Jan 31, 2011

client inspiration + tween room design plan

a few weeks ago, a client contacted me about designing a
room for her artistic almost 12 year old daughter.
(in fact, she is giving her daughter this room makeover
for her 12th birthday...how awesome is that?) 
she already had a start, but was stuck.
her requests:
she wanted some purple, but didn't want a "purple" room.
lots of storage for arts and crafts, 
a comfy place to read 
and a touch of yellow giraffe.
she also sent me a picture of the
that her daughter had fallen in love with.
oh, and everything needed to be under $2,000.
(and i do mean everything...the only thing
staying from the old room will be the mattress.)
here is the amazing picture she sent me as inspiration:
and here is the idea board 
i came up with:
i think it will be a fun space when it is finished.
one entire wall, including the closet doors will be painted in
chalkboard paint. the other walls will be a soft gray.
my client is going to make the headboard...
i can't wait to see how it turns out! 

interested in working together to make your space 


more functional and beautiful?
e-mail me at autumnclemons@yahoo.com.



Jan 28, 2011

rugs, rugs, rugs

when designing a room, one of the 
larger expenses can be a rug,
and so i get pretty excited when i find a place where 
great style + 
affordable prices collide.
i have always known that world market carries rugs,
but they have really improved their inventory lately.
i was thrilled to see all of their lovely choices:






 i will for sure be using some of these 
in future projects!

Jan 27, 2011

in progress: jen's library

do you remember my friend jen?
 if not, click here and here 
to see more of her house.
i have been slowly collaborating with jen 
on several rooms in her house,
including her 
 library...
aren't those doggie prints the cutest?
jen is a closeted designer....
we have a few finishing touches still left,
including window treatments,
(jen had been head over heels in love with 
this for-----ever, so we'll probably use it.)
accessories, 
and a something to perk up the ceiling.
we also just started working on her master bedroom,
which is going to be another fun project.
i will keep you posted as we
s-l-o-w-l-y make progress!

Jan 26, 2011

tips for shopping at online shopping clubs

in the last year, there has been an explosion of
"private" or invitation only shopping clubs/outlets like:













i think these are fantastic resources for finding
interesting and unique items at a fraction of the
cost that you might find them boutique stores
or other places online.
here are a few things that you can do to better
 prepare yourself to find some amazing items 
at great prices:
check often.
most of these stores highlight several 
vendors/"events" a day, and the sales last anywhere from
 24 hours to 4 days, and once they are gone, they are gone.
most will send out a daily e-mail, alerting you to
the new daily deals. be sure to at least look at the
vendor lineup to see if there is anything that
piques your interest. most of the time there will
be an "intro" picture that represent what is
being sold...don't judge the entire inventory
based on that one picture. i have found some
pretty amazing items in "events" that
have pictures of something that i thought was...
um...kinda ugly. don't be afraid to click around.
know what's "out there".
in order to know if the deals that you are seeing
at these online shopping outlets are really
GOOD deals, you need to look around. spend some time
looking at local and online stores to get a sense
of what you like, and what they COST.
for instance, i have been wanting a "driftwood"
looking lamp for a while now. every time i 
visit a new-to-me site, i would always check out the
lamp section to see if they had a driftwood lamp, 
and to see how much it cost. (usually,
these lamps cost between $100 and $400.)
which leads me to my next tip...
be prepared to pounce.
sometimes, items sell out within minutes of the
store/event "opening". at many of these sites, the items are
one of a kind, and acting quickly can make
all the difference between getting the item you
want, and getting left with empty dreams of 
that perfect pillow/lamp/poster/treasure.
remember that driftwood lamp i have been hunting for?


last week, at the foundary, i spotted one for $72.
(it's not this exact lamp, but pretty close!)
since i have been doing some looking around, 
i knew this was a great deal and 
acted quickly. i must have gotten the last one,
because as soon as i completed the checkout 
process, a big "sold out" tag went 
across the lamp. good for me, but not
so good for anyone else who might have wanted one. 
***
if you haven't already signed up,
click below, and come shop with me:
joss and main
and, if you know of any others, 
please let me know!


Jan 25, 2011

summer dreamin'

i have to admit, that in the middle of january,
 i start to daydream about summer...
about strolling out the get the mail in my bare feet, 
eating outside on the patio and, of course, cookouts.
(am i the only one who is missing my grill?)
when csn contacted me and asked to to review a product,
i was very excited... 
it doesn't matter what you are in the market for
a pair of shoes, a laptop messenger bag
a decorator pillow, a light fixture or even a sofa. 
they have it all.
and since i have been daydreaming about being outside,
i thought i might get an early start on my 
outdoor entertaining with these:


i love the look of these thomas paul artifacts dinner plates
and since they are melamine, 
i don't have to worry about 
them breaking and shattering into a million pieces 
if i accidentally dropped them on my patio.



i also love the matching dessert plates.

would be a nice choice too.
several of my outdoor pillows are blue and white,
and these would go nicely, but i am
thinking i might be up for a change in color this year.
 those brown plates might look nice with
something like this....
is it just me, or does it feel a 
little bit warmer outside?

Jan 24, 2011

progress.

so, i ended up falling in love with
"providence blue 1636"
i loved it on the walls in my room, and really
fell in love when i saw the above image which i found here.
i knew i wanted something blue and
moody and a little "washed out" looking,
and dark...but not TOO dark.
i had a few requests for "before" pictures of this 
bedroom turned office and now on it's way to
a relaxing den...
 are you madly in love with the mauve wallpaper??
yeah, i thought so.
 i was totally prepared for HOURS of scraping and peeling, 
but the wallpaper 
LITERALLY came off in sheets! i could hardly believe my luck.
it was actually FUN to rip off.
 the kiddos thought it was almost
as much fun as i did...
 and here is the wall on it's way to being finished.
so, i wouldn't say that i am a BIG fan of "faux" finishes,
but i knew that this room needed it.
why?
ummm....
because maybe although the wallpaper came off really easily 
there might have possibly been a lot 
of wallpaper paste left behind that possibly
 maybe i didn't really kinda feel like probably spending
the next 5 days of my life scraping off from the walls. 
maybe.
so maybe i kinda came up with this
faux finish to possibly maybe disguise the
texture of the wallpaper paste and
save myself from like 200 hours of scraping.
maybe.
don't judge.
  i used a technique that i have used before...
it is the easiest thing in the world.
you just take a wallpaper paste brush,
and make a cross-hatch pattern across the wall. 
 since i already had a quart of
"knoxville gray" and "blue spruce",
i just mixed them together with a small
amount of glazing medium and got  to work,
applying several coats on top of the "providence" blue.
 i LOVE the way the finished wall looks!
it has this kind of dark denim look
which will look great with the
other items that will go in the room.
one of those items is this woven bamboo
blind that i bought at kmart for $10.
i have been lugging it around with me 
for several years, and it just happens to
fit the one window in this room.
yay!
this lamp is also one of those items.
 i have big plans for this $3 thrift store lamp
 which i will share soon....
the plan involves some gold leaf,
a trip to the lamp repair store to cut down the
throat and an anthopologie inspired lampshade makeover.
i hope it turns out as fabulous as i want it to!