Our Guest Bedroom and Creating a Cutting Flower Garden

After we completed our basement renovation last summer, we changed how we used a lot of the rooms in our home...the refinished basement became my office, my old office became our master suite, our old master suite became my son's room, and my son's room became the guest bedroom, our old guest bedroom became our closet, and Reid's office moved upstairs...whew!  It was a lot of work but well worth the effort.

I was a little burned out after all the changes and just recently spent some time on our guest bedroom.

I wish I had a before picture to show you but basically it looked like a typical young boy's room...navy blue, green and white stripped walls to coordinate with a wonderful nautical quilt made by his grandmother.  An adorable room but small.  Now that he's older and much bigger, he is really appreciating his larger room!

 Our guest bedroom looks like this now...

Bedding is from John Robshaw, accent pillow and lamp from Pottery Barn, print from Art.com and framed by Framer's Vise,  woven shades by Hunter Douglas, and antique bed, side table, and vase from my grandmother.    I'm happy with how the room and this picture turned out but it added a major project to my list this spring....can you guess what it is??

I want to create a cutting flower garden.  After scrambling for flowers to put in the vase above,  I realized that our yard, most of the time, doesn't have enough flowers to fill one vase.  So, I decided to change this.   

I'm a big fan of fresh flowers and plants in the home.  But I don't like buying flowers because of the cost and the selection is pretty much limited to our local grocery store.  Whenever I see flower arrangements that I really like, they always have a natural look like the one below...

Image via The Real Cut Flower Garden

After some searching online, I discovered a wonderful blog called Wild Acre that goes into great detail on how to create a cutting flower garden, the flowers to choose for your garden, and then how to create a beautiful bouquet.  Below are links back to these blog posts that I found useful...

Click here to see the post by Wild Acre for creating your cutting patch design.  

Image via Wild Acre

I don't have enough sun or land for these gardens but I found them inspirational and I could incorporate elements of them into our own patch...

Image via The Natural Wedding Company 

Image via The Natural Wedding Company 

 Source unknown

Click here to see the post by Wild Acre for selecting the right flowers for your garden.  Included is a great list of flowers to try.

Image via Wild Acre

And last but not least, click here to see the post by Wild Acre for creating a beautiful bouquet from your garden.

Image via Wild Acre

I'm looking forward to putting all this great advice to use!

I hope you are having a wonderful spring and enjoying some time outside!

If you would like help making your home beautiful, contact me here.

High Point Market 2013 - Sofas

Once again, my trip to High Point Market did not disappoint.  Lots to see and do.  I took so many pictures that I've decided to break them up into a few posts.  This post covers the sofas and trends that caught my eye.  Let me know if you see something that catches your eye and I can provide you more info.  Enjoy!

First stop was Cisco Brothers.  Their aesthetic is urban, casual and fun.  Their showroom looked like an old warehouse with furniture groupings throughout.  I was taken with their art display below.

Chesterfield style sofas could be found in every showroom.  The one has a tufted bottom and back.  The rustic lighting was fantastic.

I like it here with the bench cushion on top which mimics a feather bed.  You may never leave your sofa.

I'm a big fan of Lillian August furniture and have been keeping my eye on this sofa for my own house.  I would like two small sofas for our fireplace room and definitely want a sofa with one bottom cushion.    I wouldn't have all those pillows on it but love the bench cushion, tufting and nailhead detail.

I liked the rope detail on Brown Jordan's new outdoor sofa...

Over at Four Hands, we spotted another Chesterfield with a tight bottom cushion.  The oversized tennis racquets are fun.

 A newly discovered upholstery source, Stanford, had more bench cushion sofas (yes, I'm a little obsessed with them right now).

 

Another bench seat sofa but with a track arm.  Pretty and timeless.  Notice the acrylic legs on the traditional ottoman.  Maybe not as timeless but hip for now.

Not a sofa but Standford headboards are popular because they recline the same way as their popular chair frames making for a comfortable seat in bed.  Also, the color orange was found everywhere!

CR Laine's showroom never disappoints with their furniture displays.  The nailhead upholstery detail on this sofa is great.  They must be collaborating with Schumacher fabrics because I spotted their fabrics throughout their showroom, including the floral pillows below.

The thin track arm could be found everywhere.  The tape and nail detail is fun.

Another chesterfield but in leather this time.  Wouldn't it look great in a library or rustic lodge setting?

This was a popular sofa in blogosphere for it's stylized arm and nail detail.

One of my favorite sources, Lee Industries, had great pieces created in collaboration with a Belgium designer.  These sofas are pretty, elegant, and not overly fussy.

 I'm liking the contrasting fabric on the back.

 I believe this is the same sofa but with a skirt.

Here's a sofa with a contrasting fringe trim.  Options for customization are endless!

Here's Cathy and I exhausted after 10 hours of walking and seeing over 50 showrooms, on a tufted sofa with bench cushion, no less.

Stay tuned for more on lighting, accessories, and trends from High Point Market!

If you would like help making your home beautiful, contact me here.

Have a great week!

Iconic Chairs to go with Live Edge Table

It's been crazy busy in a good way (except for the tax stuff, of course!)!  If you are on the east coast, I hope you are enjoying this gorgeous day!!

For one of my clients I'm in the process of sourcing the perfect chairs for a table I helped them select.

Here's their new table.  It's won't be delivered for some time but it will be worth the wait!

I came across the pictures below for inspiration.

There are many chair options to choose from.  I think keeping it simple and letting the table stand out is important.  Which one would you select?

Hmmm, the iconic ghost chair or the iconic Eames chair below?

Another type of acrylic chair with cushion?  Acrylic chairs are great for small spaces...doesn't take up space visually.

The iconic Tolix chair?

Or something simple and upholstered, like the one below?

Or, one my all time favorites from Scandinavia, the wishbone chair?  They are low, keeping the sight line uncluttered.

Something a bit more traditional like a ladder back chair?

Or, the Mantic chair with cushion?

Or, the Mantic with a woven seat?

Another Eames chair with wood leg, that comes in so many colors?

Or, this Eames chair paired with wire chairs?  Maybe we mix it up a bit...choices, choices, choices!

Which chair do you like?

Have a great week!

Nature Inspired Design

I'm dreaming of spring and connecting more with the outdoors!  These rooms make a connection to the outside.  They are simple, filled with lots of natural light, and include natural elements such as stone, wood, and natural curiosities.  They are so peaceful and pretty...enjoy!

I have lots of exciting projects in the works...stay tuned!

Have a great week!