Think happy thoughts

I am slightly obsessed with quotes and affirmations. I like to hang them all over my office to put good things in my head.  

They are good reminders, they encourage me and they help me to stay focused on what is true and lovely. 

"Most of all, let LOVE guide your life." Colossians 3:14

A few months ago I picked up a new one. (I posted about it here). Yesterday I had one of those coveted, lazy don't-get-out-of-your-pajamas-days and finally got around to hanging it. I put it right in front of my desk so it will be front and center while I am working. 

Non. Je ne regrette rien. It means "I have no regrets" (I purchased it here). It was inspired by the Edith Piaf song and is a simple statement that means life is to be lived without regrets and in full.

I love that.

And while I was in my office playing around and hanging the new print, I cleaned up my the magnetic strip that holds some of my other quotes ...

And printed out some new ones!

I think that positive words are one way to get rid of the ugly stuff that circulates in our heads. Usually that stuff is just made up of old thoughts and patterns that we don't want to let go of (or don't know how) and that aren't even true but affect the way we view and respond to different events in our life. 

In order to move forward and grow, we need to replace those old thoughts with new ones that are true and good. Repeating the new thoughts, whether they are positive affirmations or just reminders of what is true, is one way to get rid of that ugly stuff. 

You can find more inspirational quotes on my Pinterest page here.

Framing family photos

Remember these pillows? I posted about them here...

The living room they went into needed a little love on a blank wall ...

So I added a few frames that they can place some family photos in.

I love a photo art wall ... don't you?  All of the frames except one were purchased from aaronbrothers during their penny sale - seriously you cannot beat that sale. The middle frame, I had custom made. I have not had a frame custom made like this before - usually I am framing an actual photo or a piece of art. But while I was at my framer's having some other pieces framed I fell in love with this frame molding and asked him to make me up a frame with an 8x10" opening and with a back that opens easily so that we can put a photo in later. I think it turned out spectacular. 

I love that a few pillows and some (future) family photos was all it took to warm up this beautiful living room.

Happy Monday everyone!

A little of my week ...

Here is a little of what is going on in my neck of the woods this week...

The kitchen remodel (the one where my client has a bet going with her brother) is coming along great - it will be 95% completed by July 3rd. This is the kitchen where we 'broke ground' on June 4th. It looks like we are going to win the 8-week-bet.

The counters are in and so is the backsplash. The painters are finishing up this week and the appliances and cabinet pulls (and plumbing) are scheduled to be installed on Tuesday. If all goes as planned it will be a working kitchen for my client to have her family over for the 4th of July. 

I ordered the counter stools yesterday. I had fallen in love with a couple of fabrics. And they were absolutely perfect for the new kitchen. My client wanted a fun print that would make a statement but it also needed to be kid proof.  So my idea was to put the blue-ish green "vinyl" (which, by the way goes amazingly great with the backsplash) on the seat and front and the other fabric on the back. I pulled the third fabric to use in the adjoining room.

But the problem is that as much as I want it to work, it does not go with the rest of her house. I know what you are thinking ... well, kind of what I was thinking ... once you do a big remodel like a kitchen, all the old stuff kind of looks tired in comparison and ends up getting changed down the road anyway ... so I was hopeful. But it turns out their 'old' is not all that old and they like it. Darn. So we switched. And can I say that I love the new even more?

As disappointed as I was, I feel like I kind of 'won' because we are using white. Ahhh.  The back of the stools will still be the same fabric - just in a different colorway which goes nicely with the wall color (Dunn Edwards Inside Passage) and will show contrast well with the dark countertop (Caesarstone Raven).

These are the stools:

Nathan Anthony

The counter stools were our final decision to make on the kitchen so my work there is basically finished. Now I can sit back and watch it all come together!

I picked up these from the framer today - they are the beginning of a fun art wall for one of the little girl's rooms I am working on ...

And this was delivered - it will be made into some fabulous pillows for a beach house family room. It is an outdoor fabric which is always my first choice if there are kids or animals involved.

And lastly, (is lastly a word?) I stopped by to check on a living room upholstery job today and took a few photos. This chair (there are two of them) had been around for a really long time. It had been recovered at least once before and my client still loved the pink but the fabric was getting worn. So we changed it up ...

It sat too low to the ground before so I had it raised up a few inches and changed the old casters to a nice wooden leg.  We also added some new pillows to freshen up her sofas. (The carpet will be changed next).

Here is the room before we started:

living room before photo

And here it is with the new pillows. The new chairs sit to the right:

living room with new pillows

Hope you are having a great week!

Dining room switch complete

The dining room switch has been completed and although there are a few finishing touches that will need to be added to the sitting room side of the space (we are still waiting for the chandelier, the lamp and rug and a few more pillows to be made) I thought it was time for the big reveal.

Remember, this is the room that used to be the formal living room that never got used. The color scheme for many years was a light blue and red and the client loved it. But she was ready for something new.  She also had a new piece of art she wanted to incorporate somewhere and I thought it was the perfect jumping off place to set the tone for the new room by adding some modern touches and a some brighter colors to a previously very traditional space. 

I wanted to bring in a darker blue - a navy - that would richen up the blues that were already woven throughout this lovely beach home and add some turquoise for a new change.  It all started coming together when we found this Ikat fabric from B|Berger to use on the backs of the new wingback chairs.

Here is the mood board I put together to help the client see my vision. The pencil legs on the Petrie chairs from Crate and Barrel reminded me of the people in the painting:

The sideboard was added and the art wall installed:

The bar cabinet that previously separated the two rooms was moved into the family room where it could be enjoyed when they entertain outdoors:

The new chairs for the sitting room arrived and the new artwork framed and hung. I left room for a 24" high lamp with a white drum shade to sit on the new nesting table. The rug is on it's way and the turquoise beaded chandelier should arrive soon too.

Are you ready for the final reveal?

Here is what the room looked like before:

BEFORE

And here is the room now:

AFTER

A successful switch!

Photo wall installed, the power of TWO and Burton

I had another busy day today. But thanks to my sister it was easier than it should have been. My sister, who is talented and creative on her own (the photographer) assists me with installs from time to time. She is wonderful and helpful and most importantly, makes every job more fun!

I have this little issue with staying up too late and not getting enough sleep. It is not good for me. I stayed up too late again last night and so when morning came I was dragging. I should have been up early to put together the 10+ frames I needed for today. But I didn't. And so I was running late this morning and put in a distress call to my sister. "Can you come and help me with a small art wall today?" I asked her. She said, "Yes ... when? "Now," I said. And she did.

It wasn't a big job but I needed to be somewhere else in the afternoon and having a second set of hands made that possible and less stressful.

Here is the wall before:

Okay, I know what you are thinking. Why didn't I change the wood wall. I couldn't. Not in this phase of the remodel. The wall extends upwards to the second floor and throughout and it was too large of a project to tackle. We will deal with that another time. I put the same wood in my bedroom when I was a teenager (another story). It is not easy to remove. Ask my mom! 

The wall is just beyond the entry and one of the first things you see when you enter the house. We have just finished remodeling the kitchen and dining area (see the posts about that here and here) and I wanted to bring a little more of the client into the space (make it more personal). So we decided on a family photo wall.

I selected frames last week and came up with a preliminary design of the wall based on the measurements of the space. What I didn't take into account was the light switch right in the middle of the wall (oops). So I had to adjust it a bit. I also decided I wanted a lighter look so I eliminated one of the larger bronze frames.

My sister (my assistant, the talented photographer) will photoshop (restore and resize) the client's photos and then they will be placed in the frames. Here are the frames installed:

Most of the photographs will be changed into black and white. There are a few that will stay 'color' but we are going to mute them so that the overall look is more subtle. 

I want the wall to tell a story, but I don't want it to detract from the incredible view that is just beyond it:

And speaking of views, a friend sent me this tonight ... apparently her cat, Burton, reads my blog! ;)

Smart cat! (How cute is he?!!)