Weddings on the Brain

Not sure why I have weddings on the brain.  Maybe it was the radio show I was listening to this afternoon about engagement rings.

They were asserting that some socially-driven women link ring size and a lasting marriage together.  A direct correlation between the investment in the ring and the commitment to matrimony.  That some couples want the shock-value amongst their peers, and that anything less than flashy and showy would eventually cause bitterness.

I thought that perspective is a little off.  

For some of us, yes, we want bling.

Like this dress.

And perfectly styled bridesmaids.

And a beautifully set table.

And for others, it's about the promise and the gesture. 

To this material girl, a quickly planned backyard wedding was the perfect celebration. I never had visions of being a bride from a tender age, and never dreamt of some big wedding day and the excesses that came with.  

I had a creative block about weddings. I didn't want to get too hung up on details.  I had been burned once (long story... basically the Inn that we secured for our initial wedding date went bankrupt unbeknownst to us and we lost some money).

I have no regrets with our breezily orchestrated day.  Here's a peek:

I love to see romantic interiors that attempt to keep the flame burning long after the wedding candles are blown out.  Interiors that produce a visceral feeling when your eyes assimilate all of the items in a room.  Soft lines, twinkling lights.

It's definitely a 'look'.  And I always associate Paris with that look.

Get the look:

pillow/chair/mirror/lights/stool

-Bethany

Thinking a interior design consultation is too expensive?  We have design services starting at $50!  Contact us for a listing of our services and prices; we'd love to work with you to make your home uniquely 'YOU'. 

xoxo  Nancy and Bethany

Bathroom Reno Design Board

You may be sick of hearing about my bathroom reno.

Quite frankly, so am I.

Back in January, Mom and I hand-painted the ceiling, an ode to Best in Show, if you will.

We added a bulldog to the scene, for good measure.

Wilma's feelings would have been hurt otherwise.

And after a long awaited renovation, the end is almost in sight.

Here's what it will look like.

On other, more interesting, fronts...Do we have any Fiddle Leaf Fig experts in the audience?  


I have a large one in my home that seems to be not long for this earth, and I'm not much of a green thumb.  Confirmation came when googling FLF care, apparently they are "easy-keepers".  Mine is losing leaves and turning brown.  If I was dying, that's probably what I'd do, too.

Lastly, I'll leave you with this soul-stirring commencement speech by Anne Lamott at UC Berkley last month. It's the kind that is printed out and hung in cubes across America for a little extra motivation.  In a blogosphere where uniqueness is no longer unique, it's a cool glass of lemonade.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  And read this speech.  It will make you remember what you're made of.

-Bethany

If you are looking for help with your home, we'd love to work with you! Contact us for a listing of our services and prices. Nancy and Bethany

square peg round hole

I have a small area designated for dining in my cottage - I wouldn't even go so far as to call it a dining room, just area.  It has one extremely tall wall, perpendicular to a half wall that marks the end of the kitchen.  I need a big old piece of art to eat up the space of this large wall.  But I've also been dreaming of a good banquette or settee to put up against this wall as seating around my table.

While dreaming, I've been stowing away inspiration pics of the type of banquette I want.



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Lastly, but certainly not least, this beauty is my end-all be-all.  In fact, this is my all time favorite.

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I'm thinking something along these lines.  I tried to import Nessy into my board but couldn't quite clean it up as much as I'd like.  I want the cafe style chairs and a square settee to flank either end of my table.  And lord knows I want this lighting, but in my small space, it would compete too much with the other lights I have in close proximity.

What do you think?  Can you dig the square with the round?  Or does it just irk you?

-Bethany

Our first design project!

As we start to get our feet wet in our design business (Mom a former interior designer, me an aspiring decorator dying to get some experience under my belt), we decided to offer our friends and family and the blogosphere some free design plans to practice our craft.  We started out offering a free design board and execution plan to the first five folks to express interest.  And with a little luck and a whole lot of excitement, we've successfully reached capacity…  

Powell Brower Home has accepted our first five official clients!

So last night, Mom and I completed our first design presentation, showing our prospective clients two different visions for their master bedroom reno.  We dove head-first into the project, spending hours perusing fabrics online and at upholstery stores.  We poured over inspiration pictures and ideas and came up with two 'takes' on one room.

Some background on our client:

This lovely couple just embarked on a renovation for their master bedroom, adding custom closets to an entire wall in a dark mahogany color and a charging-station and custom valet for the husband's side of the room (all custom built by Closets By Design).  They had used a metallic paint on their kitchen renovation the year prior and loved the finish so much that they decided to find a metallic shade for their bedroom.  They chose a gold color for their walls and got to work putting it up. 

Then they got stuck.

One of their obstacles was including a quilt, made by a family member, in Christmas colors.  They thought the gold walls would work well with the quilt but couldn't visualize how to move forward from there.  The gold actually turned out to look like a bronze or urbane gold against the low light of the afternoon and finding a corresponding color scheme was proving a bit challenging.  All in addition to an off-center window on the main wall of the bedroom.

Enter Mom and I.

We met them in their space and discussed our questionnaire (that they filled out prior to meeting) to get a feel for their likes and dislikes.  We talked to each party to understand what they cared about and tried to blend their two styles.  They wanted their room to feel bold and make a statement.  Much the opposite of the spa-like retreat that a lot of bedroomers yearn for.  The wife preferred floral prints and liked birds and natural scenes in fabrics.  They wanted to 'center' their bed in front of the off-center window, and based on the layout of the room, was the logical choice.

My inspiration picture came from a page from a magazine (wish I could remember which one) I was reading in the doctor's office.  I loved the bold turquoise paint color that is trending this year and wanted to incorporate their gold walls with accents of peacock/turquoise and lime green.  

And as much as the sky's the limit as far as creativity goes, there was a budget to keep in mind.  They had spent quite a lot of money already on their custom cabinetry and needed to pull the remainder of the room together in a money-savvy way.  Mom and I stuck to affordable non-trade fabrics and gave high and low-end options for most pieces.  We found a lot of the items at big-box stores, which were much more economical than the trade-only sources that we all die over in the mags.

My Design Board:

My Sensory Board:

My vision used turquoise as the 'removable' element in the design plan to allow for the use of their Christmas quilt during the winter months.  The items that would stay year-round, like the foot bench, the drapery panels and the accents, would be lime green, so as to blend with the Christmas quilt when it was out.  The pillow shams and the bed scarf or throw would be turquoise. 


They have an old dresser that they considered upcycling and I recommended painting it in Behr's Billiard Table Green (or Duron option shown) with new playful hardware.  That would be the only turquoise that would stay year-round.  We would position that on the wall opposite of the window-wall and put a large mirror above to reflect back the light of the window.  I also wanted to include a gallery wall of fun family photos that they were hoping to display.

Here's to our first go of it, we sure had a lot of fun.  The practice was really good for us when trying to put our vision in 3-D.


Lookout for a post by Mom on her board and plan.  Here was her sneak-peek!

Hope you have a wonderful start to the week!

-Bethany

Manly Men Men Men

During a bout of insomnia, err scratch that, during the middle of the night I woke my husband up to talk about the one million things on my mind because that's one of the perks of having a bedmate.  And bless his heart we ended up talking about one of my favorite subjects - decorating!  Well, man caves to be exact (Super Bowl still fresh) but I could definitely spin this into a decorating opp.

He said his dream man cave would be a theater room really done right.  Not necessarily a sports room commemorating all of his favorite pastimes, but a real-deal moody theater complete with leather chairs and movie posters.

After I got over my initial wave of nausea, I started thinking about how I could really do this up for him.  And so I promised him a mood board.

Every man deserves a man cave to lounge around undisturbed in.  My hubs works just as hard as anyone else and definitely deserves a manly space (especially since I have inadvertently taken over the rest of the house).  A man-room means lots of positive things for both of us.  

ME:

Less finger prints on my glass waterfall table.

Fewer chips in between the couch cushions.  

A separate place for the TV so it's not always blaring in the background music of my life.

HIM:

Male bonding time sans women

Doesn't have to wear headphones (I work from home now…)

Darker carpets conceal more

Less accessibility for my "Hey HON, can you help me reach fill-in-the-blank??"

Here's to dreamin!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

-Bethany

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far east movement

Did you see this business on OKL on Saturday?

                                                                   Source: onekingslane.com via Bethany on Pinterest

Very swoon-worthy in this pic.

                                                                    Source: grahamandgreen.co.uk via Bethany on Pinterest

I'm not sure what part of my brain this came from, but the mirror inspired all of this:

I feel like this is the kind of collected eclectic room that some dude that wears velvet loafers has in a treasure-trove of an apartment in some chic downtown area.  By day he runs an upscale thrift shop, but night he entertains with specialty cocktails like St. Germaine and Champagne.  It's not quite Asian, not quite antique, but just chock full of stuff and it may smell like a well-worn Persian rug in there.  There should be a token stack of books on the black chair, too.  I'm afraid of clutter, but if I wasn't, these would be some of my favorite things.

You're welcome.

-Bethany