An update on the Walker decor...

Here's just a few updated shots of our living room...

 Lately, I'm inspired to take a paint brush to some things in our home...just not sure which first and what color......this includes the coffee table, the marble top top chest, the china cabinet in the dining room, the wing back chairs, and the little footstool in front of the wing backs.  I won't paint all of these...but just thinking about it.
.........someday......after I paint the crib.......and have a baby........and we finish our renovation, I'll get back into some projects like that.

Thanks for checking in!

The progress of a work in progress

Well, it's been seven months since my last post!  Yikes.
If anyone still reads this thing...I have an update on what's been keeping me busy and away from the computer.

Firstly, Chris and I are expected a baby boy in less than a month!  Yay!  Due date is August 13th.

Secondly, although I'm also still decorating on my own, I've been working for another designer, the fabulous, Fran Keenan.  I'm learning a TON from her, and love getting to glean from her wisdom, experience, and talent!  You can see some of her work here in Birmingham Home and Garden and her own homes were featured in Southern Living this past year (I can't find the link for that one) and in Cottage Living a few years back.  She's keeping me busy, and away from the computer.

Thirdly, since April we have been under renovation.  We moved out for three months.  We are still not finished, but since the baby is coming soon and blogging will be pretty low on the totem pole, I thought I should at least show the progress of the project so far.

Our kitchen went from this...

To this...

Now, it looks like this...

We uncovered lots of extra space, but eliminating a staircase down to our wet basement and installing a trap door in the kitchen floor instead.  

(It has not really been styled yet, and still has a box living under the table)

Grey sheet of drywall, that is taped off in blue tape, is sealing us off from the construction that continues in the back half of the house.  This will be a cased opening, just as it was before, which will now take you to a hallway with the laundry room, back door, and master bedroom (with new on-suite bath).

* Cabinets by Cannon Woodworking in Trussville, AL.  

* Countertops by Concrete Farmer in Trusville, AL.  

 So the layout in our dining room went from this...

To this...

(Dining room is full of boxes that we can't empty til the reno is over, and some extra furniture too)

By swagging the chandelier over, we have opened up traffic flow through the house, and given ourselves more living space.  To the left, when the metal filing cabinet (barely shown in picture) goes to its new spot, after reno is complete, there will even be room for a chair and ottoman there!  

The view all the way through...

Thanks for checking in!

 

Fabric Stories for a Boy's Room

I put together a few potential fabric stories for a client's little boys room, so I thought I'd share...

a)

b)

c)

d)

Fun, huh?  What's your favorite?

Virtual Client- A Kitchen & Breakfast Area Spruce Up!

I was honored and excited when a blog reader from Mississippi contacted me for help with her kitchen and breakfast area.

She and her husband built their house a few years ago, and she was feeling that this part of her home was just blah.

She's a new mom, and so I wanted to help her make her space beautiful, relaxing, and practical...on a budget!

Here are a couple of the pictures she sent me...

The client loved the Southern Living Taylor Creek Idea House and has used it as her inspiration for many parts of her house.  So, I used the Taylor Creek House kitchen to give us some direction for where to take her kitchen.

(Sorry for the blurry picture)

For her kitchen I recommended:

- Paint the cabinets.  

If you want wood colored cabinets, I would suggest going very dark, like a dark walnut or coffee color, or going with a light pickled or white-washed look instead of a medium tone

- Replace the barstools (which she was hoping to do anyway).

- Replace the pendant lights.

- De-clutter above the cabinets and on the countertops.

Custom cabinets, which are preferred, go all the way to the ceiling.  To mimic the look of custom cabinetry,  you don't want the eye to be drawn to the gap between the cabinets and ceiling.  If your cabinets don't go all the way to the ceiling, you can use this space as storage with inconspicuous baskets instead of display.  

- Spray paint the black refrigerator with stainless-steel look appliance spray paint.

- Add a colorful rug to make the space feel homey, and give some cushion for her baby to play.

- Add bamboo blinds to the window

For her breakfast area I recommended:

- Remove the tv cabinet and invest in a small flat screen to tuck in the corner of the kitchen countertop (nearest the breakfast area).

- Line up the breakfast table parallel with the wall of windows on the left.  

- Add ceiling height white curtains to dress the windows, along with bamboo shades for each window, mounted just below the curtain rod.  

Always, always, always use floor to ceiling curtains!

- Add a colorful patterned rug

- Get an old long bench or church pew to push against the wall under the windows on the left.  Dress it with comfy pillows in an indoor outdoor fabric, and pull the table up to the bench like a banquet.  

So here's the look:

Here's the run-down...

1.  School house pendant lights.  She will need 3 of these over her peninsula, and 1 over her sink.  

2.   A very inexpensive indoor outdoor fabric for pillows for her breakfast area banquet.  I wanted something she could wash and/or wipe off when her baby (or husband) spill something.

3.  A Dash and Albert rug indoor/outdoor rug in Gunnison.  She can hose it off if something gets spilled!

4.  We're on the hunt for the perfect old church pew!

5.  Ikea has several options for simple white curtains in long lengths.  The downfall is...you can't order online.  

6.  Bamboo shades cozy up any space, in my opinion!  These are from Lowe's.  

7.  Another indoor/outdoor rug from Dash and Albert in Diamond Slate/Blue.  

8.  I suggested painting her cabinets a warm grey color like "Mourning Dove" by Martha Stewart.  Her walls are already Starched Linen (by ??)

9.  These hip and easy to wipe down bar stools are inexpensive from the Home Decorator Collection.  

10.  Freshly painted cabinets are yummy.

******

I can't wait to see the finished product!

CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT HELP WITH YOUR HOME!

sarawalkerdesigns@gmail.com

Decorating a Room from Scratch: Part 3

Some things are starting to come together since I left D.C.
( see Part 1 )
( see Part 2 )

The pair of chairs were delivered...

The sofa came in, and it looks great flanked by the lamps we found!

The pie safe I found in Birmingham was delivered and will be great in her dining room!

 I love this mirror over the fireplace.  It's a little tall...but I think it looks cool overlapping the trim.

Still gotta get rid of that painful light fixture.  That big armoire has now been sold via Craigslist...yay!

New paint color.  The doors will be painted the color of the mantle.

We are still waiting on...

The rug to come in

Removing the light in the middle of the room

draperies & pillows

bamboo blinds

ottomans

tv console

dining area table, chairs, buffet server, chandelier

art & accessories!

These are the fabrics...

(sofa, chairs, drapery, ottomans, pillows)

I put together this image to help myself visualize how it will all come together...

Can't wait to see as it continues to unfold...

Thanks for checkin' in!

Decorating a Room from Scratch: Part 2

Read up on Part 1, first....

"So that's what you missed on"...my blog.

So after arriving to D.C., with a headstart on steps 1-3, I continued on in the process.  

3.  Fabrics & Upholstery (continued...).  I still had a few upholstered pieces to track down in D.C. The client was definitely tired of sitting on camping furniture, so we were really hoping to find a pair of chairs somewhere that we could purchase off the floor. Because her husband loves to put his feet up, we were also hoping to find an ottoman to use for a coffee table. To be honest, I had low expectations for meeting these goals. Finding chairs and an ottoman that are: ready on the floor, the right size, the right body style, fabric that works with our other selections, and the right price in one weekend was going to be very tricky. I shopped all day Saturday with a friend (my client was in meetings) and we had no luck, and I was definitely discouraged. At the very end of the day, we made one last stop and found this pair of chairs:

They looked great with our other fabrics, and they swivel!  The swivel was something I had wished we could get, because of the position of the chairs to the TV, but it was usually too pricey.  These chairs were in our price range and a great body style to compliment our sofa.  I was also hoping to find skirted chairs since our sofa is not skirted.  

And in the same store, we found this super cool ottoman:

I immediately loved the color and the shape!  They only had one in the store, but they would be able to order a second.  Although we had really envisioned one large ottoman, two ottomans is so much more fun!  One can have a tray for drinks, and her husband can put his feet on the other.  

They had a sofa in the store that was fairly similar to the one we had selected in Birmingham, so we set up a little "scene" for the client to see so she could get the idea of how it would all look together.  

The sofa already had those pillows on it, and the second I pulled up that orange ottoman I knew I had stumbled upon a super fun color scheme...orange and turquoise!

The client met us at the store and LOVED our little pretend living room scene!  I had forgotten that she and her husband are Tennessee fans, so she was pumped about having orange ottomans.    

  

4.  Furniture.  (Non-upholstered).  When designing a room from scratch, next you should find your wood furniture, which will fill in the spaces between your upholstered pieces.  The measurements of your floor plan and your upholstered pieces will determine the allotted measurements for your wood pieces.  

The only piece of furniture the client wanted to keep was this little table which would fit nicely between a pair of chairs.  

So our shopping list in the wood department was...

-Something long and skinny to put the tv on.

-A few storage items for the dining area...a buffet and cabinet.  

I found this piece for the dining area at an antique store in Birmingham.  It's a primitive Pie safe circa 1880.  It is perfect to store their china, without displaying it, which is what she wanted.

During Day 1 of shopping in D.C., we came across this amazing old work bench, that I thought would be awesome for her to put her TV on:

It was love at first sight for me and this table!!!  However, it was just too rustic for the client, so we decided to keep looking.  (And in retrospect, it was probably a little too rustic for the other furnishings we had selected).  

So on Day 2 in DC, we continued our search for something to put the TV on.  

We were excited to hit up two of D.C.'s biggest flea markets:  The Georgetown Flea Market, and The Eastern Market.  However...we woke up to a muggy rainy day!  Although we still went to the flea markets, there were very few vendors there and we didn't find anything.  While we were in Georgetown, we wandered down to Restoration Hardware and spotted this table:

It is a great size for our space, wide enough for the TV and a lamp, has a lower shelf for TV components, it has an industrial feel which will be great in front of her exposed brick wall, but it's still clean and contemporary enough to go with our other furnishings.  I knew instantly it was a good option, but we still kept our eyes open in case we found something else.  

  

5.  Lighting.  Begin selecting lamps, and making decisions about lighting for the room.  These choices will affect the overall mood of the room, and dictate what sort of paint colors will work best.  Although you can do a lot with good lighting, you can't control the natural lighting that a room has.    

On Day 3 in DC we went lamp hunting.  We drove a little ways out of town to some outlet stores.  

We needed a pair of floor lamps to flank the sofa, a table lamp to go next to the TV, and a table lamp for between the two chairs.  

At the Restoration Hardware outlet we found this fabulous pair of lamps (minus the shade):

They were half the original retail price...which was great!  I think these lamps will feel edgy in the space, but they are a very classic shape and will stay in style and could transition into any room.  

We didn't find lamps for our other two spots.  Our plan is to go cheap on one, and splurge on the other.  That way she will end up with one fabulous lamp, and one that she can replace in the next year...with another fabulous lamp!

6.  Paint Color.  There is a paint color for every color in the rainbow, so this is probably the MOST variable aspect of your room.  You should select this last to best compliment the other decisions you have made for your room.  

We wanted to do a neutral, especially since there is so much color naturally in the exposed brick wall and her warm toned floors.  

The stark white trim just felt too uptight and formal for the space.  So we decided to select a nice neutral wall color and paint the trim the same color as the walls.  The trim in this house is not original, and so some of it seems out of place, so I decided to neutralize it instead of accenting it.  

7.  Accessories & Wall Decor.  Don't try to accessorize all at once!  Do you want your room to look like it fell out of a box?!  Collect items that you love overtime for a "collected" look.  Bring in a variety of textures and pops of color that reflect your fabric choices.  This step could be approached along the way, especially if there are specific accessories or art that know you want to incorporate from the start.  For instance, a large piece of art may dictate the size table that you place on a wall beneath it.    

We found one accessory while I was in D.C.  We found this old toolbox from a junk store that is the perfect size for DVD storage!  

We also saw this bull head....

Unfortunately, we just didn't have a good spot for it.  Too bad huh?

I arrived to an empty room and left a basically empty room...but there was much unseen progress.  Most of the things we picked out would be delivered to them after I left.  

Thanks for reading, I'll keep you posted on the progress...

Decorating a Room from Scratch

So, a friend of a friend contacted me about a month ago about decorating her new row house in Washington, DC.  Their furniture consisted of hand-me-downs and there was nothing they really wanted to continue using, so they decided to sell their furniture before moving to DC.  So she needed some help decorating their common areas, from scratch.

She sent me pictures from the real estate listing of the house, along with a few measurements and I did my best to start planning out the space.

(Photo from previous owners)

I found this great website where I was able to draw out her floor plan and place her furniture.
Because the room is long and narrow, it was definitely hard to plan out the best way to arrange the furniture.  One zone needed to be dedicated to a dining area, because there is no separate dining room.

Here's what I came up with...

*Rugs define your spaces.  See how the rugs in this layout define the entryway, living area, and dining area.

And so the decorating process began...
When you're decorating a room from scratch, you should think about starting with your constants and then moving progressively into your most variable elements.

1.  Floor plan.  Unless you are planning on doing a renovation, the layout of your room, i.e. your stationary walls, are the most constant thing in your home.


We certainly weren't doing any renovations to this D.C. home, so we moved right along to step 2.

2.  Rugs.  Rugs are directly dependent on the size and shape of your room.  So when starting a room from scratch, start by selecting your rugs.  Rugs come in limited sizes, shapes, colors, and patterns.  If you try to bring in a rug later, you'll probably have to go with something solid or a sisal.  This is especially true if you are looking to introduce a hand-made oriental rug into your room...choose your rug first!

For my D.C. client, we selected this rug, by Dash and Albert:

She hopes to save up for a real oriental rug at a later date, and so we wanted something neutral that could easily transition into another room at a later date.  Dash and Albert has great patterns and materials.  (If you're in the Birmingham area, you can order them through Paige Albright Orientals).

If you choose a colorful rug, it can really be the springboard for your room.  You can start pulling out colors and patterns from your rug to inspire your fabrics and wall colors.  

This rug was easy to work with, because it's so neutral, but it didn't really inspire any particular color scheme.  The client wanted a colorful room, so we had to look to fabrics to bring in the colorfulness she wanted.  

3.  Fabrics & Upholstery.  After selecting a rug, the next "least variable" element is your fabrics.  This includes your upholstered furniture, drapes, etc.  Although there are tons of different fabrics out there, you can't just dream up any fabric you want in any color, any pattern, in your price range, in the right texture and weight.  A lot of different elements have to come together to find the right fabrics for your space.  

The client had already moved into her space and was very anxious to get the upholstered furniture quickly.  She and her husband had already been sitting on camping furniture for too long.  So they were really hoping to find a sofa and a pair of chairs that were on a showroom floor that they could bring home asap.  Most of the showroom furniture that I came across was in neutral colors.  

I was thrilled to find this couch by Wesley Hall in a designer showroom in Birmingham...

I loved it right away and hoped the client would too!  She was a little skeptical at first, because she didn't want the room to feel too contemporary.  But it was such great quality, a great price, and most importantly...available NOW...so we decided to incorporate it into our space.  The ivory upholstery really picked up the ivory in the design of our rug.    

I then focused on my hunt for a pair of chairs, available now, affordable, great fabric, the right body style...etc...etc.  

I liked this chair, which was at a local store in Birmingham in a different fabric, but the shape was too similar to our sofa...

So, I came up empty handed in Birmingham, so I planned to chair shop in D.C.  I was very skeptical about finding something, and figured we would probably end up ordering something.  

I also did a little shopping in Birmingham for fabrics for drapes and pillows.  I knew this was going to be my shot to really introduce some color into the room.  But our fabric budget was tight.  I was having a hard time coming up with colorful patterned fabrics in our price range.  I found this at a showroom in Birmingham, and I thought it offered a nice bright pallet of colors to work with. 

Or for half the price, I looked at some patterns from Premier Prints...

I was focusing on florals, because I thought it would soften the space and keep it from getting too contemporary.  I wanted something that had warm tones in it, to tie in her warm hardwood floors and the warm brick color in her exposed brick walls.  

The premier prints fabric is certainly a little more "flat" and less tonal than the first fabric, but it is a lot more comfortable for the client's budget.  So I took samples of both to D.C., along with a few other, less colorful options.  

So I packed up a sample of our rug, sample of our sofa fabric, samples of drapery and pillow fabric options, my paint deck, a measuring tape, and a camera full of furniture and accessories that I had seen in Birmingham.  I had prepared all I could, but I realized...there was only so much I could do without getting a feel for the space in person.  

I had a head start on what I would consider to be the first 3 steps in the design process.  But I would have to approach the next steps during or after my trip to DC.

To be continued...

dum dum dum....