A Grown, Glam and Gorgeous Living And Dining Room

Our client's pup Marshi steals the show. 

Not all design projects are as smooth and seamless as they appear on HGTV. Sometimes we butt heads with our clients, curse them under our breath then sip lots of wine because we know our design mission is for the greater good!
This project was one of those. Our dear client Deon had suffered through the loss of a husband, had raised two kids on her own and had been diligent enough to see them both off to college. She was also a newlywed, and the love between her and new hubby Hector was so palpable it made the newly divorced me believe again in happy ever after.
But Deon admittedly had some control issue and so, as much as she’d admired our design work, she wasn’t about to let us just have our own way. Oh no ma’am!

This is where we started. An outdated design that definitely needed some glam to represent the new Deon.

We had a lot to do. Install new floors, paint, update lighting, all furnishings, window treatments and accessories.

It didn’t help that almost every single item in our approved design plan went into months long back order status causing multiple meltdowns for everyone.
The most heartbreaking was the loss of these accent chairs the corner stone of our original design. But as we always do, we rallied for equally fabulous options and decided on these stunning swivel chairs.






Swivel chairs? Oh no ma’am! Not happening said Miss Deon. Not elegant enough, not fab enough and just not gonna happen. Who the hell wants to swivel in a formal living room she asked?
This is when I️ in turn had a designer diva moment and declared that said chairs were happening because they are fabulous as all hell, and because we are NWD and she’d better learn to trust me on this or we would need to break up. End of story.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, these pleated swivel chairs made Miss Deon cry a mountain of tears on reveal day, and issue an apology - which we have on tape just in case she ever needs a reminder!Anyway, we are now dear friends and I’m allowed to sit in the chairs and swivel, even with a glass of red wine. The end. PSA: Trust your designers!

Deon and Hector honeymooned in Paris so these Parisian vignettes were a tender nod to that memory. And because we'll never tire of nailhead details on a sofa.  

A bold black and white rug is a contrast for a room filled with soft neutrals. A round coffee table is always a great way to balance the straight edges of a sofa and end tables. 

We of course extended the glam to the dining room with a table that seats up to 8, and a showstopper of a chandelier that took me forever to help install because of those pesky links but boy is she a beauty. 

And to the entryway because, of course!

Even the stairway got a budget-friendly makeover with the best design weapon ever - paint. I still can't believe how many of our IG followers were impressed with this simple update. 

Huge hugs and love to Deon and her family for allowing us into her humble abode to create the glamorous pad she'd long desired. Cheers to new memories and to always trusting your designers! Stay tuned for their kitchen reveal. It's kinda major. 

Pillow Talk: Should we Mix or Match?

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We recently installed a living room project for a dear client and a week later, she emailed me with the unthinkable: she hated that her pillows didn't match.
Whatttttttttttttt? 😓 I  was speechless.  How could this be?

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It's pretty clear from my earlier design projects that matching was kinda my thing.


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But over the years I've kinda evolved and have instead fallen in love with an unbalanced approach when styling with pillows because well, whose life is always really perfectly balanced?


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 And for me, mixing and matching colors, shapes and textures just spoke more to my design aesthetic these days and the lived in feel I wanted to invoke with each project.

 




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But even I break my own rules as you can see from this recent installation. Ultimately, it honestly just depends on the creative process. But now you can best believe I'm adding this sentence to our client questionnaire: should we mix or match your pillows? Designing minds need to know!
Are you on team mix or team match? Would love to hear from ya.

1st Mix: 1/2/3  2nd Mix: 1/2/3  1st Match: 1/2  2nd Match: 1/2

The Well Traveled Home - Living Room Reveal

Earlier this year I got a call from our clients Shakia and Michael, who are based overseas. They'd purchased a home that was a blank slate, and since they've traveled extensively for work, they needed to add some pizazz to reflect their love of modern design. 

The catch: they'd need me to get completely in sync with them virtually as they wouldn't make it to Florida before early next year. Say what now?

Oh, but here's the best part: Once they approved the overall plan, we'd have complete autonomy with the design choices. Well hot damn, that's music to any designer's ears.

Their only request: make it fabulous enough that their home would make it on our website. Well alright then! Let's get this party started. 
Here's the blank slate we started with in the living room. 
Well, that's kinda cute right? But here's what it really looked like on consultation day.

Hmmm. No shade to all my Miami hurricanes, but a UM blanket should never ever be a decorative item. Never. Ever. 

We had a lot to tackle throughout this entire home so we had to decide on the best places to splurge vs saving. Did we all hate these floors? Yes. Did we kinda want a fresh coat of a really light and bright neutral color on the walls? Yes. But again, we had major renovations to tackle in other areas so we decided to work our magic around these floors and the existing paint job. What we did remove was hideous popcorn ceiling. I can only handle popcorn at the movies. Not on the ceilings, so yes, there's always a good chance I'll encourage clients to spend the extra coins and remove them in favor of  smooth ceilings. They cringe at the mess and the cost, but always, always thank me later.

 

The real joy in designing this space, is that our clients shipped several handwoven rugs they purchased from the markets in Afghanistan. We knew right away that this one was the perfect fit to anchor the living room and worked our way from there.

I wanted a slender/tailored yet comfy sofa and this mildly tufted sofa fit the bill. 

 These fun metal accent chairs would provide additional seating but would keep the room light and airy since they filter light right through. Ditto this herringbone oversized mirror that further helped to reflect the abundance of natural light around the room.

 We added more more texture via this handcrafted end table in a finish similar to the oversized mirror.

 

Oh this coffee table. This table. A splurge item for sure but oh my word if it doesn't give this room just the finishing touch it needed. 

A coffee table like this is a designer's dream for obvious reasons. For starters, you get double the surface to style, aka the perfect chance to displace a treasure trove of books and other acquired accessories.

It's both practical and beautiful - hello brass detailed edges. 

And it's large enough for a tray, flowers, candlesticks and so much more. 

All photos by Jennifer Hillstead via JHillstead Photography

That's it. I'm done talking. Until we reveal the next room in this house tour journey: the lounge/office nook via hidden space we uncovered under the stairway. See bonus pics as well on our Facebook page and of course holla back with your thoughts. PS
I've missed you guys in bloggerland but you know you can always pop by our Instagram feed to see our daily shenanigans.

~Shop the Look~

(1) wall art (2) accent chairs or Leather option here (3) end table (4) rug (5) coffee table  (6) Sofa (7) mirror (8)plant or nearly natural option 

A Renovation Filled with Old World Charm, and a Pup Who Stole Our Hearts...

This adorable pup Brie, and living room, belongs to the very first clients to contact us this year. Literally. They emailed me on January 1, in desperate need of a design/renovation team to make their new home move-in ready by mid-February. 
Yikes for a tight deadline. But if you've followed us over the years you know we love that kinda pressure..
This is where we started. Try to ignore our clients Kyle and Laura and moi (I'd sprained my ankle just days before this consultation).....

They had purchased a charming older home in Miami Shores, one of Miami's most coveted neighborhoods, and needed some urgent changes: refinish and paint all the walls (old plastered walls, which have a very rough unfinished texture, are common in these homes),  renovate a guest bathroom and add new furnishings for the main rooms and master bedroom. 
  Here's what they have today...The hardwood floors were already in great shape so we designed the rooms to pay homage to the rich tones of the wood. We also lighted all the walls with an off white color.

We chose an apartment sized sofa to offer great seating without overwhelming the living room. The curved lines of the sofa also added a soft touch, a demure nod to the home's charm. And the navy blue pillows added a subtle dose of color. Let's just say that this kinda became Brie's favorite spot...

A small end table offers a resting place for a few books from our clients extensive collection. I think Brie is also impressed with the autographed baseball. 

Posted up and waiting for her parents to see the reveal for themselves.

Yes! There are real fireplaces in some Miami homes. This one had lots of charm. But we added some new tiles around the surround and added a fresh coat of paint.

To the left of the fireplace, is a small area perfect for a small breakfast nook area (the kitchen is directly across from this area). These were custom with blue velvet fabric and brass nailheads for added detail. A small table with a marble top completed the area. We opted to leave this window bare since there was enough foliage outside for privacy. 

It allows great light to filter in as our clients enjoy some morning coffee, tea or mangoes.

With no formal dining room, but a need to have a dedicated space for large family dinners, we chose a narrow yet sizable walnut dining table to fit snugly in this area. Selecting the perfect dining chairs was a challenge and was the one decision that proved the most debatable for our clients, who made all other decisions with record breaking speed..

We used their existing art for this gallery wall. 

This built-in niche area was a strange corner with some old doors, with no clearly defined purpose. We removed the doors, added some molding detail on the shelves to showcase some more books and mementos they'd collected over the years. We also added wine racks to keep wine flowing freely as they entertained.

We styled the dining table with our clients old vintage coke bottles, and some mercury simple yet fun candle sticks.

All photos by Mark of Sublime Photos

We paid our final homage to Brie with this ceramic French Bulldog Amanda scored as we shopped for accessories. We also used more books from their  collection, and a wedding photo, to add the most personal of touches.
Let me just say, we've been blessed with amazing clients over the years but working with Laura and Kyle was akin to hitting the client lottery. They are as sweet, thoughtful, patient and kind as could be in a process that can sometimes be insanely stressful, especially when living through the dust and chaos of a renovation project. They have an especially warm spot for our contractor Roy, because he took such great care of Brie each day as he worked. Let's just say it was a very emotional day when he had to say goodbye. A huge thanks again to our clients for trusting us to transform this charming home. We'll reveal the master bedroom and guest bathroom next. Brace yourselves.

Get the look

Blue High Back chairs: Similar here, here or for an industrial vibe here
Small Table: Similar here, here or here
Cowhide rug: Similar here, here or here
Dining Table: Similar here or here
Dining Chairs: Similar here, here or here
Chandelier: Similar here, here or here
Sofa: Similar here, here or leather version here
Area Rug: Similar here, here or here
Entry Table: Similar here, here or here
End Table: Similar here, here or here