My Clients' Family Room Before & After

I'm so excited to share some of my professionally photographed work with you today!!  There is such a difference between photos I've taken myself to photos that have been shot by a talented professional.  (I love my photographer, Helen Norman!!!)  The past year has been crazy for me with the birth of my third son, moving and a busy life in general so I've been really behind on having my finished projects photographed.  As you can see from the "before" photo below, I first met with my clients over a year ago around Christmas time:

{unflattering pregnant photo of me with my sweet little friend}

Their family room is just off of their kitchen and is a beautifully sunlit, large, happy-feeling space.  My clients wanted a room that felt both relaxed & elegant.  They needed the kids to be able to flop on the sofa and play, read or watch TV in the room, but they also wanted it to feel like an adult space too, where they could entertain and relax.  My client's style is warm and classic, she loves blues and soft colors, and wanted to get away from the reds and golds she'd had previously.  When I presented my client with the design, I realized how receptive she was.  (I'm not positive, but I don't think we changed even a single element besides a discontinued lamp pair!)  Here's how the finished family room looks:

We replaced the wall-to-wall carpet with hardwood to match the rest of the home and added built-ins around the fireplace.  (Work by CarrMichael Construction)  The TV is mounted in a large cubby.  My clients have a formal living room and since one of the main functions in the family room is TV-watching, we decided to keep it exposed.  We had a seagrass rug custom cut to fit the room and layered it with a striped wool dhurrie.  We had the built-ins lined in a blue grass cloth which really warmed up the room and is probably one of my favorite elements:

Like usual, we used a mix of metals to keep the family room feeling more collected and casual vs. perfectly matched.  

Here's a close-up of the built-ins:

Below is the view of the family room into the kitchen:

We couldn't resist taking one of the photos with my client and one of her (completely adorable!!) daughters in the background.  They'd gone into the kitchen for a cup of milk and it was too perfect.  As you've probably noticed, one of the biggest changes was replacing the ceiling fan with an oversized lantern over the coffee table.  When large pieces like a massive lantern go in, it can often be a bit of a shock to clients but they took it in stride.  

Believe it or not, one of the most "off" elements in the room's plan - which you'd never know now- is one of the pillows on the sofa.  It's a blockprint by Michael Smith with mustard-colored flowers.  When you look at the fabric palette, it stands out as very "dirty" and orangey-yellow compared to everything else, but I felt we needed it to relax things a little and wander a bit off the palette.  My client of course was surprised by it's left-fieldedness but I asked her to "trust me" on this one, and I'm so glad she did because it's one of her favorite fabrics in the room.

Here's a view of the prints we hung, which feature oak leaves and are special to my clients because our area is  filled with oak trees. The massive chair-and-a-half is one of the only good-looking chair-and-a-halves I've ever found because it looks a bit more like a settee and has slim elegant English arms.  My client absolutely loves it.  She's commandeered the chair-and-a-half while the kids wrestle for the pair of ikat chairs in front of the windows.  (above)

I hope you enjoyed getting a peek into my clients' home and I'm so thankful to them for allowing me to help them.  Here's one last pic:

(Little House on the Prairie  is playing on the TV,  I've always wanted to have a picture taken of a project room with the TV on.  ;) ;)

*The professional photos in this post were by Helen Norman and the others/ close-ups were taken by me on my iphone.  (I'm mentioning this because I want you to know Helen took the perfect pictures and I took the bad ones. hahah)
If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Home Sweet Home #111

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home!   This week for St. Patrick's Day I made Shepherd's Pie.

I had a Spring Tea and found a wonderful gluten/flour free muffin recipe that tasted like cake!

I showed you how to Get Your Store Bought Roses to Bloom.  It works like a charm!

 I would like to highlight a sponsor.  Vision Blinds is a family business that has been operating in the UK for over 100 years.  They supply the finest quality window blinds, awnings, and conservatory blinds.  They also have a line of  Perfect Fit blinds by Louvolite® and cane furniture.  Visit this sponsor to take care of your window fashion needs.

Now, I would like to feature some of the great blogger's post that caught my eye from last week's Home Sweet Home. 

Cindy at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home had her front porch refaced with stone and it was beautiful!  

Linda at The French Hen's Nest showed off her place setting for 12 of Masons Vista that was given to her by a dear friend.  I just drool looking at it!

 Julie at The Vintage Barn showed off a little buffet she painted in a butter color.  I just love this color!

Jody and Stan of Rooted in Thyme showed off a dollhouse that got a magical spring makeover!

Tammy at A Primitive Place showed off a galvanized bucket she restyled and placed on a scale.

So many great post each week and so many talented people!   It is really hard to feature a few!  Thank you to everyone who joins me at Home Sweet Home!  It is wonderful to have you here! 

Sherry

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I will join these ladies today:
Be Inspired Friday at Common Ground 

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Home and Garden Thursday  at A Delightsome Life 
G' Day Saturday at Natasha in Oz 

Guidelines for Home Sweet Home Party:

Attention: To link up you must have a permalink back to this party in your post or you won't be featured.

Link up anything in your home or garden.  I love seeing neat shops too!

My button is on my sidebar for the party, if you want to use it.   If you are new here I hope you will become a follower. Please don't link up more than two posts.  No Etsy link ups or direct advertising, please.  Please visit some of the other blogs and get some great inspiration.  Thanks.:)

Now let's see your beautiful homes, delicious recipes, crafts, or whatever makes your home special!

 *If you are pinning a post submitted here, please pin from the original site. 

The Eco Natural Soap Winner Is...

The winner of the Eco Natural Soap Giveaway is bjn1957.  Congratulations to you!  Thank you to all who entered!  If you did not win but would like to try their products just use the coupon code below.  You may use as many times as you like! 

Coupon Code is: TCOH15324 

This is for 15% off of any order over $10.00 and can be used as many times as you like. It includes all products except the Wrinkle Relief.  The coupon code is valid through Sunday March 24th.

Sherry

Visit Me Over at La Dolce Vita & The Roses

Today I'm over at La Dolce Vita blogging about my favorite room in our old home (none are finished here yet!!) and if you have the chance, I'd love it if you visited!!  Paloma was one of my fist "blog" friends and she's just as kind & gorgeous in person as she is on her blog.  Click here to read about my favorite room: La Dolce Vita 

Also- we've finished with our crazy 2 days of photo shoots and it's time to exhale... until three weeks from now when we have more.  For right now, though, I'm getting back to a "normal" pace of life/ work and am trying to kick it back into gear.  (I.e. I'm fried!!! ;) ;)  I thought you'd enjoy this picture I snapped on my phone of my nightstand right now though...

...These beauties smell like pure Heaven and do remind me to slow down because there's no way to walk by them without smelling them. Enjoy your day!!



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Get Your Store Bought Roses to Bloom

Have you ever brought home store bought roses and had them sort of wilt and fall over?  They never bloom or look pretty.  I used to have that problem all of the time.  It didn't matter what additive I put in the water or how much I changed the water, they just wilted and died without a beautiful bloom ever evolving.  By accident and because of blogging I discovered the secret to getting any rose to bloom beautifully. 

I bought roses from the grocery and would bring them home, usually at night.  I would want to preserve the bloom so I could take pictures of them the next day for the blog so I would put them in the refrigerator overnight.  I would first cut them to the desired length and put the additive in the water.  Then I placed the whole bouquet with vase in the refrigerator overnight.  When I would take them out the next day to take the pictures I would keep them out and they would bloom.  Beautifully!

I am not sure why this makes the roses bloom but, it works every time!  These yellow roses are a week old and still beautiful!

Sherry

I will link to;
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style 
Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff 

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove 

Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House

The Scoop Party at Cedar Hill Ranch  

Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Rooted in Thyme Simple and Sweet Fridays
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits at Stonegable 
Transformed Tuesdays at PJH Designs

Spring Tea '13

You know when to prune your roses right?  When the forsythia blooms.  Our forsythia has not bloomed yet.  It is still trying to snow here this week!  Soon, spring will come soon!

I am very excited about these gluten/flour free muffins!  They taste like cake to me because I haven't eaten any cake in maybe two years.  So, I was excited to find this recipe that was so similar to a cake that I could eat.  Unlike flour, I dare you to try to over eat these!  They are made of mainly eggs and coconut flour and they are so full of protein you will be full for awhile after eating them.  A perfect breakfast muffin because they will keep you full till lunch.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup honey

1 lemon, juice and zest

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Whisk  the eggs, coconut oil, pure vanilla extract, honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a large mixing bowl.  Sift the coconut flour, salt, and baking soda and stir until well combined.  gently fold in the blueberries.  

Line your muffin pan with natural parchment muffin papers.  (The printed ones from Wilton will stick to your muffins).  Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter into each lined muffin cup and bake for 26 minutes.  You can stick a toothpick in them just like regular cake to test if they are done.
Yield; 12 muffins
 * To make Strawberry Lemon Muffins just replace the blueberries with 1 cup of fresh strawberries chopped up into small pieces. 

I was so happy with this recipe that I also made it in strawberry.  They were even sweeter than the blueberry muffins.  Love them!

Sherry
I will link this to:

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage 

A Return to Loveliness  at A Delightsome Life

Table Top Tuesday  at A Stroll Thru Life

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm 

Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff 

Homemaking Linkup at Hope In Every Season 

Finding the Pretty & Delicious Linky at Your Home Based Mom  

On the Menu Monday at Stonegable 
Rooted in Thyme Simple and Sweet Fridays
A Pinteresting Party  at Tutus & Tea Parties

Whole Foods Wednesday at Whole Lifestyle Nutrition 
Waste Not Want Not Wednesday at Poor and Gluten Free 
Share the Shelter at A Sheltering Tree

Photo shoot: A special project & the Truth Behind Photoshoots

One of my favorite aspects of decorating houses is photographing them.  Something about taking photos makes the project feel fully realized.  Bringing flowers in and primping a house for photos so that it looks its best = so much fun... and a TON of work.

 {Living Room Pic}

During photo shoots, things often get rearranged and I often bring in flowers, plants, furnishings and props.  It's a bit like an install day except the client is the camera and anyone who will see the photos (like you all and any potential clients! ;)  I have some clients' whose homes I fully accessorize and style on installation day so on photoshoot days, we come in a pretty much just shoot (with flowers) and I have other homes where we're really making some changes.  (When Better Homes & Gardens photographed my house, they hid light fixtures, took out rugs, brought in rugs, lots of accessories and even furniture!!  I remember being shocked but I've adopted a similar method in certain projects of mine so that I can show my work in its best light.  I realized that magazines have a "look" that they can bring to any home they photograph, just as I have  "look" that I can bring to any home I have photographed and that if I want to bring in the type of clients who love my style, I need to show my style.)  

{The foyer chandy!!}

Having photos of your work taken is a big investment and so I make sure when I do it that I am photographing my clients' homes as I envision them.  My job is about about designing homes for my clients to love, not about designing homes that embody my personal style.  So...  often when I photograph projects, I'll put a little bit more "me" in the styling of the rooms so that potential clients can really  a feel for how I design rooms when I am the final decision maker. 

I would say my clients' styles are -for the most part- very different, but their projects all have a similar look that comes from me.   As I've been in business longer, I have more and more clients coming to me for my "look."  

{Taking pics!!}

I think this comes in part from seeing photographs of my finished work and trusting that they'll love what I can do for them. I have clients who have me fully accessorize their homes by playing with all of their existing accessories & artwork and adding in some new ones, and I have clients who - once the furnishings are in place- take their time and accessorize over time.  Both methods can yield beautiful results and I'll often  help clients with "tweaking" to get it all right.

{living room cocktail tables} 

The project we shot yesterday (and that I'm going to in less than an hour!!) is a really special one to me.  I've been working with my client for over three years now and I love her & her family.  She has been with me during my major learning curve years (haha maybe they all have!! ;) ;) and is still here now!! She's influenced the way I run my business and we've learned a lot together.  She has amazing taste, is super-involved in the design process and has a true passion for design and homes.

{the bedroom ottoman}
I can't even really describe how good it felt yesterday to take photos of this project that I've eat, slept and breathed for so long.  I am so incredibly thankful to my client who's taught me so much and who has trusted me over the years to help her create something so pretty.  (And honestly, it would have been beautiful with or without me, so I'm thankful I got to come along.)  Working with my client on her home for so long was really one of the most influential projects I've taken on, and my client's always going to be in my heart.  
wow.. Did you know you could get so emotional about a decorating project??! hahah  My husband will make fun of me later. ;)
I'm off for another day of shooting, so fingers crossed the clouds go away sometime!!


If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.