Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

Coco + Kelley

It's hard to believe the year is almost over!  For me, it'll be one to remember...I started my blog which turned out to be much more fun then I ever expected and it's all been due to you all!  Over the last 4 months I have loved getting post ideas, beautiful pictures of your homes and of course the positive feedback I've received along the way!  Whenever I started to wonder why I'm working so hard on this blog thing, I would run into someone or get an email or comment from a reader who seemed to really like what I'm doing and it would make it all worthwhile again.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for your support!!!

In 2011, look for some new things from Pretty Inspirational...new posts, services and a site redesign!

We'll be enjoying a quiet night at home on New Years but just in case you're planning a fancy soiree or a causal open house enjoy the pictures below from my favorite blogs and magazines for some New Years celebration inspiration!

Design Sponge

Canadian House and Home

Canadian House and Home

Canadian House and Home

Martha Stewart

Coastal Living

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart

Real Simple

Signing off until 2011!

2011 Color of the Year

Pantone just picked the new color of the year!  Pantone, a company considered the authority on color, has been selecting the "Color of the Year" for the last 10 years.  They poll graphic, fashion, industrial and other designers from around the world each year to forecast the colors that will have broad appeal.

Blogosphere goes crazy when they announce the Color of the Year and I'm jumping on the bandwagon.  Drum roll please....the color for 2011 is Honeysuckle!

A bold reddish pink.  A very happy color that should improve your psyche and instill confidence, courage and spirit.  It will remind you of summer and spring.   "In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits.  Honeysuckle is captivating, stimulating that gets the adrenaline going - perfect to ward off the blues" explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.

Plus folks also look good next to the color by providing them a healthy glow!  

Sounds perfect, right?  Hmmm...not sure I would personally use it for a couch but I would like it in small doses throughout the home. I'm thinking small accessories, pillows, or maybe an accent wall.  I was surprised how many pictures in my photo library had pink.  I found a few other pictures from Elle Decor, one my favorite design magazines.  If you like the idea of adding some honeysuckle to your life, see pink pictures below for inspiration. 

Farewell to last year's "Color of the Year",  Turquoise, one of my favorites!

Pictures with pink...

Great chaise in a pink velvet.  Beautiful without being over the top feminine.

Candice Bushnell

 Pink always looks good with black and white.

Cynthia Rowley

 Great with the green and not too preppy.

Gwen Driscoll

 One of my favorite bedrooms.  Love the zebra bench next to the pink throw...

Joe D'Urso

 The wood paneled walls really balance the pink nicely

John Saladino

 Wouldn't expect anything less from Jonathan Adler.  I'm guessing Pantone called him to get his opinion!

Jonathan Adler

Katie Ridder

Michael Smith

One of my favorite blogs, House of Turquoise, just posted this picture today.  Pretty with last year's Color of Year, turquoise.

Lonnie Magazine

This pink isn't as deep but wanted to include it anyway...the lacquered door was too cool to pass up.

Kelly Wearstler

Polly Wrenford

The next two pictures are bold!  I'd worry about wanting a redo in a couple of years.

Lisa Allison

Thibault Jeanson

Just the right amount of pink for me.

Unknown

Bear-Hill Interiors

Unknown

Another picture with pink and green, a classic combination.

Kattie Ridder

Pillow is so pretty and lush.

Robert Couturier

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.   By adding a comment below, please let me know your thoughts on the color and how you might use it in your home.   

Thanks,

My Bathroom Renovation

If you're thinking about doing a bathroom renovation soon...read this post!  We recently completed a bathroom renovation and we learned a lot in the process.  Just to give you a little background on the project, Reid and I hired an architecht last fall to help us with renovating our home.  We knew for sure we wanted to replace windows but wanted to ensure we weren't wasting money on new windows in parts of the house we may change later.  So we gave him our entire wish list and before we knew it the project took on a life of its own.  So after three months of design meetings we received gorgeous plans of our dream house.  Then we learned it was going to cost much more then we were willing to spend.  So we decided to stage the renovation in three parts.  The first part was completed this past summer which included all new windows (requiring several walls to be rebuilt), a front portico and door, replacement of a decaying second story deck, opening up our living room and sunroom to make one big room, interior and exterior paint and a redo of our master bathroom.  Our master bathroom will hopefully become a guest bathroom (in stage 3) so I tried hard to keep this in mind.  This bathroom was a fun little project that I really enjoyed working on.

Unfortunately, I don't have before pictures to share.  You'll have to trust me that it was bad.  It had yellowish toilet, sink, vanity and bathtub surround.  A 30 year old tile floor that was losing tiles weekly.  A fan that didn't work so mold was always growing.  The bathroom is small at 5 x 8 feet and we had no plans to enlarge it.  So I wanted the bathroom to be light, airy and spa like.

Below is the design process I went through.

First, I searched for inspiration pictures that I referred to during the design process.  This bathroom is so peaceful, pretty and unfussy.  Things I love about it are the big windows that let in lots of natural light, the beautiful artwork, the clean lines of the tub, plumbing fixtures, and shower glass.  The architectural details and accessories keep it from being too bland!

This bathroom also uses a monochromatic color scheme but it is not boring because of the different materials used such as the small 1x1 glass tiles on the knee wall, the 12x12 tiles on the floor, 8x8 tiles in the shower, the stones around the tub, and the weathered wood vanity.

Even though many spa like bathrooms do not have soft window treatments, I prefer them in the bathroom.  There are so many hard surfaces in a bathroom that I feel they need to be offset with the softness of fabric as the roman shade does in the bathroom below.

Then I set out to complete a design plan that included all the elements I wanted for the bathroom.  No walls were moving but I was removing the tub to make a nice size shower.  Below is the design plan I put together.  I like seeing all the elements together so you can ensure they all compliment each other plus it helps you visualize the final result.  The starting point was the fun striped fabric from one of my favorite sources. 

Below are the pictures of my finished bathroom.  Some of the pictures came out a little more "golden" then the actual color (my camera skills need some work!).

Below you'll notice a vessel sink, the wall mounted faucet (keeping a small vanity top free of clutter), and a decorative mirror that is covering a built in medicine cabinet.  You can see the window treatment in the mirror.  The background color of the fabric is a soft white.  I did not want white white fixtures which would have made the bathroom feel too cold.  Instead I used the bisque color for the sink and toilet which is much softer and warmer feeling.

I used a fossilized limestone material on the vanity, shower sill and shower niche.  I supposedly have to be careful not to spill red wine on the top because its porous but honestly I think a little comet on a honed surface will take care of any stain.  The fossils of shells were just too cool to pass up!  I also went with a simple shaker style cabinet door style.  I wanted a clean look that complimented the more contemporary plumbing fixtures.

A towel bar was put on the side of vanity so it wouldn't take up any valuable wall space.

I went with a toilet with a skinny dual flush bowl (14 inches wide).  Takes up less visual space in a very small bathroom plus it's eco friendly.  I did consider a wall hung toilet (very European!) to take up even less visual space but it was too costly to install.  The dual flush bowl works great and would highly recommend it.  Soft close toilet seats are great too.  No more slamming sounds when the seat is dropped down.

I found the artwork above the toilet in a gallery 10 years ago while visiting Niagra-on-the-Lake, Canada (a beautiful town if you're up that way).  I thought they worked with the look and feel of the bathroom.  I placed them above the toilet instead of a towel bar so I could see artwork when I walked into the bathroom instead of a bath towel.

Below is a flat roman shade for the new window which is slightly larger than the old one to let in more natural light.  Honestly, the shade is more for decoration then for privacy.  The window is hung high enough and I'm short enough that I won't be flashing the neighbors!  

I also had a pocket door installed (sorry no picture).  Before the door opened into the bathroom making it feel even smaller.  Now I can leave the door open and make the bathroom feel even larger.

The bathroom rug adds some soft texture.  I hung a 3 way hook on the wall for my towel, bathrobe, and PJs.  I also used the floor tiles for the baseboard moulding.  If the budget would have allowed, I would have wanted a frameless glass shower door.  Instead I opted for the much cheaper semi frameless door.  They sell these at the big home improvement centers but instead I used a local bathroom and kitchen supply center for mine.  I was able to upgrade the glass thickness and get one without a towel bar (didn't want to hang a towel on the door and block the view of the tile).  These options did not cost much more money and I think greatly enhanced the shower.  

I also had a teak seat installed that folds up and down.  It supposedly holds up to 300 lbs!  In reality I use it more as a foot rest when I'm shaving my legs instead of a seat.  

I wanted a tile that looked like a natural marble.  The natural marble doesn't cost any more than this tile per sq ft but it was much costlier to install...maybe for my next bathroom redo.   On the shower floor is a natural stone tile that feels great on the feet.  

Here's a close up of the tile design.  A mix of 12x12, 2x2, and 8x8 tiles (cut on the diagonal) accented with 2x2 blue glass tiles were used for the shower walls.  No fancy shower sprays here.  Again, this will hopefully become a guest bath one day so we cut out many of the luxury items.  The shower head works great.  My shower is now the "dog shower" because she can now walk into it easily and the removable nozzle makes it easy to rinse her off.  Good thing I love her!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and information.  If you are considering a bathroom renovation and would like some guidance, please don't hesitate to contact me about my design services.

Thanks,