One Man's Trash...

Recently, I was thinking about all the thrift store, junk store, side-of-the-road-pick-up art that I have accumulated. I love each and every piece, and have found some funny and wonderful items over the years. Maybe when we have a house I'll do a big grouping of everything? I'm not sure, but I know one thing - it's unique and I plan to hold onto all of it for forever (and add on to my collection). 

I have this piece that is in the left shelf at the top. It's someone's rendering of a still life, in oil, but unfinished. It looks very old, as the canvas is beaten up and threadbare at the sides, but I love it that way, and I always have left it unframed.

The green is amazing, huh? 

This "Girl with A Horse" print is another good find. It's hard to see in this picture, but it's a cool one:

(this is from when we FIRST moved in the condo! Before my sofa was reupholstered)

These cat and dog painting prints are maybe my favorites:

The dog one currently stares at you in the bathroom, next to the toilet at the studio. :)

OK... that's all for now. So much fun collecting weird and wonderful things. 

This and That

Hi!

I'm headed to the studio pretty soon here for something pretty exciting (can't wait to share with you guys), but first I wanted to write a quick post...

First... I did the first pour for the resin on the wine cork table last night. Exciting! AH! Nerves. I think it'll take about 3 or 4 pours to cover the full half-cork:

So, I have to wait about 72 hours in between coats for them to dry. Such a process, huh?!

Secondly... I played around with some books and accessories at home last night. This is what I do in the evenings while watching tv. I stare at the bookshelves around the tv, thinking about what I can move around, then I do it while watching. 

That Linda McCartney "Life in Photographs" book is amazing. I bought it a few months ago, and I want to blow up and frame just about every photo in the book. 

Design In Miami

Hi everyone!

We just returned from a trip to Miami, where my husband and my step-brother ran the Miami Half-Marathon. We were there Friday to Monday, so we were able to take in some fun sights and enjoy the warm sun. When we were going to the airport earrrrrly Friday morning, the temperature in Atlanta was around 30 degrees, and when we landed in Miami, it was around 80... a pretty nice break from the cold!

Anyway, I took some photos of great design-y things to remember, and thought I would share them here. Yesterday, we hung out at the Surfcomber hotel for a while. This place had great vibes, with lots of color and mid-century modern furniture. I really loved it! 

This was the lobby...

This was also in the lobby - I loved it!



another lobby sitting area:



The other night, we hung out at a really cool private party at another awesome hotel. I can't remember the name of it, though! I did manage to snap one photo:



Love the astroturf. There was a bocce ball tournament going on, and we sat around chatting on some colorfully painted adirondack chairs with cute pinstripe pillows on them. Lots of decor inspiration here.

I also snapped a photo in the bathroom, after we learned you're really not supposed to take photos at this hotel, since lots of members are celebrities. Oops.





it was a cool bathroom -- all white, subway tile, cararra marble, industrial details with pretty carved wood tables. Pretty much everything there was a feast for my little eyes.

We also checked out the Sagamore and the Delano hotels -- both very beautiful, and very, VERY well decorated, but we were promptly kicked out of both of the pool areas (we were only walking around, not sitting or hanging out!) for not being guests. Kind of depressing.  Have any of you guys had this happen? it's sad. haha.

This is a photo I took while walking around South Beach a few days ago:



back at our own little hotel (the Albion hotel, which I stayed at before - it's a well-priced hotel, and in a great location for walking around), I sat in a big basket chair:



:)

One night, we ate at a delicious Peruvian restaurant called Ceviche 105. Our friend (who is a local) took us there, and it was amazing. All raw fish, prepared differently. It was SO, so good:

our leftovers:



family style.


(this is another hotel that we hung out at, the National, which was laid back, (aka, we were able to eat lunch and hang out here without being kicked out) and well designed.

it was a great trip. I'm really happy to be back in Atlanta, though, and ready to work hard the rest of the week. talk to you guys soon!

Mycolor Blog Post And 2013 Cathedral Antiques Decorator Inspiration House

Hi everyone. I blogged today over at Mycolor with an exciting interview from Jennifer Reiner and Robert White of REINER|WHITE DESIGN STUDIO. Both are participating in The 2013 CATHEDRAL ANTIQUES INSPIRATION SHOWHOUSE, here in Atlanta. The show is in its 42nd year and has been benefiting Atlanta-area non-profits since it was founded in 1969. This year’s show opens on January 26th and will benefit REFUGEE FAMILY SERVICES whose mission is to support the efforts of refugee women and children to achieve self-sufficiency. At Mycolor, we are so happy that some designers chose to use our paint for their rooms at the showhouse this year, and I have arranged some interviews with them to share with you guys. (Along with some photos, too!) I was able to check out the house last night at a press opening, and it is stunning! So much hard work, and such beauty. I suggest you all go check it out as soon as possible — inspiration galore! 


(Image borrowed from Ally at From The Right Bank)

Paintings In The Studio

Hi, everyone. I'm headed out to work a little earlier than normal today, but I wanted to show you a couple of canvases I have been working on... 

This is one that I am in progress on:

It's not anywhere close to being done. Well, maybe like 50%. The color combinations are weird... I really love an interesting color combo, and I have lots more weird colors to add to it. I am doing another one that is really close to it, with a white background. This one reminds me of a "velvet Elvis" painting with the black background. I looove doing these non-commissioned paintings. They will both be for sale when they are finished!

And, this is a painting that was commissioned that I just shipped off yesterday:

She went to Texas. I snapped this photo really fast with my phone, before I headed to FedEx to send her away. Sorry it's not a fancy photo! 

anyway.. off to work, just wanted to share those two tidbits for you!

adios!

Wine Cork Table Top

Well, I said I wouldn't do it... but here I am again, creating a table top out of an unusual material.  Remember my penny tiling adventures from this summer?

Here is the table top I made, to jog your memory, or incase you are new here:

Which looks like this up close:

The shiny stuff on top is resin, which I had a lot of issues with (it is REALLY testy stuff!). But, when I was approached by a different designer a few months ago to try my hand at a similar project, I said yes. This time, I am using wine corks for my wine-loving client. He collected the corks, sent them over along with his table, and I am creating a custom table using his corks. I imagine it will be pretty neat for him to be able to look back and remember a certain bottle or memory associated with that bottle. 

Right now, I have just chopped the corks in halves and glued them to the table. This part took about 4 hours or so. I haven't done the resin pour, but I am feeling more confident about it this time. In fact, I kind of feel like I could work at the help desk for the resin company at this point. Hah!

Here's what I'm working with so far:

The glue is still wet, hence the white. It'll dry clear, and then I'll do the resin pour on top.

Wish me luck on the pour! I am crossing my fingers that my four previous pours with the penny table will give me experience enough to do this one completely properly. It's a fun challenge, either way. I have to admit -- I kind of love this stuff. It's always fun to me, to learn a new technique or about a new product, and it keeps my job interesting! 

Geometric Artwork How-To

Hey dudes.

I blogged about this a while back, over at the Mycolor blog, but I wanted to share it here, too. As I do. When I do. What I do. Anyway.

It was a cute/fun project, and I liked the end result. Plus = super-easy. And, you could do it with any colors and any sized canvas. It would make a pretty killer wall mural, as well. Endless possibilities. 

Here we go:

(I'm quoting myself, from the Mycolor post. Is that weird? Grammar lines get blurry with the internet.)

"I found this CUTE PICTURE ON PINTEREST, and decided to try my hand at making some artwork similar 

I painted my canvas (just a 20″ by 20″ square canvas. I love square canvases!) in MyColor™ inspired by PANTONE®’s “Whitecap Gray”. It’s a great neutral–I love the raw linen look that it has. Anyway, I brushed the whole thing with two coats of this color, and let it dry."

After it was dry, I just brushed in (using MyColor™ inspired by PANTONE®’s “Gardenia”) the triangles free-hand, with my brush. It’s so simple – you make a line, you make another line, you make another line – BAM! Triangle. And you just let them grow off of each other from there. My lines aren’t even perfectly straight, but I think that adds a little bit of a more fun, quirky vibe. I brushed in all of my lines, then I let that dry. I didn’t worry about getting them too thick here, because I knew that I’d be going back to do that later when the triangles were filled in with color. I made my own color palette for this (I didn’t want to copy the Pinterest picture too directly). 

First, I did all the white triangles. I wanted to start with white, because I knew there would be more whites than any other color, and I wanted them to feel balanced. I ended up adding a few more small triangles — I did them just according to what felt right to me. You can be creative with this project, and do what feels right to you, or, you can completely copy my canvas. Whatever  makes you happy.

I mixed a few different colors for this project. The fun thing about MyColor™ inspired by PANTONE® paint, is that it’s great for big projects, like walls and murals, but it’s also really perfect for small arts projects, too. The paint goes on canvases really nicely. I actually used a lot of this paint for THESE CANVASES THAT I PAINTED A FEW MONTHS AGO! 

Anyway, I mixed colors that I liked as I went. I used MyColor™ inspired by PANTONE®’s Phantom, straight up, for the black, but for the other colors, I ended up mixing Apricot and Rennaissance Rose together, then lightening them up with Gardenia to get the peachy-pinky-orangey-coraly color, then added a little more Gardenia again, to make the lighter shade of the same color. It’s all about experimentation, people! To get the cute mint green, I used Skylight. Skylight is a great bluish-green (I’m all about mint green these days, are you?). Anyway, I created all the triangles, then went back and filled them in, until they were covered. After that I went back over my white lines like I was talking about earlier, and thickened them up. I did this about 3 times, until they were nice and bright!

Check it out, in my living room (which we know doesn't look like this anymore, but whatever)

Rug Switch Up

Often, when I get tired of something, or just need a change of scenery, I like to just move things around my home. Pretty common amongst us designy types, huh? Do you guys do that? I'll move accessories around, a throw pillow around, or add a vase of flowers to a table or counter. Sometimes you just need to look at something new.

This weekend, while Jordan was at the Falcons game, I switched the rugs in the kitchen and living room. I moved my vintage oriental that is usually in the kitchen, into the living room where my mint green/white chevron one usually is. 

(I went back to having computer/photo issues yesterday - argh!)

You like? I like it alright for a change-up. Really, I think they work better in their original places, but I'm enjoying a little scenery switch.

This photo's editing is kind of crazy, sorry...

It's a little more colorful and wintery in here now, I feel like.

It'll do for a week or so, then they'll probably move back! I'm going to take really good photos of my house's current state for you guys soon - I realized there are no current ones other than the Jezebel article....weird!

Happy Friday & A Mycolor Post

Hi everyone... 

I just wanted to let you know that I blogged some brand new content over at the Mycolor Inspired by Pantone Paint blog. I wrote about how Sarah, who won the paint for my paint party, painted a cute desk and a step stool with her paint colors, and they turned out so great. I think you guys will like! 

Here's a little teaser shot of her project, head over to the blog to see the whole thing.

have a great weekend!

Living Room Built Ins Painted

This past summer (2012), I painted kitchen cabinets and living room built in's in a large living/dining space, and I have been holding out on showing you guys all my photos, because I was having all those computer/camera issues! I finally figured out how to save edited photos again (shout out to the Blue Helpdesk on Howell Mill. A really nice guy helped me out, and didn't even laugh at my dumb questions:) The problem all went back to me downloading "Dropbox", and it re-saved my camera settings automatically. Not good. Anyway, I digress.

Here are some photos of a living room transformation!

Here was what the living room looked like to start with:

Yellow walls, dark wood ceiling planks, and black cabinetry. And, I don't know if you can tell, but that cabinetry is REALLY tall. Like, the tops of the cabinet doors on the right side start at around 5 feet 8 inches. And, the areas inside the shelves are probably around 8 feet. And do you see all that intense molding? Very beautiful set up, but my client and I thought it would really be more enhanced by a lighter feel. All the black kind of drowns out the beautiful moldings.

So, I came in and painted the shelves a pretty off white and enhanced everything a bit with a coat of very light glaze! Here is the result:

Molding galore!

Now, for the real "afters"... of course, I forgot my nice camera when I went back to paint this furniture piece for my client (the blue piece all the way to the right), but she had had the walls and trim painted, and isn't it a breath of fresh air? So much lighter and airier - I love the new look. Classic and sophisticated. Decor and paint color was by my friend Heather Roberts. 

So much nicer, huh? Here is the before again:

and after:

what do you think!?!

DIY Acrylic Drapery Rods

I saw this genius idea over at "A Storied Style" and had to share the idea with you guys here. I know you will like it; plus, I just want to remember it for the future! 

She writes, "I have loved acrylic curtain rods for years (name is interchangeable with lucite drapery rods).  They add a bit of sparkle to a room, and I think they are so simple and beautiful.  An elegance is effortlessly ushered into a room with their presence.  Take a look at these inspiration photos.  Love the square rod!  And the brass hardware? Swoon."

Grace was able to figure out a way to create this look on a budget - head over to her blog to see what she did! It's genius.

Such a great idea. Thanks, Grace, for sharing! 

A little of this, a little of that...

happy Monday, folks. I know, Mondays are kind of awful but... oh well. 

I'm headed out the door soon, but wanted to share a few things with you. First, this guy and a bunch of his friends are living near my jobsite right now, and they make me really happy. How cute!

I slowly drive by the field they are in every day, and stare at them. 

Also, this is part of what I'm working on right now. A super distressed and going-to-be antiqued kitchen island in green. I love doing unique things, and when clients decide to go a little bolder than the norm!

This is a mural I photographed Friday night at Matador Cantina in Glenwood Park. I love this mural! Any of you Atlantans seen it in person? It's awesome. 

I posted this photo on Instagram the other day. I really love my new Jonathan Adler "specs" glasses case my dad gave me for Christmas... and all my glasses are from Warby Parker. I feel like I might be in the market for a new pair, too. I already have three pairs, but I'm kind of wanting something new?

and, of course I couldn't do a personal photos update without a picture of Mika. Here he is doing tricks to get some turkey.. hah! I mainly like how his non-tail kind of fluffs out at the bottom like a skirt.

last, I wanted to show a photo of this cute artwork that my friend made me for my kitchen. It makes me happy every day!