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Silhouette and Crate & Barrel winners!

It’s time to announce the lucky winners of the fantastic Amex/Crate and Barrel and Silhouette craft cutter giveaways!!

First of all, the winner of the Crate and Barrel $100 gift card is:

Susie of Shafer Living!

Secondly, the winner of the Silhouette is…drum roll puuhleeze…

April of Natural Nester!

 

Congrats ladies!!

Remember (I believe) you can still use the code “TDC123” at check out to get the fab discounts on a Silhouette if you didn’t win!

Go here again to see the deals and more info!

I’ll be back later with what is a bit of a pink, white and aqua Fourth of July disaster. :)

Fox News.com

Today on Fox News' imagazine, I was featured in an article about decorating for young families and also in another little slideshow/ article with photos & tips.  I was interviewed by Brooke Eaton of Fox News and she's a very sweet, savvy writer and can't thank her enough for the article.   I was a bit nervous to be interviewed, but it was a lot of fun and Brooke made me feel instantly at ease. 

The focus of the article was on decorating for young families, particularly those with kids.  As you know, I haven't given up the fight for a pretty house even though I have two little boys.  (Although at times it feels like a losing battle ;)  It's funny to see yourself quoted in an article and I had to laugh out loud when one of my quotes when asked about design tips for parents with young children was, "It's your life, not your kids'."  hahahah oh boy...  But as harsh as that may sound, (as far as decorating / designing in concerned ;) I believe it 100%.  Design a house that still feels adult/ beautiful by keeping kids' toys to a minimum and providing attractive, accessible storage for them.  Kids' toys can be in every room of the house without taking over.   A running joke in the family is that one of the first things you say to your newborn baby when he arrives is "welcome to our world."

BUT- All joking aside, we love our little dudes- we just think they should keep their primary-colored toys hidden ;) ;)




To read both articles go:
1) here (decorating for young families) and
2) here (for the Pure Style Home article/ slideshow.)

Paint Colors: In Photos vs 'Real Life'

I've gotten lots of emails asking for paint colors used in various rooms/ specific projects.  And I've been so terrible about answering them.  (I'm sorry!!)  My first excuse is that when I don't remember them off of the top of my head, I put off going down to where our paint is stored or opening a client's file and finding the name of color.  It ends up being one of those things that just gets pushed to the end of the list of things I mean to do... 

{Justin's nursery}

One of the rooms I never mentioned a paint color for was Justin's nursery.  I didn't do this on purpose (and never purposely withhold paint colors or sources) but the truth is that we used every last drop of the paint on the walls, ditched the empty gallon, and I don't remember the name of color!!!!  It was a crazy time for us and that's really all I can say.  If I got out the deck & went & matched it, I could figure it out, but my #2 reason/excuse for not being so dilligent about supplying paint colors (and the reason it gets pushed very low on the list of things 'to do') is because paint color look different in different spaces.  Light changes everything and although it will probably look close, it might not match exactly so the "perfect navy blue" in my house might be very different from the perfect navy in your house.  

I learned this lesson first-hand when I used this color as inspiration for my family room: 

{Design by Ruthie Sommers, photo by Don Freeman for House Beautiful}

When I got out the paint chip (Blue Seafoam by Benjamin Moore) it was so much more intense than it looked in the photos and I knew that it would look way darker on my walls than it did in the Ruthie Sommers house.  Here's a sample:

It was not what I wanted and I was shocked at how dark the swatch was.  I went a couple of shades lighter with a tad more yellow (in another brand- Freshaire Choice Color: "Midwest Springs") and got a very similar-looking color for my walls & exactly what I wanted:

{Our family room}

And here's the Ruthie Sommers room again for reference:

The paint swatches look very different when compared next to one another in person, but the wall colors in the photos of the rooms look really similar.  Photography, lighting, time of day, etc. all come into play when selecting a paint color and that's one of the reasons exact paint colors aren't very important to me when trying to duplicate the look of a room.  Knowing paint colors is useful for points of reference, but in the end, the color chosen on a wall needs to be specifically chosen for that room.    (I.e., knowing a paint color will get you close/ in the ballpark, but in the end go with what works best in your space.)  I can take a photo in a room of my house- morning, noon and night - and the color will look different in each photo.

I never mind getting questions about colors so of course keep them coming but if I don't answer you, please know that I've put it on my list of colors to check!!  Hope you had a great weekend & yay for summer!!!



Update-  Just to clarify:  I should mention that I don't do "trial & error" painting & you can train yourself to properly visualize the colors before they go up on the walls.  (Clearly trial and error would not work for clients, and it's years of experience and knowing how colors will look once they are actually painted on a wall as opposed to how they look on a sample that will get you the right color choices...  Because I knew how the Blue Seafoam sample would look if actually painted on my wall, I knew right away it wasn't the color for me.  What was shocking to me was how it translated in the photo...  As a much lighter color. :)  Hope that makes sense!     Check out Colour Me Happy for expert color advice & prefessional training!

Red, white and blue door decor!

Whew! I hope you had a FAB weekend! We had a great one!

Today we got to visit with someone our son has been dying to meet for a very long time:

;) That would be Thomas the Train. I tell. you. what. He was in heaven. Can you tell?! (That’s his smile by the way.)  ;)

Then we started out the Fourth of July week by watching the local fireworks tonight – and we are POOPED. Happy. But pooped.

I got a very easy, cheap and quick Fourth of July crafty project done today that I had to share with you – I mean, when have I NOT? :)

The seed for this one was planted by the incredibly talented ladies over at How Does She – they made this adorable flag out of 2x4’s!:

Well, it got my mind a thunkin’. I wanted to make one, but I wanted to be able to hang in on our front door, so it had to be lightweight.

To make it a bit less heavy, I gathered some slats of wood for less than a buck each and a piece of plywood for about $3 from Lowe’s:

The plywood and the slats were two feet wide, but that was going to be just a leeetle large for the front door. So I decided 16 inches wide would work perfectly:

I used my very-favorite-I-luff-you-compound-miter-saw but you could easily use  a miter box and hand saw – the wood is so thin!

Since it needed to be fairly small, I did four longer rows, then four shorter rows on top:

Because I was trying to use what I had, I decided to just use the extra pieces of wood to make up the blue corner part of the flag. I figured out the measurements by just laying it all together like a puzzle:

Then I cut those down as well, and did a quick coat of navy blue spray paint, leftover from the Bub’s room redo.

I cut out the plywood backing with my jigsaw:

You’ll notice it doesn’t have to be perfect! :)

I glued down each piece with Liquid Nails. You could use just about anything as a backing – and any glue you have on hand to put it together. Even hot glue would work great!

I loved the one big fat star idea, so I used my Silhouette cutter to make a honkin’ star in white vinyl:

I attached some navy blue ribbon to the back with staples, then put little felt protectors on the back so it won’t scratch up the door.

The result? Cauuute Fourth of July decor for under $10!:

I bought eight slats of wood but only needed six – the two I have leftover would make an adorable mini version of this flag, so I think I may have to make another!

It’s a perfect fit for the front door:

Usually the extent of our Fourth decor is just our American flag (that’s usually flying anyway) and a few flags stuck in the flowers out front:

Can we pause to admire my goooorgeous petunias?:

It has rained like we’re in the freaking Amazon here this summer, so they are growing like weeds! :)

But now we have a nice pop of red white and blue to amp it up just a bit more and I luuurve it!:

Less than ten bucks in less than an hour – can’t beat it!!

So are you a big Fourth of July decorator? Feel free to link your projects up in the comments – I’d love to see! I have another red white and blue project I’m going to try out this week – this one could get interesting!  ;)

You still have time to win a Silhouette of your very own! If you haven’t entered yet, make sure to go here before this Tuesday!! Go! Hurry!! :)

**I’m adding this to Kate’s linky party and The CSI Project!:

Design in Rustic Western Red Cedar Wood Shingles

Tucked quietly in a corner of your existing home’s property or as an independent structure all its own, this compact garden shed is an insulated sphere measuring three meters in diameter. With this smart wooden prefab structure, you can extend your home’s living space without going through the cost and inconvenience of a home addition and renovation. A top-hinged gull-wing door swings open, resembling a spaceship to welcome you into this ultra-modern design. The small design lets you isolate the intended function of a space, so whether you use it as a home office, an artist’s studio, a guest house, a kids’ play room or an adult retreat, this cool shed provides peace and privacy aplenty. The spherical design is clad in rustic Western Red Cedar wood shingles, giving the shed a country-chic aesthetic. The small design lets you isolate the intended function of a space, so whether you use it as a home office, an artist’s studio, a guest house, a kids’ play room or an adult retreat, this cool shed provides peace and privacy aplenty. Interiors are fully plastered and ready to decorate in your style, your way. At the top of the dome, a skylight floods interiors with natural light. Whimsical as it looks, this small garden shed is big on function, featuring a 2.9-meter internal diameter ready to fill with your work and play essentials.

France Style - Luxury and Beautyful Living Room Design