Generosity

Lorie Sandoval is the sister-in-law of a very good friend of mine. This is Lorie with her 12-year-old daughter, Sadie and her husband Leo.  Lorie has late stage ALS.  And mounting medical bills.  If you can, please read about her here and see if there is any way you can help. Anything. Even just a prayer.

I thought I would show you a current project. This living room is still 'in progress'. It is missing an area rug, the artwork framed and window coverings.  But it is a great start.  I love the color palette. 

The chairs are from Room and Board and the pillows and lamps are from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.  

Distractions

It is MONDAY and today I have been thinking about distractions and Mondays in general. And momentum. And blogging. 

Ah... don't you love her? I bought her in a photographer's shop in Tuscany.

I didn't get to most of my list today; I spent a lot of time working on my new blog header.

And so I am thinking about distractions ... and momentum. And working at home.

Working at home can be a distraction in itself. For me, it is critical that I am organized and have places for everything and everything in its place. It helps me stay focused. Making lists helps. Sticking to the list is even better! 

Here is my tip of the day: Start each day fresh. Take a few extra minutes before going to bed and pick up your shoes, put away the dishes and throw away the junk mail (recycle!).  It might 'seem' easier to leave it for the next morning but it isn't. Waking up with a clean slate is such a gift.  See you tomorrow!

Faith

This is the thing I hold most precious in my life; my faith in God, and His Son Jesus Christ who is the designer and creator of all things!  I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!  John 1:1-4

Fall colors

I was feeling a little under the weather today & it was cold and gloomy for a Southern California day (and our football team was getting slaughtered) so I went up to get a few pumpkins to brighten my front door & my spirits.

Don't you just love all the different shapes and colors?

For more inspiration, visit Room to Inspire and check out Chelsea's Halloween Decorating! 

Empty Nest

My daughter got married this summer and left us with an empty bedroom.  She had been away before (5 years of college and living on her own afterwards) but this was the first time we knew she was not coming back to re-claim her room.  My youngest daughter who still has another year or so of college 'says' she will not ever be back permanently and doesn't really care what happens to her room (well, trust me, I do know that things can change - I am hoping she will be back at least for a 'time').  She did however express that she would like to take over her sister's old room for when she comes home to visit. So it was time to do some re-arranging!

Our already small budget shrank considerably these last two years and paying for college tuition and a wedding certainly didn't help. So as much as my heart was pounding with excitement with the thought of re-doing a room in the house, I also knew I had to hold back considerably. I decided to turn our youngest daughter's old room into a guest room and a second office for my husband (just a place to go and jump on a computer quickly) and I moved her things into her sister's old room. Painting the second office was easy - it was a wonderful green based yellow (Hampton Green 2150-50 by Benjamin Moore) which went with the rest of the house until I repainted this last year in the grays. So I selected a color that worked with my color scheme (Benjamin Moore's Nightingale AF-670). I love it and it is perfect for a more masculine room.  (I'll show you more photos of that soon).

But my dilemma with the other room is that although I wanted to change the color (lavender), I was sentimentally attached to the part of the wall above the shelf. Ten years ago, when my daughter was 16 she painted a beautiful quote in silver paint. She had taken everything out of her room, painted the quote and surprised me when I came home from work.

To laugh often and love much ... to appreciate beauty... to find the best in others ... to give of one's self ... this is to have succeeded 

I love the quote she choose and I LOVE that she did it. I am just not ready to lose that. So I decided to leave the wall color and work with it. I actually did paint the wall under the shelf one shade darker than what it was and left the top alone which matched because the light hits them differently (North Cascades - 1411 Benjamin Moore).  The bed was already there and I brought in my favorite piece from my youngest daughter's previous room (the only one that fit!).

I added the gorgeous rug that I had purchased to use in the restroom at the Newland Barn for Hayley and Emmanuel's wedding (see wedding post).

I painted the bronze frame on the other sentimental thing in that room I was not ready to give up (a  John Singer Sargent poster I purchased from Museum of Fine Arts on my first trip to Boston) and a previous 'bronze' cherub white 

The only new item I added to the room was an inexpensive nightstand from West Elm and a flower bowl from Ikea. I pulled the rest of the lamps and accessories from around the house and used the bedding that we had on the bed when the room was Hayley's. I found some previously used Euro shams in my linen closet. The room feels fresh and 'new' and yet it still feels like I have kept a little of what it was before. Change is fun but sometimes holding on to the past is worth it.

Decorating with mirrors

Decorating walls can be the hardest part of finishing up a room.  If I have a client with lovely art, it is simple to find creative ways to feature what they already own.

  

But when I come across a client that doesn't have anything to put on their walls, it gets a bit harder. Maria Killam who writes Colour Me Happy, talked about how important art and accessories are in giving a client a finished home and the challenge of finding good affordable art in her blog this week (you can read her blog here).  

Living in Southern California, original art is easy to find but it is often cost prohibitive. Finding interesting and unique art on a limited budget can be more of a challenge but not impossible.

One source that I have found to be helpful is Z Gallerie. They have lovely affordable reproduction art that can be as effective as the more expensive original art:

Framed photographs are another inexpensive and personal way to bring art into your home.  Framing pages from  calendars, art books and even fine magazines can be a unique way to bring your own personal style into your home.

But my favorite way to decorate walls is by using mirrors.  Mirrors can enlarge your space & they can reflect light in a beautiful way.  They are a wonderful backdrop for the things you love!

Strategically placed mirrors can bring the outside in.

Mirrors are a beautiful and inexpensive way to decorate your walls no matter what your budget is.  Even a grouping of inexpensive framed or unframed mirrors from Ikea can make a wonderful statement!  Here is another great site for online mirrors (click here).

THEY'RE HERE!

Are you ready for the Holidays?

One of the (many) fun things I get to do is help decorate my client's houses for parties or for the holidays. I love that they trust me enough to ask me to help them with that! But honestly, when the first signs appear that Fall is here and Halloween decorations start showing up in the stores I dig my heals in and resist the whole idea.  

 Until I get that first call.  There is something about starting the process for someone else that always gets me in the mood to do the same at my house.

Like making my finger cookies!

I love the challenge and excitement of going through boxes of decorations and deciding how I am going to use them.  It changes each year and depending on the mood I am in.  Last year I was in a more 'creepy' mood and this year, I kept things a bit more pretty.  Obviously a lot depends on what I have to work with; what props and decorations I have.   

Happy decorating!