A client’s project

Last year while visiting my family in Seattle I was introduced to an investor. That investor had bought two houses that were still in framing and wanted my help with the lighting plan as well as help with the layout of certain parts of the house. I delivered both and was then asked to help him out with selecting the light fixtures, the counter and flooring surfaces, selecting interior colors as well as hourly consultations. Since my motto is “ No job is too small!” I did what anyone in my place would do…give 110% of my knowledge and experience. The house is now complete and although I cannot share all of the photos with you, due to respecting the privacy of my client, I can share a few of the main living areas.

 

During the designing process it was clear that the client is very traditional with a touch of contemporary. It was a nice surprise and very interesting combination. The main concern for the house was lighting. Although the house has huge windows that let light in, there isn’t that much light  during the overcast cold winter Seattle days. We made sure that there are enough light sources in each living area of the house: both decorative as well as functional.

 

This is the kitchen before and after:

 

 

This is the living room before and after (the view from the kitchen):

 

This is the master bathroom before and after:

 

 

 

This is the main hallway before and after:

 

 

 

I had a blast working with this client and hopefully we can work together again in the future!

 

The backyard makeover

I think we are far from done on working on the back yard of my mom’s house but we have made such tremendous progress that I couldn’t wait to show you. As you remember we re-did the front yard a couple of months ago ( you can read about it here), then we decided that we should get going on the back yard.

 

We started with an overgrown with weeds lawn full of small rocks and a touch bit of trash. As you can also see there was plenty of plywood screwed onto the fence that we were really afraid to look behind. The previous owner had two dogs that resided in the back yard for the most part of the day so you see our worry was that the fence behind the plywood was destroyed and we had to replace it. Something that we weren’t looking forward to!

 

 

Little by little the debris and trash were taken out. Then my husband started taking down the plywood and to our surprise, a good surprise, the fence was in great condition.  Yay! We took practically all of the plants there except the small palm tree.

 

 

With a blank canvas my parents, the owners of the house, decided to put sod instead of trying to grow grass. After all it’s Southern California and in some areas the water companies will charge you for overwatering. I have to give a shout out to my husband and brother who installed the sprinkler system in the backyard.

 

       

     

     

 

Then after the grass was all set we installed rocks on the pathways. As you can see the yard is done for the most part. We are going to plant more flowers/palm trees and of course we have the other part of the backyard to work on. Unfortunately the other side of the yard will be left for next year. Currently there is a built in barbeque that we are going to re-do and fix up a few things here and there but as I said this is going to be next year. So many projects so little time!

 

             

So what do you think?

I think we did a pretty good job!

The best part …it feels like it was like it has been like this all along.

No one can remember the old nasty backyard.

With a little bit of sweat we did this in no time.

We love it!

 

Summer Nights

I love summer nights! They are usually lazy, family spending nights! True to that and keeping up with our summer to-do list we decided that after a long hot day to cool off by the pool and make smores (#22). This was Madison’s first time making and tasting smores and she loved it. She loved it so much that we made smores for the past two nights.

 

This photos is of my daughter occupying herself while her daddy was barbequing some chicken.

 

 

Smores making time….

 

 

Happy Monday!

I should have an update on my resent projects this week! Stay tuned!

Pinterest Your Friday

Ahh, the weekend is here! This week has gone by way too fast! I am yet to get a single thing off my to-do list. I am loving that it’s summer and we are spending so much time outdoors. I couldn’t ask for more at this time. Today instead of the regular decorating/recipe/party pins I will show you some of the funny pins that make my day. After all everyone needs a little laugh in their lives!

                                                                     Source: imgfave.com via Megan on Pinterest

                                                                   Source: theclassywoman.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

                                            Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest

                                         Source: ohmyfreakingstars.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

                                             Source: ohmyfreakingstars.blogspot.com via Laura on Pinterest

                                                     Source: Uploaded by user via Megan on Pinterest

                                             Source: someecards.com via Megan on Pinterest

Hope this made your laugh! Happy Friday!

Decorating a small space

 

My brother is going to kill me for posting this but I wanted to show you my biggest con of having a small space. Before my parents bought a home close to me, when visiting my parents would have to stay in a hotel and my little brother would have to stay in my living room. Poor kid! No wonder he barely came to visit.

 

As you can see the biggest con is not having enough space to have overnight visitors. We would pull out the blow up mattress and place it in the middle of my living room, right next to the front door. Once my daughter woke up in the morning she would go lay down next to her uncle and wake him up. With that said we do not have overnight guests so most of the time my house is very organized.

 

The secret to decorating a small space is having furniture that does double duty:

 

* that storage ottoman can be your table *

* the dresser in the bedroom can be your nightstand *

* the space under the bed is great for storage *

* clutter is a big no-no in small rooms *

* vertical storage adds square footage to your room

as well as draws the eye up making the room appear larger *

* mirrors are your friend – the reflection in the mirror creates the illusion of bigger space

as well as a great accessory *

* do not forget scale – because it’s a small space, that doesn’t mean that

you have to have tiny little furniture that would in the end clutter the room,

consider the scale of the pieces *

 

 

                                             Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Kirby on Pinterest

 

                                                     Source: bhg.com via Megan on Pinterest

 

                                                             Source: emilyaclark.blogspot.com via Christine on Pinterest

 

 

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                                                                           Source: Uploaded by user via stefani on Pinterest

 

                                                           Source: room-galleries.myhomeideas.com via Sam on Pinterest

 

 

Do not be after to go bold in a small room. Although light colors make the room light and airy, a small room can handle dark colors as well as bold prints. Just remember don’t over use different patterns in a small room. Be adventures!

 

                                                      Source: hgtv.com via Elaine on Pinterest

 

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