Thursday, March 29, 2012

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF INTERIOR DESIGN: THE REALITY

i'd love to say my job was glamorous all the time! it's actaully 5% glamour and the rest is grunt work (but i actually like grunt work most of the time!)
i spend my days planning presentations, processing orders, following up on orders, invoicing, writing estimates, coordinating installations, consulting, driving, going to the grocery store, doing laundry,driving carpool and cooking dinner......oh, and raising 2 young boys and trying to be a wife-whew!
 here's a look behind the scenes.....including an inside peak in the work spaces of the people i could not live without-the drapery workroom,  my upholsterer, and my cabinet / furniture maker....they are the BEST!!



AT THE WORKROOM........

kim and dave own the workroom-they are a stylish and hip and very well traveled english couple- dave is the best dressed drapery installer you will ever meet and kim is always filling me in on the latest and greatest that she finds in her travels to new york and highpoint. kim is wonderful to collaborate with on window designs!! the workroom makes all of my draperies, pillows, etc and i am so lucky to be able to work with them and their fantastic staff (pictured) all the time!
 




COFFEE BREAK!





 TIME TO FIND SOME SAMPLES FOR A FAMILY ROOM REMODEL........WHERE DO I START??
an extensive fabric, trim, and wallpaper library is a fantastic resource!





panels ready for installation

WE ARE NOT DONE YET, IT'S TIME TO CHECK ON MY CUSTOMER'S UPHOLSTERED PIECES NEXT DOOR............



chris is a MASTER at his craft....not to mention his knowledge in health....he contemplated being a doctor so i know i have a good "go to" if i'm too busy to visit the other doc!  but honestly, thank god he does upholstery because i dont know what i would do without him-noone else matches up to his talent!  he will make upholstery from scratch or will reupholster anything. today we selected nailheads for barstools and welt sizes for this headboard....... here he is preping for the headboard that is going in a customer's poolhouse at the beach.



welts in all different sizes....which one for the headboard????



 

fat welt or thin? we went for the fat.





BACK IN THE CAR DRIVING CROSS TOWN TO THE CABINET / FURNITURE WORKSHOP!!.......
mark can copy anything and he is FANTASTIC!!! mark has done lots of cabinetry in my house and ,wow, is he good!!! he has a few kitchen designs coming his way  (HIS SPECIALTY) and i cant wait to post the progress!! and today he is making a super cool desk like one i found on pinterest for a richmond client-cant wait to see the outcome.......GO MARK!!!

just wait until you see what we are doing with the bamboo on a cabinet / console.....i am beyond excited!

kitchen cabinets in the works.....

 AND THAT'S ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Sunday, March 25, 2012

one of my absolute favorite fabrics lines!

as we all know, there are so many elements that go into a room. fabrics are the one single most important element for myself (arguably) when designing a room. i have one line that is a top favorite.....at that is QUADRILLE!!


when i visit the new york d & d building in the spring and fall every year, the QUADRILLE showroom is always one of the first stops. it is the best looking showroom-sunny and bright and HAPPY because every fabric in there is a happy fabric!
my last visit in the showrom i was especially excited because i overheard the conversation of some big wig designer talking about her next spread in a major magazine.....thinking it was meg braff???-pretty sure....love HER!! and i love QUADRILLE!!
 take a look at these spaces and you will agree-these fabrics MAKE the rooms!




Interior Design by Phoebe Howard
 
From Phoebe Howard's Book
The Joy of Decorating

Interior Design by Fiona Newell Weeks

Interior Design by Lourdes Gutierrez
 












Design by Emily Ruddo
 
Design by Alexa Hampton

Design by Tobi Fairley

Interior Design by Phillips deVeer Interiors
 

Interior Design by Amanda Lindroth



from quadrille.com



Friday, March 23, 2012

and this time, my own table scape fun!

i really should be working on an estimate......but yet again i am distracted! this time by my desire to rearrange!! i decided to take my dining area buffet and see what it looked like with different lamps / accessories.....lets see which scenerio gives me the best table scape!!



the winner!
 im kind of a minimalist......i see so much of my kids clutter all over the house so i choose to have less on it on my table scapes!
 more table scapes in my house...................


got this table at a yard sale in athens, ga when i was in college-still love but could use a face lift
 

my side of the bed....yes, there's "us" again.......please ignore.


hub's side.....could our reading material be any different? hehe