Words of Wisdom

Exciting News for Friends!

Have you seen that One King's Lane is partnering with 9 design bloggers to do a tastemaker tag sale starting tonight?  Some of my favorite girls are in this great round-up & be sure to check it out!!

Also, did you watch Million Dollar Decorator?  (looooved that show.)  If you did, you probably loved Kathryn Ireland.  She's one of those people you just immediately want to be friends with.  She is hysterical & insanely good at what she does.  This summer I read one of her books, Creating a Home, and it got me itching to find some crazy cool rundown house and make it gorgeous the way she did.   Anyway, she's also having a tastemaker tag sale on One King's Lane this Saturday with items from her archives, collected from her summers spent in France along with her brand new bedding collection.  Check out One King's Lane to shop. 



And, my friend Nadia Subaran of Aidan Design and her partner John Schmiedigen are opening a lighting division at  Aidan Design this October!

Nadia also designed a room in the DC Design Showhouse this past Spring (see gorgeous kitchen above! the Apt Therapy Event mentioned in the pic was from last spring; sorry for the old news ;)  and she is one of the most talented, kind and genuine people I've met in the industry.  Congratulations Nadia!!

And finally, today we installed a client's master bedroom and I can't wait to share pics.   (tomorrow or tonight!)   Here's the 'before' & I'll give you a hint that the we kept the bed and the 'after' has Les Indiennes bedding- mm mm mm!:

{My client's bedroom BEFORE}

ps- Is anyone going to Market in High Point this Fall?  I'm heading down for the weekend & Monday so hope to see you there!!




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

The Nursery- The Big Board

Yesterday I was on the ground playing with HBS and randomly snapped these pictures. I will post details of the board we made next week. I designed it, Patrick made it, but of course it wasn't that simple....More to come as well as nursery pictures, I promise! I am waiting for pictures that are better than ones I can take. In case you were wondering why I had a camera while lying on the ground this was the reason...

Love The One You're With- The Newlywed Diaries

I am thrilled to have a fellow Birmingham blogger and friend Jennifer as a guest blogger.The Newlywed Diaries is one of the first blogs I read, even before I knew Jennifer. I have loved following along with her life from the changes to her house to the birth of her sweet girl. I am so excited to have her here today!

This series has really taken on new meaning in the last year, as we became parents and I left my full-time career to stay at home with our little girl. Dropping my income has been an adjustment, and the projects around our 1959 rancher have taken a backseat to oh, say DIAPERS. We are definitely learning to love the one we're with - for better or worse. Here are a few things that keep me in love with our imperfect - yet perfect for us - little home.


Learn to admire without the need to acquire. I can't take credit for this one; Erika wrote about hearing that phrase during a sermon a couple of years ago, and it still resonates with me. I'll admit that I like to shop, but have found that it can be just as fun to get out and about, look around, get ideas and go home without the anxiety that would come with spending money needlessly.


Keep a "have list," instead of a "wish list." Don't get me wrong, wish lists are great. Goals and priorities are important, but it can be so easy to get caught up in what you wish you had, that you lose appreciation for what you already have. It's hard, believe me. These days there is a design blog on every corner, and it seems that every minute there is something new to love on Pinterest.


I read once that comparison kills contentment, and find it to be more than true. I may wake up feeling completely content and happy, and one look at a friend's stinkin' fabulous new kitchen or something beautiful I've pinned, and suddenly, nothing I have is good enough. Sure, there are always improvements that we can make, but the truth is, when I look at what we have and have been blessed with without the but-everyone-else-has-more goggles, I am moved to tears. We have so much. And it is enough.

Thanks Marianne for having me, and for a great - and timely! - series.

Thank you Jennifer! Wow, this was timely for me, I think I needed to read this more than anyone. I am going to memorize each of these points and take them to heart. What a great post, I am blown away!

New at Schu

One of my favorite times in regards to work is when companies come out with new lines/collections. It is easy to get bored with the current fabrics and wallpapers when you see them all the time so it is nice when something fresh comes along. I missed Schumacher's latest collection introduction recently being preoccupied with other matters but thankfully my fabulous rep kept me in the loop...

I do love a good paisley which is funny because the decorator I started with did not and I always think of her when the scrolly (I know not a real word) pattern pops up.
Texture, color, pattern, oh my...
Thank you Cecily! All fabrics, wallpapers, images Schumacher.

Peek at the Boys' New Room & Plans

Our boys are now sharing a bedroom and so we've been doing some rearranging.  Christian moved into Justin's nursery and we reduced the closet so we could fit two beds.  I loved Justin's dark navy nursey while it lasted, but with two in the room, it needed lightening up.   Here's a pic of Justin's nursery as it it was.  Dark & cozy & perfect for sleeeeeeeping:

I had the walls & ceiling painted in a soft gray-green-blue.  (The color's called 'Contemplation' by Behr and we had it color matched in Benjamin Moore Aura paint.)

With these pretty blue walls, I want to be sure that the room doesn't get too sweet and I want to bring a bit of an earthy- curious vibe into the space.  We have a lots of cool collected artwork & Christian (my 4 year old) and I picked out a few of his favorites for above his bed.  It was so fun laying in bed afterwards, telling him stories about the pirates in the ships & the monkies that turned into men.  (yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll get a much better explanation in science class one day ;)

The black trundle bed is going to my new office so I'm having custom twin headboards made out of Filigree Chevon, one of my new fabrics, for the boys as soon as Justin's ready for a "big boy" bed:

Up-close you can see that it's a rusty red with olive green leaves:

It's one of those very "off" fabrics that isn't at all what you'd call "pretty," but for some reason I just love it.  (Especially mixed with the blue-gray-green, which shouldn't work, but does.)

  I'm doing big Euro shams on both beds with a mossy fern star placed right in the center:

And we're doing these are going over the beads in antique brass:

{Visual Comfort}

Anyway, I'm off for the day.  We're presenting a plan that I'm so excited about to a new client for her condo!!!  Will keep you posted.

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

Quiet Time