I'm Back With A Lot Of Ideas

Hello friends!

Sorry I was gone for April.  It has been one of those fly by night months, gone faster than a speeding bullet.  I missed blogging so much so I am christening this post with a glass of champagne!  I can't wait to share with you all the projects I am working on and the fantastic people I have met!  I have been all over the place.  I wish I could get car mile points like the airlines give out.  Sadly no, just spending lots of dough on gas which goes up so fast; it is up five cents as I write this-now ten cents!!

For this blog post I am attempting to recap all the bits of fun design info I have been involved in since my last post.  I have a before and after to show you that made me so happy because it has been a year since I did the design; Also I included articles from some amazing print publications I have been involved in for March and April that are full of great tips on some timely topics.  And have you heard of Houzz.com?  It's a great place to get detailed ideas on every design and decor dilemna you can think of.  I am writing featured ideabooks for them now (so fun!!).  Below I have shared a DIY that was featured today.  

April wasn't all work and no play for me.  I also flew to Florida for some family time (first vacation in a year!).  That is my cool Dad in the blue hat.  This was the first photo taken of me without a drink in my hand!

1. THIS JUST IN!

I was just told by Roeshel, creator of DIY Showoff, a wonderful and popular blog all about renovations, before and after home improvements, DIY design and decor on a budget, that she will be including a link to my how-to create a photo gallery in tomorrow's post!  Thank you Roeshel! And thank you to all those DIY lovers who stop by!!  CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW TO CREATE A PHOTO GALLERY POST.

2. IT'S DIY TIME

If you ever wondered the wall of circles in my home office was created, or just want to know how to re-use a pizza box, you can see step by step instructions featured on Houzz.  

3. Publications I Was Featured In Recently

Get all my tricks and tips on how to make A SMALL ROOM FEEL LARGER published in the Hakol Newspaper March 2011- CLICK HERE to read it (pg 2-3)!

Get my easy to add ideas on HOW TO CREATE A MEMORABLE GUEST ROOM published in the Hakol Newspaper March 2011- CLICK HERE to read it (pg 8-9)!

Care For Your Outdoor Furniture- Refurbish And Replacement Options

As the days get longer, it¹s getting on time to pull the patio furniture out of storage and plant it next to the garden for the spring and summer. If it’s looking worn, you have a choice: refurbish or replace it. Read what to do in The Morning Call Newspaper Sunday Feature April 11, 2011 edition- CLICK HERE.

4. A designs by Shoshana Room Transformation

A Master Bedroom Transforms From A Bare Space To A Deep Rich Tuscan Getaway

My clients Kelly and Wayne wanted to create a haven that mixed their taste of a simple natural feel and their love of Italy.  They also had a major request to incorporate a sentimental quilt and pillows hand made by Kelly's mom.  This was a challenge for me because I wanted to use the rich warm colors found in Tuscan style.  The beautifully made quilt was crisp white with soft green and bits of yellow in it.  My solution was to use the quilt at the end of the bed as an accent throw and tie it in with the walls through the soft green.  

Here is the beautiful quilt-

Here is the BEFORE and AFTER 
taken with my new iphone

AFTER

The changes made were cosmetic-easy to achieve! To add the richness that the Tuscan style is soaked in, we added tons of golden Mediterranean colors in brilliant golds, dark bronze (the chandelier and lamps) and rich reds.  We kept the furniture, because heavy warm chunky wood works well with a Tuscan feel.   We used a lighter tone of green on the ceiling and man does it bring up the comfy level in the room!

The focal point became the space above the bed.  As soon as you walk in, it pulls you in.  All we did was find a calendar that had gorgeous pictures of Italy.  They were framed and hung in a tight grouping.

We played up the embellishments, true to Tuscan style, by using fringe on the pillows, layering the window treatments with a creamy diamond patterned sheers, and tassels on the armoire, and beaded trim add to a multi-layered look.

BEFORE

AFTER

5. PROJECT I AM FINISHING UP TOMORROW WITH SJ

If you recall I went on television in March talking about my design for a little boy and a little girls bedroom CLICK HERE to see the news segment.  SJ, Designs by Shoshana's amazingly talented coordinator, and I, have been hard at work executing the plan.  Here is a peek into the DIY pillow solutions for the bedrooms.  Stop by again May 18 to see the bedrooms come to life and the DIY ideas, step by step! - and I can't wait for you to meet SJ.  Soon.  Very soon!!! 

Yes it is vinyl and so fun!!!!!!

6. PRODUCT I AM SO DIGGIN'

I know this is not a design recommendation but this is a new love of mine that I want to share:

Would you like a coffee that packs a powerful packet of hot chocolate in it?  Then welcome to my K-cup Cafe Mocha addiction - who would have thought that something so small could make me so happy!

A Man's Master Bedroom Re-design

I was hired to re-design a master bedroom for a gentleman in Allentown PA.  This was the first man's bedroom I had done and I did not want it to be overly monochromatic, and NO BROWN! I asked him "What inspires you?"  and he mentioned the Scottish painter Jack Vettriano.  Perfect jumping off board.  The great contemporary artist Vettriano (born Jack Hoggan) is also an inspiration to me for the romance he creates in his work, and for his belief in himself and his art.  He chose art; it didn't choose him.  

Jack Vettriano left school at sixteen to become a mining engineer. For his twenty-first birthday, a girlfriend gave him a set of water color paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint. He put his artwork out there, and it paid off!!

-For those who dream of taking a different path in life, think of Vettriano and go for it!

MY DESIGN PLAN AND FLAWS:

I didn't let the traditionally mission style furniture he already had stop our plan for a contemporary feel. We 'contempo'd' it up with steel grey walls, lots of chrome, including three new framed Vettriano's, deep 'manly' eggplant window treatments, and of course a bit of zebra and mink.  I also added a wall tattoo to cut the squareness of all the hard edges and add 'whimsy' and interest (the decal was bigger than me).  

When I presented my ideas to my manly client, he said 'Shosh, that's not eggplant, it is purple."  I said 'eggplant is the new purple'.  Then he said "Shosh, animal print?" I said "Grrrr...don't get me mad."  And he shook his head and rolled his eyes when I showed him the decal idea.  Design should be fun; there is no right or wrong-just opinions.  He gave me the green light and I went to work.

Here is the before and after:

BEFORE

AFTER

These drapery rods were a splurge but so worth it!!  To bring the budget back down I found the pillows on sale.  Changing the doors and door hardware made a HUGE difference.

BEFORE

Bye bye blue walls and doily sheers.....

AFTER

BEFORE

"Is that the sun rising from that faux stucco sconce?

AFTER

 

A sleek Zylinder satin black with chrome wall sconce fits in like a long lost friend.

 BEFORE

This dresser was actually against the closet wall first. I recommend placing a high piece of furniture under a high window to conceal the awkwardness, then ditch the doily window treatments!  Also what you can't see is an unorganized closet that we quickly addressed. And are those doors or shutters?

AFTER

Roman shades are more functional on a high window.  And for this long and narrow window, they add height and fullness.

Bring on more glitz with this mirror and chair from Pier 1.

I found this decal at www.walltat.com and thought it was beautiful.  It is called‘Graphic Floral 3-Wall Decal’ and is 63" x 40".  I played with the positioning of it using painters tape, and I have to say, it was easy to put up (just took an hour to make sure I didn't rip it and to get all the bubbles out).

So how is my manly client enjoying his bedroom?  He chuckles and nods which is his way of saying 'he digs his new 'diggs'.  Actually we just made changes to his upstairs bathroom and he was all for more purple-