Monthly Archives: August 2012

New stuff to love at World Market

29Aug

Hello there.  Thanks for playing along with our House Hunters game….It was a toss up between house #1, the Napa Farmhouse and house #2, the Shingle Estate….but in the end the Napa farmhouse was the clear favorite.  I, like most of you said, would happily take any one of them.  Yes, please.

As you know, one of my favorite things to do is to find great looking products that don’t break the bank.  Our dear old friend, World Market, has recently redone their website (check out the life size pictures) and has added lots of new products.

I stopped in my local store yesterday to check them out, but unfortunately most of these items are not in the stores yet.  But don’t worry, I’ll keep checking and report back (it’s a tough job, but anything for you).

 

This color is killing me.  Gorgeous.

 

Tray table = perfect little bar table

 

A client of mine just purchased this for her breakfast nook.  I’ll be sure to share pictures once it is all finished.

 

Love this side table.

 

Can you believe this?

 

Hold the phone.  I want to design a dining room using this…..

 

My chair obsession continues….

 

Great kitchen cart/island.

 

Oh, the endless possibilities with these chaises…they could go in a family room, a girl’s bedroom, a media room…

 

 

I like that these pieces can, over time, could be used in different areas of your house.  Does anyone else move furniture from room to room?

(I’m not getting paid or compensated by World Market…I just get excited about stuff like this…but maybe it’s time they put me on the payroll..wink, wink)

 

To all of my friends on the Gulf Coast…I hope you stay safe once Isaac rolls into town.
Posted in world market | 7 Comments

House Hunters: which would you choose?

27Aug

Thought it might be fun to do our own version of “House Hunters” in Northern California.  All of these homes were designed by Stephen Willrich Architecture.

Grab your coffee, first we’re heading to Napa. (BTW thank you for accepting my obsession admiration for this place.)

#1 Napa Farmhouse

#2 Shingle Estate

#3  Marin Residence

So if you had to choose, which one would you pick?  Would it be

#1 the Napa Farmhouse

#2 the Shingle Estate

#3 the Marin Residence

Can’t wait to see which one receives the most votes.
Posted in good design | 30 Comments

’round here

25Aug

Our kids successfully returned to school this week, including one new Kindergartener.

First off was this guy…with the “hurry up this is so embarrassing” gesture.

Carson will be heading to high school next year.  How is that possible?

 

Next up was this guy.  Parker will be going to middle school next year.  How is that possible?

Then there was this little one.  How is this possible?

This look of uncertainty and fright broke my heart.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget that feeling.  So proud of her for being brave and of her big brother for taking care of her.  I knew she was in good hands.

I was so happy to see this smiling face as she ran off the bus.

How was your week?  Kids back in school yet?

Have a great weekend friends!
Posted in family | 5 Comments

ORC: the (final) final reveal!

22Aug

 

Well friends, I finally made it to the finish line….what is it like week 20 by now?  But let’s not dwell on that, shall we?  What’s important is that my room is…. Finished.  Completed.  Checked off the list.

At the end of week 6, I was waiting on a few pillows and the ottoman slipcovers.  I’m sooo excited to share with you how this room turned out, but before I show you the pretty stuff, I must first remind you of where I started from.

This…..

My husband’s office.

After years of coaxing, I was finally able to reclaim this space.  I moved his office upstairs with me and turned this space into a living room.  I wanted a room where we could sit and read or talk without having to compete with the noise from the TV.  When we first purchased this house, this was the formal dining room, then with the addition of french doors it became his office, however,  I never closed the french doors because it closed off the foyer too much.  I know, I really should have.  So this was the first room that guests would see of our house.  Yup.  For 5 years they did.

So here is the “sittin’ room” today, as my kids like to call it.

This room has become my favorite new coffee drinking/wine drinking spot.  I love it!

I had the ottoman slipcovers made out of the same linen as the sofa pillows.  I decided to add the trim 1″ above the bottom so there would be a little definition between the pattern on the rug and the trim.

We collected these shells over Memorial Day weekend.  It makes me happy to see them.

I love the lantern and what that element adds to the feel of the room.  I plan on adding another blue throw on the other chair.  They were sold out (of course they were, the only time when you need 2)

Here’s the list of  the sources for this room:

Wall Color – BM White Dove

Sofa/Bench and Chairs – World Market (the chairs are on sale right now!)

Seagrass rug – Ballards

Accent Rug – Calypso St. Barth (sold out online, but I was able to find it in the NY store)

Ottomans – Target

Ottoman slipcover fabric – Lacefield Designs (available thru me)

Slipcover Trim – Calico Corners

Solid Brown Linen pillows – Lacefield Designs (available thru me)

Ikat pillow fabric – Calico Corners

Cream lumbar pillow fabric – Norbar fabrics (available thru me)

Blue Throw – West Elm

Mirror – Home Decorators (on sale now!  I can’t tell you how much I love this mirror!)

Sconces – Circa Lighting

Lantern – Pottery Barn

Lamp – Homegoods

Lampshade – Aiden Gray (available thru me)

Gateleg table – ACP Interiors (local)

Bamboo sidetable – The Antique Market (local)

Gallery art, books and everything else I had on hand.

I hope that covers it!  If I left something out, please feel free to email me.

Thank you so much for sticking with me throughout the challenge.  And thank you, Linda at My Crafty Home Life, for including me.  It was an honor!

I’m off to go enjoy a glass of wine in my new room!
Posted in my house, One Room Challenge | 44 Comments

Good things around blogland…

20Aug

Hello.  Hope you had a nice weekend.  Yesterday, I was so sore from running that I couldn’t walk.  I sat on the couch all day folding laundry.  This morning I sent off 2 of the 3 kiddos to school.  Ellie starts Kindergarten later this week (gulp).  I always have mixed emotions about the kids going back to school.  One minute I am counting down the days, the next I am dreading it and not looking forward to what comes with school…homework, tests, packing lunches.  Where’s the happy medium?  If you find it, please tell me.

I know there is a lot of talk about blogs falling by the wayside now that Pinterest and Instagram are around…which I certainly hope is not the case.  I still love reading blogs and getting to know the people and personalities behind the blogs.  In fact, many of the people that I pin from, I often think….I wish they had a blog!

 Here a few blogs that have caught my attention lately…

Just Beachy by Chris Kauffman

I used to follow her blog but for whatever reason had not checked in in a while.  Well a lot has happened, she moved and is putting her crazy DIY skills to work.  I am so jealous of this girl’s carpentry skills.  I wish I would have taken wood shop in high school.  Things would be different.

Look at her kitchen which she recently remodeled by herself.  Love it.

Now look at her newest project.  Yup.  This girl is talented.

 

Have you checked out what Erin Gates with Elements of Style is up to?  The girl is about to embark on a renovation of her new home and I can’t wait to follow the progress.  This is her inspiration board……

Oooh, it’s going to be good.

Another good renovation, I’m looking forward to following is this one by Design Chic.  They recently purchased this house in Beaufort, South Carolina and are already in the demo phase.  Can you imagine renovating this house.  How fun!!!

I’m sure it is going to be beautiful.

Oh yea, and this is their view……

Over at LeSueuer Interiors, this new momma took a maternity break from blogging after having her first baby and returned 7 months later to debut his nursery.  It is amazing….I can’t get over the mix of antiques and seagrass….and those navy walls are gorgeous.

Now with Pinterest in your life, do you find yourself reading less blogs?  Discovered any new ones lately?
Posted in good blogs | 27 Comments

running, anyone?

18Aug

I posted this almost exactly one year ago…and today I put it to the test again.  It. was. hard.

I took the summer off from running, but now with the kids heading back to school, I’m ready to get back on a schedule.  In fact, I’m starting to train for a half-marathon on Thanksgiving Day and I thought it might be fun if any of you wanted to train along with me…virtually, of course.  Before you say to yourself, “this girl has lost her mind”….remember, there is strength in numbers!!

This is the schedule that I followed when I trained for my first one and it was very, shall we say, forgiving. It lays out a 4 day a week running schedule for the next 10 weeks.  Last time I trained, I only ran 3 out of 4 days a week and I was able to complete the training.  So from a time commitment point of view, it was not too bad.

We can check in on a weekly basis and post our progress throughout the training…..if you’re interested leave me a comment or email me at LL@LaurenLeonardInteriors.com.

Now go check for the next half-marathon in your area and get ready to run!!

 

 
Posted in running | 16 Comments

life and laundry

16Aug

Hope your week is going well.  You may have been coming here to see what is going on with my One Room Challenge.  I was hoping to have it completed last Wednesday, however, there was a little snag in my plans.  I am waiting on my ottoman slipcovers to be finished….I did not order enough trim for them.  I know, I should have left the measuring to the professionals.  But the trim has arrived and slipcovers and pillows should be ready on Friday.  So fo sure, I will have my completed One Room Challenge pictures for you next Wednesday!  Some of you have sent emails asking for sources, and I will have that for you next week also.  Thanks for sticking with me!

You know those weeks when it rains it pours?  Well, I had one of those last week.  It started on Tuesday when I was driving on I-95 and I ran over a piece of debris that cost me several hundred dollars in repair to replace some broken clips on my passenger side fender (don’t know if that is the correct term for it).  Yes, I had a piece of my fender dangling off the side of my car, flapping in the wind, and repeatedly hitting my car at 65 mph.   Complete panic.  Fortunately, I was on the phone with my sister and she was able to talk me down while I drove to the car dealership.  Three hours later, I was on my way.

Then on Wednesday our 15 year old washing machine stopped working.  I wasn’t sure if I was happy or sad about this.  On the one hand, it was a good excuse for why the laundry was backed up (couldn’t blame it on Pinterest this time).  But, we were not planning on replacing our washer and dryer…at least not with the kind I want.  Of course, you know how it goes, friends.  New washer and dryer = Laundry room renovation.  And that is not in the plans at this time,we have a fence that needs to be replaced (it is one good hurricane away from falling down).

However, before I called to have the washing machine repaired, visions of laundry rooms danced in my head……

 

Our laundry room is tiny and it is also the pass through from the garage into the kitchen so this is about how much space I have to work with.

 

I love this idea of a hanging rod.

I would definitely entertain the idea of a stackable set.  Do any of you have them?  I’d love to hear what you think.

Notice the space for the ironing board.  That would be nice.

 

 

Now, I would love to have a laundry room that looks like this one.

 

………or this

 

….or this beauty.

So the moral of this story is, if you want a washing machine that will last forever, buy a Whirlpool.
Posted in laundry rooms | 16 Comments

art inspiration by etsy

13Aug

Hello there.  Hope you all had a nice weekend.  We’ve been busy getting ready for back-to-school around here (is it just me or is school supply shopping the worst???)  This is the last week of Summer break for our kids and it will be full of open houses and meet-the-teachers, but I’m hoping to squeeze in at least one more beach day before the week is over.

This girl has also been busy working on a deadline….I’m presenting my design to my clients this morning…so excited!  One of the areas that they needed my help in was selecting art for above their fireplace.  They have a 2-story family room, so as you can imagine the space above the mantel is very high.  And to complicate things, the area above the mantel is recessed into a niche….so finding pieces that will fit into that exact space is quite difficult.  What we’ve decided to do is commission a piece of art to fit the space.  My client’s are fans of Jacksonville resident, Jim Draper.  This is the inspiration piece that my client’s like.

 

As you can see this piece is tall and narrow…perfect for the area we are dealing with…however, the price of this piece is not so perfect!  That sent me looking through my “favorites” on Etsy.  Sometimes looking through the thousands of artists on Etsy can be overwhelming, so here are a few of my favorites…..

 

Carol on Edge

I’ve worked with Carol in the past when I commissioned this painting for my bathroom.  She was great to work with and I am thrilled with how the painting turned out.

Artistiic Abandon

Tracey Nicholas

This piece was bought by my client to fill in the space above her hutch…you may remember this…

I haven’t seen it installed yet…next time I am there (she lives out of town) I will get a better picture!!

Are you getting the sense that I like abstract landscapes?!?  moving on….

Sharon Schock

Do you have any favorite Etsy artists?  Please share!!
Posted in art, etsy | 20 Comments

1 year blog anniversary!

11Aug

 

Good Morning friends.

I couldn’t be more excited that this little old blog has made it through her first year!!  And I owe every bit of it to you kind readers who take the time to stop by….thank you!

 

I have so much still to learn about blogging and so many ideas that I can’t wait to put in motion.  It seems that I have more ideas than time (don’t we all!), but I’m hoping once the kiddos are back in school that I can get back to a regular posting schedule.

Connecting with each of you who shares a passion for design as much as me has been the best experience a girl could ask for.  I have met so many nice people through this blog…..it can’t help but restore your faith in the genuine kindness that is out there.

So thank you, dear readers.  All the best.

 

 
Posted in blog | 19 Comments

Orange…..the color of the South

07Aug

Have you looked at the “color report” in the September Issue of House Beautiful?  It is all about color..what’s hot and what’s not, what’s the most popular colors for bedrooms (blue) and family rooms (white), they even break it down by region.  According to their survey, orange is the hot color of choice in the South.  But then it also said that orange is the color that most people are “so over”.  What do you think…love it or over it?

I like orange, I really do.  A pillow here, a throw there, and not to mention it looks great with so many color combinations.

Orange and greige

via

via

Orange and brown

Navy and Orange

Orange and Pink

via

Orange and Light Blue

via

via

Orange and Aqua

via

And a few more spaces where orange was done just right.

I think this is my favorite powder bath ever by Elizabeth Newman.

via

Here are a few of my favorite orange fabrics.  I used these in a master bedroom with pale blue walls and a linen upholstered headboard.

 

 

Some great pillows from Number Four Eleven.  Notice it is paired with a pale blue and white quilt.

Nope….I don’t think I’m over it.

What is your favorite orange color combination?  Do you have any orange in your house?  I don’t, but after looking at these pictures, I’m thinking I need a little!
Posted in design details | 14 Comments