Tuesday, April 27, 2010

And I'm Crushing

I have about one million crushes on different designers. I have been looking for a perfect rug that fits the space for a client and I decided to peruse one of my favorite rug designer's site: Madeline Weinrib. She is the granddaughter of the founder of the legendary ABC Carpet & Home in New York City. Weinrib is a painter as well as a designer and so she brings vivid, bright colors that you see in her paintings to her rugs. I love the colors, textures and designs. She is out of my budget for now but someday I hope to be an owner of a Weinrib rug. I checked on ebay and there is one new 10 X 14 rug for sale for $3,000, click here if you are interested. She also has furniture, textiles and pillows for sale that make my heart swell, but for now I'll concentrate on her rugs. What do you think? Are you crushing as well? What rug would you buy?

Brown and Pink Mandala

Pink and Orange Lulu (cute name!)

Light Blue Megan

Blue Ikat

Tomato Riva

Coral Otto

Blue Carter

Love, love, love. I swoon over such amazing beauty but I shall not open my wallet, I shall not open my wallet, I shall not open my wallet, I shall not open my wallet....

Monday, April 26, 2010

Slim Shady

Coming off of a weekend in Vegas, where we went to the same club as Paris and Nicky Hilton, I thought I'd show some pillows that are cute but more for a celebrity budget. Because we've all got some slim shady in us, it's time that our couches get cool with these awesome cushions. The cushions are actually $450 each so I'm automatically out. But if you can swing it, put down some dolla' dolla' bills yo and get yo shady on..

Miss Shady Blue by Tara Bernerd | Wool and Silk Cushion

Miss Shady Pink by Tara Bernerd | Wool and Silk Cushion

Miss Shady Gold by Tara Bernerd | Wool and Silk Cushion

Pillows available at the Rug Company by Tara Bernerd. Click here for more information.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Happy Earth Day

Hello Everyone,

Happy Earth Day! I hope you are having a wonderful day and are giving the earth a nice break today by trying to do something eco-conscious.

I have always tried to do a little bit to help out the earth; this interest began at a young age when I was the Ecology Commissioner in the seventh grade. Funny, but true. Nowadays, I try to do my part with little things, by shopping vintage and by finding ways to use objects that would otherwise be thrown away. I actually have come to the point where I prefer shopping at flea markets, etc. because there is a challenge to it and such high rewards.

If you are feeling in the mood for some DIY on Earth Day - I found a few great projects over at marthastewart.com

Here are my favorites...

Transform an old shirt into a shopping bag. I don't know about you but I have a bajillion t-shirts. People may give me strange looks at the grocery store, but at least the Earth will be happy.
Find out how to do this here.

There are so many great belt buckles out there, tons sold super cheap at flea markets. Martha has taken belt buckles that seem useless without a belt and transformed them into a great beside memento or even better as a fridge magnet.


Complete instructions available here.

Have some cereal (while reading my blog) and then once your done use the box to organize your bills and paperwork. Oh Martha. Only she can make Special K look so special.


Instructions available here.

Happy earth day! What are some things you do to help the earth? Do you know of any fun recyclable craft projects? I would love to hear about them!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

A Blank Canvas: Room Makeover

My mom has a room that she would like to convert into an extra bedroom for when all her kids come to stay and a children's play room. I don't have pictures of the room but it is square with two bay windows and an adjoining bathroom. I'm working with a blank canvas – here’s what I am recommending...

I would paint the room pale smoke by Benjamin Moore – it’s a light gray with an undertone of blue. The molding would be white and the window seats would be painted white as they are now terracotta colored.

Pale Smoke by Benjamin Moore.


Here is an example of room painted in this color

Picture above is of Katie Lee Joel's living room. This color comes up light blue with gray undertones. It is a sophisticated color that is appropriate for a guest bedroom yet it is still light and fun which is great for a kid's playroom. To keep the room light, I suggest using white furniture and pink and turquoise accent colors.

Madeline Daybed & Trundle

This is a daybed with a trundle from Pottery Barn. Mom requested a twin bed and all of kids are very anti- a twin bed as we all have spouses. The trundle would cover both requests but keep Mom’s request a priority. The daybed could also be used as a couch to sit and watch the children as they play.

The daybed would have the following bedding:

Soho Hotel White Cotton Quilt Diamond Bedding Set King

Soho Hotel White Cotton Quilt diamond bedding from Amazon.com. If this is not machine washable it would switch to one that could be thrown in the wash and bleached.

There will also be some pops of color in the pillows. Since the walls are light blue for the boys, the accents must be pink for the girls.

I would sew pillows using this fabric:


Source: Lewis and Sheron Textile Co.

Then I would add in two larger solid pink pillows that matches the color pink in the above fabric.

Finally, I would add in one turquoise pillow as that will be the blue accent color….


Source: Jonathan Adler

Now that the bed is made and set, we need a place to put our grown up clothes when we come to stay. That’s where the matching dresser also from Pottery Barn comes in.

Madeline Dresser & Nightstand

However, we can’t just keep it as is – let’s spruce it up with some Anthropologie pulls.

Calico Frog Knob

I would love to have the froggy pulls on the top two drawers and then do a matching color to the blue for the rest of the drawers – perhaps this knob will work.

Blue-Sage Osteon Knob

Now that we have a dresser for grown up overnight guests, we must add storage for the little visitors: they get cubbies also from Pottery Barn Kids.

Cameron Cubby & Drawer Base

Because that won’t be enough we’ll add in a medium sized canvas bin on either side of the Cubby and drawer base. I’d change the bottom pulls to the frog knobs.

Dot Floor Tote, Medium, Chocolate Dot

Source: Pottery Barn Kids

Thank goodness kiddie tables are small – we can hopefully fit one in without cluttering up the room. Although it’s likely that this will get edited out in the end for room sake.

Carolina Table

Carolina Table from Pottery Barn.

The chairs pictured above are not good enough for my nieces and nephews. They need to sit on Moroccan Poofs in pink of course!

Pink Moroccan Pouf

Source: Thecrossdesign.com

Also if room is permitting, we’ll add in a rocking chair for the adults to rock their babies to sleep. Otherwise, they’ll just have to sit on the couch and rock with their own bodies.

Source: Overstock.com

Now we have two windows in the bedroom that need some dressing up:

For the windows:

Pelmet boxes shaped like this but either with a similar look to that shown below or using white fabric as shown in the picture below this.

Quilted White fabric from Ballard Designs

Quilted White Fabric By the Yard - White Quilted from Ballard Designs

Or for a bolder look I would use the same pink print shown above. Then we would put coordinating pillows on the window seat.

Above the kiddie storage wall there would be an art gallery of sorts. I would frame art work from my brothers and myself that my mom has kept all these years. I would also get some of the poems and things we wrote as children calligraphied – written on hot pink card stock paper using a turquoise calligraphy pen. The frames used would the Pottery Barn wood gallery frames with lots of white matting.

18" x 18" Deep Gallery Frame

And the final touch change out the lighting that there is there now to this

Source: Chintz and Company

That's the room in a nutshell. Mom will have the room painted by the time I come home in June and then we will work on finishing up the room. Stay tuned for before and after pictures! This is a service that I am going to be offering. If you have a room that you would like design advice for, please let me know. You can e-mail me at katecollinsinteriors@gmail.com

What do you think?

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Joy! April/May issue of Lonny.

Good Lord this online maggie makes me so happy! It's insane! Almost as happy as receiving Domino Magazine in the mail used to make me. For those of you who haven't heard of Lonny Mag; it was created by two people that worked at Domino Magazine. They want to make design accessible and the best part about an online magazine is that most of the items you can scroll over with your mouse and it will connect to the store the piece was bought at.

This month is all about sustainability, which I'm a big fan of. Why buy something new when you can restore something old or "vintage" and save it from a landfill?! They also featured Laura Day; her work has been shown on my blog in the past. She is incredibly talented. Enough words let's get to the pretty pictures....




Yesterday, I blocked off time in my evening just so that I could pour myself a cup of tea and get lost in the pages of this online magazine. It is that good, trust me. I suggest you do the same!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Flirty Florals for your Home

Bring the outdoor spring beauty indoors with floral chintz patterns. Afraid of looking too "granny"? Thinking floral is a look of the past? I understand your hesitations. However, when done in moderation, florals are fantastic in the home. Chintz is in in a big way. Take a look through any shelter mag or peruse the design blogs and you will for sure find chintz in designer homes. Don't be afraid to mix and match. The experts do it, why can't you? Put that floral pillow with a striped, zebra or a lattice pillow with matching or contrasting colors. Try a vintage floral painting in a powder room. If you want to go bold, try chintz wallpaper; I'd love a chintz wallpaper on my closet doors to invite the girly flower power into my wardrobe.

These were my favorite tips on Chintz from Elle Decor:

• Furnish a comfortable summer porch with chintz-cushioned wicker furniture painted a kicky contrasting color.

• Dress a canopy bed in masses of flowered chintz and let it dominate an all-white room like a garden.

• For a feminine bedroom, have a shapely headboard upholstered in chintz; the flowery pattern will suggest uncommon luxury

Tips from Mitchell Owens of Elle Decor.

Here are some pictures to inspire...


Photo Source: Habitually Chic

Photo Source: Elle Decor

Photo Source Domino Magazine

Photo Source: A Colourful Life

Floral dinnerware is an easy way to have chintz in your life without a huge commitment. The set below is from designer Kim Parker

I love the vintage chintz napkin rings available at my ETSY shop. It's a perfect way to bring a bouquet to the dinner table.

Set of 8 Antique Chintz Napkin RingsSet of 8 Antique Chintz Napkin Rings

Available here.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

When Sparks Fly

Last night I re-watched the movie Julie and Julia with my husband. It was his first time watching it and my second. A lot has happened since my inagurual viewing of the flick in early November of last year. The movie follows Julia Child as her career grows and mirrors it with a 29 year old newly married woman, Julie Powell, who decides to cook a Julia Child recipe every day and blog about it for a year. I was incredibly moved by these two women who went after their dreams and made a life out of personal loves; it actually brought me to tears. Happy tears.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking [Book] Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously [Book]

I think we can often find ourselves caught in the rat race not really knowing how we got there. As children, adult life looks glamorous. They (adults) get to do so many things that we can't (like drive cars) while we have to slug our way through school day after day. Then you finally reach adult life and find that driving cars is not all that exciting. Instead you lug yourself to work day after day.

Yet sometimes something happens in all of us. The tiniest spark emerges, the thought...hmmm, I could do that. I've had those sparks light before in my life and I've simply left them in the dark to slowly burn out.

But after losing my father, I made a commitment to follow my dreams. I've become Julia Child and Julie Powell. No, I'm not a household name. And I don't forsee a book deal from this blog. But I have allowed this spark to brighten and it has warmed my soul.

There was a very long period in my life when I would stand in the shower (my thinking place) and stressfully consider, "if I just get through X and X and X then one day I can finally have y". I was standing there drowning in To Do's. My To Do list is now longer then ever and just yesterday I had a major breakdown as my sewing machine seemed to eat my very expensive, end of the roll fabric. Yet breakdowns and all, I can say that I AM happy. These are to do's that I create for myself. This is the path that I want to take.

One other thing that came across in the movie was the wonderful support of Julia and Julie's husbands. Guess who has been adding fuel to my spark all along? Graham. My hubby. The man who said you can do this and who says, "I'm proud of you" just about every day. I am a very lucky woman.

I may not be letting off the savory smells of beef bougionon, rather the aggressive smells of paint fumes, but to me it is the sweet, sweet smell of love. I am proud to be following in the steps of Julia and Julie.

I want to thank my dad for always encouraging me to dream big. From one dreamer to another, thank you, dad. I love you.

Just another day at the office - photo taken in front of Home Depot.