Rebecca Lukens Designs

Website

2015-04-16T14:48:00.000-04:00

I finally got my website up and running, really don't know why it took me so long! You can check it out here Thanks for checking it out!

Inspiring Easter eggs

2015-03-31T11:44:00.001-04:00

Martha Stewart

These are not just any ordinary Easter eggs - you know, the ones you buy in the little kits and make with your kids every year? From beautiful gold foiled, marbleized, moss covered, to fun painted silhouettes, beautiful robins egg blue, to chalk painted eggs to personalize, these eggs are beautiful and so unique. They would make a beautiful addition to any Easter décor. And I love showing off eggs in glass vases and cloches. Here are a few of my favorite photos to help inspire you this Easter season.

Martha Stewart

Terrain

Better Homes and Garden

Martha Stewart

Terrain

Dreaming.....

2015-02-23T09:29:00.000-05:00

HGTV photo

I know that I am not the only one dreaming about the possibility of my family living in this years' 2015 HGTV Dream Home, in Martha's Vineyard.....just move me right in! The entry to the contest has ended, so I'm sure there are many hopeful dreamers out there. Although I have never been to Martha's Vineyard, I have been up and down the New England coast and also to Nantucket many times, in fact I got engaged there, so its always been special to me. New England is so beautiful with all of its coastal towns and Martha's Vineyard I'm sure, does not disappoint.

HGTV photo

This year's Dream house is so inviting and has such a cozy feel, and although it's not too big,
there are so many great design elements that have been packed into this home. The open floor plan is great for everyone to be in the same area and it's all centrally located in the middle of the house where it's so bright and open with tons of doors and windows.

HGTV photo

With so many coastal inspired and beautiful features carried throughout this home, there's
no doubt where you are. All the fabrics chosen work so well with all the different neutral shades and blues carried through the home, but the colors also transition nicely from room to room by bringing in other colors as well.

Besides the nice living room space above, there is additional seating spread around creating
their own smaller spaces.

HGTV photo

The guest bedroom below is so fun and bright, and the use of orange in the room adds such a bright pop of color.

HGTV photo

But seriously, if this was mine, I don't think that I would have any reason to even leave this beautiful, serene. master bathroom in the picture below. I love the use of the turquoise blues brought in here, it is just gorgeous.

HGTV photo

No matter what, how big or small your gathering, everyone always ends up in the kitchen, and with the nice substantial island in the space, it provides plenty of room for all your guests that are for sure to come!

HGTV photo

Whoever the lucky winner is, and I sure hope it's me, would have a hard time complaining about anything in this Dream Home, fingers crossed!

color trends

2015-02-11T19:00:00.001-05:00

Photo from Pantone

I love the new Pantone color of the year, Marsala. It is such a beautiful, deep, rich red. I'm not about to change everything in my home to follow the latest color trend, but an accent here and there could work.

This Old House

When I go out to a client's house to help them pick out paint colors, fabrics, accents or other design needs, I often get asked what the latest color trends are. I try to tell them that although it is nice to keep up with what's new and trendy, it really all depends on what you really like, what you're comfortable with and how design trends fit in with your current style. So as beautiful as the room looks above with that rich sexy color, Marsala, it would get pretty expensive to change your look every year to keep up with the color trends. But certainly some things are easy to change out and work with, paint and accents for example.

I 'm working with a client right now and helping to design her kitchen. It's an older home with a very challenging kitchen, the whole thing is going to be gutted. We are planning on crisp white cabinets, super white granite and warm wood tones. But what I am so excited about is that my client loves turquoise. We have been working through all the details, and have been talking about bringing turquoise in the kitchen and she is really excited to add in a pop of color. She has the color carried through out her home and has a great painted turquoise buffet in her dining room. She went out appliance shopping and came back with this idea, the beautiful water blue, Blue Star range below. It is going to look so amazing with the other things we have planned in the kitchen and will make a great focal point in the kitchen. It is a big commitment to go with a color for a major appliance but it works so well for her home because it's carried throughout house, and she feels comfortable with the color. So even though its not the official color of the year, it is what she loves for her home, and it will make her happy every time she walks in her new kitchen. Can't wait to start posting the project.

Blue Star

sunroom fabrics

2014-11-24T21:23:00.001-05:00

I had so much fun working with and picking out these fabrics for my client's sunroom and I wanted to wait until everything was finished in the space before I showed them. The fabrics worked so well together, between the brighter super cozy custom swivel chairs and the grain sack like fabric on the custom love seat and coordinating fabric on the custom pillows.

I loved how the roman shades turned out, there are six windows all in a row so I didn't want to overwhelm the space with a very bright or busy fabric. I found this pretty fabric, it is a simple linen blend with beautiful embroidered vines throughout. I was really happy with how they turned out.

The room is such a great space that is used for an eating area on one end and an inviting sitting area on the other. The space is grounded by two of the same rugs that fill the room nicely and really bring the areas together.

Pretty guest bedroom

2014-11-17T19:57:00.001-05:00

I've been meaning to post these pictures for some time now, actually a few months. I've been a bit side tracked and haven't shared much! I had worked on this guest bedroom during the late spring for one of my clients. She wanted the room to be pretty for when her mother stayed. The room was previously painted and the furniture was already existing, I was just picking out all the fabrics for the custom bedding.

I was so happy when it was finished - it all came out really nice. The bedspread was quilted and looks beautiful and inviting. There is also a bed skirt that matches with the pillow shams. In fact, the fabric looked so pretty that my client decided she wanted to use it to have some valances made for the windows (we just started working on them).

The bolster pillow came out great too. The fabric has a slight raised pattern so the flowers and vines really pop, it makes it a focal point on the bed. The duvet cover, at the end of the bed, also has a nice textured fabric on it as well.

When the window treatments are all finished I will share more pictures, hopefully it won't take me so long to post them next time!

clients dining room

2014-03-01T09:26:00.000-05:00

For nearly 18 months I have been working with a client on a new construction home in Delaware. Since I was involved from the beginning, it included everything from room layout suggestions and paint and floor color selections to kitchen and bath design and furniture. From start to finish, it's been a great experience. Here are some previous posting on the home's progress here and here.

Now, as the project comes to completion, I am so excited to work on finishing off my clients dining room. After so much construction going on with their home, it was great to finally be able to put those finishing touches in the rooms. The panels turned out so beautiful. We choose a Robert Allen fabric and a really pretty onion ball fringe to go with the fabric. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy, and with all the beautiful white wainscoting, the navy really pops, especially now with the blue and white fabric. Also setting the whole room off is the gorgeous Schonbek chandelier chosen for the room. It really came out so pretty and classic looking.

We are finalizing all the rest of the window treatments and I can't wait to share those when they are all finished.

flower tiles

2014-02-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

It has been a long winter, you don't need to tell anybody out here on the East Coast! We have had snow on the ground for weeks, so spring and spring flowers seem like they will never come. I was happy to take on this small project for a client, which offered at least a glimpse of spring. This flower scene will go behind their range with a carrara marble border and matching marble field tile. I wanted to wait until they were installed to share the tiles, but thought I'd post it now and show the installed pictures later on in their brand new kitchen.

2013-10-18T16:06:00.000-04:00

I was a bit shocked when I saw how long its been since my last post. But things in my world have been a little on the busy side and some things have had to be put on the back burner. I hope to try and get back in the swing of things because I have a bit to follow up on. Happy Fall!

happy fourth of july

2013-07-04T11:05:00.001-04:00

Happy Fourth of July

Cheers! Just returned back from a wonderful trip in Mexico! Just in time to celebrate the fourth.
I'm trying to regroup and get back to reality. I've got a lot of new things coming up. But I'm going to enjoy the day and get back to this another day. Hope you enjoy your day and spend time celebrating with family and friends.

sneak peek of tiles

2013-05-20T21:44:00.000-04:00

I was so anxious to see my clients back splash up in her kitchen, here is just a sneak peek. The tiles hadn't been grouted yet when I was there to take pictures so I will wait to show the whole kitchen all completed next time I go and take some great photos of their beautiful kitchen all finished.

The tiles we choose were such a great choice with the granite and really tied everything together. The main field tile are a honed carrara marble with a small slate blue mosaic cut in on an angle. Over by the bar area, as you can see below, there are 5 accent tiles that were added. These were some tiles that my client picked up on her travels to Italy a couple months back and she wanted to incorporate them in the somewhere.

Below is the focal point of kitchen behind the range. These tiles are framed out in the same honed carrara marble and then the tiles on the inside are a beautiful wavy, almost hour glass looking tile. The framed out tiles really tie all the colors in the kitchen together, between the field tile, and even the blue tones in the granite and the gray tones in the super white granite used on the island. It's framed out so nicely like a piece of artwork.

I can't wait to show all the final pictures and how everything has come together. We just ordered some great upholstered pieces and the fabric we picked is so beautiful. I will post all of those and show how the whole house has really come together and is getting close to being done!

idea of the day

2013-05-02T13:04:00.001-04:00

I love this idea in the new issue of This Old House. How clever are these two chairs turned into a very pretty bench.

This Old House

They even give you the step by step on how to do it. What a fun and creative way to refurbish some old chairs! Here is the tutorial on how it's done, This Old House .

kitchen sneak peek

2013-04-15T21:59:00.000-04:00

Here is a little sneak peek at the beautiful custom piece that is in my client's kitchen. This piece creates such a great visual from the kitchen to the back sun room where the kitchen table will be. Also, it will serve as a nice storage cabinet and provide easy access for table linens etc. During the course of planning out the kitchen I had come across a few ideas that had inspired the look for this cabinet. I think it looks beautiful and offers a great way to end the space in the kitchen but also giving it such an interesting and nice area to display some of her ceramic and glass pieces.

Here are a few of the inspirations.....

Traditional Home

Houzz

Below is a picture of the kitchen still in progress. We went the other day and picked out the tile for the backsplash, which you can see stills needs to be installed.

Here are the tiles we picked out. The beautiful mosaic tile will be framed out in the crown molding (to the right of the mosaic tile) and installed behind the range. On the right side below, is the field tile and then the 3 x 3 tile sitting on top, is going to be used as an accent tile mixed in with the field tile in the bar area. The 3 x 3 tile is one of a few tiles my client bought during her recent trip to Italy.

The finishing touches are all coming together, I can't wait to see the tiles all up.

house progress: part three

2013-04-02T09:24:00.003-04:00

If you have been following along with my latest posts, here is the next reveal on the progress of my clients house. You will see that the photos are really different from my previous post. These are the latest pictures I took the other day. The kitchen is a huge change, can't wait to go back and see the granite now that it has been installed. Love all the space they are going to have in their kitchen and the beautiful island will give them an additional surface for eating, entertaining and prepping.

kitchen

The first coat of paint has been put on the walls, it really transformed the space. The dining room is painted a really pretty shade of navy. With all of the white trim, wainscoting and columns, it really gives the room a dramatic punch of color. The majority of the rest of the walls are painted a neutral tan which compliments the navy really well.

dining room looking into living room

dining room

This is the back sun room below, where the kitchen table will be on one end and the TV on the back wall. The walls here are painted with a real calming grayish, blue-green shade, it really balances the navy in the front of the house. The open ended knee wall was a great way to divide the room but still separate it enough from the living room, while remaining open and great to access the room on both ends.

sun room

This picture below is the upstairs hall bath, the tiles are neutral but was paired up nicely with a really pretty onyx and black border tile that pulls the colors from the granite on the vanity.

hall bath shower

hall bath vanity

Below is the master bath shower, still in the works. A creamy white tile was used with some marble accents, the border and the floor, adding to the very pretty elegant space. I can't wait to show pictures of the beautiful glass crystal chandelier that will be hung up in the bathroom.

master shower

I hope to go back this week and can't wait to see all the finishing touches coming together. Stay tuned for a follow up post.

progress is good: part 2

2013-03-27T19:26:00.000-04:00

It's amazing the difference a couple weeks can make. I was so surprised when I went to my clients house last Friday to see how much progress has been made, they are doing such a great job and they move fast. Check out the first post on the house here, you will see the big changes that have been made from that first post to the pictures below. Amazing what dry wall can do!

kitchen

dining room

living room looking into the sun room

living room looking into kitchen

master bedroom looking into sitting room

Stayed tuned for more pictures. I was there just yesterday and can't wait to share how different everything looks. They got all the trim done, most of the kitchen put together and the paint on the walls, tile up in the bathrooms, so it definitely moving along. The lights are going to start getting hung and the granite installed by the end of the week. My client has been away so can't wait to see what she thinks when she gets back. Check back for the progress.

Ryan's room

2013-03-21T11:11:00.001-04:00

Over the last couple days I have been busy at one of my clients painting a mural. It was for their son Ryan. Of course being a boy, he loves anything that moves so I thought how fun to paint a big car on the wall behind his bed. I tried to keep the room a little more grown up so he won't grow out of it in a year.
The room has has a lot of primary colors, with his plaid quilt and window treatments so the colors in the signs and car were a great match. I painted a street sign named, "Ryan ST", a stop sign and traffic light. Below is the car painted behind his bed. To personalize it I painted a license plate with his initials on it.

Here you can see the part of the two walls, the car and then the street sign.

The canvas next to the sign is so cute, it's from Pottery Barn. It looks great with the new sign.

A close up of the traffic light

The stop sign is at the foot of his bed on the opposite wall

It was a fun job and glad that I could be a part of making his room complete.

Design challenge room reveal!

2013-03-13T10:52:00.003-04:00

I'm so excited to be posting the design challenge room before and after pictures. Remember this from back in the fall? I went to the house yesterday. I hadn't been back since we had gone over the ideas and options for the room and was so thrilled with the results. During the process we went over all the ideas and I gave them my suggestions with the paint, layout and other ideas to bring the room together. The rug, for example, was a big design element that really inspired the colors in the room. But what was so great is they took all of that and went a step beyond to really add their own touches. They did an amazing job! (you can check here for the original post on the room and see the progress post here).

before

after

The room felt a little small and crowded. By moving things around a bit it really opened things up, as you see in the before pictures. and I love what she did with the wall above the sofa. Liz has a great collection of local artwork of scenes from the town she lives in and grouped them together with some different sized mirrors. It now looks so inviting and cozy.

before

after

By flipping the chair with the sofa and armoire, it really balanced out the room and feels so much bigger. The only thing taken out of the room was a smaller chair you see in the first picture above and the small bookshelf that was hidden behind the door. Also as you see Liz painted the armoire. She used Annie Sloan Chalk paint - I think I may have gotten her addicted to it! But it looks great and helped out by lightening up the piece and eliminating another wood colored piece in the room.

As you may remember one of the decisions that she was struggling with was whether to paint all of the wood on the fireplace wall. After talking through things we both decided it would be best to take baby steps. The wood is so beautiful, so as a compromise, they painted the mantle and the brick surround which really makes it pop out now. We talked yesterday and said that a next step could be, if she still feels like it's needed, to paint the bookshelves below. But again it may not be needed with all the changes that were made.

We had discussed ways to bring more light into the room and Liz found this great mirror that looks beautiful and reflects so much light into the room. It made a huge difference. Also notice the panels by the windows that really soften up the room and make it seem so cozy. We talked about the lamp by the window which still needs to be replaced.

before

after

You can really see from these two pictures above how cramped it was in the room before. It was a very tight space in front of the fireplace because of how the chair and ottoman where right in front. Now it is so much more spacious.

after

I love all the pillows Liz picked out and how great they look with the rug and wall color. That pop of the orange is so great with the silvery blue and grays.

Here are the touches I love- how great is this dog! And the mercury glass she found to go with her mercury glass lamp is perfect.

This is the piece that was her grandmother's - it's so pretty. The lamp on it still needs to be replaced and possibly the glass vessel below may be turned into a lamp to take it's place. Again the orange color is so great.

I love the fun whimsical details she brought in

Liz found this old bench. We talked about how fun it would be to paint this a shade of orange.

I really like the subtlety of the fabric on the panels. They are just enough to balance out the room with out being overwhelming. Below you see how much the rug really was such a great influence for all the color in the room.

rug from west elm

It was such a fun project and Liz was so nice to work with. It's great to hear that the family really enjoys the room and likes spending more time in there. I'm so glad that we did the project and it was great to see the room from start to finish. And again it was inspiring to see how they took the space and really made it their own. Thanks Liz!

personalized chocolates

2013-02-27T08:46:00.002-05:00

You know the saying, "you are what you eat", well I have now officially eaten too much chocolate! Who knew you could be on an M and M, designer chocolates!

I may be a little late on sharing this, but I just had to stray away from my typical posts and share these great personalized M and M's. My husband ordered these for Valentines Day, not your normal $3 bag by the way, they are a little pricey but so thoughtful and fun. As you see there on the one, it is actually a picture of my husband and myself. We were at a fundraiser the other week and had our picture taken in a photo booth, Mardi Gras hats and all. He had one of the pictures put on the M and M, {yes as I said, I have eaten too much chocolate}. He also had an "I Love You" one made for each of us, I thought this was such a great and surprising way to say I love you.

My latest project

2013-02-20T11:20:00.000-05:00

I've been a little preoccupied these days. Between planning how we are going to start a pretty big project at home, turning our attic into a master bedroom and bathroom,{exciting!}, adding a laundry room area in our powder room, and everyday life of a busy family. I have been working with a new client now for a couple months on a great project.

Did I mention big project? Yes this is my client's kitchen, well it will be. I have been helping from the kitchen design, fixtures, hardware, tile, vanities, lighting, etc. etc. It has been so great to see the progress of this house being built. Every time I go over there is something new to look at. This week I will be going to the house, I haven't been in a couple weeks so I can't wait to see how much it has changed, the builders move so fast. The house is planned to be finished in June, until then there is a lot more to be done. I will post pictures of the house as it is being transformed from the picture above to all of the beautiful things that have been carefully picked out.

sun porch

sun room and living room

Check back over the weekend for updated pictures!

Bathroom update

2013-02-04T11:19:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to be starting a new project that will have a huge pay off, bye bye old tub!
This weekend our old original 1920's cast iron tub will be taken out of our powder room. In it's place will be our washer and dryer, which is currently in the basement, no more going down there to do laundry. But until then a bit has to be done, floor repair for one, we will have to see how bad it is and where the holes are for the plumbing. I would love to put a slate floor down. We also have a shower in there that will eventually be transformed into a nice pantry, that is phase 2. Until then I can dream about my new very convenient space. Below are pictures of my powder room with the tub and then without- it really opened up the whole space.

And now for a little inspiration, I love the look of the barn style doors used below. I would love to do these in front of the washer and dryer and pantry and paint the doors a shade similar to the amber color in the curtains, I love the Robert Allen fabric that I found for the windows.

House Beautiful

BHG

Pinterest

I love the slate floor below in this picture, it would be great with radiant floor heat put down first.

Houzz

I can't wait to get started on planning my new space, I will keep you posted with the progress.

Finns room

2013-01-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

I wish that I had thought about how many walls were in my sons room before I told him I would paint stripes, not just 4 but 8 walls. I will make sure I think about that before I do it the next time. But Finn had been wanting his room painted for a few months now so I thought I would have him pick out a color (with a little guidance of course) but I should give him a lot of credit, he picked out a great shade of blue that matched perfectly with the colors in his quilt, Whipple Blue from Benjamin Moore. I picked out Hale Navy, also Benjamin Moore, to go with it.

Thank goodness for my laser level, as if it is not time consuming enough to get your lines straight but with an old house it always creates a bit more of a problem when all your walls are slightly different heights then the other. Overall I don't think anyone but me can tell that one stripe is a 1/2" or so lower on one side then the other.

I love how it came out, his walls went from a very pale yellow to fun blue stripes. Usually darker colors can tend to make room look smaller but his room almost looks bigger as you follow the stripes going around. I still need to hang a few more things up and ignore the mess with all his stuff in the one cabinet. The wall hanging you see there was something I did for him a couple of years ago, it is an old kitchen cabinet door that I turned into a place for him to hang things. I got three ball finials from the hardware store and painted them like a traffic light. We also have a stop sign that we found in our garage a few years back, that will go over his bed. In the dormer area I am going to use the one side of the wall and paint a chalk board square for him. One of these days I'd like to paint his bed and chop down the posters and put some ball finials on, but that might not happen for quite awhile.

He loves his new walls, it really changed the whole room and is a perfect transformation for a boys room.

Upcycled Home Decor Series: Part Three {organization}

2013-01-14T10:21:00.000-05:00

Guest Blogger: Liz Ohsiek from Liz Ohsiek Designs

Happy New Year! Have you been making resolutions? I make the same ones every year. Eat better, exercise, get organized… But this year I mean it. Really! I found some fabulous upcycled items on Etsy to help you organize your homes, created from some amazing materials. Have you ever seen records, bed sheets, and license plates look so functional (and stylish!)?

Vinyl Record Storage Container by retrograndma

Handmade Upcycled Catch All Basket by sosorosey

License Plate Wall Organizer by SaraRene

Thanks Liz for your blog posting today, I love the license plate wall organizer! Hope this gets you inspired to start getting organized in a creative way.

fresh start to a new year

2013-01-01T19:54:00.000-05:00

It doesn't take long until we are saying, out with the old and in with the new, that is, old Christmas tree that is loosing all of its needles and the greens that have been sitting around collecting dust for the last few weeks. As quickly and the Holidays seem to come- they are gone, but there is something strange when all the decorations are stripped out the house, it takes awhile to get used to the naked spaces left behind. Spots that were adorned with Santa's and greens on the mantle are now looking a little lonely. But at the same time there is something refreshing about putting all the holiday decorations away until next year. Bringing in the new year with a clean slate, starting fresh, putting all of the craziness of the Holidays behind us and thinking about maybe starting a project...
I have a few projects that I can't wait to get started on, but which one to do first. I started chipping away at the out dated tile in our kitchen the other day, but didn't make it very far. Then there is our powder room, we need to get a 300 lb. original cast iron tub out of there. We would like to put our washer and dryer in the space. There is also a shower in the bathroom as well that we would like to get rid of and build a nice pantry. We have a much larger project that is much more involved. We have plans up on our third floor to turn the space into our master bathroom and bedroom, it is a great space with about 900 square feet and some exposed brick walls. The master bedroom project is a longer term project that will be great to get started, but I think is last on the list.
Stayed tuned for a new year with new projects of my own, our house and my new Etsy shop, and some new projects I am working on with clients. Right now I have been working with a client on her new home and helping design her kitchen. I will start sharing photos and stay tuned for my powder room project- as soon as that tub is gone!! Happy New Year and happy new projects.

new Etsy shop opened

2012-12-29T12:50:00.000-05:00

I am excited to share my new Etsy shop, I just opened it the other day. I am taking a different direction on my art and painting dogs. I love dogs and I love painting and I decided to take the two and merge them together and paint custom dog portraits. I have been painting for years and even though my work now is focused on interior design projects, this is a great way for me to be able to still enjoy painting and what a great subject to paint. So check it out here.

Under the weather

2012-12-26T12:26:00.000-05:00

Nothing like being sick on Christmas. I think that I feel worse for my kids that I wasn't able to really enjoy Christmas with them. When your kids are 6 and 9 it's hard to fake functioning at 100% when really I felt only about 25%. I don't think that I have had the flu or anything like this in years and never had such worse timing. But hoping to start the new year off feeling much better, and back to posting soon. Happy Holidays!