New Room Board

Here's a new room board I did recently for my client Julie.  We just finished up actually completing the room as well.  I love how it turned out, one of these days I'll get it together enough to take some pictures of it.

Making Three Adjoining Rooms Cohesive

My client Katie has a floor plan with three adjoining rooms - her front room, her family/TV room, and her kitchen. We wanted each room to have it's own feel, however they needed to also be cohesive. We did this by using one main color scheme: yellow, blue, green, and gray. However, each room highlights the colors differently.

 The front room is yellow, gray, and blue.  (The quatrefoil pattern seen here represents a plastic room divider that Katie is custom ordering to be placed between her front room and family room.)

The family room uses mainly blues and greens.

And the kitchen uses all the colors; but sparingly so as to avoid the three spaces getting too busy. The kitchen also includes a small desk/office area.


Out of respect for my client who paid for the room boards, I won't be posting a full source list, but feel free to e-mail me if you have a question about a specific item. Thanks!

Recent Room Boards

I am alive! Here are a few room boards I did recently for my client Amber. She has four kids so we wanted affordable, colorful, and kid proof!

Her daughter's room:

The boys' room:

The kids' bathroom:

Bedroom Room Board

Here's a room board I recently completed for a client. She already had the headboard and bedding so I knew I needed to work in navy, and this artwork did just the trick! It had navy plus all the fun orange, yellow, turquoise, and green that I used for the rest of the accessories.

Nursery Ideas

Baby #1 is on the way! I'm 22 weeks along and ever since we found out we're having a baby girl the wheels have been turning for how to decorate the nursery. Here are my initial ideas, but I have a feeling I'm going to be changing my mind on a few things. I just want it cheery, but soothing, neat, and modern. Lots of colors and not TOO much pink.



I already ordered the rug from Rugs USA during their 4th of July 40% off sale. Can't wait for it to get here!

Joy's Room Board Results

Back in July I did a room board for Joy's living room.

Here is the room before:


And here is the room board I put together for her:


Well recently she sent me the pictures of the results! She made a few changes, the blue chairs were out of stock - so I suggested chocolate brown leather club chairs. She also had planned on painting the adjoining room a blue-gray, which is why my suggested paint color was green. They changed their mind and decided to paint this room blue; she chose Benjamin Moore's "Quiet Moments". I think everything turned out beautiful!







Great job Joy!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, see you Monday!

Room Board - Bathroom

Here's a little bathroom room board I did recently for a client.

Room Board

Here is a client room board I did recently for a family room.



The client requested four ottomans for her "coffee table" that she could then use as seating when she entertained. What a great idea eh?

Placemats

Love, love these placemats by Simrin.



They're 14"x20", for only $22 bucks - why not frame them for some quick art?




Then build a room around it eh?
Bedding, Lamp, Orange Pillow, Navy Pillow, Curtains

Wayne Pate Inspired Room Board

I'm a big fan of Wayne Pate. This being one of my favorite prints:



I threw together a little room board with my seagull friend being the star of the show.



Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Room Board : Living Room

Here is a room board I did recently for a client who had a very large living room to fill.



One of my favorite finds from this room board is the anchor pillow. It's from Bed, Bath, and Beyond; and is only $20!



If you'd like a room board, e-mail me for more info!

Bachelorette Pad

I had fun with this room board for a single lady's studio apartment.

Room Board!

Note - To respect the client that paid for the room board, I won't be sharing a full source list. But if you have a question about an item, send me an e-mail. Thanks!

Room Board - Bedroom

A new room board to share with you. Can we talk about how much I love black and white bedding? Well I do.


Note - To respect the client that paid for the room board, I won't be sharing a full source list. But if you have a question about an item, send me an e-mail. Thanks!

Room Board - Living Room

Just finished this board for a client yesterday. I kind of want all the stuff for myself though.



Note - To respect the client that paid for the room board, I won't be sharing a full source list. But if you have a question about an item, send me an e-mail. Thanks!

Dining Room

Here is a design board I put together recently for a client's dining room. She already had a table and chairs.



Her budget was $1,000 for the room and my total came out to about $994.

If you're interested in a design board send me an e-mail gangstas. They're cheap.

Design Advice : Karina's Unique Problem

Karina needed some help with an odd dilemma. Here is her funny e-mail:

Dear Erica,
First of all, I love your blogs. I've been a lurker (there's just no way to make that sound non-creepy) for a couple months, but there's only one reason I would reveal my lurker ways: I need help with my new apartment. You see, I moved in with a friend of mine who has a very different perspective of home decorating than I do. I would like things like a couch, a table, chairs, coffee tables, end tables and a TV stand. She would like throw pillows and bean bags. I am not at all joking when I say she wants nothing but large, overstuffed pillows in our living and dining room. She calls it "little kid chic". We are both in our mid-twenties, by the way. That is our dilemma. I prefer a more furniture oriented apartment while she would prefer we take a very, very minimalistic approach. I am trying my best to meet her halfway, but I don't know how to go about it so we both get something we want. Any suggestions? Help me, Tart House. I don't think my back will survive if we go the floor pillow route.
Thanks,
Karina

Quite the challenge. I think there is a happy middle ground by selecting very casual and comfy seating, plus floor pillows and poufs that provide comfort for optimal relaxing. But then pairing it all with more sophisticated accessories. That way Karina's roommate gets the laid back feel that she wants, while Karina doesn't have to feel like she's living in a dorm. Here's what I came up with.



In the way of sophisticated accessories I chose these curtains (1), this beautiful lamp (2), and an oversized watercolor print (3).

For the furniture I wanted things that were casual and low to the ground to give that laid back lounge feel. This lounge seating from PB Teen (4) was the first thing I thought of when I got Karina's e-mail. I think it would look great paired with this low side table from Ikea (5) and this butterfly chair from Urban Outfitters (6). All three pieces are casual but are still nice to look at.

To complete the lounge look: some floor pillows (7), a brown velvet pouf (9), a cute suzani pouf (8), and a nice soft faux fur rug (10).

I think this actually a really fun look, and great for laying around with friends watching movies. Good luck Karina!

Design Advice - Amber's Living Room

Amber asked for some help accessorizing her living room. She and her husband just bought new leather sofas similar in color to the one shown in this room board, they also already own the "Starry Night" Van Gogh print. I thought the print was a great jumping off point to plan the rest of the room's accessories. Here's what I came up with.



1. First some pillows for the sofas. This pillow is from the DwellStudio line at Target, I love its graphic design.

2. This yellow rosette pillow is one of my favorites, the yellow ties in nicely with the yellow from the painting. The feminine roses also work as a juxtaposition to the bold graphic pillow.

3. I'm totally in love with the color of this turquoise lamp. It brings out the turquoise in the painting, whereas without the lamp you might not notice the turquoise coloring as much.

4. Every room needs a little shine, these inexpensive candle holders from Ikea come in three different sizes.

5. This carved wood tray would be great for holding TV remotes, and it brings some texture into the room.

6. Last but not least, some of my favorite curtains that Ikea carries. Again, the blue dot pattern plays off the blue in the painting.

I loved that Amber already had an art piece picked out, it's a great example of my last post - choosing a color palette. This shows how you can simply look for accessories that carry the same color as your inspiration piece. But as you can see, I paid attention to some of the more subtle colors as well as picking items with different textures and patterns. The more obvious technique might have been to only choose plain yellow and navy blue items; which would have made the room much too matchy-matchy.

Good luck Amber, I hope this inspires you!

Design Advice : Haley's Room

Here is Haley's e-mail, and her bedroom as it looks now.

Hi Erica,
LOVE your blog, style, and your house is lovely! I'm writing because I need your advice on what to hang above our bed (and our DIY headboard - tutorial courtesy of Young House Love!) - I'm torn on whether this should be one big frame, three small ones, a cool mirror, or any other option? I also want to give more texture to the room b/c I feel it is a little too "matchy-matchy" right now. I'm thinking of spray painting my lamp bases in a different color (any suggestions on color?). I also would like to keep the art on the cheap if possible.
Would love to hear any guidance you could give me!
Thanks a million!



Here are my suggestions for Haley.


1 / 2 - First, I think the room could use some new throw pillows to punch up the color a bit. Pillow 1 is from Pier 1 and Pillow 2 is from Crate and Barrel.

3 - A cute and shiny retro alarm clock to add a little bling.

4 - This lamp is a rendering of my suggestion to makeover Haley's current lamps. I think new white shades like this one would update the lamps a little, the current shades blend in with the wall too much. Gluing some red ribbon along the trim of the shade would give the lamps even more style. Finally, I couple of coats of silver spray paint on the lamp bases would finish off the look.

5 - I like a simple mirror hung above a bed, this one from Target is chic and affordable.

6 - Blue canisters to add even more color, and tie in with the paisley pillow.

7 / 8 - Some simple stainless steel balls set in a wooden dish adds texture and shine.

Design Advice : Tesi's Bedroom

Here's Tesi's e-mail:

I was going to try a light almost white purple on the wall with gray and then it kind of stopped there, but I'd love to hear what you think. I am looking to be "budget friendly" as you said, and I'd like to fit a small desk in there. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Taking into account Tesi's purple and gray color scheme, here is what I came up with:



1. Striped gray bedding from Walmart if you can believe it.
2. Circle mirrors for above the bed. These are more affordable than one big mirror, and can be arranged in different ways.
3. Curtains from Ikea. Love this color of purple.
4. A pair of these cute lamps from PB Teen to put on either side of the bed.
5. Tesi wanted to fit a desk in the room, I think the best way to do that in this small space, is use a desk as one of her nightstands. This one is only about 28" wide and would work like a charm.
6. A wire wall letter for above the desk, T for Tesi of course.
7. A chair for the desk.
8. For the other side of the bed, this small nightstand.
9. Throw pillows for the bed, this cute purple one from West Elm.
10. This crisp white one is from Target.

Here is my suggested layout for the room:


Good luck Tesi!