One Room Challenge: Week 6.... the finale.

Time's up! Put your pencils down.

Thanks to Linda for hosting this party and inviting me to link up! Thanks to my fantastic clients and Andrew Lam Photography for putting up with all this craziness!!

If you missed previous weeks you can start here.

And here's where we are at the six-week mark.
Not done... but almost there:)

 

 

Hold it. Let's stop and take a look at the Before images before I carry on.

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, now here's the after.

NOW KEEP IN MIND NO NEW FURNITRE WAS PURCHASED!! It can be done people on a tight budget. We don't need to thow everything out and start over now do we???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it's about 80% there. To quote my client "the last 10% of this remodel is taking longer than the first 90%."  So true. Remember that anytime you take on a design project--it's the little details that take the longest.

 

So, what's missing?

 

This light

 

 

Well, she's arriving fashionably late .... sometime in November

UPDATE ****** LIGHT HUNG

Still missing
Rug 

Artwork
New floor lamps

 Final styling and editing

 

Sources - only 6 weeks to pull this room together?
Right off the floor my friends from ....

 

Benjamin Moore - paint color is Hale Navy

Table, console, all chairs, bench - clients own

Large rectangular mirror - clients own
Lamps- clients own
Cubes - clients own, custom fabric available from SKD

Striped chairs - clients own,  fabric available from SKD
(see not bad for not buying any new furniture from this room)
 

Gold Bowls and boxwood - Willow, Haverford, PA

Wheat Sheaf Sconces - High Street Market

White monogram box - C Wonder

Pillows - navy C Wonder similar here, pink geometric - custom by SKD

Navy and white plates - Crate and Barrel

Blue and white vases - Wisteria

White vases - Home Goods

Gold Bowls - Home Goods

Round mirror - clients own

Sunburst mirror - Vintage Home, Paoli PA

Moroccan shaped mirror - Bed Bath and Beyond

Window Treatments - custom by SKD

Now go and check out these other talented people who participated here!!

oh ---and another BIG shout out to Stephanie Shaw of Stephanie Shaw Designs.... thanks for your collaboration, input and letting me hang around your talented self:)

Don't forget to pin anything you like, follow me on Instagram and share on  Facebook or even sign up for my post via email on the upper RH corner of this page!!

 If your interested in my design services shoot me an email at kraussteph@yahoo.com!

Thanks for reading!! xoxo




 

 

Summer rooms and three simple design solutions!

House of Turquoise

source

ssource

 

pinterest

apartment therapy
 

"I  think of  summers of the past, adjust the base and let the alpine blast. Pop in my cd and let me run a rhyme. And put your car on cruise and lay back cause this is summertime" --DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

 

Are you feelin' the summer vibe here?

How can you make your home feel more "summery"?

Try adding more bright white, crisp navy and soft colors throughout your home.

Here's a few summer must-haves:

Furbish Art

Joy & Revelry

Peeps you have to join Joy and Revelry flash sale website!!
These designers/bloggers know their stuff and sell the best items for your home:).



Serena & Lily throw

High Street Market

West Elm

Serena & Lily

Lulu & Georgia pouf
 

Anthropologie book

Lulu & Georgia rug


 

Lulu & Georgia rug



Potterybarn

Okay today I'm spilling the beans...

Guess what three items I will not and can not live without?

3M Command Strips

amazon

Are you still hanging art with a hammer and nails?

That's just crazy talk. You need to try command strips they securely hold large pictures, lightweight mirrors, art canvases and pretty much anything you need to hang on the wall.

I LOVE them. Let me say that again. I LOVE them.

No stress or pressure about hanging something and damaging a wall or changing my mind a week later ... just pull off the velcro strips no problem. But please read the directions and I wouldn't hang anything crazy heavy with  them either. You can read more about them here.

Crazy Awesome Rug Pad

overstock
 

In my opinion,  this is the perfect rug pad. Not too thick not too thin, holds onto that rug like it's his job. Perfect and reasonably priced.

And for the Outdoor Room?
Six plants that repel mosquitoes

Oh yeah ....  it's summer.  I don't know about you but mosquitoes love me. I can't go outside without coming back in with at least ten new bites. The solution? Plant flowers that mosquitoes hate!

So I'll be planting these babies this summer on my deck and I'll let you know if it works:)

Lavender
Lemon Balm
Marigolds
Basil
Catnip
Citronella Grass
You can read the article here. I found it on my local gardening supply website Keystone Gardens.

How do you get your house summer-ready? I'd love to know!

Want to make your house feel more summer-like? contact me at kraussteph@yahoo.com


 

How to Style a Coffee Table With Four Simple and Meaningful Elements

stylemepretty.com

I'm going to make this super easy and give you a quick formula for a stylish table all of your friends will envy.

You'll need four elements of varying height, shape and texture such as:

 

1) "Meaningful to you" Coffee Table Books

2)  Fun Tray

3)  Fresh Flowers/Greens

4)  Sculptural elements, knick-knacks, etc.

 

I have styled many a coffee table in my day but I'll be honest all I have on my table right now is a tray and a topiary.

Why?

Funny you should ask. Remember this guy?



And, yes, he is about to eat a sand-covered crab

Code Name: Pig-Pen, Master of Disaster, Bam-bam

His mission: To have as much fun during waking hours as possible -- Good for him. We should all live life like this!!

Result:  Life's one big partay!

Until something breaks.

Which it does

Often.

 

So if you're like me and still have little ones a tray and something unbreakable may be the best style solution for you and your coffee table right now.

 

But a girl can dream can't she? ... so here's my no fail formula for stylin' and profilin' your table. I'll admit I'm jelly of all you gals out there with beautifully styled tables!

Here's what you'll need ...

 

#1

Coffee Table Books



 

I try to use books that have special meaning to me in addition to pretty books that go with my décor. I know we've discussed how your home is a reflection of you and your family. Try to be as authentic as you can when you decorate!

 

I wrote about some of my coffee table faves here. I buy books at my local bookstore but if I'm trying to keep costs down or if I'm in a jam I shop at Amazon. Or I scope out my local Barnes and Noble for bargain coffee table books.

 

Here's a few I found recently that "speak" to me:

 

Because I Love Roses

 

 We love to visit this city
 

This is where my great-grandparents were born

This would be great for my brother-in-law

 

I am speechless when it comes to Adele's attitude, beauty and talent

ADELE

 

For Mad Men lovers

 

You feel me? Are you pickin' up what I'm puttin' down? Don't just use pretty books include books that are meaningful and fun in the mix.

If you want a real conversation starter how 'bout this one?

 

Jonathan Adler

People, you can't make this stuff up ...

 

Moving on. 

Some other pretties: 

 

 

here

here

Once I have my books I stack them in three's placing the largest one on the bottom. Some tables are so large that you can have several stacks on top and bottom. 

 

indulgy.com

 

source

 

You can coordinate book

colors with your decor or mix them up. Also to save $$ take the covers off some of the hardback books you already own. I'll bet they can work too!

#2

Trays

Next to my books I typically place a tray. I wrote about a few of my favorite trays here. You can make your tray more personal by having it monogrammed.

 

 





source?

Additional tray sources:

iomoi see below for source
 



 



iomoi source here for all sizes!

acrylic tray here


 

 on the tray I place more books and/or ...

 

 #3

Your Favorite Flowers/Greens/Branches

 

Real or fresh work best. If that's not happening I like to have preserved boxwoods or faux flowers that look so real you'd never know. This is a great place to add height to the vignette your putting together -- see below.

 French-gray.com

 

AND then...

#4

Sculptural elements or knick-knacks
 

 

These items can sit on the stack of books or on your tray. If you haven't added any height to you table scape now is the time. I wrote about these elements here.

 

jonathan adler

 

Oh my god - I have been looking everywhere for a brass banana.



 

jonathan adler





brass urchin at high street market

High Street Market

House Beautiful, obviously:)

design manifest 

So there you have it. Hope it was helpful;:)

 

I also hope to see you at the West Elm grand opening in KOP on Wednesday night May 15th at 6:30 pm. I wrote about that here!