ATLANTA INTERIOR DESIGNER:Room Service Atlanta Photos...

If you haven't read about our UMCH project you can read about it here. We finally received a few professional photos of our space! This project was a charity dining room for a company called Room Service Atlanta. I loved being a part of this project. Each room was completed by a different designer and the house turned out to be amazing! Not that I expected anything less :)

BEFORE

AFTER

Photos via Erika Ward

I'm so very proud of this project. It always makes you feel good to give back. I would love to hear your thoughts! Have a great rest of the week.

Happy Designing,
Heather

Room Service Atlanta...

Happy Friday, loves!

 

I wanted to tell you about a project I've been working on for the last couple of months. Room Service Atlanta is a non-profit organization that brings together talented interior designers and design companies to design a home to help homeless families get back on their feet. This fall they are partnering with United Methodist Children's Home to complete a boys shelter. Each designer gets one space to refinish at their discretion while donating all their goods, design time, labor, etc. There are definitely certain guidelines that we needed to follow in order to make sure this space stays safe, functional, durable, yet stylish for these young men.

 

The home will be lived in by young men ages 18-21 that are transitioning into living on their own. While here they will still be able to receive counseling and learn essential life skills while staying in the UMCH program.

 

This is a picture of the front of the building we're renovating. The grounds are so very pretty here. Hopefully I'll get some better pictures today. 

 

Lucky us, myself & Cody (another I.O. Metro store manager) are completing the dining room in our unique I.O. style. You can read more about the project and about us here. The installation is actually today so stay tuned for lots of before & afters coming soon!

 

Happy Designing,

Heather

Time goes on...

It's crazy how fast the days have been going by. With a recent promotion, I've been working like a maniac for the last couple of months (more than my usual maniac self). It's true that when you love what you do it never truly feels like work. Lately, every conversation I've had starts with "We have to catch up, I've just been so busy..." and it is a good thing. I'm adjusting well to my new normal just in time for my favorite time of the year, FALL! Georgia is amazing in the fall. We're right in the middle of Oktoberfest, The Georgia Apple Festival, Gold Rush Festival, tons of pumpkin patches, apple orchards, fall farmers markets, and beautiful 70 degree weather every day accompanies with the most magnificent leaf changing. I'm in Autumn Heaven! I figured we'll start this gorgeous Thursday off with some fall time & decor inspiration.

You should also definitely check out this Pinterest user's Fall Favorite Things board. She has the best fall photos. Oooh la la, those colors!!!

Happy Autumn,
Heather

all images found on Pinterest

ATLANTA INTERIOR DESIGNER: Design Seeds Color Palette Creator

Hi loves! I found this website, design-seeds.com, which allows you to create a color palette around one color. This is great if you find a picture that has that perfect shade of purple you've been searching high and low for but aren't quite sure what to do with it. Or maybe you already have a green room but are wanting to add more color choices to liven up your space.  It will then generate a 5-color scheme and inspiration photo for your designing pleasure. You can also browse through the choices that have already been developed to find that new hue that speaks to your soul.

Here are some great scheme's I found while searching for some inspiration!

Volcanic Tones

Peacock

Villa

Vineyard

Architecture

Berry Tones

Coffee Shop

Bridge

I'm always on the search for new & different color schemes so we're not repeating the same shades of blue & brown, yellow & gray, or other trendy companions.

I would love to hear what your favorite color pairs or schemes have been lately!

Happy Designing,
Heather

Quote of the day...

"A man's style is his mind's voice."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

source

Guest Post! ATLANTA INTERIOR DESIGNER: Fern Pattern Inspiration...

I'm finally back from vacation and ready for some inspiration! This is Heather Elizabeth Design's first guest post.  Here is a writer from Arcadian Lighting on fern pattern inspiration. A little 'green' product for your Monday morning :) Enjoy!

Hi there! I’m Joanna, a guest writer for Arcadian Lighting, a premier online source for every style and finish of lighting fixtures. I create guest posts such as this one for lovely design blogs. I’m passionate about anything and everything interior design. I love collecting decorating ideas and images like the ones below. Today, I’m posting about fern patterns for the home. With eco-friendly interiors in mind, decorating with nature-based elements is easily accomplished. The following images should inspire some fern patterned décor ideas for you.  

   

Fern-patterned wallpaper creates a sense of drama and elegance in this petite powder room. 

 Tiny art of different types of ferns create a pretty gallery wall. These particular pieces are the result of a DIY project. 

 

Three prints of fern curls look terrific above a black buffet. The green contrasts with the black frames. A lighting fixture above or sitting on the console would be a nice touch.

 

Eco friendly fabrics for the dining room have their own interpretive fern pattern. I like the block prints coordinating with the table accoutrements. 

 

A lovely tufted chair boasts a charming fern and bird pattern. This chair would look quite lovely in a nature-themed living room or bedroom. 

 

A colorful paper features a flowering fern print in this contemporary living room. The differing green hues creates a cohesive space without being repetitive. A fun light fixture sits beside the sofa. 

 

Adding fern patterned pillows to a bed, chair or sofa will give the room a natural feel.

 

A delicious looking chocolate cake decorated with wood and leaf accents sits in front of fern patterned wallpaper. Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 I hope you enjoyed my mini obsession with fern decor and don't forget to check out Arcadian Lighting for some great floor lamps for your next fern inspired room.    

Thanks, Joanna for jump starting our creativity this week. Of course my favorite is the black & white fern wallpaper.

Happy Designing!

Heather

Atlanta Interior Designer: DIY Door Designs...

I don't know what's up with me lately, but I find myself really into doors....the shapes, colors, and how we could give this seemingly function-only portion our our homes some designer pizazz. I find myself really taking notice of them when I'm in other people's homes.

Maria Killiam wrote a blog post this week about her own door going from something that blended to a fabulous kelly green...and so I thought yes, great minds think alike! We should all be dazzling up our doors! You can read Maria's post here.

Idea Number One: Paint your door a fabulous color!

I found more blue doors than anything while searching for pictures of painted doors. The turquoise blues are happy welcoming colors so I see why so many want their entrances giving off this type of energy.

For you city dwellers...

 

Chartruese for my modern mammas (and pappas) out there! Love this one...

Pink. This shows a good blend between a feminine color and cooler building elements.

 This shows that painting the exterior of your door a color that relates well to your interiors is a good way to set the tone for what's to come.

Happy Yellow :)

My favorite...Black! This is a good selection for this house, given the black bannister and stair treads. Absolutely adore black and golds.

Idea Number Two: Stencil or Add a Design

 My back door is a single glass pane encased by a small molding like this one. This would only take only an hour and make a big impact! Cute idea...

 Any talented painters out there? They actually do make mural stencils out there that could create this type of look. Or try toning it down to a simple vine & leaf pattern if you're not as talented with the paint brush.

I love the idea of having a mirror close by to reflect the paint color. This is a great way to add dimension to a flat paneled door.

Who doesn't love a good monogram? This reminds me of a swanky residence or posh bed & breakfast on Melrose.

Nice geometric design on a flat door. What's not to love here...gray, yellow, a tulip table, bamboo chairs and a puppy! Yes please...

 

There's a lot going on here but it makes a statement, that's for sure!

Three colors of paint from what I can tell.

You can always spruse up your doors by adding fresh & funky hardware or a stand out door knocker.

Any more ideas for doors? My head is kind of spinning from that last one...

Happy Designing,
Heather

Atlanta Interior Designer: Cutting Edge Stencil Company Review...

This week I've had a chance to work on an stencil accent wall in my loft (finally). The space has 8' ceilings and this wall is about 12' long. I talked about Cutting Edge Stencils in this post while getting inspiration for this project. This company features stencils for the modern day. Stencils are not just for the walls anymore! You can stencil a piece of furniture, fabric, ceilings, pillows, and even doors (a whole post on do-it-yourself doors coming this week)!

For my project, I chose the Entwined stencil show below.

It's contemporary but with soft lines. I thought it would add the right amount of curvature to a straight space which also features large rigid desk. I received the stencil within the week that I ordered it. It arrived rolled up in a box which I then laid out flat as the instructions said. It said that it would flatten out on it's own, which even after a few days, it did not completely straighten out. When I was ready to use it, I warmed it with a hair dryer (which directions also suggested) and that seemed to help.

 I knew this would be time consuming so I made sure I followed exact instructions so I didn't have to repeat the process. Cutting Edge Stencils has many how-to videos featured on the website with easy to follow tutorials. But even so the stencil bled through on the very first one. I continued very carefully for two days until the wall was complete, but definitely no where close to perfect.

I used white paint over a dark mushroom color and had to use two coats to get it the color I desired and to cover the dark color underneath. I also had to clean and dry the stencils twice during this time as the paint build up was interfering with the stencil's preciseness.

The package came with a top stencil, which proved to be very valuable, and I used the same large stencil for the bottom of the wall. However, there's nothing to help you with the sides of each wall and I had to cut the stencil so that it would fit correctly. Something I really didn't want to do but turned out to be the best way for me to get the exactness I was looking for.

I ended up spending another hour going through each loop with a fine paint brush touching it up. After all that, the pattern is exactly what I was looking for and I am satisfied with the project.

Overall I would recommend using their products due to their great designs, cost effectiveness (as opposed to wall papering), and very easy to change if necessary. But keep in mind this takes patience, time, and a steady hand! Nothing is as easy as it may appear in the how-to video :)

Here is a close up of the space (sorry the photo is crooked). I'm not complete with this area so I didn't want to do a reveal just yet.

What do you think? Is this something you may try in the future?

XoX,

Heather

ATLANTA INTERIOR DESIGNER: Color of the month...

BLUE

The most natural beauty around, azul...one that fills our oceans and our sky. Blue is said to be one of the most calming colors on the wheel and has the ability to put your mind to rest. I remember that Cerulean was my favorite Crayola crayon growing up. It was a bright & happy blue that made me feel good inside. As I am yearning for some relaxation this week I find myself drifting off to some far away exotic blue places. I figured it's about time to give this beauty the spotlight.

Okay, I'm sold. Who's coming with me?

Happy Designing,

Heather

Photos from Pinterest