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?
E

Dining Room will have coral chinoiserie drapes!

Entry

project progress

Lack of posting makes E a very dull girl, I know...but I am getting a lot done on various projects. My mom's house, which if you remember was a dark, cluttered mess of antiques and collections:

 ...has really transformed! The living room is super awkward because it has open walls on two sides and the tv is in an odd spot. We have painted the entire house white, totally changed the entry with a custom light fixture and bench cushion, and modernized the kitchen seating area. I thought the long, straight sofa above was too bulky in the living room so I got her a round coffee table and two curving sofas. A circular seating group has made all the difference!

Now we are working on art, side tables, etc, but we have come so far in just three months - I am so proud of my mother. She was once obsessed with antiques and all her collections - and she still insists that almost everything be hand made by her artist and craftsmen friends - but now she loves modern, spare design and we have had so much fun together working on her house. I will cherish this time forever.

My awesome client who I did this living room design for:

...is now ready to work on her master bedroom. It is a smallish room with a gorgeous, moody gray on all walls and trim. Of course she has some gorgeous deco pieces from her family - including a chinese deco rug and burl chest. I took over a ton of fabrics to make roman shades - they look so different with the light shining through them - you really can't see all the bold colors.

But that is what I am dealing with right now. Will definitely keep you posted... Have a great weekend!
E

Hallway to Heaven...

I seem to be on a hallway kick lately. Along with my mother's hallway (in the last post), this weekend I had some progress on two client's hallways. One has an amazing art collection and this huge Deco credenza, and the hallway is painted a super dark blue lacquer...

We had these two old chairs rebuilt and her turquoise monogram put on lemon yellow seats - added the huge mirror, and hung some art....it is looking like a chic gallery in there...

The other client has the longest, tallest hallway I have ever seen running down the center of her house! It looked like a hospital ward before. We chose this fun wallpaper, the West Elm lights and dhurrie rugs, and the moldings two years ago! She has literally had the wallpaper in a closet for two years. This weekend it finally went up and we are so thrilled we keep saying we are on a "wallpaper high"!

 It will look even more amazing when we hang some photos and a mirror on it. It is like walking through a happy garden! Totally inspires her little girls! What do you think?
E

coming along...

You know we are working on my mom's house - taking it from dark and cluttered to modern spare farmhouse. Very inspired by Darryl Carter's white rustic modern interiors. My mom's house has great beams and wide plank floors, and now we have finished painting the interior white, so all of her collections stand out like art in a gallery. Still have lots to go (living room and dining room finished by summer, hopefully), but we are very happy with the entry and the little sitting area in the kitchen. Will keep you posted!
E

Modern Chinoiserie

So excited to have finished this part of the room for my friends/clients Bessie and Joe! We still have to do a couple things on the outsides of this space, and then move over to the dining area, but I got so excited I had to take some pics yesterday. I am obsessed with this lime and Chiang Mai dragon scheme (as I have used it in two projects), but it plays so differently in the different projects. In Maddie's big girl room it is young and funky, and in this space I think it is chic and modern - especially because Bessie and Joe have so many great vintage pieces...
We will definitely have this room photographed again later, but I just wanted to show you our progress!
E

busy weekend

This past weekend was a blur of work - took drapes over to "Chinoiserie Chic" client...I cannot wait for you guys to see this living room. Lime drapes, Chiang Mai dragon pillows, aqua velvet chairs, lacquer coffee table, and tons of vintage treasures passed down from family..

I also sent this sofa off to be reupholstered! It was one of my Ebay finds and I am having it done in the palest flax linen...

I did my fall wardrobe freshen up at Target. You guys, they have some awesome basics there - this camel blazer and red cords came home with me and were only $20 bucks each!

I have been working on a painting for my sis' house - still have three or four layers to go, but it is coming out great with a lot of depth. If you want to do the same thing, I suggest laying down a solid layer of color, then scraping on sections with a palette knife, then brushing on layers of watered down paint, etc.. - in other words using a different technique and texture each layer so you get lots of dimension...

Hope your week is just as productive...happy humpty hump day!
E

What i am working on...

My sister has this open shelving on the end of her island that was supposed to be full of cookbooks:

But there aren't enough cookbooks to fill it - so I am starting her a collection of vintage cookie jars like these:

So much fun but requires HOURS of Ebay searching! Also my Sweet and Sour Nursery girl is growing up and moving into a big girl room so her new baby sis can have the nursery! Here is a hint of the new room:

Of course all in an aqua painted room! I can't wait to get these projects done...I am tired, people.
E

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!
E

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!
E

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...
E

Saturday Spaces - For my new client

Here are some spaces that are inspiring my new client - who has the super contemporary space and loves antiques...we will have a baby grand piano in the middle of the room!

** And we may get that exact credenza in the first pic! So excited...Happy weekend, loves!
E