Turquoise trail......

Well, you've probably noticed from the new master bath , this blog format & my website, that I'm a little nuts for the color turquoise. I've worn it for years and love the feel of the color, especially in the summer with a great tan, right?
I finally , after all these years, have started to incorporate my fave color into my home. And little by little , it's finding it's way into almost every room; it's taking over like a hardy bamboo!
I've got loads of turquoise photos to share later, but this weekend is full of last minute to-do's because I'm Co-Chairing 5th Grade Graduation. Yes, it truly is an event these days , even in elementary school, and we're having a good time getting ready for it! Plus I'm having my sisters and my Mom stay here the night before graduation, as well as an outdoor dinner party for family that night. No, I'm not Martha Stewart, and not trying to be super lady here....but thanks to a husband that enjoys cooking too, family helpers & pre-planning, the dinner party the night before Graduation, will be easy & casual. I'll try to remember photos that night to share our al fresco feast!
For now I want to share my new breakfast table cushions.....

....love them because Sabrina, my wonderful upholsterer, did an awesome job on them! Notice the wave in the front of the cushion that contours to the wood seat?

Instead of traditional ties on the back with bows, I opted for the ballerina look, with "ballet ties". I couldn't decide which way I wanted to tie my ballet ties,
But I decided for now, I like the simple knot look:
I couldn't find the right turq fabric, but found a curtain panel at Target in the right shade I was looking for...... I had Sabrina use the fabric for the button covers and ballet ties. The piping is white canvas twill in 1/4" piping. The rest of the room is a mix of florals , and in the older days I would never mix large floral patterns with large floral patterns.....the rule was always each fabric in a different scale. Today I like to break the mold and mix them together....I'm not sure why, but to me, it's fresh,updated and works. Notice the oversized Italian market print in the frame below ?
We didn't have the right wall space anywhere in the kitchen, so I chose to hang it directly in front of the middle window....acts as an extra window treatment! The curtains are a fave pattern from Ikea....and I told yall about the pendant custom shade in an older post.

And speaking of ballet ties....Sabrina, the fantastic upholsterer, also made a new white slipcover for this dining bench (before):after:
Not a great pic, but the new fabric is white upholstery weight linen with white vinyl 1'4" piping. Piping is an area that tends to get dirty fast and white vinyl is a great choice for clean up and durability.
And last on the turquoise trail, I wanted to share a cabinet redo. I needed a shallow cabinet above the potty in our new master bathroom. As you know from the older post, the color scheme in there is also the seafoam greens ,turquoise, aqua hues.
I found this cute lil cab waiting for me in a local consignment store, waiting for a new coat of paint, here's the before :
Don't you love hunting those places for treasures?
And here it is made over:


and here's a "before" photo in our piano room....trying to decide something different for mantel art.....so , I took some fave plates & turned them into.....












this:


















It's kind of sparse, but the look will evolve. I'd like to gather just a couple more plates in varying sizes, shapes & pattern to add. I should've taken better, close up photos, but I'm running out of blog time & have to get back to Graduation duties. Some of the plates are nice antique ones in shades of aqua, pink, etc...My husband is bringing home some plates that his Mom collected. So, you may see some new patterns on the mantel soon. I'll post more pics of this room soon because there's a piano redo in this room, that I hope you'll like.
Hope you'll have a really great Memorial Weekend & stick around the "turquoise trail" for upcoming posts.

Our workshop/barn
waving the flag proudly....











God bless our wonderful troops and the USA!

...oh yeah, and those other posts I keep promising on Fish Camp! We just don't have pics ready yet, but will!

All the best,


xoxoxo
(and remember you can always click on the photos and they will enlarge)

Using Fabrics in Design - Robert Allen

I'm always very hesitant in using any patterned or colorful fabrics when a decorate a room.  When the wrong fabric is selected the results can be disastrous.  

Look how the fabric transforms these Sarah Richardson room.

Aren't these wing chairs from C R Laine scrumptious?  The fabric actually makes the regular wing chairs extraordinary pieces of furniture.

If you scared to select fabrics for your home, Robert Allen has created a design studio.  It gives you numerous combinations of fabrics that work really well together.

Here's a sampling of what the design studios offers:

Are the combinations great?

Master Bathroom Sneak Peek

I was feeling guilty that I haven't written a post in a long time. All of my design projects (personal or for clients) are in the "almost finished" mode .
For now, I thought I'd share a sneak peek into our new master bath.
Betsey, the cat, is welcoming you in! (my daughter named her after Betsey Johnson)

I was so glad that I took the advice from Kelley from The Polished Pebble on choosing the bathtub. I had previously thought I wanted a romantic , modern , freestanding tub because of the age of our house. (Our house was built in the 1800's.) Kelley recommended a regular built-in whirlpool tub for the soaking factor. We are so glad we thought about her advice because we installed a white whirlpool tub & have used it almost every night! Love it!
We would've preferred for the fireplace to not be so black, but we were limited on our color choices because it's a direct vent fireplace. (doesn't require a chimney, yet produces beautiful heat producing flames) However, we love, love this fireplace cuz it's the perfect ambience & temperature to turn it on, even if it's during our Spring weather! And we love it because it turns on with the flick of a switch...instant romance or relaxation!
You'll notice that we're still waiting on custom window treatments, because we have our temporary pleated paper ones in the pics! (hey those are a great invention I treasure with each project!)

The wall of windows used to be the exterior wall of the master bedroom.
We busted through the wall and added the master bath addition. We're having a door made for this entry way, another item I'll feature later. Originally the shutters were hung inside the master bedroom. We retro fitted the shutters to now be on the bathroom side for privacy.

We love being at the Texas coast and recently sold our beachhouse there. We wanted to capture the way our beachhouse felt by making our new bathroom similar to the one down at the coast. White wood walls, wood ceiling, natural pine floors, shades of seafoam & turquoise greens.
The turquoise green door leads into the potty room...a white French curtain panel will be installed on the door, but with just enough height for privacy, allowing the light to come in the room. The cabinet above used to be the top piece to the green vanity we used in the room. Both pieces used to be in our breakfast room as a buffet with hutch above , but now the bottom piece turned into the bathroom vanity, with raised white vessel sinks.
The mirror below was also a Swedish pine antique mirror. My husband refinished it with this turquoise green paint.
The top piece of this cabinet (below) was actually flipped upside down and we had our carpenter make the countertop out of pine & painted to match the original finish.
The hanging hooks with our initials are from Anthropologie.

In the photos above, we didn't have the potty room door knobs installed. Here's an updated photo of the knobs now installed. I originally bought the porcelain knobs a few years back from Anthropologie. I love them because they're reproductions from old hotels. We've used them for coat and towel hooks in other houses. They aren't "working" doorknobs, so we have a latch on the interior side to lock the door for privacy. Our sweet contractor, Julio, mounted them just a tad high. One of those design details that just happen when you're not on the job watching as they install. We verbally discussed where the knobs would be mounted, but I made the mistake of not marking with a pencil, the spot! And this happened with the toilet paper holder also. No one would even really notice the height mistake, it will be fine & it's not worth fixing. But it's just another reminder in design, that if you can't be there when they're installing, then mark the spot on the walls!
Here's the interior side of the door, showing the Paris knob:

Remember my older post when I had the dilemma of choosing the light for over the tub?! Well, I finally chose this pendant light from Maura Daniel.
A simple white linen shade with a beautiful crystal base. We still need to add a dimmer & the "silver bowl" type light bulb. A silver bowl light bulb is highly recommended for any pendant light when the shade is open at the bottom. The bulb reduces the glare the light casts.
You can customize your lighting at Maura Daniel by choosing your base, and then add your style of shade.


I had my upholsterer create a pleated slipcover for my round ottoman, in a white matelasse fabric. (fabric is Oyster from Greenhouse Fabrics)

Originally, I had read this post on Hooked On Houses, about Sally Field's Malibu bathroom. I loved the feel of her bathroom, but also the ottoman in the center of the room......this pic below was the inspiration for my slipcovered ottoman:
Window treatments & the door leading into the bathroom will be finished soon, etc. & I'll share more photos when it's complete. I need to work on the lighting of my camera too. The bathroom tiles look more seafoam green, but in person there are various shades of greens and turquoise.

I'm hoping to finish other client design projects soon, so that I can share some more ideas with you.
Hope you'll stay tuned!

Have a wonderful Sunday & all the best in your new week ahead!

Luxe for Less - Custom Sofas

Buying a custom sofa is normally an expensive purchase but it's always worth it.  Not only can you get the sofa you want, the fabric selections are endless.  Now you can purchase a custom sofa for really inexpensive price from Custom Sofa Design.  They also design custom beds too.  Here's a sample of the pieces that they create.

Doesn't this Perla Sofa look comfy and with a starting price of $699 it won't break the bank.

This Xanadu Bed is not only funky it's also very contemporary.

I love a tufted sofa, and the Metropole Sofa definitely delivers. 

Who wouldn't want a custom sofa in their house?

Bedroom Makeover Part V - Progress

I'm slowly making progress on my bedroom makeover.  I still have my dresser to finish and the final accessories to choose but I think I'm well on my way.
Remember where I started out.

After painting, adding my chandelier, changing my linens and acquiring a couple of pieces of new furniture, here is the current room.  What do you think?