subtle autumn tablescape

The mountains this morning as I drove to work were a blazing red with beautiful blue skies as the perfect contrast totally getting me in the mood for my favorite season.  I'd like to set this table for a fall dinner {butternut squash anyone?} and see the leaves change outside the windows.

 a few things I'd bring to the table to create a setting with some earthy texture, a bit of gold and candle light.

{west elm for the plates and crate and barrel for everything else}

Happy weekend friends.

give us the grand america

When our clients asked us to design their home to feel like the Grand America my thoughts immediately went to pretty marble, sparkly glass, lush fabrics and classy, timeless elegance.  Their style is very formal so it has given me a chance to play with velvets, embroidered silks and the like.

Normally my sketches for clients during the design process are quick and on the back of whatever piece of scrap paper is handy and that quick sketch will get the idea across.

This was still a quick little thing {and the flaws drive me crazy!} but at least along with the fabric selections and spec sheets of all the furniture to go in to the home I'll have a sample of what one of the rooms might look like completed so they can get the full vision. They call this particular room their 'sanctuary'.  Situated off their master bedroom, it is a small room they plan to use to relax.

advice from Andy Warhol

{JMR 2011} 

"Don't think about making art, just get it done.  Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it.  While they are deciding, make even more art."

A fitting quote to come across today.  I collected some paints and brushes this morning on the way out of the door with the intent of doing something whimsical and soft with an elephant for someone in my life who just so happens to love elephants.  I didn't mean for it to turn out so... nursery art.  Oh well, she can hold onto it for future use if she likes, or use it for a coaster now... I don't much care about the outcome, I just had fun creating something for my friend to let her know she's cool in my book.

{etsy elephant search while I waited for inspiration to strike.}

More great advice:

It's not who you are that holds you back.  It's who you think you're not.

Be a fruit loop in a world full of cheerios.

pressed gingko leaf

came across this little lovely on the sidewalk on our way to grab dinner to go after my friends and I laid out our blankets claiming our space on the grass for the concert in the park.  I stuffed it in the moleskine as a little reminder of a perfect summer night.

imagine this: artistically modern LA living

I found Kimbirdy {or should I say she found me?} when I posted my {imagined} house entry where I took a picture of my red brick gem of a rental and transformed it into my dream version of what it would look like if I could have it my way.

She left a sweet comment saying "and when you are done, can you come make me one just like it? i love bungalows and desperately want one of my own someday... someday when i can afford it that is. oh california and your ridiculous real estate prices."

 {art source}{images of Kim from her site}
It got me thinking.  Wouldn't it be fun to have her send me a picture of her place and see what I could come up with?  So I did.  And she has been sweet enough to play along.

As I've played around with her place I've been reading her great blog and quickly realized this girl is as sweet as they come.  She writes about her life in California in a way that brings a smile to my face every time I visit her site, Fill Your Well. 

See her cool blue house above?  She told me that she loves the courtyard and wishes her place was a bit bigger so she could have an art studio.  Understand that this is just a conceptual rendering, to know if anything like this were possible there would be a lot more involvement.  This is just for fun. 

In real life, her man is building her a studio in the yard, but in my imagined reality she has her roof top studio with room left over for a patio to enjoy that great LA weather.  Glass panels suspended under the handrails would allow for a clear view of the tree tops around her place.

A few other things:  Extending part of the front of her house to create space for bay window {another wish of hers}within an architectural feature with wooden vertical lines would take the eye upwards and blend the new addition with the cool blue stucco.  Then taking the existing bathroom window and making it much bigger and taking it to the ceiling with similarly shaped windows in the art studio above would let in loads of diffused natural light. Putting a cantilevered roof on top would shade the outdoor space and would allow for lots of recessed lighting for night time fun.  {I also pretend that there are solar panels on top capturing light to help with energy costs so Kimbirdy and her mister can travel more.}

I would accessorize the outdoor spaces with fun colors and bold patterns to take some of the edge off of the modern lines to blend that polished look into something very  livable and very inviting.

GIVEAWAY

I had so much fun playing with Kim's house, I'd love to do another one.  Just leave me a comment that lets me know why you think your home should be featured on my 'imagine this' series.  {and be sure to become a follower}

Contest ends tonight at midnight.

{accessories from zgallerie}

'tangled up in blue'

My draft of a painting of Bob Dylan that I've wanted to try for awhile now.  Watercolor is still a daunting medium for me because it is so unpredictable.  Though that is the appeal of playing with it I suppose.  The scanned image here seems washed out, but the painting propped up next to me looks more vibrant and has some depth to the shadows.  I'll try to play that up in the next try.

I've had Boots of Spanish Leather playing to get me in the mood as I've been blending ultramarine, cobalt and payne's gray to find the perfect mix.  Such a beautifully haunting song, it'll forever remind me of a night it came on my ipod while I was way out to sea somewhere off the coast of Nicaragua.  I love those chance happenings when life has a soundtrack. 

{lyrics can be found here and inspiration for my monochromatic water color here.}

Fun timing to try this painting since I was browsing the blogs as it dried and found this Paint Party going on over at Room Remix - the blog and decided to play along.  Go check it out here.

my {imagined} house

When I look up at my little bungalow when I get home at night, this is what I see. 

 It may really look like any other older home in the Avenues {top left image}but to me there is something magical about it.
Maybe I've imagined it so many times it has become a secret shared between the house and me and it seems to shimmer between reality and imaginary.  What could be if only the weathered wood was painted a pretty color and the brick {I know this is bordering sacrilege} was painted a pretty warm grey. 

 I would take great pleasure in yanking out all those nasty bushes and dated wrought iron to build retaining walls out of stacked stone to compliment the sand stone porch steps. I'd plant a beautiful xeriscape type garden on each level with herbs and blossoming bushes.  Instead of a lamp post, spotlit stairs and architectural details.  Instead of a storm door, something inviting like high gloss terracotta orange.

The porch would have a thick colorful rug and beautiful lighting with cozy chairs to curl up in to enjoy the view of the city below.

And the details...OH! the details.  From unique house numbers, to window treatments to accent the colors used on the exterior... It is never quite the same dream twice, an ever evolving thing that changes with my mood and the inspiration I've run across during the day.  I hold up an idea like a dress to see if it fits.

What would I do with all that free space in my head if I weren't dreaming about design?

wish list: new pillows

 I've been playing with the idea of having some pillows made for my bed someday really soon.  The problem is I'm a bit of a wandering soul these days and maybe it isn't the smartest thing to have anything made when who knows where I'll be next and what I'll want then?   

Rational me says, "You're just fine with your mishmash of bedding and sad pathetic flat pillows that feel more like rocks than pillows." The Designer me says "But grey will always be your favorite color, and mixing it with that green you love can never be a bad thing, and you'll love having fluffy new pillows..."

Ladies, ladies!  Please.

So to help with the decision, I made this {above} last night to go above my bed using all those colors to see if I really do love them.

That was silly.  Of course I do.  And I love the geometric pattern with the velvet coral...

Sweet dreams.

Project: MK's Living Room

As you may have figured out by now, I go crazy for natural tones, great texture and fresh, colorful patterns. Combine them and I'm in heaven. This living room we are putting together has it all.  But it can't just be about the line of the furniture or the lovely things in the room - it all comes down to the client's coolness whether or not the room is a success for me.  It truly is the people in the house that make it a home.  It is their personalities that make the room come to life.

Design for me is expressing the wonderful things about my clients on the canvas that is their casa.

M.K.'s cool rating is through the roof.  She loves pattern and color and has a sweet, easy going personality.  Not afraid to say she doesn't like something, very open to possibilities, and falls for great fabric just like I do.

Sofa by Lee.  Subtle color in the pillow picking up a bit of the aqua in the floral print used to upholster the wing back chair by Sam Moore.  Lumbar pillow in the polka dot.

versatility

 A fun client of mine has asked me to have some pillows made for her bedroom.  The trick was to find something that will work for her winter duvet and her summer coverlet so she can easily switch between the two without having a truckload of pillows to go along with the two looks.

Winter - warm silky gray with some gold undertones and a touch of red

Summer - fun red pattern shown below {3}

 What I've done is chosen a neutral pillow with a fantastic soft pattern and a bit more of formal look as the center pillow {1} and it will be flanked on either side with a lighter, floral patterned fabric with a thick 3" red border around the edge for some summer spunk {2}.  The backside will be made in the red fabric shown above so she can flip them over in the winter for a solid red pillow.

For both seasons she'll have two king size shams {21" x 37"} in the silver fabric set in front of the 3 Euro Shams behind {27" x27"}.  Total of 5 pillows which makes her husband happy since the idea of more pillows has him squeamish. {Think Ben Stiller going manic on his excessive pillows in that one movie.}

Fabricut all the way {except existing coverlet from Pottery Barn}

Artwork ideas from here.

friendly cards

Making cards for friends n family is always fun to do. I can rarely just sit down and come up with one unless I have someone in mind.
I painted this little card for my Aunt Vicky for her birthday but she hasn't seen it until just now.  It promptly got buried on my desk only to find it way too late to send.  {Is it ever too late to send birthday wishes?}

for my mom

for my nice niece.

project: naturally inspired wingback

Setting the mood: natural fabrics, light, comfortable and not at all formal.

The focal point in the room: a commissioned painting of Cache Valley {not pictured}

The bump in the road: a few months ago we had this chair ready to go to production to be upholstered in a cream tone on tone, not too fancy, just perfect natural pattern when the worst thing that could happen happened: discontinued!

A month to regroup after trying unsuccessfully to find a substitute.. {hard to do when your trying to out do perfection.}

...then today, with a completely new approach to the chair we found almost immediately the perfect solution to creating the naturally inspired look she is after in this room.

She doesn't need more furniture, the chair will be the finishing touch to this room, but I've included a few things I love from the new Melange line offered by hooker furniture since I've been up to my eyebrows in orders for these fabulous new products. 

sketchbook: who? what?

i was just going through my image files and found this silly sketch I did two Christmas's ago and it made me smile for great memory sake.  My niece Cari and I were playing with markers and paper plates.  Then I found this one of us going to the ultimate girl movie of Summer 2010 {that vampire one} and I thought to myself, I like my nice niece quite a bit and I get to see her in 20 days! This makes me very happy.     

from now on

I should care if the wind blows East or West

I should fret if the worst looks like the best

I should mind if they say it can't be true

I should smile, that's exactly what I'll do."  

Irving Berlin

A little card I doodled today.  I had the lyrics from "Blue Skies" in my head as I worked and thought the second verse was perfect to include on the inside. 

happy sunny monday morning

It's hard to say what my favorite time of day is in my little corner of the world on B Street is because like it here so much all of the time.

Early morning is definitely awesome.  For a basement I have a ton of natural light.

A friend of mine thinks I'm crazy for living in a such a tiny place where I don't have a bedroom separate from my living room.  Until she said something I'd never even thought about it.

 To each her own and all that. 

I like using my tiny sofa as a bed much more than sitting on it so it is only up when I have friends over.

These sexy creatures are happy to stand in the corner out of the way.  Turns out to be a much safer spot than on top of the book case where they used to reside.  That was before they took turns breaking their ears of with some fancy diving skills.  Maybe a little ironic that I could carry them home safely from Africa without incident only to have them go buck wild once we got home.

My garden is loving all the great light as much as I am.  I've tried basil with just about every meal I can think of and don't think I'll ever make a dent in the lovely plant.  My tomato and squash plants seem to be having a contest to see who can get the biggest.  Lucky for me it's been a low maintenance garden.

This was my last successful attempt at water color.  There have been a few more than many tries after this, but so far nothing I wouldn't shred if I owned a shredder.  I'd like art to be a little less frustrating and a lot more fun. 

A bit of kiche in my bathroom with some wacky brass seagulls I picked up at an estate sale {+PLUS+ a cool cereal bowl, a serving knife & a spatula totaling a whopping $2} and

a bowl of apricots have been on my side table the last few days as a healthy substitute to a candy dish.

sure, why not?

When I was asked to design a float for the Davis County Clipper {small local newspaper} I said:

Sure, why not?

{The most dangerous sentence in my vocabulary.}

I pitched what I believed to be a hair brained idea to the owner to "Sail into the Future" with the Davis County Clipper by building a Clipper ship. I call it hair brained because of the tiny budget I was given, the grand scale idea of creating a ship in a little over a month, and my lack in experience of building floats, or ships.

With an enthusiastic "Full steam forward!" from the boss man we started in on extensive planning meetings.  I stressed the importance of talking over any changes from my original plans because I was really concerned about the proportions of the ship.  I knew there would be changes, I just wanted to be on them. With a 14' height restriction I knew making this thing look right was going to be tricky. 

We hit gale force winds when construction began.  I'm all for difficulties, I do love a good challenge, but not when my instructions are taken as suggestions.  That kind of challenge is a waste of energy.

Commence valuable lessons:

1- I'm an easy going leader, always have been, and suppose it always will be because it is my nature. But when it comes to important things I wish I could whip out a scary designer persona to get the point across that I'm in charge for a reason.  Someone has to have a plan and when I'm that person, I expect to be involved with decisions and changes...sigh...

2 - Budgets are fluid when the CFO of the company involves himself in your project. Sure, this involvement created more issues than I cared for, but I'm focusing on the positive here. Not often have I had a budget double in size.  I'll gladly take the flux in funds, but I would have used it on the originally planned fantastic rolling waves and other details lost in the mix that comes with having two chiefs {or Skippers, in this case.}

3 - Optimism is easy to come by when things are going my way. Harder to muster when I'm sitting alone on the dusty pavement in the shade of my car staring at the guts of the monster I created. Optimism can come in the form of shimmering plastic ocean and fantastic friends to the rescue.

4 - I have amazing friends and family. This isn't something I'm just learning. I've known this for a long time and continue to be amazed by the people in my life.  Heartfelt gratitude for them because they brought laughter and perspective when I wanted the beast to go sail away to Nebraska or wherever bad floats go to die.
{special thnx to Tony, Michele, Cade, Ashton, Parker, Christi, Ryan and RC1.}

 Standing back and gazing up at the beast at 2 am this morning after the last festoon was stapled into place, I can't say I feel like a complete failure, the float will float on.

The Centerville Parade with a crew of 3: Casey, Cade and Miss Utah.  The first of five Davis County parades for our dear Clipper.

As for my future in ship building?  I'd rather just sail off on an adventure somewhere on one.  This week last year I was passing through the Panama Canal on my way to Nicaragua and El Salvador.

for kicks and nostalgia sake...

Above: El Sal from the helicopter.

Me and Staff Sergeant Rix {no relation}, watching the dolphins after dinner.
Now that's how I enjoy a ship.

final watercolor class

Six weeks of water color class and I think I'll continue my quest to conquer the medium even though for the most part I have felt discouraged by it. I didn't love any of the studies we did so I was more into figuring out how to pull off the techniques than producing any significant work of art. The trick now will be to keep up with it on my own.

I had more fun after the class walking around the garden seeing the huge difference in the place from six weeks ago when I began spending my Wednesday evenings in the garden. Hardly anything was in bloom then and now there is an overwhelming amount of pretty things to enjoy.

I can never get enough details. Especially when they come with intoxicating fragrance.