blog

my design projects, inspirations, & a few personal tidbits

Here you will find what inspires me, and a peek into how I pull spaces together – the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly mishaps along the way. I sprinkle in a little family life, travel, food, fashion, and party events, too.

June 11, 2014

AStoriedStyle.com Years ago, I fell in love with the Sara Chandelier from Canopy Designs. Sara chandelier That beautiful blue color has stuck in my mind for years; in fact, one of my clients has this chandelier in her house, and it looks amazing.  Although I explored other options, and even DIY-ing a fixture, we ended up leaving room in our budget for a pair of the Sara pendants since I believed they would add so much to the room.  Even with my discount, they were pricey, and after waiting what felt like forever (these are handblown in the US), two boxes showed up on my doorstep from New York. There was one small problem though...that "beautiful blue color" looked more blue-green than I had imagined. AStoriedStyle.com
June 10, 2014

Hello All, With the ending of my oldest's kindergarten year, finishing up a couple of big client projects I cannot wait to show you, and baseball baseball baseball, it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks.  Consider this post a little catch-up before we move on. Of course, this update would not be complete without explaining this situation I posted on Instagram a few weeks ago. The Car... AStoriedStyle.com Yup, this happened to us.  Our porte cochere ceiling collapsed on our car, and the car has been in the hospital ever since.  We thought it was totaled, but lo and behold, it has been saved, after getting a new...basically front half.

AStoriedStyle.com

Why did it fall?  We have no idea.  And neither does the insurance.  Which is why they won't pay for it, but at least the car is covered. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but that ceiling up there was about two and a half inch thick concrete and plaster.  It weighs a ton, and yes, it is a bummer this happened, but more than anything, we are so so thankful no one was in the porte cochere when it fell.  Our kids play in there all the time, so we will take a broken car and some mess any day over hurt little people.  Or worse. We have had several people out here to look at it and give us bids, and we hear the same thing over and over.  "This is built so beautifully, they just don't make them like this anymore". AStoriedStyle.com I think we will probably leave the knob and tube wiring, although I know people have differing opinions on this.  Some electricians say, "Take it out, it will burn your house down!", while others say, "It's great!  Leave it alone, it will last forever, and has less problems than today's wiring".  So there you go... We have since had the entire porte cochere ceiling removed (about half of it fell - around 450 sf), and the weight was about 8,000 pounds.  TWO TONS!!  Can you believe that?  The plan is not to replace the ceiling with that material (obviously), but put something up there like we have on our front porch ceiling, which is that narrow beadboard.  We also want to insulate before we put a new ceiling up, since there are two rooms above this area. I have spent a ridiculous amount of time on the phone with the insurance company, and talking to contractors and people with expertise in this area, so it has definitely been a pain.  Although if you think about it, that ceiling is nearly a hundred years old, and when I am 100, I'm sure I will be falling in some places, too. The Bathroom... It is so close I can taste it, but it is still not done.  Month six.  It always seems like a few nit picky details end up dragging projects out forever.  And that is exactly what is happening here.  Tomorrow's post has some updates, plus a change of plans. AStoriedStyle.com
June 2, 2014

AStoriedStyle.com Thanks so much for the great comments on my DIY Acrylic Rod Update!  I have loved getting photos of what you guys have done with the idea so keep them coming! Curtains are an easy change usually, which is good for me because I like to change mine every few years.  : )  Now there are some I will not change as often because the fabric is a one-of-a-kind, or it is some amazing pattern and was more expensive, etc.  I also like to get creative when changing out curtains and will use them to make pillows or cover a small bench or chair, etc.  In fact, that is exactly what I did for a client in her guest room.  We covered a sad bench with two panels of gray velvet drapery I used to have in my office, and it turned out great!  (see the post here)  I mean, seriously, would you ever know those were curtains?

photo courtesy of Sabrina Gebhardt Photography

As I'm sure you have noticed, wide,  horizontal-striped curtains with a bold color have been all the rage the past few years, although a stripe is classic and will probably never go out of style.

Janie-M-Designs-horizontal-draperyjanie molster designs

I have loved this look for years, but wanted something a little softer for my living room.   Brightening this room up is something I have really worked on (through changing color palette - paint, trim, etc.) because even though it has two large and two small windows, it can feel rather dark.  None of the windows have direct light as the front porch presides over the two large windows, and the porte cochere hovers over the two small windows. When I spied this neutral wide striped fabric, I knew this was just what I wanted. AStoriedStyle.com However, the fabric had been discontinued, so luckily, my friend and talented designer, Emily, helped me track it down!  Thanks again, Emily! I like drapery with pleating at the top because I think it helps the fabric hang better, but I wanted the pleats to be very very minimal.  Pinch pleats can look very formal and sometimes a little severe to me.  Since I have an old home, and this is our living room, I did not want it to feel overly formal as these rooms can project "stuffiness".  The slight pleats give it a more casual, livable vibe.  I'm so happy with how they turned out.
May 29, 2014

diy acrylic rod

Without a doubt, one of my most popular DIY's ever has been my acrylic rods.  Well, they are DIY-ish, but more importantly, they are timeless, fabulous, and affordable.  You can find the original post that started it all here, and if you do use the tutorial, make sure you say "hey" to my buddy, Kipp, and tell him I sent you.  I don't get a commission or anything (although I should, ha), but he has always been kind to me and provided awesome customer service to all of you who have called.  (as you have told me) UPDATE:  Kipp's contact info!  He works for Nationwide Plastics in Dallas, and they will cut, polish the ends of your rods (if desired) AND ship the rods straight to your door.  They are open Monday through Friday 8-5, and his number is 214.239.3870.  Just call and ask for Kipp. My living room has gone through a number of changes since I first posted the rod tutorial nearly two years ago.  And yes, I'm going to post the full room eventually, but I am still tying up a few loose ends before I photograph it.  You can see in the photo below from a couple of years ago that my rods have changed a bit.  Plus the paint color, curtain fabric, and hardware are different.  : ) Then... AStoriedStyle-DIYAcrylicRod6 Now...

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