The Cuban In My Coffee

Moroccan Treasures At West Elm

2012-02-23T14:21:00.000-05:00

Hello,

I just received an email about some new things that are happening at West Elm. Now if you're anything like me, you have an OBSESSION with Moroccan inspired treasures.

I have been lusting and DYING for a Moroccan wedding blanket style rug/blanket for a very long time. The problem is that they are super expensive so alas I've not been able to get one.

Well it looks like West Elm got the memo. It started earlier this year with the Souk rug available in multiple sizes and currently sold out!

Souk Rug

And now with their new line of Moroccan accents and rugs that are just fantastic. Here are some of my favorites.

Vintage Moroccan Metal Trays $149-$179

Found Moroccan Wedding Blanket $399

*There's a good chance that I'llown one of these babies one day.

Found Battini Pouf- Patterned $299
*Love the outdoor room styled above!!! A-MAZ-ING!!!

Found Moroccan Berber Rug- Large $2,499 (8'x10')

Just in case you need the added inspiration check out some of the styling from these Moroccan wedding blankets and watch your very own obsession grow!

There are also many new Turkish rugs, throw blankets and wooden accessories on their site as well. It's definitely worth checking out.

Thanks West Elm, for staying on point!

Blinging Out Some Ikea LACK Shelves

2012-02-21T13:43:00.000-05:00

Hello there,

I just got back in town from a whirl wind weekend for my daughter's soccer tournament in Disney this past weekend and didn't get a chance to post.

I want to show you a little mini makeover that I did with our Ikea LACK shelves above our TV in the family room.

Ours have moved with us and are constantly evolving along with my moods and taste. Since I'm going with "bring in the gold" as a theme, I found a great idea on a blog called http://timmythewienerdog.blogspot.com/ where Bri added gold brackets to her LACK shelves. Her blog is quite hilarious and if you haven't already seen it you should definitely stop by. She has quite the knack for DIYing things in a very Kelly Wearstler kind of way and her raunchy non apologetic humor is a guilty pleasure.

I used different brackets on our LACK shelves which I found at Home Depot for only $2.70 for 4 (you will need 2 packs).

Here are the results:

It's looking pretty good.

*As a reference for the elements on the shelves:

-I simply glued on the brackets which was quick and easy.

-I always layer pictures ,and fount that Target has some great double pained glass frames which will let whatever is behind the photos show through and also don't limit you to a specific picture size or direction.

-I included both silver and gold elements on our shelves which I found gave a more interesting high end look.

-I spray painted 2 sea fans with 24K gold spray paint and it turned out really nice and was so EASY.

- I gold leafed 2 candles that I bought in white ceramic from West Elm which again was harder than it looks, but gave another texture and tone in gold that was much needed.

-I bought the silver antelope on a black base at Home Goods because I decided that I have WAY too much beachy-oceanic touces in this house which I'm sure is a result from a past obsession. New goal will be to find different types of accessories.

What do you think?

Designer Budget Score, Ikat Pillows

2012-02-17T07:29:00.002-05:00

Good morning and WHOOHOO for Friday!

In my search for taking the green out of the family room and replacing it with black and gold accents I made a major score. Went to Home Goods and found 2 Ikat black-ish charcoal gray spotted pillows for only $12.99 each! Perfect color, perfect style, perfect price.

I LOVE Ikat prints, and have posted about them in the past here . I'm thinking I will bring more Ikat in to this space, but as anyone who is a fan knows Ikat doesn't come cheap. In fact the cheapest pillows I've seen with the same print that I found are for $50 each. Mine are a print on the front with a solid white on the back and 2 wooden button closures. Whoot whoot!

Here are some pictures of the Ikat spotted fabric used in other spaces to show you why I am so excited about my score:

I can't wait to show you the mini face lift for our family room and some of the new gold accents that have gone in there. Like everything I do in our home it is a little by little process.

I Like Gooold, Brass Sea Urchin Love

2012-02-15T08:46:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

Remember the post I did here on changing out our sheers and bringing in some gold and black to our family room? Well, I'm leaving the sheers......for now.

I am changing accessories and accents however, and in my search came across the most amazing little brass sea urchins that I found and ordered at Furbish Studio.

And so that you can see them used in decor, here are more brass sea urchins for your eyes to feast and obsess on.....or is it just me?

This is just one tiny piece to the puzzle of the family room mini transformation. I'll be showing more details very soon.

Sending Valentine Love Your Way

2012-02-14T09:25:00.000-05:00

Good morning and Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Tonight Robert is taking myself and our daughter's out to dinner at a nice restaurant since he is our #1 Valentine.

I never get too much in to this holiday, and only spread a little heart here or there around our house. Perhaps next year I will throw a dinner party so that I can festive up a bit.

Here are some very romantic rooms for you to oogle over that are very much in the Valentine's Day spirit.

And here's one last picture of my prince charming on our coffee table (I bought him because he reminded me of my husband years ago;)

XOXOXO

Sheers Vs Curtain Panels, Which One Is Right For Your Space?

2012-02-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

Recently I was commenting on a post by a fellow blogger B is building a house in reply to if she should have curtain panels or sheers on a track. Funny enough we happen to have both here at our house.

The sheers were installed in our HGTV Color Splash makeover. They are really modern and clean, and definitely not something that I would have chosen on my own which is a good thing. They define and combine all our spaces really well and they give our home a very loungey feel. They also add allot of visual and textural interest and contrast.

Here is our house with the current sheers:

As you can see they are pretty much amazing all around!

Well, true to form with me I am having an evolution of taste when it comes to our home which originally stated with the black lacquer elements that Color Splash brought in. That's the beauty of working with a designer, they push you past your comfort level in to something that you yourself may not have chosen on your own and you learn so much along the way.

As I have been decorating our new master bedroom, and I started bringing black in to the mix of grey and white which added much needed drama (thank you Color Splash for opening my eyes to black)...and then came gold. Now I can't get over my new found love of Black and Gold and I want it EVERYWHERE!

Here are some inspirations that I pulled which are realistic to what could work in our home with minimal cost and effort based on what we have now:

It's not impossible to mix in my two new favorite colors with our current scheme to achieve the "feeling" that I want. Adding a little bit of gold and some more black would go a long way, as would new throw pillows and some accents.

The only thing I'm not sure about is keeping the current sheers. As much as we love them (Robert already told me he hates my new idea!), they block all the walls which prevents me from adding any art or displays, let alone a buffet or console anywhere. They also keep the house a bit dark for my taste, and block the views of the back yard and the view that we love back there. They don't look right when opened and since I have curtains in our master bedroom and the sheers are in the living room the view from outside our home is definitely off.

Here are pictures of the curtains open:

*Note that there are also roman shades behind the sheers which were ordered and paid for before HGTV came and installed after hence why it looks so damn off**

And here are a couple of pictures of our home before the makeover when it had our old recycled curtains from our previous house (that I hated but used since we had them):

And here are the curtains that I would use that we already have in our master bedroom and love:

So I guess the ultimate question here is "What would you do? Keep the sheers and work around them, or replace them for a creamy version of curtains (similar to what's in our master bedroom)?"

Finding The Right Faucet For A Vessel Sink

2012-02-07T08:03:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

One dirty little secret that I'll share with you right now is that we are still under construction!!! It has been 10 months of us completely gutting our home and doing a master en-suite garage addition plus the little hiatus that we took when HGTV's Color Splash came in and gave us a makeover. Since we are both busy working, there are little breaks that happen here at our house and delay things along.

Needless to say, I'm O-V-E-R IT!!! We have 3 major projects that are holding things back.

1- We need to finish our bathroom sinks/faucets/vanity so that the installers will come and finish the new master bathroom cabinet installation.
2- We need to get a new water heater and remove the no good, no hot water making, gonna make you freeze before your tub is filled, gonna make the entire family argue for who showers first, old water heater from what will be Robert's new closet and install the new one outside.
3- Have the cabinet/closet installers come and finish both Robert and my closet installations which they won't do until everything is ready for them.

Once all of this is complete we will have our own closets in our own room (YAAAY!) We will have a fully functional bathroom in our room (YAAAAY!) and we will have a much needed extra bedroom which will function as an office/guest room/ hopeful future baby room. Ahhh.

Well, back to the title of today's post. The big hold up has been a little mistake I made with our bathroom faucets when I ordered the wrong ones.

I originally wanted, ordered, and received these from Overstock.com for only $129 and I LOVE them!

They were purchased to go with these vessel sinks also from Overstock.com for the unbeatable price of only $89.99!!!

Both of which will be added to a carrara marble counter top which sits on top of a natural grain/color wood double vanity.

Well, those faucets need more space behind them to be able to function properly and in turn won't work. FAIL!

Here are some new contenders for the faucets:

The only option that's out for us are the wall mounted ones since we are not properly set up for that, but I love the look of it and showed you anyway.

Overstock.com and Amazon.com have some really amazing and affordable options. Just make sure to check out the reviews for buyer feedback.

What do you think?

Teenage Girl's Room Decor

2012-02-06T08:54:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

I know it's been a long time!!! Let me start by saying that I went out of town for work in Las Vegas and when I came home both me and Robert got sick sick sick!!! There's nothing like coming home from a trip and then staying in bed for days.

None the less, I'm going to try to get back to business here and give you some much needed posts.

This morning I wanted to post my daughter's room that's still in progress. I am working around a teenage girl who's style is funky and cool, and not overly girly in any way. Her favorite color is a lime green, and I had to some how work in a presently red dresser (who's color will one day change).

Here is a sort of dresser vignette including a feature wall of art which was a collaboration of art pieces we had and wanted to keep in addition to some new finds.

For those of you who want to know, here is the source list:

Dresser: Ikea HEMNES 3 Chest Drawer

Cow Picture: Ikea "cow art" only $9.99
*...Mooo letters above cow- self adhesive felt from Michael's cut by moi.

I "heart" Miami picture: Home Goods- $12.99

"Keep Calm And Eat A Cupcake" picture Home Goods- $14.99

Antelope Animal Head Z Gallery- $49.99
*flower added to its ear by moi

Dream, Complain, Listen, Talk etc etc inspirational pic Ross- $12.99

Breathe, Live 3- D Words Home Goods- $5.99/ea
*painted turquoise by moi

3 Oil On Wood Art (flowers, heart, dog) bought in Colorado previously

Silver Balls Lamp Target- on clearance for only $15.99

Silver Piggy Bank Target- $9.99

White Vase with Yellow Daisy Ikea- $9.99

~What do you think so far????

Designer I Love, Martyn Lawrence Bullard

2012-01-19T18:17:00.000-05:00

Hello,

I wanted to talk about a designer/decorator who isn't exactly new, but who's name I recently discovered. His name is Martyn Lawrence Bullard and he has an amazing eye and knack for putting things together with a certain unique zest, and I don't mean in an understated way.

His story is equally amazing, which I read in my new book Live, Love & Decorate. If you haven't seen it yet you need to! It is filled with so much popping eye candy and diverse design style that you will be thirsting for more. I also love the affectionate and honest story of a dreaming actor to be turned decorator to the stars that is Martyn Lawrence Bullard.

One of the features in this book is from the New York home of Jimmy Choo's own Tamara Mellon, and it is just stunning! The mix of ecelectic Hollywood Regency meets vintage 70s glam is true perfection, and there is a whole lotta texture and gold up in that place. I like, I like very much.

Since starting on our bedroom addition, my love for all things gold has turned up and is now a raging fire. In the words of Gold Member from the great and wise Austin Powers, "I like gooooooold".
Mmmmmmm

Birthday Inspiration, Pink Rooms....It's Madness

2012-01-18T08:09:00.001-05:00

Good morning,

In light of my BIG BIRTHDAY today I wanted to share some rooms with you inspired by my favorite color, pink.

Now for anyone who follows me or knows my typical design style, you will know that I am not big on using colors. You will instead find neutrals with touches of organic woods, greys, blacks, whites, golds and silvers. That's just how I roll.

Every now and then, however I have to design a space or will find a space with pops of color and one can't help but to smile. Nice design must be recognized even if it isn't ones own style;)

Here are today's pink rooms, Happy Birthday To Me! ~

Notice in the above space the use of Ikea furniture in this high end looking room. I love that!

All three of the above pictures are from a loft space and it looks AMAZING! I love the purple sofa and the pink accents. I also love the arc lamp and and the mix of vintage and new like the painted brick walls and the chandelier. And those windows and casually draped curtains? WOW!

In this space I love the mix of the luxe fabrics and that the room is grounded by white and brown. Such a grown up version of non-typical grown up colors.

There isn't anything that I don't love in this space. The vintage looking gold lamp <3, the pink canvas<3, I want this vanity space!!!

I love the subtle pink accents in thie silver/grey room. This would be an easy to do pink combo.

Who would have thought that a pink kitchen could look like this!!!!! Seriously?

Notice in both of the two above pictures that there is a pink entry, a gold mirror above a console, and a zebra hide rug. Aparently a popular choice and I can see why.

Do I really need to say why this pink door works?! Reminds me of Palm Springs gone right, very right.

Have you seen any colorful spaces that you just love even if it's out of your norm?

A Cozy Window Seat Nook In Our Master Bedroom

2012-01-16T17:52:00.000-05:00

Geed evening,

I wanted to share with you another quick project that we took on this weekend in our master bedroom. I have a corner in the room that was not being used and has so much wonderful light pouring in so we decided to make it a little nook. I took one of our previously painted white mirrors and placed it in the corner along with our Ikea Tobias chair (which if you haven't seen in person is an AMAZING chair!!!) and I also put the Ikea STOCKHOLM side table in black (it also comes in white with a wood inset btw, and is also an AMAZING table. It is sturdy, high gloss, modern and well made!!!). Once I arranged some things I looked at the cute little nook and realized that it had a bit of that "somethings missing" happening which wouldn't work.

Here it was before:

Like everything else in our room, I wanted more drama so I added some accessories including our new West Elm Mongolian Lamb Pillow in the color pebble with our very Kelly Hoppen-Esq coral and sand vases that I posted about originally here. Well it was looking good, but not great.

Soooooo, off I went armed with a can of spray paint to give my white mirror makeover in high gloss black, Baaam!

Here are the after results of our cute little window seat nook with the newly dressed up sexier black mirror.

We really like the results. It's kind of like when you put a pair of black nylons on and it finishes a dress just so. I also added a few of my favorite books, a to die for candle in a gold metal jar found at Home Goods, and a new container to place my sand vase in (if you look closely in the picture you can see a black and gold container. I have no idea what it was, but it was on clearance for $10 so I made it work:)

What do you think? Have you done anything in your home to transform an otherwise unused window and made it a nice little nook? I would love to see your results.

Weekend Inspiration...Family Room Sneak Peek

2012-01-14T10:14:00.001-05:00

Good morning,

I am thoroughly enjoying a cup of coffee in my light filled living room looking over my pretty things (which I sometimes do) and I wanted to share one of the pictures Robert took. It isn't often that I get to be still and just enjoy being in the moment and appreciating what I have.

There's nothing like a cup of coffee, a comfy sofa, a blanket and bloggin to start the day off right.

Whoohoo for the weekend! I hope you enjoy yours as well~ XOXO

Sneak Peek Of Our Modern Landscaping, Teak Wood Balls

2012-01-13T09:56:00.001-05:00

Good morning,

I have a huge obsession with rustic and beached woods and use them in one form or another in most of my projects. I frequently shop at a local store called Victoria's Armoire. They are full of unique and amazing pieces from all over the world which the owner brings here in huge crates and sells them for more than reasonable prices. This store is an absolute gem, and it yet again it didn't disappoint.

While in the clearance section (which by the way ALWAYS has really amazing scores at thrift store-esq prices) I came across a section of solid and pieced together teak balls. These suckers were huge and heavy, and at prices of $10-$29 how could I resist?!!!

I bought three of them for my front garden to give it a little something, and though I'm not completely ready for the yard and drive way reveal due to picture quality I did want to give you a sneak peak of a little piece of our yard.

For those of you who don't know, these suckers will typically run around $150/ea at a discount store and then some. Since they are made of teak they can go in an all weather outdoor space. They may discolor a bit, but for that just adds to the charm. As you can start to see the yard shaping up we are going very minimal and very modern and graphic. Our plants are all new so they look like little babies, but they will one day fill out and we plan to continue adding things little by little. I will try for pictures this weekend, and will finally reveal our A-MAZ-ING concrete driveway that came out neyond one of the coolest things EVER and completely transofrmed our house.

What do you think of our little teak wood balls? Aren't they such an organic and amazing statement to our modern yard? Love them <3

Dining Room Reveal, Hans Wegner Wishbone Chairs

2012-01-10T09:38:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

I wanted to reveal the "after" of our dining room. I gave you a sneak peak before of what our custom dining table looks like with the new chairs, but I haven't shown you the clear pictures and since we have all our holiday decor put away it's a great time to reveal it to you.

Remember when I posted here about our dining room and my obsession with the Hans Wegner "Wishbone" chair? Well they came, and the risk paid off!!! I'm more in love with the dining room than I was before when Color Splash made over our home, and I didn't think that was going to be possible.

Here is the before of our dining room with the beautiful acrylic chairs:

Here is the dining room as it stands now with our new chairs:

If you look closely at the pictures you will see this amazing custom dining table creation by David Bromstad done half in a high gloss white lacquer with a modern style and the other half in a beautiful silver leaf with a traditional style. The table comfortably seats 12 (and could technically seat more) and is an amazing conversational piece. It stands alone as a piece of art, but these iconic and very popular mid- century modern chairs are also a work of art in their own right. They are a neutral organic chair, and do not compete with the table or the amazing wood wall. They add such a seamless style and blend well with everything that we have going on here at the Perez House! They are super comfortable and well worth the wait and price.

What do you think?

Another Ikea RAST Night Stand....Part II

2012-01-09T09:53:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

Today I'm sharing with you the big reveal on the Ikea Rast night stands. I've posted about them before, and LOVE these babies. Mostly because they can be changed and made over in so many wonderful ways as seen below.

These night stands are kind of like Ikea celebrities, and at only $34.99 ea you can't go wrong taking on a DIY project of your own.

Since I am going with the white, black and gold themed room I wanted to give them a face lift/ round II. I started with the one shown in this before picture:

Which still looked nice, but not amazing. When I found this post on one of my favorite blogs Design Manifest, I was smitten and knew I had found the one. Look how Naomi used hers as a media console in her home:

So I decided to sand mine back down to a smooth finish, and painted them in a high gloss door trim paint.

* My suggestion to you for a high gloss lacquer piece of furniture is to use a roller (unless you are some painting whiz) because on the first coat I used a brush and it is extremely difficult to not create streaks and brush strokes.

Then I let this dry over night. Once dry I remembered the gold bottom trim shown in the inspiration picture and needed to do that myself so I spray painted it using my gold spray paint along only the bottom.

I then repeated the sanding and painting 2 more times (per Naomi's instructions)

Once the last coat was dry I applied a small amount of super glue to the corner brackets which can be bought here and were $2.65 for a set of 4, you will need 6 packs.

I then added my previous pulls instead of the ones Naomi used since I had them from before, and LOVED their style. They can be found here .

Here is a picture of the supplies we used, plus an electric sander if you can, it saves a ton of time.

Here is a close up of the brackets while they were being applied:

Here are our finished results:

They make the perfect addition to our bedroom and it's theme. Thank you to Naomi from Design Manifest for the amazing Ikea hacked idea!!! It was exactly what we needed.

Stay tuned for the alligator banded pillows that will be going on top of the ol bed:)

Have a great Monday!

Reupholstering A Bench From Target..... Oh Yea!

2012-01-04T07:53:00.001-05:00

Good morning,

I wanted to share with you something that I did today that took me an hour max to complete. I am so thrilled about this one because I am looking for subtle little touches of black and gold for the master bedroom, and when I spotted these babies today at Target.... my heart went pitter patter!

OK, that's not the full story. Truth is that I spotted these babies on Christmas Eve while at Target. I tried unsuccessfully to get my husband to GO BACK AND GET THEM!!!! To no avail:(

So today I snuck away quickly while in the middle of my work day, which Robert refers to as my "Houdini" shopping spree. True. Let's just say that when I set my mind to something, its more like a mist that you never see coming and before you blink, there it is! Ha!

None the less, they still had them which made me happy, but the really muted baby blue dingy color did not. Next spot on the ol "shouldn't be a priority" list was to Joanne's for a black velvet that I thought would dress them up so nice.

Instead I found something with a bit of a print with a raised velvet on a linen cotton type fabric shown below. The best part is that it only cost me $10 bucks!

Isn't she lovely? Here are some before pictures which really don't do justice to the fug-ly that was baby blue.

I liked that it had a silver x base, though I wish it were more of a chrome finish. The way I saw it though was that first, they were only $60 which I thought to be a good price for something that would compliment my room theme well (once recovered). Second, I can always use a handy can of spray paint which would give them the glossy shine I prefer if all else failed. What I recommend in these cases is to recover first and see what you think and if it doesn't work simply remove the cushion and paint away.

Here I am in process of upholstering these babies armed with only a staple gun and a screw driver. Like a real woman!

*Note that if any of you have the jitters when it comes to reupholstering a simple project such as a bench or a chair, DON'T!!! It is such an easy thing to do and will leave you with the flexibility of changing things at your every whim. If you're anything like me, this is a good thing.....a really good thing.

Here are some "afters" with yet another sneak peak of the room in progress. Notice in these pictures that the IKEA RAST night stands shown in yesterday's post are gone. You may ask yourself, "Self, where have those pretty IKEA RAST night stands gone?" Well, hold on to your britches, because that reveal is coming soon (is has also become a bigger project that I originally planned. Aren't they all?)

What do you think??? Things seem to shaping up well, but here's what we still have on the list:

-Re-paint and finish IKEA RAST night stands (for the second time...oops!)

-Mount TV to wall and place new console table below

- Hang mirrors on either side of bed above night stands

- Get 2 pillows with a faux crock band for bed

- Figure out some kind of rug solution either area rug or runners

- Get some art and make it count/ needed for 2 places +, considering sexy black and white photography/ boudoir photography

- Figure out what is wrong with the rubbing pocket door for closet and bathroom and paint them white after they don't rub anymore and ruin paint job

- Move water heater from Robert's new closet and finish his closet installation

- Get some actual photos for the empty frames on the console table

Now I just need to keep this choo choo train going, errr, I mean get back to work :)

DIY Gilded Gold Pendant Light, Black And Gold....Bling!

2012-01-03T09:20:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

I wanted to share with you the lighting progress for our master bedroom. Originally I wanted to go with the grey and white theme that I loooove. Here is the original inspiration below from Aubrey + Lindsay's Blog mostly because I already had a similar bed and the palette was a great transition. Oh, and yes I did hack those RAST night stands!

Well, due to construction in our garage addition/ master bedroom we had to live in a little tiny cave for about 8 months! In that period I realized that I ~~needed~~ wanted something a bit more dramatic and what better time then now to make that happen;)

I already told you that I added black in to the mix of colors which spiced things up nicely. My new lighting inspiration came from Haute Khuuture's blog from an Ikea hack where she gold leafed a black KULA drum light as seen below. This is exactly what I needed to push things off. Now I didn't use the same light fixture, simply the idea of adding the gold to one.

Mine started with this Portfolio 23" Chrome Millbrook Pendant Light With Black Linen Shade for only $169 from Lowes.

It has the makings of a really nice light and I LOVE the fact that it has crystals hanging from it.

I bought the gold leaf and the 24k gold spray paint both from Michael's. I didn't take a picture of the gold leaf, but it is sold in sheets and I bought 2 packs. The spray paint is Design Master 24KT Pure Gold (and will also be used later in my IKEA RAST night stand re-makeover coming soon) shown below.

For the adhesive I used a clear spray adhesive, and a small foam brush which did me no good because it got tacky from the adhesive and actually started pulling the gold leafing off my light. WTF! Now let me start by saying that this project SEEMED simple, but IT WAS NOT SIMPLE! It was worth it, but it was much more complicated than I originally anticipated. Here's what I did and what I should have done;) Trial and error baby, trial and error.

* For those of you who want to try this and should you choose to use this same light, take my advice and cover the inside drum which is a white plastic with some tape and paper to prevent the gold leaf or spray paint from getting on anything. I also recommend doing this to the black exterior shade which I had to touch up with black paint thanks to my lack of gold leafing skills.
* Also, make sure that you have a drop cloth as it does get a bit messy.
**Also, also, should you choose to do this I would recommend using a brush on adhesive which you let sit for a few second before applying the gold leaf. It is difficult to use the spray adhesive on this light due to the double drum shade.
***Also, also, also, remember my post from the West Elm Capiz chandelier where I added extra crystals from another old chandelier I had here ? Well, I did it again with those same crystals and beefed up my new light taking the length longer on each strand. It made a significant difference.

The rest was simply taking the time to attach the gold leaf in sheets one by one. They are very thin and tear very easy. On the package it says to use wax paper and rub it over the sheets which then should stick to your wax paper making application easy-peasy. NOT!!! They don't stick and instead had to be applied by hand which either got them stuck to my fingers thanks to the spray adhesive or they tore in to tiny little pieces.

There is an up side to this. It really doesn't matter because you can layer upon layer the gold leaf covering any mishaps, and you can also fill in any gaps with the gold spray paint. Use this sparingly, but for slight errors it works well to cover the interior drum shade should the gold leaf be missing or bubbled in any places, I also used it from time to time to paint the gold leafs on which worked pretty well especially when putting pieces on top of already placed gold leaf (mainly because my damn foam brush was sticky and no longer helped me in any way!).

Well, whatever trials we went through to get this done (Robert helped me every step of the way, thanks babe). The light turned out extremely amazing. Here are the results with a very teeny tiny sneak peak of our bedroom. Note that these are done prior to some changes that are coming soon.

What do you think? We like it, kind of allot! Stay tuned for more in the bedroom coming soon~

Happy New Year...On Vacation

2012-01-02T16:14:00.000-05:00

Good morning and Happy New Year!!!

Just got back in town yesterday from our winter vacation to see family in Utah. It's always great to go home for the holidays.....and it's always stressful to go home for the holidays!

Now that we're back just in time for the New Year it gives me a bit of time to reflect. Though I'm not a huge "new year resolutions" kind of girl, I do believe in making the right changes and changing ones life in the right ways. What better time to reflect and put that in to action then the New Year baby!!!

For us this last year was one huge ride and we were kind of taken along with it. For this new year, I aim to be more proactive in seizing what I want and having the courage to go get it! Here is a list of some of my mini resolutions, keeping in mind that I try to set my sights to attainable, and I like to keep it real;)

1- Work. I want to continue on this path that I've been fortunate to venture on to. I love design, and all things included in design. I feel like one lucky lady to be able to actually be compensated doing something that I love. It doesn't feel like work to me. I enjoy the obastacles and challenges of design and decor and I have no problem putting in time to get the job done. This year I want to change things a bit by re-composing my blog, and making current and past projects more clear. I will have my portfolio clearly defined so that everyone can see the work I do, and I will continue to grow in this business one project at a time. Oh, and I am also considering taking a few classes! I never thought I would do that one again, but to be great you have to think great. Here we go!

2- Life. I will try to live more in my moments and seize the day so to speak. I want to spend more quality time with my family and work to not stress so much over the small stuff which is a common problem of mine. Truth is, I lost my father last year. Next to that everything else is a bit trivial isn't it? Yoga anyone?

3- Fitness. Now this isn't going to be one of those grand resolutions. The truth is that I am a bit neurotic about my fitness on an everyday basis. For me working out and eating right are really a part of me. There is one thing though. Through the stress of last year, moving at Christmas, going through the trauma of losing a parent, going through a massive remodel and starting a new career all at about the same time I fell off the wagon. This one simply requires me to refocus and re shift some priorities. I want to eat at home MOST of the time. Lately, it has been a rarity. I want to get back to waking early and working out first thing. Lately it has gotten later and later in my day which throws things off and tends to make for a wimpy puny lucky to have gotten it out of the way work out. I also want to get back to taking more of my hard core classes that used to drive me, which leads me to the last piece of this puzzle. I need to cut back on my beloved wine drinking:( Unfortunately wine will make you fat if you drink enough of it, not to mention it will throw off your sleep and motivation for the next day's activity.), it's time to cut back and have a bit of moderation;) That's it folks. It's actually pretty simple, and to be frank with you when I followed this recipe I was in the best shape of my life. I'm 30 now, and I am convinced that it isn't age that changes our physique, but rather life style and life style choices. That's the hard core truth!

4- House. I will finish all of my many to do list projects on our house here, but I will do them in moderation and in consideration of my sweet loving husband and his sanity:) Maybe since things have settled down a bit it will be more of 1-2 things collectively a week. This is pretty easy since we are closing in on the finish line of the addition and remodel. I do wish we could have a pool, and you never know, but it's time for me to live in this house and be content with the blessing that is our home.

5- Travel- I would like to travel a bit more this year. We haven't been able to do that like we used to and I miss that so it's time to buckle the belt and save, plan and vacation!!!

Well, that's my little big list for the new year. I don't think it's unrealistic or unattainable for me which is how goals should be. Don't get me wrong, I like big crazy goals too, and I would love to hear about yours as crazy as they might be. It's just that for me right now, I have to focus on what's right in from of me and once I have that order then I can move forward. It is possible to make and achieve new goals as you go along by the way. Life is fluid and constantly moving and changing. The most important thing is that we live it everyday and have the utmost respect and appreciation for this beautiful life that we have been given.

Happy New Year and please leave me some of your comments so that I can hear from you in your quest for living a better life!!!

Oh, and here are a couple of pictures of what I wish and hope for this year......but this would be my outlandish goal because it takes money to make a pool, and we've been pouring out the money as if it grew on trees. Maybe it's time to plan, save, budget and make it happen!

Here's to dreaming~

Chinese Garden Stool Gets A Make Over!

2011-12-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

I wanted to share with you a quick project that I did this weekend in less than 20 minutes! Remember the post that I just did on the new master bedroom scheme here ? Well, that project is in full effect and coming along nicely. Sadly I find that my home is neglected and out on the back burner of my other projects AKA my job! So I am doing things little by little and one project at a time.

I have this thing for Chinese garden stools. I love them and find it hard to resist them when ever I see them. Here are a few pics of my house where you have already seen them.

Above, in our backyard as extra seating.

Above, in our old living room as a space filler under the console.

Or above, in my daughter's room.

I love these little suckers. They are easy to move and can be tucked in and out of so many spaces. They can serve as a table, as extra seating, or simply as a decoration to add to your space.

For our room, I am using them as a side table in front of our night stands because there just isn't great access to the nightstands while laying in bed. These stools serve as a very stylish solution and are the perfect height, they are also easily movable. I found a really cute silver one this weekend at Home Goods for only $50 bucks and needed one for the other side. Since our Ikea RAST night stands are about to get a pretty face lift this week (details coming soon) I decided that it would be another place to add a black element.

I had this white one that I bought on clearance at Target for only $30!

I then painted it with Rust-Oleum Professional Brand High Performance Enamel Spray Paint in High Gloss Black to keep it shiny and perty!

I gave it 2-3 coats. Remember, the trick to spray painting is not to lay it on too close or too thick and let it dry in between coats. This will prevent a goopey dripping look.

Here are the results.

That's just a sneak peak of this little painted garden stool project. It will look even better when paired with the "coming soon" black Ikea RAST night stands below.

I'm also in the middle of gold leafing a black drum shade chandelier, which for the record was MUCH more difficult that it looked! I'll share more with you soon. In the mean time, feast your eyes on some more uses for Chinese garden stools. As a quick FYI, I have found that Home Goods is an excellent source for finding them at great prices and they always have different styles.

Would love to hear your thoughts and comments~

Weekend Inspiration, All White House With Punches Of Color

2011-12-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

I'm off to work this morning finishing a project for a client, which means I'm up and going! I wanted to share with you what I wish I were doing which is laying around all day and enjoying my amazing house (after it was freshly cleaned that is).

For those of of us who can't enjoy our abodes right now, let's feast our eyes on this amazing white home with colorful accents. It's done very tastefully and the color doesn't bother me one bit!

I love the mix of neutrals and casual whites mixed with the vibrant hues that don't disappoint. Oh, and how about those amazing views?!!! It reminds me of a vacation house gone wild.......in a good way.

Enjoy your weekend~

Easy Modern Christmas Table Decor, And Keeping It Affordable

2011-12-16T07:46:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

I wanted to share with you the table scape that I quickly pulled together for our party that we recently had. I was looking for a quick and easy way to dress up our dining table, but didn't want it to be too much and wanted to still keep the nice modern look of our dining area.

I decided to go with simple orchids since they produce many flowers at a minimal cost.

I took some fish bowl style glass vases that I had from Michael's and added a small amount of sand to each one along with a small amount of nice green moss also found at Michael's. Then I clipped just the flowers off of each orchid and placed one in to each bowl. I then took all the various candle holders that I have and spread them across the table amongst the flowers. Lastly I mixed in just a few silvery disco ball-esq ornaments that I had on hand from Home Goods. The result is simple, and stunning. I have a total of 15 vases with moss and orchids, and an additional 35 small candles. I find these and pick them up constantly as I go since you can NEVER have enough candles when entertaining, but I find a good source to be Wal Mart at $.59 ea and Target for the mercury glass ones which were $.99 ea.

Here are quite a few different angles and lighting of our lovely modern Christmas table decor:

I hope you have found a way to make your table sparkle as well for this holiday season. We would love to see what you've done!

Modern Concrete Terrace, Working With What You've Got Baby

2011-12-15T13:07:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

Today I wanted to share an update with you on our modern concrete terrace. Though it isn't 100% finished or staged in our backyard, the terrace is complete at this point. Robert also came up with a really creative and cool solution to get from the deck to the tiki hut deck which is where the bar is and therefore needed to be addressed.

We started with the old terrace and old backyard here:

Then we chipped out the old tile and lived with a f-ugly terrace for what seemed like F-O-R-E-V-E-R!

From there Robert took over, and since I trust his concrete work AND his artistic ideas and talent I let him run. First he formed the mid section of two parts of the terrace and poured a 4" topping slab with slag (for added lightness to the concrete) to create two distinctive areas on the terrace:

Once the slabs were poured we drilled holes along the facing of the slab so that there is drainage for water since this raised our deck elevation.

The next step here was to insert wood between the concrete boarders. To save money on this Robert chose 2x6x8 pressure treated yellow pine, which was then stained, sealed, and cut in place. Afterwards it was pressure cleaned, stained again and sealed another time (which I understand will need to be done going forward to prevent the wood from weathering beyond repair).

Oh, the last step was the new deck addition/walk way that Robert created to take you from the terrace to the bar. It is so fun to light with lanterns in the evening with the Christmas lights. It reminds me of going down a boat dock or on some adventure. I know, cheesy right? Well, when you haven't had anything nice in your yard for this long it's the little teeny tiny things that make you sooooooo happy!!!

Here are the finished results:

It's not a bad start for a couple of entertainers like ourselves;) We already threw one party under the tiki hut and had the perfect spot for the bartender as well as a perfect walk for our guests to get there. Let no detail remain under looked when creating a back yard oasis!

Clearly the landscaping isn't finished, but it is a great start to something beautiful! What do you think so far???

A Romantic Design Scheme, Black, White and Grey Bedroom....Mmmmm

2011-12-13T14:20:00.000-05:00

Hey there,

One of the most difficult parts for making a design come together is simply coming up with a scheme. After that, it flows together pretty smoothly since you can work from your inspirations and fit the puzzle pieces together from there.

The good news is that we've moved in to our master bedroom. The bad news is that like many spaces I'm working with it is just not finished! That's OK though, because most of our other BIG projects are either complete or are coming to a close. I promise to start taking some time to reveal them to you;)

Well, I have been struggling with our new bedroom because though I love light and airy which it is, but I also love me some romance and drama. Leave it to the lovely Kelly Hoppen to be my constant muse and source of inspiration never failing to help shed some light on the missing pieces. I'm talking about the white and grey with natural touches that I was already working with, but combining it with some major drama by adding black to the mix. The end result is still calming, but now it will have a bit more edge and glamor. Who doesn't need that in their bedroom?!

Here's where it started:

Mixed with a little bit of these non-Hoppen inspirations:

And the result will be our new bedroom! Here's how we're going to pull it off!!!

Now clearly, this is the start of something good! I will give a break down of the completed room piece by piece once we're there in case you want to er- borrow some inspiration for your own dramatic bedroom. Are you thirsty for more? I know we are, and I can't wait to show you the finished product~

Master Bathroom Progress, Carrara Marble Mosaic Tiles

2011-12-08T08:37:00.000-05:00

Good morning, I wanted to share some very premature pictures of my master bathroom as it stands right now which is simply with tile and lighting. I LOVE the results of the tile. We chose carrara mosaic tiles in our all white bathroom. The best price I found were the Grecian white 3"x6" tiles as seen here at Home Depot . We decided to go with these because after shopping around they were in stock and more affordable at $5.49/sf. It was a splurge for sure, but I LOVE an all white bathroom with carrara marble so Robert went with it to make me happy :)

Here are some pictures of the results.

Due to limited space in the bathroom addition we went with a shower/ tub combo. Though many people wanted to know why I didn't simply do a shower, I am a big time bather and a luxury soaker tub for me is a MUST. We chose a very large and wide 42"x59" modern style soaker tub that will allow for my husband and I to literally sit side by side in the tub with no problems!

If you are looking to install the same tile from Home Depot there are a few things that you should know. It is not an easy job! Since these tile need to be laid one by one it will take A VERY LONG TIME! The reason for this is that most walls unfortunately are not even which results in your installation process taking extra time because each piece will have to be leveled and worked with so that you have a smooth finish. You need to go with a good knowledgeable installer for this. We were charged a flat rate of $750 and unfortunately the people we used ended up losing out since it took longer than even they expected. The job was started last Friday and was completed Tuesday with them here every day out of the 5 days! The results are stunning, but just be prepared.

Since you see it in the pictures, here is the lighting that we chose for that space. They are the Allen + Roth Polished Chrome Flush Mount lights from Lowe's who by the way has a pretty decent selection. I chose this lighting very quickly and had no time to order ahead as the installers were already here which I hate doing. but it goes perfect with the style of the bathroom. We did have to modify the length since it came at 7.5" and was too short. Our electrician took an extension rod that was only available in copper and cut it in half adding equal size to each light. I actually like the 2 tone look that it now has as well as the extended length.

Well, it isn't much and it certainly isn't finished, but we're getting there little by little. The bathroom vanity will be here Friday morning and I need to find sinks and faucets so hopefully there will be more progress by the end of the week.

Did I mention that we are having a party Saturday?!!! Can I scream now??????

How To Decorate A Designer Christmas Tree...On A Budget

2011-12-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

Good morning,

Guess what time of year it is?????

That's right my friends, it's Christmas time!!! This is my most favorite times of year and since it has been a rough couple years for us I wasn't feeling as in to the Christmas spirit as I normally would be. Well, there's nothing like putting up a tree to change all of that!!! I bought my first real tree, and it started with a trip to the tree farm. Even though the 80 degree Florida weather NEVER makes it feel quite like Christmas time, it was a great start.

I thought I would do a post on decorating trees that are fit for a designer or straight out of a magazine, but on a shoe string budget. It's all about mixing things up and using what you have around you. I tend to take a little bit of everything and stick it in our tree. I use things from Target, Wal Mart, the Dollar Store, and things that I have here around the house. To be honest that's really the key to making an amazing tree, variety.

To start off with try to establish a color scheme or trend. Ours it is white, silver and touches of black, but I also have natural woodsy elements in there as well.

I will demonstrate a step by step of how our 10' tree came together.

First, string the lights (if you don't have a pre-lit tree). This part is time consuming and for me the worst, but it is the MOST critical since a tree that isn't well lit or that has holes in it won't look finished. I bought our lights at Wal Mart and find them to have the best prices out there.

Second, I add ribbon cascading down my tree. This is a very inexpensive way to add depth to your tree and to fill in some areas and holes. I used silver ribbon bought at Michaels.

Next, I fill in a couple of spots with something a bit unexpected. For this I use some crystal and silver sticks that I purchased from Z-Gallery originally for a vase, but loved better in the tree. They give it a bit of whimsy and really stand out. For yours, you can use regular sticks or you can even spray paint them silver or gold to get a similar effect on a shoe string budget.

Next, I add round ball ornaments in varying colors, sizes and textures. For ours I used white, silver, and black. They vary from shiny, to matte, and glitter. I USE A TON OF THESE! This every year drives me crazy when I open my boxes and see how many of these I actually own, and I ALWAYS think to myself why I did I buy so many? The funny part about that is that I use every one of them every year and they really make the tree. I put them on the ends of branches and I tuck them inside the branches which gives a 3-D type effect. I bought mine at Wal Mart and the Dollar store in large boxes at amazing prices. Very stunning.

Next, I stand back and look for the awful holes that are in my tree that make it look kind of lop sided and doofey. For these I took some fake pheasant feather sprays that I bought for 50% off at Michael's who by the way have a-maz-ing holiday decor sales and have a HUGE selection and variety of trinkets and baubles for your home.

Above is a picture of a large hole in the bottom of the tree.

And now above is the same hole, but filled in and looking much less bare.

Next, I take more elements and add them to my tree. For this I found some balls that I bought at Target in a variety pack and used to have in a bowl on my coffee table. I either hung these or nestled them in branches. These gave me a nice organic touch which goes well in my home. For you it could be moss balls, or star fish. Whatever you have in your home can easily be translated to your tree.

Next, I took a complete variety of glassy, crystal, feathered and what ever else I could get my hands on and filled every spare area with shimmering ornaments. For all of these, I have picked them up through the years all over. Most of them were purchased about 3 years ago at Wal Mart at around $1.00-$2.00 each which is an amazing price. Some I bought at Michael's in their 50% off sale. Some I have bought with my daughter at the Nutcracker ballet, and some have been gifted on wrapping of presents. Whatever your ornaments mean to you, you can incorporate them in to your tree to make it extra special.

Next, you will need a tree topper. This is the most special part for both my daughter's of which one gets to add the star. For you this could be a star or an angel, but it could also be something different and imaginative. For me this was a star with another pheasant spray and I also added a pine needle and pine cone spray that I had to fill it in a little (the pictures don't do this justice, but it's tall and I'm standing on my table). Whatever you do make it special and unique, but don't forget this part of your tree!

The final step is to stand back and admire your beautiful Christmas tree and all that it symbolizes for you. For me this means that we've made it through some life experiences. Some bad, but some good and really beautiful!

That is our lovely black and white (with silver) Christmas tree! I hope yours comes our with as much love and enjoyment as mine did and I would love to hear from you and share in your holiday spirit as well~