design plan: living room with pops of navy + chartreuse

today i wanted to share a design plan for a client who opted to add a design board to a pinterest board + phone consultation. adding this option is really well worth it if you struggle to picture how elements in a room will work together!

a lot of people struggle with mixing tan + gray. 

or silver + brass.  

or dark wood with weathered wood. 

or mirrored furniture and pieces that are more masculine.

i think that interesting and welcoming spaces almost always have a mix of colors, textures, metals, and wood tones. don't you?

this client wanted updated, kid-friendly spaces, and wanted a dash of blue + green, more storage,  and some bold, graphic elements.

want to work together?
email me at autumnclemons@yahoo.com and lets get going!

my custom striped island (!)

i love stripes. 

i have loved them f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

(i love them so much that i painted stripes on the foyer walls 12 years ago in house #1.

and 9 years ago in house #2, i painted stripes around my 12' tall fireplace wall, and had custom silk striped curtains made for house #3 and #5.)

i love them so much that i don't even mind that EVERYONE else likes them right now too.

yep.

THAT is dedication.

(and TRUE love.)

to me, they are timeless yet whimsical. 

classic yet fun.

when it came time to design my kitchen, i knew i wanted simple white cabinets, but i wanted the island to be unique. i thought...why not add stripes to the island?

at first, i thought that i would just paint the stripes on...but that didn't seem like it was enough.

i wanted the stripes to be textural as well. hmmm....why not alternate painted wood with stained wood?

here is a sketch i showed todd, the owner of millbrook cabinets:

(he was the only one of the three cabinet companies that didn't flinch or make a funny face when i showed him my preliminary idea for the island. that's why he got the job!)

after some brainstorming with todd, we decided to use wire brushed, straight grain oak (also called quarter sawn) for the rough/wood parts of the island. he had a sample of wire brushed wood in his shop, and it was exactly what i envisioned!

here is a picture i took a few weeks ago at the cabinet shop---the back of the island was just getting pieced together!

the front of the island will look like a regular cabinet--it will have a grey painted finish. only the sides and back of the island will have the stripes.

i decided to use restoration hardware's "slate" for the island, (including the smooth stripes.)

the shop already had "slate" on some of their office cabinets...eve though theirs have been distressed and glazed. i like that is is a soft, warm grey that has a nice depth to it.

i wanted the wire brushed oak to tie in with the painted areas, and so i asked that they be wiped with a watered down version of the paint. i still wanted to be able to see the grain of the oak through this stain/glaze.

i stopped by to see a sample of the wire brushed oak a few days later...

here you can see that they tested out 3 different versions of the stain/glaze. the top has a heavier application of the stain, the middle has the least, and the bottom is in between:

i definitely liked the area where the stain had been wiped away the most:

another sample of the wire brushed oak next to the island cabinet drawers:

and, finally....a look at the island in place!

 the house is super dusty because of all the trim we have been cutting, so you can see there is a lot of dust on the island! it will look even better when the we clean it off and the floors are stained!

as you can see from this picture, there is also a slight difference in depth between the painted parts and the wood parts. i was SO pleased with the craftsmanship and dedication of the team at millbrook cabinets! to me, the island is a work of art. they did a tremendous job of turning my sketch into a reality.

south of the border

guess where i will be the rest of the week?
yep. thats right.
south of the border....
i am getting away for a girls weekend in sunny mexico. yeee-haw!
(a HUGE thank you to my sweet husband, who just may be the worlds greatest dad. 
not only does he coach almost all of my kids sports teams, he is the family safety "enthusiast" and is that dad that makes everyone laugh and feel at ease. he is taking off some time from work this week to be mr. mom so i can get away. oh, and on top of that, he has spent 40+ hours over the  last two weekends at our new house/lot doing manual labor. love that man!)

in addition to beautiful beaches, and tons of culture, mexico is also home to some pretty amazing design. take a peek inside the celeste teahouse, located in mexico city, mexico:

aren't you in love with the striped tiles?

via

another source of fantastic design is the mexico based husband/wife design team behind casamidy.
i have been in LOVE (deeply and madly) with everything that casamidy produces for YEARS now.
i wrote an extensive post on them a while ago, which you can read here, but here are a few of

their gorgeous items that i would love to sell my car to buy:

 (oh what i wouldn't give to have one of these hanging in my new house!)

 (i'll take 6 of these too!)

 (ok, and this too.)

you can see more here.

adios amigos.
be back soon!

striped curtains

stripes make me happy.

on the walls, on rugs...

on shirts and scarves...

and especially on curtains.

(via apartment therapy)

i LOVE the double set of stripes in these curtains,

and i am also dying over those mustard yellow pillows.

this whole room has this masculine 

sophisticated vibe that i just adore.

(via atlanta homes)

how can you not be happy looking at 

these boldly striped curtains?

they are so cheery, i just want to HUG them.

(via decorpad)

i loved these as well...

the stripes appear to be rather random, don't they?

and check out the tiny green stripe under 

the blue stripe...

perfection!

i love little details like this.

they make my heart flutter.

(and WHAT a fun and classy kids room!)

(via decorpad)

this room is all kinds of yum.

but those curtains remind me of a 

classic mens shirt.

notice how the stripes don't go all the way to the floor?

an interesting choice...

(via amy howard)

the bold pattern on these panels adds 

a fabulous graphic element in 

this otherwise very traditional and serene room.

***

i am already dreaming of how i can

work another set of striped curtain panels 

into house #6...is it too much to have them in

every room?

more stripes...

cuz i just cannot get enough!

all images via elle decor

stripes!

the wall stripes for the half bath 

in the tween hangout

just got finished!

i am really excited.

it is going to be such a FUN space!

stripes

i totally 

can't 

help

myself

when it comes to stripes.

i just can't.

i love them.

i think they add just the right touch of fun to any room.

they can make a  stodgy room seem hip,

and, as far as i am concerned

they can breathe life into 

even the most boring room.

of course, if you start with a room that

is already nice, and THEN add a

a dose of stripes, you get

complete yumminess.

see for yourself:

(sorry for the grainy scans!i am trying to figure

 out how to make my pictures scan better!)

goodnight stripes.
i adore you.

i am the bella to your edward.

i can not live without you.

and if i were forced to live without you,

i would fly to italy, and try to enrage 

the volturi, so that...

***

oh. took that one a little too far, 

didn't i?

well,

you get the picture...


oh, and by the way,
my little man's room is almost done!