The Guest Bedroom with a Splash

A splash of bright red-orange! You can't miss it. I found these bright red-orange drapes from Ikea, and that's what inspired this room. I made sure to balance everything else in the room to not visually fight with the bold curtains. Neutral color and textures were added to the environment to increase the level of sophistication of the room.

Previous owners – guest bedroom:

Our home today! – guest bedroom:

And of course, I included a very unique side table/nightstand that matched the drapes exactly; thanks to CB2. The mix-n-match pillows and the duvet are from West Elm. They always have great textile patterns.

Distinctive Side Tables/Nightstands for your Space

Like I have mentioned several times before, I say Mix-It-Up. It's fun to add unique furniture into any space. It livens up a space, and it can be a conversation starter since they can be seen as art, too.

These are a few round side tables and/or nightstands that I have come to adore in my search for a nightstand for my master bedroom. Obviously, I ended up with the silver Marie side table from Chiasso; featured directly below (also available in black).

Cb2: Twiggy and Paper Clip side table

Overstock: Wenge Wood Top and Stainless Steel side table

Urban Outfitters: Metal Accordian side table

Brocade Home: Metal Pedestal table

Birds in the Master Boudoir

The previous post, "The Bird Craze", was truly inspired by the decor in our master bedroom. Birds are on my bed and dresser and soon to be on my walls. I am currently looking for vintage bird art too!

For our master bedroom, I kept the overall palette pretty neutral with shades of gray, white and brown. I did this because I really wanted my accent color "yellow" to really pop in the environment. Also for our bedroom, I wanted a very clean, airy feeling that didn't feel like a typical bedroom. I wanted the look to lean more on a posh, eclectic hotel so we always felt like we were on a vacation.

Previous owners – master bedroom:

Our home today! – master bedroom:

The airiness in the room was achieved by accentuating the height of the bedroom with long, dramatic, dark drapes hung practically from the ceiling to floor. And the overall room carried a very light palette from the light gray walls to the white linens, dresser and accessories which added to the clean, open feeling.

If you guys haven't noticed by now, I'm all about Mix'n Matching furniture and materials. I prefer not to have identical night stands. It adds more character and charm if you switch it up. I got the matching walnut nightstand that came with the Anders bed frame from Room and Board, but I have chosen to go with a more unique round, silver nightstand/side table from Chiasso. The set of two low, white dressers, frames and standing lamp are from CB2. The linens and pillow covers are from West Elm.

One more thing that I like to do is incorporate a hodgepodge of unique items that I loved into an original display like I did here on the dresser. I selected these items to go together, because of their range in height and their similarity in color – white and yellow accents.

The Bird Craze

{Image from Anthropologie.com}

I have always liked and seen the graphic appeal of birds in fashion, jewelry and home decor, but I think it seems to be more prevalent these days. I bring this topic up, because it became a discussion that I had with a few friends a few days ago at a West Elm new store party preview that we went to in Lincoln Park.

In my wedding and my home, especially in my master bedroom (new pics in my next blog post), I have embraced the bird icon. I don't know what it is, but birds are visually interesting with their wing span, colors and variety of shape and style. They do have a mysterious and intriguing aura to them too, I think.

I went through an inventory of a few sites that I love to browse on and here's an array of images that I found that embrace the bird icon along with their natural environments and the not-so-natural ones, the birdcage. I would wear and/or embrace any one of these items in my home.

{Images from DesignPublic.com}

{Images from WestElm.com}

{Images from UrbanOutfitters.com and Anthropologie.com}

The NEW Home Office – Gallery Frames on a Ledge

As the days progress, our home is becoming more of a home. Once May 1st hits, it will officially be one year. My goal is to have everything in order by then. Then off to bigger and better things such as finishing our basement to be a home entertainment center along with a studio work space for production of any work that I do for my clients.

Another progression to show you all is our loft/office space that I have been tackling for the past 2 weeks. My husband has a huge collection of memorabilia that he has collected over the past years, and he got them all professionally framed. And of course, I had to showcase them all off somehow in his office and that's what I did. See the transformation from before.

Previous owners – loft/office space:

Our home today! – loft/office space:

When we first painted this accent wall a dark navy blue, I knew I was going to do something over-the-top to really heighten the look of the space and make this wall pop.

I have always liked the idea of leaning gallery frames or art against a wall on a ledge, but what I truly loved about the linear shelving is the fact you can have other artifacts on it too beyond frames (e.g., books, little knick-knacks/chotchkies). All I know is, the end product turned out great, and the hubby can't stop admiring the space and loves to hang out in it. It's quite funny; he's like a little kid in a candy shop. :)

If you plan on creating a space with such drama like this, make sure you have enough contrast to help the frames/art standout from a dark wall. I made sure that we framed a lot of the pieces in silver frames in different styles so they will separate from the dark wall background, and the color of the mattes make a difference too.

To make it a really clean, high-end look, do all similar style frames in different sizes with white chunky, gallery style frames, and it can look really sleek! Obviously this space was specifically for my husband, and he had an eclectic mix of sports memorabilia to awards to significant moments in history that he wanted to showcase.

The key to making this space successful is layering and balancing the space with varying heights. I played around with this space for at least an hour or two making sure all the pieces fit visually together. It's almost like a puzzle. It's a tricky thing, because it can look very cluttered and messy looking if you don't adjust the space accordingly. And I wanted to make sure that every piece that sat on the shelf gained a significant amount of attention.

If you're looking where to find the design goods, I am your inside source to finding it. The picture ledges seen in our loft space is from Exposures online, and I went with the Invisible Display Ledge in Aluminum so the frames would look like they are floating. See below for other links to make your space happen. Make comments, or email me with questions!

Where to find cool ledge shelving:
- Room & Board: Frames and Ledges
- West Elm: Wall Shelving
- Pottery Barn: Bookcases and Shelves
- CB2: Wall Decor
- Crate and Barrel: Wall Decor

Where to find gallery style frames:
- Room & Board: Frames and Ledges
- West Elm: Frames and Wall Art
- Pottery Barn: Frames
- CB2: Frames
- Crate and Barrel: Picture Frames

Did my Living Room just say Grrrrrrr?!

Look at the progressions of these pictures and see the dramatic change and shift in style.

Previous owners – living space:

Our home – just moved in living space:

And our home today!

Yep. Our new area rug in our living room makes a grand statement now. :) In a previous post, I said I had a secret obsession, and it is out and loud as you can see – animal print (in neutral tones only); specifically called "El Tigre" print from Flor.com. I finally committed to the crazy and fun print for my living space and loving it. I was surprised too when my husband was digging it also.

Originally for our living space, I was thinking of keeping it soft, calm, and with cool tones of blue & green like water to reflect a "day spa" atmosphere, but things have evolved in my taste and style. My personality is more eclectic, fun and unique that I felt this space had to do the same. I wanted some boldness that makes you remember the decor, and this area rug fit the bill. ;)

With such a bold area rug, you do have to be careful with the decor surrounding it. You don't want to clash with the design, but balance it, and enhance it. For my space, I wanted to mix patterns to give it that eclectic, unique feel that isn't so cookie cutter, and I did it with my accent pillows. The dominant focus is the rug, and the secondary focus are the pillows on the couch. The patterned light-blue pillow is a subtle pattern that gives visual texture. However, I didn't really go overboard with too many patterns. Those two patterns are essentially it. I balanced the rest of the living space out with solid tones of my main accent color, the turquoise blue, neutral shades of furniture, and hints of white throughout the space to brighten it and give it a clean, fresh look.

You see that really white side chair, that's my new fave piece in our living space. It's a pretty good knock-off of the designer, Charles Eames, bucket chairs. I got two of those chairs from Overstock.com for a darn good price with $2.95 shipping – can't beat that. Also, it's very kid-friendly, wipeable surface. ;)

My last design tip for the night to everyone is to have fun with your living space. Make it something you want to come home to everyday since you do spend most of your life in it. Don't be afraid of color and patterns; it will make your space so much more lively. And if you're still unsure and need some expert advice, I am only a click away. Email me at designwithchon{at}gmail.com