pillows for tween hangout room

the pillows for the tween hangout space turned out so well! 

they are now on their way to their permanent home...

you can see pictures of this space in progress here here and here.

lazy girl bedskirt trim

i am still working on a few small projects for my oldest daughters room.

one of those projects was to add some trim to her existing bedskirt.

the problem?

i didn't want to remove the bedskirt to add the trim.

so.

i.

didn't.

(tooooo lazy)

so, i came up with the following strategy...

here's what i used:

 pom pom trim 

(this is a box pleated queen bedskirt, 

and i used about 9 yards of trim)

fabric adhesive

LOTS (and lots) of binder clips

so, basically, i just applied a thin strip of fabric adhesive to

the bottom of the skirt, and attached a binder clip to help

hold the trim in place until it dried.

like i said, i used a LOT of clips...

about one every 2-3 inches.

when i got to a corner, i applied some glue to  the backside of

the skirt, wrapped the trim, and held it in place with a large binder clip.

my bedskirt has three sections, and so i did this in three stages.

as soon as the glue dried (about an hour), 

i moved on to the next section.

ta---da!

the perfect way for a lazy girl

to add trim to a bedskirt without

removing it. 

utilitarian beauty

i love to find interesting 

and beautiful things as inspiration.

and sometimes, i find inspiration in the 

most simple and utilitarian things.

when allen and i get to travel 

(which usually only happens once a year--on our anniversary),

our usual, hurried pace turns into a more leisurely one.

we love to walk around and absorb all the smells and

sights that our destination has to offer.

one of the things that we find 

interesting are the

sewer caps and signage 

that are amazingly unique to each place.

take a peek:

savannah

savannah

key west

new york city

seattle

seattle

seattle

charleston

 washington dc.

i find the textures on these sewer caps fascinating.

i am planning on getting a few of the above images framed and

hanging them. not only are they 

interesting and graphic,

but they each remind me of a 

special trip with my sweetie!

thrifty*find

suh----weet deal at my local thrift store!

i picked up this light fixture for $5.

i love all the detail!

it definitely needs a little work, and a coat of paint,

(maybe white? or a flat black? maybe even yellow?)

but i thought this would look great in 

my next house...

possibly in one of my

kids rooms, in a covered porch, 

or maybe even the breakfast room.

orthodontist office

ah....

thanks for being patient friends!

i had a great week "off" from my blog...

not that i don't LOVE to blog, and

look at other blogs, it's just that sometimes

life gets a little crazy. as i have gotten

older, i have learned to recognize those times

when i need to pull back on those fun little distractions in life,

 and focus on my family. 

there have been several posts in the last few weeks, 

that have touched on the topic of finding a way to 

juggle blogging and "real life". i was particularly 

moved by this post by ally of from the left bank, and i also 

loved  this post by christina at full house.

life is all about trying to be happy and finding a

balance that beings us peace. and that's not

always easy as a mom. but i am trying.

***

now, onto to some fun design stuff...

when we were living in tennessee, allen and i had the 

opportunity to do the tenant improvement on the office of a local orthodontist.

when we were approached, 

the floor plans had already been drawn, but 

the space was just a shell...

no ceiling, concrete floors, no interior walls.

we did all of the systems --hvac, plumbing,

made changes to the floor plan, designed cabinetry, and

selected all furniture and finishes.

we worked closely with the orthodontist and his wife 

(who both have wonderful taste) to create a 

space that was functional, inviting and appealing.

instead of the entire office having a dropped ceiling,

we designed the ceilings to have a lot of drywall.

this creates a more high-end, custom look, and adds a residential feel to the space.

we selected one chair with two fabric options.

this creates a more unique and causal look.

all of the framed photos on the wall are

from local photographers.

the curved reception area,

complete with a patient self-check-in area at the far left end.

the storage behind the reception were custom designed,

and add character to an area that could

have been a monolithic wall of laminate cabinets.

the patient room. 

the long bench was designed to allow

family and guests a place to sit and

chat with the patient during their visit.

eventually, window treatments, and

photos of smiling patients are going to 

complete this space.

another view of the patient area.

the small square windows were added

to allow some natural light into the

owner/orthodontist's office, which is on the other side 

of the wall. 

i just had to sneak in some checkerboard!

a consultation/small conference room.

a lab.

a private consult room.

***

some projects just seem to go so smoothly,

and this was definitely one of those!

we really enjoyed working with 

dr. langford and his wife julie.

if you live in the knoxville tennesse,

and need an orthodontist, give dr. allen langford a call.

he is a wonderful orthodontist...

and, let's face it, the fact that he has a

gorgeous office is just an added bonus.

r + r

howdy friends!

i am taking a few days off to

spend some time with my kids

and get some things done around the house!

i will be back next week.

*smiles, autumn

image

lego party feature...

grady's lego party

is being featured today at

kara's party ideas.

kara's party ideas is one of my

absolute favorite sites for cute

and classy party inspiration. 

you can check it out my feature here.

metal wainscoting + awning

i found this fun 

metal awning and waincoting

in downtown afton, wyoming, 

and i couldn't resist sharing it.

isn't the rusty finish perfect?

i love the idea of taking something very traditional

and translating it into something

unique and modern just by changing the material used.

and check out the steps!

grellow

cb2 has come out with a few new items in

this fabulous yellow color they are

calling "grellow".

it just happens to be one of my favorite colors!

in fact--check out the color of "design*dump" in my header,

and the post title on my blog...when i was looking for the

perfect color for my blog, i was on the hunt for a "acid-y yet subdued mustard".

grellow is a lot easier to say though, huh?

i don't know what it is about this color

that i love so much. i guess i like that it is fun

and sophisticated at the same time, 

plays well with neutrals, 

and many of my other favorite colors. 

plus, it makes me happy.

i especially love it paired

with a dark, dusty teal and

black and white stripes.