From the Inspiration Folder

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good Easter (those who celebrate!) Mine was great. It is always nice to have some time with family - there is nothing like it.

During my days off, I also tried to make progress on my little hallway makeover. I thought this would be a quick and easy project, but once I started to paint out all the trim, it became a much bigger task (our condo came with the trim painted in a bad off-white, and I've been slowly painting over with a brighter white.) The hallway has four doors, and once you paint one side of it, you have another, which leads into painting another room! I ended up running out of paint and oddly enough so did my local Lowes, so I have to wait another week before they restock semi-gloss paint! Hopefully I will be able to share with you all soon though - I really like how it is turning out.

Anyway, I wanted to start the week sharing a very inspirational space I just came across. it is the dining room of Erika Brechtel of Small Shop. When I came across her blog, I became an instant follower. This room is one reason why:

Her dining room is so glam! I love the wall color, all of the gold accents, and the La Fiorentina pillows! Erika did such a great job styling it. You can see more of her home on her blog, here.

Have a great week!

DC Design House - Iantha Carley Interiors

Happy Good Friday! I hope you all have something fun planned for this weekend. I have Sunday off (a first in a few months!) so I am looking forward to celebrating Easter and spending some quality time with family.

Anyway, I wanted to wrap up my virtual tour of this year's DC Design House with a gorgeous bedroom and dressing room by Iantha Carley Interiors.

Iantha was inspired by the David Hicks La Fiorentina fabric (one of my all-time favorites!) in the green and white colorway, which she used to create a canopy above the bed as well as the curtains.

The result is a happy yet sophisticated master bedroom. 

Iantha also decorated the walk-in dressing room.  This whimsical, stylish room is any woman's dream! I love the pop of turquoise in the chandelier!

Iantha also had the opportunity to design a room in the 2009 Design House. Check it out:

And that wraps up my posts of this year's house. I hope you enjoyed it! For the locals, the Design House is still open until May 8, so you still have a chance to see it if you haven't!

Images: first three, my own. Dressing Room, Lydia Cutter. All others, Iantha Carley portfolio

DC Design House - Erin Paige Pitts

And we are off to another week! I hope you are enjoying the tour of this year's DC Design House. Up next is the pool room, designed by Erin Paige Pitts.

Another of my favorites of the house, I just loved the airiness of the space. Erin did a great job making her limited palette of whites work so well by using lots of texture.

The seats are hung from the ceiling with ropes! Such a cool idea. Below you see a touch of the sea with a wall full of sea shells.

It is hard to believe the room was full of dark paneling. It feels so bright and lively in there now. I would love to spend time in this room.

Named one of Traditional Home's "20 Designers to Watch," Erin has some wonderful projects in her portfolio. Check it out:

She has completed many design projects in coastal areas, which is why you see so many rooms in soothing blues and neutrals.

What a beautiful kitchen! And I love the outdoor space below. I wish I could be sitting there now with a refreshing drink in my hand!

What do you think of her work? Have a great week!

First four images, my own. All others, http://erinpaigepittsinteriors.com/

DC Design House - Samantha Friedman / J. Hodges & Associates

Happy Friday! I wanted to continue to highlight designers of this year's DC Design House. Today I am showing you the Secret Garden room, a bedroom and dressing area/bathroom that I think you'll really enjoy!

Samantha Friedman designed the kid-friendly bedroom using cheerful colors and fabrics:

I just love the dresser (above)! The window seat, however, is unlike anything I've ever seen:

What a creative, adorable idea! Any kid would be so happy to have a swing in their room!

The room has a bathroom and dressing area, designed by J. Hodges & Associates, that ended up being one of my favorite features of the entire house:

You all know I love purple! I would dream to have a place like this when I was younger (ok, I'd love to have a space like this today...just a touch more grown up!)

The bathroom is so incredibly cute. I absolutely loved it. Just look at the zebra mirror, trellis rug, and that geometric shower curtain:

What do you think? Make sure to check out more of Samantha Friedman's work here, and J. Hodges & Associates' portfolio here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

All photos, except last 3, my own. Last three, Lydia Cutter

DC Design House - Barbara Franceski

Next on our 2011 DC Design House tour is the Family Room, designed by Barbara Franceski. I loved what she did with her room in last year's design house (see my post about it here), so I was really looking forward to seeing her room.

It did not disappoint! I absolutely loved the color scheme and overall sophisticated vibe. I was especially enamored with the colorful silhouette artwork (from local artist Dave Peterson) that at first would seem out of place, but in fact makes the room. So fun!

The mix of chairs in the office/seating area adds a lot of interest to the space. She paid a lot of attention to detail with her accessories as well - they really elevate the room.

Originally, this room walls were entirely wood paneling. A coat of white paint transformed the room, though Barbara made a great decision to keep the crown molding as well as the area behind the bar (below) in its original wood tone. 

I will try to post more photos if I can, as the ones I took don't do the room justice! To see more of Barbara's work, check out her website, here.
 
 
P.S.: Have you checked out the new Trad Home magazine? There is so much inspiration in there! Read it here.

All photos, my own.

DC Design House - Lauren Liess

As promised, this week (and next) I wanted to share with you some of my favorite rooms from this year's DC Design House. First up is Lauren Liess's "Hideaway Room:"

You are probably already familiar with her work and blog, Pure Style Home. She applied her fresh, organic style to her room, which was designed to serve as a getaway spot.

She added many whimsical touches, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, that gave the room lots of character and made it feel so cozy. All of the textures, from the grasscloth wallpaper to the rug, also added to the warm, welcoming feel of the space.

I am in love with that desk (which was actually a last-minute find after an accident with the original!)

See more (non-fuzzy professional!) photos on her blog, here. 

Lauren's path to design is so inspirational as well. Feeling unfulfilled with her chosen career path in Public Relations (hmm, that sounds familiar!) she set out to study interior design, and soon started taking on design clients. This quickly led to starting her own business, which has really taken off! Lauren wrote a wonderful post on how she got started here.  

Here are just a few photos of her work (her own home):

I had the opportunity to meet her at the Design House last week, and she is so sweet, too! I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of her work!
 
Photos 1-4, taken by me. All others, Lauren Liess Interiors

DC Design House!

Happy Friday! I hope you all have something fun planned for this weekend. For all the locals, this year's DC Design House is opening to the public tomorrow! I always love attending this event - I leave with an incredible amount of inspiration every time (well, it kinda makes me want to re-decorate my entire condo!)

I had the opportunity to check out this year's house last week, and I must say the designers did an incredible job transforming an old, dark house into such a beautiful place. Here is just a snippet of what there is to see. I will be posting more photos, including designer profiles, all next week, so stay tuned!

The house is open until May 8 (check out their website for details.) Are you planning on going?

Photos (taken by me,) from top:
Pool Room - Erin Paige Pitts Interiors
Hideaway - Lauren Liess Interiors
Master Bedroom - Iantha Carley Interiors
Secred Garden Bath/Dressing Area - J. Hodges & Associates, LLC
Family Room - Barbara Franceski LLC

Inspiring Ikea Dresser Makeovers

Lately I have been seeing some great IKEA dresser makeovers all over the place! I love how creative one can be with a simple, inexpensive piece. Check out some of these great transformations:

House and Home (scanned by me) 

Canadian House & Home added simple strips of wood and hardware to create a chevron type pattern (above.)

Livet Hemma

At IKEA's blog, Livet Hemma, they painted the Rast dresser and added numbers with stencil. The look could be so cute for a kid's room! Here are a couple more great ideas they had for this dresser:

 Livet Hemma

Livet Hemma

The same dresser was transformed into a Dorothy Draper look-alike by Nancy at Marcus Design! So chic!

Marcus Design

Here is another amazing transformation by Bri from Me, You and a Wiener. I love the greek key!

Me, You and a Wiener

And finally, who could forget this "classic" IKEA dresser makeover. I still plan on trying this one sometime!

Aubrey and Lindsay

Are you inspired yet?? Have you seen any other great dresser makeovers? Please share in the comments!

From the Inspiration Folder

So Spring has finally made its way to DC, and I couldn't be happier! We had a gorgeous day today, and even though the rest of the week won't be as nice, it still has me dreaming of all the fun the warm weather brings.

I went out to our balcony after work to clean out all the fallen leaves and, um, cobwebs, and now it is all ready for some lounging with a yummy drink and a pile of magazines. This beautiful photo below, though, reminds me that I still need to decorate it. Yes, the space is functional, but why not make it beautiful, too?

Coastal Living

Do you have an outdoor space that needs decorating? How is the weather in your corner of the world?