I Welcome Brass With Open Arms

Pin It I cannot tell you how excited and obsessed I am with brass coming back in style. It's gotten a bad wrap for awhile now. The older homes in North Carolina (where I hang my hat) typically have the cheap brass door knobs and light fixtures and most homeowners have finally ripped it all out and replaced it. So you can imagine how difficult it is for me to sell the idea of brass to clients. Brass is luxurious and rich and if its done right can make for an inviting space because of it's warmth.  Using an old material in a new way is a one way train to awesomeness. I wouldn't tell you to put all your old brass doorknobs back, but I would tell you to incorporate brass in a new way.

A Few of My Current Projects

Pin It I have a file on my desktop labeled; "Creative Projects Folder." In this I put pictures of things I like, notes, color schemes, business cards, web addresses, etc. Basically like Pin boards on Pinterest except for my eyes only. Half the stuff in there no one would understand why it was saved. For example, I will save an image of Justin Bieber because I like the shade of purple he is wearing. I keep this same file system on my phone. I take pictures of things that I have found at stores, or fabrics that maybe didn't work for my current project, but worth noting for future ones.

Here are some of my latest ideas and projects.

So I got this dresser and I LOVE the shape of it. I chose to do a high gloss yellow lacquer paint on it. Plain brown or plain black just didn't suit this remarkable atomic ranch looking piece. I am currently in the middle of changing the color scheme of my bedroom so it was a no brainer to go for something this bold. I shined up the original hardware rather than buying new. The colors in the small Picasso hanging above the dresser shown here were my inspiration.

Here is a better view of the Painting

I used Rust-Oleum because of the high gloss and because it's indestructible once it's dry. Seriously no chipping and I barely did any prep work, just a light sand. The only downside is the smell being very strong so open a window.

Here is my next project. The loveseat is about four feet wide and in this picture the fabric looks pretty good. In reality it is in pretty bad shape so the plan is to reupholster it...myself. 

 I'm diggin the geometric pattern but something in me keeps saying I should take advantage of it being a smaller piece and do something like a floral. I'll keep you posted on what I decide.

These chairs were $5 for the pair. The square shape of the metal wiring and the fact they had arms was very enticing to me. They are kind of reminiscent of  the  famous Bertioa chair. The paint looked horrible so I spray painted them in an outdoor metal spray paint, high gloss of course. My plan is to do a dipped paint look on the legs that I saw in a magazine.

The Bertioa chair

 Dipped paint look.

 I want to do a two color dip like this except I am going with orange and gold.

I also have this crazy dress I found in a California thrift store. Once I get up the guts to cut it, I will hem it a little shorter and trim up the sleeves. If I am feeling fancy I will make a belt with the scraps.

That's my sis in the background.

I stumbled on this fabric at JoAnn's and would you believe it was on sale. I thought how cute this would make for a bed skirt or some shams for a little girls room.
 I hope one of you go out and buy this because it's adorable and honestly if I bring home any more fabric I might be considered a hoarder.

Ok there you have it, the contents of my current creative projects folder spilled out of my head and on to virtual space.

I Owe You

Pin It Whew, I've neglected you but I have been busy! The bar/ lounge project I have been working on for the past few months has entered crunch time and will be completed in about six weeks. Its amazing to watch a space go from a vision on paper, to real life. I've been collaborating with the owner on the design and I couldn't have asked for a better client to bounce ideas off of. He loves design ALMOST as much as I do.

So since I owe you guys I will make this post extra special.

      Part of what I have been working on for this bar is adding some mid century flare to the design. Now let me make this perfectly clear; I love the mid century style. I'll take a chair from the 60s over a brand new one in a heart beat. To do this the way I wanted I've had to go on a never ending quest of authenticity. I have been researching, movies, books, and magazines directly from the 60s and 70s. Here are some of the gems I pulled out of a vintage House & Garden.

Look at that fireplace opening

I appreciate it, but I am pretty sure this is one of the ugliest bedrooms I have ever seen.

Oh how romantic, a fur bedspread.

The height of style.

Reminds me of Jonathan Adler

I can't tell you how many of these I have ripped out of bathroom remodels.

I like the part about the demonstration.

I actually do not mind this bedroom, the height of the canopy really makes it I think.

Dream house just so you guys know.

Fabric on walls, fabric on ceiling, and I love the coffee table.

I like this room, the carpet is pretty awesome.

Check out the technology hanging on the side of the cabinet, a phone in the kitchen!? No way!

Very cool

Look how they used hanging basket seats as bar stools.

 I actually ripped this exact flooring out of my kitchen.

 I'll take one in every color.

Yellow plaid curtains 

Shout out to the individual that showed me these magazines, you know who you are.

As far as current home projects I have really been into stripes lately. I had been looking to do something funky in a long hallway  I have right when you walk into my house. Painting it a crazy color just wasn't cuttin it. I wanted drama. 

  I really enjoy the look of a horizontal stripe best. That yellow lamp is really cool.

The color combo is tricky, it could have easily gone Halloween. 

 Same with this picture

 I am drawn to how there are different sized stripes and only a small strip of them like a giant bar-code wrapping around the room.

You know I love my pattern combinations.

I tried to do this recently on my nails, its pretty complicated.

I like the different nesting tables and the overall color pallet used.

 Is this not a dream nursery!?

This photo in particular is what sealed it for me.

So I measured out every line and used a level to stay even.

One of the side effects of being a designer is you end up with lots and lots of extra paint laying around, especially paint samples. However, these sample containers are about $5 so you could do all kinds of crazy colors and not break the bank. Here is how it turned out, I apologize for the poor photo quality. I lost the charger for the camera so I had to take these with my phone.

So this is my front door from the inside, I will eventually paint this in high gloss color because right now it seems a little unimportant next to all these stripes. I did one small pink stripe at the top to bring your eye up a little bit. Horizontal stripes are good for accentuating length in a space but I also wanted height. I love the way the art layers on top. I only did one side, there is no need to go too crazy.