{ Refreshed Foyer }

I recently spent some time at Carrie's house freshining her foyer.

She has 3 young children, and this is their main entrance.  So, it was a minor hot mess.

It still needs a fresh coat of paint, but here's what we added so far...

Some shelves by the door to drop mail and keys and such.  The basket swill help hold all these without it looking like a mess

 We also hung some art work for a little personality.

The shelves were made from vintage books and brackets from IKEA.
(if you look closely you'll see the title of this book "Historic Philadelphia"...which is were Carrie lives, perf, ehh?)

We also installed this round distressed mirror to reflect the light and add some curves to the space.
The bench was custom made by John Duffy @ Stable Tables.
We'll add another basket under there to corall more shoes.

We also added some vintage books to her son's room to hold his trophys.

Louis had a little nook in is room that was just dead space.  So, we used that space to display his trophies.

{ Decorating for a Teen Boy }

It's a slippery slope.

Too much is just that...too much.

You teeter on the ledge of little boy and man.

So, I was very happy to see this room for a 13 year old boy coming together so nicely.

It's not my usual vintage style room.

It's A LOT more modern. Which I think fits this boy well.

Here's the inspiration for the room...

There's still much more that needs to be done, Euro pillows, blinds, comfy chair, mirror, floor lamp...

And, I'm sure I'll have to throw some chippy paint and rust in there somewhere!

But for now, it's lookin' good.

I especially love the upholstered wing-back bed frame and sconces.

Not too shabby from where it all began...

before

 

after

{ Boys & Baseball }

Recently I ran a 

S U M M E R
D E S I G N
S P E C I A L

Thanks for the great response!

I thought I'd share with you some of the designs I'll be working on.

one of my clients wanted help with her son's bedroom.

He's a 6 year old boy who LOVES the Philadelphia Phillies.

His room is already 

"Phillies" blue, with a few red accents here and there.

He's got some great pieces to work with, 

but needed a little umph.

I came up with this design board 

to help his mom create a fun,creative room 

that Luke can grow with, and still have that 

"All-American" 

baseball feel.

Luke's Baseball Room by paintedhome on Polyvore.com

Hopefully this can help you if your trying to create a room for your little slugger too!

{ Restoration Hardware }

I love Restoration Hardware.

I hadn't been to one of their stores in years.

But, recently on a client trip to Cherry Hill, NJ, I had the pleasure of stepping into one of them.

Holy wok-a-molie!

I was blown away.

This was not the R.H. I remembered.

It makes me want to throw out everything I own and start fresh, completely with
Restoration Hardware stuff!

So I was thrilled when a new client called with this...

a blank slate.

When my client describe her vision for this room, I immediately thought of 

R.H.

and, I came up with this

it's not ALL R.H.

but it definitely has the R.H.Feel.

I'll keep you posted as the project carries on.

{ Clients }

I've added a new

category in my sidebar.

{ C l i e n t s }

so, click on it if you'd like to view some of the work I've done for clients.

May be I could help you with a room or two in your home.

Have a great day!

{ Just in Time }

this is a client's dining room I've been working on for a few month's now...

it all started like this...

Carrie Dining Room by paintedhome on Polyvore.com

and now looks like this...

it's fun, it's funky, 

&

yet still somehow formal

we're still waiting on a few last minute touches, like the fab cushioned window seat that should arrive shorty.

I don't think their Thanksgiving guest will realize that anything is missing!

Happy Thanksgiving!

{ S e p a r a t e d at B i r t h ? }

I've been working on a clients Dining Room recently.

We call it Anthro-Traditional.

Which translates to Funky enough for a hip young couple, but safe enough for the husbands traditional side.

It's not complete yet, but here's another sneak ~

we mirrored the back of the built~ins

I love how it opens up the room

{still need to attach the bottom doors

and do a little interior touch up work}

used Carrie's china and what~nots to accessorize the shelves

glazed the pea green built-ins ~

{which I think everyone was freaked out about at first}

~ waiting patiently for the window seat ~

~ love these babies~

~ gorgie sconces ~

Then, I checked my mailbox this weekend and found this ~

hmmm...whose been peaking in Carrie's window?

{I swear the greens are the same}

{ Chairs }

if you have chairs like these, like my client has

{that may be you inherited from Grandmom} 

~ here's an easy way to update them ~

   

        

start with some yummy fabric like this one from Robert Allen

   

      

gather your tools

{staple gun, scissors, drill, bits}

   

   

you'll most likely need this funky little number if they're "mature"

   

   

flip those ladies over and unscrew the screw from each corner

      

      

wrap them like a present

{don't forget to put the side you want to show facing down}

      

   

keep the chairs in order, so the seat you took off goes back to the same base it came from

{you never know, they may not match up perfectly}

   

      

wait, did you see those sconces?

here's another glimpse

   

   

and with the lights on ~
gorgie!

   

see that striped ceiling?

l o v e 

   

   

anywho ~ here's what you'll wind up with
   

   

ta da, much better
If you really want a change, spray paint the base once you removed the cushion.  I would have loved to do that here, but it would have been way too funky/modern for this family.

we also hung some woven wood roman shades above the giant window
       

   
and added some antiquing glaze to the built-in china cabinets
     

 
these guys
{which will have mirrored backs next time you see them}
   

    
I'm dying to use this mirror in this room

But, I think I scared the crap out of my client when I emailed it to her. lol
I'll find somewhere to put it
{Hopefully it'll wind up in a garage reno I'm working on for another client ~ I'll keep you posted}
and I'd like to MAKE on for myself for the 
Powder Room