Auden's Neutral Nursery

My husband and I welcomed our little girl Auden Emory into the world almost four months ago.  

Photo credit: Jordan Burch Photography

Her nursery was probably the most personal space I've ever designed.  I wanted it to be sweet, calming and full of meaningful family pieces.  Our photographer snapped a few images of it when she came to shoot Auden's newborn shoot, and I had to share them, along with a few of my own showing you all of the details to our baby girl's room.  Below was my original mood board. 

I really like how it all turned out with the exception of the wall color.  It came out much more yellow than the taupe I wanted.  I had purchased a few samples and put them on the wall to make my selection.  After I picked my favorite, I decided to take it to the hardware store down the road to have them match it instead of going across town where this particular brand was actually sold.  I will never do that again--a least for not for a neutral color.  Unfortunately the match did not turn out like the sample, and I didn't have the heart to ask my husband paint it again.  Lesson learned, friends.  All that aside, it was great to see my vision come to life.

Photo credit: Jordan Burch Photography

Photo credit: Jordan Burch Photography

This dresser is a family piece and has a bunch of "memories" styled on the top of it.  The baby booties belonged to my mom and the round frame holds a picture of my sister and I when we were little.  The brass animal figures were Target finds.  

The Bible and silver cup were mine as a child and the sterling rattle was my sister's.  The framed image is photo of my grandmother as a child.

I framed a Feltman Brothers dress that I wore as a little girl above her crib.  

Photo credit: Jordan Burch Photography

The eyelet pillow in her crib was found at JCPenney and the sheet from Serena & Lily.

Here's a shot of my hubby and pup Remington hanging out with Auden.  The gallery wall above them is a mix of DIY artwork, commissioned watercolors and maternity photos.  The sofa is a family antique once belonging to my great grandmother.  

Photo credit: Jordan Burch Photography

A collection of neutral pillows and gifted elephant and tiger stuffed animals (representing the mascots for mine and my husband's alma maters) fill out the sofa.

The watercolor dog prints of our fur babies are some of my favorite pieces in the room.  Erisha from A Thing Created did a wonderful job.  The "I will be grateful for this day" print is an Etsy purchase that I've had for a couple of years and thought would be perfect moved into the nursery.  The oversized clothespin is one of a set of three from Ballard Designs, also a piece I've had for years waiting to use.

The curtains were a great surprise TJ Maxx find ($25 for the pair!).  I added pleats with pleat tape to give a more custom look.

I imagine we will spend many nights rocking and reading in this chair.  I hope Auden loves her room as much as I do one day.  Thanks for taking the tour! I've posted a resource list below for your convenience.  

Resource List:

Crib-Restoration Hardware Baby & Child (no longer available)

Crib Sheet-Serena & Lily

White Pique Crib bumper and skirt-New Arrivals Inc.

Eyelet pillow-JC Penney (no longer available)

Pom pom blanket-Marmalade

Sofa-Family piece

Brass clothespin-Ballard Designs

Commissioned watercolor dog prints-A Thing Created

"I will be grateful for this day" Print-Etsy

Dresser-Family piece

Monogram sham-Etsy

Sweater pillow-West Elm

Table lamp-TJ Maxx

Rocker-Nurseryworks Empire Rocker

Gray Herringbone Tassel Throw-Pure Home

Floor lamp-Target (no longer available)

Pouf-Target

Striped basket-TJ Maxx

Curtains-TJ Maxx

Bamboo Shade-Wayfair

Light fixture-Home Depot

Trend Crush: Matte Black Metal Finish

A common piece of advice to bring kitchens up to speed quickly is to change out the hardware. I hear it all the time. And it works well! But the most overlooked piece of advice for the whole home is to change out your other hardware, such as hinges, door knobs, and drapery rods. I recently moved into a new house and all of the walls are beige, all the doors/trim are cream, and all the hardware is stainless or nickel (or in some cases, I'm sure they are "silver color", as builders like to get by with these sorts of things). And it's just not doing it for me. Don't get me wrong--silver-colored finishes (chrome, nickel, pewter) are all still current, but thankfully there are more choices for tired design eyes. 

Oil rubbed bronze is a good choice for any design style, and brass is edging back into the picture (although for all of you that still have brass hardware from the 80s and 90s, that's not quite what we're talking about, so don't get excited). But what I'm really digging these days is matte black. Especially against the crispness of white with a minimalist design scheme. I just drool over it! And thin black window mullions? Don't even get me started. There's a house downtown with two big huge windows that face the street with black mullions. It makes me want to sell this house we just bought and move into that one just for the natural light and black mullions. But that would be impractical. And probably expensive.  As for this house, I'm very tempted to go around house and spray paint all my door hardware (anyone ever done that? I'd be curious to know how it actually turns out before I commit). 

Here's a few examples of products and spaces that really excite my design senses. Click on the images for the source. 

This last gorgeous bath I posted on our Facebook page a while back. I just had to revisit it. I can't help it. I'm in love. 

And if I spray paint my door hardware, y'all will be the first to know about it! 

It's a Jungle Sometimes

It isn't uncommon to hear of people finding great scores on Craigslist. So, in the hope of finding the perfect, kid friendly, round coffee table, I decided to give our local Craigslist a shot. Unfortunately, I didn't come away with any hidden gems. What I did find were several -umm shall we say- unique, animal/mammal themed tables. Take a look.

Someone please massage the kink out of this monkey's neck.

Beary nice 

Pod of dolphins, anyone?

Vendor Spotlight: Urban Outfitters

You mean that trendy hipster store?

Yep, that's the one.

Urban Outfitters is one of my favorite places to scope out unique stylings. They're fairly priced and have better sales in comparison to the big-name home decor stores. And you can usually catch some really good discounts in-store. I scored two round metal side tables for $10 a few years ago and people are always asking me about them. 

Here's just a few of the things from U.O. I have been eyeing lately (I think I need that rug in my foyer). 

1. Around the World Letter 2 for $20 // 2. Airplane Hook 2 for $20 // 3. Louis Armstrong Told Us So Art Print $24 // 4. Geo Pendant $69 // 5. Circle Chain Chenille Coverlet $79-$89 // 6. Ava Large Storage Ottoman $249 // 7. Metal Accordion Side Table in Brass $78 // 8. Margot Tall Spindle Bookcase in Turquoise $169 // 9. Turner Side Table $210 // 10. Edie Velvet Chaise in Mango $649 // 11. 5x7 Batik Bird Rug $89

Client Project- Coastal Chic

We often receive requests from people who would like to change up the look of their space while utilizing their existing main pieces of furniture. We are always up for the challenge and our clients come away impressed by the transformation involving their existing items.

Here is an E-Design we just completed for a client who wanted to change the look of her living room from contemporary to coastal.  She had recently purchased a living room set, which she asked us to incorporate into the design.  Since much of her living room had shiny finishes, we decided to do a coastal chic look and bring in natural materials to soften the room.

Here are some before photos. As can be seen, her furniture is pretty neutral and has clean lines.

To achieve the coastal look, we recommended new pillows, curtains, a new rug and art work. Also suggested was a new lamp shade for the existing lamp and to paint the dark bookshelves the same color as the fireplace mantel as seen below.

We created two design options for our client to choose from. The first having a cooler sleeker look while the second is a bit warmer.

We also showed the client how her existing coffee table could be transformed by replacing the base with one made of driftwood. Like the one shown in this image.

In the end, she was very pleased with our E-Design and how we were able to pull off the look she wanted with her existing furniture. We look forward to sharing with you which design she decided to go with once the installation is complete.

If you find yourself in a similar situation where you would like to makeover a room but the budget does not allow for completely new furniture, drop us a line. We are able to assist you in bringing new life into your space with the furniture you already own.

Kitchen Before and After

We hope you all had a great finish to 2013 and are enjoying the New Year!  We are enjoying it with several new projects but wanted to share some completed ones with you as well.  Today we're showing a kitchen that was transformed from the 1970's to a bright, vibrant space of today.  We don't have professional photos done yet (still need to touch up paint on moldings and scrape the ceiling), but we couldn't wait any longer to show you the transformation.

BEFORE

AFTER

New finishes and cabinets were just what this space needed.  The cabinetry was redesigned with taller builds, wider drawers and a revised layout to offer up a more efficient storage.  A custom pantry was built in the formerly wasted space to the right of the old microwave.  The new microwave was relocated above the stove, and the area that used to house the microwave became an appliance garage, clearling off more room on the limited counter space.  A pullout trash can was also incorporated into the new cabinetry.  Can you spot where?

BEFORE-Empty space

AFTER-New pantry and broom closet

We opted for white cabinets and subway tile backsplash to make this galley feel much wider with the same square footage, and the added crown molding gives the room new height.  A gray quartz countertop offers a little contrast without breaking up the flow.  The former florescent lights were replaced with schoolhouse pendants to work with the other traditional elements of the home and a new pendant was hung over the sink.  Stainless steel appliances, undermount sink and faucet finished off the space.  

We love the transformation and so does the homeowner.  Here's one more side-by-side comparison.  Quite a change and another successful makeover!