The Original "My Space"

Nobody really likes hearing stories that begin with "When I was a kid....", but here goes anyway. When I was a kid 'my space' (though we didn't exactly use that term) meant your bedroom. And if you were lucky, your bedroom was truly your bedroom-meaning not having to share it with a sibling.

Recently a favorite client of mine came to me hoping I could help her surprise her daughter with a room redo. She wanted to give her daughter a space that was designed just for her and she wanted to put some mom sweat-equity into the space by making the drapery and some of the bedding with her own two loving hands. That struck me as very special ( it's been a long time since I've run across anyone doing their own sewing) and I couldn't wait to get going on the space.

First off Mom picked the main drapery fabric and began sewing away. In the meantime, we chose a coordinating paint color and decided to paint walls and ceiling all the same-enveloping her daughter in a really soft sea of green. We skirted a niche to create a vanity space. Then we did a bit of furniture rearranging-placing the bed in front of the window and using the drapery to softly frame it.

Finally, we hung some antique looking mirrors and pictures around the room to play up the refinished white antique furniture. The result is a really cozy space that her daughter can truly call her own.

I wasn't there for the unveiling, but I heard it was a huge success and beyond her daughters' wildest dreams and her special space has now become the local hangout.

I'm So Pretty

I just have to say that I am one lucky designer. All of my clients are really great and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Recently I finished a project that just wants to scream for itself "I'm So PRETTY!" And it makes me happy to

visit my client and see how much she loves her house.

I am by no means taking all of the credit here. It was a complete collaboration of tastes and style. My client and I bounced a lot of ideas back and forth and spent a lot of time deliberating fabrics and colors and, in the end, came up with a look that is classic, comfy and elegant-something her husband really wanted to convey.

You might want to take a minute or two and click on these photos to enlarge them. Look around the room and notice the elements that give it the qualities I mentioned before: large comfy furniture and 'sink in and cuddle up' fabrics and fillings, dramatic windows and window treatments, large scaled lighting fixtures, antiqued moldings and beams, patterned carpeting and little 'pops' of that dreamy aqua here and there.

No doubt the room has a lot of built in drama with it's vaulted ceilings and arched openings, but sometimes those features can make a room feel sterile and cold. Many times I've found that when folks buy a home with those kind of details, they want to decorate around them-letting those details keep the focus of attention. In this room, I feel like we've done a good job of spreading the attention all around the room -end to end, top to bottom and everything in between-it's all fun to look at. I hope you think so too.