Geometric Patterns: A fabulous trend AND a Homegoods giveaway

Today we're celebrating our 100th post with a Homegoods picture frame giveaway! First of all, thank you. Thank you for following us and reading our crazy posts and commenting and encouraging us! We REALLY appreciate it and are enjoying all our friends, old and new!

We thought we'd mark this milestone by celebrating one of 2013's hottest home decor trends--geometric patterns. 

In all of our mad home decor shopping, we were at Homegoods this week and couldn't help but notice that geometric patterns were every way we turned! 

Look at this fab interlocking chainlink chair! 

At $249, that's a steal.

There were towels, 

and a ton of sheets!

Country Living even has this DIY tutorial  for dressing up a plain, round mirror! 

Phillip Jefferies Chain Wallpaper...if you're brave enough!

And, it comes in NAVY!!

If you're loving the chainlink but can't commit to wallpaper, try a stencil like this one.

Today we're linking up with Liz Marie, a fellow North Carolinian and super-DIYer. Swing on over and check out all the goodies from across the blogosphere.

Last but not least, here's how to enter our giveaway for the cool HomeGoods frame:

We're trying out a new way to enter our contest. We're *hoping* it's super easy; you'll have to let us know! There are multiple ways to enter so get clicking! The contest closes at midnight, July 3. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kitchen Botox- Crisp, clean ceramic tile

When the full face-lift is too much, try a little botox on the situation.

These homeowners needed just that--a little freshening. Their kitchen got an updated new look. Here's a kitchen that our expert tilers spruced up over the weekend! 

Ceramic tile is an excellent choice for durability and longevity, is impervious to moisture, can withstand hot and cold, doesn't rust and is rigid and durable. Sounds like the perfect material for kitchens and bathrooms; especially floors!

Home Depot Lamosa Ceramic Tile, Beige 12 x 12.

Can we see that before picture one more time?

It's a neat little kitchen, it just needed a little upgrade.

 It has to get worse before it can get better. Here, the vinyl was removed and the floor prepped.

Our installers like to use a commercial grade under-layment that creates a barrier between the tile and the sub floor. This prevents cracks in the concrete slab from causing the tile to crack. This client isn't going to have to worry about any cracked tiles. It's an extra step that will pay off in the long run. As they say, the devil is in the details.

It's not quite as pretty without the grout, but still a major improvement.

Could your kitchen or bathroom use some freshening? We'd be happy to give you a consultation and estimate. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Today we're linking up with The House of Hepworths. Head on over there and check out all the neat ideas being linked up!

                                                

Off to work-A home office to inspire!

We were recently invited to help a couple make their home office work as hard as they do. The space was one of the first things you see when you come in the front door so it has to be fabulous AND functional. They definitely called the right folks! The homeowners felt like they could implement the plan themselves but just needed a little help getting started. They chose our most popular package, where we design the room and you take the steps we suggest and make it happen.

Let's look at the "before". You can see we had a large room with great bones: hardwood floors, decorative molding and two windows.

The homeowners had a few inspiration pics that helped guide the design.

Calm, cool colors of soft gray-blue, with pops of teal.

   

                           

They also wanted to incorporate these prints into the design:

While working on a project for another client, we were inspired by this model home! We really liked the chairs in front of the windows. 

 

Without further ado, here is the proposed layout:

And, a close-up of the back wall area:

 Some of the elements included in the design:

It all starts with a fresh coat of paint. If you have $30, you can paint. It will change your life. OK, I *may* exaggerate. But, it's the single most impactful thing you can do for a space. For these clients we chose Sherwin Williams Rock Candy. We discovered this fab paint while working on Catherine's new home.

Once you've painted, start from the bottom and go up. This rug will come in next to ground the space and give it a cozy feel. 

Mirrors flanking the message board over credenza. These were added because the room doesn't get a ton of natural light. The mirrors will reflect the light that is coming into the room to brighten the space.

Another infusion of light on the back wall is this geometric beauty. This exact lamp was pretty pricy but our goal was the overall look of the lamp. This style is on trend right now so it shouldn't be too hard to find a more "frugal" version.

Centered on the back wall is this credenza from Craigslist. Our suggestion is to have it lacquered for a modern look with a vintage vibe.

Since this will be a his and hers office, two work spaces are needed. While a long desk with two spots for working is popular,  we didn't want them facing the wall (read: Jacki insisted they will NOT face the wall). This L-shaped desk configuration is fabulous, functional and it's IKEA so you know it's frugal.

Drawer bases on either end of the desk for storage. 

Trestle desk leg in the center of the structure for added design interest. 

For additional storage and display space, several of these floating shelves above the desk will work nicely. The magazine holders (as seen in one of the inspiration pics) bring a clean, organized feel to the space.

Now for that pop of color...accessories!!

Of course we must "treat" the windows. With geometric patterns in other places in the room, a solid panel will do nicely!

Another way to have light bounce: clear, glass finials on the curtain rod.

The original plan called for two of these in front of the window. BONUS: They were in like new condition on craigslist. Unfortunately, some other lucky duck got to them before we did. Fortunately, Jacki is an internet troll guru and she found them on overstock. Not for the seriously discounted price but with the same, great style!

And, every room needs a fab light! I love this modern find from Home Depot.

Last, but not least... we suggested a french door for the opening. Without blocking any natural light, it keeps the kiddos corralled. 

We can't wait to see this design implemented. It is going to be fabulous!!! What do you think?

You may have noticed something like this on the side of our blog:

It's a new way we're trying to spread the word about our little design shop and blog. We would really appreciate it if you would click on it. One click = one vote and you can vote once/day! The more votes we have, the more prominently our blog is displayed on their site. So, vote today and tomorrow and the next day too!

Today we're linking up with the The Time Warp Wife. 

A New Space to Decorate!

TGIF people! T-G-I-F! I'm happy the weekend is here! Well, almost. Hubby is on his way home from a week long business trip and I am SO ready to "let him spend some quality time with his kids". Not to mention I kinda missed him too!

Before too much time passes I want you all to know that while we are homeless today, we have a home in the works! We sold our beautiful-yet-way-too-big-for-us home earlier this month and are spending the summer at my parents' lake house.

Um, yea. This.is.not.hard.

Now before you start feeling too sorry for me, I will tell you our "homeless lake adventure" will come to a screeching halt when school starts at the beginning of August. Hopefully our new home will be finished and I can feed my kids something other than pop tarts from the back of the mini-van on their first day of school!

As you can imagine, I have approximately 4,327 ideas swirling in my head on how I'm going to decorate the new place! I keep trying to talk to Jacki about my plans but she keeps droning on about the paying customers--how rude! Equally unfortunate...I am fresh out of storage space so I'm pinning ideas like crazy and saving my pennies. Of course I sold a bunch of stuff on craigslist so I've padded the home decor budget nicely. And, as soon as I unload the three storage units we have, I will sell some more stuff.

While I will be reusing a lot of my stuff, we will need some new goodies because we are moving from a house with 10-foot ceilings to a house with 9-foot ceilings. And as we said earlier, decorating for 10 foot ceilings is a horse of a different color than decorating for 8 or 9 foot ceilings.

We ended up making an offer when the window for making changes to finishes and options was just about to close. LUCKY ME! So, I did get to make a few changes. As the summer progresses, I'll go through room by room and dish the deets on what is already in place and my tentative plans for the spaces.

For now, here is the floorplan:

FIRST FLOOR HIGHLIGHTS:

• I'm very excited about that kitchen island. It is 8 feet long. I.love.it.
• The screened porch is my new BFF.
• And, I'm pretty stoked to have a dedicated space for a "mud room" (called the key drop below). I macgyver'd it in our last house.
• Although it says dining room, it will be an office SINCE I'M NEVER HAVING ANOTHER DINING ROOM AS LONG AS I LIVE.

SECOND FLOOR HIGHLIGHTS:

• I'm going to miss my first floor master dearly.
• The master bedroom is ALOT smaller than my last master so I'll be ditching ALL my old bedroom furniture for an upholstered headboard. 

Third floor:

This space will be unfinished when we move in but we plan on finishing it soon so my hubby can have his office up there.

So there you have it. Stay tuned for all my diabolical decorating plans....MWAHAHA!!! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

We're linking up with Liz Marie, Recreate & Decorate, What's Shakin and The Dedicated House today.

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