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Monday, May 3, 2010

A Fresh, Young and Colorful Project!!

Since I have retired from doing design consults in my clients homes it has afforded me more time to help family and friends.   I have a close family friend that is moving to her and her hubbies first house. This darling  young girl is, talented, very stylish and absolutely gorgeous. I asked her permission to do a blog post on the process we are going through in selecting a look she loves that is budget friendly. She sent me this photo image and said she loves everything about this room done by Judith  Balis of Nest Interiors. Judith also has a blog Nest Instinct here.
You can tell from this room that my Little Sweetie loves turquoise. She told me that is the one thing she is married too, besides her adorable hubby, who by the way, I also adore!!
We spent lots of time emailing back and forth. She sent me pictures that inspired her and items that she loved. I sent her pictures of items that I thought she would love and some guidelines. I take great pride in talking to whomever I am working with to find out what they really love. I then figure out how we can incorporate what they love into their home. After talking at length with her, I discovered that she needs a fun, cheerful, colorful, but also a look that is feminine and sensual. She loves soft curved lines on some furniture, but also wants a pop of the unusual in the room. She told me the colors that she loves and where she thought she wanted to use them. I then worked with her to place those colors in the right rooms and on the right pieces. We started with their living room since that is the very first room you see. All other rooms will work off that.  I sent her pictures to show her different ways of incorporating the black and white and bright pink she wanted with her beloved turquoise for their living room.
Picture 405
This picture shows a good use of how the bright pink is combined around the room. I call this cross pollinating. You know like a little pink bee went around the room dropping pink pollen !
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I thought this picture was a good study on using turquoise as your main color with fabrications. I also liked the use of the chevron rug to give the effect of stripes in maybe a less expensive way than trying to re-upholster a sofa. This also shows the introduction of some bright yellow which is another accent color that would look great with her base colors of turquoise and black and white. Notice how the artwork also brings in the color combination.
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Here we have a room that is done with chocolate and a soft mocha or gray. I love the way the gray looks with the turquoise. The large scaled wallpaper on one wall is also a fun look. I thought this picture showed how mixing some large scaled patterns can make a room look very interesting
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I love all the art glass in this image. I also think it is a good study on using different textures, the shine of the glass and the rough texture of the balls on the bottom shelf.  I think the chairs could make a wonderful and fun makeover for a thrift store find. You could paint a wooden seat the bright turquoise and just put a store bought cushion in a fun print on top of the wooden seat for comfort.
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Simple but so dramatic. Buying a few yards of wonderful fabric and covering a board of Homasote from Home Depot and you have instant art for you dining room wall.( Homasote is a light weight fiber board used to insulate floors and walls for sound. It is used a lot to make the fabric covered bulletin boards. I like that it is somewhat flexible also)
A modern take on a classic wing chair features upholstery in black woven acrylic boldly trimmed in white welting. The slender exposed wood legs have casters. Checkered houndstooth pillows extend the menswear theme and add punch. Here, black and white is dominant against a lively wall of stripes, where a sky-blue mirror stands out like a jewel. This chair from Century Furniture sells for $3,600.
Photo from Century Furniture
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I thought this picture could show Sweetie Pie how a mirror painted turquoise could also be used with the black and white.
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This is another way to add black and white for less money by using an animal print foot stool. I also like the big punch of the artwork. Instead of a black and white striped rug this room shows the turquoise stripe which is just another option.
812750668_tRZwK-XL[1] I wanted her to see this picture to show her how a fabric ties all the colors together. We are at the beginning of the project and still talking about ideas. However, you can see by the picture how fun this project is going to be.
I made a few suggestions. I thought the famous IKEA Ektorp slipcoverd sofa would be a great way to go. She had her heart set on using black and white stripes, so I found the best web-site that makes slipcovers out of Marimeko fabrics. Here is the Ektorp in the stripe. The slip cover is only $299 in a Marimeko fabric- amazing. They also have many other fabrics and furniture pieces that they make slipcovers for. You can find the website Bemz here.
Ektorp 3 seater sofa Stockholm Stripe - Jet Black
We are in the process of choosing paint colors so I will do some more post on this fun project as we proceed. This sweet young couple lives a distant from me so we are doing it all via email and phone calls. I love to help and it is fun to do something fresh, fun and young. I will keep you posted with their permission of course.
“Enjoy the Process” Of: Mixing old with new and using bright, fresh colors.
Kathysue
BTW: If you would like a dose of more turquoise go to Erin's blog House of Turquoise it is full of wonderful eye candy!

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very enjoyable post. I recently redid my master bath using touches of this fresh turquoise. I, too, used the black as one of the accent colors, mixed with gold and white, it turned out to be a beautiful color combination. I look forward to seeing additional pictures!

Allie and Pattie said...

Kathysue, lots of ideas here that I've been incorporating in the design I'm working on with my daughter for her room redo. It's been a challenge and we're moving slowly. She's 16 and wants the color, but I want the room to "sort of" blend with the feel of the rest of the house. It will be fun!
xoxo Pattie

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Good Morning Kathysue, I loved the first LR...maybe it's the ladder ha ha!! Great post girl...Thanks for coming by and seeing me...Hope all is well on your piece of Calif. Hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

Hi Kathysue,
What wonderful ideas for this young couple! I love all the photos and the process that you use to help them find their style.
The turquoise is so pretty when used with the black. Great post.

hug
Sissie

Jules said...

Kathysue is it still raining? I am waiting and waiting and waiting for those photos of the porch!!! By the way, did notice that there is just a little black and white striping creeping into these photos tee hee!!

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Kathysue, I know that whatever you help her decide on will look scrumptious since you have such great style!!

Kim@Chattafabulous said...

This is my kinda room! Love the colors and the edginess of the black & white. And thanks for the tip about the fabric covered homasote panel. I definitely will try it with some leftover chinoiserie fabric. Please stop by my blog and sign up for my first giveaway!

Cashon&Co said...

all great suggestions. i like how you describe the process of starting out with your client. i can't wait to see the finished result, I am loving that she has a bold sense of colour!!!

Unknown said...

Love each and every inspiration photo here, especially those glass bottles! She is in great hands, that's for sure! Can't wait to see the results!

vignette design said...

Hi Kathysue,
How fun to work with a young client who knows what she wants! The first room is gorgeous. Love all the fresh colors combined with black and white. Keep us posted.

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Kathysue, you are so talented. I know what a thrill it is to have you help with a room. I love all the help you have always given me and this is going to be such a beautiful room, so many great pictures and suggestions. I can't wait to see more. Hugs, Marty

Erin {House of Turquoise} said...

Oooh some of my all-time favorite rooms! I love how cheery and fun all of them are! What a great project!

Also, that Bemz site is incredible...I have an Ektorp sofa, and you just made me fall in in love with it a million times over! They have endless possibilities! So fun!

Thanks for the link-love!! :)

Tricia said...

Those inspiration photos are dreamy! I hope you'll share their home and the rest of the process with us.
Happy Monday Kathysue!
T

PAT said...

Love these inspiration photos, Kathysue. I'm looking forward to the progress. These are some of my favorite colors.

The Shiny Pebble said...

Kahtysue, how awesomely fun!!! Every picture screams fresh and fab. I am sure your friends will love the end result.

Velvet and Linen said...

I loved getting a peak into your design process, Kathysue.
Your friend is lucky to have an expert like you to help her!
I hope she'll let you share the "after" images!

xo
Brooke

Sue said...

It is always so much fun to see the variety of rooms you show us. I love bits and pieces of them all!

Karen said...

Such beautiful images. Maybe we'll get a peek when her home is complete?

ashlina {the decorista} said...

you are so true to your style. that is what i love about you. i bet you are going to do some seriously amazing things over there. you just cant go wrong with turquoise...right?
and my sweet KS. thank you for your incredibly sweet comment. i really appreciate your love! it warms my heart. xoxoxoxo

Unknown said...

Love this post! I love the idea of pollinating, I never thought of it as that, but that's exactly what I do, too! Also, thanks for the tip on Homasote, I always thought people used plywood to cover with fabric, I am going to have to look into this, am bookmarking this post! Sorry you're having difficulty with the images on my blog, might be a browser issue, I use Firefox but I think sometimes there are issues with Internet Explorer, I will look into it! Cheers!

Jenna @ Mi Vida Bonita said...

Great pictures of Turq, I will have to check it out.

DesignTies said...

You've chosen some wonderful inspriation photos for your friend, Kathysue! My favourite is the mocha/grey room wiht that phenomenal wallpaper!

Thanks so much for dropping by and commenting on our yard transformation - I'm so looking forward to planting shrubs, flowers and shimmery grasses!!

Be sure to drop by DesignTies tomorrow because we're having a Mother's Day Giveaway!!
Victoria

Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia said...

Amazing rooms, I know you will do wonders! Thanks for the tip on the lanterns, love the idea of painting them! Have a wonderful day!
XO
Kristin