Sugar, Spice, & Sweet Nurseries of Stripes

I love stripes! I love to paint them and I love the way they look in a room. Whether the colors are bold with high contrast or muted with a difference of just a few shades between them, stripes kick up the wow factor on a room every single time. Guaranteed. And the rooms you see below are no different.

Baby "W" was born last February and her mama knew she wanted some stripes. But would she ask for stripes on just one wall? Nope. We put stripes on all FOUR in two beautiful shades of coral. The rest of this gorgeous baby girl's nursery included a mixture of floral and lace, along with some rustic and woodland pieces too. I seriously love how it all came together.

September was all about Baby "H" and her impending arrival. Her mommy also knew exactly what she wanted for her daughter's nursery and to my delight, stripes were on the list (and in a gorgeous shade of navy)!  Once the shade and size of stripes were selected, I got to work on this super fun feature wall. 

Fun, right? I love the paired contrast of navy and white on this wall. It's bold, fresh, and clean. But this nursery was far from being done. Check out (below) what this mama had up her sleeve. Once the paint had dried, she got right to work decorating...and the transformation is absolutely stunning! I mean look at those gorgeous paper flowers and all the fixin's she incorporated into her sweet girl's room!

Nurseries aren't the only place for stripes though. In fact, stripes can go anywhere in a home. In this master bedroom (pictured below), my client loved the idea of adding a striped feature wall using calm, ocean-like blue hues to remind her of her favorite place: the beach. 

And guest rooms! This guest room got a full makeover with the help of some sweet stripes. They really do make the room pop and paired with the rest of the decor, offer an inviting place for guests to stay.

And did someone mention hallways?  As I stated before, stripes can go on any wall and look amazing. Here's a view of my own hallway and another picture from one of my previous homes. Have I mentioned I love stripes (just making sure you're paying attention)?!

Are YOU feeling the stripes?

Trees, Trees--and you guessed it--More Trees...

Over the past year and a half, I've had the wonderful opportunity to create a number of trees in people's homes, places of business, and even a shelter or two. Trees are are so much fun, and thanks to the popularity of Pinterest, also in high demand. There really are so many different ways to customize these feature murals. Know what else? They totally transform the space they're in, making their rooms all the rage.  

Family trees are awesome, aren't they? But how about a mango tree? Solano's Ice Cream in Yuma, AZ was gearing up for something new (and big) in their business and they needed a mango tree to kick off said campaign. Pretty and fun!

P.S. Doesn't mango ice cream sound so good right now? Yum.

The Humane Society of Yuma (HSOY), wanted a Legacy Tree in the main corridor of the facility--right when you walk in. They selected this tree from a slew of options because they wanted the ability to honor as many donors as they could both now and well into the future (which meant they needed looooong tree limbs and less foliage). Plaques will soon adorn these branches and this tree will serve as a wonderful tribute to many. HSOY also chose a beautiful orange background to compliment their silhouette tree.

These twin girls had a major room makeover and in doing so requested a tree...but the tree had to have flowers...and their names on it somewhere. Ask and you shall receive. ;)

This was fun! My client asked for a fairy-friendly, whimsical tree that her mushroom stool could sit under. And she definitely needed a snail while I was at it. She selected the leaf colors and the style of tree she was interested in and AFC (that's me!) did the rest. **Notice the fairy door located in the trunk of this ecclectic arbor. Fun, right? 

Located right in the living room--as soon as you enter--this family tree is the focal point of the whole room.

And how about this one? You can find this family tree in the resident's hallway, located right outside the kitchen and leading into her grandaughters' play room. She even had their names and birthdates added to the trunk. Cute and totally custom!

What do you think? Are you feeling the trees? Could you see this in your home too?

Welcome to the Jungle: Tween Room Gone Wild!

I love the opportunity to try new and fun things with decor and I most certainly love a challenge when it comes to design. This tween boys room afforded me both and I'm super excited with the way his room turned out.

When using Pinterest to garner ideas for a jungle-themed room, the majority of pins I found were geared towards a younger audience. Lots of nurseries, rooms with stuffed animals, and even images of Noah's Ark kept reappearing, but since my client was a twelve year-old boy, cute little animals and crib mobiles definitely weren't going to cut it. We needed a jungle theme fit for a young man and I think we achieved it.

First? Picking the colors. "K" wanted green paint so we chose three vivid shades of the color to bond with for a little bit. And when I say "bonding" I mean just that. Anytime you're considering a color for your walls, you've got to make sure to inspect it at different times during the day. How one shade may look in the morning might look totally different at night and also vary room to room within the same home. Lighting is everything when choosing the perfect paint color! Soooo, long story short: we went with Valspar's Houseplant (#2 in the picture below) for the accent wall and SW Mindful Gray for the neighboring walls.

Valspar

HOUSEPLANT

Once the walls were painted, it was time for the most funnest part ever (just go with my vocab,): the decorating! Roughly twice a year Hobby Lobby has a big sale on decor where one can pick up some sweet finds. Since we were incorporating a jungle theme, I managed to find a cheetah, an elephant, a tiger, and a few other knick-knacks that would fit right in and tie the room together. The rest of the items for this gallery wall were picked up from Ross (see that great elephant print? $20!), and Marshall's for a really great price.

"K" was also down with my suggestion to icksnay the drapes for his window and create a really cool awning instead. My carpenter, Nate constructed this masterpiece (a modified Pinterest idea) which added a cool rustic/industrial feature to the room for only a little bit of money. Win-Win.

And how about this for a design challenge? A big, square cut-out right in the middle of the room?! The point of it? I have no idea! Initially I thought we would cover it with a backboard and add a hoop for some fun, but "K" wasn't on board. Option 2? A mount. Using the same backboard idea but implementing a metal, 3D mount I scored from Hobby Lobby for $20. Nate came to the rescue (again) by adding that awesome corrugated metal and bam! A custom piece that looks crazy cool and covers up the awkward hole that literally housed nothing.

The bedding? Amazon. A black and blue plaid comforter to compliment that green and give his beautiful new headboard and matching nightstand (also Amazon) some add "umph." 

Oh, and how about this desk and shelving?! It ties everything together, is super functional, houses a number of books, knick-knacks, and one super cool bearded dragon.  Special thanks to Nate Koogle (yet again) for his amazing skills. "K"--enjoy your room. It'll definitely be one to grow with!

What do you think? Is this room wildly fun or what?

A Warped Fence & Black paint: warming up a room with the unlikeliest of materials.

The thought of actually applying black paint to a wall (or walls) in your home can be a terrifying thought for most. Will it drive down the resale value? Will it make my room look smaller? Is it too harsh of a color?  These are all valid questions and reservations to have when it comes to black paint, but creating a room with a feature wall in the darkest of hues can make all the difference.

No, seriously.

And having more than one feature wall in a room can totally work as well.

Recently, I offered my painting and decorating services at my church home in Yuma, AZ. We just moved into this building back in August and so a number of the rooms remain a blank canvas of sorts. This designated prayer room looked nice and was fully functional, but it was missing that "wow" factor. The stark walls and contemporary furniture needed some warmth and balance. This room just needed some new paint, a few rustic elements, and a little added decor to pull it all together.

The budget? $250. For a large room like this, a small budget definitely presented a challenge but I firmly believe that decorating (or re-decorating) a space doesn’t have to be expensive. That simple is better.  And paint? Paint can do wonders. Since the furniture was already in place, here's what went down with the rest of this makeover: 

First I scoured the church’s paint supply and found just enough of the colors I needed for my project; one gallon of Valspar’s Kettle Black (Eggshell), one gallon of Valspar Cattle Drive (with a 25% reduction/Semi-gloss), and two gallons of SW Dovetail Grey (with a 25% reduction/Semi-gloss).

Next, I planned out the design of this space based off the amount of paint I had in each color as well as the actual shape of the room. By pairing the modern, masculine furniture with a rustic feature wall, and some fresh paint in warm, cool, and neutral colors,  I knew it would look pretty cool. Plus, I love the added warmth wood brings into a room, don't you? Luckily our church property housed an old, rustic, semi-warped fence with a whole bunch of character. It was as simple as going out back and gathering up some wood (love when that happens).  Even better? I didn’t have to sand 'em and I didn’t have to stain 'em either. Twenty years in the hot AZ sun added enough character to these boards, so up they went. As is. *Oh, yeah!*

Now, here comes the fun part: the transformation.

Putting all of these components together, planning out the space, and adding some simple elements such as throw pillows (Kirkland's), lamps (Hobby Lobby), and a few knick-knacks , here's how it all turned out.

Kind of fun, right?  That black wall will soon house a monitor so this part of the room can double as a conference center for church administration. As for the Dovetail wall, I'm thinking some sweet b & w pics on large canvases will do the trick. And while we're talking about accents, please note: decor doesn't have to be expensive…or perfect! This chalkboard piece (pictured below) was found at Hobby Lobby. Although the dimensions were perfect for the steel table it would rest upon, the color of the border was not. It was red. Like, RED-RED! Red definitely wasn’t in the design plans but three small acrylic paint bottles--in varying shades of brown (at $1.37 each)--would make it all better. I simply painted the border to look like wood in a total of ten minutes. Acrylic dries super fast so this centerpiece got a makeover in no time flat.

So can a black wall and some old, warped wood add overall warmth and create an inviting space (especially in a room without windows or any natural light)? I’ll let you decide. ;)

Bold Bathroom Makeover

A master bathroom doesn't have to be big in order to achieve major makeover results. In this dramatic renovation, we took a bland, outdated master bath, which was lacking some serious character, and infused it with a fresh coat of paint in a beautiful teal hue (Valspar Ocean Soul, 25% reduction). Yes, teal! In a small bathroom too! But before I share the "after" pics, check out where we started. 

After chatting with my client and understanding the goal she was trying to achieve in this space, I couldn't help but stare at that shower curtain. From the colors to the pattern, it worked! So, this simple, inexpensive piece of plastic managed to serve as the inspiration for the overall design. 

Next, in an effort to create contrast (and not make this room appear smaller than it actually is), we added white board and batten moldings (SW Alabaster) all around the room, bright orange towels (yay, Marshall's!) to compliment the paint color, some festive wall decor to accentuate the room, and a bathroom cabinet to add richness (and additional storage) in this small nook. Throw in a sweet mirror from Kirkland's (on sale, mind you), and a few extra decor pieces, and bam(!), these simple and inexpensive changes made all the difference. 

It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint, wall moldings, and a few decorations can do to a space, don't you think?