My back patio garden

I've never been quite happy with my garden until now.  It still has a loooong way to go but I finally feel like it's going in the direction I want it to be going in:  structured yet a little wild. 

{We recently removed a bunch of daisies from the side area - transplanting them to the cutting garden along the fence- and put roses, peonies & foxglove in their place.}

When we first bought our house -in the Spring two years ago- we were looking at this:

...And I can't find a photo of it from the first year but I added a bunch of zinnias & random flowers that I was given by family & friends.  I loooved having these free-flowing/ wild-looking  flowers but they didn't quite work around the patio.  Last Fall we added dwarf holly around the patio for that structure I was craving and we moved all of the flowers to a new side cutting garden along our fence.  (And now I'll feel no guilt when I bring them inside!) 

And here is is now:

{It still has a lot of growing in to do- and mulching!- but it's finally getting to feel a bit like I've always wanted it to feel.  And yes, my child is pantsless.  It's how we roll around here early AMs and more than I'd like to admit!}

This morning my three year-old is sleeping in so Justin (my 17 month old) and I took a little stroll and he helped me take pictures:

We looooove smelling these roses.  This is a Chicago Peace rose.  I kill plants, but at my old townhome I did manage to keep a few roses alove, so fingers crossed for this beauty!

Love the small of the yellow ones.  I already forgot their name though:

Hard-to-kill succulents usually work well for me:

And I've put out some of my magnolia pillows.  They're not outdoor fabrics ( they're linen) so I'll have to be sure to pull them in before it rains. 

{I am hoping to get my online store up within a month for the fabrics!!  They're being photographed in late May.  It's been a little nutty lately so the fabric line has taken a bit of a backseat.}

And we added a vegetable garden around the side of our house.  Loooove having lettuce!!

{Before you think I'm good at gardening I have to tell you that I bought it this way.  Yes, I know, it's ready to eat & doesn't have much more growing to do but picking lettuce from my garden makes me happy :)

mm mm good!

 And the tomaters should be good this year!!

I planted lavendar around the drawf holly bushes.  I'm hoping it will do well but I've heard it's tempermental around here.

{Smells so good!!}

And finally, I'd like to thank my stylist, Justin Liess, pictured here:

{He knows just where those boots ("shoes!" as he calls them) need to go!}

I love you my little "Tunia:"

My kids get new nicknames almost weekly:

For a while he was "Petunia" .. don't ask, I don't know why

Then it became "Tunia"

Sometimes "Tunes"

And now the poor little guy is getting called "Tootaline"

I hope the scarring isn't permanent ;) ;)

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

Better Homes & Gardens Shoot

Yesterday a team from Better Homes & Gardens Magazine photographed my DC Design House room for an upcoming issue!  Art director Shelley Caldwell flew into DC to direct the shoot done by photographer Helen Norman & her assistant F.J. Hughes for the day.

{Shelley & FJ}

Like all good photoshoots, props were brought in to make the room feel more lived-in.  They brought in some things that I would have loooved to have taken home with me incuding some cute bags.  :)

They took my picture in one of the madhatter wing Chairs & it was pretty hysterical because my man hands kept getting in the way. 

Dave (my husband) came to help me undo the room after the photoshoot and it was crazy to see the showhouse room almost empty again.  We loaded most of the room back into our cars and headed home.  Very bittersweet, but onto the next thing!  :)

 

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

Last Weekend for Showhouse!

For anyone in the DC area who was interested in going to the DC Design House to support Children's Hospital, this is the last weekend to do it!

{the desk view of room I designed.  Painting in the photo by John Matthew Moore, desk by Edelman Leather, Chair from John Rosselli Antiques, lamp by Stray Dog Designs, sisal rug by Stark, and grasscloth wallpaper by Seabrooke.}

I've had such an amazing time getting to know the other designers & the supporters of Children's Hospital,  making some wonderful new friends!  I'll never forget this experience.  The stories I've heard about children whose lives have been saved by Children's Hospital are incredible & moving.  So if you do have the chance today or tomorrow, head on over!!

I won't be there today (I have pink eye from my 3 year old- arrggg!!) but am hoping it clears up by tomorrow so that I can be there on the final day.

Also,  Better Homes & Gardens Magazine is coming to shoot the room on Monday!  I'll be sure to take some behind-the-scenes pictures to post this week. 



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

Again, thank you to the amazing team of people who donated their services to help create the showroom:
 I use these businesses & people on most of my projects and stand by their work & appreciate being able to do business with them. I cannot say enough good things. They're THE BEST so if you need any local recommendations, here are mine:


Carpet Installation & Custom Carpet fabrication: The Carpet Customizer: (410)299-4380

They can really do anything & are adept with installing/ working with natural fiber rugs & do beautiful seagrass installations. They are on top of their jobs, are super-friendly, and keep in great contact with you.

Workroom for curtains & pillows & other soft goods: Paul David Designs
Paul & Nancy will take care of you and are amazing to work with. Their work is beautiful & fast.

Builder/ Contractor/ Electrical: CarrMichael Construction: They do it all from building beautiful homes to managing smaller projects & electrical work. Mike at CarrMichael Construction is friendly, dependable, organized and does exactly what he says he will do.

Wallpaper Installation: Michael DiGuiseppe. Everyone says he's the best in the area and after this insane segrass install, I definitely agree!

Painters: Blue Door Painters They're on-time, dependable and fair. (And I went to high school with the owner! :)

Green Eggs, No Ham

Green Eggs & Ham is one of my favorite children's books.  For years I've been meaning to do a green eggs & ham breakfast, but have never gotten around to it.  (I wanted to do this even before I had kids... I know, I have issues.)  I imagined putting a few drops of green food coloring into the eggs until I had THE BEST green eggs & ham at the Hyatt.  They used pesto in the eggs for the green & it was Heaven!!

A week or two ago we decided to try our own minus the ham.  (Because we didn't have any.)  My three year old Christian got the book out to read it & enjoyed helping me make the pesto.  I didn't add enough pesto to really get them as green as I wanted, but they were green.  We used them for hair on Christian's face plate:

{I know how gross the eggs look in this pic, but I promise they were good.}

I love making food from kids' stories because the little guys just get so excited.  They help and they eat every last bite. 

My dad watched this whole situation take place and when I broke the camera out & said I might end up putting it on the blog, he said "wow, you must be strapped for ideas."

hahahaha  ah vell, I guess it doesn't float everyone's boat. 

...Now that I'm looking at the picture in the book above, I wonder how you'd get the ham green???

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

The Learning Curve

Experience is one of those extremely valuable intangibles in life.  People are like sponges soaking up everything they're going through,  learning from it & becoming better.  This of course applies to interior designers & the knowledge required for each project is incredible.  I learn something with every new project I take on, with every client I meet and with almost every book or article or blogpost I read and every picture I study.  We constantly educate ourselves.  We could read a book a day for the rest of our lives and still not know everything.

{image via Delight by Design}

And I think this is what keeps things exciting.  When I realized that my husband was someone I could keep getting to know for the rest of my life - that he had so much depth & I find him so interesting and feel like there's always more to know- I knew he was the one for me.  And that's also how design is.  {He will so hate me comparing him to interior design- sorry now Dav if you're reading this!!}

{Kitchen by Victoira Hagan via Things That Inspire}

But I think we're excited by what's to come:  What we are in the process of learning or understanding or creating.  When I'm in the midst of a project, I'm crazy about it.  Once it's finished, it's like a present you're giving to someone else & then they get to enjoy it.  But my enjoyment comes from picking out that perfect gift & giving it to them...  Once it's been given & they like it, I pretty much stop thinking about it.  (We don't sit around for weeks, years, or months to come thinking about how much a friend must be enjoying our gift;  we move on and think about the next birthday, the next gift.)

{image via Cote de Texas}

I was rereading The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by Suze Orman yesterday and I really love what she says about being in a career you love.  The sooner, you make steps toward that career, the happier you will be.  The younger you are, the better.  But I also think being new in any career means you lack experience.  The more experience you gain, the more full you are.  There are pros and cons.  New people in a field often look at it with fresh eyes.  They may be less jaded and possibly more excited.  The best are those in the field who have both experience & excitement. 

{House Beautiful via decor pad}

And I think that what keeps experienced people excited & impassioned, is the learning curve.  Even those who've been in the field for 50 years are still learning and most will readily admit it. 

There's so much to know that it can be mind boggling sometimes, but once you go after what you want to know, it's yours if you care to keep it.  For the past few years I've been really being blown away by all there is to know and I've found myself writing lists of the people I want to learn about & research in design- both in the past & present...  Lists of artists to look up {trips to the museum send me home with so more reasearch & homework than I can handle!}  Business practices, books, magazines & blogs to read,  and photos of rooms to analyze...  and then there's the stuff that I know I should know & have forgotten or stopped attempting to finds about about.  {Ie the NEWS.  I'm horrible with current events and it's actually really pathetic how little I pay attention.  I can't even give you examples because it's so embarrassing.  I've vowed to start listening to NPR in the mornings.}  Computers, technology, etc.  There are times when I just wish I could press a button and know something.  (Like photoshop!)

{Lonny Magazine}

And then there's all of the information you can only gain through experience.  No one can "tell" it to you.   You have to learn it on your own.  And you sometimes have to make mistakes to gain the most valuable bits. 

There are times when I feel so new in this business - I'm going on three and a half years now- and I really feel llike I'm just now finally laying down the foundations for my business.  I know I have so much more to learn and I take away something (actually somethings!!) from every project- be it exposing myself to a new point of view, changing a business practice based on what clients need, or learning to appreciate a design style I'd never worked with.  And that's what keeps this career interesting & fulfilling. 

Anyway, hope you had a wonderful weekend!!  I'm loving all of the green that's popped out everywhere.  The little strip of woods behind our house seemed to fill in this weekend & we have total privacy again, which is so nice.  We moved into our home two years ago yesterday and looking out my windows right now, I remember why we fell in love with it. 

{2 years ago when we first moved in... my little sister & my son}

{now, photo by Helen Norman}

Happy Anniversary, House!

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

Baby Girl's Nursery Design

I'm living vicariously through a client of mine:  She's having a baby girl and I designed her nursery!  I'm doing the final installation today with my assistant, Meghan, and we're so excited!!

My client was looking for a fun, sophisticated nursery.  {When I walked into her living room for the first time, it looked like it had been done professionally, although she did it herself, so she has an amazing sense of style.}  She wanted fresh & happy and not over-the-top girly.  She's drawn to paisley and florals.  I thought I'd share our plans with you, so here's the floorplan we created for her:




And here's a quick peek at the pieces selected:

{The mobile (top left) has been custom made in our colors from Pink Perch on etsy.   We've done curtains out of the Schumacher floral (top right) and used the paisley blockprinted crib bedding, lamp, chair & table pictured.}

Here's a close-up of the Schumacher fabric:

It's wild & fun & not your typical girly floral. 

We mixed a few Pottery Barn kids pieces with a custom green viney chandelier by Stray Dog Designs  (one of my new favorites for lighting!) and an overscale seaweed print that we'll be tacking up with nailhead.  The "LILY" drawing on the right is a mock-up of a framed fabric panel with wooden beads & letters draped over it for the room.  The green polka-dotted fabric at bottom right is the fabric we used.

Here's a pic of the project {mid-stage} to give you an idea of what it actually looks like:

We're leaving in a couple of hours & I cna't wait to share 'after' pics with you!!

Even if I never have a little girl of my own (fingers still crossed though!) at least I got this chance to do little sweetie Lily's nursery!!  She's due in May and we're so happy for our clients!! 

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

It didn't rain!

You know you've been gone from the office for a while when you have to think about your passwords when logging back into your accounts.  I have to say that I would love another month away, but that's just not the way it works...  And I've realized just how many junk emails I get a day and it is CRAZY.  I need to get some sort of filter on there because for some reason I get multiple emails a day from women all over the world in their 20s asking me to marry them.  And I also get emails about enlargers.  (You know the kind I mean. ) Somewhere along the line, I must be logged into somewhere or some search engine or whatever as a lonely middle-aged man.  (Don't know what's up with that because I am not lonely.  ;)

Anyway, we had a really great break!  We dyed Easter eggs:

And the Easter Bunny hid them:

My children had peeps for breakfast:

peep! peep!

{they're honestly really gross to me but they are pretty cute.}

The kids looked far & wide for eggs:

Our backyard was pretty muddy but that didn't stop them:



I set an Easter table & we had our family over. 

{I used a massive piece of peachy-pink & aqua woven paisley fabric that I bought a while back as the table cloth.  It usually hangs out in our family room as a throw blanket.}

I topped it with a frayed aqua linen remnant and then loaded it with aqua bottles of daffodils from my garden as last-minute easy centerpieces. 

{I pretty much do everything in my own home last-minute, so I was lucky that I'd even planted my daffodil bulbs last-minute (this March!) and they came up late enough that they just bloomed this past week & I had flowers for Easter.}

We made eggs with everyone's names on them for placeholders:

{I only took a pic of this one because I took the pics before the party & didn't want the eggs all sitting out.}

My mom made these beautiful pansy cupcakes:

{She used actual pansies, which are edible}

...And I turned 29!

~And there it didn't rain!~ 

It almost always rains on my birthday so we were shocked when the sun held out & we had temperatures in the 80s.

Hope you had a happy Easter & I'm so envious of any of you that are still on vacation!!! 

Enjoy!!!

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