Thursday, February 4, 2010

IMPORTANT!! Please Read!

For the past 2 days I have been unable to access my blog, as has anyone who has tried to, being redirected to another site. Thank goodness hubby is a pc expert! It took several hours, but he was finally able to track the source - THE SNOWFALL EFFECT! It seems that the site that provides this widget has been hacked. Please be aware of this and if you have this widget on your blog, remove it immediately!

Monday, February 1, 2010

My "Portfolio" In Progress!

Hi All! I'm very excited to share some things with you. I've been so busy around here lately with different projects, including my Etsy store, which I've added alot of new merchandise to, as well as launching my new design business. It started off slow, but has been picking up lately with interest from many different prospective "clients".

I got my foot in the door by redesigning my In-Laws home post-fire. It's been almost a whole year since Pat and Dick were displaced by a fire that started in their kitchen. After months of living in a hotel, they finally moved back into their home in October and I've been hard at work finding everything they need to furnish their "new" home. Moving back in, they had absolutely nothing, not even a place to sit, or eat, or sleep! After covering the necessities, I got to work in their living room. There is still some work to be done, like hanging the window treatments, but the majority is done, and I'm happy to say, they love their new home!

We'll start in the Living Room. Pat and Dick are used to having "beige" everything! So I added lots of color wherever I could to brighten the space.
All of the furniture was purchased either on Craig's List or from yardsales/moving sales.


The sofa and loveseat were a Craig's List find - Clayton Marcus - for only $350! The end tables and many of the accessories were from Home Goods.

The secretary above we found at a flea market for $25. I filled it with lots of books and blue/white transferware that I had in my inventory.
These next pictures are my favorite. All of these things I found at a house sale.

The woman having the sale was a professional stager and was getting rid of some of her stock. I grabbed as much stuff as I could, but ran out of room in my car. I went back for more the next day!
Here is another look!


Now into the Dining Room. I kept it simple in here and still have some work to do. A black shelf that I picked up at Goodwill will go under the middle picture, but it needs a coat of black spray paint first. I also have to add the window treatments.
The table and chairs were a Craig's List find for $250! The gorgeous marble and wrought iron console table was a Craig's List steal for $150. All accessories were from Home Goods.


The last room I want to show you is the Sun Porch. I only spent one day on this room so far, but I like how it's shaping up.

I found the china cab at the Goodwill for $50 and filled it with whatever I could find in their house. I will replace it with some more blue/white.


The upholstered parsons chairs were a Home Goods find.

There is still alot more accessorizing to be done, pillows, lamps, throws, etc. I envision an area rug in a neutral shade with a red border. I'm also scouring Craig's List for the perfect coffee table. This room is actually huge! The whole left side is yet to be done.

It's been alot of fun working on this house. As the rest of it gets done I will share more pictures with you.

Onto the next project!
This home belongs to a friend of my parents. They just added two room onto the back of their home. I was taken on to accessorize the back room, specifically the built-in bookcases. The homeowners have traveled all over the world, so the goal was to make this their "travel" room. I was asked to use mostly things they had acquired in their travels and then I added some things I found at Home Goods.


The builder also happens to be the homeowner's son and he specializes in woodwork. The built-in cabinetry is gorgeous! I had so much fun accessorizing them.





I also did the mantle. I kept this simple with the emphasis being on the beautiful wall sculpture from Greece.


Lastly, I did a wallscape using lots of black frames and adding sconces in an animal print that I found at Ross. The picture in the middle was the homeowner's and she really wanted me to incorporate it in the wallscape. I arranged this on the floor and when it looked right I hung everything on the wall. Photos of their travels will fill the frames.





The end result was exactly what the homeowner wanted. They will be traveling to Israel next and when they return I will start working on their Family Room. I will share those pictures with you too!

That's it for now. Thanks for checking in and have a great week!

More Google Problems

Need help people! For the past week I've been unable to see any pictures on my blog. When I go to my dashboard, all of the blogs show up, but there are no pics and my pc just keeps "loading". I only have this problem with google, not any other area. Does anyone else experience this or know what I should do? I've extremely frustrated!
Thanks~