La Fin!

Done! Done done done!!
I finished! So here's the final product!

I moved the blue stool away from the chair so that you could see the difference, but really they go together. 

I am still so in love with this mantel. 

So here it is!

I am so pleased with it. I really think it is boatloads better than when we started out. Boatloads.

Living Arts College

I forgot to tell you about my visit! The school is amazing. I can't imagine being able to spend 3 whole years there! (It's really a 4 year degree but it goes year round!) I really wanted to see the dorms, since they're brand new and palace-like according to their brochure, but they couldn't let me :(.(How interior designer of me!) I did get to see their class rooms and they are really domes! The whole school is comprised of a handful of connected domes! There were students in there too, all hard at work!
I wish I had pictures to show you but I felt bad taking them when the people were in class!
If you're anywhere near Raleigh and interested in Interior Design, please go check it out!
And tell them I sent you. I'll get a gift card.

So Close!!

The chair is done! I actually finished it last night, but I couldn't get it to post.. hmm. Anyway!

It's every bit as comfortable as it looks. 

This was definitely more difficult than the stool.. For the stool (I don't think I explained this before) I basically just cut a square and hemmed it. I laid it on the stool, sewed on some ribbon and it was good to go! 

For the chair, I had to put a little more work into it. I stuck with the basic square principle, I just sewed a back on! It's kind of like a soft potato sack with some ribbon to give it shape. I quite like it. 

The only thing left to do is the other foot stool!!

I'm so, so close! 

And then, of course, I have to put the living room back together since I took it apart to complete these projects.

P.S. I keep forgetting to tell you! I decided against the wall decal. I really like how empty that wall looks. It brings the attention to the table and picture. I don't want to draw that attention away. 

Halfway

Progress!! Progress Progress Progress!

I made a cover for the foot stool today! 

This is how it started-

I lay the fabric out on the floor and started making seemingly random marks on the back. (This is why I love permanent markers. But only on thick fabric!!)

Adorable and functional!

The ribbons being sewn on. (I burnt the edges so that they wouldn't unravel.)

The final cover! I'm no seamstress (obviously) but I think it's pretty good! Its simple, casual, easy to make and easy to clean. 

We're looking for attractive and functional rolled into one. Always.

Good work for today, I think! The chair tomorrow!

Just A Thought

Maybe I can make a career of traveling the world and gathering inspiration? There is so much great work out there and I just want to appreciate it. Just a thought.

With No Relation to the Project

This has absolutely nothing to do with the project I am currently working on but I still can't find the charger for the camera so I thought I'd post some inspiration!
These are lovely Alcove Beds and they're my absolute favorite because what's cozier than a bed-cave?

They make me want to redo my room. Again. Especially this one: 

But that would be futile because my home is hardly permanent. 

Anyway, I just wanted to give you all some inspiration since I talked about it yesterday!

p.s. The pictures are from http://www.shelterness.com/15-cool-alcove-beds/ if you want to see more!

Crunch-Time

Sorry about the hiatus, guys. Crunch-time is upon us and it's showing. Anyway, I wanted to post pictures of the fabric for the chair and foot stools and also the board that I had made (the actual name for this kind of tool escapes me at the moment) with fabric swatches, pictures, paint, etc. on it, but I still cannot locate the charger for the camera. It's becoming a serious problem. I will renew search efforts in the morning.

A quick tip for today:
If you have no idea where to begin, collect inspiration in whatever form it may come. If you have a photograph you really like, it counts. If you find some cool driftwood on the beach, take a picture and keep it. It can be photos, fabric, a paint swatch, furniture, a painting, a sketch, a magazine rip-out, anything counts as inspiration. Once you have enough, you should be able to pick out some trends, such as Victorian, or modern, or whimsical, or maybe you'll end up with a very specific trend like 'run down beach shack with modern appliances'. Sometimes thinking of what you like isn't easy and it's better to show yourself. You can collect inspiration on a bulletin board or in a file or whatever form of organization is best for you. (I don't suggest using actual furniture in your inspiration file but maybe taking a picture of it? The same goes for the driftwood.)

So that's it for today!

Slow Motion

I feel like everything has slowed down here. Nothing has changed in the living room, except that I found some possible fabric for the chair! We actually had quite a bit of it in the basement. The camera's not currently working (battery issues) but I'm hoping to be able to post pictures of the fabric tomorrow. For now, I'll describe it: it's a navy-ish blue velvet kind of fabric. It's really lovely, it's just a matter of whether it will go with the rest of the room. I'm still shopping for footstool-fabric.

As of right now, I am incredibly happy with room. It's much more livable and I spend way more time in it. It feels comfortable and practical and it looks nice. That's really what the goal of interior design is for all rooms. 

I wish I could change the lighting fixture- I'm not a fan of it. I have the same issue in my bedroom.

And now today's tip:

Since we're talking about lighting already- if natural lighting is an option, always take it. When considering that interior design is very much about the atmosphere it creates for the people living in it, natural lighting is a big factor. Not only does sunlight provide vitamin D, natural light lifts moods, naturally. Window coverings are always good to have, but make sure they open!

Progress, People!

More Pictures of the living room! The artwork is actually hung, and the room is clean which is a miracle. It's actually kind of fun to be in now. And it has attracted a lot more people! So here's what we did- 

The chest in this picture>originally came from the basement of a house we bought and someone had the good sense to keep it. The same goes for the one now holding up the T.V. They're different sizes and vintage and worn and rusty and wonderful. I love everything about them. The small one became a coffee table/storage. 

The red table in this picture> is actually a sewing cabinet that I removed from the guest bedroom (because it really doesn't belong there anyway and I love the color) to add to this room. I realized after taking this picture that the painting is crooked. Don't worry, I fixed it. The statuette in this picture

and the one in this picture>are part of a collection of zodiac signs (we only have the two since our family only consists of two) and they desperately needed to be displayed. They're beautiful. 

The rest of the room is amazing, 

but this> might be my favorite part. I love how simple it is. 

The greatest part about this room is that everything in it came from somewhere else in the house. Nothing had to be purchased. We just pulled some things out, dusted them off and set them up. This room has improved so much and feels so much better to be in by just a few simple changes. 

A couple of things to notice: 

-The mirror on the mantle is offset and balanced by the heavy(-ish) clock and stack of books. The crystal to the right of it still seems light. 

-The red of the sewing cabinet is subtly highlighted through the rest of the room: the red boots next to the white chair, the red book and candle on the small chest (which doubles as a coffee table), the picture on the toy box next to it, and the books on the mantle. It ties the red into an otherwise green and gold room. 

Some things we still need to work on:

-The huge empty wall around the ocean painting. I'm thinking decal there. 

-The fabric on the footstool in front of the brown, leather chair. I find it horrendous. It doesn't go with the room at all. Fortunately that's easy to correct. 

-The fabric on the white(-ish) chair. While it's not a terribly ugly pattern, it is irreparably damaged and worn. It has strings coming off, stuffing showing through and, if you can believe it, it used to be white. (Hard to imagine, I know.) So do I make a cover for it? I'd like to have something that can be removed and thrown in the wash. 

Just a few more things to do in this room!

One last thing: Taking all these great furniture pieces makes this room livable, but the rest of the house has suffered a bit. We may have to correct that.

Thanks again to my Aunt Jacqueline Scott for helping!

Design for the Reluctant and Evasive

Well today was definitely an adventure. I am so fortunate that my aunt (who is interior design inclined) is in town! We worked on the living room a lot today and I discovered for the very first time some of the pressures that an interior designer might face. For example my mom was very enthusiastic and willing to help and make suggestions, but some of her suggestions contradicted each other, so we had to sort that out. And then there was my dad, who wasn't included in the initial discussions due to lack of interest and presence (the man rivals Houdini sometimes), and later discovered that he wished he had been. So more discussion was needed. 

Eventually we got through it and this is what happened today:

I love the mirror above the fire place. We started with it and worked on the rest of the room from there!

Today's obsession: Wall Decals. 

I cannot get enough of them! Some of them can be tacky but others can really add to a room! Like this one:

Thanks to everythingwalldecals.com

The living room isn't done yet so I'll post pictures of more progress tomorrow!

Lining Room? Diving Room?

I'm thinking about combining the living room with the breakfast nook area. The living room opens up to it anyway and there is too much floor space in the living room and not enough in the breakfast nook. We have a gorgeous hand made, round, leather table and it's looking for just the right home. I think it would look kind of cool and contemporary in the living room.
I think we'll have to start this whole thing off with emptying the living room completely and examining the space. I think I'll look for over-sized-table-in-the-living-room inspiration. Do you think that google search would turn up anything interesting?

Interviewing/visiting/touring Living Arts College's Interior Design program on Friday! I can't wait!!

Hurricane in the Brain

We've been brainstorming. It's been crazy. We have some great ideas, but we have to keep the time constraints in mind.
I am a personal fan of platforms. I love lofts, platform beds, landings, any kind of level change really.

This is one of the ideas we came up with but it's a huge undertaking, and I don't think it would be complete in time unfortunately. The idea is that the bookshelves on the sides (not the walls) would actually open out and underneath would be storage. There would be enough room on the platform for a smallish chair and table or even just some comfy pillows. This would end up being like a large piece of furniture rather than a fixture. (A very large piece of furniture.) I have my doubts about this happening, but I thought I'd share anyway!

If we can't build something this large, maybe we can start with something like a window bench?

Today's Tip: 

It seems simple enough but people often forget that reupholstering furniture is a way of honoring your great grandfather's old chair and still making it your own.

Inspiration

So, while throwing out ideas today, bookshelves came up a lot. We want a living space, a functional, loud, creative space, a storage space, and a book space. That's a lot to put on one room! So I thought of floor to ceiling bookshelves because the ceilings are so high in that room (10 feet) and I love floor to ceiling shelving!!
Here is an inspiring example:

photo courtesy of fubiz.net

I wish I could put more but the computer is uncooperative currently!

And a tip related to floor-ceiling shelving for today: 

Remember to somehow make the top shelves accessible. 

Foundations

We've progressed somewhat on the living room situation. So far, we've decided that we want the couch and brown chair to stay as they are. The white chair, we'd like to adjust a little bit. The TV should stay in the living room, the dog bed doesn't have to remain where it is, but we want them to have some kind of area. 

Nothing else really must stay in the room. We're still iffy on whether or not we can paint BUT... See today's tip!

Hopefully we can make some decisions on what kind of artwork we want in there tomorrow!

Today's tip: As it turns out, a simple, impermanent wall paper can be made with some tissue paper and scotch spray-on adhesive. (Be extra careful with the brand because some of it can be very tough to remove!)

Tomorrow we'll talk artwork!

Neglect

It's been far too long since I posted but, truthfully, nothing has been accomplished in that time anyway.
Today, however, we started talking about what the living room should look like. I asked her to start thinking of inspiration and what she wants the room to function as. Hopefully she'll have some answers for me tomorrow!

And now...
http://designedinteriors.tumblr.com/
It's kind of ridiculous how in love I am with this blog. IN LOVE.

Also, a tip!
When arranging any room, think about what you want it to function as and what you want the focal point to be. An easy example: for a living room, do you want the TV to be the center of the room? The fireplace? Maybe you'll use it for social gatherings and you want the majority of the seating to face each other.

Learning Curve

Although I supposedly learn something new everyday, today I actually sought out some novel knowledge. My acquaintance (and maybe even friend?) Ben Davis agreed to teach me how to use my way-too-amazing-and-under-used camera. The pictures I'm about to post were taken before those lessons, however, so don't judge them too harshly!
First: Dr Bowe's newly decorated office!

The pictures I helped put up. (I'll take credit for the top, right being a tiny bit off.)

I love the top of these bookshelves. The candles and boxes and plant and the pictures are genius. I wish I could take credit for this. 

Dr. Bowe hard at work as I stealthily take pictures. 

And Second: We wandered into a furniture store today, that I've already forgotten the name of, and I fell in love with this day-bed-sofa. I wanted to bring it home so badly.

Hopefully, tomorrow, I can get a hold of one or more of the big decision makers on what happens in the living room! I still haven't set a date for Living Arts College- Need to get on that!