Market Finds

I love painted furniture.  
I love to use furniture as a canvas.....art on a drawer!
No one does it better to me than Guildmasters, and I took a couple of pics at market last week of  a couple of new pieces.  
I'll admit....whimsey is their middle name ( or maybe their first name!), but they inspire me to bring some fun into every space I design.

Do you recognize this pattern?  It's an open stock fabric pattern that a couple of the big fabric houses have picked up.  This is painted on!  I'm using it for inspiration for an armoire at my house.  I'll post pictures when I finally get it finished!

The neutral tones of this piece allow it to fit easily into many different decors.  Wouldn't it be a fabulous dining room buffet?

OK....you got to really look at this one.  It's a painted dart board, and the handles are all "darts" that have been thrown.  They are even at odd angles just like a real dart would be.  The circles are bottle caps!  Real ones!  How fun would this be in a game room!  

I love Guildmaster!  They are represented at the Dallas Market by InDetail and available through retailers and designers ( like me!)

Sally J. Designs helps you to LOVE your home!

Contact Sally J. Designs for in-home and on-line consultations and turn-key projects.

Bathroom Makeover

I was going through my picture files of projects that I’ve completed for clients over the last several years, and knowing that everyone likes a good before and after, I thought I’d post one.

The house had been rental property, but the owner was moving back into town and wanted to live in the house.  Needless to say, it had been trashed!  (Never give renters painting rights without approving the colors!) They had destroyed so much of this house…holes in the sheetrock, water leaks unattended….a mess!

The master bathroom was actually a series of little spaces….a dressing area, a closet and the room with the tub and toilet.  I opened up the whole space, reoriented the placement of the plumbing and created a very functional and lovely room.

Here’s what I had to work with.  Look at all the doors!  (What’s behind Door # 1?)  Ug….


Demo Everything!!!
Lovely wallpaper behind the mirro….actually, it’s kind of back in style again, isn’t it?  I think it might have been an improvement over the forest green paint!!

Moving the plumbing means digging and lots of mess….yuk!
 
But it was worth it!

She now has a huge walk in shower,

Tons of storage.  There is also a full length mirror between the large custom cabinets.  There was another closet in the bedroom to house hang-up clothes.  The client was pretty much a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl and wasn’t interested in hanging storage in this space.

We created a vanity with lots of mirrors to open up the space.  The shelves have mirrored backs to display a perfume bottle collection.
 
Since the 70’s bathrooms were not known for being spacious and luxurious, I tried to create as much floor space as possible.
Now that’s a transformation huh?
Before…..
 
And After!

Sally J. Designs can help you to LOVE your home!

We are available for personal and online consultations and turnkey projects.

Contact the team at Sally J. Designs for all your design and decorating needs.

Technorati Tags: bathroom,remodel,makeover,interior design,Dallas interior designer,renovation

Cubbie Love

Do you find that there are certain design elements or features that you are always drawn to? 

Maybe its a color, or a shape or a furniture piece that you can’t ever resist. 
I have a thing for drawers….and cubbies and anything that features them…..

Suzanne Dossetter

Weird…

I know.
I think I must have been a carpenter in another life, because I love pieces that have multiple drawers and cubbies. 
I know I’m not alone.  Everyone loves this library wall that Kelly Wearstler did.

And we have all ooooed and ahhhhed over this stainless steel island ( and the amazing pendant lights) that has floated over blog land forever.

I am so covetous of those DRAWERS!   And it’s not even about the storage…..just love looking at them lined up like little soldiers all in a row.  (I do wonder which of the ones that come together at the corner are functional…..they both can’t be?  Anything for symmetry, I guess!)
I ran across this beauty at a flea market, and so wanted it for a kitchen island, but I didn’t have the client who loved it as much as I did.  I love the box of drawers sitting on top too.


And then there is this map chest that I found….I’m thinking of all the cool little things that could find a home in all those little narrow drawers….placemats, scarves, paper….oh the endless possibilities!
I design most of my kitchens with a multitude of drawers rather than base cabinets because they are so functional…..or maybe because I  just like them!

Have you seen more beautiful drawers than this….be still my heart!

…or these?

OK…not so many drawers, but it’s pink and it has a cubbie too!
I think my love for drawers and cubbies must have something to do with my constant quest to be organized….not that I’m winning that battle, mind you,  but if I had this, wouldn’t I be getting close?

How about a rotating cubbie for my shoes?

or my books….

Or for beautiful objects d’ art!






I think I love drawers and cubbies because they can be functional and beautiful….two ingredients necessary for good design.

SCW Interiors

Tobi Fairley

Or maybe it’s the mystery of wondering what’s inside.

I realize in the grand scheme of design elements that I could obsess over,  having a “thing” for cubbies and drawers might seem a bit eccentric, and I’m really ok with that.  I kind of like the idea of eccentricity as I age.  You don’t need to worry about me until I start looking at canes and walkers in the same way!! Tee Hee!……although a lovely, handcarved cane…….hmmmm?

Technorati Tags: interior design,drawers,cubbies,storage,functional design,kitchens,kitchen design

I've got my running shoes on.....

We're heading to the Dallas Home and Gift Market  today....shopping 'till our feet won't go anymore!
I can't wait to report on all the pretties!
Have a great weekend!!

Breaking a few rules

My mom told me I was rebellious.


Not the kind of rebellious that goes out and steals a car or sneaks out of the house when everyone else is asleep.  I never got too out of hand, but I pushed the envelope just far enough that they never quite knew what I would do.


Luckily, I survived to adulthood, raised my own "rebellious" kids, all the while knowing that pushing the envelope is what makes most things interesting.


Great designers do it all the time.  

Canadian House and Home

Nicky Haslan

Jane Mears

Murial Brandolini

New Jersey Home Mag

seen on Life at 514 blog

I'm feeling the need to rebel a bit.  How about you?

Let Sally J. Designs help you to LOVE your home!

Contact the team at Sally J. Designs

for in-home and on-line consultations and turn-key results.

The Art of the Vignette

Today I'm participating in a lInk party over ata Happy to Design: Sunday Favorites.

I'm reposting this post from last winter, and I hope you enjoy it and maybe learn something.

Hope you finish out the weekend with joy!

I switched beds around in my house, and while I was putting eveything back together today, I realized that it's the vignettes within the room that bring in style and grace to the space. 

Of course, I began thinking about what makes a vignette beautiful...what separates a great vignette from an OK one.  So instead of finishing what I had started, I hit the computer looking for beautiul vignettes (this blog is called Divine Distractions after all....it's what I do ).

In studying the bevy of beauties I found, it goes back to the principles of good design...scale, balance, line, color and rhythm. 

Great symmetry here...and the spot of color from the lemons is so right!

Count how many repetitions are in this little space.

...and here.  Symmetrical balance, characterized by even numbers, items that mirror one another, things that are centered...all make for a more formal arrangement and feel.

Two pillows, two arches on the legs of the bench, two finials, two horizontal pics, two vertical ones....that's formal symmetry.

I have a love-hate relationship with symmetry.  I enjoy the strength and stability of formal balance, but I really think an asymmetrical arrangement is more interesting and artistic....that's me...interesting and artistic!

This vignette can't decide if it's symmetrical or asymmetrical....kind of like me!

I haven't ridden a horse since I was a child, but I'm coveting these riding boots.  I love that they are a bit askew, standing there.  Of course, you know I love the pops of orange.  What an eclectic, little vignette!

I wish this had posted a little clearer, but I just love this tablescape.  I love the shapes, the colors and the lines.  It seems perfectly planned.

Isn't this serene and beautiful?  What amazing lines in this table!  I love the repetition of color in the silver and green, and the soft, soothing art work. 

  They have kept the color palette here very clean and neutral, and it really allows me to focus on the photograph, which might get lost otherwise.  The white in the hydrangeas (my fav), the roses and the vases really unifies the tablescape.

Such a mix of styles here, but it really works.  Two florals seems like overkill to me, but the scene has a casual quality that is inviting.  The greens and whites in the organics are repeated in a very subtle way, bringing unity to the vignette.  Lovely!

The  lines on this table and mirror are the star of this vignette.  How simple, curvy and elegant.  Too much "stuff" would take away from the beautiful lines, don't you think?

Fruit and flowers...love this.

Ok, I'm inspired now....have to go finish putting those rooms back together now....until I'm distracted once again.