DC Design House and more...

It's hard to believe the tour of the DC Design House starts this coming weekend!  My room was completed over a week ago.  The "press" gets access to the house before it opens to the public.  After lots of snow and hard work, over 35 spaces have been transformed in under 5 weeks!

The entire house is looking amazing.  I highly recommend you check it out.  It's guaranteed to provide you lots of inspiration of your own home.  The tour runs from April 13th through May 11th.  During the week the hours are from 10-3 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 12-5 pm.  You can find more info here.

Old houses have lots of character but they also come with lots of issues.  Every room required tons of prep…including mine.  The plaster walls were in pretty poor condition.  Check out the old water damage below.

Luckily, my super talented painter, Peter Hawes, knew exactly what to do to make the room look like new.

I have to say that the support from the other designers and trade folks has been amazing.  Here's TJ, with Ibby, cleaning my windows for me!

Here's Dee with Deelight Design completing my red banding stripe.  Dee is a super talented decorative painter.  This project was an easy one for her but I wanted her to do it since it had to be just right.  You can check out her amazing portfolio here.  She has to be one of the nicest (and talented) person I've ever met.

I'm really pleased with how the striping turned out.  Dee ensured it's perfect, which on plaster walls is no easy task.

Dee gave me the great tip of using Goof Off for cleaning up old paint spills.  This product made the clean up so easy.  I highly recommend you get some!

Skip Doda, with Severn River Carpentry, did a great job on my radiator cover and custom seat in the dormer.   

Another great tip I received was to use Museum Gel in my room.  I'm using it in case folks who want to touch things won't accidentally move or break them.  The Museum Gel keeps breakables safe and in place.  What a great product for your home, especially if you have kids and pets!

My guest bedroom is on the small side.  In fact, there wasn't a place to fit a dresser, so luckily, Closet America, built me one in the closet!  Here's the before picture of the closet.

And here is how it looks now.

The top drawer protects your jewelry.

I recommend Closet America to all my clients.  They offer great quality custom closet solutions for a good price.  This month they will be transforming a client's garage.  

During the DC Design House tour, most of the items in the rooms are on sale…art, furniture, accessories, lighting, rugs, and more!  A portion of the sale goes to the Children's National Health System so you can feel good about donating to a good cause too!  

Here are some of my favorite items for sale in my room.

For sale, lavender and fern scented candle in brass container.

For sale, fun books such as "Parisian Chic".

For sale, bubble glass ceiling fixture.

For sale, "Chesapeake Girl" by the talented local artist Rick Casali.

For sale, "Female Torso" sculpture by Rick Casali.

For sale, custom twin headboard and pillows using Victoria Larson fabrics.  Also, for sale, bedding from the gorgeous bedding store, Isabellas, located in Charlotte, NC.  You can shop online here.

If you can visit the DC Design House, please let me know when you're going.  I will do my very best to be there.  Hope to see you!

Work on client projects continues too.  Here's a couple in-progress iPhone pictures of a home I've been working on for a few months.  When it's complete I'll share some proper pictures.

New pillows for the bedroom.

A new New Zealand wool runner with canvas banding was just installed.

It hasn't been all work and no play!  For my mom's birthday, her friend, Pat and I took her to the Philadelphia Flower Show and Barnes Foundation Museum.  If you like to garden, the Philadelphia Flower Show is a great place to visit for inspiration.  Here are a couple pictures of floral displays that are "Calder" inspired.

Another special treat was visiting the Inn at Little Washington with good friends.  My girlfriends and I usually go on a girls trip each year but this year we opted for an amazing culinary experience with our husbands instead.  The Inn is one of the top restaurants in the country and was a real treat.  

After our three hour dinner we got a tour of the kitchen.  They have someone who cleans the brass and copper every night!  I'm now inspired to keep my kitchen a little bit cleaner.

It was so much fun to find out that the london-based interior designer, Joyce Evans, who designed the interiors at the Inn, had her design illustrations framed and placed through out the inn. 

If you love good food, I highly recommend you add dinner at the Inn at the Little Washington to your bucket list.

Have a great week!