I Need Another Rug (Like I Need a Hole in my Head)

I’ve had my eye on this Restoration Hardware daybed for like twenty-five days. Two weeks ago I broke down and bought it for my son’s room and soon realized I paid more for his bed than my own, so I cancelled it.  But I couldn’t stop thinking about.  So I bought it again.

For the living room.   Soon we’ll have a low profile tufted day bed instead of a couch which is cool because we live in California where people lounge all day, in long fluffy hotel robes, in front of a roaring fire while ‘working’ on their iPads.  So now we need to choose a rug that compliments the piece.  My hubby says the only rug he wants is the rug that will prevent me from wanting another rug, but I just can’t decide.

Please help by voting for your favorite out of the following four options.

1) Has a groovy seventies vibe, but I might get bored with it quickly

2) More of a mat than a rug which is super durable and looks modern though it isn’t soft or cozy

3)  Chevron striped rug that looks good in any setting but the print is suddenly everywhere

4) Thick-striped rug with bold presence, but nearly twice the price of all the others

Simply check either 1, 2, 3, or 4 and vote as many times as you’d like

Thanks for your help everyone!

A Stylish Lash Studio

Recently a client came to me with a request, design a space for a custom eyelash business with equal parts style (for the waiting room) and function (where she applies the individual lashes).  She wanted a feminine feel without overly feminine colors, so I layered neutral tones and textures with metallic elements like the soft, silvery feature wall, the golden end table, and the starburst mirrors.

When I started the room was bare with a single harsh fluorescent light blinking dimly above the dark floor.

Working with an unfinished space like this one, and a client like Melissa, is a decorator’s dream.  She gave me the freedom to choose nearly every aspect of the design, aside from the wide plank dark floors she’d already selected which beautifully anchor the space.

 The design took approximately one month to complete and in the coming weeks I plan to share how each piece was selected within the confines of time, space and budget.  Until then, thank you for sticking with me while I’ve been on hiatus!

Making Room in the Master Bedroom

With a baby on the way, everything changes. And every room changes right along with it.  Like the Master Bedroom, which transforms from a peaceful, tranquil space…

(Except maybe for the night when a drunk driver crashed into a line of parked cars beneath the window at 3a.m., finally coming to a halt halfway through the front door of the building across the street.)

And before you know it, plush blankets and tiny teddy bears are piling up faster than you can say baby.

And friends are reminding you that yes, you’ve spent a fortune on the nursery, but of course at first you’ll keep the baby in your room so you can feed, rock, soothe, cuddle and repeatedly check to be sure baby is breathing while losing all hopes of sleeping for the next five years.  You decide you want to create a sweet space for baby in your room, preferably in close proximity to your bed for easy access, nighttime feedings, no sleep.

And since you’ve already spent what seems like a college fund on baby stuff, you don’t want to spend a fortune on new bedding, so you grab a couple of throw pillows off the master bed and line them up along the back of the crib (but of course not while baby is inside which if I don’t say, at least two of my friends will remind me what a dingaling I am thinking I can put a baby in the crib with pillows).  Then you buy an inexpensive crib sheet and use a grey blanket as a crib skirt.  Which you find amusing since Tahoe the Rhino is sitting on your dog eared copy of 50 Shades of Grey.  Get it, grey crib skirt, grey book?  Ha ha. I don’t have the kid yet and I’m already losing sleep.

But if you opted not to find out the sex of your baby, or like us, you are waiting for a call about a foster baby and have no idea if it will be a boy or girl, you need a set up for a girl, too, so you pull a quick switch and add a pink blanket in place of the blue one and a wicker baby basket that works for both sexes but just feels more feminine.

And POOF!, you have another space for baby.  With all the preparation and getting readiness, it never feels like the baby will actually arrive, but they do eventually come…don’t they???

Starlight, Starbright My Pendant Light is Finally Complete!

Do you remember my post from a couple of weeks ago about creating a drum light to cover the apartment grade bulb in the ceiling light?  It didn’t exactly scream sweet, playful nursery…

So when I saw this sweet light

It inspired me to make a light of my own, minus the dangling butterflies and plus a retro modern geometric pattern

However hanging the light was becoming a problem because the shade didn’t quite work with any of the hanging hardware I found, until I came across this nifty little light bulb clip

Which means I actually clipped the drum shade directly on to the light bulb, which would not normally work because you would be able to see that the drum was not surrounding the light, but hanging from it.  But lucky for me the room, being a closet, is the size of, well, a closet, and from no angle can you tell that the lamp shade is clipped to and actually hanging from the light bulb.  Part jimmy-rigged hoe down.  Part genius.  And with that I thought I was done.

But then as I was writing this post, ding dong came the delivery guy and inside the box was an Etsy rubber duck inspired mobile I ordered last week.

And it was one of the cutest things I have ever laid eyes on.  Which brought me back to the dangling butterflies from the inspiration photo.  And with that a rubber ducky dangling, Waverly ensconced, ten dollar lamp shade is now the shining light of our nursery.

Which means I’ll have to buy another mobile for the little one, who after meeting with our Placement Coordinator yesterday, could be here as soon as next week!!

And so we are waiting with breath that is bated and a phone under the pillow, just in case.

A Nursery for Our Foster Baby to Call Home

After a two years, four surgeries, two hospital stays and fifteen plus trips to the ER, my illness is finally behind us and we are on the road to parenthood through the foster and adoption system in San Francisco, CA.  YAY!  I am beyond excited to receive that first call and I’ve been working on a nursery for our foster children to call home.

More than anything, I wanted a bright, cheerful space that would feel a million miles away from the situations many of these children will leave behind.  Even though they are babies, so much of their lifelong development and attachment ability is formed while they’re infants so I wanted lots of bright colors, soft textures and organic toys and blankets to make them feel safe and warm.

I converted an outdated night stand into a navy blue changing table with an anchor hanging above to fit a nautical inspired space that reflects both living in San Francisco and my husband’s love of sailing and the sea.

With such a small room to work with, typical in the city, I tried to make the most of the space by using a dresser with plenty of drawers and cabinets to store an endless supply of onesies, diapers, and all the accoutrements that come along with caring for an infant.  I hung a little clothing rack from the ceiling with nautical rope to display some of my favorite baby outfits, and lined the dresser with books, shoes, and all the adorable things that come with having a baby.

We’re ready for you little one and can’t wait to meet you!

Lots of Love, Andy & Marshall

A Long Distance Nursery Design

My current nursery project is for a long distance client and with the availability of wood samples for each furniture piece and fabric swatches for literally thousands of options, an entire space be created from afar.

The goals for this space are:

1-Create A Gender Neutral Design Centered Around Soft Greens, Such as the Inspiration Nursery Below

2-Work with the Existing Wall Color Which is a Lovely Rich Taupey-Beige Mixed with Grey

3-Implement a theme with birds, owls, or giraffes such as this sweet birdie bumper my client already had in mind

I took the parameters set by the client and came up with the following plan which includes both the rugs she was originally interested in since she hasn’t made a final decision on them yet, the sweet neutral birdie bumper, a soft solid green fitted sheet from Pottery Barn and complimenting crib skirt from Dwell Studio, an awesome resource for modern baby bedding

  Everything blends beautifully with the existing wall color, and now we are considering adding a few strategically placed decals such as the birds and owls from Etsy that could truly round out the space

As with all room designs, it’s a work in progress and not every decision has been finalized, however one of the best parts about nursery design is there’s a firmly set timeline so both myself and my client know we have to work quickly and occasionally make decisions on the fly.

And I’ll be sure to keep you posted on our progress!

Developing a Nursery Design Concept

A nursery design can be inspired in all sorts of ways.  From a powder blue piggy bank and a collection of baby books

to an adorable striped outfit from BabyGap.

An area rug a can be a great starting place, so I’m beginning my next project centered around one of the following rugs.

Both are a soft gender neutral green with a lovely lattice pattern which will pair beautifully with my client’s existing Pottery Barn sleigh crib.

And with these two pieces in place, we can begin selecting bedding, such as a whimsical animal print that adds both color and dimension

Or a pastel medallion patterned sheet adds a bit more sophistication

A crisp, all white bedding set from Restoration Hardware would be a sweet compliment, perfect for a boy or girl

Or a fun, bright turquoise and lime green separates would play beautifully against either rug

 At Carousel Designs you can design your own bedding and the sky truly is the limit

Or there’s always the option of a three piece bedding set complete with a crib skirt, bumper and fitted sheet

When decorating any space from a nursery to a family room to an elegant master suite, I suggest beginning with a single piece of inspiration.  Whether it’s a rug or a cherished picture or a special travel find, the design will come together as long as each new piece plays off the original starting point.