Thursday, April 29, 2010

Colour ME Happy!!!

{me & maria}

We got a visit from Maria Killam of Colour Me Happy this week!!!  Maria flew down to DC (really Virginia) from NYC this week and we had such a great time!  Maria is everything she seems on her blog and more: super-stylish, quick-witted, thoughtful, frank and so much fun.   She's continually looking to grow & learn and is a natural teacher.  This may sound cheesy, but she's a very wise, self-aware person.  . 


 I got to go on a Colour Me Happy color consultation to see her in action and (of couse!) she's so good.  I have no doubt her client will be thrilled with the results.  She also picked out some colors for me at our house for when we get to those rooms!!  yayyyy

{the perfect little turquoise vase she brought me}

Maria also filled me in on the latest color trends and one of my favorite descriptions was "Pretty Ugly."  Click here to read more about it.   I also learned that I'm totally in the stoneage as far as technology goes and have a lot of things to learn like twitter, snaggit and windows live writer.  Maria is so generous with info and I have a mental checklist of all the things I need to get on like a Pure Style Home facebook page, etc.  Anyway, it was awesome to meet another amazing blogfriend and we can't wait to see her again!!  She's amazing!!

xoxo,
lauren

Monday, April 26, 2010

Just a Year Ago...



Today I'm joining the Poppies at Play Parade of Homes Tour!  So if this is your first time stopping by- welcome & thanks so much for coming!! 




...  Just a year ago we moved into our new {70s} home.  We've made so many changes to it that I thought a before& after post of the whole house would be fun.  I'll put links throughout the post to the specific rooms in the house so if you've got any questions, check those post for answers, sources, how to's, etc.  Also, the pics have been taken throughout the past year as we completed the projects which is why you'll see so many seasons in the different pics.


 

Our house had been vacant and on the market for about 4 years before we came along & bought it. (above) You can read the original post I did about it here.  I was totally IN LOVE even though it was a bit sad-looking.  We were told by numerous family members (and even one of our realtors!) what a mistake it would be to buy this house.  Well, my husband & I aren't known for listening to others (Sometiems to our detriment & sometimes to our benefit!)...  so we took the plunge anyway. 

We painted the cedar a dark gray and added a trellis with climbing jasmine and as many shrubs as we could afford.  (Still planning on adding more :)  Here's a photo I took "after" during one of the blizzards we had this year: 

The entrance (below) was in need of some loving:


...And here's what it looks like now (errr on Halloween ;):

{Bright orange front door, new lantern, rug, paint, etc.}

Our foyer was really bad.  I'm not even sure the photo below does it justice.  The linoleum floor was beaten up & grimy and the pendant cast a sickly yellow light in the space:
{Before}

I wanted something interesting and a little "off"...  and something that would have a big impact when you first walked in... so we hung a bunch of DaVinci sketches randomly along the walls:
{After: fresh paint, custom frames, new caged lantern, orange door & seagrass carpet}

The living room is one of my favorite parts of our house.  We're up in the trees and it feels like a treehouse, especially with all of the windows open and a breeze blowing through.  Here's a photo of it before with wall-to-wall carpet:


And here it is now (or last week; I've already rearranged since this pic, something I do all the time)..

{My husband, Dave, installed hardwood floors and we had a custom wool rug cut for a soft spot to play for our kids}

And here it is this week:  (I promise I don't have too much time on my hands!! ;) ;)



Here's a view of the side wall before:


And here it is now:

{We added an a mantle with a mirror for a focal point on the once bland wall.  Dave also did an awesome job stencilling the wall with an allover pattern...  Excuse all the junk, books and dying flowers around...  I snapped this pic this morning without really fixing as it's been a bit crazy around here lately...  I did stash a bunch of toys and real "mess" just for you though!}


Here's the bookshelf we jam-packed with books & things we've collected over the years.  The 2 lower shelves house toy boxes:


The dining room is smaller than it looks and is open to the living room.  Here it is "before:"

And here is is now:

{After:  New chandelier, furniture, blown-up 15th Century Drawing  on wall...  For details on the dining room click here}

Our kitchen met with its end the second day after closing on the house...  Here it was before:



And here it is now:


{We removed the upper cabinets, added beadboard & shelving, painted the lowers, did hardwoods and painted out old fridge with chalkboard paint for fun}

Here's our little breakfast nook now:


{It's a great place to hang and I love our old-fashioned wallpaper...  For details on our kitchen redo, click here}

Ok, now onto the bedroom!  Here's our bedroom 'before' in all its glory:

{yum! yum!}

And here it is now:

{We found the brass headboard on the side of the road and it sort of guided the design of the room which is a mix of old & new, white and metallic.. for more details, go here}

I hung up some of my jewelry on the wall & I wear it so much more than I used to:


Our 2 year-old's (Christian's) bedroom is a tiny fun spot in the house:


We hung up pages of the Saggy Baggy Elephant on the walls (above) and turned his closet into a little play area with a chalkboard paint hill and a green vintage wallpaper lion:



We just finished decorating our new baby's (4 month old Justin) nursery.  We went dark & a little nutty in here:


The walls are a dark navy and we made the canopy out of a stencilled dropcloth.  we made sure to include a place for Christian to hang out in Justin's room so he feels included:

{Christian chillin in his reading nook}

Now onto the lower level.  (And I'm only showing you one room down here because the rest are still in progress and are NOT pretty) Here's the space before, planned to be a combination family room and office:

{lovely linoleum}

And here it is now:


I love having this huge table to spread projects out on.  We had wall-to-wall seagrass carpet installed and we love it.  (It can't be hurt!!) I wanted it to feel happy & airy down here so the panelling got a fresh coat of aqua paint. 

Before we moved in, there was a weird  fenced in elevated area with a drop ceiling.  Don't ask because I don't know why:


...So we knocked it all down & leveled it and it's now the TV/ seating/ play area:


Having a ton of hidden toy storage is key to keeping me feeling sane:


We've got an ever-growing collection of flea market paintings so up they go above the sofa:


And finally, here's another veiw of the family room before:

{Gotta love that 70s stone}

We debated & debated about what to do with the stone and the wood-burning stove but in the strangest way the stone started to grow on me and now I love it.  The wood-burning stove was awesome & so cozy in the snow storms, so it's definitely staying for now:



{Lanterm, Ikea  Chairs & Ikea ottoman with custom washable slipcover...  For details on the lowerl level redo, click here}

...And that's about it for now!!  We always have something going on over here so I hope you'll come back.  (And everyone who is always here, thanks for bearing with me for all the repeats!)

Anyway, thanks so much to Andy for inviting me to be a part of the blogger home tour!! I'm honored to be included!!  :)  I hope everyone  enjoyed it and now it's time to head on over to House 


xoxo,
lauren

Simple Pleasure...


There's just something about the wind blowing your curtains when the windows are open. Now that the warm weather's here, we have our windows open as much as possible and I'm loving the breezes & seeing our living room curtains gently blowing.  (They're simple white unlined linen and perfect for being wind-whipped... Not that I planned this, but I'm very happy with the results.) 

There are so many little things to love about each & every day and as Spring really comes to bloom, I find myself taking even more notice.  What simple pleasures did you indulge this weekend?

xoxo,
lauren

*image from source4interiors.com

Friday, April 23, 2010

ReVAMP!!!

I'm so excited because Pure Style Home is getting a makeover!!  The new blog header is really special to me I can't wait for you to see it next week!! 

{image from here}

But for now, have an awesome weekend & take in all the little beautiful things around you.

xoxo,
lauren

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

More Than One Way To Skin A Cat

When approaching the design of a space, I do believe that there are "wrong" ways to do things, but I also believe that there are multiple"right" ways to do the space.  In my mind, there really is no "right" way, but there is however, a "best" way.  ---a way that feels "right" for the person who lives there & is appropriate for the home.


{Design by Pheobe Howard, Photo by Luke White}

Often times clients show me a room and ask me what I would do- what colors I would use, what materials, etc.  For me, this isn't how it works.  I might know how I would want the space to evolve if it were for me, but until I've really grasped my client's style and their dreams for the space, I really can't answer that question.  I always need to know who my audience is.


{Design by David deMattei & Patrick Wade, Photo by Jose Picayo}


Once my clients & I have agreed to work together, it's all about me drawing out my clients' wants, needs, tastes, style, etc. to create a vision that I think will be "best" or "right" for them and will work in their home.    It isn't however, the only "right" way to do the space.  If 10 different designers came into that home, there would be 10 different "visions" for the space, all based upon the client's wants/needs and the designer's own aesthetic.  They might all be amazing to viewers like us, but I'm sure the client will have a favorite or "best."  It doesn't mean the others were wrong, however, just not "right" for the client.  The one that might look "best" to outside viewers might not be the homeowner's choice...

Design is personal.  It's one of the reasons when doing a room reveal, that I often explain what I or my client was going for in the space...  An overall mood, feeling, style...  Because there are many "right" ways to do a space, but I want you to know why I made the choices I did.  Coming from the point of view of the homeowner/ designer, a design is often much better understood.  And understanding is one of the first steps in liking.


{Design by Betsy Brown, Photo by Don Freeman}

Before we were married, I knew my husband was the one for me because I felt more understood by him than anyone else in the world.  I didn't have to explain the "whys" of everything, because he just knew why because he understood me & where I was coming from and liked me because of it. 

{us}

It's similar with a space...  If viewers or "judges" (like us blog readers! ;)  know where a client is coming from and what he/ she wants out of the space and how he/ she wants it to feel, we understand it better and appreciate it.  I'm not saying that we cannot judge a space if we don't know where the owner/designer is coming from, but that having that information helps us understand a space a bit more, and in turn, helps us appreciate it.  We may not like even one teensy element of it for our own homes, but we're able to see the beauty in it for someone else. 


{Cathy Kincaid, Photo by Reed Davis}

I don't do "one" style of decorating/ design.  I can't.  My clients all have their own unique styles and I go where their styles take me.  Yes, my own style/ aesthetic plays a major role in how a space will turn out, (which is why there's often a "look" to rooms a designer's done) but it's not limited to styles of furniture or decor...  it's present in the way the space is put together. 

{Darryl Carter, Photo by Simon Upton for Elle Decor}

When you love & appreciate a variety of different styles, you can recognize that there's no one style that's "right"  although you probably have a personal favorite or favorites that you want in your own home.  But when critiquing and evaluating others' interiors, to think that only one style is beautiful/ good is really limiting and elementary.  Trust me, I've been there!!

When I first really became interested in decorating & started experimenting with my first apartments, I began creating rooms that adhered to a "style."  My dining room felt a bit "cottage" and when you were in there you got this feeling.  My living room was kind of an "Eastern" mix full of things from my grandparents' extensive travels. There was another feeling in there.  (And it was right next to the dining room so it wasn't pretty! ;)  My bedroom had a mahogany 4 poster bed and felt a bit British Caribbean...  I could go on, but I think you get the point.  I began with pieces of furniture or accessories that I'd been given or bought & created rooms around them, collecting other items that "went with" others.  It was more "themey" however, because it wasn't authentic and wasn't personal to me. I was creating rooms around furniture/ things, not around and end goal/ mood/ atmosphere.   It should be the other way around:  "Things" are our tools for creating atmosphere. The rooms were great at that time for me in the sense that I was experimenting & using my place as a canvas & learning to put rooms together, but they were totally out of context all squeezed together room-by-room in an apartment.

So what I'm saying is, I could do a home for a client who lives in a cottage and who wants that "cottage" feeling throughout her whole house and we could use lots of cottage-type pieces and it would be appropriate. 

(Ginger Barber, Photo by Victoria Pearson}

What's inappropriate or inauthentic is when it's forced or out of context.  It's like the girl who shows up to the backyard barbeque in 4 inch heels and a short skirt:  she looks great but totally ridiculous for a bbq.  Had my apartment dining room actually been in a cottage, it would have been much better!  (And our girl would look so much better on a hot date than with her heels sinking in the grass at the bbq!)



There are people out there who say they hate neutral interiors or colorful rooms or "cottage style" for example.  Does that make it wrong or bad?  I don't think so.  (hahah only in the case of my dining room!!)  There's good and bad of everything and I think the important thing to ask yourself when judging a room is:  Do I maybe dislike this room because it's not done in a style I like or is it because it's not done well?  I believe we can learn to appreciate many different "styles," just as we can appreciate the value of a well-executed space. 


{Christina Rottman, Photo by Mikkel Vang}

Painting the Rat:  It's similar to art.  Show a photo of a rat to Monet, Van Gogh, and Da Vinci and have them paint it.  Each of the 3 paintings would be totally different yet all of the same rat.  Think of the rat as the "style" and the Painter as the "designer" with his/ her own aproach/ aesthetic.  If you have a problem with the photo of the rat in the first place (the style), then you might not like any of the paintings (the interiors) or even give them a chance because of their subject.  If you close yourself off to a room because of its design style, you won't be able to appreciate it or understand it and you lose the opportunities to grow/ learn/ hone your eye. 



Which Rat Do You Like Best?:  Once you have opened yourself up to the photo of the rat, acknowledging that maybe you don't like the subject matter of a "rat" but you can appreciate the value of a well-done rat, you can begin to evaluate & appreciate the artists' interpretations.  You don't even get to that stage if you shut out the paintings because their subject(style) is a rat (a design style you don't personally like.) Here's where the artist/ or designer's personal aesthetic/ style / approach to design comes into play.  Just as each artist's rat painting would have been executed differently & in his own style, each designer's interiors are executed differently & his/ her own style.  If a designer is good, he/ she can give you a rat if you want one, just as the painter can give you the rat.  If a designer isn't good, then the overall vision he/she  is was trying to achieve for the client would be hazy or lost and it would be a badly done room, as if a terrible painter (like me!) were to attempt the rat. 



You might personally love Monet's rat, but not like Da Vinci's rat.   It's great for you to have an opinion, a favorite that you're passionate about, and by dissecting the reasons why you like one and not the other, you grow.  You could never have done this if you closed your eyes to the paintings in the first place because they were of ugly old rats.

Does this make sense?  It's okay to critique/ judge, but I do believe we need to be open to design styles other than our own if we expect to grow/ learn/ appreciate design. 


{Dana Lyon, Photo by Reed Davis}

This doesn't mean loving everything.  There are plenty of rooms I don't like and even after hearing from where someone was coming from, seeing that the homeowner adores it and that it is appropriate, I still don't like.  That's fine!  We don't have to like everything (and definitely won't) but it's good to dig deeply and ask ourselves "why?"  ...  To just mentally pinch ourselves to doublecheck that it's not because it's done in a style that's different from ours or because we might not understand it. 


{Miles Redd, Photo by Thomas Loof}

Rooms shouldn't need a translation but there are so many spaces that grow on me the more I study them.  (And on the other hand there are rooms I initially think "So pretty!!" and then upon further inspection/ study, they kind of start to bore me...  some of these even being my old houses!)

So maybe a room isn't done exactly the way you would do it, but can you appreciate it anyway?  Is there in fact more than one way to skin a cat?

xoxo,
lauren

*All interiors from House Beautiful unless noted otherwise