love....

the contrast you get with a dark grout and a classic, white subway tile.

*images courtesy of torie jayne, city sage, marley and lockyer, inspiration for everyday living

you know, i'm not one to stick to a resolution....and now that i think about it, i don't think i really make a point of making them....does that make me a terrible person?!! but i will say that when i saw that 'love life' pic, i immediately thought 'that's pretty cool'- a great motto to live by....

*images courtesy of copy cat chic, harper and harley, high street market, lotus bleu

a perfect combo.

in case you can't tell, life around here is super busy....please forgive me for not being able to give my blog a ton of attention. i promise things will return to normal soon- i hope :)

*images courtesy of desire to inspire, decor pad, cstellin, tracery interiors, canadian house and home, tracery interiors, country living

lots of windows please.

ever since i saw a post that things that inspire did on bringing the outside in, i have become obsessed with the idea of windows taking the place of upper cabinets in a kitchen. it is just amazing how beautiful it looks to have all of that space open. i am a huge fan of not using upper cabinets and this allows so much light into a space. then i saw this picture of the shower enclosed with window panes and i think it is just genius! so if you are building think windows...and lots of them!

*images courtesy of things that inspire, southern accents, things that inspire, delight by design, meyer davis studio, searching for style

take a picture, it will last longer...

i think one of my favorite parts of having this blog is the visual reminder of what i am inspired by...having all of these images saved, gives me a great resource to go to when i am helping a client. when you are building a house or hiring a designer, images are so vital in expressing your individual style. you can learn so much from looking at pictures: obviously i like open kitchens with a combination of light and dark elements, i lean towards no upper cabinetry and i like introducing industrial touches either in lighting or in a piece of furniture.

so if you are just trying to find out what you gravitate too or if you are considering hiring a designer, start storing pictures...this will serve as a great starting point to tweaking your own individual look!

*images courtesy of charleston home (first and second), house and garden, domino, design sponge, newlywed diaries/martha stewart, the city sage, house beautiful

industrialized....

the look is popping up everywhere, even in those pesky mail order catalogs that arrive at your house daily. the industrial look is something that makes my heart skip a beat. i don't need a whole house filled w/ stainless steel but little bits of it interjected into a space makes me happy. that is why when i saw the kitchen w/ the locker baskets, i freaked. that image quickly jumped to the top of my "favorites list". i found the article from country living and read the story on the designer, Aaron Foster, who created that awesome kitchen- everything was from ebay, home depot, or flea market fairs.....

then last night, i almost died when i saw please sir's locker set...ohhh, how i would kill to have that living in my house! she spotted it in college and knew she had to have it! oh the possibilities that locker set holds!! so i am on a mission...i will be searching every reStore, flea market, and restaurant supply company (i have never been to one...tay get ready, we have an outing)....i need a little more industrial in my life...like this old metal desk from a french post office...wouldn't it be a perfect place to pay bills?!

*images courtesy of country living, please sir, 1st dibs via riviera antiques

bread box...

i inherited my love for antiques and vintage finds...my parents have taken me to antique stores my entire life. i spent many saturdays wondering around the huge warehouses at lakewood and scotts...unfortunately, i could have cared less at the time...it pains me to think about it. i would kill to be able to go to lakewood now (may it rest in peace)!

for christmas and my birthday a couple of years ago, my mom and dad gave me a vintage bread box and flour tin. i adore them. i have always wanted one b/c that is where we always kept our bread growing up. i can't wait until i have a kitchen with open cabinetry where i can really show them off....but in the mean time, i'll enjoy them sitting on my counter and giving me thoughts of home.

*pics courtesy of purple area, cottage living, bluepint bliss (these aren't old but they're still cute), country living

it's where you make your coffee...

the kitchen is the heart of a home...the spot i greet my husband everyday when he gets home from work, it's the office when i am trying to talk to a "potential" new client and i don't want them to hear my daughter screaming in her room, it's where barron hunts for food that might have been thrown overboard by a little someone, it's our favorite place in town to grab a glass of wine or beer, and of course- it's a karaoke bar/dance floor when no one is looking.....

*pics courtesy of marie claire maison

tile my wall please....

when it comes to kitchen and bathrooms, the more tile the better....take it up the wall to the ceiling, use it as a wainscoting.....start thinking beyond using it as just a back splash or to cover a shower area....the results are awesome!

*pics courtesy of casa reveal, decorno, porchlight interiors, restoration hardware

could you do this....

open shelving
Originally uploaded by homebug

how amazing does this picture of open shelving look? gosh, i wish that i would be bold/ clean/ organized enough to be able to pull something like this off. i think it looks fabulous!! and i heart shelving where you need a ladder to scroll across in order to reach something!

my work...

so one of the houses i am working on is almost finished and i wanted to show y'all some pics. the kitchen is one of my favorite spots. the house is on sullivan's so we went w/ a coastal look. shaker style cabinetry is definitely where i tend to lean...we did mix in beadboard for the island (its painted eliza lucas, one of my favorite colors- the brand use to be lord and evans but its from the historic charleston collection and i think SW owns it now). the counter top is calcutta marble honed. the refrigerator is a sub zero glass pro 48" w/ glass door. i persuaded the clients to use a white viking b/c i have been in love with suzanne kasler's 04' southern accent showhouse FOREVER (its crazy that i still love something that was designed 4 yrs ago- which makes suzanne even a more awesome designer). the bridge faucet is by rohl in polished nickel. the subway tile backsplash is waterworks (i wish you could see the sheen, its just gorgeous in person). and the lights are 19" harmon pendants in polished nickel from restoration hardware.

* sorry i am terrible at taking pics...i hope to have a professional shoot the house when everything is done. i'll show you more pics later on of the house....