some showhouse....

do you ever feel like "blogging" is such a silly thing? i mean at times, i think "why am i doing this"...and then there are times like yesterday when i sit and have lunch for two hours talking with the sweetest girl from UEco, who i haven't seen in two years but found me b/c of my blog. weird...but so worth it. we had the best time talking "design" and she is a bundle of information when it comes to cool designers....
hence, the reserve showhouse...brought to my attention b/c i was told i must check out beth webb (who i seriously LOVE but b/c i don't have a mac, i can't get the photos off of her site- story of my life, it pains me). but in a round about way, i found the atlanta homes and lifestyles' showhouse collaboration b/w beth webb and summerour and associate (fabulous, fabulous architect and design group on atl)...
so i'll let the pictures speak for themselves...yea, i know- it's great, right??!!

the bathrooms...

here are some of the bathrooms in the house that i am working on. the master is my personal favorite. we used a lot of marble in the bathrooms as counter tops, subway tiles, and then in a basket weave on the floor of the master. the tub in the master is waterworks candide in burnish. penny rounds were used in two of the guest baths (love them...great floor tile for anyone building or remodeling).

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....

aganthus green 472...

that is how i found her....you know when you are "searching" for things to write about and you look everywhere to try and find inspiration- well, i was flipping thru house beautiful and i "googled" phoebe howard b/c of her selection of green paint. i am secretly embarrassed b/c i have never even heard of her, much less glanced her way to view her website. for the last hour i have been in shock b/c of the beautiful interiors "mrs. howard" designs. i keep looking over and over again at the images...trying to decide which ones i want to put on my blog....i couldn't narrow them down; i left many others i wanted to share...phoebe (i feel like i can call you that b/c i have spent so much time w/ you this last hour), girl you rock!

not bad for a flushmount....

recently, i have been spending a lot of time in circa lighting for various jobs and they have a lot of new stuff coming out that you see (a collection from suzanne kasler that totally rocks)....yesterday, i for some reason noticed their flushmounts (i am not even working on flushmount lights right now)...they have a lot of good looking ones. and let me tell you, it's not always easy to find a good looking flushmount! so here are some that stuck out in my mind that i thought i would share!

seriously, is it only tuesday???

galbraith & paul

so i have a routine every morning- wake up, get the kid, put her in bed w/ me, she drinks her milk, make coffee, fix me and kid breakfast, unload the dishwasher, play and read some books to kid, put kid down for a nap- this is in about a two hr span of time. then i have one hour of "me" time until kid gets up...this is when i sit in front of the computer and drink my 2nd cup of coffee and blog (if i get around to it- i have been a little slack this summer), check my email, and shower.

so today, i have spent my entire 2nd cup of coffee on the galbraith and paul website. these fabrics/ lights/ pillows have been around for a while. i have a lot of the fabrics in my library and admire the detail that they put into each hand blocked pattern. but it wasn't until this morning that i caught a glimpse of how they are really made. it is such a beautiful process and makes me appreciate the fabric that much more. if you have a second or are like me and drinking your cup of coffee, check out the detail that these craftsmen put into making their products. maybe the next time i try to sell one of my clients on the fabric, i will refer them to the website so they can get a better understanding of why they have to take out a small loan in order to afford them!! have a wonderful weekend!

back to life...

back to reality- and way sad about it....so i am officially back from costa rica and in a state of depression as i go back to work. i couldn't have had a better vacation- the beaches in costa rica are so beautiful and we were lucky enough to wake up every morning in front of them. i definitely did things i never thought this girl would do (zipline over the forest) and i did a lot of lounging around the pool (more my style). now as i sip on my cinnamon coffee back in the states (you should totally try adding cinnamon in the coffee filter- a trick i learned in CR- sooooo good), i can't help but long to be back in paradise.

hold my calls....

because this girl is out of here!!! i am leaving this computer for a well-deserved vaca!! i need a tan and a fruitie drink like asap....

the sitting room....

its the little things that make a huge impact. lately i have been doing a lot of shopping/ scouting for a client. its not as easy as one may think; you really have to LOOK b/c what you may love, others may not get. anyways, i frequent a lot of the same places in hopes to find a new shipment of goodies or discover a jewel that i may have overlooked previously. and one of the things that i have realized is that it doesn't just pay to have great things in your store but the people who own the store make a world of difference.

hence, the sitting room....a married couple from LA that uprooted and basically pointed their finger on a map and decided Charleston as the place to raise their children and start their store. boy, are they a fresh face in this sometimes (well actually a lot of times) stuffy town. heather has great taste and gets what is "in" in my humble opinion. brady, is great at helping out clients and if he doesn't know things exactly, well he says "heather will be here any minute". plus, they are super fun to talk to! little me gets stars in my eyes when it comes to LA...i don't know why i am fascinated w/ that silly town...yea, well i do know why, b/c i am a celebrity stalker...lame i know! anyways, i am really routing for this couple and their store! i want them to succeed and hope nothing but the best for them...yesterday i found out our children will be in the same daycare class starting in sept...i warned her that taylor is a little bit of a diva (i don't know where she gets that from)!! so if you are ever in mt. pleasant, you should totally check out the sitting room...they have great upholstery, they carry dwell bedding and tabletop, and have a fresh take on accessories and lamps!! heather, i am still keeping my fingers crossed that you pick up madeline weinrib.....

i hate your vacuum.....

its so funny how things in your life effect you....when my husband and i got married we had to do counseling w/ the church for what seemed like months (we had 10 lessons we had to attend). at first it seemed rather uncomfortable sitting there w/ the preacher talking about why we loved one another but as the weeks went on, it actually taught us a lot about each other.

each week, we had to read a chapter in this book and do a worksheet afterwards. one week we had to a lesson on how we were raised. it was like a questionnaire with duties and then columns on each side labeled mother, father, both. this was probably one of the most valuable lessons b/c what you had to do was circle which person did that specific duty in your family a.) your mom, b.) your dad, or c.) both. b/c that was what your perception on that specific duty would basically be going into your marriage. for example...it would say who takes out the trash.... my answer was b. my dad (later i have learned that my mom does it a lot more) and in our marriage, warren generally is the garbage man.

anyways, what i have realized in my 4 yrs of marriage is how you are raised has a huge effect on "your life"...not that i need a book to point that out. well, the reason i am writing this in a round about way is because of a simple thing called a vacuum cleaner...my loving husband was raised on a canister vacuum cleaner. you would think something as simple as a vacuum cleaner wouldn't have that much effect on your life but i was raised on what i consider a normal vacuum...the upright kind. i HATE our vacuum cleaner, in fact, i love to blame that stupid thing on why i can't vacuum. it is the heaviest thing ever!!! it has these wheels on it that is somehow suppose to make the thing easier- give me a break!! i am sweating my butt off from vacuuming the house. i have to constantly tug on that thing, pick it up b/c it runs into the walls, add different parts to it...it sucks- literally!! i almost took out my child this AM...one swift tug and she is history.

my mom can second my opinion...she hates that evil vacuum too (when i was on bed rest for a life time she helped out and tried vacuuming with that stupid canister)!! so to make a long story short...i wasn't raised on that evil canister vacuum...i am here to say my vacuum (the normal kind) is WAY better and so i think i need to boycott vacuuming until a normal kind arrives at our humble abode. no disrespect to my in-laws who are the best thing ever; i just dislike the vacuum you raised my husband on!!

so i didn't vote.....

so i think i need to confess...i am obsessed w/ so you think you can dance. its inevitable that i love this dance show considering i danced from the age of 2-18. my parents had to go to dance recitals for 16 yrs. and then on top of that, in high school, i did 4 yrs of dance team so they had to go to all of the school's preformances. my mother is even more obsessed then i am...it's actually really funny. i think its because she is still upset that my grandmother made her quit ballet to do piano lessons (thank god, my mom didn't make me do that). she hasn't gotten over it. she goes way beyond just watching the show...she goes online and reads the blogs about it and you tubes it....that makes me laugh. i can't believe she hasn't already called me this AM to talk about the upset last night...will got voted off. she will probably die that i am letting out her little secret!! my grandmother is really passionate about politics; my mother is really passionate about so you think you can dance- she will talk all day about it (only to me though...no one else knows until now)!!

i know that this is suppose to be a design blog but sometimes i just need to write what's on my mind (maybe i should have gone to the shows blog) and i cannot believe that one of the most technically trained dancers was voted off last night...i can't believe the two guys that were actually in the bottom two...i love both of them. but here i am ranting on about it and i don't even vote so i guess i can't really say much when it comes to who leaves the show!! anyways, i just thought i would make a confession....have a great weekend...will, you will be an amazing dancer and i can see alvin ailey in your near future....

i want that rug!!

i know that madeline weinrib has been blogged to death but i just cannot tell you how wonderful their rugs actually are. i had a chance to see them in person for the first time in atl (no one carries them in charleston which is a sad, sad thing). i was left drooling. and the cotton collection is relatively inexpensive as far as high end rugs go. and while the store didn't have an extensive collection, they said that madeline weinrib will send you thread samples of any rug you are debating between. *sigh* i want to own one. the problem with being a designer is that you are constantly surrounded by FABULOUS stuff but unfortunately your wallet can't always afford it...so you just live vicariously through the fab stuff you put into your clients' homes!