Framed Fabric

Like I have said in my previous posts, I love to decorate and I love the challenge of doing so on a budget.  There are times when I think you have to splurge- on a nice sofa or durable hardware-etc. On any given Tuesday you can find me at one of Atlanta's Homegoods stores. There are six I can get to if I have an entire day. The employees at all of these stores know me-which is funny-but I am not embarrassed that I like to save money. I like to hit up discount stores, flea markets, you name it.  Earlier this week I went to the clearance section of one of my favorite fabric stores and died when I found 6 yards of this John Robshaw fabric for close to $30.

We have already made drapery for a nursery out of this fabric and we paid a lot more than $30. So I was super excited! What are we using it for now? Well, above the dresser in this room is a large blank space. I have been racking my brain trying to think of an inexpensive way to fill that space. I also need to note we had a custom elephant made from the talented Ridley Stallings to go over the crib-so I really didn't want to steal the spotlight from it. So, when I found this fabric I was ecstatic and knew what to do. We will frame it! There are so many ways to go about this and it really is a money saver. Especially if there is a fabric you just love but it doesn't fit in your budget- just order one yard of it and frame it for a unique piece of art. Here are several ways you can hang leftover or extra pieces of fabric:

all images via houzz

Harbour Kitchen

I first wrote last week about my largest project to date, the beautiful home of Diana and Josh Harbour right outside of Athens, Georgia. Diana and Josh bought the house several months ago, and we have been hard at work ever since. We don't know much about the former owner of their home. We do; however, know a few things. First, I have to give credit where credit is due. The former owner is a contractor, and to his credit, he is responsible for  the stunning exterior and many of the unique and luxurious touches found throughout the home. It is also abundantly clear this gentleman was quite the UGA fan (it is also quite possible he was colorblind). But seriously, to say that he was a UGA fan is probably a bit of an understatement. Even his kitchen bled red and black. The kitchen has so many beautiful details, but they were hidden by a jarring deep red wall color and in true "Dawgs" style, the kitchen was made even darker by black countertops and other black elements throughout. Don't get me wrong, I love the Dawgs-I'm a Georgia graduate myself-but I think we can all agree he may have taken it a bit too far here. Nor am I firmly against black countertops, but with all of it's beautiful windows, natural light and the potential lay underneath all of that red and black, we just needed to brighten up the space so it could really shine as a centerpiece of the home. 

Here are a few pictures from my first visit:

Diana's favorite color is orange but she also loves Tiffany blue. You'll later see how the kitchen flows with the living room (where we are using a lot of fun orange).  In here we kept it a little more neutral with pops of blue. Here is the mood board for her kitchen:

Diana and I both like to spend money, but we like to save money even more. So during Wisteria's Spring sale we bought these chairs for half off and went on from there.

How beautiful are the island lights from Currey and Company?

And I am dying over this Arteriors chandelier:

The herringbone tile Diana selected herself ( and is not the exact one pictured in the moodboard). She also went with a little lighter of a granite counter. Here are a few progress pictures. Keep in mind these are taken with an Iphone and aren't the best quality. We still have some work to do in this room.

First step- Paint! We used Valspar La Fonda Mirage on the island, Bistro White on the walls and Snowy Dusk on the cabinets.

Next were the new countertops and lighting:

Drapery Installation:

We are waiting on the new table from Restoration Hardware -should be in any day! Also, we have a contractor building a custom banquette along the window. Here are the fabrics for that:

I hope you enjoyed! Ill be back soon with more updates!

Peppa Pig Birthday

Before I ever had the opportunity to design an interior space, I was designing parties. I helped design parties in high school, for my sorority in college, and I look forward to designing my daughters' birthday parties each year. Though it isn't exactly interior design, party design can be really great practice for designing a more permanent, interior space. You get to experiment with color, themes, and materials. Designing a party requires all the planning, coordinating and visualizing it takes to design a room. Plus, you get to go a little nuts! I am quite certain I will never find a client who will let me design a room in a cartoon-pig motif (but if you are out there, give me a call!)

My oldest, Mary Jennings, is obsessed with the british cartoon Peppa Pig. When it was time to plan her 3rd birthday there were no questions as to what the them would be. We watch Peppa everyday-and I actually enjoy it too. The characters make me so happy. Fortunately for me, Peppa party supplies are hard to come by in the states, so I got to really put my own spin on this party for MJ, and create a totally unique experience for her and our guests. Please enjoy!

It all started with our Peppa invite from Grammarcy. Lindsey is the best -shes super talented and can do anything and everything!

I bought two large pieces of foam core board and started painting away for the backdrop. 

 All of the popcorn boxes, tags etc I bought off Etsy from Sugar Tree Press. They were so easy to work everything turned out super cute!

The Ferris Wheel and a few other decorations were from Meri Meri. My husband and I were really impressed with the quality and pricing. 

The little doll house is from Target

I bought red lanterns from Party City and just hot glued stems and leaves to make them apples. If you watch Peppa-she lives near apple orchards.

I made the banner myself out of card stock- I used to do a lot of children's paintings before I started interior design-which I still love to do-So if you are interested please email me!

 I worked with Jill McMullen from Dreams and Buttercream to create the Peppa Cake. Isn't her work incredible?!

Jill made the cupcakes and the toppers are from Sugar Tree Press.

Cookies (also made by Jill)

The colorful baskets are from Target and so are the "raindrops".

Peppas favorite activity is jumping in muddy puddles and looking for wiggly worms. I made brownies and kind of squished them in jars with sprinkles and candy worms and ordered mini umbrellas off of Amazon.

The cute pink umbrellas also came from Amazon.

Peppas friends- Suzy Sheep, Zoey Zebra, Pedro Pony, Emily Elephant, Richard Rabbit and Danny Dog were drawn and painted by me. My wonderful husband spent long hours cutting them out with an X-Acto knife and attaching stakes to them so they would stand up.

We bought this Polaroid-like camera from Urban Outfitters and also the fun film with colors that matched the party decor.

I spent a lot of time on this photo booth. My original plan was to paint the entire thing-but with a 1 and 3 year old who were so eager to help (mess it up) I just didn't have time. So I ended up finishing it off with card stock.

Tablecloths, glitter boxes and party hats all from Target-I just ordered stickers from Sugar Tree Press to attach. Save a lot of $$.

I think she was a happy little girl!

Until the "real" Peppa Pig showed up. Turns out you shouldn't have a mascot at a three year old birthday party-They all screamed and ran! Also-let me know if you are interested in buying this Peppa costume! :)

Ro-Sham-Beautiful

Wow. I came across this company a few months ago but haven't navigated their site until today. Amazing. A designer's dream- I am always envisioning what type of light I would like to use in each space-but Ro-Sham-Beaux lets me create my own. And I can do it with good conscience-the beads are made from recycled glass. Look at all the fun colors!

You can also pick your hardware- Chrome or Brass. Here are a few of my favorite styles: