Design Blooms

Designer Crush

2012-02-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

Mayme Baker.
I've had a big crush on this lady's work for a while now, and she just added some more pictures to her portfolio, so I had to share!

Mayme Baker Studios is right around down the road from me in Greenville, SC and Mayme has also been featured in the Fall issue of House of Fifty!
She's a real sassy designer and her interiors are so fun....

This is one of my favorite..check out that ceiling, it's gorgeous, especially paired with the yellow and white striped walls.

I think what I really love about these rooms is the amazing use of layering and color. There's a ton of color but it works!

What about you, how do you feel about all the color and layers of texture in the rooms? Too much?

How do you prefer your rooms, simple and calming or packed full of color and accessories?

Striped Walls!!

2012-02-07T02:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts on my tv wall. I knew that it needed something like this, but it's nice to know that you think the same thing too!
My wall is a very very light blue, so it was hard to find a lighter blue color to go tone-on-tone. So I bought a blue that was close to the wall color and added white to lighten it.

I really love it, it adds the perfect I affect, because I really didn't want to overwhelm the wall with pictures.

(One day I'm going to go to a lake and throw my camera into it, it never ever gives clear pictures)

Those little star bursts were a DIY project as well, I saw a how-to somewhere but can't seem to remember. I bought wooden skewers, Styrofoam balls, and gold spray paint.

I cut the ball in half and stuck the skewers in, going around the ball. I hot-glued any skewers that were loose, and then spray painted the entire star burst.

I hammered a nail into the wall and stuck the back of the star burst onto the nail. So simple.

DIY Headboards

2012-02-06T02:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!! Yayyyy (can you hear the sarcasm?)

Blogosphere-pinterest

Ever since my post about my amazing mattress in the guest bedroom, I've been secretly scheming ways to switch out those beds. My problem with my guest bed is that I think the head board is a little outdated, and of course I want to make my own headboard!! I've never done one..an upholstered headboard that is, and I'm thinking it needs to be done!

Here's some great inspiration....

Redmond Aldrich

Shelter Pop

House of Turquoise

An amazing DIY upholstered headboard tutorial by Grace from Design*Sponge

This tutorial really sold me on the whole project..love Grace.

Casasugar

Possibly some nail head trim?

Ever made your own headboard? I would love to hear what you think!!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts on my tv wall...and I am happy to annouce that the stripes are up in all their glory!! I am so happy, they look great! I can't wait to show you tommorrow!

Stripes: Yay or Nay?

2012-02-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Hey friends!

I usually go straight to Will if I can't decide on something, but we have agreed that this decision is a little bit more tricky. It's hard to admit that I need help, maybe it's my decorator's ego!

My TV wall has become quite a conundrum....

A wall with similar sized white framed art?

or stripes?!

Here's the thing holding me back, I don't know if the stripes would be too much with the checkered floor...

hmmm...

what do you think?

Color Moods: Spring, is that you?!

2012-01-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

It's 65 degrees outside. I hope this is not a tease, I love this sneak peak of spring weather!
It's got me thinking, about my home and my wardrobe. It's time to bring in some color.
I get the Fossil catalog, I have never bought any clothing from them (just a watch) but I really do like their style. They've inspired me and my Color Moods post.

Great pairings:
Deep blue and a mustard yellow

Pink coral and a light blue-green
Sherbet orange and misty gray

(I added the little color strip on the right)

I spy a Valentine's Day gift!

1,2, and 3 from Fossil

Decor8blog

How about some great abstract art against a rich blue wall? Jamie Meares over at Furbish knows how to do it right!

Decor8

Look at all those Spring colors just popping all over the place!

Elle Decor

Another Furbish pretty.

Are you feelin' these colors?

New Dresser Makeover

2012-01-30T02:35:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Well, I have great news, the big brown beast from our living room is gone! You can see a little peak of it here. I thought I had more pictures of it, but why take pictures of something so big and hideous. ("Hideous" is my niece's new favorite word, as Will was driving her back to our house over the weekend, she was looking out the window at a field of pine trees, and he asked what she thought, and she said "it's hideous!"....she's four by the way!)

Okay, back to the dresser. I bought a dresser a while back to put in our future nursery, but I decided to use it in the living room in the mean time.
It was in pretty bad shape.

I know this is a fairly simple makeover, I wanted so badly to add color, I tried it several different ways, but in the end, all white took the vote.

It's a little small... but it will work for now! It's a whole heck of a lot better than what was there before.

I used the original dresser pulls on the four bottom drawers and added pearl knobs on the top.

It was a fun little makeover. The wall behind the TV is my next project. I'll show you more pictures of that later in the week.

Have you done any makeovers lately, I would love to hear about it, or share your links!

Correction!

2012-01-28T06:11:00.000-08:00

I've made a mistake..

I must have been in a blogging fog yesterday..I made a few mistakes in my last post.

First here are the correct links to the two blogs I found, there was a typo in the link..

The Vault Files

Little Glass Box

Also, Gaby's blog The Vault Files, I found through a blog from the House of Fifty issue, but she should have been in the issue! She's very talented!

Let me off with a warning, please!

(via Claire.Belliard.free.fr from pinterest)

Things I loved...

2012-01-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

This week.... I found a few great blogs through the House of Fifty issue (which is quickly becoming my favorite online magazine!)

Here are two talented women that I really liked....

This is from a giveaway she did this week, I LOVE this necklace from Colorsplash. Very neon-ish jewelry if you're feeling wild!

Color Block via The Vault Files

This is from her etsy shop, The Vault Jewels.

And we have Courtney from Little Glass Box, she's a clever little lady, very creative.

It's been pretty quiet around here this week..I hope you haven't given up on me and moved on! (:

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

The escape place in your home

2012-01-26T02:21:00.000-08:00

There is one space in your home that should always be a calming escape from the rest of the world.

Your bedroom..the master bedroom.

Will and I have discussed our bedroom and pondered over why ours isn't so "cozy". We've kept it romantic with reds and blues, we don't keep a tv in our room, and we definitely don't bring bills or just random stuff that collects over time into our room. Sometimes we'll sleep in the guest bed and it's such a treat, we say "eww, lets sleep in the guest bed tonight!"

That's sad. I want going to our bedroom to be a treat. So we've decided that it's the mattress. When I worked for a designer right out of college, I got really sweet deals on things, and the mattress was one of those deals. It's too big for our bed, so we keep it in the guest bedroom...my head is turning up some ideas as I type of ways I can switch out beds and get that amazing mattress into my room!!

There are other ways to bring comfort to your bedroom. You can't go wrong with candles (scented of course), soft throws, shaggy soft area rugs, heavy lined curtains (to keep it dark when the sun comes up, for all you lazies out there!), lighting..a dimmer, table lamps or wall mounted lights.

House of Turquoise

Colors, of course can bring certain moods to a space. If you want calming like a spa, go for blues and whites.

Where Love Resides+ Pinterest

There's your soft rugs to comfort your weary feet after a long day at work.

This is our bedroom, we need some kind of shaggy rug..all that hard wood is not cozy!

Jessica Steinberg

Design Darling

Elements of Style

I really like the colors of these walls paired with the ivory colored panels and and bed spread.

So dreamy.

What do you add to your bedroom that creates a cozy, peaceful retreat for you?

Using the unused spaces and My Wingback Chairs

2012-01-25T02:25:00.000-08:00

Good morning! I've been trying to do my posts in the morning when I wake up, which is about 5..so please excuse my typos or wondering rants, I might not be aware of what I'm saying yet..I can barely open my eyes!

A few weeks ago I told you about my chairs that I sold on craigslist from my kitchenette table in order to get new chairs from a local antique store. Well, when I went back those chairs were gone, so I moved my wing back chairs to the table.

Now we use this space SO much more, and when we have guests over they always sit there, where as before no one ever did. I love that. I think it's important to find ways to make every space in the house completely usable, whether that be adding comfortable chairs, adding a work space, or adding extra lighting. I've pretty much found ways to do that everywhere, except for the "study". That's a room that has been completely untouched since we moved in, but that makeover is quickly approaching.

So, now about those slipcovers. They're pretty awful, so baggy, and they constantly have to be retucked. What do you suggest? Where should I go to get more custom fitted slipcovers?

Bring on the suggestions!!

This is an antique bowl I got for Christmas, it matched so well with the plate wall. Really love it.

Design Boards... for free!!!

2012-01-24T02:34:00.000-08:00

Im so excited to announce that I'll be offering free design boards here at Design Blooms!

So spread the word! If you have a room that is puzzling you and you can't figure out where to start, these boards are designed to get you started on the right path. They allow you to see the whole plan put together in order to make the decision process a lot easier!

Send me an email if you're interested to ntmdesignblooms@gmail.com

Color Moods: Au Naturale

2012-01-23T04:19:00.000-08:00

When I started this blog I was alllll about the bright and bold colors, but things are changing. Don't get me wrong those colors are still near and dear to my heart. Maybe its my old age (I'm trying to prepare myself for the looming 3-0), but I am so drawn into the more soothing calming hues, like gray, khaki, and white. Colors from nature.

I find it easier to go with a neutral wall color, and add in pops of color. When we first bought our house I went crazy with color, I changed our wall colors many times, but the two colors that are still the same are my two neutral rooms.

When searching around for natural toned rooms, I came across a super amazing stylist, James Leland Day. I picked his more subtle pictures, but check out his others, especially his Bleu section. Gorgeous.

I added the punch of mustard yellow to the list of neutrals, it adds some vibrancy to the line up, but still keeps it within the same color zone.

This was my favorite room. Here's what draws me in, the two wood toned paneled walls, the metal and leather chairs, the round wood strip chandelier, and the large black and white artwork.

Images 1,2,3,4 & and 5 are from James Leland Day

bhg

Coastal Living

Cottage and Vine

Love this one from the blog Cottage and Vine, the dark gray walls and the cozy linen slipcovered chairs create such a welcoming environment.

Elle Decor

This is one of my favorite color moods. Has anyone every just completely changed the colors in their entire house? I'm slowly doing it room-by-room to a more muted color scheme. I would love to hear how y'all feel about these colors!

A gender neutral nursery

2012-01-19T02:35:00.000-08:00

Can you see the theme? It's a safari! I think this nursery could go either way, male or female.

I feel like every time I turn around another friend is telling me they're pregnant, or announcing it on facebook. So hopefully this will inspire all the new mommy's out there.

1. crib-Dwell Studios

2. Antelope-Stray Dogs Designs

3. Saigon Chandelier-Serena and Lily

4. White shag rug-Serena and Lily

5. Zebra Rug-Furbish Studio

6. Lion and Afrique Stitchwork pillows-Jonathan Adler

7. Yellow wallpaper-Schumacher

8. Globe-Wendy Gold etsy

9. Wicker pouf-Serena and Lily

Make it your own: A Lonny dining room

2012-01-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

I made something for you!

Another, Make it your own post. I love love this dining room from Lonny.

The relaxing shade of blue and perfect pairing of the modern white tulip table with the rustic chairs.

So, if you could make this look, here are some items that are either exactly the same or pretty darn close.

glass console table, white tulip table, brown and white striped fabric (sorry couldn't find the actual panels), chairs, lamp, mirror

So glad it's already Tuesday. Also, I need good sources for finding curtains!

Color Moods: White and Gold

2012-01-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

Happy MLK day!

I have a three day weekend and I'm trying to knock out a long to do list. I actually have one "to do" I'm really excited about. The brown entertainment center beast in our living room is about
to hit the dusty trail. I bought a bamboo dresser that's replacing it, I just have to fix it up. More on that soon!

Now, white and gold. They're perfect together, in home decor or attire and accessories. I love the freshness of crisp white paired with the rich luster of gold. This was the color scheme for my Christmas decor, and I've incorporated it into my kitchen and dining room now.

This dresser is incredible, and I think I'm seeing a potential stencil project idea with that wallpaper!

source

How about pink, gold, and white?!!

source

What other color do you like pairing with white and gold?

New additions

2012-01-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

I finally found a bench to add to the end of my bed, and the best part is that it was free! It was an old green bench that was sitting on my mom's front porch, and she FINALLY gave it to me! Every time I went home I'd think about how good it would look at the end of my bed.

I painted it aqua to match the accent colors in my room, but I think it might be too bright.

I'm thinking a little sanding and staining might be the trick.

What do you think?

Fresh'n up!

2012-01-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

source

I don't know about you, but for me, I'm ready for spring right after Christmas. My hilarious husband gets all in a tizzy when I mention it, he says "it hasn't even snowed yet!" One of the highlights of the year for him is seeing snow. He's going to kill me.

Anyhow, spring, we've got a ways to go, but we can find ways to add color to this "drab" season. It's easy to get bogged down in the doldrums, we all seem to go into hibernation, but this is our time to SHINE!!

I am going to make it a goal to find ways to brighten my environment and my wardrobe. Shake things up a bit.

How about you?

source

here and here

I miss J.Crew

2012-01-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

I used to work at J.Crew until recently because things became too stressful with decorating, teaching and blogging, so I had to let it go. I miss it so. I honestly didn't shop anywhere else. That's probably not healthy but what's a girl to do? Everytime I would go into work I would get so inspired, and think up new ways to wear the clothes I already had. Now that my little inspiration source is gone I needed to find new places, and my very favorite place right now is...

Atlantic-Pacific

I'm in love with this girl. She posts pics each day of her very amazing attire, and she's truely creative.

Color Moods: Decking the halls with green!

2011-12-08T05:24:00.000-08:00

My house is full of green right now and I love it! It's such a rich accent, from shoes to velvet curtains. In my home, I have mainly brought green in through plants, because my color scheme doesn't include green really.
But there's something about a room with shades of green that just looks so good!

If you want to use green as a room accent, I'll be back later this afternoon with color combos that work.

source

Eva Juliet pinterest

Apartment therapy

apartment therapy

A well traveled woman

Do you use green in your home? Tell me!

Mr. Brightside

2011-12-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday I stopped by a local antique store to pick a few things up for Christmas. I came across four glorious bamboo dining chairs, for get this, $40!! I immediately thought "these are mine". So, being very mature and wise, I decided I would put my four chairs on craigslist and sell them first, (I think you know where this story is going) after all the lady at the store said they had been there well over a month. The very next afternoon I had a buyer, so after work I mozied on over to the store to pick up my sweet chairs. So confident, I imagined all the way there what color I would paint them. When I walked in and went to the booth..they were gone. My chairs..were gone. The lady said "aww, we sold those today." Whatever, she didn't care.
I got in the car and cried. I know I shouldn't cry over chairs..but I loved them.
I called Will and cried some more. I had a breakfast table with no chairs now!
When I got home, Will was so positive, and brought up all these ideas for the breakfast nook. He really made me think outside the box on this one, and it turns out that selling the chairs were the best thing that could have happened to out little breakfast area! We never used that space before because the chairs weren't really comfy and they were a little too high for the table. So for now, I moved my two wing back chairs to the table, and I love it. It's perfect and cozy and great for reading and using the computer..and eating.
So sometimes it's good to rearrange things, think outside the box.
Two things you can take away from this story: (1) Move things around! You may find a new way to use a space that you love. (2) Buy something if you really like it, right away!!

Jamie Meares

(Those are very similar to what the chairs looked like, can you see why I cried?)

Desire to Inspire

Habitually Chic

(Now that's a breakfast nook! That random high picture kinda bothers me, but other than that, it's amazing!)

Jamie Meares

(I know you can't really see this sitting area, but it looks like two leather chairs with a small stump stool in the middle. This was an idea Will and I had for our nook. )

Snore!

2011-12-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

It's only 7:30, but all I can think about is curling up and sleeping.

Something like this would be peerfect. I love a day bed. Perfect for naps, especially in a sunroom like mine!

See you tomorrow! Sleep tight!

My Christmas table, full of DIY treats!

2011-12-02T02:46:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, it's Friday! Christmas is on it's way! I'm pretty much finished with all my decorating, and I want to show you my dining table first.

Lets look first, then I'll tell you all about my DIY projects on the table.

Okay, the paper wreath was inspired by this project from Ruche. I think that it was pretty easy, just a little time consuming, but it can definitely be done! It was supposed to be a wreath but it looks more like a flower...oops.

Over the summer I bought some amazing striped candles from a boutique in Greenville. They were a little on the expensive side, but I bought them anyway because I couldn't find them anywhere else. Well, "someone" broke one, and after a little brainstorming, I came up with a cheaper solution. I bought two tapered candles from Hobby Lobby, used frog tape and taped stripes around it. I spray painted the areas that didn't have tape. It worked perfectly! Love a good successful DIY project!

This "wood" vase was brown for a long time. I loved the texture but the color was just too dark. Spray painted it gold, and now it pops out so much more! I love the gold against the wood texture of the vase.

I saved my favorite DIY for last. My chevron table runner. I hated making it, but it was so worth it in the end. I searched and searched for the perfect table runner, but just couldn't find the right colors. Solution? Make my own, of course! I bought some white canvas type fabric, cut it into two long strips. I DO NOT sew, so I used iron on hemming. You can find that in just about any home fabric, Hobby Lobby type store. Made a stencil (see below) and painted it with gold printmaking fabric paint. Also easy to find. A week later (yeah I procrastinated) it was done.

So there you have it, the story of my Christmas table, my favorite yet.

Hope you found some good ideas.

Other suggestions, shop Goodwill's, and antiques stores, that's where I found my plates, deer candle holders, and white vase.

Have a great weekend!!!

Color Moods: It's all about the gold!

2011-12-01T05:02:00.000-08:00

Gold is such a classic, it has in and out times and right now it's definitely in! It easily adds glamour and sophistication to any room. I love it when used in small doses, like the inside shade of a lamp, the frame of a mirror, the trim of a victorian chair, the rim of a wine glass, eww I love it!

Elle decor

Lonny

dhome.dmagazine.com

dwell

eva phan pinterest

milenchacke.tumblr

shopsosie

I was told a few years ago that I should wear more gold, because it would look good with my red hair. This is going to sound bad, but I always thought gold was for "older" people. I was so wrong! I've been wearing it ever since, and I use it all over my home. It gives such a classic and rich touch to a room.

this is glamorous tumblr

Were else do you like to use accents of gold?

My holiday progress...just a peak!

2011-11-28T02:30:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! It's back to the grind, ye haw!

This is my favorite time, right in the middle of the holidays with Christmas a few weeks away. I love to bring out all the Christmas decorations, so for the past three days I have been fully committed to making my home warm and cozy. Let me tell you, I am worn slap out.

I took a few quick shots before it got too dark yesterday.

Let me tell you what you're in for, a load of DIY ideas, many many spray painted items, easy money saving solutions, and tons of Christmas cheer!

Give the gift of....

2011-11-22T16:16:00.000-08:00

ART!!

Hey friends. I got busy again. Gosh, I hate it when I get pulled away from you guys.

I started my Christmas shopping recently, and let me just say I'm thinking giving art is such a special way to go!

Now I've picked a few that I liked... from chic fashion illustration to quirky animal art.

All of these little babes are from Etsy, but here are the sellers from left to right.

1 2 3 4 5 6

I can't find the sellers for 4 and 5, it's like they just disappeared! If you really like one, just let me know and I'll hunt the artist down.