Catching Up + A New Design Board
Phew! Has it been as crazy of a spring for y'all as it has for our family? I'm starting to catch my breath but I know it is all about to ramp up again very soon. We have had a busy past few months, mostly because I am expecting our second daughter at the beginning of August! We are overjoyed and oh so grateful for this precious girl coming our way. My body, on the other hand, is not so overjoyed and I have been much sicker this time around. Basic survival has been our mantra lately and the needs of my family have come before the blog. As it should be, right? Suffice it to say, the Lenten cleaning challenge that I wrote about here did not happen. I did manage to organize our linen closet, but that was about all the challenge I could handle. Hoping to try again next year.
In addition to taking care of my fam, I've been working with some great new clients, and I also gave my first public presentation related to design. I was pleased with the topic, and hope that those in the audience were as well. Hope to share more on that soon.
It has been so fun getting to design the nursery for our new little one. Partially because it is the first room in the house that I am designing from scratch. Like most people, we have a small budget for home projects, and so many of the things that I would do to make our house more us will not happen for a long while. Her nursery will be the first room that is completely us from start to finish, and that is exciting (& causing a little anxiety). Designers always have trouble with their own homes because we are exposed to so much every day, and when pregnancy hormones are added into the mix, watch out. :)
But, that's what a good design board is for, right? To act as a visual guide to the room. While changes may be made due to time or money constraints (or because I plain ol' changed my mind), here is the basis of her room. I need to give credit to my awesome, hard-working hubby who said, "no problem!" when I explained I wanted to install some type of board & batten, new lighting, paint, a customized closet system, custom drapery, etc. This will all be DIY so I hope to document some of it here once we finish. Luckily for him, I'm much more relaxed this time around, and keep reminding myself & him that at least she has a crib to sleep in and a glider to be rocked in, if her room isn't finished in time. Much different than the 'it must be done months ahead of time' attitude I had with our firstborn.
After some experimental board placement, we've decided to go with a bit simpler board & batten pattern. Once we layed out some different patterns, the one pictured above was a little too busy for the room (& a lot more work). I am including a picture rail however, & cannot wait to see how that turns out. Above the b&b is Benjamin Moore's Valley Forge Tan. This room was a beast when it came to choosing the paint color. It is a north facing room (so no direct sunlight), tucked into a corner of our house, and every paint color in this room skewed green, peach, or purple. I feel like I am usually fairly adept at seeing the undertones in paint, but this one had me scratching my head. VFT is the closest to what I'm picturing in my head, so I'm hoping it works out.
We already own the crib, glider, side table, lamp, and a similar dresser, so I made sure to work the design around these items in order to save money. The real stars of the room will be the fantastic toile fabric, coral trimmed drapes, and bamboo lantern that reminds me of the one my grandparents had hanging in their breakfast room for years.
I have not yet picked out any art for her room. Art is so personal to me, and while I will choose pieces for clients if they wish, I believe that collecting pieces that speak to you is a much better method than choosing just any old thing at a big box store. It is a surefire way to add depth and character into your home.
Hopefully, I will have an update sooner rather than later. Until then, hoping everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer!
Holly
In addition to taking care of my fam, I've been working with some great new clients, and I also gave my first public presentation related to design. I was pleased with the topic, and hope that those in the audience were as well. Hope to share more on that soon.
It has been so fun getting to design the nursery for our new little one. Partially because it is the first room in the house that I am designing from scratch. Like most people, we have a small budget for home projects, and so many of the things that I would do to make our house more us will not happen for a long while. Her nursery will be the first room that is completely us from start to finish, and that is exciting (& causing a little anxiety). Designers always have trouble with their own homes because we are exposed to so much every day, and when pregnancy hormones are added into the mix, watch out. :)
But, that's what a good design board is for, right? To act as a visual guide to the room. While changes may be made due to time or money constraints (or because I plain ol' changed my mind), here is the basis of her room. I need to give credit to my awesome, hard-working hubby who said, "no problem!" when I explained I wanted to install some type of board & batten, new lighting, paint, a customized closet system, custom drapery, etc. This will all be DIY so I hope to document some of it here once we finish. Luckily for him, I'm much more relaxed this time around, and keep reminding myself & him that at least she has a crib to sleep in and a glider to be rocked in, if her room isn't finished in time. Much different than the 'it must be done months ahead of time' attitude I had with our firstborn.
After some experimental board placement, we've decided to go with a bit simpler board & batten pattern. Once we layed out some different patterns, the one pictured above was a little too busy for the room (& a lot more work). I am including a picture rail however, & cannot wait to see how that turns out. Above the b&b is Benjamin Moore's Valley Forge Tan. This room was a beast when it came to choosing the paint color. It is a north facing room (so no direct sunlight), tucked into a corner of our house, and every paint color in this room skewed green, peach, or purple. I feel like I am usually fairly adept at seeing the undertones in paint, but this one had me scratching my head. VFT is the closest to what I'm picturing in my head, so I'm hoping it works out.
We already own the crib, glider, side table, lamp, and a similar dresser, so I made sure to work the design around these items in order to save money. The real stars of the room will be the fantastic toile fabric, coral trimmed drapes, and bamboo lantern that reminds me of the one my grandparents had hanging in their breakfast room for years.
I have not yet picked out any art for her room. Art is so personal to me, and while I will choose pieces for clients if they wish, I believe that collecting pieces that speak to you is a much better method than choosing just any old thing at a big box store. It is a surefire way to add depth and character into your home.
Hopefully, I will have an update sooner rather than later. Until then, hoping everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer!
Holly