Christmas morning has come early!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe that I'm finally typing this, but the new blog is officially launched! 

From now on all of my posting will be done at Effortless-Style:

Head on over and check out my new home.

If you have a second it would be amazing if you could change your blog rolls, google readers, etc to my new URL. I would hate to lose any of my readers. :)

Last Chance: Give-away day!

Had to share one more sneak peek into a current e-decorating design that I'm working on.



It's a bit outside of my design style, but that makes me love it even more. Your home should look like you! Even if you hire a decorator/designer for help make sure your style shines through.

If you need a little help in your decor today's the last day to enter my give-away!

Caning Conundrum

I've used caned chairs in a bunch of client projects and every time I find the perfect pair at a thrift store and restore them with paint and fabric I'm always so sad to see them go.

Last week the itch for caning would not let up and I needed to get my hands on some caned chairs for myself. Searches on craigslist came up empty so I penciled in a day last week to hit all of my favorite thrift stores and was lucky enough to find the perfect pair in the first one.

Learning my lesson from previous thrifting experiences I snagged them right away:



Now here is my caning conundrum do I leave the wood as is or paint it?

Normally I would paint, but the wood is in good condition and my first feeling was to leave it as is. 

2nd conundrum what do I cover the chairs in? 

My first thought was a Pierre Fery renment that I recently won on ebay.

Or this Large Polka Dot Ikat:



Kinda leaning towards a pink velvet (Hope Jon's not reading this post. When I try to get approval on bright pink we will have to think of a deceiving code name for pink)

Something like this:

{Room designed by Massucco Warner Miller}

The other main fabric in the room is:



With pops of this:



And this:



Plus this:


Ah what's a girl to do?

P.S. Don't forget to enter my latest e-decorating give-away!

Fan Page

I've been at the computer all day long, every day for the last couple of days trying to finish up the new blog. It's exhausting. I think I'm going to need a massage appointment after it finally launches.

One of the items on my to-do list was set up a fan page for Effortless Style, which I did! Yay for that! Of course because me and technology are known to have a love/hate relationship I've spent hours searching for how to make my blog feed show up on the fan page and while I can find a million and one instructions every time I try and follow the steps I find that my page doesn't have all of the buttons/tabs/etc that are required.

Anyone have any ideas?

If you haven't yet take a second to sign up for the Giveaway!

Spreading the word

Have you seen it yet?



I knew I wanted to do some blog advertising once my site launched, but it couldn't be with just anyone. I wanted a blog that believed in the same sort of ideals and design style as mine and with Katie from The Neo Traditionalist I found a perfect fit.

I get a smile every time I log on and see it! Still trying to brainstorm other blogs to form relationships with. Any suggestions?



***Thank you for all of your sweet comments on this mornings post. I really needed it. My sweet dad was at the hospital having a procedure done this morning. I went with him and Mom and your lovely comments helped to distract me. Fingers crossed all is good with Dad. We are all now back at home and he is resting.

Effortless Style Interiors

Ah the day has finally come it looks like my professional site is finished ( ok not fully finished, but enough is done to show it off!)

For those of you that have been with me from the very beginning you will know it's been a long journey. I started getting my business in order right when I first started my design program and I was able to complete the course and take on clients before the site was finalized.

I had originally started with this color combo:

Business Card Mock-Ups:

Website mock up:

{I still actually really love this color combo, but at the moment it seemed too trendy and I didn't want my site to look "over" after a year}

So I went back to the drawing board and went for a more "fun" look:

Loved this color combo, loved the zebra, but had a really hard time translating it to a site. My fun colors were a bit overwhelming in large doses and they fighting with my project photo's so eventually after trying to make it work a million and one times it just had to go.

After that try I was at a loss. I didn't know what I wanted anymore. I wanted the site to reflect me and be up to date yet classic and fun yet professional. Seems easy to achieve, but it was hard. I think I was a bit lost in the beginning, because I wasn't exactly sure how to classify my design style and it was only after people making comments while visiting my home that I realized I was traditional in a lot of my decorating (shocking to me at the moment) with injections of modern & vintage.

I had originally seen my color & pattern loving less as more of Jonathan Adler type decorator, but in looking around my home I did realize that I loved classic elements (traditional) with a twist ( modern & vintage) and without a new color combo came to life.

Navy was my nod to traditional design and my neutral color.
Orange was a reflection of me. It's my favorite color.
Green made the feel a touch preppy/new traditionalist, which I love and fun.

In this proof the green wasn't bright enough:

Eventually we got it got it right:



The addition of my logo with the nod to my love of elephants just completed the look!

Now I know you are all dying for photo's of my house and my portfolio page still looks like this:



Don't fret they are coming. My photographer is off traveling and will back into town in Mid-Nov. So they are coming!

In the meantime head on over to Effortless Style and familiarize yourself with my new home. The blog will shortly be moving over there as well.

There is a little hidden surprise on my home page let me know if you can find it!

Thank you for your wonderful support during this entire process. On the days where I was in tears and close to pulling out my hair it was my saving grace.

**P.S. There are a couple of typos on the site. They have been fixed on the back end, just waiting for it to update on the site.

Blog design by Front Porch Studio, Logo design by i design.

Sneak Peek: DIY Library

Another great addition to the new blog look is that all of my DIY projects are going to be organized and easy to find! Woo hoo for that!

This past weekend I did a little photo shoot for the DIY library header. I made sure to add all of my go to tools for projects. Of course one of my main tools for DIY projects is my handsome hubby can you spy him in my library set up?

Weekend Recap: Mini Photo Shoot

This past weekend I was busy working away on some mini photo shoots that are going to be used as headers on the new look for the blog!

Saturday we got to work on setting the scene.

We started with this:



Then we took apart of the garage and took out this beauty that I can't seem to part with, but don't have the money or space yet to get it refinished:




Why the shopping bags? Well, so glad you asked, one of the perks of the new blog is that it's going to have a classifieds section aka a virtual yard sale for our home decor items that we no longer want, but want to give a good home to. People from all over can come on and list their home decor items for free and set a price and then let you know if they are willing to ship or if it needs to be local pick-up. A sort of craigslist, but instead of having to search by location you can see everything all at once. In way it will be massive decorators closet that we can all pick through. :)

We then added a couple more props:



We were missing one more that prop that was having some diva issues, but we finally got him in the shot:


(Can you spy my featured guest in the shot? I think this is the winning picture!)

Of course I know what all you guys really want:


(Haha Jon had to ham it up for the camera. I think I'm going to start renting out my husband so that you all can get a little help on your DIY projects. :) )

So start cleaning up your houses and rounding together home decor items that you no longer want, but think others would and get ready to list away!

The new blog is at the programmer as I type. Should be super soon now!

Sneak Peek #2: New Blog Look

Well I've already shared with you all a little sneak peek of the new look of the blog and the transition to switching over to Effortless Style.

Today I have another little sneak peek you see the new blog is going to have a lot more resources for my lovely readers aka all of you. One of the new additions is a resource guide. It's my little black book of vendor favorites. You'll be able to access to my list of go-to's for wallpaper, paint, artwork, fabric, lighting, furniture, accessories, window treatments and floor coverings. I hope the guide will be helpful to all of you who love decor, but can't hire a decorator.

So I did a little photo shoot to add the perfect eye candy element to that page!

Look #1:



Look #2:



Look #3:



What's your favorite jewelry combo? I can't pick just one!

Sneak Peek: New Blog Look

Well my loves this lady has almost officially gotten her high-heel foot in the door to the design world. Classes were taken, client projects have gotten started and finished and become a constant source of work and my professional site is live, but still needs a couple of tweaks so it's only natural that this little blog of mine get a re-vamp as well.

We are hoping to launch the new look in October and with the new look comes a new name. Since this high-heeled foot of mine will officially be in the door we are switching everything over to Effortless Style!

Yes, I'm sad to see HHFITD go. It did me well, but after many talks with people that work in branding I was told I need to be consistent so Effortless Style it is.

Don't worry it's still going to have the same fun projects, advice, inspiration, etc that you are use to here, but I have some secrets up my sleeves that will step it up a notch as well.

Wanna a sneak peek of the new look?



It was designed by the amazingly talented, Carolynn of Two Brunettes. She is super sweet, a great cheerleader, totally understanding, and will hold your hand during the entire project.

Now I hope you all like the sneak peek, because it's too late to change anything now. So if it's not your cup of tea just smile and nod and pretend so I don't burst into tears. Totally kidding....umm not really. I think the tears have flowed quite a bit during this process.

:)

Sneak Peeks: Orange touches

I can hardly wait. The new blog look and official Effortless Style sites are in their final stages! Woo hoo! All designing has been done now we wait for programming.

I've been busy finishing up my home for my portfolio shoot and working on some fun little surprise for launch week!

I thought it would be fun to give you a little sneak peek at some pop of orange that have recently made into my house and are awaiting their debut!

A pop in the bedroom:
A pop in the bathroom:



A pop for my office:


A pop in the living room:


A pop in my new logo!



Get excited people!

Inside the NYDC

Like I mentioned in my post earlier today I will blogging live from the NYDC'sWhat's New, What's Next event taking place on Sept 22nd!

It is open to all so pretty please stop by at 4pm on the 4th floor and say hello. Then afterwards we can hit the following showrooms:

McGuire has a jaw dropping showroom on the 1st floor of the design center. I literally wanted to add everything to my wish list.

I recognized one dream chair from an old

Moving along we hit a couple of the other floors to check out some favorites:

Arteriors Home is another favorite of mine that recently set up shop at NYDC.

Some of my favorites:




Palecek is another go-to favorite of mine and their showroom does not disappoint. It was filled with bamboo and caning pieces that could be custom colored!



I have to save my favorite showroom for last! The Global Viewsshowroom opened recently and I knew I had to stop by there immediately. I was already in love with all of their pieces from a far so it was now time to go check them out in person.

They are on huge orange kick which I am loving!



They were also loving blue!



How about some blue and orange together! Be still my heart the store was filled with my favorite orange rug!



A pop of green!



Can you tell it was my favorite showroom?

So if you come and visit with me the 22nd at 4pm on the 4th floor we can go check out some other showroom together!

NYDC What's New, What's Next!

I can't believe Sept is already here! It's already filling up and sure to be quite an exciting time.

We have three weddings to attend this month. One being my parents renewal party this coming Sunday! Then my little sissy celebrates her b-day on the 10th, fingers crossed the new blog look & move (we are moving to wordpress!) and site will be live!!!!, the Rue Mag ladies will be hosting a big launch party in NYC this month as well as yours truly will be guest blogging at the NYDC's What's New /What's Next event!

The email reminders went out this week! If you are on their mailing list you saw this pop up in your in box the other day!



The event is on September 22nd and runs from 3-9 pm. The best part is that it's open to everyone! It's going to be an all around fun event to attend with multiple events going on all of the different floors.

While the NYDC is normally only open to TO THE TRADE members, which always equals intimating in my mind and I'm one of them. :) on the 22nd it's open to all! They have 16 floors in total and you can have some fun and go in and out of all of the showrooms.

Plus the NYDC is the complete opposite all of the lovely people there are sweet as anything and if you come to the event you can come say hello to me and many more of my favorite bloggers.

So if you are in the NY area please come and say hello!!!!! I swear I'm super nice and I may even bring some treats to lure people into stopping by.

Plus Barclay Butera is going to be there at 4 pm too. So come to see him and then swing by me and of course tell me you only came to see me :).

Barclay Butera designed this stunning room:

Gotta love a man that loves a blue/white color combo, bamboo and tasteful animal print.

Stay tuned for a sneak peek into some of the amazing showrooms that I got to check out yesterday.

Black Bathroom Update!

Last week I asked you all for advice on my black walls.

I totally thought everyone was going to be on my side and tell me to get rid of the black. I was already envisioning sticking my tongue out at Jon saying I told you so while applying a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

That didn't happen though. You all talked me off the wall and helped me embrace the paint job and so due to all of your wonderful advice I decided to leave it black.

I do want a bit of change though so I think I'm going to switch out a couple of accessories in order to add my pop of color.

I stumbled upon this image in my inspiration files. I believe it's a bathroom in Kate Spades home and it was featured in an 2004 issue of House & Garden:




I love it. So pops of yellow and green it is!

I've already ordered some new monogramed towels:



I picked out the yellow ones and went with some bright orange for the monogram! They are actually on sale at the moment. You can pick out your own set here.

While I had dreams of an imperial trellis shower curtain in emerald that is so not in the budget so I decided to go with this fabric instead:



It's a zig-zag pattern I had a stylish friend help me make a pattern I will be trying out Spoonflower for the first time.

Fingers crossed all goes well!

*Thanks for all of your advice. All of the rooms in the house are really finally at the final stages...for now :) My mom has already made me promise to her that I will leave everything as is for at least 6 months when I'm finished.

We'll see....

Are we over it? Black Walls

3 years ago I painted my master bathroom black.

To call it a master bath is laughable, because due to my teeny tiny cape cod my master bath comes in at 4' x 9'. Told you it was laughable. The 4' x 9' is not my walking space, but all of it. So more than half that space is filled with the essentials: toilet, sink, tub.

We shall call it a master anyway, because it helps me make believe that it is more grand. :)

Ok back to the matter at hand the paint color.

So 3 years ago when almost no one was painting walls black I disregarded everyones wide eyes and jaw dropping when I mentioned painting my teeny bathroom black.

I got the usual pleas that it would make the space feel smaller, but I did it anyway and it totally didn't.

Here is what the bathroom has looked like for 3 years:

We kept the original tiles, because we actually liked the retro look of the black and white tiles. We love houses with character so no need to get rid of said character and remodel the original bath. I know with some easy changes we could glam it up!

Up went the black paint, white accents and we lived happily ever after...



(Because our house reminds me of cottage I added a little touch of cottage to the space with my checkered shade.)

Last night after a crazy day of work ( I didn't leave my computer until about 10:30pm) Jon found me in standing in the bathroom just staring at it with my head tilted.

( I need to add a touch of girly to the space so up went my ruffled curtain. )

I didn't think Jon would realize what I was thinking, but he immediately said, " Don't even think it. The bathroom is staying as is." I had to laugh, because he is either now a mind reader or just a husband that now knows how to read the signs his crazy decorator wife gives off.

You see while I still love black and white and the over all look of the space I'm not loving the black walls anymore. I just feel like they have been over done and I'm ready to re -paint and perhaps add another touch of color into the mix!

Of course every other room in my house is in a state of almost finished with an end of August deadline for a photoshoot that is badly needed for my new site (almost finished!) So Jon is right to try and talk me off the ledge and leave it as is, but you know me.

Don't be surprise if he comes home one day and I've done a quick re-vamp to the space.

What are your thoughts on black walls? Do you still love it? Or are you totally over it and willing to help me change Jon's mind. :)

I know Jenny is tired of her black bathroom and wants to paint as well. So I already have one person on my side. :)

* Knowing me though I will probably back to loving black walls in a couple of days, but I would love to hear your thoughts. :)

**Could I have done anymore :) in this post? I think I must be in a silly mood. ;)