Bella’s Nursery

Welcome to Bella’s Nursery.

When we found out we were expecting a girl, we decided a neutral nursery with touches of pink would be most practical.

I selected a solid taupe for the bed skirt, mattress cover & bows on her crib bedding.  I used a toile for the bumper … because every nursery can stand a touch of toile!

The crib is the Jane crib from Bratt Decor.

I used the same taupe fabric for the window treatments, but lined them in a soft pink to give it a sweet touch.  The embroidered sheer also gives a girly twist to the room.

We purchased a blue glider & ottoman on Craigslist and decided to make a neutral slipcover for it & it turned out great!  If there is a baby boy in our  future we can simply remove the slipcover and we’ll be ready to rock him to sleep!

I fell in love with this etched mirrored lamp from Robert Allen years before Bella graced us with her presence.  It fits perfectly in her nursery.

Grandpa (my Dad) painted this for Bella.  It’s our most precious item in the nursery.

 

Above Bella’s crib we framed images from an antique Cinderella book (as shown in an older post).

We used shadow boxes to display Mommy and Daddy’s original “lovies” from when we were babies.

Many moons ago (during the summer before my Sophomore year at college) my parents & I found this dresser and night stand at a garage sale. Tyler (my then boyfriend), his little sister, Hillary, and I painted and distressed the furniture and added new hardware.  I used it throughout my college years and we loved the style for Bella’s nursery.

 

And a few more items in her nursery, on top of her bookshelf.  Notice I cropped out the shelves?  Miss Bella loves to take all of her books and accessories off each day so it wasn’t photo-ready.

Have a great weekend!

pillows!

Ironically, now that I’m a full time Mom and part time interior designer I have the ability to be much more creative & inventive.

I am reupholstering and refinishing a chair for a client’s Sunroom and started designing a leather pillow with an appliqué and leather & fabric rosettes to sit in the chair.  I will of course share photos and possibly a tutorial (yes, I am actually making the pillow!) when it’s complete but until then … here are a few pillows I love!

Aviva Stanoff has some fabulous pillows!

I also love this pillow from Bridget Davies:

These Couture Pillows are from Ballard Designs:

And you can’t go wrong with a pillow from Ankasa …

 

Thoughtful Thursday

Today I am starting something new. Something that has been heavy on my heart for a long time and I hope together we can make a difference … big or small.

I love interior design.

I love the glitz and all things pretty. I love tassels and tiebacks, fabrics and furniture, crystal chandeliers and fabulous rugs.

For the last six years I’ve spent many days (and nights) & countless hours working hard to produce wonderful spaces.  There have been many tears shed, sleepless nights and moments of stress.

I’ve struggled with the concept of spending so much time and energy on “pillows” and “finishes”.  If only I spent a fraction of that energy on something “good”.  Some way to help others & better their lives. Make a difference. Make an impact.

Sure we’ve been able to donate a few dollars here and there to charities or participate in events for a good cause.  But I want to make {giving} a constant role in my life. I want to incorporate the act of kindness into Design LIFE & strive to help others.  I want my creativity and passion for design to in some way go hand in hand with giving.

So I’m starting Thoughtful Thursdays.

Each week I will share a story, idea, concept or event that is selfless & helps others. 

It may be a simple act of kindness – like the time a lady returned my shopping cart after loading my groceries & Bella into the car simply because she saw I had my hands full.

Or the time I gave some change to the woman at Walmart because she didn’t have enough money to pay her grocery bill. 

Hopefully we can also share more grand acts of kindness. Stories like TOMS Shoes, who donates a pair of shoes for each pair of shoes sold to a child in need. 

So I ask you to share acts of kindness.  Ideas of thoughtfulness. Dreams of helping others.  Stories of someone who’s touched your heart or how you’ve touched others lives. 

Email me. Post a comment.

Inspire others, inspire me.

I {heart} cupcakes

In the blink of an eye, our baby grew up.

Isabella Grace turned ONE in March and we celebrated our sweet girl in style!

First we needed a theme:

cupcakes

Then I designed the invitations to set the tone for the party:

My next task was making a tablecloth to display the food, cake and flowers.  I purchased a durable white fabric & contrasting bright pink for the ruffle. 

I used felt to cut out the cupcakes and decorated them with felt sprinkles, icing, cherries & hearts.

I laid the tablecloth on the floor & spaced the cupcakes out evenly then hand sewed each one on.

Here’s the finished product!

Bella had her own special chair.

I simply covered the existing highchair cushion in cupcake fabric. 

(This ended up being practical as well as cute because I just threw out the slipcover after the party since it was full of icing!)

A friend made her the long sleeved, custom cupcake bib for dessert time!

This bib saved her outfit!

The other children at the party had their own table full of snacks, cupcake plates & silverware and favors.

(the candle is battery operated so no one would get hurt)

I made personalized hats for each of Bella’s friends.

I  took a cardboard hat and covered it with cupcake fabric.  Then cut out the letters of their name in felt & glued it on.  Easy and fun!

Adults got plain party hats which were in the dining room along with gifts and a few balloons.

We decorated with a few streamers (to look like striped fabric panels with tiebacks), flowers and balloons.

I saved Bella’s baby food jars for weeks and used them as vases.  I put a simple cupcake sticker on each jar to keep them in the theme.

The favors were marshmallow cupcakes I found (on sale!) and they were adorable … yet I found out not so yummy.  Opps! Although I must admit that our dog, Purdy, loved them … as she helped herself to TEN of them before the party!

I just covered the box the favors came in with a ruffle ribbon to look like a layered skirt.

The day was fabulous and we enjoyed celebrating such a special day with all of our friends and family.

Happy Birthday to our sweet Bella!

Sharing my party at:

Seating & Storage

My client had an upholstered bench at the end of their bed.  It was nothing special and we considered replacing it with a bench that had more character.

I suggested we simply reupholster the bench in a faux leather and add tufting.  This helped us achieve the look & feel we wanted while saving money & being “green” by reusing!

Bench Before

Bench After

We are installing K&S’s Master Bedroom in a few weeks so stay tuned for the big reveal!

I shutter at the thought

 

Tyler found the original shutters to our house in the attic many moons ago.  They were a hideous shade of peach.

$17 later we had a gallon of Knights Armor paint.

We put on a few coats of paint & began installing them yesterday.

The curb appeal it gives our house is worth millions!

Okay that may be a stretch, but what an improvement!

This project has been one of our easiest and the least expensive!!

Once the project is complete & officially scratched off our To Do List, I’ll share before and after photos.

EcoManor

In honor of Earth Day I wanted to share images from EcoManor – the first home in the Southeast certified by LEED and one of the first in the nation. The house was designed with solar panels, a geothermal heat pump, recycled drywall, reclaimed hardwood floors, cisterns under the driveway to collect rainwater & furnished with eco-sensitive furniture, fabrics, lighting  and rugs … just to name a few green design decisions & details.

EcoManor is a perfect example of how you can build a beautiful home while lightening your footprint on our Earth. 

Tyler and I dream (yes, we’re big dreamers) of designing and building our own home one day and plan to incorporate as many green concepts, products, designs, & materials as possible to achieve a sustainable design.

Visit Veranda.com to read more about this fabulous home!