THIS BLOG HAS MOVED.

YOU ARE BEING REDIRECTED TO STYLEBERRYBLOG.COM.

Are you ready...!!!!

okay loyal readers...get ready for an upgraded view! I have switched to wordpress & my lovely designer tracylynn of three heart photography & design made my vision a reality.

Soon this blog will automatically be redirected to the new one, but just about everything here is now there. I have a few glitches to work out & some content to add but it is so close to being done that I thought you should see it! I hope you enjoy & surely leave me a comment to let me know (a) you made it & (b) what you think!!! I'm so excited!

www.styleberryhome.com

Here's where I ask for your help...

Okay, so I hope this doesn't come across in the wrong way, (cause I never enjoy doing this sort of thing) but I am in the process of putting together my website & am looking for some accolades.

If I have ever helped you with decorating in your house, and you have something to say about how I helped you, what you liked or just how I am to work with, here's how you can pay me back!

Shoot me an email (comment me if you don't have it) with a little blurb (specifics are great, whether it was color, decor or cordinating something etc.) about your experience. Also let me know it's ok to post on my new website [first name & last initial only].

Thanks everyone! I am uncomfortable doing this "asking you to say nice things" hullabaloo, but starting your own business means a whole lotta doing things you are uncomfortable doing! So if you can help me out, it would be greatly appreciated. :)

I love a good stripe...

::sigh:: new homes are a lot of work. This week I have really been focusing on getting my new place looking nice and filling in the gaps where I felt design was lacking. I wanted to do stripes somewhere in this new home and I finally found the perfect place.

I loved the idea of the Ralph Lauren "candlelight" and decided to give it a go. My foyer was a little light in color for my liking, but I didn't want to add color since there is plenty of it in the adjoining room. Using a yard long level I spaced the stripes out to adequately frame in the art I have on the walls in the space. I taped them off using my favorite, frog tape. I painted on the candlelight, which is just a glaze and was seriously BORED. I think it would look great on a darker color where you could actually see the lighter contrast of the iridescent glaze but if you are looking to see the stripes, don't try this on light walls.

I decided to mix a custom color with the paint I had on hand to make tonal stripes instead of the candlelight. I took the greyish brown color I used in my bathrooms upstairs (color matched to Valspar "siene") and mixed it with the basic beige I used in most of the house, which is also the color in the foyer. Adding just the slightest amount of "siene" I created a color that made a tonal stripe that would add interest but wasn't so much of a contrast that it overwhelmed the small space. I am pretty happy with the result. I didn't mix enough of my own custom color to paint the wall the door is on, so that is my next project!

No more matchy matchy!

I have spent far too many years buying everything that came in the pottery barn catalog and decided that, starting with this house, I am going to refuse to be soooooo commercial. I really don't want my space to look like anyone else's and if I buy the whole page from PB, it will look like a clone of someone else's place in anywhere, USA. Surely I will pick up generic pieces here & there but this is my declaration: my house will have as many one of a kind pieces as possible! So, that being said, meet my new throw pillows! All unique...different patterns, textures, fabrics. Haven't figured out the right arrangement yet...but at least it is interesting to look at! If you really pay attention to high end designer looks, there is always a very deliberate mismatch of fabrics that wind up looking so interesting you cant take your eyes off them. So here's your challenge: think outside the pottery barn box!

matching on the fly

Ever been out and found something for your home that you love, only to hem & haw over whether it will really match when you get home? Here's your decorating tip of the day!

• Always carry a swatch pack in your purse

Gather paint chips in all the colors you have used in your home. If you cant find them, paint over a chip in another color with the leftovers from the can. If you've got items that are colored but not painted, like large floor tiles, grab a bunch of paint chips from the hardware store & find the colors that best match your "cant take with you" items.

Also include swatches of fabric from major furniture pieces, duvets, rugs & carpet. It might take some looking, but every couch comes with a fabric remnant for you to cut off. Try looking under flaps, cushions or inside zippered pillows and you should be able to find a piece large enough to match. Search for extra duvet fabric on the seams & be aware of any packaging that comes with one when you purchase it new, that might be helpful when shopping for that "perfect" accent!

Here's a glimpse into my current swatch pack, which I am taking with me to the fabric store today to help locate the perfect mess of fabrics to accent my new home!

Love Affair...

meet my espresso maker. in the one and only natural spotlight that my kitchen window provides every morning. coincidence? i think not. it's as if the world is pointing me in the right direction...

only took me four colors to get here...

but the great room color is now selected & half way done! It was an agonizing choice in color...went back & forth & back & forth and four purchased & tested colors later, we have a decision! I have decided that the thousand or so paint chips that benjamin moore sent me in my designer kit just dont help! But the limitless choices do mean the perfect color is out there. This is the one I settled on...and I kid you not...it's called texas sage.

We're not yet decorated, but we have color!

[here you can really see the ridiculous texture that texans put on their walls. it is AWFUL to paint, as it is such a rough surface. don't screw up when you nail into the wall either, because it is a nightmare to patch. what are they thinking?!?]

so proud!

Check it>>> My sister in law got some major recognition for her photography work! She made it front page!!

How sweet is that! (and what fun that photo is too!!!) Way to go kim!

...for more of her work, see her on flickr & @ Kimby Photography!

drumroll please...

I'd love to hear what you think! This has undergone many revisions, but the final is exactly what I want! I wanted a logo that I could use without using my name...that was fun & hip and modern & simple & clean...no small vision!

Much thanks to the fabulous Tracy Lynn of Three Heart Design, who has been so wonderful to work with!

Gallery Wall

So determined to create order & confine my cluttery frames to one well designed area of my home, I decided to create a gallery wall! After some careful planning & even more careful execution I have designed exactly what I envisioned! I have this HUGE wall on one side of a rather steep staircase and knew from the very first time I walked through the skeleton walls of this home that it would be something special. I have collected a variety of black frames over the years so I was pretty sure I wouldn't have to buy anything new. I did end up spray painting a few frames that were either cherry, metallic or distressed with black satin spray paint to create uniformity, but I am very pleased at the result! You can find more info about various clean & well designed gallery walls here. Here is the inspiration & "how to" for the one I fell for:

INSPIRATION

EXECUTION

[began by tracing every frame I wanted to use on craft paper (purchased at the dollar store) to make place markers and used painters tape to play with the arrangement on the wall. I added, subtracted & rearranged using my eye as my guide for right & wrong placement. I messed with the frames for a couple of days before settling on the final placement]

[After deciding placement, I removed the place marker anchoring the major & middle pieces at the bottom first. I taped the place marker to the frame and poked a hole with a nail EXACTLY where the hanger was supposed to sit on the nail. Then I rehung the place marker and hammered the nail in. Then hung the first piece & began adding pieces tight to the first one hung.]

[Here is the final frame design. I wanted to use an eclectic mix of frames. Using the same frame uniform throughout would create too formal of a look for me. So, I varied the depths, sizes & mats so it had a lot of depth & texture. See how easy it is to create uniformity just by painting all the frames the same color?? There are tricks to achieve great results when spray painting, just remember ten coats of very thin layers are ALWAYS better than one thick coat that bubbles, but covers. The pictures are not in yet, these are just the pictures that were in the frames from my previous house. This wall will be an evolving piece of art for years to come!]

[top down view! now if only I could move that ugly doorbell box...]