The Laundry Room

Hey there, friends.  Happy Wednesday!

I was doing some work on Pinterest this morning, and I saw quite a few laundry rooms that were really pretty.  Someday I will have a laundry room of my own that actually makes me want to do laundry.  🙂  There’s so much you can do to customize the space for what you use it for, too.  I’ve seen some with gift wrapping stations, some with computers, some with reading chairs — I love it!  Make the space work for what you use it for; that is the best way to design, anyway.  Let’s look at some pretty pictures!

via Homedit

This laundry room also doubles as a pantry, or at least a place where an overflow of kitchen essentials are stored.  A very clever idea!  I love the farmhouse vibe that is mixed with more contemporary finishes.

via HomeBunch

The dark cabinetry in this room is so pretty.  I love the globe light fixture and the storage bins underneath the appliances.  And aren’t those little metal buckets on the top shelf cute?  I wonder what’s in those…

via designMARVEL

This laundry room proves that your space doesn’t have to be large to be lovely.  First of all, the lighting is perfect.  Industrial, while still working beautifully in this rustic design scheme.  The little faucet is adorable, too.

via Decor Pad

So, me personally, I’m not a huge fan of the stacked washer/dryer situation.  It feels a little bit inconvenient to me, but I know that some people love it.  I do like the way that it looks.  And I like and appreciate the area for hanging up clothes.  I find that an area like that is pretty essential for me when I do laundry.

via HomeTalk

This laundry room is so well put together in both a design and aesthetic sense.  The finishes all marry so well.  The beadboard is such a sweet, cottage-y touch.  It’s a relatively easy solution to make a room look more custom, too.  My sister-in-law added beadboard in her builder-grade kitchen and painted her cabinets, and both made such a difference.  It’s the little things…the details in design that matter.

via Houzz

I have loved this particular laundry room for a long time.  It’s perfect for a beach house, with a door leading, perhaps, to the beach where people with sandy feet and wet bathing suits will be entering…right into the laundry room.  Pretty brilliant!  The soft color of the walls, the lighting, the crisp white mixed with a buttery cream — gorgeously executed.

via Lacquered Life

Now this is an interesting solution — a laundry station in the kitchen!  I really love this idea!  A great way to multi-task and having the laundry area in a more central location is a good idea for a lot of people.  And the machines are behind cabinets, so with the doors closed, it just looks like a little nook area.  Very awesome idea.

via Flickr

What better place for bright whites than a laundry room?  With all of the accessories, this room goes from sterile to warm and lived-in.  Personally, I think the one thing I would change is to take out the cabinet above the sink and extend the hanging rod all the way up to the top of the inset.  It may be difficult to hang anything substantial with the way that area is currently designed.

via HomeTalk

Omg.  Dream room right here.  A herringbone brick floor?  Double the washer/dryer action?  Beautiful cabinets with an even more beautiful finish?  Adorable French sink?  Please please please.  I love this room so much, and I am daring to call it my favorite laundry room I have ever seen.  What do you think?

via House & Home

A cute wallpaper on an accent wall in the laundry room — now that’s a great idea, and an easy one to implement in any laundry room, whether custom or builder-grade.

Are you re-designing your laundry room in your head yet?

xoxo, Maria

Pairing High and Low: Part One

Hey there, everyone.  I hope you had a great weekend.  Ours was spent with family, and we even got away on Saturday night to go out for dinner and eat the biggest ice cream sundae I have ever had in my life — it was awesome!

I thought I would start a series that will only be a few posts, but I want to talk about the benefits of pairing both high-end and low-end furnishings; in other words, expensive things with inexpensive things.  I have taken photographs of several areas of my in-laws’ home in order to show this to you all — they are really the masters of this topic.  In their house, though a lot of their decor comes from places like HomeGoods, the fact that they have paired these items with high-quality furniture or accessories gives the appearances that everything is high-end.  I’ll show you Part One’s example.

All right.  In this vignette, you have the fireplace, which is a fixture in the room and is obviously really beautiful.  But on top of the mantel — two DIY centerpieces made from vases, feathers, and twigs (things that you can easily find at your nearest craft store); two prints in decorative, hefty frames; and one very expensive family heirloom clock.  Without the clock, the mantel wouldn’t look as high-end.  Those centerpieces look much more luxurious with the other pieces.  Do you see how it all works together to create a balance of high and low, which all looks high-end when the parts are added up?

We’ll be looking into this more as the next couple of weeks progress.  Pairing high and low is such an easy way to add depth and chicness to your home while only investing in certain pieces.  I hope you enjoy this series!

xoxo, Maria

Saturday Wish List

Good morning!  🙂  And Happy Saturday to you.

It seems like every Saturday I spend the early hours of the morning looking at my Pinterest boards and adding things to my various wish lists.  I can’t help it — it’s too fun not to!  I’m sharing some of my newest wishful pins today on the blog, for a little change of pace with some fashion decoration.  😉

Invicta Watch — via Bluefly

Rose Garden Scatter Necklace — via Kate Spade

Heather Citron Sweater — via Bluefly

Casual Couture Black Top — via Bluefly

Tod’s Handbag — via Bluefly

Sutton Shoulder Bag — via Ann Taylor

Prada Sandals — via Bluefly

Salvatore Ferragamo Heels — via Zappos

And how about a couple of Home Wishes?  🙂

Riedel Wine Glass Set — via Bluefly

All-Clad Cookware Set — via Bloomingdale’s

Do you have any items on your Wish List?  🙂

xoxo, Maria

Online Decorating Resources

Hey there, and happy Friday to you!  I hope you all are gearing up for a great weekend.

I wanted to share some of my favorite online decorating retailers with you today.  Because I am in interior designer by trade, I have discount options with all of these sites that people who are not interior designers don’t have, however out of all of the online sites that I deal with on a weekly basis, these are my favorites.  Purchasing things online can sometimes be tricky if you are dealing with a site that you have never had any experience with before, so I thought that I could mention my Top Five favorites.  Not all of these sites are inexpensive, but they are all sites that have delivered great quality when I have ordered anything for a client.  Hope this helps some of you who may be trying to decorate your home!

AllModern

I love AllModern because if I have a client who’s style is really contemporary/ultra-modern, this site brings me strictly that style — no filters necessary.  They have a lot of authentic modern pieces of furniture that they sell at a slight discount (think: Eames, Panton, etc.), and they carry a lot of accessory options, all very high quality.

Wayfair

Many of you have probably heard of Wayfair, but I am mentioning it because AllModern and Wayfair are linked, so there are times when you may find that something is out of stock on AllModern, but it is surprisingly in stock at Wayfair.  Wayfair also carries a great assortment of product because they cover all style options that you can think of.  There are various style filters (as well as other filters) to narrow down product — because there is A TON of product.  Very reasonable pricing.  Very good quality.

Birch Lane

An assortment of really gorgeous traditional decor and furniture.  I haven’t ever ordered from this site personally, but some of the other designers on my team have and have had good experiences.  I would consider this to be a higher-end furniture retailer as things are generally more expensive than the two sites I have mentioned above.  However, for decor, things are moderately priced and tend to have the Pottery Barn/Ballard Designs look with a slightly less cost attached.

Peacock Alley

As one of my former interior design teachers used to say, “This ain’t no bed in a bag!”  Higher-end bedding, but here is the catch — it is all washable!  Usually with bedding comparable to this quality, you’ll be forced to send it out for dry-cleaning.  However, that is not the case with the linens from this online boutique.  Easy to care for, beautiful and custom-looking, and at a reasonable price point for the product that you are receiving.

Bellacor

Decorating styles of all kinds can be found here, mostly leaning toward the more traditional or transitional variety.  On par price-wise with AllModern and Wayfair, and the same product quality.  I like this site because if what I am looking for is decidedly not found at AllModern or Wayfair, I can usually find it on Bellacor — they carry a relatively unique line of products.

I hope this helps you in decorating your home!  Have a great weekend!

xoxo, Maria

Kitchen Contrast

While I am usually a fan of more traditional kitchens for my own space, I still very much appreciate all different styles of design.  For me, a crisp and classic kitchen is what I dream of, but how cool are those with a bit more contrast in the finishes?  Let’s take a look at some inspirational spaces.

via Houzz

I like how this is still a pretty transitional design, but the black and white contrast is really sleek and sexy.  The way the counter space finishes flip-flop with the island finishes is a good design practice altogether.   It keeps things subtly interesting without going over-the-top.

via Luella & June

I think this kitchen concept is pretty much genius.  The marble backsplash softens this look, and the mirrored gold element is harsh, however toned down with the other features.  Really beautiful.

via Domaine Home

The designer of this kitchen made a statement with the overhead pendants and the seat cushions on those Bertoia barstools.  This minimalist look is gorgeously done and doesn’t look too stark or unfriendly.  It has such a fun feel to it.

via Home Adore

I know this is a red feature again, but I just want to mention something with this space.  The red provides contrast with the white, yes, but I imagine that this entire space is one giant room with different seating areas, possibly an entry, etc.  The red wall is a way to draw you in to the space — warmer colors placed on far walls in a space pull you forward, providing more contrast, energy, and life.  This is something really important to remember when you are painting your home.  I will do a separate post about this at some point — very crucial.

via Domaine Home

Another white and gold contrast, this one much more classic (with a farmhouse twist) than the previous.  This gold-accented island is really more aged brass-looking and less shiny than the upper cabinets in the other photo.  It lends itself to this space more than a super glossy and stark gold would have.

via Home Adore

White, green, and red — a classic contemporary color combination.  I’m loving those cabinets on the right-hand wall with that frosty glass.  Very cool.

via Dwell

Pops of vibrant yellow add an element of liveliness and fun to this kitchen.  And the color selection isn’t random — the wall to the left with the paneling?  You can find a toned-down version of the sunny yellow right there.  A great example of how colors don’t necessarily have to match perfectly.  Graying-out a variation is a great way to pair two colors that are the same.

via Home Adore

Steel-y grays and reds — a perfect industrial combination.  In this kitchen, horizontal lines are its main component.  Start at the top of the photo and draw your eye downward…  See it?  This creates a very uniform, clean look.  However, adding in some items with vertical thrust just might make this space a touch more interesting.

via HGTV

Now this is adorably bold, but I don’t think I would ever advise a client to do this unless they were a lifelong fan of yellow.  I see hard surfaces in a kitchen as investments, and the subway tiles would be costly to replace once all of the labor and materials were figured into it.  However, this is a pretty traditional kitchen that strays more to the transitional/soft-contemporary side because of the backsplash, pendants, and barstools.  I really do love it, but it would have to be the perfect set of circumstances for me to bring this idea to a client.

Stark white and espresso brown.  It’s elegant and warm, and with these modern finishes, reads very clean and pretty masculine.  The waterfall countertop is one of my favorite elements of a lot of contemporary kitchens out there.  A very sleek and sophisticated feature.

What is your favorite color juxtaposition when it comes to kitchen design?  Do you like these bold elements that create a lot of contrast?

xoxo, Maria

Life Update

Well, things have been crazy around here, so excuse the lack of posts.  Crazy in a good way, though.  Work is picking up for me as I am being trusted with more projects and responsibility, and that makes me so excited.

We are continuously settling into our new living situation (you can read more about that here), and while some days prove to be more difficult than others, we know we are doing the right thing and that we are so blessed to have family members that love and support us in good times and in bad.

Plus, Kuma seems to love it here.  🙂  This is him partaking in one of his favorite pastimes — sunbathing on the pavers in the beautiful backyard.

This is a couple of weeks ago when we found some old clothes that Oscar used to wear and we put this striped shirt on Kuma so that we would match.  Oscar was the family dog for many years, but passed away last year.  Oso is the remaining dog now, and he and Kuma have become fast friends.

That’s Oso sitting on a comfy chair with me.  He loves to snuggle.  And bark.  A lot.  😉

Finally, but not of least importance, the biggest news I have is that of a new arrival.  My sister-in-law gave birth two weeks ago to a healthy, beautiful baby boy named Francesco (but we call him Franco).  He is so amazing, and we all love him so much.  While I won’t share photos of him on the blog, I will tell you that he is completely gorgeous and makes me want a baby so bad, lol!

I will be trying to carve out some time each week for more regular posting.  Blogging has always added so much joy to my life, and I want to continue even though I don’t necessarily have time to do it each day.  I’m looking forward to the Holiday season because I can share my in-laws’ decor with you — and I can assure you, it won’t disappoint!  🙂

xoxo

Maria