Fun Finds & Interior Design

Create a Great First Impression in Your Foyer

2012-01-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

Foyer, entry, entrance hall….whatever you call it, the “lobby” of your home, while it may possibly be the smallest area, can have the biggest impact.

The entrance hall sets the tone for the rest of your home, so be sure it represents the style and feel you want to communicate to your guests. Design elements such as balance and scale will play a major role in the decorating of your foyer. Whether it is a small or large area, the foyer is the first impression or introduction to your home, so this is where your creativity should shine.

Whatever the size of your foyer, follow your heart and be as adventurous with the color and pattern you would like in the room. You can get away with thinking outside of the box with a foyer because it is a small space and you only spend short periods in there.

You’ll want the room to have impact and make a statement. Of course, keeping in mind the spaces your entry foyer may be linked to. This after all, is the space where your guest will get a preview of the rooms to come. The goal is to create a continuous flow, room to room, each space complimenting the other. This doesn’t mean matchy- matchy….the foyer should have its own identity while visually connecting to the rest of your home

Combine function with aesthetics as you place a table to hold your mail, briefcase and phone. Put in a small bench to sit on to remove boots or shoes and store the kids’ backpacks underneath. Include an umbrella stand for umbrellas or walking sticks and install a key holder on the wall for your keys. A mirror is always a great idea as well. It gives you a chance to check your makeup or outfit before heading out for the day.

Create a dramatic effect with the flooring, ceiling, lighting and wall treatments. This is a great way to bring in strong colors, fabrics, and interesting materials. Try a horizontal stripe paint treatment or grass cloth wallpaper. Maybe the flooring can have a special design or an interesting area rug or runner. Find every opportunity to bring in fabrics to soften up the area – try upholstering a bench to complement the window treatments in the adjacent rooms and add throw pillows.

Place a signature piece in the foyer. Hang a large mirror to reflect a scenic view or put a large painting on the wall opposite the entry door so it draws you into the room. Place a sculpture on the table or a corner stand. Pick a piece that coordinates with the other artwork in the home. This is also a great way to show off a collection or collage of special mementos.

Bring fragrance into the foyer through fresh flowers or scented candles. Sometimes living in a space for a long time you cannot detect odors, but someone visiting will be sure to detect them. Let freshness, beauty, creativity and even whimsy be the first impression to your home, while allowing your guests to feel welcomed.

Check out some grand and not so grand foyers. Hope you are inspired to create the home of your dreams!

Fireplaces To warm Those Buns

2012-01-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

When the weather outside is frightful, the warmth of a fireplace can be so delightful (there's a song in there somewhere. Lol)

As I am sitting here snuggled up by my gas fireplace, I can't help thinking about the many options of fireplaces that exist today. There is a style to fit every need and interior decor. El Dorado stone has some beautiful limestone fireplaces for every design aesthetic ranging from clean-lined and timeless to rustic, italian charm. Check out the many options they have available at www.eldoradostone.com/fireplace

If you're not one of us lucky folks with a fireplace in the living room, then a free-standing electric fireplace is readily available via the internet. Here are a few that I found

Here are some definite options for bringing sexy back (not that you've lost it ;-)

So to spark a bit of romance, or just to warm those buns, get that fire going and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

White On White; But Which One Is Right

2011-12-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

Color is known to affect and stimulate your mood. Yellow can put you in a cheerful mood, blue stimulates the intellect, red sparks passion. But white doesn't have that same effect on the senses. White is a relief and lends itself to the trend of your home being your sanctuary; a place where you escape to decompress from the demands of life. But with hundreds of shades available, finding the right white can be very tricky.

Creating a white on white room isn't as simple as it may seem. If not done properly, the room can become bland and boring. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when going for a monochromatic, white on white decor.

Warm whites are tinted slightly with hues of yellow, orange, pink or brown. If you are going for an intimate feel in the room then warm whites is the way to go.
Cool whites are tinted with shades of blue, green and gray. Cool whites can make a space feel larger - so if you are working with a tight space, cool whites is the way to go
Avoid a sterile look by working with various shades of white to give a layered look with some depth.
Avoid mixing warm and cool whites
Opt for contrast - a rich cream on the walls and a clean white on the trim.
Add texture to give the room depth.
White on white doesn't necessarily mean every single piece in the room has to be white - the key pieces should be, but you can layer in darker wood tones or even accessories
Opt for easily laundered slip covers for upholstery pieces
You can add a little bit of color as seasons change, as an example. Again, keep the key pieces white.
Have fun with it!

Here are some pictures with some well appointed white on white rooms. Enjoy!!

A chair-ful mood!

2011-11-30T10:22:00.000-08:00

In my quest to find a pair of classic wing back chairs for a client that I am currently working with, I decided to check out Taylor King's website. Of course they never diasppoint. Here are some chair styles that are definitely cheer worthy. Enjoy!

www.taylorking.com

Christmas Gift Ideas Under $100

2011-11-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again....the joyful Christmas season. Giving gifts to friends and loved ones is one of the blessings and joys of the season. Budget may be a big concern this year for many families, so we at Casa Vilora decided to help out by compiling a list of great gift ideas for under $100.

Aprons under $40 each

Cocktail Napkins under $50 per dozen

Guest Towels under $98 per dozen

Pillows under $60 each

Stockings under $30 each

Tree Skirts under $98

Miscellaneous gifts under $100

This is just a sampling of what we have available. Please call us at 281-751-7552 if you need help finding something specific.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

2011-11-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

As an Interior Decorator, one of my favorite things to do is keeping up with current trends in home decor and fashion. I dive into home design magazines and attend markets and visit vendors' websites to keep up with the everchanging design industry.
My most favorite thing to explore is fabrics and trims. I enjoy nothing more than getting new fabric book shipments, or visiting the Houston Decorative Center and checking out some of my favorite fabric houses.
fabrics is really what makes a design come alive. With the beautiful colors and textures, every room benefits from beautiful fabrics. Here are just a few examples of fabrics I love and how beautiful they are in room settings. Enjoy!

www.zoffany.com
http://www.sanderson-uk.com/
http://www.harlequin.uk.com/

One of my recent finds on a recent trip to London, is a company called Houles, who manufacture some of the most beautiful drapery trims and hardware, you'll ever find.

http://www.houles.com/fsetcentreh.asp

Ceilings......The Fifth Wall

2011-10-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Is your ceiling blah and boring? Well, you are not alone. It always amazes me how how many ceilings go untreated. Well my job today is to get people to think of their ceilings as the fifth wall in a room.

There are endless options available to rescue those tired, boring popcorn ceilings out there. Here are just a few ideas.

The simplest and least expensive option is simply painting your ceiling. Depending on the look you are trying to achieve, you can use a flat finish, eggshell finish, or a glossy or metallic finish. In general, I sometimes use a lighter value of whatever the wall color will be as my ceiling color. That usually gives the room some color consistency, yet noticeably different. But the sky is the limit when it comes to paint color choices. You can go much darker than the walls, which actually can cause the ceiling to appear higher since it seems to recede. The most common is painting ceilings white, but that can be too cliche and too expected.

Of course, there are several more dramatic options we should explore.

The classic, architectural look using crown mouldings, medallions, swags, traceries etc will always give a room a timeless appeal. While this will sometims create a formal look in a room, they can be faux painted for a less formal look. Decorators Supply is one company that has tons of options available to create that timeless character in any room. They offer 5 “families" of ceilings with coordinated center medallions, corner and side ornaments and mouldings in the Empire, Colonial, Louis XIV and Louis the XV styles. Also available is a Gothic Tracery Ceiling.

http://www.decoratorssupply.com/store/main.aspx

Beamed ceilings is another favorite of mine. This will always add instant character in a room. Whether rustic or refined, beamed ceilings can also give a room a timeless look. There are several optins for real wood beams, but faux wood beams are also a great idea, and you really cannot tell the difference.

www.fauxwoodbeams.com

How about a wrought iron ceiling? Helser Brothers does it like no one else can. It is actually not wrought iron, but a resin that looks exactly like wrought iron. It is available in several designs and finishes and can be applied inside of wall niches, as window treatments, and of course ceiling treatments.

www.helserbrothers.com

This is one ceiling treatment that even Michelango would appreciate; ceiling Murals. While these might be a bit over the top for an average home, you can take ideas and inspiration from these murals and do them in your own home

These photos are from various sources

Who says that wallpaper is just for walls? You can definitely wallpaper ceilings to add that special, custom touch.

These photos are from various sources

Have you considered fabrics for your ceiling? Well, it can just be the look you're going for. Although most of these pictures are in commercial settings, some version can be adapted for residential use. A fabric ceiling treatment would definitely be a conversation piece. I am certainly not recommending doing every room in your home with fabric ceilings, but a nursery or guest bedroom, or even a small reading nook or alcove would be perfect areas.

Faux painted ceilings is also more mainstream than some of the other options I mentioned earlier. There are tons of different textures and finishes out there. Here are a few

Have you considered tin ceiling? Here are a few reasons.

How about a brick ceiling treatment? Very popular in wine rooms, this treatment can be adapted to a rustic dining room or kitchen....even a bedroom

Well, I am sure I have not exhausted the many options for ceiling treatments. You are only limited by your imagination. There are so many other treatments we haven't explored, but hopefully this posting has inspired you and have gotten your creative juices flowing. Ceilings are as big a part of a room as the finishing touches that give a room personality. So don't forget that ceilings are a room's fifth wall!

I hope you are inspired to create the home of your dreams.

My top three Fun Finds of the week:

Beautiful seating eye candy from One Kings Lane and Safavieh

www.onekingslane.com

www.safavieh.com

Fun Fabrics For Fall

2011-10-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

In about 15 days, I will be doing one of my favorite things....taking a trip to London. You see, my significant other lives in England, and that gives me a very good reason to travel there a few times a year to see him. This time I plan to mix some business with pleasure, and so I will be vising the Chelsea Harbour Design Center in London. I have been taking the time to look at some of the lines that will be represented there...especially the fabric lines, and I have fallen madly in love with Sanderson, Harlequin and Zoffany.

After browsing Sanderson's website, I discovered that they have been around for over 150 years and have had their fabrics used by the Royals. I was very impressed by the vivid colors and patterns of their fabric collections, and I am definitely inspired. A must see for me when I arrive in London.

I am so inspired by their fabrics, that I would like to share some of their room scenes, vignettes and fabrics with you. These fabrics are mostly nature inspired and are perfect for the Fall season, and for any season for that matter. I hope you are also inspired to create the home of your dreams.

This cat print is actually wallpaper

http://www.sanderson-uk.com/

A Serene Sophisticated Bedroom Makeover

2011-10-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

Do you have a guest bedroom that is in need of a makeover? Or a master bedroom that could use a more relaxing, serene and sophisticated feeling? Well this design may just be what you're looking for.

For today's virtual room, we'll create a bedroom design using a color palette of soft buttery yellows and soft grays.

We will start as usual with our walls. We will paint the walls in a soft yellow from Sherwin Williams called SW6687 Lantern Light

Next will be introduce our bed. An upholstered headboard is a great alternative to a traditional wood framed or metal bed. It is more comfortable to lean against for reading in bed. It gives a softer sophisticated feel to a bedroom. We have hit the right balance with the feminine lines of this queen headboard coupled with the more masculine gray fabric and nailhead trim. Our headboard is from Norwalk Furniture.

Next we will introduce our bedding. This beautiful paisley print semi-custom bedding from Legacy Linen is perfect. The soft gray and limestone color is definitely adding to the serene feel we are trying to accomplish in this room.

We will add a couple of yellow linen euro shams to pull our color scheme together. We will use this butter yellow linen fabric from Kast Fabrics called Linette Cornsilk and a matelasse coverlet made from this beautiful fabric from Kravet called Sand Dollar Natural

Next we'll add our nightstands. We'll add two of these beautiful pewter hand-painted demilune chests from Steinworld on either side of the bed

We'll add a couple of table lamps on each nightsatnd.

And a few table side accessories

Next we will need a dresser for storage. This beautiful, bow front, mirrored top dresser from Worlds Away is the perfect scale for the room. This will allow enough room for a seating area.

We'll add a mirror above our dresser. This beautiful silver leaf, antiqued mirror from Worlds Away is great because it's not matchy matchy but speaks to the silver and gray tones in the room.

I always like to add a bench at the foot of a bed to anchor the bed, and just an area to sit and put shoes on. We'll add this cute slip covered bench from C.R. Laine. We'll reupholster our bench in this beautiful fabric from Vervain. We will skip the rouching for a more tailored look.

We'll add a chair to our room as well. Great for reading a book or just relaxing. This great chair from Candice Olson Collection at Norwalk Furniture, done in this yellow linen fabric with nail head trim is perfect for the room. We'll also add a pillow in the Kravet fabric below

We'll add a floor lamp to this "reading" area. This arc lamp from Trend Lighting is a great choice

Next we'll add our drapery. We'll do two simple pinch pleat panels done in this beautiful fabric from Thom Filicia Collection for Kravet called Griffith Fog.

Now that we have all our furniture pieces, we'll add some accessories and ceiling lighting.

Our room is now complete. Any guest would love to fall asleep in this beautiful, serene getaway. Hope you are inspired to create the home of your dreams.

My top three "Fun Finds"of the week

This beautiful scrolled, bow front chest from Worlds Away is a great addition to a bedroom. Would look great as nightstands.

These iron tables (a cocktail table and an end table) from Rustic Living, are definitely gonna catch the eyes of your guests. They are as beautiful as tehy are functional

A Fun, Colorful Lounge

2011-09-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

Living in Katy Texas, most homes come with a gameroom, a media room or some type of bonus room, designed to be the family hang out spot. I often get clients who are not sure what to do with these areas to make them fun and interesting. Most people are very accustomed to decorating the rest of their home in neutral colors, that they think they have to keep the flow going in their lounges or game areas. I beg to differ! A lounge or gameroom should be a fun hang out spot with a big personality! After all, this is where you go to let your hair down, play video games, watch the football game and spend quality time with family and friends. There is no reason why these areas should look exactly the same as the rest of the home, so we are going to kick it up a few notches and create a fun, colorful space for today's virtual game room.

Our color palette will consist of teal, tangerine, fuchsia, chartreuse, and white. With such a palette, we have to be careful not to end up with a clown house or a crazy house for that matter. So we'll add color where it counts without becoming overkill.

Let's get started with our wall color. Instead of just slapping on some paint on our walls, we will do a two-tone horizontal stripe paint technique but using very light colors. Each stripe will be about 24" high and will wrap around the entire room. We'll use Sherwin Williams SW6483 Buoyant Blue (in a flat finish) alternated with SW6484 Meander Blue (in eggshell finish). Using two different finishes will create a visible contrast between these two light colors with similar shades, without being the focus of the room.

Now that we have the walls painted, we can start bringing in our furniture pieces. Our sectional sofa from Norwalk Furniture is the right mix of comfort, function and beauty. We'll make it pop by doing it in a colorful tangerine with white piping.

We'll add some pillows in these beautiful fabrics.

Next we'll add two chairs to round off the seating area. These Norwalk chairs done in this fun fabric with a contrast piping is perfect

A couple of ottomans is always great as well. Great for extra seating for guests. These fun round ottomans from Norwalk Furniture will be placed by the window in the main seating area.

Next we will add our cocktail table and end tables. These urban contemporary, meets pedigreed traditional tables are from Hooker Furniture Trilogy Collection.

TV watching is an important function in this room, so we'll add a console from Lexington Home Brands for a big screen TV, and a place to store games and display personal items.

We will create an area for playing board games or to act as a bar. This pub table and chairs from Hooker Furniture are the right scale for our game room. We will re-upholster the stools in this fabric from Duralee.

Now for our window treatment. We will create a cornice board with a couple of panels. We'll use these two fabrics - the solid as the cornice board, adding nailhead trim, and the circle fabric as the valance. That oughta up the fun factor in this room.

We'll add an orange stripe on the leading edge of each panel to tie in the drapeery to the rest of the room.

Next we'll add some artwork. These fun, colorful, floral glicee are the right ticket for this space.

These gorgeous capiz shell pendants from Worlds Away will look great over the seating area hung in a cluster of three at different heights

We will add other colorful accessories to complete the room. And our colorful game room is finished. Hope you are inspired to create a fun, colorful room in your home.

My top three Fun Finds of the week:

The Le Premier chair by Christopher Guy. Can you say WOW!

This sweet "Beattles" settee from Vanguard Furniture

How fun is this chair from Anthropologie!

We'll throw in just one more fun chair from Christopher Guy

A "Woodland Chic" Sleeping Porch

2011-09-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I admit it....."Woodland Chic" is a term I just made up (In case you were wondering, that is). I had to come up with a title for this blog post somehow. Woodland chic is a design style that uses objects that can be found in nature, out in the woods. The woods used on furniture is rough hewn or in their natural state.... just really woodsy with a casual elegant twist. We are not going for a lodge look, although we may borrow some ideas from that design style.

Your next question might be "what is a sleeping porch?" Well, back before air conditioning was available, people would build their homes with an enclosed screen porch, where they would sleep on hot, humid nights.

For our virtual sleeping porch, we will actually create a small sleeping area and seating area for guests. Let's start with the wall color. Since this is a porch, there is really just one full wall to speak of - the other walls are windows for the upper half. we will add paint to the minimal amount of wall space. Our paint color of choice is Sherwin Williams SW6408 Wheat Grass. This green is the perfect tone for a woodland inspired room.

We'll add our window treatment at this point. We will keep them as simple functional panels that can be drawn close for privacy at night. We will use this cashmere color solid linen sheer without lining.

Next we'll move into our sleeping area. We will bring in a full size iron canopy bed. This beauty from Sundance Catalog is a great start.

Our bedding will definitely be influenecd by our woodland surroundings. Our duvet will be made from this beautiful nature inspired fabric from Calico Corners called Woodland Moss. The other fabrics will be made into pillows and shams.

Next we'll introduce our nightstands for either side of the bed. This sketch of a solid wood nightstand from La Lune Collection in Wisconsin is the perfect woodland inspired piece.

For our dresser, we chose a weathered teak sideboard from Sundance Catalog

Next we will add an area rug for some warmth underfoot and to define the sleeping area. This wood grain patterned rug is a great choice.

Next we'll add lighting and accessories. We'll add this mirror above the dresser with the sconces on either side.

Floral is always a nice touch in any room. This waterlike hydrangea bouquet is from NDI. No one can tell that it's not real

We'll add a grid of these bird drawings by British artist Robert Clarke on either side of our canopy bed.

Now for our seating area. We'll add these two rustic wood chairs from La Lune Collection. We'll reupholster them in a solid green linen fabric with contrast welt.

We'll add a pillow to each chair

We'll bring in a small sleek sofa for some additional seating. We will keep this Kravet sofa in the same mushroom fabric shown.

We'll add some pillows o the sofa as well

Now for our area rug. this wool rug from Safavieh is a comfortable and natural choice

Next we'll add our beautiful cocktail table from Sundance Catalog

Next we'll add the light fixtures for each area. This twig chandelier from Shades of Light is the perfect woodland chic choice for the sleeping area and the lantern below is for the seating area

Two of the lamps will flank our canopy bed

This floor lamp will be used in our seating area

It's refreshing to decorate a room inspired by nature. Hope you are inspired to create the home of your dreams.

My Top Fun Finds Of The Week:

These gorgeous needle point and embroidered pillows from Peking Handicraft Inc

A Texas Chic Great Room

2011-09-15T12:15:00.000-07:00

For today's virtual room, we will be doing a great room in a Texas chic style. For me, Texas chic means a rustic elegance with a touch of Texas charm. Texas style usually has rich leathers and hides, rustic, hand hewn woods and natural cut stones used indoors.

Our greatroom consists of a family room, a breakfast nook and breakfast bar. We'll start with our walls and ceilings in the family room area. We'll set the tone for the rest of the room by adding rustic wood beams to the ceiling.

Our flooring will be a rich burnished maple engineered hardwood from Lumber Liquidators

The fireplace will be oufitted in dry stacked stone to add to the rustic touch. Below is an example of a finished fireplace wall.

In the niches on either side of the fireplace, we will add a beautiful snake skin patterned wallpaper.

The wall color for the rest of the great room is Sherwin Williams SW6143 Basket Beige

We will also add two consoles inside both niches for additional storage. This rustic piece is from a company in El Paso called Saddle Blanket.

Now we'll add our area rug for the family room area. This modern tree stump design rug is perfect for our family room.

Time for our upholstery. We'll add a rich leather sofa from Bradington Young with nail head detail. Nothing says Texas chic like a rich top grain leather sofa with a worn patina and nail heads.

We'll add a couple pillows to our sofa in this beautiful fabric from Kravet

Next we'll add a couple of swivel chairs. These chairs are from C.R. Laine and will be done in this beautiful leaf fabric from Kravet Couture with a contrast piping.

Next we'll add a secondary seating area with two of these chairs from Sam Moore Chairs

We'll finish these chairs off in the same leather seat as shown, as well as adding the leather on the outer back and the Kravet Couture fabric below on the inner back.

We'll also add a couple of ottomans from Kravet Furniture. They are light weight and can be easily moved around the room for additional seating when needed. They will be covered in the cow hide.

We'll add our cocktail table.This beautiful stone and iron table is from Noir Trading.

Next we'll add a couple side tables. This side table is also from Noir Trading. The one below is from Arteriors.

We'll also add a console table behind the sofa

Next we'll add our window treatments. We'll do really tailored pinch pleat panels from this silk/velvet fabric from Kravet. This will add elegance to the room.

We'll add the lighting and accessories. Our twig chandelier is from Shades of Light and will definitely be a conversation piece.

These lamps are also available at Shades of Light. It's always a great idea to add a lot of lighting to a room

For art above the fireplace, we'll add this armadillo print which will be framed.

Next we'll add three barstools to the breakfast bar. These stools are from Noir Trading. These stools somehow remind me of saddles.

We'll move into the breakfast area. We'll need a breakfast table and six chairs, a rug and a light fixture.

This round table is from Noir Trading and is a combination of reclaimed wood and hammered aluminum. We'll be continuing the wall color from the family room area.

We'll add a square rug to ground the table. When choosing an area rug for a round table, go with either a round rug or a square. make sure that the rug is large enough that even when the chairs are fully drawn out, they will still sit on the rug.

We'll add six chairs from Noir Trading. We'll keep the chairs in this maize color linen.

For our light fixture, we chose this beauty from Shades of Light

Next we'll add the fabric for our window treatments. This fabric is from Kast Fabrics.

So there you have it, a great room done with rustic elegance with a touch of Texas. Hope you are inspired to create the home of your dreams.

Top Three Fun Finds Of The Week:

Barcodes grace almost every product for sale. Given how much package real estate they command, why shouldn't they look cool?

Since 2005, D-Barcode has been creating custom barcodes for a mostly Japanese clientele. They've even begun selling their wares to anyone who wants to license them, starting at $1,500 for the design, and $200 a year for licensing. A custom or exclusive use code will run upwards of $4,000--but given that companies spend millions on designing a single package, why don't we see more detailed thinking like this? Middle managers spend weeks arguing about kerning--it'd be better if they spent more time rethinking every inch of such highly prized real estate.

I know these have nothing to do with interior design, but they sure spark the creativity in me.

A "Mom Cave" For A Busy Mom

2011-09-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

The "Mom Cave" concept is certainly picking up momentum these days, and rightfully so. Today's moms are more like super women; juggling a career, kids' activities and running a household. As a single mom of two kids and a business owner and design consultant, I understand the need for a private, quiet retreat to get away from the madness of daily routines. Guys get to have their man caves, so I thought it would be appropriate to base today's virtual room on a boudoir for mom. It may be hard to find a room in your home that is strictly dedicated to this mom cave boudoir. It may have to double as a study for her, or a dressing room. The important thing is to find a space somewhere and make it yours. For our boudoir, we'll imagine that our room has to double as a study for her.

When I think boudoir, I think about a very feminine, comfortable and luxurious space. Afterall, you want to feel pampered and relaxed from the moment you walk in. We'll start with our walls, as usual. We have chosen this hand painted wallpaper from Paul Montgomery Studio.

Next we'll bring in a luxurious chaise lounge from Hancock and Moore. We'll re-cover our chaise in this beautiful textured fabric from Duralee Fabrics. We'll also add a decorative pillows from Duralee Fabrics

Next we'll add a round ottoman that will act as seating as well as a cocktail table.

Next we'll add some additional seating, just in case mom decides to have guests in her boudoir (maybe a girls night in).

We'll add these bergere chairs from Sam Moore, done in both a solid chenille and flamestitch from Duralee.

We'll also add a side table between the chairs as a surface for a good book or a drink. This beautiful artful table from Interlude is perfect.

Next we'll add a luxurious area rug to define the lounging area. We have chosen this beautiful rug from Safavieh.

Next we'll add our window treatments. In our boudoir, we want to use a rich, luxurious duppioni silk with a lot of puddle. We'll use this beautiful embroidered silk fabric from Duralee

No boudoir is complete without a grand chandelier. This beautiful crystal chandelier from Restoration Hardware is a nod to the Victorian Era - perfect for a boudoir

Next we'll move to the office area of our mom cave boudoir. We'll make sure it is functional for some work from home, but beautiful enough to complement this feminine sanctuary. We'll start with this beautiful desk from Oly Studio in a dark java finish

Next we'll add our desk chair. We'll re-upholster the chair in this beautiful fabric from Duralee

We need storage in an office area, so we'll add a bookcase for storage and displaying collections, and of course, photos of the kids.

Next we'll add a small vanity area. This beautiful vanity table from Currey and Company is the perfect scale. The small wing back chair below is the perfect complement. We'll re-upholster our chair in the beautiful fabric below

Next we'll add our light fixtures, art and accessories.

This Global View lamp will be our desk lamp and lamp in the loungin area.

Sconces from Currey and Company will flank the vanity mirror

A shabby chic inspired candelabra is perfect for the lounging area

We will keep our art simple because our wallpaper already adds a lot of pattern and interest to the walls

So there you have it, a mom cave boudoir for today's busy mom. Our mom loves the richness of red, her favorite color, so we chose the most luxurious fabrics to make this boudoir a true getaway.

It was fun putting together this virtual room. Hope you are inspired to create the home of your dreams.

My top three Fun Finds of the week are:

These bird drawings by Robert Clarke, a UK artist using graphite and colored pencil on heavy paper. I just love the simplicity of these bird drawings. And I do LOVE birds!

A Modern Bachelor Pad with Vintage Character

2011-09-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Think bachelor pad and the first thing that comes to mind is a complete mishmash of furniture pieces, usually a black leather sofa, a futon and a lot of hand me downs. For today's virtual room, we will be designing a modern living room/dining room combo in a bachelor pad. We'll imagine that this bachelor is a professional, who entertains quite a bit in an upscale high rise condo in the city. He likes modern and edgey with a touch of vintage character.

Let's get right into our wall color. We'll be using a dark smokey gray from Sherwin Williams called "Versatile Gray" SW6072.

Next we'll add our sofa. This beautiful contemporary sofa is from Kravet. We will warm up the room by re-upholstering the sofa in this sand colored mohair fabric from Kravet, and pillows in this graphic print.

Next we'll add two matching occasional chairs to the main seating area. These chairs are small enough that they won't take up too much space in a small condo. We'll reupholster both chairs in the same graphic fabric as the bolster pillows in the sofa.

Next we'll add a cocktail ottoman to the center of the main seating area. Cocktail ottomans are a great alternative to a cocktail table. They provide a soft spot to prop your feet up, and great for additional seating when entertaining friends and family. We'll re-upholster the ottoman in this ribbed mohair fabric from Kravet

Next we'll add the occasional tables in the room. We'll add two of these simple side tables from Arteriors on either side of the sofa.

Next we'll add an area rug to define the seating area. This area rug from Safavieh adds a bit of whimsey and makes the room less serious. It has all the colors of the room and ties everything together perfectly.

We will have a secondary seating area by the fireplace with this mid-century modern, industrial inspired chaise from Restoration Hardware.

We'll add another side table next to the chaise. On the other side of the fireplace we'll add a modern bookcase. We will have a flat screen TV mounted above the firebox.

Even a bachelor pad needs window treatments. We'll add very tailored panels in this raw silk fabric from Kast fabric.

Now we'll introduce our lighting, art and accessories to the living room portion of our condo.

Now we'll get right into the dining room portion of our condo. We want to keep the wall color the same for continuity since the rooms are open to each other. Of course we will also continue the same modern, vintage theme. We'll start with this industrial meets rustic dining room table from Noir Furniture.

Next we'll bring in six to eight dining room chairs. These clean, geometric chairs from Restoration Hardware is inspired by the angularity and simplicity of 1940s Parisian design.The italian leather will age and patina very well over time.

Next we'll add our area rug. We'll dress it up a bit with this beautiful wool area rug from Restoration Hardware.

We'll add a side board from Studio A to act as a server at dinner parties.

We'll also add some tailored window panels to our dining area. Done in this geometric print from Kast Fabric.

next we'll add a chandelier above our dining room table. This beautiful drum shade chandelier is from Charles Edwards, London.

We can't ignore the breakfast bar that is just beyond the dining room so we'll add some bar stools and pendant lighting. We'll then add our accessories for the dining room.

So there you have it; a modern bachelor pad with some vintage character. Coupling cool grays with the warmth of tans and light gold makes our bachelor pad more liveable and inviting. Hope you are inspired to create the home of your dreams.

My Top three Fun Finds of the week:

This beautiful square chandelier from Charles Edwards, London

These art pieces from Noir Trading are pretty cool.

A Delicious Dining Room

2011-09-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Dining Rooms no doubt are my favorite rooms to decorate. They bring to mind family gatherings over the Thanksgiving Turkey, entertaining friends over fine wine and great food, and even macaroni and cheese dinners with the kids after a long day at work. Not only do dining rooms have to look beautiful for your guests, it has to function well to avoid numerous trips back and forth to the kitchen during dinner parties.

Like every other room that I decorate, and if the room is large enough, I will define at least two or three areas in the room to support various functions. In a dining room I like to have three designated areas-the main dining area in the center of the room, a serving area, and maybe a seating area by the windows, perfect for before or after dinner drinks.

For today's virtual room, we will create a classic, beautiful dining room that's sure to inspire delicious meals and great entertaining.

Well let's get started, and again we will start with our walls. This dining room will have a lot of classic architecture so we will wrap the lower third of the walls with beautiful wainscoting painted a nice crisp white. We will also add really substantial crown moldings and door casing.

Instead of just painting the walls, we have chosen to add beautiful hand painted chinoiserie wallpaper from Paul Montgomery Studio. This will add richness to the room. We will take our color queues from the subtle blues, greys and apricot colors in the wallpaper.

Next we'll bring in our dining table. The gorgeous Grand Continental Esagonale dining table gracefully designed to allow as many as eight individual place settings, the Esagonale Table combines the warmth of a round table with the charm of centuries old design. Here's the table shown from different angles.

Time for our beautiful chairs. We'll add six of these gorgeous chairs as the side chairs. Done in this beautiful Duralee fabric

I love to use different styled chairs as the host and hostess chairs. For our room, we will use these wing back chairs from Hickory Chairs. They have the classic wing back style with simpler, more modern lines. We'll finish them off with this gorgeous fabric from Kravet Collections with a lumbar pillow made from the solid apricot velvet.

Next we will create a small intimate seating area by the windows with a couple of slipper chairs and a small side table. The chairs are from Hickory chairs and will be upholstered in the same apricot velvet fabric. The pillows will be made from a gorgeous stripe silk fabric from Kravet Couture.

Our side table is a small scale glass top table

For our window treatments, we will use the same gorgeous silk fabric. We will create beautiful and full pinched pleat panels with alot of puddle (about 6") to add richness and luxury to our windows.

Next we'll add a side board to the serving area. This beautiful hand painted piece is from Stanley Furniture. We'll add a John Richard Mirror above, and two sconces on either side of the mirror. We chose a pair of this beautiful sconce from Elk Lighting. The free flowing design of the sconce is a great contrast against the geometric lines of the mirror.

Next we will add the rest of the lighting in our dining room. We'll hang a drum shade, crystal chandelier above the dining table and a table lamp in our seating area.

Our room will need an area rug to pull everything together. This beautiful wool rug from Safavieh has a beautiful pattern and rich colors to ground the furniture pieces.

Time for our art and accessories. Our wallpaper is really so beautiful that there is hardly a need for art. We'll keep the art simple, so that our wallpaper will shine.

So there you have it. A beautiful dining room for wonderful family gatherings. Hope you were inspired to create and decorate the home of your dreams.

Now for my top three fun finds of the week:

Evoking the angularity and clean geometric forms of 1940s Parisian design, the Bruno from Restoration Hardware makes a statement in its simplicity. Constructed from premium Italian leather that will acquire a rich patina over time, the chair features topstitching detail and open-edged seams for casually sophisticated appeal. Very handsome!

The unbridled creativity of mid-century modern Danish design finds new expression in the Copenhagen chair from Restoration Hardware. It is is upholstered in sumptuous leather on the front and dramatic hair-on hide on the back. Each chair is uniquely, spectacularly one-of-a-kind.

Inspired by a vintage birdcage, Restoration Hardware's reproduction juxtaposes rustic hand-wrought iron with a precision-cut faceted crystal pendant. Handcrafted in authentic detail and hung from a 3"-thick weathered marine rope, the cage has a hinged side door to facilitate bulb replacements. Quite the conversation piece.

Decorating A Sunroom With Purple

2011-08-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

They say that purple is the color of royalty, and I can see why. It exudes richness, luxury and formality. Purple hasn't really been one of my favorite colors, so I always steered clear of it in interior design (unless it is specifically requested). Often seen in little girls' rooms or on heavy velvet fabrics in a formal home, it just wasn't my "go to" color.

These days purple has become a hot trend in fashion and interior design. The beautiful color purple and its many variations can now be seen in some of the most beautiful fabrics from the heavy weight fabric houses in the industry. Now you can find contemporary geometrics, playful florals, luxurious silks and casual patterns. Duralee is one such company that never ceases to amaze me with their beautiful fabrics.

For today's virtual room, I will be doing a sunroom with purple being the color theme.
Sunrooms are all about lounging and relaxing in a light, bright, airy atmosphere with tons of sulight streaming in. Again, purple tends to be a formal color, so my challenge will be to keep this room casual but sophisticated, so that it will live up to its role. Sunrooms often have plenty of windows and can sometimes be a solarium with walls and ceiling made from glass. If there are any walls to speak of in your sunroom, it is safe to introduce a darker color without having to worry about the room feeling closed in. For our virtual sunroom, we'll do just that.

Our walls will be done in this dark purple grasscloth from Wallpapers To Go. The color, of course is perfect to tie our color scheme together, while the texture of the grasscloth wallpaper adds interest, and give the feeling of being in an island getaway. Since we have plenty of windows to bring in natural light, this wallpaper will not be too dark.

We'll jump right into our window treatments. Every window needs two layers of window treatments - one layer for privacy and the second for style and aesthetics. Usually in sunrooms, privacy is not a big factor. Most people usually want to keep their windows free of obstructions to maximize natural light and their views to the outdoors. With so many choices available today in window treatments today, we don't have to compromise - we can get he best of both worlds. We will be using Solar Roman Shades from Smith and Noble done in an off-white color. Roman styling means the shades stack in softly tailored folds when opened and almost out of view, and lie flat when lowered. Specially woven fabrics let you see out clearly while reducing glare and filtering out up to 97% of UV rays. Perfect for sunrooms.

Next we'll add a second layer by way of non-functional drapery panels. Non-functional means they are not meant to provide privacy, but are meant to frame the windows, overlapping them just a few inches. This will allow a clear unobstructed view out the windows. We will be doing the drapery panels in this beautiful patterned linen fabric from Kast Fabrics called Morocco Berry. We will line the fabric with blackout or solar lining to help prevent fading from strong UV rays. We will do soft cartridge pleats for the panels.

Next we'll bring in the our seating. This wood framed sofa from Lexington Home brands is both casual and sophisticated. It has a tiny hint of the Moroccan lattice work on the sides, which relates very well to the drapery

We will keep the sofa body fabric the same white fabric as shown, but will add a contrasting piping on the edges with this solid purple fabric. We will add tons of pillows in the various fabrics shown below.

Here are the pillow fabrics:

Next we'll introduce a pair of accent chairs. These beautiful chairs from Hickory Chairs are great looking and comfortable - perfect for a sunroom. We'll reupholster these chairs in this gorgeous medallion fabric from Vervain.

A small bench is a great piece to bring in to round out the seating area. We'll reupholster this bench in a dark solid purple fabric with the stripe fabric as the bolster pillows.

Next we'll introduce the occasional tables in the room

We'll keep the cocktail table and one small end table between the chairs very simple and then add these moroccan influenced end tables to spice things up.

We'll also add a bookcase to the room. This will add some height and storage in the room. The open shelving helps to keep things nice and airy. We kept the lines simple to avoid visual clutter.

Now for our area rug. This hand woven wool rug from Safavieh is neutral against all the colors of the room, but a strong enough statement to ground the seating area.

Now for some lighting and accessories. We will need a few accessories to fill the bookcase without creating clutter.

So there you have it, a sunroom done with purple as the main color. I have gotten over my phobia of designing with purple! :-). Purple is a wonderful color, and when correctly used, can have beautiful results. I will be pitching purple at my next design consultation! I hope after reading this and seeing all the beautiful fun finds, you are inspired to create and decorate the home of your dreams.

Here are my top three fun finds of the week:

This is the Nexus swivel chair from Wisteria. Such a fun whimsical piece for a living room.

Of course we've seen this chair before, such a dramatic piece!

Here's another fun piece from Wisteria. This great side table.

A "Soccer Locker" Boy's Bedroom

2011-08-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of my friends love HGTV's Design Star as much as I do. Well, it's more of a love/hate relationship with me. I love that it is an opportunity for the design contestants to show off their creativity and talents while being pushed to the limit. I also love that the whole world gets to watch their ideas come to life in a beautiful way. I hate some things about the show as well.....Well "hate" is a strong word, so I will say I dislike some aspects of the show: The ridiculous timelines in which to do a project and sometimes, the crazy challenges that they have to execute. And of course, my biggest pet peeve is the judges (especially Genevieve) referring to an element or vignette within the room as a "moment". With that said, I literally can't wait for Mondays to get my fix of Design Star.

One of the finalists that I am really rooting for is Kellie (minus the waterworks every week). I can tell that she is truly talented - although she has had a few mis-steps. Case in point: The last challenge was designing a soccer locker bedroom for a young boy, who was about 4 or 5 years old. He asked for a bunk bed and lockers in his room. Being the mother of a 9 year old boy, (and I believe Kellie has a young son as well), I know that that request should be taken literally. Instead, she decided to reinterpret what the young man was aking for, and came up with her own concept of a soccer locker.....Big Mistake!

This was the finished room. Not horrible, but could have been so much better.

I decided to make today's virtual bedroom a Soccer Locker using my son as the inspiration. He likes soccer (maybe not as much as his XBox 360). Most of the soccer elements we'll introduce are not the big ticket items like the furniture. When he grows out of the soccer phase (which he will sooner than you can say GOAL!!!), this room can easily transition to a different theme or no theme.

We'll start with the bunk bed. Yes, when a kid says bunk bed, they mean it. As one of the judges told Kellie "It's not up to you to decide what the client wants. It's up to you to make what they want work".

A bunk bed can work in a small room, it just requires a bit more thought with the color palette and the scale of the other pieces in the room. It is actually great in a small room to go vertical, and leave floor space for play time. this bed will work great along the longest wall and still have space for a homework area at the foot of the bed.

I decided to make the bunkbed a feature of the room and do it in a rich red. The simple lines of the bed keep it from taking up space visually. This bed is from Young America Furniture.

Next we'll introduce the bedding. We'll use this red and blue duvet and shams with the white patterned sheet set shown below. The yellow fabric will be made into a couple of pillows to add some contrast.

For the windows we will do grommeted panels in a solid dark blue coordinating fabric, and use the yellow fabric above to run a 2" strip along the leading edge of each panel

Next we'll focus on the walls in the room. Always keep in mind that kids rooms should inspire fun and creativity. We will paint a section of one wall in a magnetic chalk board paint and frame it with white moldings. It is a great place to write, draw and create. Because the paint is also magnetic, it will be a great area to display artwork. here's an example of a chalk board painted wall

The rest of the room will be painted white and possibly add some Fat Head posters of sports figures to the walls.

Next we'll add a homework area to the room. This is very necessary to encourage kids to get their homework done. We'll add a desk and chair. I chose a desk from Young America and chair from West Elm in pure white.

We can also add a cork bulletin board above the desk to display art. This is a great way to encourage kids to create works of art.

We'll also bring in a dresser for storage of clothes.

We'll also add some storage lockers to the room. This could be used near the lounging area and is a great place to store sports gear. We'll add just a couple lockers instead of the whole unit, to prevent the room from becoming too crowded. Here's also a great place for the television if there will be one in the room. the lockers will be painted a navy blue.

On to the most important area of the room, the video game and TV watching area. Even if there won't be a TV in a kids bedroom, having an area to lounge and relax is still a great use of space. We'll add a couple of rugs to ground the lounge area. This stripe rug from Pottery Barn Kids makes a bold statement. We'll layer a small soccer ball rug on top to add some visual appeal

We'll add these loungers from Pottery Barn Kids and maybe a yellow bean bag chair

There really isn't a need for more accessories in the room. We'll frame and diaplay some of the child's art or work on a fun project like using faux grass mounted on a board as art. Maybe in a checkerboard or solid pattern. This is a project that can be done with the child and will definitely be a conversation piece, plus it is appropriate for a soccer themed room.

As a designer, I try to discourage my clients from making a room too "themey", but in a child's room it is perfectly ok to decorate using a theme. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that kids minds change quite frequently, so keep it simple. Keep the more expensive, permanent pieces in the room simple and go crazy with accessories.

So there you have it, the room that Kellie should have done.

Hope you are inspired to create and decorate the home of your dreams.

My Top Three (maybe more) Fun Finds Of The Week Are:

These beautiful lamps are from Best and Lloyd, a company founded in Birmingham, England in 1840. They have produced fixtures for the royal family. They closed their doors in the U.S. during the depression, and after a 80 year hiatus they are back and still known for their quality craftsmanship. Here are a few table lamps and pendant.

A Caribbean Style Guest Retreat

2011-08-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

As a Caribbean girl, I am always inspired by the beautiful colors that can be found in my home town of Montego Bay, Jamaica. On my visits home, I cannot help soaking up the sights of the clear blue skies, the varying blue and turquoise hues of the Caribbean Sea,the powder white sands of the beaches, the colorful and delicious fruits, and of course the lush greenery that's everywhere around you. As a Decorator in Katy TX, I rarely get the opportunity to decorate a Caribbean inspired room, so I decided to put together a beautiful, airy guest bedroom with influences from my home country. I was careful not to select pieces that were too beachy, which I think would be too cliche and expected. Although the beach is a very big part of the natural landscape of Jamaica, there's so much more to the island, so we'll hint at the beach without it becoming the theme of this virtual guest retreat.

First we'll start out with our wall color. We'll go with a fresh light blue green to set the tone for the rest of the room. Sherwin Williams SW6756 Crystal Clear is our color of choice.

Next we'll do something a bit unexpected. The ceiling in a room is often neglected. In our guest retreat we have the perfect opportunity to do something interesting by treating the ceiling as a fifth wall. We will incorporate natural grasscloth wallpaper in a coffered ceiling treatment. This Arrowroot natural grasscloth wallpaper will be applied between the trim of the coffered ceiling. For our application, we will simplify the trim just a bit, and maybe even whitewash it. We opted for an airy, light blue for the wallpaper so the focus will be the texture and not the color.

Next we will bring in our bed. In Jamaica, we love dark stained woods like mahogany and heavily carved, traditional pieces. I decided to take a more casual approach to our bed to keep the room more relaxed. This mahogany bed is from Noir Trading. The black hand rubbed finish gives it the casual feel we are looking for, and the carving, though not traditional, gives it a global, worldly feel and the four poster evokes a bit of romance.

For our bedding, we have chosen simple but luxurious egyptian cotton linen from Eastern Accents. We will add a few decorative shams and pillows to add a bit of interest.

Next we'll introduce our nightstands. These burlap shelves from Noir Trading are the perfect scale to act as nightstands. The open shelving is great for storing treasures collected on long walks by the beach. The simple lines of these nightstands work well with the intricate details of the 4 poster bed. The nail head detail gives them an elegant, timeless feel.

We'll now add a bench at the foot of the bed, which is a great place to sit and put on shoes or stacking pillows at night. The bench is from Noir Trading and will be done in the stripe fabric to tie into our bedding.

Next we'll bring in a dresser for storage and a full length mirror. When you have guests, always be mindful of the little things that will make their stay a bit more enjoyable and feel more like home. This dresser from Noir Furniture and Mirror from Studio A are great additions to the room.

Next we'll add a seating area in the room. This area would be great by a window or bank of windows. It is always a great idea to add some seating in a guest retreat or master retreat. Your guest will never want to leave.

The chairs are a classic wing back style with contemporary lines, done in a beautiful meadow green, knobby linen fabric from Kast Fabrics. We'll also add a pillow to each chair made from the patterned fabric from our bedding shams.

The round ottoman is perfect for kicking your feet up and just relaxing. Guest rooms should always be inviting, comfortable and relaxing to give guests the experience of being at a five star resort. This beautiful "bullseye" burlap ottoman from Noir Trading is the perfect choice.

We'll also add a table to the seating area for a table lamp and maybe a floral and accessories. This sea horse table is definitely a novelty piece in the room, but is a great conversation piece and will add a touch of charm and whimsey. It is ok to add one or two whimsical pieces at most to a room but too much can come off as being too kitchey.

We'll add an area rug to define the seating area. This jute rug from Surya will be warm and cozy underfoot. Perfect for a relaxing reading nook.

For our window treatments will be choosing a gauzy, sheer linen fabric (unlined) that will mimic the feel of mosquito netting. Mosquito netting is frequently found in bedrooms in the Caribbean draped over four poster beds. As the name implies, mosquito netting is meant to keep mosquitoes away while you are sleeping. We have chosen this 100% Linen fabric from Kast Fabrics in a mineral blue to blend seamlessly with our wall color. This will give the room a more soothing and calming feel.

Now for our lighting. No room is complete without proper lighting. We'll bring in three table lamps (one for each nightstand and one for the table in the seating area), and a chandelier.

Now we'll tackle the art and accessories. The art we chose is definitely beach and tropical inspired. We chose an old Caribbean map and an old Ackee postcard to further capture the essence of being in a Jamaican Island retreat,

So there you have it, a restful, Caribbean inspired guest retreat. Some other helpful tips for creating a guest retreat are:

Include a small coffee maker, mugs and coffee condiments in a hidden area in the room. This area can be incorporated in a cabinet or dresser or a niche built into a wall or hallway.
Always have extra toiletries like soaps, toothpaste, deodorant, and toothbrushes etc handy in case your guest forgot to bring theirs. Arrange them in beautiful baskets or upholstered boxes to complemet the room.
Aways have extra towels and bath robes on hand
A notepad and pen or pencil is great to have on hand
An alarm clock

Just think about the comforts of home you cannot live without, and go all out for your guests. They may never want to leave, which may be a good or bad thing?

Hope you are inspired to create and decorate the home of your dreams

My top three Fun Finds of the week:

This great mid century modern sofa frm Room Service. I just love the wood trim of this piece. Quite a handsome piece!

This handsome Klismos chair. I can imagine a fun geometric fabric as the seat cushion.

This cute shabby chic inspired bench from C.R. laine. Perfect the way it is!

A Sweet Bedroom Makeover For A Teenage Girl

2011-08-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

My 14 year old daughter Courtney and I are talking seriously about re-doing her bedroom. Now that she is old enough, she has tons of ideas and opinions about how her room should look. She has a very creative mind and thinks alot like I do, so it has been so much fun bouncing ideas off each other. With her extravagant wish list, I decided that it would be better to wait a few more months to get it all done at once. I gave Courtney a few of my sources and asked her to "shop" for the pieces she'd like in her room and this is what she came up with.

The wallpaper she chose for the main headboard wall is this "Skeleton Key" pattern in Fuchsia from Room Service. I was on board with this wallpaper idea, as long as we kept it to one main focal wall. The rest of the room will be painted in white since we will be adding a lot of color later

Next we will add the headboard she selected. We both love houndstooth fabrics, so I was totally in love with this bed from Room Service. Of course we are upgrading her from a twin to a queen bed....Sweet!

We will keep the bedding simple, so we'll go with the sheet set shown. We'll add a couple more layers with a white ruffled blanket from West Elm and a throw. We will add splashes of color through the throw, shams and pillows.

our colorful shams and pillows done in pink, orange, aqua and black will definitely pop against this neutral background

This orange fabric will be made into a custom throw, perfect for those chilly nights

Now we will add our night stands. This beautiful white lacquer bombay chest from Room Service is perfect for either side of the bed. I love the juxtaposition of the classic lines of the bombay chest against the modern white lacquer finish. Perfect for a teenager's bedroom

Above each night stand we will add these bright orange mirrors for a splash of color and a great contrast against the graphic wallpaper

Instead of table lamps, we'll add mini chandeliers above each nightstand. this will free up space on the nightstands for alarm clocks and cell phones and such. This simple chandelier will add some interest without trying to be the focal point of the room.

Next we'll add a dresser for storage. This modern white and aqua dresser from Room Service is the perfect scale to allow for a seating area and a desk/homework area in the room.

Next we will add a piece of art above the dresser. My daughter is a very talented artist, so she may want to create her own. We may decide on wall decals, or a gallery wall with various sized pieces. We may even do a grouping of papier mache animal heads (If they don't cause her nightmares!)

We'll now add a homework station for our straight "A" student. This beautiful mirrored desk and orange office chair from West Elm will be ideal. We'll add three floating shelves above the desk for additional storage. Open storage may inspire organization....we'll see.

Next we'll add a seating area or a comfortable spot for friends to hang out. This gorgeous settee from West Elm is another piece in the room that's a nod to classic design with the tufted back. The contemporary lines plus the fabric we'll use to re-upholster will make it suitable for a teenager's hangout spot.

Of course we will add beautiful pillows to tie it into the rest of the room. We'll repeat some of the pillows we did for the bed area.

Now we'll add a chest to the seating area, to function as storage and a surface to rest books etc. This Lucite chest from Vivre is a fun and unexpected addition to the room. This may be another piece that will encourage her to stay organized. We'll also be adding a rug to define the seating area. Shag rugs will always be cool. This 100% polyester pink shag rug from Surya is perfect for some color and comfort under foot.

Now we'll introduce our window treatment fabric. We'll keep it simple with straight pinch pleat panels. This fun feminine fabric from Clarke and Clarke helps to tie our color scheme together.

Now for the rest of the lighting in the room. This chandelier will hang in the center of the ceiling. The owl lamp from West Elm is perfect for the homework area

Now for some additional accessories.

So there you have it. A fun and colorful bedroom makeover for a teenage girl. Hope you are inspired to create and decorate your dream home.

Now for my top three fun finds of the week:

These perfect bum dining chairs (male and female bums) from Room Service will be definite conversation pieces.

On a recent trip to England, I discovered a John Lewis catalog in the airport gift shop and totally fell in love with the pieces. I'd love to make this chair mine!

Talk about an impressive chair! This tallboy wing back chair from Room Service has really gotten my attention.

It's a girl!!!

2011-08-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

I recently received the wonderful news that one of my very best friends, whom I haven't seen in over five years, is expecting a baby girl! Of course we talked about nursery decor, but the reality is that she lives in Florida, while I live in Texas. I decided to do the next best thing, designing a virtual nursery!

I love happy colors in a nursery. The color palette I chose for this virtual nursery design is sure to brighten this space

First let's start out with the background...the walls. We will paint the walls in a crisp white with a green tint which will be the perfect foundation for all the color that's about to happen in this nursery. The color of choice is from Sherwin Williams SW6434 Spinach White

Next we will add a wall decal to act as a focal point in the room. this would be perfect over the changing table. This "Bird in the tree" decal is from Allposters.com.

Now we will add the crib. This beautiful crib is from Young America in the My haven collection. It is available in tons of colors. Our color of choice is a beautiful apple green. Very bold and bright and not very typical for crib colors, but that's why we love it.

Next we will add the fabric for the bedding. These fabrics can be mixed and matched for a fun look

Next we will bring in the other furniture pieces. Every nursery could use a sleeping area for those nights when mommy or daddy needs to crash. A daybed is a great way to bring in a sleeping area without taking up too much space. This daybed is from Pottery Barn.

We will use some of the same fabrics for the bedding.

Next some storage and a changing table

This beautiful accent chest from Steven Shell is the perfect piece that will tie in all the room colors.

This dresser and changing surface from Young America is a perfect match to the crib and will give some continuity to the nursery.

Every nursery needs a chair. This chair is from Wholesale Interiors and will be slipcovered in the beautiful geometric fabric from Kast Fabric

Next for an area rug. rugs are great on a wooden floor or just to define an area in a room. This striped rug from Surya also pulls togther all the colors in the room

We will add the window treatments to the window. In a nursery, having the ability to completely darken the room is not a bad idea, We will do some functional roman shades in this beautiful fabric from Kast Fabrics.

Now for some lighting and accessories

So there you have it. A colorful nursery for a beautiful baby girl.

Hope you are inspired to create the home of your dreams.

My top three "Fun Finds" of the week:

This mid century modern inspired crib from Young America is available in several color choices.

Whether you're rich or not so rich, you will appreciate this money pillow from Vivre. It's a fun, conversation piece.

This side table from Oly Studio is also a fun conversation piece.