connor grey style

BE BACK SOON

2011-07-09T22:32:00.000-04:00

We are traveling across country right now making our way to California. I promise to post soon! Hope you are enjoying your summer!

LAST WEEK

2011-06-27T12:35:00.000-04:00

The movers are here and picking up our things. Been a pretty busy few weeks so I apologize for not posting. Since we found out when we were moving I feel like our lives have been in fast forward motion. Never enough time, too much to do or that I want to do! I promise to post soon!

THE LIVINGSTON

2011-06-14T12:09:00.002-04:00

While looking through some of my favorite blogs last week I read about The Livingston Restaurant and Bar on EOS....good find Erin! I can't remember the last time I was in Atlanta, but next time I am there I will remember to visit this restaurant. It is gorgeous and reminded me how much I miss designing restaurants and hotels. The restaurant was designed by the Puccini Group and is located in Midtown Atlanta in a beautiful historic building. All I can say is I love all the architectural details, the color scheme (great inspiration for my dining room) and I want the lounge chair from the bar! The pictures can do the rest of the talking!

SHOPPING IN SoHo

2011-06-14T11:26:00.001-04:00

I was in New York last week for a quick day trip to spend some time with my sister while she was on the East Coast. Since we only had a day and have both done the tourist thing in New York, we decided to spend time window shopping in SoHo. With moving into a larger house in the next few weeks we are going to need more furniture. I am so excited and have been on the hunt for weeks of what pieces we will need. So with being in NY I figured it was the perfect place to look for inspiration. I will share some of our stops throughout the week, but first I wanted to talk about our visit at Jonathan Adler.

Now Jonathan Adler's style is not particularly my cup of tea or so I thought. When I stepped into the store I fell in love with quite a few things. The rush that I get when things inspire me had taken over. So I took some photos and the sales people gave me tear sheets of my finds. Now I just need to sell some of my ideas to my husband.

THEY HAVE THIS AS A SCONCE AND I JUST THOUGHT IT COULD
BE FUN IN AN OFFICE

THE CHANDELIER ISN'T EXACTLY WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR, BUT
I WANT TO KEEP IT IN MY BACK POCKET

I LOVE A TUFTED SOFA

THIS BOOKSHELF WAS MY FAVORITE PIECE

A LONG WEEKEND

2011-05-31T10:54:00.000-04:00

In 31 days we will be bidding our farewell to DC/VA area and moving on to our cross country road trip to California. We have started making every effort to spend time with friends and visit our favorite restaurants. My little sister and her long time beau arrive this afternoon for a quick 36 hour visit before heading to New York City for a week of fun. It will be my sister's 29th birthday and Danny's 30th birthday celebration week and so we plan to have some fun and eat some good food while they are here.

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend and with all the barbeque's remembered what this holiday is really about! It was so hot here that we spent a lot time indoors cleaning and purging. Don't need to take any excess on the move or at least that is what the movers told us. I am so grateful I don't have to pack one single box this move, I just have to make sure everything is clean and in order.

We also spent time with friends over the weekend. I visited the Gauguin exhibit a the National Gallery of Fine Art with a girlfriend Sunday afternoon. I was not particularly a fan of Gauguin's style at first, but had a change of heart that afternoon. I absolutely loved his story and use of color. Everything was so bright and bold!

I will not be posting tomorrow as it is my sister's birthday and we will be spending time together! Here are some images from the Gauguin Exhibit.

Angela and me circa 1983

Happy Birthday dear sister!

READY FOR THE BEACH

2011-05-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

The latest J.Crew catalog came in the mail yesterday and I fell in love with their swimwear. I know I reference J.Crew a lot, but I love their clothes. I for one am not much of a sunbather, pass me the SPF 45+ and a hat. I like a little of color, but my goal for summer is not to look like my leather belt. I prefer a subtle healthy glow! When it comes to swimwear I believe in wearing something that is flattering and stylish. J.Crew has just that. Now I am ready to go to the beach.

CLOSET ENVY

2011-05-25T09:45:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but I have a thing for closets. I try to organize and purge our closets seasonally. I am one of those crazy people who color coordinates and lines things in order of type. This makes it easy to find clothing items and know what I have. Also our closet isn't that big so staying organized is a must. I have always had closet envy of the huge designer closets with ottomans, dressing tables, shoe racks and pretty chandeliers. Who doesn't want a dressing room to display some of their treasures.

The new house has what I call a MASTER closet. It is huge! A girls dream, at least this girl's dream. My mouth dropped and I laughed at how much space we would have when I saw it. It is literally the size of our guest bedroom. I have room to put a piece of furniture in the center and a floor length mirror to create a dressing room, I was thinking a island dresser with drawers or an ottoman. I will most likely not go crazy and put a lot of effort into this space, but I will have it organized and make it a nice dressing room and place to store my shoes!

IMAGES VIA DECOR PAD AND UNKNOWN SOURCES VIA GOOGLE IMAGES

THE GROWN UP LIVING ROOM

2011-05-24T11:22:00.002-04:00

I have always been a gal who likes the open floor plan. That was one of the priorities in the new house, I wanted to have all the rooms living, dining, family, and kitchen without everything feeling so separated. That isn't always so easy to find. So one of the reasons we chose the house we did was how open it felt. I will have my own official grown up living room to design. Now if you have been in our DC apartment it is pretty grown up already. When I say grown up, I mean type of furniture and how it is decorated. Before we were even married when making furniture choices we decided to save and invest in pieces that would last several years. I would rather go without and save for what I really want than buy something I don't like to save a few dollars.

This space will evolve over time as I find the right pieces. It will be slightly feminine and pretty (sorry babe) but not frou frou where you will not want to sit on the furniture. I want it to feel comfortable and look tailored.

Actual Space

(not the best photo, but I used my phone0

I really like the art and slipper chairs (sorry they are cut out)

Love all of it!

Love this chair and table lamp

This space reminded me of how our living room and dining room connect

I also really like the mirror, but the husband thinks I am crazy.

* IMAGES VIA DECOR PAD

MOVING

2011-05-20T11:02:00.001-04:00

Seven weeks to go and we are on our way! It is amazing how fast time flies and there is still so much I want to do and see. The next few weeks are going to be busy with packing, visiting friends, our favorite museums, restaurants, parks etc. and one more thing.....escrow! We found a house!!!!

What an adventure I tell you and a stressful one at that. Trying to find a house from across the country is difficult. One they are going kind of fast, which is surprising considering our economic times. However you can get a really good deal if you are a buyer right now.

Now we looked at around 15 houses the first day with several more to follow the next few days. By the the second day we had it down to two and by that afternoon we knew what direction we wanted to go. We put in our application, filled out three hours worth of paperwork and made a deposit. The last few days have been about waiting and we got word a couple days ago that everything was moving forward. The house should close in thirty days.

I didn't get too many photos, but this gives an idea of the house. It is really charming from the outside and has a big enough porch for a couple of rocking chairs and side table. We plan to add some shrubs and flowers to bring some color to the front yard. The house is bigger than it looks at around 3,000 SF. We will be swimming in space considering we currently live in around 1,100 SF. It is space well needed and earned.

I will share some interior photos when I talk about my ideas of what I would like to do with each space. I am so excited for all the projects I will have! My husband has already made a list of things he wants to do first, picked out paint and started picking out furniture he likes. Funny I thought I was the designer in the family!

TRAVELING AND HOUSE SHOPPING

2011-05-11T22:10:00.000-04:00

Sorry for not posting this week! I am traveling to Southern California to look for a house. We found out a couple of weeks ago that my husband's job is relocating us and we will be moving at the end of June.....bittersweet for sure. I love DC and many wonderful things have happened in the five years I have been here. As I have learned through life we have chapters, some are long and some are short. As I am the designer of my life I am ready for some change, new adventures and fun projects that life will bring!

I am sure I will have a lot of things to share from my travels and adventures in looking for a house. Stay tuned!

KERI RUSSELL'S HOME

2011-05-05T20:39:00.000-04:00

I am excited for the next issue of Elle Decor that features actress Keri Russell's home. I have been a fan of Keri Russell for a long time and I just love her Brooklyn Brownstone. The entire house was renovated by Keri and her Husband craftsman and contractor Shane Deary. You can tell a lot of love when into the renovation of this house and I think it is just beautiful! Do you got room for one more? I want to move in!

* IMAGES VIA ELLE DECOR

DINING ROOM INSPIRATION

2011-05-04T10:58:00.001-04:00

I have been furniture shopping lately, well more like browsing and trying to get ideas of what we will need for our next house. Surprisingly most of the looking has been my husband's idea and he is really enjoying it. I love visiting the neighborhood boutiques and looking for furniture, but until we know where we are going to live I don't want to get too excited. It is different when working on a project concept, but when it comes to actual space I need to know what I am working with before making permanent decisions. One space I look forward to having is a dining room. We currently have a tiny place for our dining table we can only sit four people. This makes it hard to have dinner parties which I love to have.

So for our next home I would like to sit at least six because I know we will have friends and family over. It will not be until I find a house that I will I really think about furniture pieces. For now I thought I would share some inspiring images of dining spaces.

* IMAGES VIA DECOR PAD

YELLOW ACCENTS

2011-04-28T09:14:00.001-04:00

Yellow is one of those colors that makes everything cheery and bright. I love yellow, but only when used in subtle moments. Sometimes it can be overused and make a room feel like too much. In my house we tend to use yellow in our art, we currently have three paintings where yellow has a strong presence and it is beautiful. I have yellow on the brain today and have been thinking of using as an accent for a pillow or a fabric on a chair in our master bedroom. I thought I would share some inspiring photos where yellow is used as an accent.

Kelly Wearstler

via EOS

via Lonny Magazine

* ALL IMAGES VIA DECOR PAD

HONOR FLIGHT

2011-04-26T11:15:00.003-04:00

I was very fortunate to be able to participate in Honor Flight this year. My dear friend Emily was pulling together volunteers for Kansas and I jumped at the opportunity. Honor Flight is a program that flies WWII Veterans to Washington, DC to visit the WWII Memorial as well as other memorials and museums that pertain to the military and wars fought. The WWII Memorial wasn't completed until April 2004 and most veterans do not have the opportunity to travel to DC to see what was built in their honor. Our group was the Central Prairie Honor Flight of Kansas. I was guide to a 94 year old Navy veteran named Floyd.

Floyd and I at the WWII Memorial

I did not grow up in a military family and I was not exposed to or educated on the different military branches outside of what I learned in school. I knew what they were, but not to the extent of what I know now. Living in the DC metro area you are exposed to the military in a way you may not be otherwise. It is the norm to see someone in uniform and it is respected. So when you see a large group of men and women in their late 80's and 90's walking around DC and knowing what they gave for our country, it brings a tear to your eye. There were several occasions where someone would come up to Floyd, shake his hand, and thank him for this service. I know that doesn't happen to him everyday.

Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery

It was a beautiful day!

This may be the last chance I get to volunteer for Honor Flight at least for a while. Floyd and I exchanged addresses and phone numbers within the first hour of meeting. He was a kind and gentle man who held my hand most of the day. He told me he was really lucky to have met me and have such a great guide for the day. I thanked him and told him I was the lucky one. This may be the last time Floyd will come to DC and I know he will never forget this trip. He told me that he will see me again and that when I come to Kansas that my husband and I always have a place to stay.

So I end with this - Wherever you are or wherever you go if you happen to meet someone in the service retired or active duty please take a moment to thank them for their service. They have chosen a career to defend your country and they deserve your appreciation. It is not an easy job, it comes with a lot of sacrifice and dedication. This post is dedicated to Floyd and my husband who is a Captain in the Marine Corps, thank you for your service.

BATHROOM LOVE PART 2

2011-04-25T14:01:00.002-04:00

As I have mentioned before my husband and I have been looking at houses recently. We have outgrown our current home and are in need of more space. We will be moving across the country (nothing is a official yet) at some point. So as we are house shopping online we are finding that a lot of houses have outdated bathrooms. Outdated bathrooms and kitchens scare my husband, he is thinking of the money and how much do we want to put into a house for resale. I am also thinking about the cost, but I see a PROJECT and kind of get a little excited. We will not have a lot of time for too many projects so we prefer to keep them to a minimal.

So, a couple of weekends ago we ventured through Home Depot and Lowe's to see exactly what kind of projects we might endure and get ideas of the cost. We mainly went to check out appliances, but I made us wonder down every isle and the idea wheel began to turn!!!! Yes I am a designer! Yes I have designed and renovated bathrooms before, but never for myself. I admit I have champagne taste, but as much as I love Waterworks and Ann Sacks I will have to be a more economical in my choices. We will need to buy more furniture too.

Now we haven't found a house yet or even know if we will have to renovate a bathroom, but I am pleased to know that I can find sophistaced items at a big box store. Now more than likely if we do renovate I will use a lot of my resources and a variety of vendors, but I was curious to see if I were to renovate a bathroom and only had one resource could I still find the same look as a higher end source. Well I was able to pull all items from one store! I made a board to show how things could work together.

Now this board only shows the idea of changing the flooring, painting the walls, changing the vanity, updating the lighting and accessories. Those few changes will make a huge difference! Also everything is from one store Home Depot! Some things may not be off the shelf and may have a small lead time, but in the end it is worth it if you have budget.

List of items all from Home Depot

1. Vanity - Manhattan Vanity
2. Vanity Top - Xylem Italian Carrera Marble Vanity Top
3. Lavatory Faucet - Schon
4. Wall sconce - Progress Lighting Maier Collection
5. Mirror - Gatco Max Rectangular Mirror
6. Towel Ring - Kohler Stillness Collection
7. Paint - Behr color: Manhattan Mist
8. Flooring option - Merola Tile Basket Weave White
9. Flooring option - Jeffrey Court Carrera White Mosaics

BATHROOM LOVE

2011-04-21T10:53:00.000-04:00

First, I would like to apologize for not posting for a few days! Between wrapping up taxes, vet appointments, looking for a house and sinus headaches I have been a bit distracted. Also I was volunteering for Honor Flight which was amazing and I will share that experience later. I told my sister's friend Christa (who is like my little sister) that I would talk about bathrooms. So this week I will share some of my favorite bathroom photos and then later give ideas on how to update your bathroom on a budget.

It wasn't until I actually started designing bathrooms and restrooms (there is a difference) that I realized how important they are to rest of the space. When I was a designer at ABA I designed a lot of hotel public restrooms, hotel guest bathrooms and bathrooms for residences. How many times have you been to a restaurant, hotel or even a house and commented on the bathroom or restroom? More than you realize I am sure. The possibilities are endless when it comes to bathroom design. To me the bathroom should feel clean (look too) but feel in a word pretty. I am not into the mod bathrooms with weird lighting, crazy colors and potties that have no privacy. I want a place that is clean, bright, peaceful, and pretty especially in a home or hotel guestroom. Save the fun and crazy for nightclubs where people are in a hurry and mostly likely will not remember what they saw the next day.

* IMAGES VIA DECOR PAD

J. Crew

2011-04-14T11:12:00.000-04:00

If you know me or have been in my closet, you know that my dress style leans a little more towards the preppy and conservative. I like to call it sophisticated preppy. I live for the button down shirt and to some that sounds boring, but it all depends how you pair it. White is my old time favorite, I probably have ten different white button down shirts, all slightly different from the other. You have long, three quarter and short sleeve, ruffle collars, some fitted and some boyfriend style. I have other colors and styles too, black, navy blue, pink, stripe, chambray, oxford, and plaid to name a few. They are my year round staple and I will always love them. One of my store staples is J. Crew and I love their button down shirts.

J. Crew is one of those stores that everything fits the way it is supposed to, quality is good and they are great for someone who is a preppy dresser that likes to mix things up with some pattern and the occasional color or two. I do not just wear button down shirts, I do wear other things too! I like bold patterns in skirts, scarves and I dabble in the occasional sparkle too.

Here are some things I found myself fond of at J. Crew these days.

Don't you just love the button down?

Love the tank, I have similar from another store, but I love this sweater!

J. Crew pencil skirts fit really well if you have hips and a bum!

I have these jeans and I love the fit! Big staple for summer.

ELLE DECOR - LEFT BANK LUXE

2011-04-12T09:49:00.002-04:00

I love the days when I get magazines in the mail, which is more often then not. What can I say I have an addiction, it is so bad my friends save magazines for me when they know I am coming over. My addiction is mostly to design and fashion magazines, with a little bit of room for celebrity gossip....admit it you all look at them while standing in the isle of the grocery store!!

To get to my point, I was very excited when the May issue of Elle Decor arrived in our box yesterday! I love Elle Decor, it is one of my favorites and looking through it brings me a lot of joy. Well in this issue is a very beautiful Paris apartment owned by a young American couple and the interiors designed by Paris-based designer Jean-Louis Deniot. It is gorgeous and I want to live there!

KITCHEN STYLE - FOR LOVE OF THE WHITE KITCHEN

2011-04-11T10:21:00.000-04:00

My husband and I have been looking at houses recently and can I just say there are a lot of BAD ideas out there. Not only are there bad floor plans, there are a lot of BAD kitchens!!! Ugh!! Well luckily I know what I like and have the resources, experience and desire to turn bad into stunning. At first we were getting completely turned off by the kitchens, but if a kitchen is halfway there we know we are able to take it to the finish line. I have always known I wanted a white kitchen. I want it to feel fresh and clean....the canvas to the food I am cooking. White cabinets, some with glass and some without. I love white subway or penny tiles for a back splash. A slab of carrera for my island with accents of stainless steel and polished nickel. Don't you just want to come over?

* images via decor pad

ONE OF MY FAVORITE NEW YORK HOMES

2011-04-08T10:54:00.002-04:00

Last night as I was perusing through my collection of design magazines I remembered how much I loved the feature of Katie Lee's (formally Katie Lee Joel) house in Domino Magazine (oh Domino how I miss you). Unfortunantley or maybe not for her she sold the house recently for $11.65 million. As for the rest of us, we will will linger on the memory of what once was and how beautiful of a house she made along with the help of designer Nate Berkus. See there is good reason to save magazines! To be reminded of all the things we love!

The closet images were shown in Town and Country and can I just say I want a gold leaf closet now!

Also I have two of Katie's cookbooks and they are fantastic! She is talented and such a doll!

IKAT STYLE

2011-04-06T10:13:00.002-04:00

I love pattern, some of my favorites include damask, stripes, houndstooth, toile, herringbone and ikat. I have always been good at using color and patterns in projects, but tend to go a neutral in my own home when it comes to patterns. I am ready to change that and I would love to use some ikat. Here are some inspiring images of how ikat can be used and some pillows that I love.

Fabric by Donghia

Via

Fabric from Madeline Weinrib

Crate and Barrel

Madeline Weinrib

Dwell Studio

TRENCH COAT ENVY

2011-03-31T11:13:00.000-04:00

With the current weather conditions it may not feel like spring in DC, but it is starting to look like it with the cherry blossoms in bloom. Spring brings rain and I am in dire need of a new tan trench coat. Unfortunately my tastes exceed my budget at the moment and I will have to keep searching for the perfect trench within reason of course. So I found these fabulous looks on one my my favorite shopping websites Shopstyle for inspiration.

BURBERRY
LOVE!!! BUT I WOULD BE IN TROUBLE WITH THE HUSBAND

BURBERRY

AND MORE BURBERRY! WHAT CAN I SAY THEY
MAKE BEAUTIFUL TRENCH COATS!

DRESSMONSTER

MARC NEW YORK

VINCE CAMUTO

GAP
I WOULDN'T WEAR IN THE RAIN, BUT
GREAT FOR RUNNING ERRANDS

CHEVRON AND HERRINGBONE FLOORS

2011-03-30T08:25:00.000-04:00

I love wood floors and I especially love patterns like chevron and herringbone, the perfect statement to any floor.

FOR LOVE OF THE BLACK DOOR

2011-03-29T09:27:00.002-04:00

I have always preferred a painted entry door and there are a lot of them in my neighborhood. Lately, I am starting to notice more black doors and I love the sophistication and sleek look of a black door. Understated yet still having a strong presence....kind of like a good little black dress. The right one is timeless and never goes unnoticed. So today I share my new great love for the black door whether it is at the entry or interior, they are all divine!

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

2011-03-28T10:05:00.000-04:00

After a terrible night of sleep my six month old puppy woke me up very early for her morning walk. I was partially asleep when we stepped outside, but rudely awakened by the cold air that went through my bones once we made our way. It is almost April and why am I still wearing sweaters and down jackets? I don't know, but hoping that next month will warm things up a little. So I start Monday tired and wishing I wasn't thinking of fireplaces, lattes, warm blankets and reading a book. I am ready for spring weather!