Birmingham Fam Progress

Making some progress on my sister's house in Birmingham! We really hope to get the dining room drapes done by Christmas - it will be so dramatic and really make the front of the house - but the latest is this eat-in kitchen nook that I am super happy with. I did the silhouettes of my niece and nephew and they turned out great! What do you think?
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Dining Room will have coral chinoiserie drapes!

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silhouettes

Speaking of art, another super easy thing you can do in your own home is a silhouette of your child, pet, or whoever! Jonathan Adler sells small ones for a few hundred dollars and you can do this yourself - just google the how-to online... My brother, sister, and I sat for silhouette portraits when we were young and they are still hanging in my mom's house. I really love this idea as it is so graphic and can really be a spot of color. I had my niece and nephew sit for me a few weekends ago and here are the results! Can't wait to hang these in the kitchen at my sis' house...
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jack

My nephew Jack had almost all of his stuff already. Unlike Lily's room, where every single item except the bed and chest were new, we didn't have new things to work with for Jack. We wanted his room to look classic and clean, so we strung his sports pendants on a string and hung them all across the window wall. I also got his amazing rope chandelier from West Elm, I think. It is my favorite thing in the room. His twin beds are antiques and the black out shade is Pottery Barn. The best part of his suite is the charcoal grout in his bathroom! He is a sports nut and he loves his room; it makes me so happy that he is comfortable in there.
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Birmingham Fam progress

So while I have been stuck in Birmingham (still no power in New Orleans today), I have been working on my sister's house. We ordered a credenza for the front entry -

We will do a bright lamp and convex mirror over it

And we went shopping for a coffee table for the living room. While out we found these adorable charcoal stools, as well.

Powder room with trellis wallpaper

Antique armoire needs to be rehabbed - love these stools!

Flowers always make the room feel good

Still need TV and window treatments

So we still need lots in this room - window treatments, a TV, small side table in between chairs and another side table and lamp by sofa, and I am painting a canvas for over the sofa - but I am so pleased with how it is coming out! It is so hard for my sis and her fam to see the big picture, and it is easy to get depressed or frustrated with empty walls, etc. but now they can see a direction and can get excited.

Of course I am most anxious about the dining room and breakfast nook but those are still months away since custom window treatments are costly...I am praying for this project to get published since I have worked on every detail from the moment of ground breaking - will keep you posted all along the way!

Meanwhile, I am flying home tomorrow afternoon - I have decided that this is the last hurricane season that I can endure. I cannot evacuate like this every year. Thank goodness I decided that I want to move next year. I hope I have power when I get home! Happy Labor Day weekend to the rest of the country!
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sports nut

My nephew is a total sports nut and so we went berserk with all his sports stuff...this room is not finished and fit for photographs until it has the window shades, etc... but here is a progress peek - I am obsessed with the dark grout in his tiny bath!
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a peek....

Well I am back from Birmingham and it was a great trip. The only disappointment for me was that it is impossible to get lots of natural light into my niece's bedroom and bath so the photos do not do the spaces justice at all! Her bedroom and bath turned out so dreamy and warm with a pink ceiling and white walls; they glow! But with all my color correcting in photoshop they are coming out a little cold and lifeless. Anyhoo, I can't post pics of the bedroom if I ever hope to have it published, but here is a sneak peek at Lily's bathroom...

 

 

I hope you love it as much as we do - the ribbon Venetian mirror from Wisteria is huge and gorgeous! I highly recommend it...
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load in

Headed over to Birmingham tomorrow to help load in my sis' house! Here is the last time it will be empty...so exciting!
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projects smojects

Well things are really moving along. This was the last week on the Birmingham Fam build (aka my sister's house), and they close this morning! Here is a little more progress with paint, etc... I am so obsessed with my nephew's shower - have always wanted to do the white subway with dark grout!

And in a wildly different look, my client finally got her mirrors and rugs in! The matching chandelier will be in front of this mirror so the two rooms will echo each other, and I will do black shades on the chandeliers, I think. Chairs are being ordered now - we are hoping to have these two rooms done by Christmas!

Happy weekend!
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Birmingham Fam Lighting...

Here is another taste of my sister's Birmingham house project! Some of the lighting in the house - even though we had to use some big box store fixtures (Ballard and Restoration Hardware) to save our budget, I think it still makes a home look special when you choose your own fixtures to go with your decor, instead of just living with plain contractor installed lighting. Even a $20 paper lantern looks amazing when you thoughtfully choose to use it. Hard to believe they are moving in soon - one more week! What do you think of our lighting?
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Dining room coral chandelier

Family room polyhedral chandelier

Small rope chandelier in my nephew's room

Large cage chandelier in living room - my favorite!

house progress

Hard to believe that my sis will be moving in this house in two weeks! The team at Twin Construction in Birmingham, Alabama has been amazing - they move so fast - and everyone there is not only nice but gorgeous! It makes going out to the work site a real thrill... heehee Here we are in the middle stages a couple of weeks ago... this week they are working on floors (again) and countertops are already in and lighting up - can't wait to see it complete!
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customization

I am a firm believer that custom fabrics (drapes, pillows, etc..) make a home special. When everyone is using the same neutral upholstery and case goods, you have to make your house stand out with fabrics and accessories. Here is a hint of what is to come in my sister's house - 20 pillows I had made for the living room, master bed, and my niece's room! I cannot wait for this house to come together. Next project - drapery...
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