Working with my designer friend, Mary Stevenson, last week was a lot of fun. Hard work, but very rewarding at the end. We worked on the foyer and familyroom, with some work in the diningroom. She had a painter come out and change the color in the diningroom from red to a soft creamy tone very much like Philadelphia Cream, Benjamin Moore. I can't remember the name of it now. The homeowner had pretty large (to me) budget to work with. Foyer, diningroom, and familyroom all got a facelift out of this budget. But it didn't go all that far when furniture, art and accessories are involved, as well as the designer's time added to the mix. She had enough left after we finished on Saturday, hopefully enough to find a diningroom table and a few other smaller things. Mary found this foyer piece along with the mirror, which really was a huge focal point for this entryway.
New lamp and accessories completed the look and it really did look great. I loved these boxes and birds which Mary picked up from a well-known designer here in town, Richard Tubbs. The homeowner especially loves many of his designs. Isn't this pretty when you walk in the front door?
Her client also loved some Pottery Barn inspiration pics, namely these painted Queen Ann chairs. Who would have thought that Pottery Barn would be going Queen Ann with their designs? I guess the funky colors is how they get away with mixing it up, but I sure wouldn't have thought I'd see this pic in a Pottery Barn catalog. Mary found some Queen Anns and the lady loved the black painted chairs, so Mary asked me if I'd like to take on the chair painting project so I did. Using spray paint, it went pretty fast and I was able to do it in a couple of hours. I wish I had thought to take pics of the chairs when I was done, but by then I was so tired I only snapped some pics of the finished rooms. The chairs were the first part of a diningroom redo, she doesn't have the table yet, so that is coming later. That's why I didn't take time to take pics of the diningroom. Anyway, the Queen Ann chairs we painted turned out really nice and the homeowner loved them. I was reminded of painting my Queen Ann breakfast chairs over 5 years ago and I still love them. Deja vu for sure!
I wish I had taken before pics, but I'll just tell you that the only thing that was original in here is the leather sofa and chair and one iron and glass console table. Everything else was brought in new. Rug, linen sidechair, artwork and most of the accessories were newly purchased. Mary spent 3 days shopping and then we spent one whole day putting this all together. She pulled the sofa away from the back wall, making the conversation area cozier and closer together.
I'm having a lot of fun working with Mary. She's full of energy, has a great eye and lots of super ideas. I know I will learn a lot from her in both the decorating aspects, as well as business sense. She does great work and I'm happy to tag along and help her with these projects. She gets all her clients from word of mouth, which is usually how these things work. Back to the networking thing, that's what I have to keep doing to get some clients of my own. The large mirror added over the fireplace really reflected some light back into the room, which is much needed in this home. The only lighting available is lamplight, no overheads. You can see in the mirror that the room has very pretty ceiling beams too.
We added some simple, but impact pieces for the mantle. What's great about working with Mary is she asks my opinion on everything and lets me really get involved in putting things together too, so it's fun to brainstorm. She loves collaborating and not just doing it her way. She's all about discussing things.
We talk the whole time about what is working and what is not. I really like how she brings in contemporary art into a traditional space to mix it up. I think that's what I need to do more in my own home, although I still love all my traditional art, it would be hard to let it go. This little iron table was already in the home and used to be in the diningroom, so we moved it in here and it's a nice focal point coming down from upstairs.
Added in a few things from the homeowner, like the box underneath, and a couple of framed pictures. Mary shops all over the city, from Homegoods (one of her favorite places to score deals), Tuesday AM, as well as lots of decor shops in Homewood. It was fun unloading all the loot and seeing what we had to play with. She got 3 large oils (one bigger one in the diningroom) from a gallery and those were the starting point for the colors and feel of the room. She buys a LOT of stuff, brings it in the day we are working and then takes back what we don't use, which ended up being quite a lot. That was fun, like having a store to shop from right there in the home.
Two of the oils are behind the sofa. They have some pretty vibrant colors of reds, greens, blacks, and golds. Most of the lamps came from Homegoods. She will buy lamps and then if she doesn't love the shade, just buys several extra shades and trades them out. We talked over which pillows to keep and how to place them and she ended up liking the ones I placed on there, so we kept it like that.
This linen chair was a Homegoods find too for $350, as well as the rug. The new chair really added a lot of appeal to the room.
These nesting tables were found at Tuesday AM and I really like how they look on this end of the sofa. Great to use around the room too when company is around. One wall I didn't show you has a BIG flatscreen TV on a black console table, so we were working around that too. It's just to the right of the sofa in this pic.
I hope you enjoyed this little redesign project as much as I did! It was truly a pleasure to work with Mary, picking up tips and ideas. She's a wealth of knowledge for me and I look forward to working with her more. The homeowner came home with her 2 small children, came in for the grand reveal and immediately started crying. It was so great to see her reaction! She couldn't believe it was the same room she had left that morning. That sort of thing is what I look forward to myself as my business grows. I want to help people make their homes pretty too!
One little tip I picked up from Mary on hanging pictures on the walls is this: If you have a large picture with 2 hangers on either side, take masking tape and tape all the way across the hangers and then poke a small hole with a nail just where the nail would go on the hanger when you are putting it on the wall. Then hold the picture up, taking one side of the tape off of one hanger when you have it placed on the wall at the level you'd like the picture to hang (probably takes 2 people to do this). Tape the tape up on the wall all the way across & put in your first nail. Using a laser level to get it level from your first nail, shoot a line across the wall, then move the piece of tape on the other side until the nailhole matches up to the laser line. Then put in your other nail (or hanger). Rip down the tape. Your picture will be perfectly straight AND the hangers will line up properly!
How's that for a great tip! I loved it and it works great every time. I am definitely going to get a laser level for myself, that's one handy item to have around.
Have a great week y'all! I'm checking in from Florida and Kim and I have 2 days of fun outings planned, so you know I'll be sharing those when I get home.
In spite of my traveling so much these days, I've still managed to hit a few yardsales in between. And that has caused a few little changes around the house, some much needed and good changes. A few months ago I saw something in a magazine that got my attention. It was red painted sticks that looked a lot like coral. So, when I found this bundle of sticks for 50 cents last year while yardsaling, I tucked them away with that in mind. Just 2 weeks ago I found the pretty glass vase for $1 at another sale and those shells were in that big jar of shells I found a few weeks ago for $2. Are you with me so far?
So, I got out some leftover Ralph Lauren red paint that I had in my stash (I actually think I picked it up for free at a yardsale somewhere, can't remember). It's a pretty brick red and is the perfect color for red coral.
Painted the sticks, added the shells in the bottom of my inexpensive vase and now I have a whole new look for my Tuesday AM wall shelf. Total cost: $3.50
Here's the long shot of the whole wall. I had a large topiary there before that I made a long time ago, but I'm slowly changing out some of my old silk things for these that are a little airier and fresher. And I'm loving the new look! Hope this gives you a whole different way of looking at those yardsale items. You never know when you pick something up where it might come in handy. Those sticks had been in my stash closet for about 6 months when I finally got them out and the lightbulb went on. Which leads to the next little yardsale project..... 
This table is ever-changing these days. I moved my silk arrangement that had been here for so long and added this stack of books that I've collected (mostly from yardsales). With the addition of my little bird that was found recently for $2 and the glass vase for 50 cents, I have another vignette for this table. Not a bad price either.
Oh, and the sticks? I got those when I was still working and we had that big Open House. Remember those huge live floral arrangements that were on the tables? Well, I got a big bunch of the sticks when the flowers were tossed and brought them home. I love the airiness of sticks in a vase and am seeing a lot of this in magazines lately.
Perfect in the livingroom in that glass vase. Someone asked about buying more and more at yardsales and when was it enough, but I figure when you can recycle and refresh, it sure doesn't hurt to keep looking and buying within reason. Especially when it's so little money.
I love these little changes and it was time to retire some of the silk florals.
Change is inspiring! I hope I've inspired YOU to get out there and look for those bargains. They are out there, just waiting to be found.
Hubby with his Alabama football cap on the second day. 
