Redoing My Parents' Master Bedroom

My parents master bedroom has always been the dumping ground. When I was young, every time we cleaned for a gathering or party at our house, a large majority of the excess stuff we had lying around was tossed into a corner of my parents room. The Good Will pile of things to be donated sat in the long hallway to their bedroom, spilling over out of its box and onto the floor, tripping passersby. Long story short. It was, and is, a mess, and they deserve better. I am home for a while this summer and have begun planning a big redesign of their room.

It started when I saw this pillow at Cost Plus World Market:

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I instantly loved the colors, the pattern, and the over all look. I took a picture and texted it to my mom. She liked it too! The pillow works well with the Spanish style feel of her house and the colors and pattern are young and fun, also like her! She's also always had a soft spot for the color orange. Which probably explains why her house is the color of a halloween pumpkin. But in a good way! :) 

I used the pillow as a jumping off point for designing the room and embraced it's color scheme of burnt red-orange, dark teal, pale creamy-yellow, and natural California-early-summer-grass-green. These will be mixed with a large number of textured neutrals

The room will have a Spanish feel, like my parent's house and Mission style bed, but also an industrial feel that alludes to my father's race car driver past and never dying love of cars. 

I threw some ideas around and eventually came up with this board. Please excuse the unprofessionalness of it. I had little time before I needed to show her the idea. 

That should give you a rough idea of what I have planned. I know its messy. A bunch of those photos are straight off my phone and not great quality. Anyways, here's the plan of things I need to do:

• New layout with foot of bed pointing towards door
• Reusing their current cherry bed and Dad's oak dresser
• Bringing two dressers from their dining room, one for Dad's bedside table, the other for Mom's clothes
• Turing Mom's bedside table dresser at an angle, to use the space of the corner 
• Hanging a mirror with rope from the ceiling above Mom's bedside table dresser so it can be used as a vanity
• Finding a large mirror or basket to use as a focal point above the bed
• Buying two medium size chairs (one feminine, the other masculine) for a seating area at the end of the bed
• Sewing an ottoman poof for additional can-be-tucked-away seating
• Finding a table big enough for a laptop, book, and glass of water, but small enough to fit between the two chairs at the end of the bed
• Redoing the dresser inherited from my Great Aunt Alma to be used as a bedside table 
• Hanging neutral colored curtains from the ceiling at the four corners of the bed to simulate a canopy
• Creating a large gallery wall with mostly white frames, but with added color popping frames mixed in
• Using an old rake to hang Mom's necklaces
• Finding a large car inspired picture to hang over Dad's bedside table. Perhaps I could repaint this but in the colors of the room?

And here is what I'm lucky enough to avoid:

• Painting the room-- it's already the soft pale yellow
• Purchasing dressers-- my parents have one unused one in their bonus room, and the other two from the dining room will be replaced with the large dark wood stained armoir that currently resides in my parent's bedroom, but clashes with the light wood
• Buying a poof-- they seem ridiculously over priced! Plus my mother is an excellent seamstress, so I'm putting her on the job. 
• Purchasing art-- my old bedroom is full of frames and pictures/paintings that need a home, anything else I want/need I will attempt to duplicate myself (I am minoring in Studio Art, time to put those skills to work!)
• Finding curtains-- my mom is incredibly attached to the cute ikea ones she already owns
• Buying bedding-- although I will definitely purchase some orange sheets, a bunch of pillows, and possibly a throw blanket or two, the actual comforters and main blankets are already owned. My mom sewed a pretty denim duvet for her comforter a few years ago. They'll use this in the winter. They also own a lovely white blanket that they use in fall. As these both go with the color scheme, why waste money buying new ones?
• Buying a rug-- my mother inherited one from my Great Aunt Alma that contains lots of dark teal and burnt orange. We're keeping it!

If you would like to see more of my inspiration pictures and ideas, check out my Pinterest Board. Don't be shocked by some of the paintings though, my mother is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and I had to throw in a few that reference that! heehee 

I'll be posting more updates as things progress. The project cannot truly start however, until work on their master bathroom renovation begins finishes up!

Fireplaces in Every Room

I love fire. I love its heat, its flame, the way it looks, the rustic feel of it, its protection, the way its light reflects on everyone's face. If the names Pyro and Sparky hadn't already been taken at Camp Two Sentinels where I volunteer most summers, I would definitely have picked one or the other. I love fire. I just do. My dream house would have a fireplace in every single room. I would have a fire every single day (yes I know its terrible for the environment, I'd have to find a green way to do it, ok?!) 

Today I decided to write about fireplaces. They give such a lovely feel to every space. They can be elegant, traditional, modern, bohemian, rustic-- whatever you want. Fireplaces are unique and, in my opinion, not used enough in today's design. 

First of all, the internet loves this kitchen. It is pinned all over the place on Pinterest. I love it's bright open feel, the floor to ceiling subway tiles (or is that brick?), the contrasting cabinets, but mostly, I LOVE the fireplace. See right there in the center? It's gorgeous. It's little. It's modern. I want one. I love the wood storage below too. In fact, I love how that wood looks real and isn't all perfectly cut like most styled images. This is a wonderful kitchen with a wonderful fireplace. It seems like a novelty, but, in fact, once all kitchens had fireplaces. Because that's the only way you could cook. duh. You knew this. Now I think we should all run out and hire architects to add a fireplace to our kitchens. Or Bedrooms. OR ANY ROOM IN THE HOUSE!!

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Here is a much more rustic example of a fireplace. This room is gorgeous, like a medieval Italian castle. I love the little corner fireplace. A fireplace in the bathroom would be amazing. Think candles are relaxing? Now think about fire, it's like candles times a million. Plus it would feel so nice on naked skin as you slip into the bath. I'm serious. It would be the most wonderful feeling. Also, check out this tub, guys. Pretty snazzy, eh? Its clean lines are a great contrast with the rough cut stone of this room.

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Now for the bedroom. Here is a nice modern, traditional space. I love the incorporation of different cultural pieces of furniture, I love the large wooden beams, I love the green fainting couch and curtains, I love the four post bed, but mostly, of course, I love that fireplace. Even though it doesn't have a fire in it, the addition of candles allude back to the firey origins. They've added some nice decor to the mantel too. I'm digging the convex mirror (my Oma has one!) and those sweet twigs. This room is lovely and relaxing and slightly sexy. Just what a master bedroom should feel like.

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Here is another fireplace in a bedroom. This room has a completely different feel however. It's very bohemian. The walls appear to be from an old (Victorian, maybe?) home, but the furniture is a mix of modern and traditional with a lot of color. I love that bedding. There is also that awesome mirrored chest in the corner. I like it. Feels like someone just moved and dumped their things here. It feels very much like I'm squatting. I'm feeling the adventure here. That fireplace brings some of that warmth and danger into the space.

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Fireplace in your closet? Why not? Especially when your closet looks like this. Please someone give me this room for my birthday! I love the way this space is used. The clothes, furniture, painting, and rug all go so well, despite their huge differences in style. I would just love to get ready to go out one night with a huge roaring fire. Can you imagine it? Sipping wine with your girlfriends, or husband, or wife; the fire crackling; the music playing just a little bit too loudly, the lights just dim enough for you to see yourself clearly in the mirror? Oh my goodness. It's like a closet orgy in this space. Fireplaces make everything better

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I do have to apologize  to y'all for slacking lately. I had finals and a mess of other things going on. But I'm back! Get ready for happiness and gorgeous design! So follow me! I'm getting ready for a summer of bright happy design fun!

Eclectic, Bohemian Bedrooms

Ok, so maybe my definitions of eclectic and bohemian is different from your's (or anyone's!), but for me I really feel that light, airiness, and a rockin' set of linens define this kind of space. Call me crazy, call me idiotic. Whatever. 

Here we go! I love this little built in bed. It is adorable. Surrounded by windows, you would totally feel like you were out in nature if you slept here. Plus that rug is fun and bright! The layered linens on the bed look so comfortable, I just want to curl up for a nice long nap. This room works really well because it contains layers of neutrals with pops of color in the rug and quilt. Mainly the room is layered whites, but again, the pops of dark in the wooden statue thing-y (technical term, I assure you) and in the quilt give it a more interesting feel. Although the space is mostly white, I don't feel like I'm in a museum. It's lovely. It's peaceful. It's relaxing. It's natural. Exactly what you want in a bedroom!

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Now this room has a bit more of a youthful feel. Definitely more eclectic. I like how the room is partitioned off from the rest of the space, yet it isn't completely out of view. There is definitely a nice flow here. The beaded curtain does a nice job. Though I can tell you from personal experience (I had a beaded curtain on my bedroom door in middle/early high school) that beaded curtains are super annoying. Especially if you ever want to leave your room without alerting everyone else you live with. They also tend to catch on things. Like skirts. 

What I do like about this space, however, is the use of color and pattern. The room looks like a collection of flee market finds. Such lovely layers. 

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This room is definitely more professionally put together, but, how cute is it?! As a former percussionist, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE IDEA OF DRUMS AS NIGHT STANDS. However, there is a slight storage issue...Anyways the room is tied together with a similar color scheme spread over a large number of patterns and textures. I especially like all the added storage you can see throughout the room. Also I'm a total sucker for a settee at the end of a bed (even though I don't even know how to pronounce the word properly! I'm a dork, shut up). 

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Now this has to be a dream of mine. I adore this little room. It just looks unbelievably cozy. I want to curl up with a huge hot toddy cup of tea hot chocolate (who am I kidding, chocolate all the way) and a great novel and just read a winter afternoon away. This room again has a bunch of patterns going on, but the red and purple tones tie everything together. I love the surrounding bookshelves. I think it's a fabulous idea. Plus then you don't even have to get out of bed when you finish the first Hunger Games book and need to immediately move on to the next one. The modern lamp is a lovely contrast to the antique feel of the room and the old framed prints. 

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Last, but not least, we have this wonder of light, white, and calm. Again, layered linens! SO much white is a tad intimidating, but it looks so lovely here. The room is calm, peaceful, relaxing. Definitely a great get-away room. I feel like I'm in a spa!!

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Do you like this kind of bohemian, eclectic feel to a bedroom? Or do you prefer a more formal design? Anyone have tips on how to layer bedding like that? 

Red, Of Course!

How could I not show some red rooms for this first post? These vary from a few red accents to a dominating red color scheme. I rather enjoy both. Don't worry though! I'll be mixing it up, this blog is not entirely about red rooms.

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I love these red storage boxes and the chandelier. I think the room needs at least one other color though. I am afraid of all that white near pens, ink, newspapers, etc. 

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I love this room! So warm and inviting. It is very traditional.

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Oh my goodness. Can you say heaven?  I absolutely adore everything about this room. The red and turquoise work so well together. They truly are complementary. I love how each piece looks like an antique, and yet the overall look of this room is very modern. Mostly I adore those long, tall, red curtains and the bedspread.

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This is such a happy, bright space. Invigorating. It would be great for a kids bathroom. I would love to bathe my kids in that tub! The red of the tub and the red of the wall paper work very well together. Even though the only dominant colors of this room are red and white, I don't feel like it is as stark as the office above. I'm not afraid to touch anything here. I do wish the clawfeet were painted white or gold, though.

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This is another bathroom I love. The clawfoot tub is gorgeous, especially raised up on this platform. I can't imagine trying to vacuum under that raised platform though. What a pain that would be. The accents of red are very subtle here, yet have a lasting affect. I believe that little red cart is about $5 million though. I adore that little black and gold stool, however and the curtain that so gently and elegantly filters the light and adds privacy. This room is both rustic and finished. Its amazing.