Pattern

I figured I would kick off my posts today about pattern and texture with this image of Kelly Wearstler. I spied it on her blog this morning and I am just loving her pants. How fabulous. She is so great at mixing patterns, textures, colors and metals. It is also great to see that she still has a label on the bottom of her shoe.

Branching Out

My husband and I love trees. In fact, if you knew the meaning behind the name of my blog, you'd know it was inspired by trees as well (and my husband:). I want to do a weekly post about designing with tree inspired graphics. It is a nice way to bring the outdoors in and add some texture to your space. If you guys have any examples of how you used trees as design inspiration please email me. I would love to include them.

PS - sources are unknown for these photos. If you know, please shout and I will add credits.

Blazing the Trail

I love a good blazer, I mean I LOOOOVE a good blazer. I even kind of like a bad blazer. Maybe that's because my most hated body part is my arms. Instant cover up. For those of you who watch HGTV's show Sarah's house you probably have spotted Sarah wearing some snappy little numbers. Like the one in the first photo. I seriously think often about recreating this look. Well, after a little internet investigating I found out why. Check my source here. Apparently Tommy's (you'll understand if you watch the show) sister is one half of Smythe (the clothing collection above) who does this fabulous line of blazers and the other partner in Smythe is one of Sarah Richardson's friends from high school. No wonder she is always spotted in the most fabulous blazers. My arms are SO seriously jealous. Check out the complete collection here.

Dining Room - Look One

I call this look one, because I still need to add the wallpaper in the molding squares that will better tie the rug and the wall color together. But I still wanted to share the progress I made this weekend. The before picture isn't really the true before, before. The room started with beige walls and the three mirrored boxes were three small windows that showed nothing but my neighbors siding so I added black film and mirror and then molded them out in the white molding. I also replaced the chandelier. I found this cheap glass chandelier and sprayed it white (what a job that was) and then added the ceramic vines from Urban Outfitters. I think these were intended as wall art, but I bought two and made them a ceiling medallion (that was quite a project with super glue!). So that is what I lived with for a while, but I never really liked the blue. I had originally wanted a blue/black but it didn't turn out quite right. Plus I couldn't figure out how to decorate with it. Which brings me to the after. I painted the walls this okra color, which in person just makes the room's energy so much more alive. As I said I am still not quite finished. Stay tuned for look two. BTW - the painting of the girl is done by one of my besties. She is a wonderful painter and she has a pretty cool blog. Check her out here.

Save it. Just Spray It.

Boy, do I love a good can of spray paint. It is sort of like make-up and spanx for furniture and accessories. Not to mention it can take something broke down and busted and make it look completely new again. This weekend I found this horse head at Home Goods for $16. Not quite my style, but I knew he just needed a spray. It was actually quite funny, a woman walked by me and snickered and said to her friend that horse is ugly. What she didn't know is he was about to get a make over. I guess beauty truly is in the eyes of the beholder. 

I'd like to walk a mile in these shoes

Ok, I would really just like to sit and look pretty in them. Because let's face it, these aren't really walking shoes. I spotted these on one of blogs I read daily and I think they are just fabulous! At their current price I will just be dreaming about them. Oh and as a side note, the designer Chiara is also a blogger. Check her out here.

Image/Graphic sourced from here.

Tell Me a Bed Time Story

Forget the kids my husband would die for this bed. How amazing. You can read (no pun intended) a little more about the artist here.

Vertical Gardens

I am obsessed with vertical gardens. I want to make one so bad. A long time ago Domino Magazine (I still mourn for you) featured Flora Grubb who is a vertical garden extraordinaire. She has a great toutorial right here. She also sells the structure you would need to get started. Can't wait to try my hand at this. Very cool.

Jewelry Shadow Boxes

I love Anthropologie, but really who doesn't. Their catalogs are always a great source of inspiration. The photography is always beautiful. About a year ago I saw these lovely jewelry vignettes in their March 2010 catalog. Which got me thinking. What a wonderful way to showcase jewelry. If you are anything like me, yours would be thrown in a box and tangled. I would so love to take a few shadow boxes and create these little scenes to showcase my jewelry. Dual purposes: organization and art. How perfect.


P.S. - Sorry about the moiré pattern. These were scanned from their March 2010 catalog.

thedieline.com

So, I am in need of some inspiration for a project that I am currently working on. I was talking to my friend Elizabeth and she turned me on to this site. They are showcasing some beautiful work. Very inspiring. I loved the structure of this CD package. A nice change from your typical jewel case. Check out all the other beautiful packages here.

I Can See Clearly Now

Sourced from here. 

Tasting Parties

I am really loving the tasting party items that Pier One is carrying right now. I love tapas and hors d'oeuvres and this is just an awesome way to serve these kinds of foods. So chic and effortless. I bought a few different things that they are carrying and used them for a bridal shower I was hosting. Which was just perfect since it was a mad hatter tea party theme and the small food felt just right. These photos are from Pier One. I will post some pictures from my party later.

Beautiful Examples of Infographics

It can be tough designing something with heavy content, but it can be even tougher for the person reading it. To often content is handled in long block copy formats and boring power point style graphics. We need to be more visually responsible as designers and actually read the content we are laying out and try to conceptualize and visualize for the reader. Awhile back I came across this inspiration for information graphics. It has been a great resource to get my mind working when I have encountered the white page or should I say the sea of text.

Sit on This

Design Sponge, a blog I read religiously was featuring Jayson Home and Garden’s new furniture line. Which is a store I also love, but can't afford. After looking through their new furniture line I realized the Theodore Sofa reminded me a lot of a cheaper version that I saw on Room Service's website. Is the $1229 difference worth it?

What I am Loving Right Now

This console table from zgallerie is just amazing. Love, love, love it.

save-on-crafts.com

Some time ago I pulled this top picture off the internet. I am not sure where I sourced it, it could of been etsy or jcrew. In any case, it is expensive at a whopping $119. My idea was to make stuff like this and sell them on etsy. In my quest to find materials I came across this site save-on-crafts.com where the bottom image is from. You can save yourself a $100 and just add a pin back and maybe some lace to create a similar look for far less. This site is a great resource if your planning an event or if you have a flower business (you know who you are:). 

In Need of a Profile Picture

So, I very badly need a new profile picture and I want the end result to be something very much like this.

More Dining Room Inspriation

This is the green wall color I was talking about. I have wainscoting like this as well. So, I was thinking I would put the blue pattern wall paper in the squares of the wainscoting and make the upper wall this green color. I need to do a mood board so this all makes sense:) Stay tuned.

Dining Room Inspiration

This room from Design Star Emily Henderson has always inspired me. I love the green blue combo it feels so meant to be and effortless. Which brings me to my dining room; I have a rug that is a blue and toasted almond chain link pattern that I love. I originally painted the room a deep blue and from the start it has just never felt quite right to me so I have been thinking that I would add green to the walls and maybe a blue patterned wallpaper to the wainscoting. Stay tuned I will post some before and after photos.

More Animal Forms

So I spied this deer head over at designsponge and I had an idea. What if you created one out of shells. Crazy or Cool? Not sure.

Painted Fish

So, I am kind of in love with this white lacquer marlin (picture one). It reminds me a little of the pink birds that Antonio did on Design Star (picture two). I just love the graphic nature of it! So, I was thinking I might buy this awful colorful marlin from Bass Pro Shops (picture three) and lacquer it white myself. What do you guys think?

Another Floor

Another floor. Beautiful.

Hey Peeps, it's Easter

If you knew me, you would know one thing: I LOVE CANDY! Mostly just the sugary kind. Circus peanuts, peeps, sweet tarts, the sweeter the better. Check out these cool dioramas created with peeps. I don't know whether to eat them or admire them, either way I am salivating.

Graphic Floors

Graphic floors are so divine. Living in a new house makes this a little impossible for me, I think my husband would kill me if I painted over our new wood floors. He can be such Debbie downer:) Then I had an idea. I have a screened in porch with a concrete floor. Boring, I know. I think this would be the perfect treatment to bring some life to my porch. Better than a rug, because it brings texture and pattern without being a total dirt catcher. So stay tuned for this project. I will be sure to post some before and afters. If any of you have done your own project like this. Please, please, please send them my way. I would love to share them.

An Inexpensive Bathroom Idea

This is a great way to bring some inexpensive style to a bathroom. We all know shower curtains can feel so icky, while glass doors can be intrusive when trying to bath a kid. What to do? Why not add a window treatment. I think this kind of look can raise the value of a bathroom greatly, you can even forgo the expensive tile. 

Hello. Is anyone out there?

Hi and Welcome to my blog. I am sure at this point no one is actually reading this, but I am excited to get started. I thought for my first post it was only fitting to start with one of Kelly Wearstler's images since she to is new to the blog world as well. Not to mention, she happens to be one of my biggest inspirations and I can only hope to have the kind of success she has had. A girl can dream right:) Anyway, what's to come of this blog? I am a designer that has been working for a little over 13 years and my hope is to share ideas, inspiration and use this as a place to bookmark great design. I encourage you to share and interact with me along the way. Please be gentle, remember I am just getting started. Oh, and by the way...I am a terrible speller.