TayRose Design interior design Home Design Archives

Owl Inspired Theme Toddler Bedroom

12 Feb 2018

Craft Project, DIY, Interior Design Room, Kids Room, Theme Room

#floating shelves, #painted tree mural, #placemat, #vintage linen, custom, decorator, designer, DIY, Home Decor, Home Design, owl, pillow, TayRose Design, theme room

B4 and after owl theme room

Evolving from a nursery to a toddler bedroom is always fun especially when there is a theme involved. Keeping the budget in mind, the client wanted owls to be the theme. With purchased artwork as inspiration, owl pillows; shelf sitters; a tree mural and floating shelves were added to the design.

Inspired owl artwork

A new trundle bed replaced the crib on the back wall. White furniture and ruffled curtains coordinated with the bed and trim. That left a huge blank focal wall behind the bed, just prime for a hand-painted tree mural. What better place for an owl to sit than in a tree!

The wall tree had limbs that reached towards the corner of the wall with added white floating shelves and green painted mini birdhouses for a bit of whimsy. A metal owl wall art piece was painted white to match the tree. Painting the tree, hanging the wall shelves plus accessorizing was complete in a day.

Painted tree mural

Starting Owl Pillows

For one of the owl pillows, I found a pair of woven green rectangular placemats that I purchased for under $2 each. Walmart had some nice inexpensive assorted cottons that are sold in packages just right for small projects. I chose colors that would coordinate with the pink, gray and white color scheme going on in the room. Vintage linens and cut up discarded clothing were used as fabric as well.

owl placemat pillow layout

The placemats were sewn on the vertical for the pillow with a couple of small feet at the bottom. Felt eyelashes, a suede beak from an old jacket, and cut out fabric circles made up the eyes and feet. All the pieces were sewn to the front side first before sewing the seams. Due to the fringed edges, I sewed the seams just as they lay with right side up. At the top ear corners, with a needle and thread, I tacked a couple of small stitches so they would “pinch” together like little ears. The suede beak was hand embroidered showing the hand stitches for that ” handmade” look.

owl placemat pillow ear

I cut the border edge of my vintage linen into strips to sew together as the “tummy”.

owl placemat pillow tummy

For the feet, I made a quick pattern, cut out fabric , pinked the edges, stuffed with fiberfill and sewn to bottom seam. Sew around all the edges with about a 5/8″ seam leaving about a 5″ opening to add stuffing. After filling with desired amount of stuffing sew the opening close and voila, pillow done!

owl placemat pillow finished

Shelf Sitters

As for the owl shelf sitters….making the patterns for the first time was challenging and then filling them with rice found more rice on floor than in the owl!

making pattern for owl shelf sitters

A pink and white feather boa from the Dollar Store was cut and sewn as little tufts to the ears for some texture and fun. These little owls definitely like to “sit” and not be played with by little hands, so they were set up high in the branches on shelves.

Owl shelf sitters finished

In Conclusion:

All in all, this was a very fun project, lots of room for additional accessories as the little one grows older without having to change too much, which is great for the budget.

“Who” would like to try and take on a theme room and watch it grow? Ahhh…..very wise…..

Owl theme toddler room finished

How to Inspire Design with Pinterest Photos

Taylor

16 Jan 2018

DIY, Interior Design Room

custom, designer, DIY, Home Decor, Home Design, Home Interior Designs, TayRose Design

I had received a call from a client who had sold their house and most all of their decor and were embarking in building a new home with all new furnishings and needed help with shopping and pulling a design together. A busy working couple with 2 small children under 2 years, there just wasn’t enough hours in the day to shop for sofas and beds and dressers and pillows let alone appliances!
This was a challenge, for I had nothing to base my feel for what styles they liked and felt comfortable with. The clients were living in a furnished apartment while their house was being built. Pictures are worth a thousand words as they say, so I asked if they were familiar with Pinterest and if they would browse through and send me photos of design styles they liked so I would have a better direction when it came to decor purchases.
About 2 hours later, my email box was filling up with lots of Pinterest photos with comments of what they liked and didn’t like. This was perfect. I was able to make folders in my computer under their name by room and started sorting the photos to review. Next, I scoured each picture and took a few notes, building my shopping list.

One of the pictures I received was of anaccent table with wall mirror and hanging lanterns.

Inspired photo online to recreate for client

They had the perfect little niche in the wall between the living room and kitchen that I thought would be a perfect place to recreate this vignette. The hardest part was to find the table itself. Finding one in the budget, in the right size and right color proved to be the most challenging. The lanterns I found at Hobby Lobby, but they only had one and I needed 2, so I put in a rain check to order (of course, I waited until the week they were 50% off :-)) The wall hooks, glass vase and bird also came from Hobby Lobby and I stained it a bit darker to deepen the color a bit, but I loved the natural textural feel to the bird. For the chunky candlesticks, I found some on clearance at Michael’s craft store, then made one from taking a thrift store lamp apart-just the right size for a pillar candle. In another Pinterest photo, there were lots of decorative balls in different textures used in several places, so I used a few in the glass vase along with some moss rocks to help support the branch twig I found in the yard. Instead of throws in baskets underneath, I placed the matching candlestick, and a stack of baskets found on clearance at a furniture store, and a ceramic pitcher, ready to serve.
To achieve this Pinterest inspiration, it took many trips to different stores and even the yard to gather the components to come as close as possible to the desired look.

After photo of recreated niche table from inspiration picture

It was so gratifying to see how the client responded to the recreation, keeping their budget in mind and finding the perfect “niche” for the project.
Many times, a component will be elusive and challenging to find, but that is all part of the evolving process of decorating. With the internet, or books, magazines abounding from all directions, there is plenty of visual aids to be inspired by trying your hand at recreating by reusing, repurposing what you already have plus adding a few new purchases.
It is also inspiring to go in a totally different direction- like using sconces instead of lanterns, or hanging a whole wall of varying sizes of mirrors, or setting up a bar on the table top….so many routes a design may lead and it’s all part of the journey…your journey.

New Home, new furnishings Part 2 Master Suite

Master Suite in neutrals

So many of us are so busy that we rarely have time to enjoy and retreat to our Master Oasis’s until the family has been fed; dishes done; lunches made for the next morning; kids bathed; stories read; kids tucked in; laundry folded; and bills paid…..so, collapsing into the bed that may or may not have been made that morning, and falling immediately into an unconscious slumber is how our Master bedroom meets our need. And yet, trends reveal when it comes to designing, or building a house, clients want the master suite, and “en-suite” to be spacious with sitting areas, even exercise machines with adjoining steam showers, double vanities and tv sets as their “must haves.” Who has time to enjoy all of this blessedness? But hey, who wouldn’t want a restful, spacious area to retreat to at the end of a hectic day? We all deserve a space that beckons when the day is done, and the door can be closed to put the world on a time out.

Master suite sitting area in neutrals

This Master bedroom space was one of those spaces where I wanted to create a soothing break from the demands that every young parent lovingly accepts. The client had sent me several photos of colors and styles they liked for the room which were very helpful to draw inspiration from and recreate for them. Neutrals were chosen, in creams and taupe with a bit of gray. Lots of texture from the nubby linen and metal nail heads of the casual chairs; the cool metal from the glass side table; to the painted metal art on the wall over the bed; and the soft cream of the carpet underfoot. The warm woods of the bed, nightstands and dresser give a nice contrast to all of the neutral colors surrounding the room.

Seating grouping in master

The comforter was a great find at Burlington’s and was the light neutral color that the client was looking for. It’s hard to see, but there are fine light gray lines creating a subtle pattern on the fabric. I was able to find matching shams, a throw, and all of the accent pillows at several different stores while shopping for accessories. We found long curtain panels that had beautiful texture and just the perfect colors of gray and taupe to frame the windows and carry the color to the walls. We hung the panels higher over the window to draw your eye up and helps the room feel larger.

Cream lamp and curtain panel by bedside

I found the lamps and shades, in a simple shape, creamy like the trim color and a few photo frames to be filled with kiddo pictures in black and white to keep with the neutral scheme. The design rule of grouping in 3’s and 5’s really does work in most cases, and helps surface areas from getting too cluttered. Choosing groups that have different heights and shapes gives the items more definition and interest. A small seating area was created on the back wall with a couple of nubby chairs, a small glass top table and then adding the accent mirror centered over the grouping instead of centering the mirror on the wall. The standing dressing mirror fit perfectly just outside the entrance to the master bath plus doubles as a jewelry cabinet- I love when products can be double duty…so functional!!

Since the bed should really be the focal point of the room, I wanted something light and airy for the space over the large bed. While in the Home Store, I found a large grey metal floral leaf art piece that was pointing up and leaning against the wall. I picked it up and immediately turned it upside down. Perfect! I just needed to take some cream colored chalk paint and lightly distress the metal a bit to soften the color and bring it more to a neutral but still have that hint of gray coming through….just like the comforter….get where I am going with this? Why upside down? Well, I think it looked better upside down, and I liked how the bottom which is now the top was narrower than the top which is now the bottom, and it seemed to “hug” the bed. Did I lose anyone? It’s fun to change up something whether it’s turning it upside down, or sideways, or adding a piece to it, or changing the color…..it’s all part of the design process.

Floral metal wall art painted and distressed

You will notice that there is a lot of wall space in this room, and we do have future plans for that. To the right of the bed, the wall leading to the master closet will be a grouping of black and white wedding photos framed and hung, one which will be enlarged to go behind an old pane window.

It’s important to carve out a space where you can escape…..even if just for a little while to rejuvenate….not only will you benefit from the results it can bring, but your family will appreciate it as well. Even something so simple as making the bed and finding homes for the clothes that made their way to the floor, can do wonders when you drag yourself at the end of the day to a space that is welcoming you back.

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Fireplace brick surround makeover-Brighten Up Space

This particular makeover didn’t start out as expected. You see, my client wanted to change the feel of her formal living room to more of a casual feel so they didn’t have to go downstairs to their family room all the time. My client was looking for new curtains, some updated wall art and accessories in colors that would bring some “pop” to the room.

Upon entering the room, what caught my eye first was the oversized sofa and loveseat which were newly purchased, so they had to stay. Secondly, the fireplace of multi-colored dark bricks didn’t give off the light and bright feeling she was looking for in the room. In the back of my mind, I remembered a fireplace makeover I had done just a few months prior and how well it turned out. So tentatively, not knowing whether she absolutely loved her fireplace or not, and, not wanting to offend her, but just to suggest, I asked her if she had ever thought of changing the brick color. Well, she almost jumped off the sofa with glee saying she always wanted to paint it but wasn’t sure- if I had any photos of the one I did prior, how much it would lighten the room, how soon it could be painted, and, oh, did I mention how excited she was!

Fireplace before paint treatment

I took lots of before pictures so I could show my friend Amy who helped me with the last fireplace makeover to see the size and colors. This fireplace is a smaller surface, only up to the mantle. My concern was how deep the colors were and how many coats of watered down paint we would need to brush on in order to cover the especially deep red colored bricks.

close up of bricks before paint treatment

Amy gathered up her glazes, rags and drop cloths, and I picked up a sample quart of the new color paint that the client was going to paint her walls…Accessible Beige from Sherwin Williams. One of my “go to” colors, it looks great anywhere with most any color. A perfect neutral.

We arrived and started our prep, taping with painters tape all around the edges and covering the fireplace doors and carpet with plastic, plus laying down drop cloths. It seems like the taping and prep takes longer than the painting, but very necessary! Not taking any chances of splattering paint on walls or carpet. We had a small bucket that we added some water and started to add the wall color paint, mixing it until it was lightly tinted. Better to start with a lighter mix than too opaque with the paint. With a brush in one hand and a rag in the other, we started to paint the first coat over the dark bricks. The bricks were soaking up the paint fast and barely changing the color. I thought, wow, this is going to take a lot of coats. After painting the whole area with the lightest coat, we waited a few minutes then added a little more paint to the water mixture and started the whole process over again, painting on and dabbing off with the rag. We found that we painted more over the red bricks then dabbed off some on the more darker color bricks giving a more varied look with the colors, plus, dabbing also gives texture- a stippled look.

Fireplace started painting after taping off

The client was working upstairs, but often came down to peek at the progress and loved seeing the transformation. I was surprised that we only had to go over the surface twice reaching the color saturation that the client approved with a little dabbing of extra paint here and there over the deeper red bricks. The surface dried very quickly, we waited about 20-30 minutes or so before removing the tape and plastic. The pictures show the fireplace before the walls were painted, they were a soft yellow color. The new wall color was painted about 3 days later in the same color as fireplace but a bit deeper, for the paint would be at full strength and not watered down. Thank you Amy, for the “after” photo, you can see how we let the different shades of colored brick come through for added dimension and color, but the reddish tints are now warmer neutrals.

Fireplace painted makeover after

As for the rest of the room, the client decided to wait a bit and decide what she really wants. I made some suggestions and she may call to have more work done.

Fireplace before and after

All in all, another fireplace makeover success. A side note…I love brick fireplaces and I rarely suggest painting them, but there are a few, that just need a little help, and we’re glad to oblige!

(If you have a fireplace that needs a little lift and you would like a quote and live locally, take a picture and measurements and email them to me and we can give you an approximate quote for the job.)

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Room chosen for Good Housekeeping article

Taylor

17 Mar 2015

Custom Design, DIY, Interior Design Room, Kids Room, Theme Room

Home Decor, Home Design, Home Interior Designs, jungle, TayRose Design, theme room

Do you know how when you receive a nice compliment, or when you hear some good news that your heart does a little happy dance? Well, while scrolling through the numerous daily emails one day, one caught my eye. It was from a Rebecca, and the title was,

From Rebecca Re: Feature on GoodHousekeeping.com – Kids’ Bedrooms

I thought to myself, this looks interesting and opened it.

Hi Taylor!

I hope you’re doing well! I am a writer for GoodHousekeeping.com and I am putting together a round-up of the coolest kids’ bedroom ideas. I love your jungle bedroom , and I was wondering if I could use an image of it in my round-up. Please let me know ASAP if this would be alright.

Thanks so much!

Rebecca

All right??? Happy Dance! What a feeling of appreciation that my design work is to be recognized in this way. Of course I emailed her right back and included my blog page about working on the room. http://tayrose.com/2015/02/08/its-a-jungle-in-here/ .

It’s a Jungle in here! Parade of Homes Pigliavento Builder, TayRose Designs

A week later, Rebecca emailed me with the link to her article. There were 10 kids rooms she featured and you can find the Jungle room as #7 as you scroll through the pictures here: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/love-your-space/themed-kids-rooms#slide-1

It’s a start…baby steps, and each step a rewarding leap!!

Thank you Rebecca!