IN HER SHOES: I SUWANEE & FURBISH DESIGN

My latest In her shoes featured lady really needs no introduction. In my eyes she is pure blog royalty. She has quite the following with her witty, honest and stylish posts. One of my favorite things on her blog is her bookcase of the day images. Totally something I adore as well. My dream has always been to have my own library in my home so I totally relate.

I now love logging on to her blog even more, because she is living the dream. First she started out as a design blogger that then led to her own interior decorating company, which has now lead to a store front!!!!!!




I'm so excited for Jamie and wish her nothing but the best! Today she has graced us with a typical day in her life now as an almost shop owner. The store is set to open at the beginning of Nov!

Check back in the coming weeks, because once this shop is up and running we will be featuring a new IN HER SHOES with Jamie so that we can how things have changed!


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8:37
i wake up, angry. i hate waking up. every single morning. everything about it. sucks. i'd rather be sleeping.

8:40

pull on my gross painting clothes and come downstairs to find rowdy still asleep with his hippo

8:43

pile in the car, rowdy in squirrel costume, head to shop

8:47
we get there - yes the store is 4 minutes from my house. such a better commute than my last job of despair and stress.

my mom has driven up for the day to help me paint. she starts with a desk we're turning red, and i head to starbucks for breakfast.

9:15
time to check on almost finished pieces

i put the hardware back on this credenza - i took it home to shine up with magic potion. now all it's lacking are the doors

table i polyurethaned the night before is dry. this will be used for display (and is for sale too!)

then i vacuum, b/c i'm ocd and it makes me feel better

10:00
my sign man shows up with window decals ready to install! i've been sooo excited about this

10:45

my mother-in-law stops in with plants for my pots on the front stoop. she plants. i admire.

the street is lovely with fallen leaves

11:00

head down to basement to work on a second coat for a pair of purple dressers

1:00

dog park break. it's right around the corner.

2:00

back to painting. second coat on a turquoise coffee table

5:30

i head to anthro to check out their knobs on sale.

i find a few, plus some other delights (for the store of course - i no longer have personal needs)

5:50
to target. just looking for a trash can for the bathroom in the store. fail.

this was the only thing i was drawn to, but it didn't make the cut.

i did, however, find these delectable little victoria hagan lamps for a client. done.

6:15
to homegoods. need a mat for the front door. again: fail. but DID see these cute lamps.

consider them for a client, but decide against them b/c of the shade

oh!, and there was this sexy etagere

7:00

home, get brian meares, head to K&W - dinner of champions.

ridiculous

8:00
back home. new project. i'm going to hang a few inspiration boards in the shop. i'm using the god awful drop ceiling tiles that i ripped out, and covering them in linen. i am presented with a problem early in the process

linen stapled on. with brian's help, who complained the entire time

then i add pink velvet ribbon.

i need to criss cross the other way, but i'm spent. tomorrow night, maybe.

10:00

interneting. project runway. brownie eating. back hurting. super glue on my finernails. living the dream.
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A big thank you to Jamie for participating! I know the grand opening is going to be a huge success! If you are in the Raleigh, North Carolina then you must stop in and give Rowdy a big smooch from me!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

I'm busy, busy today with prep work for a client meeting this weekend and then it will finally be the weekend!!!

xo,

Camila

Sugar & Spice

Yesterday the latest and final issue of Gourmet arrived at my doorstep. While I would love to say that I enjoyed Gourmet for all of their wonderful recipes that I spent weekends recreating that would be a total lie. I’ve never made a thing from them! I swear I had all intentions to try out some things, but never made it reading the recipe.

What lured me in every month was their amazing pictures and this month one simply image had my head filled with ideas!

I love how rustic and simple it looks and I think it would be a great solution for inexpensive artwork in your kitchen!

To get this look yourself the steps are simple. I first did a quick search on Etsy and found these lovely prints available by Candy Factory:

These are only $12, but for a more cost effective solution you can raid your spice rack, whip out your camera and have fun snapping away.

I would then head to Target and pick out a shadow box to feature my lovely shots.

This is a nice solution where could get a variety of images in one place if you don’t have a lot of wall space for artwork. A quick trip to a fabric store for some burlap as backing and we would be in business!

Another option would be this.

This version could hold a couple of images at once without the dividers so the images could be larger and already has a textured background!

Since you would be using a shadow boxes pins can be used to place the pictures in place!

Packages of 100 come in at around 3 bucks!

 

Voila with a few short steps and items you can have a unique set of artwork for your kitchen!

Call of the wild

By now you all have to know my love for a little touch of animal print in a room. Normally my go-to animal print is a zebra, but lately I’ve been venturing out and my new addition has to be leopard!

Now I know what you are all thinking. At first thought leopard conjures up images of this:

*Check out the leopard carpet they are all standing on!

The image that changed my mind on this print was in this month’s Harpers Bazaar.

I think you will all agree that the dress is to die for! I loved how big the actual print was!

Here are some examples of how a little touch of leopard can go a long way in interior design.

{I love how the leopard pillow adds a global yet chic vibe to this room via Loft Life magazine.}

{Mary McDonald decide to go all out with her call of the wild and not only used leopard for the sofa, but window treatments as well. Image via Peak of Chic.}

{The use of leopard in the carpeting totally completes this room. It doesn’t distract at all and even acts as a neutral in the room.}

{How amazing does the coloring in the green sofa go with the leopard pillow! I’m in love with this color combo by designer Palmer Weiss it exudes glamour and style all in one.}

{This image designed by Betsy Burham Design via Western Interiors has to be my all time favorite! Love the fabric on the window treatments, amazing graphic rug, plus my favorite color orange on all 4 chairs. Those leopard pillows simply look like they belong!}

{Leopard is also a good print to remember when designing a room with a masculine touch. I would only go for a toss pillow or two like designer Miles Redd did above. Image via La Dolce Vita.}

{Don’t forget that leopard comes in other colors as well. So if the tan/brown/black combo isn’t working for then go for a snow leopard instead like designer Jan Showers.}

I’m hoping I’ve inspired all of you to give leopard a chance. A small dose in a pillow or ottoman can add a pop of fun, glam, style, etc to a room.

{I recently used a touch of it for a client’s project. They loved it! I was on a budget and purchased my fabric at Joann's for only $9.99 a yard!}

Of course if budget wasn’t a problem I would recommend my favorite leopard print:

{Jackie by Rubie Green}

So, are any of you daring enough to answer the call of the wild?

Kitchen Love: The Women

A couple of weekends ago Jon had to go into work for a couple of hours. Now I could have taken that time to get a get a start on laundry, make the bed or unload the dishwasher, but I decided it would be best to stay in bed and watch The Women.

Yes I know I’m a bit late to the party. I never saw it before, because I had heard numerous horrible reviews, but I still wanted to know how bad, bad was.

Ok so it’s not wonderful, but I watched the whole thing and enjoyed bits and pieces. I must say though that the thing I enjoyed the most was seeing Meg Ryan’s character Mary’s kitchen.

I never in a million years thought I would say that I enjoyed brass and wood paneling, but in this kitchen it works.

Mary’s life is a bit hectic and the kitchen reflects her lifestyle. There are spices, mail, plates, etc all about the kitchen making it feel very lived in and real.

I love the open shelving and the kitchen island that is not centered in the kitchen, but off to the side.

Opposite the wall of the stove is a wall filled with a gallery wall. That’s notsomething you normally see in a kitchen, but again it works. I love all the mix-matched frames and oil paintings.

From the view in the hallway you can see that there is a pantry/butler room section before you enter the kitchen. The space as the same cabinets, knobs and countertops, but the backs of the cabinets are painted peacock blue.

It also houses this amazing farm sink!

All in all the movie was rather blah, but this kitchen kept me going, because it kept making appearances. It would be so easy to make so adjustments to a standard builder grade white kitchen and get this look.

Just switch out your knobs to brass:

Pick up some pine planking and stain it to choice of darkness. This would be a less expensive option then tiling all of your backsplash so that is an added plus!

You could add a little more character by painting the backs of the glass cabinets with a pop of blue!

To fill up an oil painting gallery wall I would head to my local thrift stores and see what I could find or search ebay for finds like this.

It’s also good to search for vintage paint by numbers as well.

I think with a few simple tweaks you could turn your kitchen into a warm and homey country retreat like the kitchen featured above.

Are there any other movie kitchen sets that make you weak in the knees?

Spill please!