Great Look for Less -- Planters

Look at these great pots sitting between my neighbor's door and mine. They were bought at Ashley Furniture, where I work, in Kirkwood, Missouri. The orb (round) pot was bought for $88. Compare to the DWR Gratia orb planter that is priced at $520.00 on sale. I think we achieve the same look for a lot less.

AT HOME St. Louis Magazine's Habitat for Humanity project -- Sherrel's room

It's been fun working again with AT HOME St. Louis Magazine on yet another successful community project, this time with Habitat for Humanity. You may remember last year's project with Haven of Grace.

I was teamed up with designers Ellen Alvey and Becky Noelker. What a blast working with these talented women. We decorated Sherrel's top attic bedroom.

Sherrel gave us only one direction, blue walls with black and white accents and fabric. We loved the idea! All we added to the design plan were the pops of red.

All items were donated by generous area vendors and subscribers to the magazine. I donated the Ashley Furniture lamp to the right of the bed. The artwork was donated by a St. Louis favorite, Laura Gunn.

Sherrel and her friends helped paint the room. They also assisted us in painting the furniture.

See photos below with captions that tell the story.

Above, we laid out all the fabrics and a fun lamp shade for Sherrel to view and approve.

Above, old chest found in basement.

Above, after a bit of paint. We accentuated the lines already in the piece. The hardware is the same, original flower shaped knobs. We just spray painted them white and then dipped the edges in black. So cute! the scroll pattern on the top drawer was inspired by an are rug in the room.



Above, room before.

Above, room after.

Above, we slip covered this grandma chair in a fashion-forward pop of polka dots! Not your grandma's polka dots, but big ones. The red pillow was a bonus, made of found scrap fabric. Could not have planned that if we had tried.

Above, the three musketeers, left to right, Becky Noelker, Ellen Alvey, and me.

Artist Laura Gunn with her paintings.

Above, I can't resist this photo of Paul Pagano, designer, who worked on the basement of the home. He would drop by our room and entertain us. Watch it now, don't split your pants!

Sherrel thinks her room is hot!

Cousin Craig -- Repressing Andrew Wyeth

Cousin Craig has another masterpiece and, again, a great back story.

From his website:

It's no secret that I love photo-realism in painting and greatly admire the work of Andrew Wyeth. However, I find it can also be a trap that artists occasionally fall into (including me). In some ways, painting in a "Photo-Realistic style relegates to artist into becoming a human "Xerox" machine. This piece was to designed to "repress" my Wyethian tendencies, and strive for something original and my own statement. I first painted a portrait of Andrew in oils, and then deconstructed it by slicing it into 5 ribbons which I integrated into the "picture towers" shown above. The act of physically cutting the painting up was my way of severing my past artistic tendencies.

Piano Color

Here is a fun idea from Design Mom.

We think a piano can only be two colors, brown or black. How about green or another fun color?

Refinishing can be a good chunk of change. Painting yourself costs just a few pennies.

Mike and Toni's Chandelier Galaxy

This is hilarious. Heather and I have been shopping for the perfect chandelier for over her piano. This is one store we have not checked out. How about it Heather?I found this fun clip on Carolina Eclectic.

Meet DeirDre Krotz -- A St. Louis Favorite

Close-up shot of finish applied to what was once a white laminate cabinet. CRAZY!

My St. Louis favorites list is growing, this time with DeirDre Krotz, faux artist, who does the most amazing treatments with paint. Her company is called Crazy Walls.

I first became acquainted with her when I took one of her classes and she has since done work for my clients.

Her most recent work transformed a plain laminate cabinet to become a stunning old-world piece. Crazy!
Original white laminate cabinets (above)
AFTER (above) DeirDre does her "crazy" magic. Same cabinets, no joke. These are laminate, but you would never know.

I can't tell you how many clients ask me if they can paint laminate.

Yes Susie, you can! And DeirDre can help.

If you live in the St. Louis area and would like to learn how DeirDre and I can transform your furnishings, your walls and any paintable (not a word, I know, but I like it) surface, give me a call: 314-276-1129. If you live elsewhere, fly us out!

The Henken's Family Room -- featuring Ashley Furniture's Curved Sofa

It's been several months in the making, but yesterday we finally finished the Henken's family room and kitchen.
We started with one of my favorite sectionals: Ashley's curved sofa.
We teamed the curved sofa with Ashley's Jenna chairs which inspired the color scheme of red, green, yellow and tan. The walls are painted in Restoration Hardware's Bay Laurel. The area rug, about 11' by 14', was found at Rug Decor to complement the chairs. Notice the old window to the left side, it's an actual window from Joe's family home. The lamp and small table were made by Joe using reclaimed woods.
The window treatments and pillows are by Material Girl, Jeanette Longfellow. We banded the red treatments with a 12 inch block of tan fabric to mimic a valance. I love the graphic statement this makes.
Dining table (pictured above) was found at Three French Hens. The top is made of reclaimed wood -- the base was a pillar rescued from a Missou frat house. The chairs for the dining table are from Bassett. The ladder back chairs are upholstered in leather, practical dining for the children. The parents sit in the fabric chairs.
Tile back splash is subway tile laid in a brick pattern, the centerpiece surrounding the pot-filler is glass tile mosaic.
Accessories were found at Ashley Furniture and Pier One, but some of my favorite accessories were made by Joe, the reclaimed porch post lamp and small side table, seen with the Jenna chairs.
A fun find: whimsical side table that is a monkey holding a tray, found at Arhaus. Too cute! It's one of Joe's favorites.
Everyone feels at home, including the Henken's dog!

Thank you Henkens!...it's been fun. Let's do the living room now!

Want it: DOWNTOWN CHIC

I am starting something new. A running list of wish-books for my design reference library. This will be a handy list -- found on the side bar of my blog -- for friends and family who want to get me a gift!

DESIGN CHIC is reviewed by DESIGN MOM.

The cover of the book inspires me because I am getting ready to launch a design re-do of my master bedroom. I want to inject color, but I don't have the time or energy to paint my walls in the immediate future. Injecting color in the fabrics and finishes like I see on the cover of this book are likely the way I want to go.

Moonrise Hotel in St. Louis

Sitting area in lobby of the Moonrise Hotel.


Dan (husband) and I went with friends Don and Diane Wallace to check out the new Moonrise Hotel on the Delmar Loop.

The website says it "blends cool modern design and quirky sophistication to create a truly unique boutique hotel experience...The result: an unforgettable experience that combines Midwestern hospitality with urban chic and luxury boutique."

The lunar-themed decor is really out of this world. LOVE it!

It's so cool. We'll book guests here for sure.


Stairs light up and change colors. The Chihuly inspired chandelier is to die for.



The place was hopping. Great to see in this economy.

designHop Club Creates Home Office for Mom

Stephanie's husband, Mike, moves the bookcase.

Fellow designHop club member, Stephanie, is expecting a baby any day now. Baby #2 will get the office upstairs, so we helped Stephanie arrange her new office downstairs in the basement.


Office BEFORE -- see above photo


Office AFTER -- see above photo

The basement is one large space with no obvious divisions between three areas: play area, office and entertainment/TV. Our challenge was to not only make it look beautiful, but also to divide the area.

Stephanie had most all the pieces for her office, we just put it together. One piece missing was a chair. We spied a small wing back chair in her already crowded TV space and re-purposed it as an office chair. We think it adds a lot of comfort and class to the new office space.

To provide a division between the play area and the office, we -- well, Mike -- moved a bookcase and faced it towards the play area. Because it now faces the play area, toys and books can be stored in it. On the back side of the bookcase -- now facing the office -- we suggested Stephanie put the peel and stick cork squares to provide a bulletin board convenient to her work space.

We also suggested she put up an extension rod and curtain to hide the storage in the play area -- illustrated in the photo below. And we discussed paint colors to pull all three spaces together. We'll provide up dated photos as the space continues to transform.


A view of the "proposed" curtain.

designHop club makes design happen!

If you live in the St. Louis area and would like to host, start or join a designHop club, call me at 314-276-1129.