Category Archives: mood boards

we finally have a guest bedroom that isn’t also a studio!

Longest blog post title ever? Maybe. But what can I say? I’m pretty jazzed that we not only have a separate room for our guests to stay in when they come to visit, but that it’s also a pretty huge room. We’re talking about 20′ x 15′! So I’ve had big plans for how I would eventually decorate my “beautiful guest room!” (which I only hear in Monica’s voice when she and Chandler finally move in together. MERGE!)

Rewind to the beginning of the year. Derek and I went to Houston to visit his parents (post wedding) and of course we went to Target. They had just launched this line that I’ve been jonesing over for months, so I was pretty excited to see it all in person. I already had a list of items I wanted from that line, and at the top of said list was a pair of the coral upholstered x-frame benches with white piping. They weren’t online, so I knew I was going to have to hunt these suckers down. Well on this trip I found one. ONE! So I bought it in hopes that when I got back to San Antonio I would find it’s mate. Eight Targets later and no such luck. Let me just point out that about 90% of the San Antonio Targets were really slacking on this whole line. They only had about 25% of the collection, which made me really sad. I texted a few of my friends that live near Targets I don’t frequent to keep an eye out for my bench’s BFF. And crossed all of my limbs while I waited.

Fast forward to last week. I had my poor little lonely bench in the back of my car on it’s way to being returned because I had pretty much given up on finding it’s mate. Then my dear friend Sophie texted me this:

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I just about died. The Target she was at was about 30 minutes from where I live, but I booked it. And then instagramed something like this (and I may or may not have quoted Duck Dynsasty):

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“Lookie here lookie here! Good things have come our way! #happyhappyhappy”

I was pretty excited to finally have my pair of benches that I planned to use at the foot of my guest bed. I knew I wanted the room to be quirky and colorful, yet still pretty relaxing for our guests. I’ve been obsessed with these pillows for a while, and when I saw that they were on sale I pounced. Yes my shopping method is very much like hunting in the jungle.. Or a kitten. You decide.

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But before I committed to this purchase, I checked Amazon to see if they had them any cheaper, which they did! They were only $54 each at the time (now they’re back up to $80 sorry..) so I got the pair using Prime with free two day shipping. Winner winner. I always forget that Amazon has ..um.. everything. And I hate paying shipping. I know that $54 may sound a little high for a pillow, but they are 20″ square AND come with a down feather insert. These babies are luxe. I was kind of surprised at how big they were when they arrived. So now that my main decorative pieces are here, I can finally start to see the room come together. Here is a little mood board I whipped up to show you guys what I have planned..

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Since the master bedroom will be very dark, I wanted to contrast this and make the guest room light and tranquil using Benjamin Moore’s Healing Aloe.
I plan to use crisp white linen drapery panels for the two large windows, so that optimum light can enter the room during the day.
I’ve been wanting to make another button tufted headboard, so I thought the guest bed would be a perfect opportunity. I’d like to use a rich cobalt in a nice plush velvet for some dimension.
To downplay the bright colors sprinkled around the room I want to just have fresh white linens with a simple white quilt or duvet cover, along with these square-tuck euro shams I picked up at West Elm a few years ago that add such a great texture.
For the night stands I wanted to provide some additional storage to our guests who rather not live out of a suitcase, so I think that I’ll flip some Ikea Rast night stands to make them look more campaign style. I think it would be a pretty fun hack.
I’ve been searching for a fun whimsical pair of lamps to flank each side of the bed, and I just love these artichoke style versions. I have one similar to this I just wish I would have grabbed it’s mate while I was at HomeGoods.
And last but not least I’d like to add some black and white photographs from our honeymoon above the bed to really tie everything together and make the space a bit more personal.

So those are the plans for the guest bedroom. I’m sad that this room won’t be complete by the time Derek’s parents come to visit this weekend, but it’s about halfway there :) As of tonight we’re officially done house/dog sitting so I can finally finish up a slew of projects that I’ve been itching to share with you guys. Also.. I have a pretty great surprise for you next week. Suspense!

some dark plans for the master bedroom

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This weekend we have big plans to paint the master bedroom. We’ve decided to use the same color that we used in the bathroom (Benjamin Moore’s Iron Mountain) because I’ve always wanted to have dark bedroom walls. The room gets a lot of natural light so I’m not too worried about it looking like a cave. Here are some rooms that really won me over.

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And as you may remember, this is what our bedroom looked like when we moved in:

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And after this weekend it should be looking a little more like this:

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The walls will be painted Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain in a satin finish to darken up the space and make it feel more cozy.
The window is 9 feet wide and will have white linen drapery panels to brighten up the space a little and make it feel less like a cave. I like to use linen on my windows because the weave is open enough to still let a lot of natural light in.
I plan to upholster our headboard with the royal blue Otomi fabric my parents bought for me two Christmases ago. I’ve been holding off on using this fabric because I was waiting for the perfect project for it.
The bed will be flanked with these bronze eyeball sconces on each side. I love the bronze finish against the wall color.
On either side of the bed we’ plan to mount two wall hung nightstands so that we can still use the drawers under the bed without bumping into them.
Because the headboard is such a strong pattern I’d like to use simple white linens with our new duvet cover. You can really never go wrong with white linens, it’s such a classic look.
For a fun pop of color I’ll probably put our Anthropologie throw blanket at the foot of the bed. I just love the texture of it against the crisp white linens.
I hate having fuzzies stuck to my feet from the hardwood floors before crawling into bed so I plan to put a natural weave rug on each side of the bed. Probably a nice Jute from this line.
Last fall at the King William yard sale we scored this sussex-esque set of drawers for $30. It’s currently a walnut finish and needs some serious love, but I plan to paint it a glossy white and use it to hold our TV across the room.
This room doesn’t have a lot of wall space due to the insane number of doors and 9 foot wide window, but I’d like to maximize the walls we do have with some art we both love. Maybe I’ll use some of the prints we picked up in Rome.

I’m so excited to see how everything comes together. Usually the bedroom is the last room I finish, so I wanted to get a head start on it this time. I mean it’s our places of sanctuary after a long day. It should look and feel like home.

mood board: the new dining room

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So confession: This month we’ve been house sitting/dog sitting for one of Derek’s former professors (which you may have gathered from my instagram). So we haven’t been able to tackle a lot of home projects and believe you me it is killing us not to dive right in. The weekends are totally free though so we’ve been trying cram in as many projects as we can. Last weekend we finally settled on paint colors for the living room, hallway, and dining room and picked up a couple gallons to get started bright and early this weekend.

Painting is a huge project (especially in 1800sf) so we’re going to start with the dining room first and go from there. I’m mostly excited about this room because I already have a pretty solid vision for how I want it to look, while the other rooms I’m rather back and forth on. As a refresher this is what the dining room looked like right before we moved in:

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Oddly enough we have all of the furniture setup in this room and those super gross drapes are STILL hanging. Why? I think I’m afraid to touch them. Anyway, here is what we have planned for the dining room:

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First off this is a pretty dark room with one window and a super dated light fixture, so we really wanted to brighten it up with a minty color without it looking too blue or too green. We ended up settling on Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue. For that arched niche we plan to paint the shelves and underside of the arch white while leaving the back minty fresh.
We immediately want to swap out the light fixture. It’s very dated, too brassy, and very small for the space. We plan to mount our West Elm basket weave drum shade to really play up the scale and give the space a more modern look.
Just like I did here in Derek’s old house, I plan to paint horizontal black stripes onto white drapery panels to really create some visual interest and add some fun pattern to the space. I can’t decide if I want to sew them or paint a pre-made set of panels, for some reason the latter option makes me way more nervous. Like “there’s no turning back!”
Our kitchen is lacking a lot of storage, so for our finer dinner pieces (like our wedding china) we wanted a safer place to store everything and have been on the lookout for a mid-century or campaign style dresser to use as a buffet. Wouldn’t it look just fab painted a glossy kelly green or fire engine red?
This room is begging for some large scale art, and since we spend a lot of time in here we thought it would be fun to blow up some of our wedding/honeymoon photos in black and white to make this space feel more personal. I think it would be fun to trim out the prints with a pop of color to make them look a little more edgy.
This is the parsons dining table I snatched up when our West Elm location closed it’s doors for a whopping 80% off! I just love how simple and timeless it is. Eventually Derek wants to build us a dining table, but for now this will definitely suffice.
I’ve been going back and forth on these chairs. I’d really love to see some eames eiffel chairs around the table, but I can’t decide between metal or wood legs. Or to maybe just keep my hepplewhite chairs. Oh the decisions! :)
And last but not least we definitely need an extremely large rug in this room. I’ve been searching the estate sales in the area for oriental rugs, but none of them have been the right colors. Or they are a million dollars and made in China. No thank you.

This weekend we plan to paint the dining room, living room, and hallway and hopefully get some art up on the walls. And I plan to make the drapery, repaint the bookshelves in the living room, prep the bathroom for painting (holy nightmare), and setup my office. Yay! I’m also meeting with a new client on Saturday, so hopefully that doesn’t go too late into the afternoon because I’m really itching to get started on these projects :)

get inspired: a tiny guest/craft room

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One of my e-design clients asked me to help her turn a teeny tiny room in their home into an extra guest room, that also doubles as a craft room. Now by teeny tiny, I mean that this room is about 9′ x 11′, and 16″ of those 9′ are consumed by some very large built in bookcases. She wanted the room to be setup in a way that would allow people to sit and socialize, or watch TV while crafting, yet be comfortable enough to sleep there at night for the overnight guests. My client’s craft d’jour is sewing, so she also wanted the room to be arranged in a way that allows ample natural light during her projects. Oh! And last but not least she was on a very tight budget so I had to do some digging to find the perfect pieces for the right price. Here is what I came up with.

I’m sure you recognize this citron, grey, and black chevron fabric from my recently upholstered dining chairs. I will also be using it to make two 12″ x 36″ lumbar pillows for the new daybed.
Because they are a family of photographers, for the artwork I asked them to choose 5 of their favorite prints to be converted to black and white and printed at 36″ x 36″ square. [This can be done very inexpensively at kinkos for about $5 per print.]
This punchy citron color will be the accent around their art, and the color of the backs of their bookshelf. [Sherwin Williams SW 6914 "Eye Catching"]
This cool grey color will be their wall color. They wanted to have light and reflective walls but not stark white and I think that this soft grey will definitely do the trick. [Sherwin Williams 6002 "Essential Gray"]
This bright white color will be all of their trim, molding, and bookshelves. The current trim and molding is high gloss black, which was leftover from their son’s all black phase. Using a bright white will really update the room, and create a great contrast with the cool gray wall color. [Sherwin Williams 7005 "Pure White"]
For the window I plan to make a roman shade. This will allow my client to have it open with optimum sunlight for her sewing and craft projects, while allowing any guests to completely close it for watching TV or sleeping. I will use a white linen for the face of the shade with citron grosgrain ribbon detailing for a more custom look, while also lining the shade with a blackout material.
She asked for a small sewing desk near the window for optimum light. Since this room will also double as a guest room I wanted to find a desk that is versatile and easy to move. This desk is mounted on the wall and the table part and legs can fold down for her sewing projects and fold up when she has a guest that needs to use the bed. Having this option will allow her to make the most of such a small space.
I wanted to find her an inexpensive yet comfortable chair and this was the first thing that came to mind, the plastic frame forms to the body creating endless hours of comfort while conquering her sewing projects. When it’s not in use and the desk is folded up, the chair fits nicely in the back corner next to the dresser.
For the bed I wanted to choose something versatile that can act as a sofa or a bed for sleeping. My favorite option would be to use a fun and modern daybed like this. It can be used as a sofa to watch TV or read a book, and instantly transforms into a bed when they have overnight guests.
I wanted to add some visual interest to the floor in this room, so I selected this fun trellis rug. It’s extremely comfortable, and on mega sale right now. I love how something as simple as a rug can make a room feel finished.
I also wanted to add some storage for her overnight guests to keep their clothes while visiting. She could also use a couple of drawers to hold some of her sewing materials. Having a nice dresser like this will also give her a place for a TV to enjoy while sewing. I plan to find something like this at a local thrift store and just give it new life with a fresh coat of paint.

This project is still in the very beginning stages, but I will keep you posted on the DIY projects. Until then, if you’re interested in becoming an e-design client click here for rates. You don’t have to live in the same city to have your very own licensed Interior Designer.

get inspired: the modern man cave

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Earlier this week we mentioned that you may be seeing this home, from Monday’s house crashing post, a lot more in your near future. Well we have an announcement to make. As of Saturday, the house you saw which used to belong to our dear friend Raul, will officially belong to Derek. I’ll give you a moment to fully grasp this information.

Moving on. Since this will be Derek’s first house there are hundreds of thousands of ideas floating around in my head about how I would decorate and style each space. However, BECAUSE it is his first home, I’m going to take a backseat. Yes, this is just as hard as you think it is. If Derek wants my help, I will gladly give it, but for now I want him to make this space his own without any of my input. That being said, I’ve come up with a dream mood board. Dream meaning, if this pad were fully up to me this is what I would do. But it’s not, so I’m using the blog to live vicariously through him. And no, it’s not full of ceramic animals. I did take his style into consideration, so without further ado.

This sofa is modern with a mid-century flare. It’s also very versatile because it can also fold out into a bed.
I love mixing woods and metals. These two [here and here] side tables are quirky and don’t match which is always a plus. You want your space to look assembled over time rather than being purchased from a big box store.
Of course there is a little bit of chevron. It wouldn’t be my design without it. I think rugs are a great way to add color or pattern to an otherwise neutral space.
These brightly colored knit poufs are perfect for adding extra seating for when guests come over, but can also be stashed away under the console table when not in use, adding a little pop of color.
Derek does photography on the side and has a huge collection of photos from his travels which is a great way to add some art to a space. It’s meaningful, it’s dramatic, and it’s free!
I think this is a pretty cool console table for his TV. It’s a great mix of wood and metal for that industrial look, yet still very simple with clean lines. He’s very less is more.
Speaking of photography, I’m completely smitten with this tripod floor lamp. It’s architectural and it’s vintage. Lamps can be difficult for guys because they’re usually very girly or ornate, but this guy has amazing structure.
These pillows [here and here] add some bright color and geometric shapes to compliment the bold chevron rug.
I love the idea of a completely mis-matched side chair. Especially this faux Eames rocker. It’s timeless, it’s extremely comfortable, and durable for boy business.
I threw in this clock to represent the vintage items Derek has collected over time. Cameras, model airplanes, and lego sets are perfect items to display throughout this space.
This is the one item Derek currently owns from this mood board. The Eames hang it all. It’s very modern, colorful, and the coolest way to hang your coat.. pretty much ever.

Well there you have it, my dream man pad for The Boy. What do you think Derek? Can I do the rest of the house? ;)

Your Modern Couple