Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

There's no place like...

"ruby slippers" image
found here
...home!  As I mentioned yesterday, we had a fabulous trip home for Christmas.  The first half of our adventure was spent with my husband's family.  It was just his parents and his younger brother and such a quiet, relaxing portion of our trip.  The second click of my ruby slippers took us to my family.  My family is neither small nor quiet.  It is perfect chaos and I love every minute of it.

Living so far from our families has been hard at times.  I am usually fine for a few months and then get incredibly homesick.  I haven't lived at home since before I went away to college (almost 15 years ago...yikes!), so it's not like I recently moved, but I think I will always miss being at least within driving distance of my family.  Seeing my son have so much fun with both of our families really hit me and had me wishing we lived a bit closer and saw them more often.  Until then, Skype will have to do.

As much as I cherish our time back "home", our real home is right here for now and despite my feelings of homesickness, I really feel like we have made the most of our current location.  As hard as it was to leave our families last week, coming home gave me a sense of relief.  I LOVE our home and truly cannot imagine being any other place when all is said and done.  We have filled our home with things we love and find interesting, but more importantly, it is filled with our love.

Enough of the mushy stuff and on with some goals to make our home even better and more functional for us:

1.  Create a play room.  For years we have had a dining table that we never use for dining purposes.  Honestly, it just takes up space.  Since our home is on the small side, we need to make the most of our space and decided to make the nook of our entry room, that was once our "dining room",  into a play room.  The other half of the space will remain a living room, but I'd love to spruce it up and make the room feel cohesive, while still multi-functional.  Here are some spaces inspiring the look I hope to achieve:

I adore the look of this Maria Muro space found at French By Design.


This room by  Sara Sjögren  found via desire to inspire just seems fun and energetic...exactly the feel I want for our living/play room.

I used this Palmer Weiss image back in this post.  I like how the play area coexists with the living space.

This play room inspiration from Pottery Barn has me wanting a space that fosters creativity. 


2.  Create a sitting/reading/yoga/reflection room.  Along the same lines as our unused dining space, our guest room really only gets occupied a couple of times each year.  Other than those rare occasions when we have overnight guests, the room is virtually untouched.  Again, when we feel as if we are running out of room in our home, why not make that room more functional for us.  We have already removed the headboard from the room's queen-sized bed and have turned and centered the bed along the back wall, so it resembles a day bed.  I plan to pile it with pillows (which won't be hard since I have a pillow closet), fill the room with books, magazines, a yoga mat, and some relaxing images.  The spaces below somewhat show the look I want in there:

I am loving this space found via houzz.

I used this old image from Domino a long time ago in this post.

This space found via houzz is also appealing to me.


3.  Paint bathroom cabinets as practice for kitchen cabinets and frame the mirror.  At some point I would love to paint the cabinets in our kitchen, since ripping them out and installing new ones is just out of the question.  I would love to do it myself and think practicing on the bathroom cabinets would be a great warm-up and a great test as to whether it will even work.  This bathroom is set up exactly like ours and is inspiring me to go dark with the cabinets:

Jennifer Worts bathroom found via decor pad.
...or perhaps white cabinets like these in this Ashley Goforth bathroom found via decor pad.

There are several more things on the list, but I think this is enough to handle at the moment. ...more to come as these projects get completed!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

In a "design" rut at home...

I have design in quotes above, because I know I am far from a designer.  I do, however, have very strong likes and dislikes when it comes to how I want to put our home together.  Our style is far from "safe", we love color, and like unique pieces.  Lately though, I just cannot seem to get it together.  I have a long list of projects I want to get working on and I have been feeling uninspired.  Whenever I get in that funk, I flip through all of my old Domino magazines and instantly get re-energized and re-introduced to some of my favorite designers who I had completely forgotten about.

Rediscovering the work of Palmer Weiss has pulled me out of my slump and has made me want to get working on some of the items on that long list of mine.  Here are a few of my favorite spaces of hers:


All of the images in this post can be found here!

Palmer Weiss Interior Design, Inc.
1808 Wedemeyer Street, Suite 180
San Francisco, CA 94129 

Honestly, there is no major work that needs to be done in our home, but just a few things that we have wanted to change since we moved in three years ago.  We have just sort of learned to live with some of the things we once hated and have now almost forgotten why we initially wanted to change them.  Oh well...time to spruce things up a bit.  Thanks to Palmer Weiss for giving me just the boost I needed!  :)

Monday, August 16, 2010

Gerald Tolomeo


Happy Monday!  Today is going to be short and sweet...just a few of my favorite spaces from my new designer crush:


I will let his work speak for itself, but will say that I am in love.

All images found via Decorati.
For a more detailed portfolio by Tolomeo, click here!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Ghislaine Viñas, part 2...

ghislaine viñas interior design
Back in 2008, I blogged about my love for NY interior designer, Ghislaine Viñas.  Well, I am going to do it again.  When I am in need of a boost of inspiration, I go to her site and just flip through pictures.  I shared some last time and I want to share more.  Her use of bold color and awe-inspiring accessories makes me want to be a little more adventurous in my own home.  I have been holding back lately, but seeing some of her work makes me want to take the plunge and get moving.

I adore the phone on that chalkboard wall and that little window seat!
I am digging the lighting and would love a table for twelve!
Location:  Greenwich Village Townhouse
New York City, NY
Photography: Elizabeth Felicella


I love the pop of pink!





Such an interesting master bedroom!
I really like this office and am now closer to that pink room!
The pink bedroom!!
Location:  TriBeCa Loft
New York City, NY
Photography: Eric Laignel


 I am inspired by Ghislaine Viñas.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Something Unexpected!

I love when rooms have something unexpected! Whether it is a fabulous piece of art, an outrageous pop of color, an intriguing photo, or something just downright weird, I love when things aren't so predictable and safe! It could be a funky lamp, a crazy sculpture, or perhaps a child's work of art. Maybe it's a unique find from a flea market or a fantastic pillow. Whatever it is, I like when something in a room captures my attention. I enjoy thought-provoking pieces that may or may not make sense, but nonetheless are beautiful!

I have found some spaces that do just that, without going too over the top! Take a look at these interiors by Angus Caravelli Inc.:











Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Beautiful White Spaces!

Usually I am all about color! I like somewhat neutral bones (wall color/furniture) in a room with splashes of color here and there in the form of accessories. I normally stay away from all white interiors, because I feel like they are a little too stark for me.

These spaces from Joey Horton Interiors have me feeling differently. Take a look and see what you think:








These spaces are so clean, fresh, and wonderful! Too white for you? Any thoughts?

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Spring is in the air!

[At least where I live, it is!]
These fresh, airy, sophisticated spaces by Jerry Jacobs Design inspire me to spruce up some areas in my own home and let spring in!





Tiburon, California