"Blushing Beauty" New Room Design

Recently we created a new design board for a client in San Antonio.  Our client wanted to update her daughter's  room from a baby's room to a "big" girls' room. Her daughter was outgrowing the crib and needed a new bed fast.    The Mom  wanted a fun mix of modern elements , and her daughter requested a touch of elephants in the room. 
I decided on creating a room that was a bit modern, yet glam with touches of gold , whimsical with elephant fun & classic with soft pinks and whites.
Christin and I worked on two design boards , the first one is shown above.   We created both boards using a  great wallpaper from Hygge & West called "Oh Joy's Petal Pusher " in a metallic gold. The wallpaper is a very bold pattern, and therefore our plan is to use it only on one accent wall and then paint all the other walls a solid calm color.
Here's the visual on a larger swatch:

And here's the 2nd design board we created using different elements but again with the same paper as the focal wall:

Our client wanted to keep the room trim and existing plantation shutters painted in Pittsburgh paints Stony Creek. 

So today I'm working on which wall color is best for the other walls (just one wall gets the wallpaper) .  The color has to look right with  the Stony Creek trim.
 Our wall paint choices to present are :
Benjamin Moore Decorators White:

 Benjamin Moore Pink Cadillac:
( a pale quintessential pink)

Benjamin Moore's Love & Happiness:
(a soft pink with undertones of beige & coral)

Or another option is to use the palest of blues to compliment the turquoise accents in the room:
Benjamin Moore's Sweet Dreams

I always recommend  clients to have their painter paint several swatches on a wall , approx 24" x 24" in a room.  Paint the swatches on different areas within the room to test out the lighting.  All paints take on different values in a room depending on how much light is in the room as well as what colors are in the room.  Believe me, it's worth every penny to try samples first.  Use any leftover paint on another project or donate to a local charity.

Do you have a favorite choice for the girls room?  Let me know, would love your thoughts!


xo,

P.S.
 Do you need design help?  With summer approaching, we're only taking a limited amount of new projects, but  we're always doing E-Design.  If you'd like a consultation in the Austin/San Antonio area, please contact us and let's discuss the scale of your project .  We'd love to help you if we can.
If you'd like to purchase any of these items shown above, they're all available through Van Wicklen Design/JVW Home.   Click  HERE  to contact us.

Inspiration from the VW farm....

 

 

 

 Today was one of those mornings where I knew I had to capture the moment.  I adore weekends on the farm when we can just chill on the front porch, still in our p.j's   &  take our time enjoying the coffee.  

Actually this morning I had hoped to share some  pictures of the "bounty" we found on our recent trip to Round Top/Warrenton/Marburger.  Thursday I took my two clients Beth & Misty (Patterson , Lakeway projects) and we bought more fun stuff for their homes.  I sat down at my computer this morning to download those pics,  and realized  I did NOT have my memory card in the camera. Ughh!  Have you ever done that??
  I did take some pics with my Iphone, such as this fun moment at the Junk Gypsies booth:

  and inside the Carolyn Westbrook Home barn:

 

 

I realized again how timeless and classic Carolyn's linen  bedding line is....she's  always one of my fave vendors to see every year at the antique fair.

So after my coffee today, I remembered a book I had bought from Carolyn on Thursday.  It's the second book she's written called

THROUGH THE FRENCH DOOR:

Full of great inspiration and of course her beautiful linens.   I loved reading about her life on her farm in Texas too. 
If you'd like to read more about her lovely book, you can check it out on Amazon  HERE

The whole Round Top experience is all about coming away with inspiration.  I always tell people that even if you don't have a need for anything else in your home, just go to the antiques week to get some free, fresh inspiration!   There are so many creative vendors there showcasing great ideas. What did I come away with this year?
Well, one thing was a reminder on how simple things in your home can showcase your jewelry and keep it organized.  I've always used vintage old pieces to house my jewelery, but I never thought about taking a teapot and hanging some earrings on the side.
  I took a great pic of a lady's booth, where she had jewelery all showcased on various silver pieces.  Well, since that photo didn't get onto the computer, I thought I'd recreate what she did, so that you too can be inspired.
Whether you have a beautiful silver teapot, mint julep cup, coasters,  or a silver bowl, you can arrange &  store your jewelery like this:

 Did you go to Round Top this year?  If so, how were you inspired?

Have a great weekend and we'll chat again next week my loves!

xo,

Austin Homes For Sale (ones that have "good bones")

 Every so often I love to check out the local real estate offerings.   Although it's great to see a house all decorated and gorgeous, it's even more eye catching to me when I spot a diamond in the rough:  a home waiting on a makeover or update.
 Each day Austin has alot of new people moving here, so I thought someone moving here might want to see what I'd recommend right now as a good house/investment.  Today I'm showing you a couple of homes under the million mark but on a later  post I'll share a couple of homes under the $ 500K mark, and so on.  So something for most budgets!
The homes I'll share with you are ones that need a little work, but not much and just in my opinion , a GREAT property.


The first house I want you to swoon over  is a beautiful Spanish hacienda in the gorgeous west Austin hills of Spanish Oaks.  The neighborhood is within the exemplary school district of Lake Travis,  gated,  an excellent locale and is gorgeous with loads of amenities.   The hacienda for some reason is in foreclosure and recently put on the market.  Yes, it needs some updating/finish out.  But it's minimal to do and friends this house could be gorgeous!

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Imagine the driveway and courtyard with a crushed granite driveway, landscaping  & maybe  a beautiful fountain, similar to the Escondido Southern Living Home courtyard , below:

But back to the Spanish Oaks hacienda.....

love the reclaimed ceilings and the steel  windows....

 the back courtyard could be gorgeous with a  pool, outdoor fireplace & great landscaping:

 and the fireplace needs some help here, but its an ez fix:

To find a home in the Spanish Oaks neighborhood, this size and with this quality finish out, would normally be well over a good million.  In my opinion ,  this home is a great buy and could be so gorgeous finished out and decorated!  Interested?  Read more details by clicking HERE. 


Next up is a Country French home.  The exterior has great curb appeal, very charming.

But the interior is  just too heavy.  The window treatments, the furnishings, the kitchen, the wood stains are all too dark and "heavy".
Take out the older furnishings, put down light rugs or a seagrass rug. Update with more chic modern furnishings. Change the mantel or the finish, and paint the cabinetry into a lighter French/Swedish look....

 Imagine the staircase painted white, and the banister a black/brown paint with a seagrass runner down the stairs.  The front doors painted black/brown on the inside or a rich dark grey...take off the faux finish of the walls and do a smooth solid white paint....

 Imagine all the heavy wood lightened or painted...new wall paint colors, modern fabrics, and an updated kitchen?  It could be beautiful!  This home is also in a gated , gorgeous neighborhood with the fabulous Lake Travis schools, and  spectacular sunset views of Lake Travis.  Want to see more? For more pictures and details, click  HERE.

I've personally bought/sold alot of properties, and   I've learned what to invest into a property and what not to waste your money on.  Did you know I'm for hire if you just want a real estate consultation?  Doesn't have to be just interior decoration!
And did you know my daughter-in-law Bridget  is  a realtor?  If you're one of the many thousands of people moving here this summer, then please give her a shout.  Bridget's a native Austinite and is a dedicated & driven real estate professional.  Contact her by clicking HERE.


Remember that time off I needed?  Haha....well, over the weekend I was able to catch up on much needed personal time.  So, let's just say I'm "open" to new projects , but will just keep my workload ez until the fall.  Will share my other ideas I've mentioned , later this Spring!.....you know me, design is just what I love to do:).

Let me know what you think of these homes, would love to hear from you!

all the best,