Rue de Emily: Project Files....

As I begin the new year and reflect on some of the fun projects I worked on last year I thought I would share a few... however this post got a bit rambling and longer than most...and it really just includes a few highlights...oops!

I have worked with this particular client for a few years...slowly but surely we are making our way through all of her spaces. Her fabulous kitchen has large wall spaces...first we purchased a really over sized round metallic mirror from Restoration Hardware to draw reflective light to a dark wall as you can see below...

We had another very large blank wall to cover with something interesting......so I had an idea...to make some graphic "Street Art"... I bought huge canvases that were about 6 ft. X 4 ft. each.

I engaged my client's three daughter's (ages 10-17)...and we made custom Art...using black ink...and various techniques that I taught them to add texture and interest...besides making Art we made a great memory too!

I added these white modern chairs to her fabulous wood block rectangular table and voila...the entire space really feels modern and fresh...and cohesive.

We recently just put together a gallery wall in a main hallway in her home as well. I framed the pictures (taken on a recent vacation) in a mixture of black and white and vertical and horizontal to create interest...

My husband is my assistant when it comes to hanging pictures...I come up with the design and he executes it perfectly! I love the way this fills the space. I just love personal galleries!!

You can now see it as you move from the living room...

the living room before...

after...

a close-up of the shelves..with objects I collected for this project...and photos of the family that I framed all in white...

On the other side of the kitchen we have begun work on her family room as well...again... huge wall spaces...a television was already mounted on the wall and there are speakers in the wall which make designing around them a bit of a challenge...

we found these great narrow paintings at the Style Shack...I grabbed them virtually as they came into the store...and we found the cabinet in a perfect shade to compliment the room...we had it wired for all her electronic equipment.

I added the basket and cozy blankets for each family member for warm snuggles while watching television....

I found these fabulous chairs tucked in a back corner in a boutique in Chicago...they were meant for the space...

We added imported wood tiered side tables and a new blue-grey denim couch from Crate and Barrel and a metal lamp base with a shade from Cost Plus World Market. I collected the coffee table books for layering and other accessories to finish the look.

We tied in an older couch and coffee table using elements of color and textured accessories that tied the entire space all together...and now with two couches and two comfortable chairs there is plenty of seating for comfortable television viewing and "hang out" time...

a little "event planning"...

In November I was happy to assist my friend with her daughter's Sweet 16 Birthday party at a downtown Chicago eatery...I arrived early to help set the table and a bit of the "scene"....

I bought fresh flowers and designed this cake centerpiece for the table...and I set the table before the girls arrived with linens and fun table "accessories" for the party...

Another client brought a fun and challenging transformation of their home (inside and out)...

most of the time I am limited in some capacity...budget...style...paint/no paint.... certain pieces of furniture...(you get the idea)...what I am allowed to do in a space...is not always what I would like to do in a space...part of the job is to work within set parameters...

in this case I was not allowed to paint the woodwork...which is what I immediately wanted to do all over the house before beginning any design effort...the oversize leather sectional also was staying...

and in the dining room there was a black iron wall decor and marble table with chairs and sideboard that were also in permanent residence....my design ideas had to work around these items...other than that I could do my thing...

My clients did agree to paint the entire first floor a very crisp bright white....that was the first step in this transformation...

then I mixed in old and new elements everywhere but especially to make the bookshelves look fresh and modern keeping the wood as is...keeping the palette mostly white with some brass and graphic "pops" of color helped achieve this...

Here is a look at the shelves in the space and you can also see the sectional which I re positioned in the room...I pulled it into the middle of the room and faced it looking out towards the big sliding glass doors that look into the backyard...

I added a graphic throw that my client had in storage and black and white graphic pillows...

I pulled this marble coffee table from another room and added all the pillows, accessories, the bamboo chairs, the sea grass rug...the sectional was so "much" in the room I wanted the other elements to create balance...the chairs are very comfortable but airy and don't block the view outside (which was very important to my client...as I began to move furniture)...

As you know I love a great gallery wall...my client had a number of original prints that had never been used...these were done by an artist that they knew from South Africa... of a place that held special meaning for my client....

when they came out of a closet... I knew where they could be magnificent... framed and grouped in a modern way! I added a table and some copper stools and a few accessories...and voila...an interesting spot in the room...with meaning!

There really wasn't anything in the living room except the sectional...so I added some interest to the formerly bare stone fireplace as well...

Another main project was also to completely create an office for this same client who works from home and sees clients there as well...she was working on a folding table in an empty space when we began...

again...playing off the woodwork...the walls being crisp white made the "pop" of the bookshelf unit modernize the space...the elements I put together in the bookshelf were gathered from a number of places I visit regularly on my treasure hunts

...including the Style Shack to create that "collected" look... the built-in, table and hide were purchased at Arhaus and the chairs were custom made from Pottery Barn. The baskets were purchased there as well.

Again we had a big wall in the office that needed some Art...so I custom made this graphic pair for the space...

I also added an indoor "garden" in a combination of planters that I found...this ledge was very prominent in the office space and needed something interesting...luckily my client has a green thumb and was game! I love plants in any design...plus they are good for the air quality too!

As a number of homes do...theirs had a fairly big and completely empty foyer upon entering...my philosophy is that your entry is the first impression of your home...make it matter!

before...

In this case...this space came in handy for my client's work...

I made it into the "waiting room" for clients...luckily the homeowners had the mirror and the antique brass chest (which I am crazy for btw)...those two elements inspired this design...I am happy to report that my client told me that this space is used regularly!

The dining room also received a complete transformation...I moved the marble table from another part of the room and added another gallery wall full of personal memento's of my client's travels and their daughter's fabulous artwork which I had professionally framed...

I also added a sea grass rug to align the living room and dining room since they connect, wicker chairs, an iron table and lamps, accessories, fig trees in white ceramic planters, etc...to finish the space.

I also worked with the iron artwork already on the wall by highlighting it with two new lamps and lampshades and an antique tea set that my client's owned...I also added a graphic runner and fun over-sized wood planter with greenery on the dining room table...

In another area of the dining room on one of my treasure hunts I found this antique bar cart and we outfitted it for entertaining...the mirror is from West Elm as well as the tray and decanters on the bar with the wooden ball tops.

Last but not least...I designed the new back wall of my favorite local haunt...the Style Shack...that fabulous store...I love what the black and white stripe and floating shelves do to the space....they style the shelves based on the merchandise they want to highlight....but the design provides a great backdrop..right? It draws customers to the back of the store...which is the goal!