, for a fresh baguette, but you can see the temptations!

These miniature confections draw one in and are tempting any time of night or day! I guess you can see why I was diligently trying to loose 10 lbs prior to my trip....hopefully, the many miles of walking the next few days will make up for my failure. At least one pastry a day is definitely on the "to do" list. Never mind the cheeses, jams, crepes, sandwiches on fresh baguettes, chocolates, fine chocolate drinks, Italian gellatos (for real!), macaroons...it's a pretty limitless array. Oh dear.


We finally made it to the butcher shop, our true destination. All manner of fine cuts of meat were on display. We went for lamb for Sunday dinner, but I couldn't help but snap this shot of a pheasant, talons and all!

How stylish this row of fancy oils seemed.

I'll have to tell you that it certainly makes for a wonderful visit to have your own personal interpreter and guide. All the better that it's my darling daughter, Michelle!

And, they're off!!

The home team started the makeover today! Take a look.

Suzanne, homeowner/winner-Susan, designer-Ryan, son/cabinetmaker(today, painter!)-Fred (Sneelock) pharmaceutical professional/painter/can do it all!

At the end of the day, we had made great progress and Suzanne was in love with the color!

I think it's a go!

Possible Pallet!

After a few hours of local shopping, Suzanne, (our contest winner!), Jackie and I put together this possible pallet for the new bedroom! We're just beginning to finalize our ideas with our winner, but what do you think of this, so far?!

Suzanne is in love with the pallet we used several years ago for our Sullivans Island (Charleston, SC) project-aqua and soft lime green. We've gone off in a few directions, but always seem to come back to this one. I'll have to say that it is a beautiful and livable pallet.

We're going to consider one more possibility, and you'll be the first (well, maybe the second!) to see it. Suzanne will be first!

Give us your thoughts on this collection so far...

Paint Is My Magic Wand!

This was the topic of my in-store event last night. We had standing room only and had a fun crowd!

Paint truly is my magic wand. I have heard my paint selections called "gutsy", however, I prefer to call them "confident". Paint on any surface, and in any form, is the designer's (and hobbyist designer's) least expensive tool. There is hardly a surface that cannot be improved with paint at one time or another!

We have painted walls, (of course), furniture, outdoor garden ornaments, lamps, frames, containers of all manner, drapery hardware, shoes, baskets, candlesticks, chandeliers, even upholstered furniture! We discussed the effects of paint; bold, bright, dark, neutral, trendy, traditional, pastel, metallic---each renders an emotional effect.

There are some projects that are forever in my memory due to this emotional effect. They are favorites that go back, sometimes years. For instance, the first small home we built in Denver, Colorado. The living room walls were bittersweet chocolate (walls and ceiling, or course!) in high gloss!! This was about 35 years ago. I know I'll always remember the first time I tried the soft grey/blue "artemesia" in my current home's loft suite. I was never a "blue girl" until then. I've been a fan of this soft relief of color ever since. I can never forget the high style powder room I designed for Robin Freed. Yam was the color, with graphite accents. And yam is just what it looked like! I would use that again anytime. BMoore Venetian Gold will always be a personal favorite...let's see, I've had an executive office painted in it, two retails store areas, my mudroom, my sister's kitchen and multiple client rooms. It ranks among the absolute favorites! Come in and see for yourself. I couldn't possibly overlook the drama of black---interior doors, of course, french doors anywhere, furniture, kitchen cabinets, certain areas of interior trim, stair balusters and risers, frames, mirrors...ah yes! Black!

Do you have favorites? What are they?

I have to share this comment with you that I received today. It's always rewarding to get positive feedback. Thank you, Joyce!



Susan,

Thanks for sharing your talent with us. Heather and I had a grand time. My husband and I had "trash picked" a lamp similar to the two you got last weekend. Heather thought it would be great in their dining room if painted robins egg blue. We went flee of foot this am for materials and had a "blast" painting. She will come after work today to view the final product. We think it looks great.

We decided to live dangerously and paint the shade, but chickened out in the end. May try it with an old shade and then move on.

Thanks for making a space for us and hope to see you in the future.

Joyce


Now, I'll say to Joyce, send us a photo of your finished product! Great comments and it was a pleasure having you and Heather in class.

I'll soon be publishing the fall/holiday event list. Watch for it by email, or call the retail store to have a copy mailed to you. 267-503-0350. We have great fun and exchange lots of experiences. If there are subjects that you would like me to consider for events, I'd love to hear them!

Happy painting. Let me know what fun projects you tackle. And make plans to join us in the future. It's always a great, creative and entertaining evening. Bonus---all store purchases are 20% off these evenings. Come see the magic.

Over another mountain!

Last week, I felt quite a sense of accomplishment having sorted and gone through each individual fabric book in my design studio, one by one. If I were to estimate that I may have all of 3000 books in my resource library, I would most likely be under stating the number of selections.

Each season, approximately 2-3 times per year, the fabric vendors send their new collections which consist of anywhere from 4-8 books , showing the new trends, color pallets and patterns. As I sorted and thumbed through each book, my work slowed. Many of the collections go back to 2002. So, you can see how easy it is to amass an overgrown library. So easy to collect, so difficult to delete!

Naturally, there are many favorites from past projects. There are those that I have always wanted to find a project for, those that I have suggested that have been rejected, those that are far too expensive for real life, and those that are too outlandish in color or pattern for the average homeowner.

Having felt quite accomplished in sorting my resources, I was not happy to have to review them all, after securing a small space for additional design studio space. I was happy to realize that if I were willing to tackle this one more time, I could select my favorites---with great objectivity, I might add--to stock this small space.

Let me just give you a visual of this fabric mountain...

Gaze upon one area.....

Yet another stack...

Still another corner of the room (and there's more than this!)

I suppose it's easy now to see what a task it is to review each and every book, and more difficult still to decide the few that will make the cut to the smaller space. Oh my.


Much like sorting my trim books, the fabric books drew large raves and/or a quick toss aside. I just couldn't resist documenting some of my favorites....or not!


I began several nights ago by sorting several categories, i.e. favorite linens, best velvet selections, most revered mohairs, and stacked them into separate piles. While reviewing the linens tonight, I came across this new book sent by Lee Jofa. First of all, I love monograms on anything, and this is a generic monogram! Put it on 100% Belgium natural linen, and it's hard to beat! Pillows, valances, custom bedding, even draperies.

As I turned a few pages, I came across this one! Almost like an alphabet primer!

When I spotted it again in a pale robin-egg blue, I knew the camera must come out! I love linen!



Just when I was swooning about the linen alphabet, I came across this linen polka dot! What is it about linen, anyway?!

This cocoa, green,charcoal and chartreuse just made my heart sing!

.....no need to think twice about tossing this one into the discard pile! Flame stitch, ugh.

I had to keep this in the "must have" pile. I have always loved it and never used it yet! Wool hounds tooth in aqua, creme and chartreuse. Say no more!

STOP! Orange and hounds tooth together in this collection! No way could I toss this one.

I'll end on this one. All I can say is,the task became a wee bit less so when my fingers began to run through the fabric options. What can I say, textiles just make me happy. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do. Coming soon......Susan's favorite picks!

I almost left this one out! From one of the Modern Library collections....hot pink and lime green! I hope I find someone bold enough to try this one.

At the very end of the night, I thought I had completed my picks, when I came across this one. I haven't looked through it yet, but I'm pretty sure with a name like "NICKEL/EBONY", it will be a keeper! Come see for yourself.

The Personal Touch!

Tomorrow is a big installation day for one of our whole house client projects we've been designing for several months! When I say installation, it means that the furniture will be delivered for multiple bedrooms, living room, family room, center hall, beautiful upstairs hall, and sun room.

It's always a rewarding day for me, the designer, and for the project manager who has driven the project through to this point. It's a big day of anticipation and very fulfilling to see it all come together.

Occasionally, there are surprises, like something is too big and won't fit up the stairway (even though we always consider that when furniture pieces are chosen......) What happens, do they grow,expand, change the pattern?! Once in a while something is not as expected, but for the most part it's a day long looked forward to.

You wouldn't believe what is involved in full service design! We really turn into little workers with magic wands (or so it seems when the homeowners come home)! We make up the beds with the new bedding that we have purchased, direct the placement of the furniture-an inch this way or that....some projects involve hanging new towels in the bathrooms, selecting the soap dishes and glorious accents around the soaking tub, well, you get the picture!

Tonight, in preparation for tomorrow's installation, I spent the evening washing and ironing the sheets! First, let me say, oddly enough that I enjoy ironing! If you have never slept in a freshly made bed with ironed linens, you haven't lived. Try it. You're not likely to go back! This labor of love is a gift to our client. Ahhhhhh! 600 thread count 100% cotton sheets, yes! (My daughters gave me 1000 count cotton sheets for Christmas-pure luxury!

Pressing the last hemstitch perfectly. You need a very hot iron to make your work easier.

Check out the plate to my iron! (My mother gave me this iron as a gift after I coveted hers! It has something like 2000 steam holes) It is the Rowenta Advancer. It's one fabulous iron.

All finished and folded. Very rewarding.

The car is loaded, the sheets packed to go, iron in hand (touch ups on bed skirts and the like)! and the anticipation is high. I'll show you some in progress photos tomorrow! It's going to be quite a day.