Baby Conlon

This is Baby Conlon's room. Marybeth is a friend of my VERY talented designer friend, Erin! Marybeth wanted a peaceful room for her little one on the way. Erin took care of everything, literally everything, except the walls...that is where I came in. I always enjoy working with Erin, and meeting Marybeth through her was an added bonus.

I was thrilled when the girls told me they had a vision of a painted tree on the wall. I love the symbolism of the tree in the nursery...knowledge, life... I was even more excited that they went for the painted stripes and the idea of the tree changing colors between each stripe. If you look carefully, you will see that the tree gets slightly darker or lighter based on which stripe it is intersecting.The mama and daddy luv birds will watch over Baby Conlon as he sleeps:)See the painted detail changing colors as it passes from the light blue to dark blue stripe? Finding ways to implement subtle transitions really adds interest to a space.Marybeth is keeping Baby Conlon's name a secret until he makes his big debut. Once the name is revealed, we will put hand painted wooden letters inside this "name plate." The letters will be painted in the white and cream colors used in the tree. I will paint them in a vertical stripe pattern, alternating the white and cream.

I also have to address the fact that Marybeth left me square water one day. Little did she know, she was giving me the BEST mid day treat. I mean square water IS the best water...can i get an Amen?? :)

Drake

This is Drake's room. Kay, Drake's mama, is BFF with my SIL, Leeanne. See how we are all connected? :) Kay is from California and wanted a simple beachy feel. She found the surf board that the name is tacked to and we painted it to match the color scheme she had in mind.

One of my favorite things about this room is that it reads baby and masculine at the same time. That is not always an easy thing to achieve. I also love that this room will grow with baby Drake as he gets way too cool for a nursery. That never happens though, right? Ave, Hank, Owen don't get ANY ideas about growing!

Kay found the round rug that is in the floor. I think it was an excellent choice. Putting an organic shape in with all of the hard lines of our stripes softens things just enough.

The surf board for the name was truly an excellent find. I love that although the surf board was originally bright pink and green, Kay was not afraid to make the purchase! Kay had the vision to spot an excellent piece that fit our overall look, knowing colors can almost always be changed. I also like this piece because it echos our theme in a sophisticated manner. I am all about using found objects and infusing three dimensional elements into two dimensional spaces!

Baby Drake, we hope you get here safe and sound! Can't wait to meet you.

Hudson

I really wish I had a picture of Hudson at the top of this post. Hudson is by far the cutest part of this room. Imagine huge blue eyes, bleached blond curls and a little voice that says "hi!" when you walk in the room. So cute! This room was for my client, and now friend, Casey. She wanted a blue and brown theme.

I added a touch of metallic paint to portions of the brown detailing. The light will catch it just right for subtle interest in the pattern work.

This was a fun twist on a traditional stripe pattern. Something as simple as adding scallops to a stripe can turn an often seen design into something custom and special. I was so sad when this project was complete. I became spoiled rotten working with someone I developed a fast friendship with.

Enjoy your Monday!

PS Please visit Taylor at Barefeetcreative.com to drool over more of her fabulous photography! Thank you, Taylor for sharing your talent with me.

Paxton's Bathroom

This is Paxton's bathroom. She is at that fun little tween age. She wanted something fun and fresh. I think we managed to do that.

A bathroom is a great place to take a risk. If you are a lover of color, but afraid to have color in your home...have fun infusing color in your bathroom. You and your guests won't be spending tons of time in this area. I think people expect something fun in an often small space.

Adding a turquoise glaze infuses a traditional touch, custom glazing, in a more modern way.I love that even the ceiling is engaged in this space.The pictures don't quite to this justice, but synthetic glitter is hand blown into the paint to add a little extra sparkle, like in the chandelier.Thank you Taylor for taking pictures of some recent work. More updates to come...

Someone else please tell me you didn't know this...

I can't believe I didn't know this glorious furniture painting tip! I cannot tell you how many pieces of oil base painted furniture I have sanded to the bone. And if you have done that before you know, it is no small task! I only paint with latex products to preserve my health and the health of my clients. I use a glossy polyurethane if I want the deep luster look of oil based paint. All that to say, am I the only one who didn't know that you can paint any piece of furniture with oil based primer and then follow it with oil OR latex paint? Not sure how I missed that, but am pretty sure it will shave years off my life. Thought it was worth sharing. So, if you have a fabulous vintage piece to refinish, you can hit it with oil based primer and then paint away with that safe latex, non toxic non VOC paint!

And while we are at it. Look at this cutie pie room I have been designing. These paisleys will be gigantic. Maybe three to a wall.

I feel the need to preface this next statement with the fact that I buy all organic, no hormone added, no dye added food from Newflower Farmer's Market. However, tomorrow is Whataburger's Bday and if you wear orange you get a free burger. Just sayin.

It's coming...

The date has been set. Taylor's little fingers may fall off. I have (finally!) booked Taylor to come shoot a bunch of recent work so that I can do another six week series of updates. I know you are all losing sleep over the lack of work posted lately. The last Friday in September is the day! Prepare yourselves for baby nurseries, furniture, model homes and pictures galore!

Until then here is a project in the works and a television cabinet.

before

after

I have been on a kids' room kick lately. Let me tell ya, it has been fun! I had to send pictures of this to a designer friend and thought I would share them. Typically I rip these out of my book and let the home owners hang on to them during the deicsion making process. So, I thought I would share them since I actually had them. I am so excited about this project. I love a modern twist on a traditional idea.

if you are wondering, she has chosen option#2 for her baby's (secret, to be revealed at birth, my kinda woman) name. i chose drew as a stand in.

Last, I feel compelled to share with anyone in driving distance of DFW about these delicious babies being on sale today. Go wait in line. It is so worth it. Just don't mix your cookies. Or your wife will want to toss her cookies.

Happy Monday!