Family/Teenager Room ...

When I asked y'all several weeks ago what you would like to see or hear about on my Blog I got some great responses.  Thank you!!

One ... Show us Your Home!  

AAGHHH  ... it is so not ready, not perfect, but okay ... if you will look at the "work in progress" I will share.  So we have been on that adventure for the past several Mondays.  Thanks for keeping me On Task!

 Two ... Linda asked ... "Kim, what do you do about projects you work on, but they don't totally show your vision when they are done?"

Interesting ... this happens a lot!  Not that I don't like the spaces, or something is wrong with them. Sometimes my clients just need a push in the right direction, then they want to continue on in their own time and with their own vision.

This Project is a perfect example!

My client has a beautiful home, two great kids, two dogs and wanted a space for her kids to have friends over to hang out.  But not in the basement. And NOT in "her" room. 

So we came up with a plan based on Duralee's John Robshaw line of fabric. 

 Fresh, fun and pretty sturdy to hold up to teenage life.

Coral Fabric/Stripe/Ethnic Kilim/Metal Table/Console Table/Vase

She had a perfectly good chair and ottoman ... but tired fabric.  

We Amped up the Fabric ...  and look how HAPPY this Chair is!

I walk around with a key chain full of keys.  Mostly they belong to my clients.  The only key I carry of my own is to my car.  This house ... Forgot to get the key.  Chair delivery to the front porch.  Thank goodness it wasn't raining this day!!

We used the Coral John Robshaw Fabric ... 

on these Ballard Cubes to go under the table:












So while I am very pleased with what we did here,  I don't have a Whole Room to show you.  

I can show you the Plan.

I can show you Bits.

I can give you Ideas.

But ... I cannot give you the Room!

Kind of like Real Life.  Sometimes you just make an Appearance and Guide. 

 I honestly want to just stay and take over ... and do it all ... but I take a deep breath and enjoy that my client is happy and things are moving in the direction they want.

I think I might be a control freak.  But I try to keep it in check.

I then dream about the spaces I want to finish.  Anyone else have this problem??

Today IS a Finish Up project kind of day ... Hope your's is a good one and let me know how you feel about "partial" reveals!  

xo,

kim

M.O.C. one step at a time!

Happy Monday Morning my sweet friends!  The weekend here was good!  Friday Night Football, Saturday Morning Soccer, and Fall in the Air.

MOC is on the move ... one slow step at a time!

The Ottoman is IN the house.  And I am loving it.  I am certain the photos cannot do the fabric justice!

Duralee KOMODO fabric, Color ASPEN ... should have been my first clue that I was leaning toward REPTILE!  

Can you feel the subtle REPTILE flowing?

Yes, the Sofa is still there in all of it's gross floral beauty.  It is next.

Just marvel at the beauty of the Reptile!

Have a wonderful week and thank you for continuing to check in ... you are keeping me on TASK.  Which is rather difficult some days!!

xo,

kim

MOC Update!

After being gone for about two weeks straight you can imagine being back home was a calming relief.  Until I started looking around at all my half-done projects! I started a little MOC several weeks ago ... I made a commitment to get my sunporch done.  Remember this is where Don and I LIVE!!  And the dogs ... when we first got the puppies everyone thought it was soooo cute when they got up on the furniture.  And they don't really lounge ... they sit and wander around ... NOT relaxing.

Then they got bigger ... I do NOT like sharing a sofa with 200 pounds of Dog.  And that does not include Murphy who lounges on the floor.

This commitment has come with some new rules ... no more animals on the furniture.  They seem to be pretty okay with it ... they do try to sneak back up on occasion!

Now that they are "semi-trained" I am moving forward.  

My inspiration fabrics had a little hiccup.  I love Zimman's in Lynn, Mass ... but you either buy it when you see it ... or cry when you go back and it is gone.  I have been crying.

I chose this for my ottoman.  When I committed and went back ... so sorry ... GONE!!

Plan B ... next up from Duralee

It has a little more shimmer and a more subtle colorway ... I think I am MORE than okay with Plan B.

Then my Inspiration Room Antique Toile ... also found at Zimman's.  Luckily I pulled the trigger on this the first time. 

Of course it has a LION in the print ... and I think there is an elephant as well ... but it went off to my workroom today.  So you will have to wait!  Don's chair has been stripped!! 

 First thing he asked when he came in the door ... what happened to my chair?  Making it better sweet MAN!  I have no idea why there is a football in the chair.

Also pillows to replace THESE ...

I can hear you gasp!  Yes, they are old, flowery, and dirty.  And why I ever chose them I have no idea.  Good thing we can fix these things!!

Fabric for slipcover not purchased yet ... I can only wrap my arms around a couple of things at a time here!

MOC is off the ground!

xo,

kim

Little Surprises!

Things happening around the house ... and they have NOTHING to do with housework!!

Gone a couple of days and I  return to find all these goodies in my mudroom!!  Clients are going to be happy and this is as good as Christmas in my world!

Pillows and Roman Shades out of Duralee for a family room, boxes from Kravet!

Working on some antique Chairs ... I kind of dig this look!

Traditional Home - May 2012

But we are going to do a little more subtle Glam ... Kravet Couture ... don't ya know!

With a fun trim ... and still on the hunt for some tassels. Guess it's not going to be that subtle after all!!

Things are happening ... this is good!

What is happening in your beautiful world?

xo,

kim

One Room Challenge - Week 3

This week is going to be a Putting Together ... of sorts.  We need furniture and you know we are working on something custom ... and please, custom by someone else, not ME!!

Here's what is happening now.  While considering seating for our keeping Room we came up with three descriptives:

Traditional yet Comfy 

Casual but Neat

Slipped for Easy Cleaning

Slipped Sofa

Our room is a nice size, but because it is also in an entryway with heavy use we don't want to overwhelm the space with furniture.  So we found the above Slipped Sofa comes in A SASSY Chair and A HALF  Yes, not as big as a loveseat but bigger than a Chair!


We are replacing this table for two of these in this space:

Perfect, we'll take two! But we want them in a white Denim Cotton to go along with our Duralee Fabric for the windows:

Duralee

For the window treatments we found my favorite Iron rods from Pottery Barn ... the reason I like them?  They are simple, clean and no finials to "fuss up" the room!!  Although I prefer their "looped" rings ... the clips look a little cheap to me ... and if we are adding custom curtains ... we are not going for a cheap look!!

Hardware

Can you see where we are headed?  We ditched the yellow and the red ... for a more calm and neutral palate for our room ... but we still love and want color ... so our punch is going to come from:


These amazing suzani pillow covers I found at Brimfield in May!

They are going to give our neutral zone a pop of color and happiness!!  And ... you are sneaking a peek at our Sutton Slipped Chair and A Half in White!! ... wait till you see the whole thing!


Disclaimer ... there are no dogs in this house!!!!!  Which make white a much easier choice than normal!!


Things are pulling together ... make certain to check in next week!


I am going to feature 5 days of Custom Furniture and the ORC Special Piece on Wednesday!


Don't forget to check in with our other ORC's to check in on their progress!!


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

Tuesday on the Cape ...

One of my sweet friends had to make a Tuesday run to the Cape to spiff her house up a little for guests coming this weekend.  "Want to come?"  ...  I was out the door!

We worked on her Cape House about three years ago ... bringing in color and serenity to this little slice of heaven at the beach.  The Duralee Indoor/Outdoor Pavillion Fabric added some punch and still looks fresh and happy!

When we worked on her house I wasn't blogging so didn't have any photos.  This quick Tuesday trip was the perfect excuse to snap a photo or two.  

This is what rocks my world ... creating real spaces, no matter the size, to make family times even more special. 

And what better place than by the sea ... something about crossing that bridge to the Cape.  We both took a big sigh and smiled.  Time stood still for a few hours this week and it was wonderful!

Back to reality on Wednesday ... in the rain ... I had to pull my boots back out.  I swore I wasn't going to do that again until October.  But I did.

xo,

kim

Things I am working on ...

This week has been a whirlwind ... Here's a taste of what has been happening!

Living room for a client who is creative and a personality of color ... she needs a living room that reflects that.  Oh, and she also runs her business out of this room!

Before:

Sofa is going ...

Great chair, but Out of Africa Linen is tired and worn.

Working on de-cluttering.

Inspiration Linen Fabric by Duralee against a wall of Benjamin Moore Fernwood Green.  You can clearly see how my camera is not catching the beautiful color of the walls!

Tangerine Tango has come to the party!!

This room is coming along ... we are hunting for a rug and pillows ... I will keep you posted!!

Next Up:  College Tours Begin!

Callie doesn't know where she wants to go to college.  She is a Junior.  So we started touring schools locally just to give her a feel of what City Campuses feel like compared to College Towns, like Auburn where Erin goes.  We started at Boston University this week.  It was fun and informative. I am certain it is a wonderful school ... but I believe she wants more of a campus.  Excellent, we have made that decision!  One step at a time baby!!  I did snap this beautiful photo.  Brownstone Dorm Rooms ... I like them!

Moving Along:  A renovation project going on ... This sweet family is getting a new family room, kitchen, mudroom and master bedroom.  Here's a shot of what we are doing in the master.  The room is only 14 X 14 and we wanted to maximize the space and make it feel larger.  The architect gave them an angled ceiling and we are putting a picture frame molding on the angles to draw the eyes up and make it feel a little more special!  Painting should begin next week!

The Beginnings of the new Family Room:

It has been a crazy week ... but things are moving and that makes me smile!  I hope you and your families enjoy a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

xo,

kim

Before & After ... The Reveal!

Yesterday I posted about a tv room and window treatments in a little Before & After Scenario.  Well ... I was a slightly disappointed in the post because I didn't have a final photo of the whole room.  You see while we were making things beautiful ... my client and her family found their dream home and decided to put this home on the market.  That can certainly put the skids on a design project!!  I considered calling her up and asking her for a final photo ... but felt she had much more important things to do while getting her home ready to sell, than have me stomping around with my camera!

She saw the post yesterday ... and sent me these photos to share!  Remember the Ballard Design Inspiration Board?  Here's how it turned out ....

Remember the Before photo?

And the official Realtor's photo ... it's a really cute house ... if you are looking, you should come see it!!

One of the best things about my job is making people happy ... It's what keeps me going!

xo,

kim

Before and After ...

Thanks for hanging in there for me ... we had an amazing Spring Break with our kids ... more to come on Friday!!

In the meantime ... Here's a "Small Space" Before and After!  Sometimes we just need a little push in the right direction.  This young family had a room that they just couldn't define ... then they opted for a tv room.  Where they could gather in a cozy spot ... and enjoy a favorite movie!

Problem:

Bare Walls, Rug too small,  and no window treatments left the room cold and uninviting.  We kept the wall color ... it is warm and cheerful.

Before:

Installation Day:

New Rug Comes In ...

West Elm

After:

Duralee fabrics found in an "overstock" fabric store at a great price!

I am currently loving Roman Shades flanked by drapery panels.  Whether they are fabric or woven, they finish the look.  The "faux" shade above the French Doors takes away the blank space and draws your eye up.  This trick coupled with a larger rug makes the room feel so much bigger.  

Addition of a "new" Relic piece of furniture and Chair ...

The Finishing Touches ... all from Ballard.  Mirror and clock to be layered on the relic piece of furniture along with the lamp.  The Bird Art on the wall beside the French Doors.  

Ballard Designs

There is an urge to put small pieces in a small room ... but in fact, that makes the space feel even smaller ... so go Big! ... not oversized, jut Big!

xo,

kim