Thursday, March 31, 2011

window shopping :: west elm

Thanks to all those who wrote comments and signed the petition to support Interior Design in Florida! It means a lot to me!  Now onto a much lighter topic!

A friend I were talking yesterday about how much we love the current West Elm catalog...so many great things! My cart is filling up fast online with things I want for the new house!!

I can never say no to an upholstered headboard--the shape on this one is perfect!


 I love the modern take to a classic chair...these are serious contenders for my breakfast nook!



My girlfriend wanted this sofa in her home asap...


This bedding screams summer to me!


Where do you think I found those stools I am using in my kitchen?


I love the lacquered trays West Elm has out now...so many colors!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

on a serious note

I am going to take a departure from my typical posts and get a little serious now.  There is a lot going on with the Interior Design profession here in Florida. Interior Designers have been put on a list with dozens of other professions to be de-regulated.  Some of the other professions up for de-regulation are movers and hair braiders...seriously, 4 years of education and I am lumped together with a person who braids hair on the beach?!

By de-regulating interior design, it will force us to have to have architects sign off on all commercial work where now we are able to submit work under our license.  It takes the interior design profession back a few steps in being taken more seriously.  Florida's governor is putting these professions up for deregulation saying it will encourage job growth but in the design perspective, it actually does the opposite. It will put a lot of firms out of business that rely on primarily commercial work.  Also, in most Interior Design degrees, the majority of coursework is commercial based. This bill will ultimately kill all design degree programs and make them useless. Nice to know I have student loans for nothing! This bill doesn't effect residential design at all since you don't have to be licensed to design residential interiors, but you have to be licensed to design commercial interiors. In school, the focus is on codes, health, safety, and welfare in commercial spaces. I spent 4 years in school memorizing all the codes, another 2 years working towards taking my licensing exam, studying my butt off and passing the exam, and now for the government to tell me it means nothing and I will have to give work to an architect, is such an unsettling feeling.

Proponents of the deregulation bill are saying that Interior Designers have put a monopoly on decorators ability to work in commercial spaces. But, the only ones who prevented them from working on commercial spaces is themselves. They chose not to pursue a design education, or maybe they do have the degree, but chose not to take the licensing exam. So, now everyone will be punished because news flash--they aren't going to be getting any more commercial work from this bill being passed unless they are an architect.

Take away the decorators vs. designers argument, and consider the men vs. women owned businesses. Interior Designer businesses are primarily female owned and the majority of architecture firms are male owned. This bill basically takes away the power that us females had in the design field and gives it back to the male-owned business. Pretty antiquated, no?

I will wrap up my rant with a plead to sign this petition for removing interior design from the list of professions set to be de-regulated. It will mean so much to me and all the other countless designers and design students who are fighting for our profession in Florida this week.


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

we're getting there...

I haven't talked about the new house in awhile so I will give you a little update! We have selected all our flooring, cabinetry, some lighting, and appliances.

My favorite part of the whole house is the flooring the Mr. and I selected for the main living areas...it is a beautiful, rustic, scraped hardwood and I am so excited to see it in the house!


Here are all the other selections for the kitchen...


I went with two different finishes for the cabinets. The back wall of cabinets will be white and the island will be an espresso finish. I scored the Thomas O'Brien Hicks Pendants for a song from my last job and I can't wait to have them installed!

I am still torn on the backsplash for the kitchen...do I do subway tiles, glass tiles, stone??? Decisions, decisions!

Monday, March 28, 2011

monday musing


Thursday, March 24, 2011

current obsessions

I have been thinking it's almost time for me to get a new purse. I know, like I really need one, but in my defense, I have been carrying the same purse around for over a year, so I think it perfectly fine to be thinking these thoughts at this point!

Ok, confession, I did purchase a new purse in NYC...

I love it! It can be worn 3 ways...across the body, as a clutch, or as a shoulder bad. Tori, you're a genius! But, it isn't a good every day bag. It's a good weekend bag. I need something with a little more room for the weekdays. I have my eye on these few leather lovelies....

I wore this on my shoulder all around Bloomies when trying to decide which purse I should get. I am still dreaming of it!


A good, classic tote...


Love this Michael Kors bag as well...



Just for good measure since we are talking about my purse obsession, I will throw in a few watches that I am currently lusting after on the Michael Kors website....




My poor husband!!!

images via Tory Burch and Michael Kors

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

need more hours in a day

Seriously, I need more hours in a day or at least the energy of my daughter!  I am very behind on all my shelter mags...new ones arrive before I can even look at the old one. And if the stack of magazines next to my sofa doesn't make me feel bad, I have emails telling me that there are new online magazine issues out! I hope to catch up on a lot of the reading this weekend!!!








I know I missed Monday's usual "monday musing" post-- here's a good one for the mid-week hump :)


Thursday, March 17, 2011

wall candy

I have a super fun client at my new job whose is giving me crazy creative license when it comes to their new condo. She wants fun and funky and I am determined to make her vision come to life!!  Part of the whole fun and funky scheme is some fun wallpaper on an accent wall in the entry. I have seen so many great choices it will be hard to pick!!

Here's some great wallpapers that could definitely make the cut...


Love that pattern in the "Wasabi" colorway....
Here's another fun paper...

all images above via

Who can say no to Imperial Trellis???




 via


Or zebra for that matter??


One of these wallpapers above was the lucky winner for the entry...can you guess which one??


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

window shopping :: wisteria

I love browsing Wisteria's website for unique finds. They have so many great pieces of furniture and accessories!

I have been eyeing these stools for my bar area for awhile...



How cool is this cocktail table?? It is made out of a vintage door...

My obsession continues for rustic, industrial lights...


You can't go wrong with cane....


 all images via



Also, please check out my guest post at Traci Zeller's blog! I wrote about a few of my favorite things!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

monday musing


Friday, March 11, 2011

favorite find of the week 3.11

I am in love with the website Barnlight Electric.  I discovered after reading a blog post by Simply Seleta a few weeks ago. Of course, I had all intentions of blogging about it last week but didn't get around to it.

Barnlight Electric has so many cool rustic barn lights (hence the name) but they also carry some other great fixtures that are a fun departure from your typical big box store lights.  The prices aren't bad either! That's a plus in my book...good prices and good design!

I can picture these over my kitchen island...



This adds a nice pop of color and vintage charm...


Some other favorites...







I have a feeling I will be ordering from them in the near future!!



Have a great weekend!!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

house love

I am in love with the bold yet traditional feel of this house.  The owners are originally from New York but moved to Houston. They definitely put a big city feel to a traditionally Southern style.



A foyer covered in black lacquer wallcovering...very cool and unexpected!


 This living room says casual glamour to me...



Peacock blue is fast becoming one of my favorite colors...the designer covered the walls in this library in it and I am in love!






Perfect example of blending contemporary with traditional...an Andy Warhol print resting on a very traditional chest....



 The master bedroom is the most muted room in the home but still full of sophistication.

designer :: rob southern

Monday, March 7, 2011

monday musing


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

what i've been up to

Long time, no blog!! I came back from my trip to New York last week and I was so exhausted and had a ton of catch up stuff to do, I couldn't even think about blogging!  My trip was a blast...my mom, sister, and I ate and shopped our way around the city!



Again, I have to apologize for the infrequency of posts!  I have had a ton of things going on, a lot with the new house and the most important being a new job! I now work for Studio M in Tampa as a Senior Designer! I met Michelle and Eric from Studio M while in New York for Nate Day and kept in touch over the next few months.  As Studio M grew with more and more clients, they called me to see if I wanted to become a part of the team.  It was hard to say no! Studio M is a very busy firm with a great group of people and the experience I am gaining there is invaluable.  While it was very sad to say goodbye to my previous bosses of 8 years, I knew if I wanted to grow professionally, I had to take this position.


I am now working full time as opposed to part time and it is taking some getting used to! So, please please forgive me if I have a few really short posts here and there or sometimes skip a post...just trying to get used to the work force again!!