It's Easy Being Green

Want an easy and inexpensive decorative item? Pick a plant.

I love including plants in a room's plan. They're an integral part of a room's design because they add an organic element you can’t get from furnishings and fabric.

Here's how to add a little greenery to your design:

The plant needs to create a shape and add color to the room the same way a fabric, paint color, or a piece of furniture would. So maybe skip the ferns and go for something a little more…interesting.

I always suggest a plant with a defined shape for the leaf, such as a fig tree or white bird of paradise.

Elle Decor: Hip Houseplants

Look how the colors are used in this room!  Also Elle Decor Cover

And I love the look of succulents grouped in a pot on a side table- who doesn't!

Above Picture

Simple = Sophisticated

This new home needed a fresh look for the master bedroom, and we selected a few beautiful elements to make the space feel grown-up and inviting.

We started with the furniture plan. In this case, we were lucky: There was clearly a wall meant for the bed. Then, to make the scale of the room feel more intimate, we chose a gray-brown for the walls. 

My clients had the side tables, which we covered in tone on tone seersucker. We topped the tables with my favorite small gourd lamps from Visual Comfort.

Simple white linen curtains soften the look of the windows and shutters--perfect for a bedroom. And we added a pop of color with the great rug at the foot of the bed. 

We're working on adding a few more accessories and a throw. I have a few ideas. What would you choose? 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Friday Favorite: Grasscloth

I love grasscloth!  It adds a wonderful warmth to any room. Before selecting, make sure you think about how the room is used. (I would not suggest grasscloth for a powder room or bathroom that is busy with little hands that may splash water on it!)

We used this navy grasscloth in a study to add texture and interest to the room:

 Here are a few great photos from Lonny Magazine

Lucky for me, I'm not the only one in love with grasscloth, so there are a lot of beautiful choices out there. A few of my favorites:

KFG-301 Grasscloth Wallcovering in Tea from Kneedler Fauchere 

Great earthy colors by Phillip Jeffries Grass House Grass line:

               

And fabulous, bright colors from Phillip Jeffries' Juicy Jute Grasscloth line. Would you ever dream of putting them in your home? I think they'd be great in a guest bedroom, home office, or powder room (away from the kiddos) to add a pop of color on the walls:

                   

Phillip Jeffries can be found at Town in Denver.

And finally, a handsome Basketweave Grasscloth from Thybony. This would be perfect in a gentleman's study:

You can find Thybony at Kravet Lee Jofa at the Denver Design District.

Quick Tour: Master Bath Redo

People often ask me for a few of my favorite sources, when they get tired of looking at the same stuff from the run-of-the-mill stores. Here's a round-up of places I found the elements for this master bath remodel:

Tile: Thassos and Ming Green tile from Decorative Materials at the Denver Design Center.

Fixtures: Rohl

Vanity: Aspen Leaf

Sconces: Visual Comfort

Mirror: Horchow

Rug: Dash and Albert

Stool: Wisteria

And the cool poster over the tub of Jacqueline Kennedy's Dresses. Add a frame and ta-da!

After: Vanity

Before: Shower Area (Beautiful, right?)

After: Shower Area

Beautiful Bath

On one of Denver's prettiest historic streets, this home had four large bedrooms, so we stole one to create a master suite, complete with a pretty master bathroom. Here's the skinny:

We started with the tile and slab. We wanted slab without dark veins to have a lighter look throughout, and we found Valley Gold Vein to be the best option. TIP: Select slab a few weeks before installation to make sure you have a great selection from the slab yard because at times, the slab yard may be out of what you are looking for. On the floors, we used Calcutta Gold marble in 12-by-12-inch squares set in a diamond pattern with accents of Mosaic Black marble. Glam!

The fixtures come from Rohl and the sparkly sconces are from Waterworks. Our crowning achievement? Rosslyn paper from Farrow & Ball for the water closet. What do you think?

Retail Therapy: West Elm

Oh West Elm, how I love thee!

I could walk into West Elm every week and find something I love and need! This week, I found a few diamond- and chevron-inspired design items that made my heart go pitter-pat.

What's your favorite national retailer? Where do you go for a little therapy?

Knock Knock: Selecting Hardware for your Front Door

Hardware for your front door is like jewelry for your outfit: It makes a statement, a first impression.

First, find a local store to visit; that way you will be able to touch and feel the weight of the hardware in person. If something feels too light (or cheap), you probably want to skip it.

To select a style, consider the style of your home. Is it traditional? Contemporary? Ask an associate at the store for help identifying hardware that might compliment your space.

Then you have to pick a finish. Consider the color of your front door. You probably don't want brass if your front door is bright yellow, for example, and you should be careful about choosing an antique bronze on a dark brown door.  A good trick is to match the finish to the finishes of light fixtures by the door.

I would also change the hinges on the door to match the finish you are selecting. 

Here are a few examples from Ultra Design Center in Denver: They have great finish options and a wonderful feel!

All of the above are Nobilus Luxury

Happy Fourth of July and Happy Shopping!

Check out these great online offers!

West Elm Sale 

Waterworks Sale! 

Wisteria Sale! 

Restoration Hardware Sale!

Hometown Love: The Lark

Every city and town has a few retail treasures, places where residents know they'll find just what they're looking for (or just what they never knew they always wanted). One of my most favorite places in Denver is The Lark, a wonderful store in the Country Club area at 4th and Downing.

I popped in this week and found a treasure trove of geometric patterns!

What about you? Do you have a favorite hometown shop? 

How to Remodel Your Master Bedroom

I loved this project because we touched every inch of the house, and the master bedroom is one of my favorite spaces. We started with a blank slate, which is always a lot of fun. Here are a few tips from this project you can use to refresh your own bedroom.

Open up the doorways. We increased the width of the opening to the left of the bed because it was a very narrow space going into the now sun room.

Plan your space. When we changed the opening, we also claimed some of the space from a secondary bedroom for a sitting area and master bathroom. The space for the sitting room was originally a sleeping porch when the house was built. It was then converted into a closet, which covered the windows. Our change exposed the windows again. Cheers for natural light!

Build on one thing you love. Our inspiration was the window treatment fabric from Brunschwig & Fils. Pulling a very subtle color from a leaf in the pattern, we decided on the wall color: Benjamin Moore's Woodland White. Then we found this gorgeous Scalamandre geometric pattern in a red-cut velvet for the side chair--so divine!

Layer your bed. We used a light-aqua gingham from Schumacher on the ruffled bed skirt and an upholstery-weight Kravet fabric on the headboard, with contrast welt in the gingham. Bed linens are from Restoration Hardware. I love starting with a fabric with multiple colors so we can pull colors from it to find the next fabric or paint color.

Check back in a few weeks to see new lamps for the bedside tables! I am looking for either a dark blue or a crisp ivory glazed base.

 BEFORE

AFTER: Ahhh...