Anything But Boring. Great Bathroom Designs

I am sick of boring bathrooms- actually I am sick of boring everything.  You all know I encourage the personalized, original, inspired, unique.  This has nothing to do with style- I just want individualized anything.  The bathroom is a particularly fun place to design, you can do a lot without getting sick of it- you're only in there for a minute or two.  Think of it as a little jewel box.
Check out these interesting spaces:















Apartment therapy
Notice that many of the bathrooms (not all) used simple classic plumbing fixtures and then added character that could be changed without calling the plumber or costly construction.

Porch drapes

Of course as the weather improves here in New England my mind dreams of outside.  I am obsessing over porch drapes and trellises with climbing roses.  Truth be told I have not given much thought to porch drapes until now.  Sunbrella makes some absolutely fabulous outdoor fabrics that really hold up to color bleaching by the sun and mold.  In years past when the sun was too intense on my front porch I just repositioned.  But I just bought 18 yards of black and white awning stripe sunbrella fabric for a great price on eBay.  I have always loved how fabric softened interior architecture.  Now I am going to try exterior drapes, no longer will I have to move when the sun is too bright.  And honestly, the exterior of my house can use all the decoration it can get- we are talking ugly ugly ugly!!!

I think drapes do such a great job of softening and lending an elegance to the outdoor spaces.

When the weather cooperates the porch can be like a seasonal addition to your house.  We literally live on ours.  I am out there reading even when it’s slightly chilly- that's what throws are for.  I have to admit, I'm out there even in my pajamas (they are kinda cute- matching at least)

I would show you before and after of my porch decoration but as I’ve said in the past I don’t want to stain your brain with the current house ugliness, so these pictures can be place holders in your mind of what it will look like someday.

The Big Reveal!

So here it is, my daughter Tyber is 10 years old – wow, the big double digit!  I think you all may remember (from Monday) the picture of Tyber’s old room.  Here it is below:

So girlie!!!  Well my girlie girl got a new room redo for her 10th birthday.  She asked for tonal cream and white with accents of silver.  She wanted traditional mixed with contemporary and a little ethnic for good measure.  This is what she got today:

Charli and Bella have a new hang out place!

It’s so much better then our room my husband Kevin is threatening to move in - maybe this will be the new punishment to pull out when bad behavior is looming.

Let’s talk Yellow

Yellow is the color of the sun, of flowers, of happiness!  Also last year’s color of the year from Pantone (it’s ok to be “sooooooooooo last year”) When we lived in our last house my kitchen walls were the best color deep yellow with a hint of red in it.  The adjoining family room was painted a great chocolate brown with chunky white molding, and that great yellow reappeared on the ceiling- very dramatic and totally fabulous (yes the ceilings were very high) This color yellow made me happy everyday just looking at it.  
In this new house (3 years we’ve been here- still new???) I decided I wanted to be void of color and actually go beige and cream- serene, tranquil, and organic, a basic neutral pallet that could change like a chameleon with different accessories whenever I was inspired.  Maybe by that time I had done dozens of houses in every color and the colors reminded me of other people’s houses and clients no matter how dear. Like when a school teacher gives birth to her first child and

can’t find a name that doesn’t belong to one of her students past and present.
What was I thinking?  I am not a beige person, I appreciate it in hotels, in other people’s houses- oh hell I have designed completely beige houses that have been so totally terrific.  But I cannot live without color- me – beige- I don’t think so.  I started itching to change the beige blank slate to a happy yellow blank slate even while my beige drapes were being installed.  Now I have another use for the beige fabric and so I’m going yellow- not just any yellow, but that deep rich yellow that’s not mustard but still a deep yellow with a tad of red.   Why couldn’t yellow be used as a neutral- well it can!  In our fashion lives denim blue is a neutral, no one goes out in all color matched denim- it just goes with anything.  So will my yellow! Check out my inspiration: