A Junkroom Makeover!

Until just a few weeks ago, the room pictured below was so cluttered, I could barely open the door!  When I began staging homes a few months ago, I needed supplies, and I needed a place to store those supplies.  What my family calls the "blue" bedroom was the only room in our home that was unoccupied, so it became the "catch-all" room for all of my staging supplies (and anything else that needed to be hidden away)!

Recently, some of my dear friends, who are expecting a new baby soon, came by to get a rocker that I was giving them for their new nursery.  Unfortunately, the rocker was being stored in the "blue" bedroom, and we could barely push the door open to get into the room.  It was all I could do to make a path for us to get our hands on the  rocking chair!  It was just plain embarrassing to have a room that was so out of control!  As soon as my friends drove away with the rocker, I got busy clearing out and organizing the room.  (I sort of felt like the Little Engine that Could as I carried one item at a time out to the garage). Many of the items I used for decorating the "new" room were some of my staging items such as the adorable twin headboards that were beautifully handcrafted by my very talented seamstress, Kay!  She does such beautiful work!  She also made the drapery panels, that had previously been used in a bedroom with nine-foot ceilings, so they are going to have to be hemmed.  The brown and white striped rug is from Capel Rug Outlet in Blowing Rock, NC.  The wicker trunks are from Ikea.  The bedspreads were purchased from Pottery Barn about 15 years ago for my daughter's room!  I turned them to the reverse side for this room.  I purchased the small vanity that sits between the beds at an antique shop many years ago and painted it white.  The floral pillows are from Etsy.  The throws at the end of the bed were purchased from Eastern Accents on the final day of the Fall furniture market.  They were having a big sale, and I thought these were really cute for a great price.  They have a chevron pattern that you can't see in this picture.

I wish I had some "before" pictures of the space, but I never even thought about taking pictures of such a big mess.    Hard to believe it's the same room now!  My first thoughts when I look at these pictures is, "Whew! What a relief!"

Fall Furniture Market

 The International Home Furniture Market was just held in High Point, North Carolina last week.  I spent several days looking at furniture and accessories.  I thought I would share some of my favorites!

Really like these wall sconces from Robert Abbey!

The colors on these gourd lamps from Robert Abbey were so pretty!

More pretty colors!

We liked the plates on the wall in the Lily Pulitzer showroom.

Another Robert Abbey lamp.  Would like this one for my nightstand!

Legacy always has the most beautiful bedding.

I liked this sofa as well as the patriotic color combination.

Bernhardt had a beautiful showroom this market.  

I really like this framed photo!  I would like to have this one for my living room!

Handsome!

I took this photo for my youngest daughter who is thinking about pursuing a career in fashion design.

I like the two sofas flanking the fireplace arrangement in this vignette.  

Anyone who watched Season 7 of Design Star on HGTV recognize these ladies?  They were both contestants on the show!  We saw them in Surya Rugs and my daughters made me jump in there and have my picture made with them!  It was fun talking to them about their experiences of being on the show!

Parade of Homes

I recently completed a staging job for Windermere Condominiums in Burlington.  This two-bedroom apartment will be part of the Parade of Homes to be held the first two weekends of October.  My goal was the same as for every project that I have completed: Design a space that is cozy and comfortable, and beautiful.  The idea is for potential buyers to walk through and imagine themselves moving right in.

The following are some 'before' and 'after' photos of the apartment:

Living Room 'After'

Kitchen 'Before'

Kitchen "After"

Master Bedroom 'Before'

Master Bedroom "After"

Master Bedroom

Master Bath 'After'

Child's Bedroom 'Before'

Child's Bedroom 'After'

Dining Room 'Before'

Dining Room 'After'

My New Studio

Once I knew that I was going to embark on this new adventure of starting my own Interior Design business, I began planning my studio.  The plans had to live in my imagination for a couple of months, because I was working hard to finish school and my daughter and son-in-law were living in the space that would become the new studio while my son-in-law was finishing his masters program.  Besides that, my imagination could only be as big as my budget which was not very big, but that's okay!  I love a budget challenge!

Last April, I happened in the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in High Point where they had just received three large architect tables from a local architect who had recently sold his business.  One table had been sold already, but I snatched up one of the two remaining tables and carried it home in the back of my van.  The night before I was scheduled to present my portfolio to a panel of Interior Designers for our final exit project, I sat in my garage painting this nice table!  Somehow, painting the table helped to ease some of the nervousness of thinking about the next day's presentation.

Excited!

I had paint in my hair for about six weeks after painting inside these shelves!

This table makes a great place to lay out my fabrics and paint chips
as I plan color schemes for my projects!

I found these baskets at Target to finish the table.

Next, it was time to think about a desk.  I was browsing at one of my favorite consignment stores back in the spring where I found a nice desk chair.  It was very reasonably priced, but more importantly, it was very comfortable!  


Lastly, I rode with my middle daughter down to Ikea in Charlotte where we picked out a nice desk along with two Expedit bookcases.  Each bookcase was compactly packed into one long box and each box was very heavy.  We made the mistake of loading the heavy boxes into my van by ourselves instead of asking someone for help.  In order to load the boxes into the van, I climbed inside to pull on the box while my daughter pushed on the other end of the box from outside the van.  Somehow, my foot got hung up on the floor mat as I stepped backward with the box causing me to stumble and fall out of the van onto the parking lot!  Don't ask how it happened because I can't tell you!  All I know is that one moment I was in the van and the next moment I was laid out on the asphalt parking lot staring up at the sky!  Thankfully, I wasn't hurt too badly, just a little sore (and a lot embarrassed). 

Now that my office is finished, however, I must say that the journey has been worth it and I really like working in such a cozy little space!  The first time I sat down at my desk, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of "this is really happening"  and I felt very thankful to Jesus for helping me to get here, and for giving me the opportunity to work at a job that I really enjoy!

This is a cozy and comfortable place to work!

The Forest at Duke

I recently completed a guest apartment design for The Forest at Duke, a retirement community in Durham, NC.  The apartment is a small, yet very cozy one bedroom that required careful space planning.  The design process began with a visit to the retirement community where I gathered information by interviewing the client, and by taking photographs and making precise measurements of the space.

Space planning this small apartment was one of most crucial elements of the design.  I used AutoCAD to draw the specified furnishings into the dimensioned space, as shown below.

Space Plan for Living and Dining Area

Space Plan for Bedroom







Below, are some "Before" and "After" shots of the space:

Living Room "Before"

                                                

Living Room "After"

Entryway "Before"

Entryway "After"

                                                                                                         

Bedroom "Before"

Bedroom "After"

Another angle of the Bedroom "Before"

Bedroom "After"

Kitchen "Before"

Kitchen "After"

Bathroom "Before"

Bathroom "After"