Monday 26 August 2013

Let's Talk About This Sink

A sink made out of wood.  Love, love, love.  Would like to know how it is holding up*...because I want one. Stat.
 Should we also talk about the concrete counter top and wood wall?  Beautiful.
Image found via This Old House Magazine

*The wood is not exposed.  I don't have the article on me anymore but I do remember they sealed it several times with something strong.  

Sunday 25 August 2013

Quiet Time-Henry Turns 2

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:26-27
Today Henry turns two.  The sense of gratitude I have for him is overwhelming and I am not able to put it into words.  I thank God for choosing me to be his mother.  So many times since he came into our lives I have thought, "If I love him this much, so much I think my heart just explode, imagine what God's love for me must be".  And just like that, no matter what is going on, everything is okay.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Pint Sized Sofa

Q: Is there anything better than a classic Chesterfield sofa? A: Yes, a mini version!

Monday 19 August 2013

Details

Leather and Nails...
Amazing Brass Railing...
 Don't even know where to begin...
 Mirrored Transoms....

Thursday 15 August 2013

Shopping For A Good Cause

You have heard me talk before about my good friend Bullen, truly an inspirational person who I am honored to know.  He continues humbly on his quest to complete his education here in the States in addition to continuing his mission work to aid the women, orphans and poor of South Sudan.  Part of his fundraising includes personally hand making crosses, which you have seen here before

 He has launched a new Etsy shop which I am very excited to introduce to you today.  You can purchase crosses HERE and you can read more about his amazing, courageous story on the Imparting Hope Website.  Here is just a sampling...


Tuesday 13 August 2013

This Blog is a-Movin'!

Same blog, new location:


I'm saying goodbye to this web address but Pure Style Home is moving with me!!
{image via here}

If you've received this post in your email, and would like to continue receiving these emails, please click here to visit the new blog and sign up.  (It's on the new left-hand sidebar where it says SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL)  

Also, some RSS subscribers may need to update their feed URL. Please be sure to update the RSS feed URL to http://feeds.feedburner.com/PureStyleHome

In a day or two, this web address will automatically be redirected to the new one.  If you have a blog and have the time though, I'd love it if you could update my new address on your blog roll.  It's the power of blog rolls that really helps people find you!!

I've got a new post up today- about our recent photoshoot- so please check it out at www.laurenliess.com/pure-style-home

Thanks so much for moving with me!!  See you there!!



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Monday 12 August 2013

Mini B&A

I had this large shiny thing in "inventory" waiting for the right space...
It now sits in a perfect home- an old elevator shaft made into a private booth at Carrigan's Pub, a project I throughly enjoyed being a part of.  
Additional pictures of the finished pub coming soon!

Wednesday 7 August 2013

Need.

Just going to file this refrigerator under the title Should Live With Me. I am IN LOVE.  Maybe the title of this post should have been, "If I was an appliance, this would be it".
Via Thanks to Pinterest

Monday 5 August 2013

Fern Star in Yellow in a Reader's Living Room!

This weekend, I received an email from a reader, Nichole, who had purchased yards & yards of our Fern Star in yellow:

{Lauren Liess Textiles' Fern Star in Yellow, available here}

I originally drew Fern Star in pencil, a look inspired by antique botanicals:


Nichole was writing to share a photo of her beautifully decorated living room with me -using Fern Star- and I was so thrilled to see it!!  I asked if I could share it on Pure Style Home & she graciously agreed.  I love how Nichole dressed up the curtains and brought in another shot of blue with the banding:

{work room services by Bill and Mario with MBP Interior Design Work Room Services in Dallas}

I also love how Nichole's style comes across so clearly in her living room, which she decorated herself.  It feels so cheerful& pretty & freshly traditional.   I was glad to see how versatile the pattern is.  Nichole's mix of elements like the modern parsons table with traditional ginger jar lamp really gives the room a collected vibe.  It's interesting and has an energy about it...  it feels like it was put together over time

Here's Fern Star in my friend, Helen Norman's guest barn.  (Guest Barn??? Yes Please!!! :)


That's Grizzly in the bed:


We've also used Fern Star on curtains in our clients' home, but they were very different from Nichole's more tailored curtains,




We paired them with matchstick shades for a relaxed look:


Now that I've seen Nichole's banded Fern Star, I'm itching to try it out!! :) :)

Thank you so much to Nichole for sharing and for using our fabrics in her home!!! It's so exciting to me that something that started out so small a year or two ago is now a part of others people's lives!! :)

And finally, I am MOVING THE BLOG very soon!!! (wahoo!!!)

The new blog address is www.laurenliess,com/pure-style-home
and soon this blog will automatically redirect you to the new address.  I'll be posting instructions shortly on how to update your RSS Feed and email subscriptions.  

I made the switch because I wanted to condense all of my websites into one cohesive site.  The new website incorporates the blog, my professional website, and fabric shop all in one.  We worked with super-talented Emily Thompson of Indie Shopography who created this:





See you over there soon!!



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Making A Case...

This house first caught my attention because of this light fixture, the same I used here.

Then I started to really study the space and this house make a very strong case for a black, white and natural color palette.  I really love it.

Friday 2 August 2013

The Final Lap

Next week, we are photographing the house that's consumed us for the past 11 and a half months.  Almost a year ago, having just finished our house, and having out 3rd son, we stumbled upon a promising real estate listing a couple of towns over. The new house would be a complete redo and an almost total gut job.

{the new house, before}

Our heads told us to stay put because we were finally finished working on our house and we were so happy with it, but the ever-persistent "gut" said to go for it.  With two boys and an infant...


... we plunged ourselves into a full on renovation:

{we lived here throughout the entire process}

It was truly the fastest year of my life.  The whirlwind we entered into has been exhausting, exciting, rewarding and all-consuming.  Throughout this process, I've felt so excited and happy with how everything's been going, but I've also felt stretched very thin.  I work on doing the house after or before work is over, so our free time has been so limited.  In a sense, it's like I'm slap happy a lot of the time.  All along I've trusted that everything would fall into place and have felt a real peace inside- so I wouldn't say this process has been emotional at all or that I've felt anything but awesome about it- but it's more like my brain is on overload and I just sort of have to shrug or laugh at the amount of work that needs to be done in so little time.  In short, I haven't regretted our decision for even a moment but I am SO ready to relax a bit and have a little more time.


{need more moments like these}


So...  it's all coming down to this next week.  We chose to put this insane deadline on ourselves because it was really important to me that the house be photographed when it's in full bloom...   My house is all about indoor-outdoor living and when you're inside, the outside is right there with you. The outdoors are so much a part of the house's design that we need to photograph it at a time that really illustrates this feature.  It's pretty much why I fell in love with the house in the first place.



We have people coming to stucco the fireplace today and there are a few miscellaneous painting and touch up projects we need to get done.  Curtains are going up, artwork is being hung, and long-awaited pillows and bedding are arriving.  It's so satisfying!!  But also a bit nerve-wracking...  will everything actually get here in time??  I'm sure a few things won't and I don't know what to do about them.  We bought a dining table online a couple of weeks ago from a company in Pennsylvania (with local pick up only) and have not been able to get in touch with them about picking it up.  Without it, I don't really know what to do, but we can't exactly drive up there and knock on the door of the shop without knowing if they're open.   Stuff like that... and there's a lot of it.  To be honest, this is exactly what it's like when working on clients' projects, but the fact that it happens during work hours makes such a difference.  We've been doing everything on borrowed time.

{Christian}


Christian- our six year old- once told me that he liked our old house better.  When I asked him why, he said "Because you and Daddy work too much here."   Made me sad and feel terrible.   (Where do kids learn how to do that guilt thing?!! ;) ;)

Anyway, please send some good thoughts (and energy!!) our way this next week.  Helen (our photographer) will be shooting Wednesday through Friday so we have a few more days for things to actually get here.  Fingers crossed!!!

{To do before next week: stain the house, fix the garden edges, among other things}


We're working out what we'll actually be doing with the photos of our house once we have them, and I just cannot wait to share them.  (I was always that annoying kid who wanted to show my parents or grandparents what I was excited about: "Look at what I made!!"  .. So I guess I haven't changed much.)   I have been thinking of a magazine to publish it and am also playing with other ideas.  This house has been such a part of us, and we've poured so much into it.  We think of it as our "forever" house.  It's not big or impressive, but it's ours and we love it.  I can't wait to share it.


 
ps- In the midst of all of this, we're launching a brand-new website.  This blog will be moving.  At this point, it's still up, but when we make the move (any day now) this blog will automatically redirect to the new one at laurenliess.com/pure-style-home    I'll post info on how to refresh your subscription and all of those fun techy details soon!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.