Friday, September 27, 2013

Leather Alert And TGIF....


Hello peeps,
So sorry to have been MIA all week, but the little man and hubs have been pretty sick, so I've been on triple duty at home, plus dealing with an intense deadline issue on the day job.
Happy to report that they are both doing better, and deadline at work has been met so back to normal. Hooray.
Anywho, I'm over on Houzz today dishing on some great ways to infuse leather into your decor - like that fab leather pouf in the adorable nursery above.
Be sure to swing by and lemme know if you loves a huge leather sectional or if you're like me, and prefer your leather in small doses.
In other news, finalizing photos for some great project reveals so brace yourselves. Cheers to a fab weekend! Be safe. 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Lady Bugs Please



You may not know this - from the million posts we do on home design projects - but we also do our fair share of events and weddings.
A lot less than in previous years, since the interior design projects have been a bit intense, but this year I was happy to slip on my event planner to plan the baby shower for this client. 
She wanted a lady bug themed soiree so we set out to deliver just that.  
You'll see photos of baby Emmalyse - now 4 months old - in some photos because they are Native American and in their culture, baby showers are done after the baby is born. In fact, nothing can be purchased for the baby until he or she is delivered. 
Once Alexia at Noirstyle Invites whipped up these fun invites we were off to finalize all the other details. 



The shower was at a restaurant and the private room we would use had red walls, so I knew I needed another color in the mix to balance things out a bit.



I settled on polka dot tablecloths, lime green napkins from Over the Top and mason jars with flowers from Flowers by Grace, my neighborhood florist.  
Since no event is complete without a fab cake and dessert station, we called on Myriam of Divine Cupcakery to work her magic. Be warned: her red velvet cupcakes will make a grown man cry! They are are insanely delicious. 





Cake pops, macaroons, cupcakes anyone? 




Our dearest friend (and one of Xavier's God-mommas) Khadeen of Kreativ Myndz pulled together the candy station and handled all the games at the event,  which included some men instantly getting very pregnant. 


Instead of the typical guest sign in book or poster, I pulled together this quick DIY project to serve as both a welcome board and keepsake for baby Emma to hang in her room, and one day relive the memories. I simply used a burlap board, glued the Baby Girl sign to the board, strung some ribbon through a pair of her baby shoes and added a newborn photo of her.



To keep it light and fun, guests simply scribbled some words/thoughts for baby Emmalyse on pastel post it notes, then pinned them to the board.




There were lots of kids at this baby shower so to keep them entertained, we hired a face painter, the talented Linda of LTG parties, who I met at the birthday soiree of this client's son, Dylan.

Our client Samantha with the baby of the hour, Emmalyse.  



Huge thanks to the team, Tamisha, Khadeen, Debbie and Shaggy of course, who photographed the event, Cooyah for our awesome T-shirts, and the staff at Texas de Brazil. 




Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A Bright and Fun Kitchen Reveal


I received a call late last year from a friend of this amazing client, and the conversation went a little something like this:  
"Hi Nicole, my name is Dr. Cobb. You don't know me, but I saw what you did with Debbie's kitchen. I remember that original kitchen very well, and if you could do that, to that kitchen then I need you in my life!"
Well, of course we had to meet. She was even more charming and welcoming in person, and so began our journey of many, many months to transform her kitchen, truly the heart of her home. 
Dr. Cobb aka Ms. Barbara, a retired elementary school assistant principal, is a serious cook. For 28 years she'd thrown down some serious meals in a space she'd never really been happy with. It was functional for sure, but said nothing of her sunny and bubbly personality so I knew that had to change.
Since y'all know I love knocking down walls, as evidenced in many of our previous kitchen renovations, we first considered removing the wall dividing the kitchen from the dining room to open the space tremendously. 
But it would mean a clear line of sight into the kitchen once you opened her front door and after many revisions, and sensing that she simply was not comfortable with such an open concept, we decided to leave the blueprint as is. Here's how we started:



Dropped ceilings, outdated cabinets, laminate counter tops, linoleum floors, the list goes on and on. The first order of business of course was to demo everything and start over. The first rule of thumb of any kitchen design is to maximize storage, so taking the cabinets all the way to the ceiling from 30" cabinets to 42" cabinets was a must. That alone pretty much doubled her storage, and allowed her to bring in items that had been in storage in her garage.
A birds eye view of the sink area. 
As you can see, we went with a very similar cabinet color except these are solid wood and offer much more storage via Lazy Suzanne's and more much organized drawers and cabinets. 
Once we agreed on our cabinet finish, we went shopping for our tiles and we both fell in love with this Manhattan porcelain tile from my go-to tile store, Floor and Decor. It is a stunning, yet detailed tile so we had to be careful to select a counter top and back splash that could work in harmony.


You'll notice a flood of lighting in this space, far cry from the dull glow she had from the fluorescent lights under that dropped ceiling. I go heavy on lights on my renovation projects because I cannot emphasize enough how critical good lighting is. Here we installed recessed cans, under cabinet , lights over the sink and LED strips in the pantry. 


I fell in love with that fabric used for the window treatment on one of my many trips to my favorite fabric store, Designer Discount Fabric. I knew right away it was a winner and didn't even offer a Plan B. The minute I showed it to Ms. Barbara she fell in love as well. 




Ms. Barbara shops a LOT so she needed a refrigerator that could handle her penchant for stocking up on food items. This was a second model. The first we selected was not deep enough and thankfully the good people at the Home Depot were willing to switch it out weeks later. 



One of the main reasons for keeping the layout in tact as well, was this gas range. Relocating a gas line can be a costly endeavor so keeping the new cook top in this space just made sense, though clearly she now has a more swanky cook top with six burners to boot and a new microwave overhead, again freeing up valuable counter top space.  




Just some of the things that make her happy, including a few books from her vast collection of cook books. We first revealed this stunning Brizo faucet we purchased from Ferguson over on Instagram. It's a far cry from the original faucet.  

 
We saved a lot of money by not doing custom cabinets, but even stocked cabinets can be customized. The very talented Roy, who took the lead on this project, turned this end cabinet into a display area for her spices. 

  



The gallery wall is both functional and personal. A much needed cork board holds her everyday to-do list, recipes and coupons and also hides the unsightly electrical panel. Keep in mind that that cork board can be easily removed for quick access to the panel, as is required by the code. Photos of her 4 year-old grandson Jeremiah - an avid reader - and that kitty artwork is my nod to her beloved cat Trixy, who tolerated us throughout this renovation. 


As always,all photos were taken by the amazing Shaggy of Circle Ten Media
The lady herself, radiant about her kitchen and beaming because she thinks she has a chance at winning our upcoming oxtail cook-off. I'm kinda known for that and my mean pot of stew peas Ms. Barbara, so I hope you're prepared to lose, in your very own kitchen to boot. See you soon and thanks again for allowing us to transform your kitchen into the space of your dreams and for being so patient, warm and welcoming to the entire team. 
P.S. You can see many more before and after shots over on our Facebook page. 
P.P.S. Happy Hump Day everyone!
P.P.P.S Happy birthday to my amazing husband, Patrick and a solemn moment of silence for all those who perished in the 9/11 attacks, including my dear friend Michael.  

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Time Is a Flying....


The little man is just two months shy of turning the big 2, and the mommy in me is having a moment. Why, oh why, is he growing up so fast?
Most of you warned me about this speedy ride through his childhood, and yet I still can't believe he's already parroting everything we say (which means I'm now spelling out a LOT of words) and just chatting up a storm. 
Eternally grateful to have this little man in my life, and to be there to watch him discover new things - Umbrella? Elephant? Crackers? Dora? Bubba Guppies? 


These photos are from our little family escape to Naples for the Labor Day weekend. I SO needed that break and some rest!
 Showing off his baby muscles. He now has a serious fan club in that town. SMH! 

Loves him so! Thanks for indulging my little moment. Really needed that moment of pause/reflection. 
Here's why: I'm gearing up for a grueling weekend - finally wrapping up this project and shooting final pictures. We are also doing a baby shower for this wonderful client. We also have lots of project reveals in the works. Be sure to follow me over at Instagram to see how we survive this weekend's madness.  



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