Mirrors Need Love Too...

I recently worked with 2 clients who needed to add some "love" to their bathrooms. Obviously color and accessories are no brainers for quick changes but have you considered what you can do to your mirrors?

Here are some "before" the love and "after" the love bathrooms....

Master Bath: Before

Master Bath: After (Client is in the process of replacing her builder grade lights)

Guest Bath: Before and After (client is in the process of painting her walls)

Mirror Mate has some gorgeous frames, easy ordering instructions (I promise you can't screw it up), installation is a breeze and you get the immediate "AHH" effect.

Both of my out of town clients were definitely intimidated about ordering these because I wasn't there to measure and make sure they would work.  But I got to tell you they fit perfectly and they both had them up within moments and they both sent me pictures immediately afterwards they were sooo excited.

Master Bath: Before & After (Even a cleaner counter) :)))

Guest Bath: Before

Guest Bath: After (Client is in the process of replacing these lights as well)

So have you seen these and have you given your mirrors any love yet?  I think they deserve it don't you?

A Finished Look

This is a new concept that I think is a perfect fit for an added "wow" to any room.  It's called the V-Sconce drapery sconce by Whispar Innovations.

It's the only sconce out there where your window treatment may be draped through the top and/or bottom, (while still leaving the side openings free to support a rod or additional fabric) as well as from side to side or all openings can be used at the same time.  So lots of options needless to say.

You can use these with or without a rod too.  Do you see the side covers?  They cover the side holes if not in use, giving the sconce a more custom look.  And they are magnetic so you can change the appearance in mere seconds.

I just love what you can do with them, don't you?

Oh and best of all these are lightweight and easy to install.

On a personal note, vacay is almost here so I thought it would be a good time to take off some time from blogging and so I will be back on July 6th with some "befores" and "afters" that you are going to want to see, well I hope anyway.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July.

Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight....

Do you remember that song?  I don't know where I know it from but when I found out about  Scenic Mesa which is run by a "buffalo gal" by the name of Julie Littlefield  I couldn't get it out of my head.

I saw this gorgeous applique-back chair from a mailer they had sent out.  Smart of them to have that on there, don't you think?  Did you know this is a handmade buffalo leather chair and check out the close up detail on it....

Absolutely beautiful! It also comes in different colors, see below, but the creamy one above is my favorite.

Leather pieces can be a little on the boring side sometimes, but I just love how these POP.  Could you find a home for any one of these in your house, if so which color?

Too Revealing?

Can a tub be too revealing?  I don't think so....I love the look of these transparent tubs, they are sooo exciting and sexy too!  :)  If you are lucky enough to have enough room in your bathroom for a stand alone tub you may want to consider one like this.

I love the lightness of the tub too.....I can just imagine how great it looks full of water and bubbles....

I must like tubs, I can't believe this is my 3rd blog on tubs.....Here are some more gorgeous tubs (that aren't transparent)  Splish Splash  and here are some that are not for looks but for a great soak if you have problems getting in and out of tubs Solution Soak.

I could care less how I look in the tub I think my main question would be water spots.  Unless it was like the red one below do you think you would get them and if so would they bother you too? 

After finding all of these photos, we may have spotted an emerging trend......

What do you think, thumbs up or thumbs down?

Vibrant Outdoor Fabrics

I love that almost every fabric manufacturer now has a line of outdoor fabrics.  My new fav in Schumacher features California fashion designer, Trina Turk fabrics that have vibrant colors and very yummy patterns....Here are just a few....Lots of color palettes and interchangeable choices.

Outdoor fabrics have come such a long way they now feel like the linens, chenilles and silks we are used to but with the durability to survive outside.

Lately I have been recommending outdoor fabrics more and more for indoor use to hold up in high traffic areas with kids and dogs.  "No worry" fabrics, who doesn't love that?

What do you think of the boldness of Trina Turk's new line? Do you like the bold direction she has chosen or are you a little more traditional?

Oh, I blogged about fabrics about this time last year and have a great source that I mentioned for great priced outdoor fabrics, check it out here....Bring Home The Beach and yes she carries the Schumacher/Trina Turk textile line.

Gummi Love

Do you like Gummi Bears enough to have a chandelier made out of them?  There are only going to be 10 of these made and each will be a little different so all one of a kind on many levels.

Each chandelier will have apx. 5,000 ACRYLIC Gummi Bears so don't think you can pull one off and snack on them when the craving comes.

Due to the amount of work involved in creating these they do take 2 months to complete so order now...Oh you probably want to know the price at this point....For this custom Gummi Bear chandelier you are looking at it setting you back $9,500.00, but with that price you get the artist delivering it personally to help set it up.

Now if you are thinking at this point those are too rich for my blood but I do love the idea of those little Gummi Bears lighting up my space here is a small GummiLight to check out....

These little lights (7"h x 4"w) are soft and rubbery, again not to be eaten even though they look soooo tempting.  They have tiny LED's in their butts and are battery operated so you have no cords to worry about.

They come in great colors...Red, orange, purple, blue, etc. just to name a few.  The best part of these is the price, they are $125.00 each or $500 for a set of five.  I promise that they will wipe away add some fun to any room.

Walls of Stone

A lot of times people think in terms of changing the feel of their room with wall color...How about changing the texture instead, in a BIG way?

(EmberWall: Before and After)

This stone veneer takes your "boring" walls to "wow" walls!

(ArtWall: Before and After)

Have you ever considered a stone veneer, such as these?  Or do you immediately think "cool, but it is probably cost prohibitive and hard to do...."

(CandleWall: Before and After)

Eldorado Stone's GemWalls have made this not only pretty simple but also an affordable way to transform your own spaces.  Watch this quick video to see the simple steps here.

I think this bathroom was already beautiful but now look at it...

So if you want to add some warmth and romance that only stone can add, consider this great looking stone veneer for your space(s), and of course send me some pictures if you do it too.

(VinoWall: Before and After)

In regards to this last picture shown...Did you study it like me, there is alot going on isn't there, but look at how it really warmed up that room....

This Stairway IS Heaven

I just got my camera fixed and I am in the process of taking some "afters" to share with you, so this is "hot off the presses".....I took these last night, not that I was anxious or anything, ha!

This particular client's 1991 home has always had carpet on the stairs.  Though my client loved the carpet she was tired of it being on the staircase.  Truly it didn't bother me, but the staircase was feeling a little tired...I mean even though 1991 feels like just the other day to some of us, it was almost 20 years ago...Has that sunk it yet? ;)

A lot of people use the terminology incorrectly when discussing staircases so here is a little picture guide to help explain things a bit better as I go through the details of this job....

Back to the staircase....

We replaced the carpet with hardwoods, not just the tread but the riser as well.

Did you just notice that gorgeous hardwood border inlay on the floor as you were glancing at the above picture?  Well here it is up close....Isn't it beautiful?  We replaced all the oak hardwoods to these floors which is the color combo that inspired us for the staircase.

The open partial treads were the same tired yellowing oak as the banister so we darkened them up to match each other.  (Picture of the tired oak hardwoods)

Now look closely on the 2nd picture "going up", those partial risers are still white.  I don't think it looked bad with the balusters but it drove my client crazy because going downstairs they looked rich and beautiful but once you were down the stairs and looked up you saw "white", so we fixed them....Cue the faux painter....

(going down)

(going up)

...She painted them to look like the wood that we just stained the yellowing oak.  I love all the tricks faux painters have up their sleeves.

Because of the style of the home we decided on keeping the balusters as-is, well I mean with a fresh coat of white of course.  

So big improvement?  We think so.  This staircase has at least another 20 years in it.