Fabulous Fall Decor and a Coupon Code!

Head on over to my boutique http://www.thedesignhouseboutique.com/ and check out some of the home decor.  We're loving these fantastic natural hand-picked, painted and glazed Tutomo fruit gourds. What a perfect addition to your fall decor!

You can use them to help dress up your mantle or make a striking centerpiece. The Tutomo fruit grows in the Caribbean and South America and are hand-picked and embelleished with the perfect little pewter leaf.  It even has the dried seeds that rattle inside. As they are surprisingly resilient they are perfect as a table center piece, above kitchen cabinets, or anywhere else you'd love to put them.

They come in various sizes (7"-12" in length) and fall colors and are priced between $29-$44 each.  Shop now and get 10% off your entire boutique purchase with the code "Fall10".

Small Tan: http://thedesignhouseboutique.com/accessories/decorative-objects.html?page=shop.product_details&category_id=42&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=94

Small Olive: http://thedesignhouseboutique.com/accessories/decorative-objects.html?page=shop.product_details&category_id=42&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=93

Large Olive: http://thedesignhouseboutique.com/accessories/decorative-objects.html?page=shop.product_details&category_id=42&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=96

Large Red: http://thedesignhouseboutique.com/accessories/decorative-objects.html?page=shop.product_details&category_id=42&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=95

Talk about Shoe Art!

An article came out in Dezeen magazine showcasing Julian Hakes, a London architect, and his fabulous Mojito Shoe.

The "Mojito"

The Mojito is a shoe that has no sole and no upper but instead supports the foot on a continuous loop! It is made of carbon fiber – to give it strength and spring – and laminated with rubber on the side that touches the floor and leather on the side next to the skin.

The "Mojito" view from behind

Hakes looked at the design of the Mojito from the same perspective he would building a bridge, he examined the forces and looked at the most simple, elegant expression of the forces to play within the materials used. Hakes said, “With a high heel providing the heel is supported, even by standing on a wooden block the foot naturally ‘spans’ the gap naturally, with bones and tendons.” This is an unbelievable design producing a
fabulous shoe! I so want a pair!



As I'm sure Rachel Zoe would put it: "Just B-a-n-a-n-a-s".

 To view the full the full Dezeen article click this link:
http://www.dezeen.com/2011/09/17/today-at-dezeen-platform-julian-hakes/

Pretty Pink Little Girl Room

We recently posted a blog about our "Fresh, Fun and Fabulous" makeover.  While working on that project our client asked us to accessorize her daughter's bedroom.  She wanted a chair that they both could use, cute rug and drapes to make it feel like a complete room without breaking the budget.

We found an adorable chair perfect for cuddling up and reading a story that both mom and daughter loved.  Finding a fluffy rug in the right size was a little tricky.  We found these adorable flower shaped rugs but they weren't the size we needed so we mixed them with squares.  Using two flowers and two squares we created a fun rug that was the perfect size.

For a few hundred dollars we added pops of pizazz to this toddler room that both mother and daughter loved. 

The Finished Room

Adorable Chair

Sunset Oasis

One of our latest projects to be completed was for an adorable young couple that wanted a new look for their living room.  They love entertaining and having friends and family over and the biggest struggle was providing enough seating for everyone.

We wanted to give them a room that was fresh, fun, young and chic.  She loves the colors of sunset and that became the inspiration for the space. Bringing in beautiful shades of orange and blue was the jumping off point for the room.   The walls were already a great tan that we wanted to keep.  Blue drapes were chosen because of the pop that they'd give to the walls.

They needed all new furniture and we found an amazing deal at a local furniture store on beige leather sofas.  We purchased two for them to provide the most amount of seating.  To give these sofas a pop we added spicy pumpkin color pillows and multi-colored horizontal stripe pillows to both. 

To add more color to the room a multi-color floral rug was selected.  The rug stands out in the room from the neutral furniture around it and is the perfect pop for the space.  Addressing the need for seating we found a great round glass top cocktail table that has four nesting stools underneath it.  These stools can be used as ottomans of seats for guests and they tuck away when not in use.  A great burnt orange floral chair was added to the space as well for even more seating.  In all they now have seating for 11 people without having to pull chairs from the dining room; it's pretty awesome.

Art and accessories were added to the entertainment center, table and walls to complete the space.  Never over look your walls when redoing a space; they are just as important as adding a new chair or rug.  Putting a fun piece of art, mirror or sculpture piece on the wall adds another layer of texture and finishes off the room. 

Before - Living Room

After - Living Room

Before - Living Room

After - Living Room

After - The Chair and Entertainment Center

After - Table decor.  This mix of wicker balls and flowers adds a fun pop to the table.

A Grand Piano Room

Earlier this year we started working on a project to create a beautiful piano room for a client.  She had purchased a mahogany grand piano and wanted the room to showcase the elegant lines of the piano and reflect her style. 

She loves a traditional style and after living in various countries and along the East Coast she has collected many wonderful moments that she wanted to showcase.  For this space we wanted to give her a way to showcase these pieces as well as provide hidden storage for the piano music.  Due to the size of the piano there was not a lot of room for furniture, but her needs were meet with two comfortable fauteuil (pronounced foh-til) chairs.  We selected a beautiful large bookcase to house all of the piano music and showcase various books and collectibles.  Selecting furnishings that are multi-functional can help to conserve space in a smaller room. Along with the furniture we also made sure to bring the traditional styling in through the use of custom finish work. Note the gorgeous window casings and the large crown molding shelf that really bring in that tradional charm.

The fauteuil chairs were fully customized with a fun vivid floral and offset with a colorful back panel and a red welt. She loves the outdoors and when she said she "would rather weed all day long than scrub a toilet for five minutes" I knew we needed to bring the outdoors in so she could truly enjoy this space.   You may remember these chairs from an earlier blog post that featured these custom chairs.  To finish the space we placed a petite end table between them with storage. It's always great to have added storage even in the little furnishings.

We also proposed painting the entire main level a soft buttery yellow to warm up the space and make it hers.  She had a similar yellow in a previous home and loved it.  Custom drapes were hung from medallions and sit stationary next to the window.  Functioning drapes were not needed in this space, but the fabric element adds a nice layer to the room.  Woven wood shades were then added to the windows for privacy and to bring in a casual element reminding us again of nature. Take a look through and let us know how you like the results. Just know that we're still waiting on a few pieces like art that the client is deciding on to finish the space. We'll repost pictures as soon as we have them.  



AFTER




Before

 
 

 

Before

After - Fully done space with piano and bookcase.

Here are a few different ways to arrange your bookcase.  It doesn't have to strictly feature books.   Adding photos, collectibles and even plants is a great way to break things up.

Here we placed books on their sides and placed items on top of them. 

Conquer Your Fear of Color

The wonderful House Beautiful magazine posted a great article entitled "7 Ways to Conquer Your Fear of Color."  It provides a lot of great tips on enhancing your current environment with color and how to utilize it in a way that doesn't become overpowering.  Each tip is valuable in it's own way and it can be a great way to begin livening up your space through color.  Head over to House Beautiful and check it out.