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 real. God.Bless.You. (and QuickBooks).

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

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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

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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

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 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.