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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Needing, Wanting, Loving: A Chic Conference Room

Having worked in the energy realm for a few years, I know from first-hand experience that most corporate conference rooms lack any sort of visual inspiration.  I find this ironic because most modern day meeting rooms are supposed to be the birth place of innovation and creative problem-solving- so why not make a space that encourages such thinking?  Thankfully, not every company has failed to do so.  Today I wanted to share a few of my favorite innovative conference rooms.  Maybe they'll inspire you or your company to rethink your visual surroundings!


But who can resist a bit of color in a conference room?  Erin Williamson, of Design Crisis, created a bold, happy space in this Palo Alto office through the Meredith Pardue artwork and classic Knoll chairs upholstered in bright purple.


Leave it to an interior design office to know how to create an inspiring collaboration space.  Meredith Heron's office features a fabulously over-sized lantern and custom cabinetry for fabric samples.



I also love the look of a conference table with mismatched chairs.  As long as other elements in the room are cohesive and pull everything together, the space can feel fun and whimsical.


A lacquered lime green floor was a bold move, especially when paired with black and white striped walls.  However, I love the touch of chrome in the office chairs, and think the space would be fun to congregate within.


Gensler's Newport Beach office went with a sleek, paired down palette for their front conference room.  This is a perfect example of minimalism at it's best-  the suspending LED light mirrors the shape of the table, creating a sense of balance.


Nuon's office in Amsterdam was completely redesigned and divided in to "neighborhoods,"  focused on flexibility and diverse working last year. The conference room is another lesson in minimalism:


 I hope you feel a bit more inspired from these offices to get your day started!  Have a great Tuesday!
 

Friday, June 26, 2015

Friday's Worthy Links



 Happy Friday!  Did you guys have a good week?  Mine flew by, but I was certainly thrilled to see more sunshine in Houston.  As I often do, I wanted to share a few links and thoughts I had this week with you before signing off for the weekend...

 - In Seattle, a preschool is integrated with an elderly rest home, creating a heart-warming, collaborative experience for all parties.  The two groups get together every day at the Intergenerational Learning Center – a preschool located inside the Providence Mount St. Vincent senior care center. More than 400 senior residents join the children five days a week in dancing, art projects, storytelling and more. Filmmaker Evan Briggs is creating a documentary film about the school, and seeing the preview video brought tears to my eyes.


-The New Yorker published this article about the value of a mentor and/or coach.  Top athletes and singers have coaches to help them reach their personal best.  Should we?

-With my Tulum trip 6 short weeks away, I went ahead and splurged on this Agent Provocateur swim bikini bottom and top in the hot pink, black, and orange.  I hope it fits well!!

-After sharing my skin care routine a few months back here, I went back and saw Dr. Yalamanchili for my second round of botox at The Belage Center.  I shared the results in this instagram post.  Clearly, I couldn't be happier. :)

-Joanna from a Cup of Jo wrote this post, literally listing how to do most anything.

-After the horrific Charleston shooting last week, I was at a loss to articulate my sadness and disappointment in America.  It seems like no matter how many horrific shootings we have in this country, gun laws never change.  We always chock it up to "crazy people will be crazy."  John Stewart's monologue on The Daily Show the day after the shooting perfectly addressed all the issues at hand here.

-I purchased this book for my July read, and can't wait to dive in to it once it arrives in my mailbox.

What are your plans this weekend?  I'm definitely going to check out the Vintage Flea taking place at Silver Street Studios this weekend.  I hope to see some of you all there!



Monday, June 22, 2015

Needing, Wanting, Loving: A Touch of Ikat

Although ikat prints have been a popular motif for quite some time in interiors, I never thought I would see the day when they would emerge in fashion.  However, I spotted a girl sporting these Paige denim ikat jeans this weekend, and I fell in love. 


Like most things, ikat has to be done the right way, which to me means in a more contemporary, fresh way.  Pretty much all my favorite ikat fabrics are by Quadrille:

{Lily Bunn used Aqua IV Wallpaper in this cute bath}

These adorable mini Louis XV chairs are upholstered in Quadrille's Bali Isle and add the perfect pop of color against the blues:


Another fool-proof way to use a touch of ikat is through a throw pillow or two:


{Style Me Pretty}




Nothing says "summer" more than a cute ikat kilim or cover up.  

And, as of yesterday - HAPPY SUMMER!






Thursday, June 18, 2015

Color Crush: Turquoise

Although I make it a regular thing to color crush, turquoise really is my all-time favorite color.  From growing up spending summers in the clear blue waters of the Caribbean to regularly dressing in the green blue color that goes well with blonde hair, turquoise has always been a prominent color in my life.  Even to this day, my house is full of the color.  What's not to love?



 
{Ojo de agua, Ometepe, Nicaragu} 






{Who What Wear}

It's an instant mood-lifter. 

Happy Thursday!





Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Real-a-Stalking

Every once in a while, I'll browse the HAR (Houston Association of Realtors) website for fun.  I love seeing what type of homes have hit the market around the city and browsing through the interior photographs.  It almost never happens that I see a house listed with a gorgeous exterior AND a lust-worthy interior.  As an interior designer, you often have to be able to look past bad furnishings to see the potential of a home, so I generally look at the bones of the space and overall layout.  However, while browsing around on HAR today, I saw a house I fell hard for- and apparently someone else did too, because it's under contract.  Nonetheless, I wanted to share it with you all before the listing comes down.


Obviously, what drew my eye to the house first was the exterior.  I LOVE  the mix of white stucco and brick that blends seamlessly together.  The front entry and windows are steel-framed with corresponding black lanterns, which creates a beautiful pop against the white.  I even love the Art Deco-esque font of the house number! The landscaping is minimal yet beautiful, tying in nicely with the vibe of the home.



Townhomes get such a bad rap in Houston.  Because our city is so densely populated, many homes "in the loop" are built up rather than out.  I live in a townhome myself, and don't mind it at all (although it might be difficult for a young family).  I think a lot of people are tired of seeing the same cookie-cutter style of townhome, which is totally understandable, and I would agree.  I think the clean, fresh feel of this home, with the right amount of architectural detail, is really special.


The living room flooring is a beautiful hardwood, and the fireplace is a nice touch.  I would probably build built-in bookshelves with cabinetry on each side of the fireplace for extra storage if I was able to design the house.  Here is another view of the main living space- with a 260-bottle wine cellar!  As a wine lover and aspiring sommelier, I totally dig this.


The kitchen is gorgeous with a perfect layout in my opinion.  I love seeing an open window above one side of lower cabinetry.  The cabinetry is beautiful and I even love the paint color they chose.  However, I would definitely change the light fixture,and does anyone really need that large of a refrigerator?

The house is equipped with an elevator for ease of use, and we see a peak of the staircase handrails in the background.  While I don't hate the hand rail, I'd probably prefer something more like this, with just a tad more detail.


 Unfortunately, they don't show us a picture of the master bedroom, but they do share what I assume is the master bath.  While I love the wall stone and flooring, I'm not a fan of the cabinetry, bath, or lighting.  It's very boring in my opinion, and I'm just not a fan of cabinetry that isn't seamless.  I think they should've designed the tub within the wet shower area, like this.  I assume the builder wanted to keep the modern, streamlined feel of the house by choosing fixtures and fittings with minimal detail, but for a home priced at 1.875 million, I think the buyer would want more.


This is another of the bathrooms.  I like the tile in the bath along with the glass partition, but again, I'd change the cabinetry fronts and fixtures.


The master closet is pretty fabulous, too.  I love the mixture of exposed rods and cabinet doors hiding other hanging clothes.  That way, you could put away your winter coats and pants during summer, and vise versa. To glam it up a bit, I'd probably want to change the middle counter top to a beautiful marble slab with a lot of veining.


Overall, I think this property is tasteful and interesting- and I'd LOVE to live here and make it my own!  If you're curious, you can see this listing in it's entirety here.

I also saw the southwestern-inspired property below while browsing HAR, and got so excited to look through the images.  How gorgeous and unique is the exterior?



And check out the backyard pool and landscaping!





The stucco car port and xeroscaping feels very "Austin" to me.  I was getting so worked up over this house, clicking through the photos with anticipation, and then I got to the interior.  It looks like Restoration Hardware threw up all over this home.  I think EVERYTHING in this home is from Restoration Hardware.  Really?!  You have to see it to believe it. 
How could someone let this happen?  It's like a bad blind date- you get so excited to meet the person because they appear very attractive, despite your best intentions to remain indifferent.  And then once you've spent a few hours with them, you realize there's really nothing special there and you can't hide your disappointment.  Come on Houston developers!  You're better than this. 

I hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Needing, Wanting, Loving: A Moody Library

It's only Monday and the weather is already showing torrential downpours this week for Houston.  The reports are saying we could get up to another 10-12 inches of rain.  Seriously?!  I feel like this weather is never going to let up.  Summer is supposed to be all about sunshine (and the oppressive humidity that comes with it if you live near here).    All the rain has me thinking about staying in bed, vegging out, and reading, since no hurricane evacuations have been ordered.  How fabulous would it be to have a dark, sultry library to escape to?


I am naturally drawn to navy or brown lacquered walls, with lots of beautiful paneling.
 




A pop of orange and burled wood go perfect with navy lacquer.  The wall color here is Farrow & Ball's Hague Blue.






Lastly, I had to share this built-in beauty. I imagine it's not in a library, but probably a den or TV room.  Nonetheless, the mixture of books and decor displayed is so lovely, and the cabinetry front detail adds a perfect touch.


Happy Monday!