A Rising Garden

Sometimes you turn a corner and there is a pretty little surprise waiting for you. I found this one at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. An entire staircase with tile risers and potted geraniums lining it's steps...definitely not something you see everyday!

Rustic Elegance

A new Lil Pumpkin will be arriving in just a few short weeks and I designed a baby shower I termed "Rustic Elegance" for her Mommy to celebrate. I wanted to think outside the box when it came to a Fall theme so I stayed away from your typical orange and used a peach in it's place. Paired with brown, white and a touch of red, it made for a new spin on the season.
I gained elegance by using lace doilies, a modern doily printed fabric, feathers, crystals hung from the tree branches, mercury glass vases and I adorned mini foam pumpkins with pearl strands.

I gained my rustic side by using textured items like burlap for the flags and tree branch pots, weathered bird houses, wrought iron pumpkins and dried flowers. Simple white tree branches can be easily re-decorated and used for entirely different themed parties. You can see them in their original glory at my baby shower thrown by best friend Jennifer Skog.

Each guest received a homemade Pecan tartlet shower favor baked by the guest of honor's mother in law. They were delish and the perfect ending to our Fall themed shower!

Have a Little Fun

Last week I was watching an episode of Project Runway. There was a moment when Mondo asked his opponents "moustache or no moustache?" as he held a fake moustache up to his lip. They all replied "moustache!" I thought to myself, OK this guy has some major confidence to rock a fake moustache in public, besides the week of Halloween. But, I also thought "I love this guy!" You see I love a curly moustache or what most call a handlebar moustache. I have no idea when or why my fascination with them came about but, I just get the biggest kick out of them. The best is when I see someone with an authentic one. And you better bet if I'm walking down the street with my husband and he spots someone with one before me, he'll quickly look over so he can see my face light up as I catch a glimpse. And what does all of this have to do with design you ask? Well, it's that our homes should reflect our personalities. If you are a fun and quirky person you should interject that into your space. Now I'm not saying you should go and decorate your space with a moustache theme but, with just a hint, you've got yourself a fun little piece for your room.

Moustache Fabric Moustache Pillow

Moustache Embroidery

Moustache Pencils

And don't forget the kiddos...

Moustache Artwork

Moustache Playshapes

Goodbye Primary

There aren't many options for rubber playmats that don't have primary colors, numbers and letters all over them. I was really happy to find 2 new options for those who want a more modern and stylish look in their homes.

These 2 color options by Little Miss Matched are just the ticket!

A Nice Alternative

Sure we'd all love to have unlimited funds to spend on those perfect pieces for our homes. That's just not reality for many of us. In this economy, I'm especially trying to keep my eye out for ways to make the most out of my clients budgets. I'm currently working on an office design and below is one of the chairs I presented to them in my design. It's from Target and comes with an affordable price tag. Tonight while doing some more research, I ran across a different chair frame using the same fabric at Horchow for over double the price. Either would work interchangeably in my design but the Target version is definitely more feasible for the budget I'm working with. Always keep your eyes out because I see this situation time and time again. In the long run, you can save quite a bit of money.

See if you can pinpoint which one is the less expensive version.

AVINGTON SLIPPER CHAIR-WHIMSICAL

BETTY GUMBALL TREE CHAIR

My New Office

With the exterior of our townhouse under construction the noise has been absolutely unbearable. Sydney can't sleep which means no time to work for me. I've resorted to taking her for rides in the car until she drifts off and then pulling over at the park. The stroller used to be my main source of naps but the car gets a longer one out of her and I've been too exhausted to walk around for hours like the good old days! After a month of car rides, I started getting antsy and felt like I was being held hostage in the car. I could only browse Facebook and play Words With Friends on my iPhone for so long! I needed to become more productive during my car time (although the couple naps I actually took myself, I considered productive) so I moved my office to the car. I'm still only able to get small things done but it's helped a little with my frustration with the construction.

The Sky's The Limit!

I'm currently working on a nursery for a lovely little one due here in a few short months. This I must tell you is my DREAM JOB! It's not everyday that a client will give you completely free-range on a design. Now I'm not meaning I have a free range in budget...I actually have an extremely small budget but as far as the design elements are concerned, it's all up to me. As a designer, you dream of projects like this...they usually don't exist. My only requirement was that it must be gender neutral so that when another baby comes down the road, it will be ready for them.

So, for my inspiration, I'm back at it with the Avalisa prints. I'm addicted to these things! I just can't help myself, I find them so inspiring.

Further detail of this project to come!

THE INSPIRATION