Found It!

As I mentioned here, I had been fabric shopping for new drapes for the guest room when it occurred to me that I might already own the perfect thing (well, at least perfect enough as they would be free!)  If I still had my drapes from college they could only be in a few places after all these years.  I dug all around the attic and they were nowhere to be found.  I called my Mama to see if they had been left with her.  She didn't have them but she did remember that my Sister had used them in her first apartment many years ago before she got married.  Sister actually laid her hands on them, 4 moves and 3 children later.  Bless her!!

 
They still need a bit of work.  They need to be lined and I need to re-do the top (remember when tab top curtains were da bomb?)  Overall though this gives me a starting point that I've desperately been needing and the price can't be beat!  What do you think?  Can I make it work?

Friday Inspiration: more guest beds

I am still trying to gear myself up for the guest bedroom makeover.  This bedroom seems about perfect.  It looks calm and comfy but with lots of texture and a little bit of color to keep it from being boring.

via

Can I snap my fingers and make that happen please???  Happy Friday everyone.

Stripes! and Staying on Budget

I've been trying to focus on finally pulling our guest room together.  We had guests last weekend.  Thankfully they had a bed to sleep on, but it wasn't pretty.  Like a lot of designers, when it comes to my own home my brain goes in a million different directions and it is hard to make a decision.  I have some inspiration photos that I love but I also know that there are lots of options and at this point I could go in a completely different direction because it's a blank slate and nothing's been purchased.  Too many choices does NOT make a better design.  (Sadly this is something I counsel my clients against but I can't seem to follow my own rules!) 
I've decided that I need a fabric choice to inspire me.  I've shopped around a little bit but haven't found anything that grabs me yet.  Today I've been thinking about stripes a lot.  I was first drawn to this Japanese import Kokka violet stripe from Purl Soho

Source: purlsoho.com via Aimee on Pinterest

I love the skinny white stripe on the violet background.  I wasn't even thinking of using violet in the guest room but I could make this work!  Sadly this room has a super tiny budget so $26/yd is a bit rich for the long panels I'm envisioning.  Of course that didn't stop me from falling in love with some other budget busting finds (I didn't even mark anything over $30.  Why make myself cry, right?

Okay, maybe one like this Ralph Lauren that would completely break my piggy bank

Source: calicocorners.com via Aimee on Pinterest

This Robert Allen piece is called Aimee Stripe in Indigo!!  It's named for me!!  How could I not keep it in the running.  Maybe if I do something different on the windows I could make pillows for the bed. It seems meant to be.

Source: calicocorners.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Here are a couple of more budget friendly options from Fabric.com

Source: fabric.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Source: fabric.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Source: fabric.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Of course I could be swayed by a buffalo check!

Source: buyandcreate.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Which reminds me....I have some navy plaid drapes from my college days packed in a box somewhere.  Maybe that's the solution.  If I can lay my hands on them I could recycle those drapes into something fab and I could spend that saved money one something even more fab somewhere else in the room.  I'll keep you posted.  I now need to go dig around in my attic for awhile.

Friday Inspiration: Parent Addition

This one's for my Mama. They just bought a new house and are moving for the first time in almost 40 years.  There will be lots of new house brainstorming and planning in the next few months. I know I'm excited. You can follow along with the conversation as we figure out how to make this new house their home. 

Hey Mama, I've been completely consumed with ideas for the new house. I know that you mentioned that Dad liked the dark green guest bedroom and that you would keep that.  Well, I have been completely inspired to make that inky blue guest room work as well!!  One less thing to do on the project list!  Here are some images to get yourself excited too.

Once the country border is gone, and all the dolls and lace have been put away I think we can make this room very cozy and a little masculine for a change of pace.  Remember it's not replicating the picture but more about the feeling of the room.  I love the combination of the warm wood with those deep walls. I was thinking we can use your old bed and put the white iron bed in storage for a bit.  The wood will be beautiful with that dark color.

Source: lonnymag.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Or maybe like this (without the lanterns but with the wall full of photos and art) 

Source: houzz.com via Aimee on Pinterest

It's the touches of orange that makes it for me in those previous images.  Love it!  If you were thinking something a little softer and more feminine, we could go that direction too.  Here's another one with a luscious orange upholstered bed.

Source: decorpad.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Or we could use my new favorite color combination of navy and aqua.  My white iron bed would be beautiful with this kind of look.

Source: decorpad.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Did you notice that all of these images had a nice mix of lighter neutrals to keep it from feeling to dark and heavy like you've fallen into a black hole?

Of course, if you want to be dramatic (though I've never known you to be dramatic!) we could do something like this.

Source: mackenziehoran.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Love that pop of pink on the ceiling of the canopy!

So what do you think?  Think we can make the dark green and the dark blue work?  That would mean two fewer rooms that have to be painted.  

Have a happy weekend everyone! 

Designer's Dilemma

Okay, so you know how designers can make decisions all day long when working with clients and are completely confident in those decisions but when it comes to our own homes we can be unsure, wishy-washy, and indecisive about making the right choice???  Well, that's where my head is right now, sort of.

We are still knee deep in the big re-arrange half the rooms in the house project and I've started to turn my focus to the new guest room.  It's a tiny little room but it could be a real jewel-box.  I've started collecting my thoughts (pinning away) trying to find some inspiration.

Way back in April, before we decided to move everything around I had been playing with the idea of working on the existing guest room. Here's a reminder of what I had been thinking about:

Navy and white is a classic combination.  I still like where this is going but I feel like it needs a little something to keep it from being so serious.  Also, did I mention that the room is tiny?  There will only be room for the bed and bedside tables.  I definitely want an upholstered bed, maybe with wings....maybe even DIY???  That sounds like I might need to bring in the big guns.  I'm going to need to call in my Mama.  She can do anything. What do you think Mama?  Can we do it?

I do know that I want it to be shades of blue (and a little teal) with green and maybe a little orange thrown in.  Here are a few things that have been inspiring me lately.

This picture from Lonny has inspired me tremendously.  Love the neutral wall with that tealish blue bed.  I also love the panel detail of the wall, which I had thought about for the guest room in it's old location (now the music room.)  

Source: lonnymag.com via Aimee on Pinterest

 Here's another room from Lonny that makes me excited in 10 different ways.  It's traditional with a twist which is how I would define my personal style.  Love the overall neutral-ness of the room with pops of color.  Also, those large format photographs and stacks of books rock!

Source: highstreetmarket.blogspot.com via Aimee on Pinterest

These colors together are so beautiful together.

Source: decorpad.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Maybe what this room needs is a Teester!  Too much??

Source: havenandhome.blogspot.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Though not a bedroom, these are the colors I want (well, at least today)

Source: stylebyemilyhenderson.com via Aimee on Pinterest

I guess I need to go fabric shopping to really kick this project into gear.  It's time to make a commitment.

 

  

Friday Inspiration

I thought I'd start this Friday Inspiration off with a little something closer to home.  I've been thinking about our guest bedroom for awhile now.  It needs an overhaul and I'm working on finding my Muse for the room.  Here's what I'm thinking at the moment.  I, of course, reserve the right to change my mind immediately after posting this. 

1. my own 1/4 sized dress form and my Granny's dresser  2. white dove paint  3. Squirrel Prints from the New York Public Library collection here and here  4. new burlap drapes  5. my own leather chair, here's something similar  6. a comfy throw  7. Nickel plated ceramic urn lamps  8. new duvet cover in a very fresh blue and white  9. my dream bed - which I can no longer get but this one is similar 

I really love this blue and white palette at the moment.  It's very fresh and classic.  It makes me want to throw open the windows and let some air in.  I'm also waiting for Spring to get here (for real!)  and that might have something to do with my current feelings too.   Oh, and those squirrel prints?  That's a nod to the Squirrel Mafia that lives in our yard and occasionally tries to eat the house.  Maybe showing them some "respect" will keep them at bay this year!

Happy Friday everyone.  Have a great weekend!

Master Bedroom: After

 

Here it is folks, the Master Bedroom here at the Reslus Arms as it is today.  

Here's the view as you enter the bedroom.  I will say that for these photos the sheets could have been ironed but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  The room has great hardwood floors. It also has lots of light which the rest of the house does not have.  

Here's the poster that I used for inspiration in context with the new room.  I really love this gray coverlet.  I used to have a lovely fluffy duvet that was like sleeping under a cloud, but the Husband runs HOT when he sleeps so we can only have thin layers on the bed now. 

Here's the bedside table that I finally finished painting for my Husband.  It was an interesting piece before but needed to be painted because there was already one too many stained pieces in the room.  Love the knobs from Anthropolgie.  It took a lot of sorting to find 5 knobs that were approximately the same color.

 

My Granddad made this nightstand for me when I was living in my first apartment.  It's solid cherry that he cut himself.  I had wanted to stain it and I had picked out a lovely pull for it before he gave it to me.  When I went to pick it up he had already finished it made this wooden pull that I can't for the life of me figure out how it attaches.  Of course after all these years I love it even more because he did it all and I probably would hate what I would have chosen for it all those years ago.  It's a wonderful reminder of him.

In this photo you can see the antique mahogany writing table that was one of my first furniture purchases.  I used it as the desk I worked from for a long time but now it happily lives in our bedroom.  You can also see the pelmet that I made using Jenny from Little Green Notebook's great tutorial.  Thanks again Jenny!!

 

Here's my beloved dress form.  I've had her for many years.  She makes a great holder for jewelry, pins and scarves.  She even holds the headpiece I wore in my wedding.  

Also, here's my wedding bouquet that my Super talented Mom made for me.  She made all the individual flowers out of tissue paper.  They look so amazing in person.  It makes me so happy that I can keep these an a wonderful reminder of that beautiful day.

Hope you liked the tour.  Come back tomorrow and I'll share some of the additional details that I would eventually like to add to the room.

*Okay, I have a general question about Blogger.  when I uploaded these images to Picasa they looked pretty good.  They were sharp and the color looked right too.  Now that I have put them in the blog they don't seem to look as nice.  Did I do something to my pics or did Blogger fail me?  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Master Bedroom: Before

{Okay, so this post is going to be a bit talky but I'm trying to set everything up for the big reveal on Monday.  Hope you will bear with me.}

I am slowly getting around to photographing the house so I can share my own spaces with you.  My (our) new camera has really given me hope of being able to capture our little house in the woods (i.e. it's dark, people!)  First up is our Master Bedroom.  In the Husband's bachelor days this room was rented to a room mate, then became a guest room.  Leading up to the wedding it became a catch-all storage room.  I'm pointing this out specifically because my sweet Husband is a very tidy guy and likes things put away and in place.  So the following photos come with the disclaimer that though he was a bachelor and he didn't have a designer on staff (yet!) things usually looked presentable.  Okay, now to the photos:

 

What you can start to see is this room is located on the second floor of a cape cod.  The ceilings are sloped but it has two windows that let in a lot of light (it's the brightest room in the house) and a walk-in closet.  Both of these attributes sold me on moving the master from the first floor to the second.  It actually solved all kinds of problems.  None of the bedrooms in this house have an en-suite bath.  By moving the master upstairs we were able to turn the 2nd floor bath into the de-facto master bath and leave the downstairs bath as more of a public/ guest bath.  The room also has more storage and more light as I mentioned earlier.  It has hardwood floors too, which is much kinder to my allergies than carpet (though the room could use a rug, but more on that later!)  

Here's the view opposite the bed where a desk will go.

The closet is just on the other side of the wall from this dresser.  

It was a nice blank canvas for us to turn into our new bedroom.  On Monday I'll reveal where we are now and what plans I have for the room's future.  I leave you with this as a reminder of where I drew my inspiration for the new bedroom.

 

Have a great weekend.  I'll see you on Monday for the big reveal.

Can This Be Made Fabulous? - the foot

Do you remember this dresser:

Well, as with most things around here it has taken longer than I originally thought to get it painted.  The work has finally been done but before I make the big reveal I thought I'd show you a funny little detail that emerged after the first few coats of paint.

It has TWO toes with nails on each foot that looks a bit crude and creepy all at the same time.  There's an almost human quality to it in person.  It makes me laugh every time I see them.  It definitely adds an unexpected layer of character to the piece.  Probably not something I would have chosen but now that I have it I love it.  So what do you think?  Fun?  Creepy?  Disturbing?  I give it two toes up.

Bad Dog!!

Our sweet puppy (well she's actually a year and a half now) loves to sleep in.  She likes to sleep in even more than me!  She usually stays in bed while we go about doing morning things such as taking showers and catching up on email.  Lately though she's decided that snuggling under the covers isn't enough for her anymore.  We discovered this over the last few days.

Then this

Ugghhh!

She's never been a chewer/destroyer of things that weren't her's to chew.  There has been the rare but random article of clothing.  That happens.  But my bed is so sad now!  Not the way I wanted to start my day. 

Can This Be Made Fabulous?

I finally found (actually the Husband spotted it first!) the perfect bedside table for the Husband.  It needs a little TLC but should be fantastic when we're finished with it.  Of course that means actually getting to work on it!  I'm a horrible procrastinator and am hoping that by posting this I will be "encouraged" to get it done faster!!  I have a selection of Krylon paints on the ready:

though I can't seem to decide which to use.  The Husband likes the green (Celery) but I think it might be too minty when it's all done.  The Almond is nice...and safe.  It's probably what I would feel most comfortable using.  Finally there is the Bahama Sea which is a great fresh blue that would be a great punch of color in the otherwise subdued palette of our bedroom.  Decisions, decisions....

I also stopped by Anthropologie to check out the Rhino (sad to report a misguided crafts project for my purposes) and find some fab hardware.  I came home with these options.  So far my Sweet Husband is not a fan on any of these choices.  Oh well, back to the drawing board!

Hopefully I'll have an update soon!

Rug Love

I'm in a mad search for a very inexpensive rug for a project I'm working on (a little boy's room, so cute!)  I've fallen in love with these ikea rugs but believe it or not they are still out of budget!  Sooo perfect though!

ikea juron rug

ikea alvine ruta rug

Ah, well.  On with the search!

Orange You Glad It's Thursday?

I'm thinking about the color orange today (and apparently feeling a little bit punny too!)  I thought I'd dive into the inspiration files to see what a little splash of orange can do.

 

Images found via Bryn Alexandra, Habitually Chic (Tori Burch in Vogue), House Beautiful, and Caitlin Creer Interiors