Custom Saturday

I am visiting my precious friends at a lake outside of Birmingham, Alabama ... and when I awoke yesterday ... LONG before anyone else, I didn't have the access code to the WiFi!

So I didn't get to finish up my One Week of Custom ... so here you go with a little Saturday treat!  I am all dialed in now!

I have been showing a lot of larger furniture ... Beds, Tables, etc.  Now ... one of my favorite "little" pieces.  Note that some of the custom came about due to size restrictions or finishes.  This one just happened because we love it!

You will be getting to see more of this room in the coming weeks ... Window treatments are being made right now ... so just enjoy the beauty of this little piece!

Enjoy your weekend ... see you on Monday!

xo,

kim

Nantucket ... you guessed it ...

Custom!

Some of you may remember these photos ... I blogged about them here.  I am going to divulge something very personal here ... seriously!!

Many of you know that Don and I brought our four children together when we married 8 years ago.  And you also know he is the love of my life and the minute we brought this crazy family together I KNEW I was where I was supposed to be and we have had a fabulous ride! ... it is still going by the way!

So ... the other thing is that his ex wife, Lord I hope she is not reading this ... but if she is she knows what I am saying is true!  I actually refer to her as "my" ex because she and I deal with everything.  Don travels so much and honestly we found him to just complicate things more ... he was trying to please us both ...  Ha, he had no chance!  So ... back to my story ... "my" ex bought a fabulous new home on Nantucket.

She does her thing and I do mine ... and she appreciated my furniture so when she decided to to furnish it ... yep ... she came to me!!  We designed the furniture and used good Ol' Ben Moore to help us with colors ... and off the stuff shipped to the Island.  Now, I have not visited the furniture in it's new home ... that would be a little creepy!

Here are a few of the pieces lined up in the warehouse getting ready to ship!

So there you have it ... we all do very nicely here with all these extra people in our lives ... and my goal is to make everyone's life just a little bit prettier, one room at a time ... no matter who they are!!

Go out and Custom make something beautiful ... just to say you did!!

xo,

kim

Custom for ORC! Week FOUR

Welcome back to ORC!  If you are new to our challenge and want to start at the beginning, click HERE and you can see what we've been up to!

Now here's what's going on ...

These wonderful New England Colonial Homes that were built in the 60's and 70's ... that we love ... have  low ceilings and NO mudrooms.

This brings on a big DUMP of things when kids, husbands ... and yes, even me!  ... walk in the door.

For our Keeping Room we wanted to address this clutter thing with some personality, function and BEAUTY!

Our Custom ... portable ... MUDROOM!!

Okay ... I know the baskets are ASKEW!!  They USE this piece every minute of the day ... so please, no judging!!

And the Ceiling ... remember the inspiration rooms ?  I wanted to paint these beams so badly ... so did SHE ... we sampled a few ... we got stopped by her husband.  I hate to admit this ... but HE was RIGHT!!!


So ... I have to say the past couple of weeks have been a little boring and we put together the neutral basics of this new room ... well stay tuned PLEASE ... because next week ... We Bring on the BLING baby!


xo,


kim


Please check out my ORC girls ...

Beth - Chinoiserie Chic                    Lauren - The Cottage Mix

Sherry - Design Indulgence             Lindsay - Everything LEB

Barbara - Hodge:Podge                   LisA - Lisa Mende Design

Tiffany - Living Savvy                       Jessie - Mix & Chic

Linda - My Crafty Home Life           Alison - My Little Happy Place

Danylle - Nana Moon                       Nicole - Nicole Scott Designs

Julia - Pawleys Island Posh             Jennifer - The Pink Pagoda

Bethany - Powell Brower Home      Lindsay - The Pursuit of Style

Emily - Rue de Emily                         Lindsay - Sadie + Stella

Lisa - Trapped in North Jersey

On A Custom Roll!

Yes, I am back.  With more on Custom Furniture!  

You want a Farm Table?  Of course you do ... but your space is limited ... or you have a really long room to fill.  Okay, what size do you need?

This precious family of four ... don't let them fool you! This Lady entertains the rest of her family on a regular basis.  There are generally no less than 8 people at this table a night.  And on Sunday's ... well, pull up another chair!

My New England friend, truly a mis-placed Southern Lady.  She was born up "here" ... but will find her true home in the South someday!  I have no doubt!

 She makes me smile any time I get to spend with her and working with her on bringing her family together at this table was a project I adored.

Farm tables can be found in all sorts of finishes and sizes ... but once again, when you are looking for that particular size and making certain it is Exactly what you want ... call me! 


And you might want pine with a walnut finish?  Or perhaps just waxed for a more natural look ... Or maybe Cherry! Here is just a sampling of the choices ... 

This 8 foot table out of reclaimed pine and beautifully distressed finished "black" windsor chairs ... are truly just a phone call away!! 

And I must tell you ... don't let the word "custom" send you running.  This is not always another term for "outrageously expensive"!  In fact ... sometimes you might even find that you get exactly what you want for less than you thought!!


I am still on the Custom Wagon ... Wanna Ride?


xo,


kim

The Need for Custom!

Last week on the One Room Challenge ... from here on referred to as ORC ... I mentioned that I would have a week of posts on custom furniture.  

You asked, so here it is!

As a designer and as a shopper, I am increasingly frustrated by the fact I can't find what I need in the right size or shape.  It is like when you are in need of a plain white t-shirt.  Have you ever been able to just find it?  So.. I build it.

Today we are taking a look at a custom headboard and armoire I did ( I love saying I DID this ... really I have the resources to GET it Done!) for a teenage boy's room.

Lucky boy got some fabulous furniture ... 

The room isn't really "styled" ... the family was on vacation last week when I went to snap photos and "boy" was staying at a friend's house ... I just asked him to please run by and make his bed!!

He did a pretty okay job ... wouldn't you say?

Yes, you can find armoires everywhere ... but can you find one 84" tall and 48" wide made from re-claimed pine?  And solid, no veneers, and the shelves where you want them, and the exact amount of drawers?

And the cool, chunky hardware that suits the "boy's" taste?

And a headboard to fit the Queen - Extra Long mattress, because "boy" is TALL?

And then of course we threw in some Industrial Deer chicness!!

Calling it "custom" seems to scare some people ... Don't be scared ... venture in and you will find that you can get EXACTLY what you want !


Are you ready to go custom? I'll be bringing you more tomorrow ... 


xo,


kim

One Room Challenge- Week Two

We began last week with the goal of turning a drop zone kitchen area into a family friendly Keeping Room.  


Priority One is to take care of our focal point!  Give this stone fireplace a makeover ... Bring this baby back to life and give it the star role it deserves!


Before:

The stone is beautiful but the white mantel, dark firebox and the clutter above just make it fall flat.
  
And the mirror. ... I love mirrors by the way, but ... 


Here's my tip about mirrors!


If you don't have something fabulous on the opposite wall to see, then it is like looking into a black hole. No Good!


We will be working on a solution for this in the next week or two!


Joe, the painter, can work miracles.  Remember this bedroom furniture he painted?  We told him we wanted to this mantel to be something special ... a piece of art in itself.  

And the inside of the firebox is so dark and dreary ... a little metallic bronze paint to warm it up!  

Joe Delivers!  Our NEW focal point ... and a sneak peak of the paint color too!  

Although I am a big fan of a happy yellow ... we wanted to bring this space into a calmer, but still warm space.

Next week we are going to discuss the need for custom made furniture.  Think about it.  How many times do you go shopping with something really specific in mind ... and can't find it.  I am convinced this is why designers like Jonathan Adler, Bunny Williams, Amy Howard, etc., etc., have come up with their own line of furniture.  If you build it ... they will come.  And we are building it!!

Don't forget to check in with our other ORC girls ... they are all working hard ... and guaranteed to bring you some Design Fun!

xo,

kim

Beth - Chinoiserie Chic                    Lauren - The Cottage Mix

Sherry - Design Indulgence             Lindsay - Everything LEB

Barbara - Hodge:Podge                   LisA - Lisa Mende Design

Tiffany - Living Savvy                       Jessie - Mix & Chic

Linda - My Crafty Home Life           Alison - My Little Happy Place

Danylle - Nana Moon                       Nicole - Nicole Scott Designs

Julia - Pawleys Island Posh             Jennifer - The Pink Pagoda

Bethany - Powell Brower Home      Lindsay - The Pursuit of Style

Emily - Rue de Emily                         Lindsay - Sadie + Stella

Lisa - Trapped in North Jersey

Holidays ... I KNOW! They'll be here soon ...

Fall tends to get me moving in my own home ... we had a long and fun summer outside, now it is time to focus inside.  What do I need to do to get ready for the wonderful season ahead so that when the holidays roll around I am not beside myself with so much to do.  That happens anyway ... so I do what I can to try and relieve some of the stress!

Maybe you need a little "push" to get things in order ... here is a sampling of my beautiful custom furniture ... farm tables, rustic chairs and more ... ready to serve up for the holidays!

Pine Table, all reclaimed wood and natural distressing.  This piece has a light wax finish, but they can be painted or stained in any color or finish.

Most of our furniture needs 6-8 weeks from order time to delivery ... if you are in need ... don't wait!  And if you have something specific in mind and can't find it ... let us Design and Deliver it to you! You can email me if you'd like more information and pricing.

xo,
Kim

Design Delivered in Nantucket, Part 2

Starting from scratch in a brand new Nantucket home meant there was a lot to be done ... to get it ready for summer, to make it warm and friendly ... and create a home that looked as if it had been collected over time.  

In my post yesterday, I showed you some of the pieces that inspired our design plan and the feel my client wanted for her home.  These photos are furniture that I had custom made ... all of these pieces are made from re-claimed pine and cherry, giving them warmth and depth.  Although some are in a "natural" state they do not feel rustic, but rather loved over time!  

These all got packed up, trucked to Hyannis and loaded on a ferry to Nantucket in June ... just in time for a beautiful summer!  Don't forget, you can have a Design Delivered package too ... see the details on my website!

Kim