The slightly weird, potentially sarcastic, not your average interior design blog.

brett seidl 4/18/19 brett seidl 4/18/19

California Modern: Golf Club Drive Project Reveal

So, I'm feeling feisty-er than normal today.

It's raining outside and I'm still in my PJ's because I've been in front of my computer all morning, balancing my books, and sending invoices. I can’t believe people love doing that stuff for a living. God bless you. For …

So, I'm feeling feisty-er than normal today.

I have Norah Jones playing in the background which is normally quite relaxing for me, helping me to focus, but I guess she decided to dabble in some R&B type mixing? Seriously. Girl, don't. It's just weird. So now I’ll just switch it to my all-time favorite, Etta James. Now that woman never disappoints.

Someone recently told me they liked my writing because it was very much "train of thought" writing. I thought that was pretty funny, because, well if you really knew how my mind thinks and processes, it'd be like watching a bunch of chickens try to play the game Twister.

…

I seriously digress.

Golf Club Drive Project. The long-awaited reveal is here. This is a project I completed a while ago and the pics have been plastered all over my facebook and instagram for a while now. And (spoiler alert) all my favorite images are already on my portfolio page.

This was such a fun project to work on. My clients are Toyota employees and moved here from LA when Toyota decided to plop it’s headquarters here in Plano. The home was a new custom build so we got to start from scratch with most of the details. The clients wanted a fresh, modern, clean home with bright splashes of greens and blues and little hits of rustic. They also have two young kids so of course, it had to be kid-friendly first and foremost. Their style bordered between modern scandinavian design (clean simple lines, neutral colors, takes cues from function and minimalism) and rustic modern (raw, distressed wood with neutral colors and cozy textures). In the end, I themed the design “California Modern.”

This project covered the entire home: foyer, their son’s bedroom, daughter’s bedroom, home office, study, open-concept living/dining/kitchen, master bedroom, and playroom. We didn’t move around any walls or mess with the structure; the project consisted primarily of new furnishings, drapery, paint, and wall coverings The budget was around $100,000 and the project took approximately five months to complete.

When you walk in the front door, you enter the foyer. We wanted this to be uncluttered and bright, with an interesting piece of furniture. This console table was the perfect size and style, with its rustic worn wood, and unusual sloped design.

If you keep walking straight, you’d go in to the open concept living space: living room, dining room, study, and kitchen. The challenge with these types of spaces is that while the open concept space had to be cohesive in design, every space needed to have a specific purpose and its own unique design.

LIVING ROOM

1.) Sofa and teal chair: Joybird; 2.) Coffee table: Living Spaces; 3.) Custom upholstered arm chairs: Bassett; 4.) Drapery panels: West Elm; 5.) Natural wood roller shades: The Shade Store

DINING ROOM

1.) Dining table and bench: Restoration Hardware; 2.) White plastic dining chairs: Wayfair; 3.) Wall art: Minted; 4.) Drapery: West Elm; 5.) Wood roller shades: The Shade Store; 6.) Buffet console: CB2; 7.) Lamps on buffet: West Elm

STUDY

1.) Paint: Sherwin Williams “Quietude”; 2.) Desk Chairs: West Elm; 3.) Wall art: Hobby Lobby; 4.) White solar roller shades: The Shade Store; 6.) Rug: RugsUSA; 7.) Custom Upholstered Chaise: Bassett

Stay tuned for another blog post where we’ll reveal the master bedroom, two kids’ bedrooms, home office, and the playroom!

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Photography by: Jen Burner Photography

brett seidl 1/10/18 brett seidl 1/10/18

Sophisticated and Feminine Nursery Reveal ... and Some Big News!

Oh hey there. It's been a while. And by that, I mean about eight months. So I'll start this blog post off with my terrific excuses why it's been so long.

1. I've written several mental blog posts, but unfortunately, that's where ...

Oh hey there. It's been a while. And by that, I mean about eight months. So I'll start this blog post off with my terrific excuses why it's been so long.

1. I've written several mental blog posts, but unfortunately, that's where it ends. Now that I think about it, doing things in my head has become quite the habit -- dishes, laundry, dusting. I'm very productive in my head. But for some reason, doing things in my head doesn't actually get crap done. Who knew.

2. Business is booming. Because I'm still officially a company of one, 99.9% of my time is being spent elsewhere, like, you know, with clients, leaving the marketing and blogging portion left wanting. I was planning to hire employees and superheroes to come help me, but then ...(read "Number 3" below).

3. I'M PREGGO!: whale-like, penguin waddle preggo. I forget things, do things slowly, pee like its my job, and am still having to chase a toddler and run a business. Don't get me wrong, my husband and I are stupid excited, but, well, I'm tired. Oh, and it's a boy by the way, Jack Lewis Seidl :)

Now that I've shared the ever so long list of excueses, and my big (figuratively and physically) news is outta the bag, let's talk design.

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This past fall, I had the privilege of designing a nursery for one of my favorite repeat clients. The last project I did for her was for her toddler's big girl room. Like the toddler room, she wanted the nursery to be clearly gender specific (a little girl!) but not juvenile. Thank you Jesus.

The room has a very small footprint so we had to be creative and completely practical with what was absolutely necessary to go in the room. It also demanded a design that was light and bright, maximizing the tiny space and not making it feel claustrophobic, because, baby don't need no cave.

The total budget had been split between this nursery and the last room I worked with her on. We spent about two-thirds of it on the toddler room since we were essentially doing that room from scratch. The nursery had an existing dresser and crib so it didn't demand a large budget...we're talking under $2,500 total. Doing a feature wall was important to give the room a "wow" moment, but wallpaper was out the question with our budget. I chose this greyscale floral wall decal from Urban Walls. So great on the budget and works on lightly textured walls. Looks like wallpaper, right?

The color scheme needed to be a fresh, airy combo so we chose a light blush pink, white, and grey. All the walls were already painted a light grey, so I had three of the walls repainted SW Snowbound. It's a nice bright but slightly creamy white.

This wood and metal chandelier with parchment glass tear drops give the room an elegant and sophisticated feel. White cotton velvet drapery frame out the window, and a whimsical blush watercolor gives a soft pop above the dresser.

brett seidl 5/1/17 brett seidl 5/1/17

Room Reveal: From Baby to "Big Girl" -- A Feminine and Vintage-Inspired Toddler Bedroom

Tax season just ended and adulting is hard. I know you are all nodding your heads and thinking, "Preach."

As I'm currently writing this blog post, I'm watching my two year old ...

Tax season just ended and adulting is hard. I know you are all nodding your heads and thinking, "Preach."

As I'm currently writing this blog post, I'm watching my two year old throw a really spectacular tantrum on the floor because I wouldn't let her color ... with a sharpie ... in her belly button.

Man I wish my biggest problem of the day was my mommy not letting me draw in my belly button with a sharpie. Talk about life goals.

Kids are fun. Way more fun than adults. This is why I love designing child bedrooms and nurseries so much. The designs can be weird, creative, imaginative, colorful, bold, simple -- the sky is the limit.

I recently completed a bedroom for Madilyn, the adorable daughter of one of my clients, and it brought out the pink-loving little girl in me that I've suppressed since childhood. (I was the girl that had a MEGA barbie house taking up half my room, and at one point, over 100 barbies.)

Madilyn made the big transition from a crib to a toddler bed and now needed a "big girl' room to match. Her mom wanted a room that was feminine with an antique and vintage theme, but also a room that could transcend and grow with her daughter's age: nothing overly juvenile or childish.

Pink had to be a big part of the room. Duh. But not barbie pink or unicorn vomit pink. Blush pink. Light, fluffy, pretty blush pink. Like many of the bedrooms I design, this one started to come together as soon as I found the curtain fabric. It set the color scheme - mint, blush, cream, and grey - and overall feel.

Isn't she pretty?

Feminine, but not girly. Right? No neon, or primary colors, no Fisher Price toddler crap. No glitter, sparkles, or tiaras.

The focal point of the room is the wall. Those boards are antique reclaimed wood. I saw a few pink boards at Old Texas Wood and begged them to find as many more as possible. As always, they came through. The pink boards are mixed in with some natural, wide plank boards, some weathered grey boards, and distressed white boards. I absolutely love the end result.

I know how much my toddler loves seeing her name written down, so I wanted to make sure to incorporate Madilyn's name in the room design. The customized tall wood "I AM HIS" sign was created just for her by the Etsy store, Pretty in Polka Dots. I loved it so much I've already ordered a different piece from this store for another client.

The vintage mirror above the bed came from another Etsy store, Flicker and Sway. Talk about good packaging! I almost needed a chainsaw to get through all that bubble wrap.

I didn't want to take away from the beauty of the boards, but the walls were a plain light grey, almost cream color so we painted them Sherwin Williams "Sky High". It's a little bit bluish, a little bit minty and so so pretty.

Where is that ridiculously cute beaded chandelier from? Well I'm glad you asked. You can find that little guy at Pottery Barn Kids. I also bought the soft sheer canopy from there. Madilyn already had a pretty awesome play room, so her mom wanted to keep most of the toys out of her bedroom. In place of a toy chest or desk area, we opted for a cozy little corner where she could cuddle up and read a book or play with her stuffed animals.

I scored this pink little rocker and distressed mint tool box (now a floral display) from the Canton flea market. $25 for both. Um, yes.

The sheets and white quilt are from Target and the pink coverlet and bed frame are from Wayfair. That really, really awesome rug? Lulu and Georgia. I had the pillows and drapes custom-made to create a cohesive and well-rounded pattern and color scheme with various textures and shapes.

I searched and searched and searched for a nightstand that would be perfect. It couldn't be too fussy next to that wall, but it needed to have some charm and character. I finally found this little french provincial nightstand (and that black step stool) at a local antique furniture store. The original hardware was, well, ugly. So, I did something many of my colleagues may scoff at: I replaced antique hardware with Hobby Lobby hardware. Whaaaaaaaat?!

The vintage pink Mary Kay telephone is from eBay and the little vase and flowers are from the great Ikea. The lamp and base are from Lamps Plus. They don't have that exact shade anymore, but I linked one that is pretty darn close.

There you go. Hands down, one of my all-time favorite rooms to-date.

brett seidl 2/23/17 brett seidl 2/23/17

3 Week Room Makeover: Chimney Peak Living Room Reve

I've never had a problem with lighting a fire under my butt when necessary. Give me a deadline and I'll give you a finished project. Bottom line, I can get crap done.

I will say though, that this rush request definitely ...

I've never had a problem with lighting a fire under my butt when necessary. Give me a deadline and I'll give you a finished project. Bottom line, I can get crap done.

I will say though, that this rush request definitely forced me to be on my A-game. I had just finished two projects and was in the planning staging for my next when I received an inquiry in mid-January about designing a room for a young couple that had just moved to Frisco. She wanted it to feel like home asap -- by asap, she meant as close to the end of January as possible which would be a two and a half week turnaround.

Ok. Challenge accepted.

Her custom home had beautiful architecture and moldings, and was already painted a neutral and creamy ivory -- the perfect foundation to build on. Since this project was purely decorative and styling in nature (meaning no structural or permanent changes needed to be made) the hurried timeline wasn't as much of an issue since contractors and installers didn't need to be involved.

The living room opens up to a large kitchen and these two spaces made up the home's core. She wanted the living room to be fun, interesting and adult, with lots of layered textures and patterns. And if possible, a slight nod to the beach since her and the hubs both grew up near an ocean. Oh, and she wanted color, lots of color. When I asked what stores and styles she was drawn to, she quickly responded ZGallerie and then went on to be very specific that the Pottery Barn style hurt her soul a little bit.

Now that's funny. And right up my alley.

For those of you who want the deets on each piece...

I used a variety of textures and materials in this design: navy leather ottoman with acrylic legs (which I am straight up jealous of!); a faux cowhide rug on top of a woven diamond rug; a bold print navy armchair with bright smaller printed throw pillows; leather nail head side table with a glass apothecary style lamp; gold metal leg end table with a black high gloss glass top. Vintage coral botanical prints line the two opposite walls with a framed ocean-like water photo on the fireplace mantle and some nautical accessories to tie in their nod to the ocean.

brett seidl 12/29/16 brett seidl 12/29/16

Yep. It's been a good year.

Its officially been one full year since I left my previous career and turned this interior design side gig into a full-time business and let me tell you, WOWZA. At the risk of my very limited mushy sentimental feelings coming out, this year has been one the best of my life. My ridiculously cute daughter turned 1, we bought a new house, my adorable niece was born, and this business has thrived (thanks to my supportive husband and awesome clients). Seriously, I couldn't ask for more.

This past year I've gotten to design for a myriad of clients, spaces, and styles: 9 living rooms, 3 nurseries, 4 offices, 4 master bedrooms, 3 guest rooms, 3 dining rooms, 2 kitchens and have styled countless other spaces. And it has been stupidly fun.

Now, I'm not a "people-person" by any stretch of the imagination, but my clients have really been one of my favorite parts of this business. Every one of them have been so different--style, personality, needs, wants, and budgets--and I have so enjoyed getting to know each of them. When you're designing someone's home, you get to know them really, really well, their quirks and lifestyle. I'll be honest, it's a blast when I have a client say "do whatever", allowing me to create a design from scratch. But with the rise of platforms like pinterest or houzz many of my clients have a very clear idea of what they want, so when I get to collaborate, I truly think it creates better designs.

Since I didn't have a blog when I first started, below is a "reveal" of one of my first projects. The goal was to create a sophisticated and charming country aesthetic without it being masculine or woodsy. And this project, of course, kept with my typically neutral color palette, bringing the interest and style through its pops of color, texture, and patterns.

Thanks to all of you who read my blog and have supported my business! Happy New Years and cheers to next year and many more designs!