no space? no way!

impressive to me is not the biggest space but the best use of space. Impressive is maximizing the space you have to make it work for you. What do I mean by this? Efficient. Well thought. Lean. Strong design. 

Home offices are like this. Online bill pay, E-cards, you name it. Knowing this allows us to have an efficient home office in a small space. Look at these people - great idea! It is not how much space they have, but how well they used the space that they do have... just look. 

aboutinterior.com

domenic mercadante 

thomas j. story

digs digs

a treat after working in the home office 

purple?

sheridan french

Over the last few weeks and months, I have become fascinated with painting something purple. Purple is my mom's favorite color and my second favorite color - my first place always goes to green.

Now this may sound silly, but my mom has a purple pencil that she has used for years and years and every time I see another purple pencil, I think about her.

I am not sure if that is my purple inspiration but something is... Strong, dark, deep, royal (I love Princess Kate so I had throw that in there) - purple.

I am thinking of painting my dining room, which is small so I certainly do not want it to feel even smaller, but I think it would be very nice to have dinner in a dark room on nice china with tasty food (maybe the almost homemade kind) and a beautiful centerpiece.

These are just a of my purple inspirations... 

desire to inspire

Martha Stewart 

Domino Magazine

the Lennoxx

walking on the wall

If you read my last blog post about rug layering then you know that I recently purchased a handmade camel hair Moroccan rug. I love it. The rug is not large - 4" x 6". I really enjoy layering rugs but recently someone mentioned that I may want to consider the rug wall art. Hum... Interesting idea. I had not really thought about that, but now I am. I have seen tapestry wall art in museums and larger more traditional homes, and they are beautiful but not usually my taste. How could wall art tapestries by my taste? 

Check out these pictures and you will see. They pop against the other items in the room, but I think the key is the rug you choose. The size and colors must be to scale of everything else in the space. Want do you think - heck no or heck yeah? 

Rooms & Spaces

Jessica Cleary of Acadian Lighting

ship-and-anchor.tumbir.com 

Elle Decor

House and Home

Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Amy Neunsinger

stamprugs.com

Angie Helm Interiors 

Layering

Layering - make your own rules.

I recently purchased a new rug (100% camel hair from Morocco - love it). Their is just one problem - my budget did not allow for the size that I really wanted. So now the challenge is finding a way to use the rug to had color and interest to a space even if it is not large enough to define the space.

What do I mean by this...? Layering. I love the look of layering rugs, especially with a relaxed seagrass or sisal base. Check out these pictures - what do you think? 

iVillage

Unknown

Domicile Interiors

Mia James (homeowner) with Billie Brian (architect) 

Elle Decor

George Dines

One Kings Lane

Appletree Staging, LLC

Step up into Art!

I love how the these staircases are now a true extension of the adjoining floors. The gallery walls create exceptional visual interest and character in what is often a bland and boring space. Make each step count by taking every opportunity to display more of your personal style. I hope that you find inspiration from these pictures just as I did!

Pinterest
You can probably tell by now, that Black and White are just about my favor 'color' combination so this had be the first picture! I really love the uniform and the way these pictures stretch up from the floor - what a great way to draw your eye up.

Pinterest          

Cheetah never looked so good!                     

Unknown

 What a great way to extend a small narrow staircase... I also love the variation in the banister color!

Susan Saarel

I am a fan of a grouping with varying mat sizes and mediums and a staircase is just one more place extend an expansive art collection. The random nature of the collection creates wonderful visual interest with a variety of focal points.

Jordan Guide

The relatively small pieces in this grouping create the feeling of one large focal point. The natural colors with the contacts of black and white are soothing to the eye. Well done!

my house 

Now, this is my attempt... I decided to use my photographs with black frames and large white mats for all because it help create a clean and modern space. 

Simply White

My weekend was filled with white walls... between painting my half bath/laundry room in glossy white and an afternoon visit to the North Carolina Museum of Art.  The white allows the walls to disappear and the art to take center stage. The walls seem to float almost encouraging you to go from space to space with the natural light drawing your attention into the next gallery. If you have not been, it is well worth a visit. 

North Carolina Museum of Art 

http://www.ncartmuseum.org/

... until I have pictures of my less than glamours half bath/laundry room to share, please check out the pictures below of beautiful rooms painted in high gloss white. It is like a a mirror in the paint and I love the way the light moves around the room. Wonderful unexpected twist on clean and simple white. 

 House Beautiful 

Mirror Kitchen Backsplash

I really believe mirror and light reflecting objects are key components to strong design, allowing images and colors to move around the room to change a feeling and mood just by adding and taking away light.

Why not give your kitchen the same opportunities you would give your living room? Checkout the mirror backslashes in these kitchens... gives a modern and sleek feeling while still being easy to clean and reasonably priced - sounds like a win to me!

Blogspot

Blogspot

HGTV

Joey Ivansco, For The AJC

Thomas O'Brian Kitchen

Lonny - Ethan Feirstein & Ari Heckman