tables

Patience Makes Perfect: Part Three

November 9, 2022

Back again today with Part Three of this lovely home’s transformation. In case you missed them, here are links to Part One and Part Two … the Kitchen and Family Room.

Today we are heading into the Master Bedroom! This room started out with pink walls. The bedding was a pale blue with shades of pink and sage green in a kind of Chinoiserie pattern that featured Chinese lanterns. Drapes were sage green, and there were two bergère chairs in off white against the windows. One side of the bed had an antique pine chest and the other side was a skirted table. On top were two large Cornflower blue lamps. While I don’t have a Before photo of the whole room, below is a picture my client had on Chairish to sell the existing bed, It gives you some idea of where we started.

And here it is today!

It feels so elegant and serene. With all of the bold colors and patterns of the original design, the goal here was to keep things soft and quiet and I think we achieved just that.

With tray ceilings like this, my preference is to take the paint color all the way up and to the ceiling to avoid a harsh line as in the first photo. We painted this room Sherwin Williams Alabaster.

This shot shows a few of my favorite elements. First, the bedside lamps from Circa Lighting … that shape is so good! Next, the lovely rattan and wicker bench at the end of the bed adds some warmth and texture.

Also, the gorgeous rug from Loloi (one of the first things we got and the colors were really our jumping off point for the room. Sadly it is no longer available.)

And let’s talk about these dressers we used as nightstands …

From Noir Furniture, the Daryl dresser is just gorgeous with the reeded fronts and vintage-inspired brass pulls. The white-washed finish was perfect for our soft breezy look while still leaning traditional which was important because we wanted to keep this beautiful traditional armoire that my client already owned …

I just love this corner vignette. The chair and ottoman are from Highland House. The fan is the Maverick from Circa Lighting. We were so happy to find a BEAUTIFUL fan!

The gorgeous abstract landscape is by Jacquie Gouveia and brings our soft color palette to this corner perfectly. The pharmacy lamp is from Circa and the side table is from Wisteria (no longer available). We loved the basket weave texture.

artwork by Jacquie Gouveia Pillow from Jolie Marche

The lovely sheer drapery panels you see in the background were custom-made by Karen Flanagan of Sew Special Designs.

Here you can see how they flank the windows and soften that far side of the room.

The bedding we selected is from Pom Pom Home – a beautiful white linen with subtle frayed edges and one of their lovely throws to add some color at the end of the bed.

We decided on a fun combo of decorative pillows from Chloe and Olive on Etsy and Jolie Marche. I love this set up of three large pillows in front of the sleeping pillows with one long lumbar. It feels special but not excessive.

The bed is the Lawson Shelter bed from RH and was chosen for it’s extra tall height, eliminating the need to hang anything over the bed.

Instead we hung this fun abstract entitled “Swirls” by Kristin Blakeney on the large wall next to the bed. My client is hoping to secure another piece by her to hang with it – but her new releases go fast!

So that’s the Master Bedroom! Such a calm and soothing place to retire at the end of the day. That was the goal! Thank you for following along on this three day journey of this beautiful home. And thank you once again to Marina Storm of Picture Perfect House for her wonderful photography.

Patience Makes Perfect: Part Two

November 8, 2022

If you missed yesterday’s post, Part One, click here to read the background story and see the Kitchen Transformation.

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s post. Moving into the Family Room … this is the only picture I have to give you a feel of the “Before” look …

(This is sweet Chloe, who greeted me at the door every time I came over. She passed away this summer and it felt so sad not to have her there for Photoshoot Day.)

You can see a little bit of some of the previous elements … traditional furniture, rug, window treatments in shade of red, green, gold.

Here is the room today …

Such a transformation! We definitely lightened things up but with those tall ceilings and white walls I wanted to bring in some warmer-toned elements. Two-story rooms can be tricky, the architecture is beautiful but as a Family Room, you still want it to feel cozy.

One of my favorite features of this transformation was adding this beautiful wood paneling to the ceiling. And of course, this stunner of a Chandelier naturally draws the eye up. The existing skylights bring in lots of light.

Here is the view from the Kitchen …

While most of the pieces in this room are new, we were able to incorporate some things from the previous design.

We reupholstered this chair from the first picture that is oh-so-comfy and solidly built.

We painted this brown-stained wood Built-in a crisp white to match the trim, added new doors and hardware.

This gorgeous cabinet was not touched but we added a modern lamp, accessories, art, and mirror.

Layering art over a mirror is a favorite look of mine. This collage by Renee Bouchon is beautiful.

Speaking of art, let’s go back to this beautiful piece over the fireplace.

I shared a peek of this beauty on Instagram awhile ago. We commissioned it from Jennifer Daily and were able to really customize the colors we wanted.

The red brick fireplace was painted white and we added a reclaimed wood mantel.

All of the other furniture in this room was thoughtfully selected. My client previously had a matching sofa and loveseat and the layout worked well for TV viewing. But this time I suggested doing two different sofas. With sleeker arms, we could get more seating. When doing two different sofas in the same room, I like for them to be as different as possible. So … fabric+ leather, light+dark, bench cushion + three seater.

I love an eclectic mix of pillows – these are from Susan Connor and McGee and Co.

The coffee tables required thinking out of the box. A single coffee table, even some of the larger ones, was not working to fill this large space and serve booth sofas. I was worried it would feel too dinky. I suggested using two rectangular coffee tables and my client loved the idea. Not only are they functional, but there is even more space for styling all the fun and pretty things!

A few other favorite elements we added. This gorgeous wool rug from Loloi Rugs …

This adjustable height side table from Noir Furniture …

And of course, a room with these high ceilings and windows called for a tall tree. This beautiful Fiddle Leaf came from English Garden Flower Shop.

Ok, that’s all for today. Thank you again to Marina Storm of Picture Perfect Photography for her photography. Come back tomorrow to see the transformed Master Bedroom!

Fresh picks for a New Year

January 12, 2017

Happy New Year readers! Wow – can’t believe we are already 1/3 of the way into January! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break – I know I did. A little downtime is so good for the soul, isn’t it? And my boys must be approaching the teen years because they were sleeping in like they never have before! I remember many a cold winter Sunday morning at 5:30 am trying to entertain a toddler when it was still pitch black outside. (Hang in there moms of little early risers! Your time will come!)

Anyway, one of the (few) things I love about January are all the new product launches by my favorite stores and companies. Everyone seems to want to turn over a new leaf in the New Year. I thought I’d share a few new things that have caught my eye from some of my favorite sources.

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

Mix’n’Match marble shelves from World Market.
How pretty are these? And so on-trend with the mix of marble and brass. Would be pretty in a powder room …

Also from World Market, a super-chic table lamp! Hello … acrylic and brass … always a great combo!

I’m always on the hunt for interesting planters and vases. Especially this time of year, it’s nice to have a little greenery around. These planters from Wisteria are so unique. Alone on a console or pair the two sizes for a pretty centerpiece.

Also from Wisteria, I love the clean lines and foot detail on this rustic console table.

Natural fiber rugs are always a great addition to any home. I love that this new one from Serena & Lily has a little pizzaz to it with its gingham pattern. Would be fun in front of a kitchen sink.

New from Terrain, these iron votives are so pretty. The punched metal gives them an industrial flair.

I usually shop Currey & Company for lighting, but I sometimes forget they have great furniture pieces too. I love this tiered side table with its cast aluminum top.

Isn’t this the best Bin Pull from Rejuvenation?

I’m always excited to see the new collections from Loloi rugs. This rug from their Delphi Collection is so pretty. It’s muted colors would work in a variety of spaces.

Have you all started watching the new season of Fixer Upper? These wood grain chargers from Magnolia Market are so cute. A fun addition to the dining table.

I didn’t realize until I put all the pieces together in a collage how well they work together. Can you tell I am drawn to neutral pieces, metal and natural wood? I think after the holidays everyone is craving a little more simplicity – but things like these can still help warm up your space once all of the decorations are put away.

What changes will you make to your home this month?

Reclaimed

December 15, 2016

Reclaimed – it’s certainly a buzzword in design right now. Reclaimed wood, reclaimed beams, reclaimed shelves. It’s also the name of a fantastic handcrafted furniture company based out of Crystal Lake, IL. Reclaimed.

I recently had the pleasure of working with them to design a new table and bench for my kitchen and I am so thrilled with the result, I just have to share it with you.

Reclaimed sells many ready-made pieces: tables, shelves, desks, beds – you name it – but if you have something very specific in mind, they can do a custom piece for you as well.

I, of course, had something very specific in mind. You see, our kitchen/breakfast room is definitely the largest area of our house. The dining room, not so much. It is a tight squeeze to get 10 people in our dining room. Really, this is fine because we don’t have sit down dinners for more than 10 all that often but it occurred to me that we actually have the space to do a large square table, one that could seat 12-14 people right in our kitchen area. I don’t need it to be that big all the time, but it would be so ideal to have a regular table that could expand with a leaf width-wise, into a square, instead of length-wise into a longer rectangle. Plus, as with most families these days – dining and parties have become a lot more casual with more kids, etc. – and I’d rather have everyone in the kitchen/family room area. It really is the heart of the home and my favorite part of the house.

Anyway, as hard as I searched, I wasn’t finding this type of table anywhere. I had been following Reclaimed on Facebook and in early September they posted about it being their final week to get custom orders in for Thanksgiving delivery. They were scheduling both in-person and phone appointments so I decided to sign up for a phone appointment since I couldn’t squeeze a trip up to Crystal Lake into my schedule that week.

The appointment went great. I was able to describe exactly what I wanted, go over measurements and then agree to send in inspiration photos of the look I was going for. Here are some of the things I sent them.

My rough conceptual idea:

Design styles I liked:

After talking it through, we realized that in order to pull apart the table in the middle, we couldn’t have the base or legs in the middle of the table. Hmmm. Plan B. These were the next images I sent:

Perfect – this style would work and I decided I really liked the clean lines and simplicty of this style, especially with the bench paired with it. So many different styles of chairs could work with it too if I wanted to change things up down the road. (My husband cringes when I say that! Ha.)

So we signed off on everything and it went into production. I would select the stain color as it got closer to completion.

One day when I was at one of my favorite stores (610 Home in Geneva) I saw this table with these cool metal rivets along the side.

I snapped a couple pics and sent them along to my friends at Reclaimed. “Can we add something like this to my table and bench?” Done.

I also like the look of the metal cap along the edge but decided the crevice between it and the wood would become a catchall for crumbs and food and I would become obsessive about having to clean it out. The rivets would be enough to give it the industrial edge I was looking for.

Finally in early November I got the call that they were ready to stain. The finishes they offer (from top to bottom) are: Natural, Provincial (left), Gray Wash (right), Dark Walnut (left) and Gunstock (right).

I chose the Natural stain as I really wanted to keep it a light as possible. They said this is their most popular choice.

Ok, ok – so that’s the backstory. Are you ready for the actual pictures of MY table? As promised they delivered it on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Now the area is all decorated up for Christmas and I couldn’t be happier.

The wood is so pretty with lots of natural movement and markings. They told me that the wood used to make my table and bench came from an old barn in Wisconsin called The Grainery.

And I got my rivets!

I got these seeded glass candleholders from GrandinRoad. I love the jute handles.

For the holidays I filled them with faux snow and mini metallic ornaments I got at Homegoods.

Here is the table on delivery day … with Cody and Brad testing out the leaf.

It’s quite a sturdy contraption!

And here is the table with the leaf …

And here are the awesome Cody and Brad after all the heavy lifting. (This table is heavy!)

I cannot say enough about my new friends at Reclaimed – Cody, Brad, Brett, and Krysten. Their customer service is phenomenal and they really take great pride in their craftsmanship.

Apparently I am not the only one who feels this way – their success has allowed them to unveil a new retail store, double in size with a great second floor. Here they will offer a great selection of their handcrafted grab-and-go items as well as displaying some of their custom pieces. I am dying to get up there myself – I am still waiting for that “slow” week. Ha!

Anyway – our new table has already hosted several game nights, a Progressive dinner with my son’s Youth group and will be the spot for Christmas Day dinner with my family.

For chairs, I chose the Remy side chair in Burnished Metal from Restoration Hardware. I wanted comfortable but sturdy and wipeable 🙂 and this is such a classic industrial style that pairs so well with a big farm table. With a wood table, I love the idea of using NON-wood chairs.

If you are in the market for a new special piece made of reclaimed wood for your home, I can’t recommend Reclaimed highly enough. They can turn your wishlist into reality. Please tell them I sent you!

Friday Foursome

March 25, 2016

Perhaps you haven’t been on Minted.com since you ordered your holiday cards … did you know that they offer a whole new line of table linens? Napkins, table runners, placements – all in fun patterns with customizable colors – perfect for spring and summer entertaining!