Before and After

I love before and after posts, when you are in the midst of a project its often easy to forget what a transformation you can make in peoples homes. This is a project that I finished recently, the picture on the right is the before shot, its what the Bedroom looked like when my clients bought the house, nice enough. I decided that the window was the perfect spot for a little sitting area, and to help proportion the windows a bit better I layered drapery with matchstick shades.

The area really needed a big light fixture, but I went with a very inexpensive Chinese paper shade instead of a chandelier, the effect is to just lighten the look and stop it from being too serious.

I hope you enjoy

Before and After: Guest Room

Today I am headed out to one of my favorite projects to do an installation. These are always exciting days because in the matter of a few hours a room or a house is transformed from a shell with some great ideas into a finished home. It usually represents months of work on behalf of our team, but days like today is when the payoff really comes. I will be sure to snap some pictures.

In the meantime however, I wanted to illustrate the point with a couple of shots of a different project. This is a Guest Room that we did, you can see where we started from and where we finished up. The bed is obviously the biggest thing, but also adding the chandelier and artwork helped as well. You will notice that the doors changed too from white to a faux wood. This is because when we designed the room we thought that the white would pick up the color of the bedding etc. After installing it felt a little weak, I think it looks a lot more substantial finished like this. What do you think?

I'll Say it Again- I Love Canopy Beds

We all have our weaknesses, for some it is chocolate, for others it is fashion, for me it is canopy beds. I think very few things will create the drama and sense of presence that a canopy bed will. The one in the image above I did in a beach house, and I have always wanted to find a use for that Clarence House Seaside Toile, here, accented with persimmon it's the perfect choice. The good thing about doing a bed like this is that when you are done, the statement is made. You can see in the background, that on the windows, I just used a split bamboo shade, there was no competing with this bed.

This kind of thing is actually pretty easy to do on your own as well, just be warned though it takes lots and lots of fabric, and you may never leave your bedroom again. There are some great tips on About.com that will walk you through the process. But here are some tips from me to keep in mind:

• Try to find a strong color for the inside lining of the bed, it will make it feel even cosier.
• If you want something that is lighter and more exotic feeling, try making the bed out of a sheer fabric, it will be sheer and sexy.
• Don't be afraid of pattern, the bed is already making a big statement, now is no time to be meek.
• One of the beauties of a bed like this, is that it creates a room within a room, so don't be afraid of putting your bed in the middle of your room, it could be an amazing effect.

Nursery Room

I have designed many rooms over the years for children. I have done Boys' Rooms, Girls' Rooms, Theme Rooms, well you get the idea. During all this I have never really spent a lot of thought on what I would do if I had children of my own. Well the time has finally come, my partner and I are in the process of adoption, so now I am faced with the dilemma of how to make the perfect room for a baby. I am sure my thoughts will change, but here are some ideas for those of you also looking to add to your family.

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  First of all the baby doesn't care. I have never met a newborn whose first words were "who was the decorator who did this???!!!??." The design of the room is fundamentally for the parent, a place to hang at 3 in the morning when precious starts to cry and needs to be fed. So design the room for you, and this is your chance to create a fantasy Nursery.


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  Plan the room like you would a kitchen, with military precision. Consider the work patterns, of where they sleep, need to be changed, where you will read etc etc. Aside from how it looks, it needs to operate in a way that makes sense for you.


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  You may want to consider a place in the room for you to sleep, and don't expect that from a chair, a nice daybed would be a great addition.


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  As far as color, keep it soothing, but fresh. I like lots of white, maybe a nice graphic pattern would be good too.


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  Add dimmers to all the lights in the room, there are times when you will want it bright and easy to see, and other times you will want soft mood lighting. Dimmers will give you the most control.

Good Luck!

More Kids than Room?

So many times people see things in magazines that are way more than they can afford or can achieve. Often it's just a matter of space. So my post today concentrates on a home that I did, where space was a real issue. The homeowner had three girls that needed to sleep in the same room, quite a design challenge, because they made it very clear that they did not want to make it feel like a dorm room. So I designed this pair of canopy bunk beds. The kids love them, it allows the room to feel "girly" and still gets a lot of them into a relatively small space.

Here are some tips on kids rooms where space is a big issue:

• Think vertical! Bunk beds are great, or raise the bed and put a study area underneath
• Baskets. baskets and more baskets. Try to use baskets for storage, you can see inside without taking it all out, and its easier than drawers to allocate to each child, so they are not inclined to just rummage through everything.
• Use flexible options as much as possible. For instance bean bag seating can be pushed aside when not needed, giving floor space as required.
• When space is limited, go with lots of color, it will help make the inevitable chaos, look like it was meant that way :)

Good Luck, and Happy Friday!

Canopy Beds

There are very few things in life that bring me as much pleasure as sleeping. Lazy Sunday mornings in bed with the paper and my dogs is one of the highlights of my week, so it should come as no surprise that I have a lot of strong opinions about beds. One of my all time favorite things is the Canopy Bed, the way it creates the sense of a room within a room, is, in my opinion, a sense of intimacy and security that is hard to create in any other way. Pictured above is a bed that I did for an English style house and i think it captures the essence of what i am talking about.

Here are some tips about Canopy Beds:

• I like to use a stronger color on the inside of the bed, it helps to create a "womb-like" feel when you are inside. In the bed shown above, the outside fabric is a silk taffeta, then I lined the inside with a lighter shade of the same thing, and then added a third lining of a shimmering gold silk sheer, on which I had sewn, small imitation pearls, you can't help but feel like royalty when you are inside.
• Another approach is to make the whole thing from a wonderful sheer, that way the whole bed is translucent, this can help create an almost "safari" like feel, or at least a tropical environment.
• When building these beds, it is my preference to take them all the way to the ceiling, and this is for a number of reasons. I think it helps the scale of the bed, I like the verticality of this approach. It also helps when the bed is attached to the ceiling, because the hangings are attached also at the ceiling and therefore you don't need corner posts, which I think is good, especially if you have children who like to take a flying leap at the bed!

I hope that this post inspires you to create your own bed fantasy....sweet dreams!

Monday is Answer Day

I have received a few questions this week, asking suggestions for window treatments in bedrooms. The questions have varied from, how do I create blackout conditions and still have a beautiful window, to, what can I do as an interim solution, till I can afford what i really want.

Well the first question is a little easier to address: I am a huge fan of layering window treatments, by combining drapery with shades of some sort. This technique creates a detailed, finished feel and gives you the benefit of flexibility. You can use the drapes to create blackout conditions, and the shade to filter light at times when you want some privacy, but not darkness. In the first image above you can see that i did drapery that provided blackout, then layered that with a bamboo shade that provides filtering of light when needed. There is the added benefit of using the shade to help improve the scale of the door too. Also you can see in this image that i used wooden shutters on either side of the bed, as another way to control the light. I like to use different techniques, depending on the situation. The second picture shows a similar idea but using a fabric shade.

The second question is a bit more challenging, what to do if what you want is not within reach now. Well there are several companies that provide "drapes in a box" Silk trading is one of them, as well as a few other large catalog companies, these are usually good resources that can be affordable. One thing to keep in mind, since these are temporary, maybe you try out some ideas that stretch your design concept more. For Instance if you go for an inexpensive venetian blind, try it in bright orange or another strong color, that you wouldn't be willing to try on your permanent stuff. Sometimes the best design happens in those unexpected places.

Good Luck! let me know how it works out. Remember Monday is always answer day, so if you have any questions or design dilemma, post it here and I will try and help with suggestions.

The Perfect Guest Room

Travelling is one of my favorite pastimes, there is always an adventure to be had somewhere, and because of all the travelling I have been lucky enough to do, I have developed friends from all over the world. I love to play host and show them around the city I have come to love, but one thing I have learned is that it is important to create a quiet place for your guests to retire to. Whether it's a Guest Room or a nook off of the Laundry, they need some where to get away from you (probably as much as you want to get away from them)!
Today's entry is about how you can create a great Guest Room, quickly and easily, and perfect enough to ensure that you will be invited to be an honored guest at their home in the future.

• Create a welcome tray that is on the bed when they arrive, on it you should have some fresh fruit, a bottle or two of water, today's local paper, and a map of the area. I think its a good idea to include a local guide book too, you could even highlight attractions that you think they might enjoy.Don't forget sample sizes of common toiletries too.
• Create your own minibar somewhere in the room. This doesn't mean you should have liquor out, but maybe some snacks and drinks that they might enjoy. There is nothing worse than waking up in a strange house in the middle of the night, wanting to snack and not being sure where they keep the potato chips.
• Leave out Fresh towels either on their bed, but definitely in their room in plain sight, it takes away any confusion they might have about what to use. Also, use the best towels you have, make them feel welcome!
• Create a Guest Book in the room. In the image above the Chandelier becomes its own Guest Book, as people stay in this home they write a note and pin it to the light, makes for great reading when you are in bed! But a more conventional book is great too, it's a great record for you and helps to make your guest feel like this is effortless for you.
• Try to design your Guest Room, so that you can block out the light, your guests are probably on vacation and will appreciate the ability to sleep in.
• On the same idea..... a privacy lock on the door please!

The general idea here is make them feel at home, try and anticipate their needs so that they are rummaging around looking for things. Create a room that is simple, laid out well, and you will be a success. There is a great book on hospitality called "Simple Hospitality" by Jane Jarrell, here is the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Hospitality-Jane-Jarrell/dp/0849904846/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-6703765-5740715?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173324342&sr=1-2

Enjoy Your Guests!