A little birdie told me you might like this…

A friend of mine recently purchased a CHARMING home in a super quaint Edina neighborhood.  While the home had a lot of charm, it felt a little old.  This said friend is not only an amazing business woman, (owning not one, but TWO up and coming yoga studio's),  but her sense of style is out of this world!  So when she asked me to help her design her new home, I jumped at the chance!

Most of the rooms didn't need a major overhaul,  (just paint, and light fixtures).  This room, however, needed more than that.  It's toile wallpaper, red tile accents, and white tile needed a FULL facelift.  

  

 The outdated flooring was torn out and replaced with a classic white penny tile with grey grout.

Since this is a kids bath, it needed to be less grown up and more kid-like.  So, the outdated black and white wall covering was replaced with this super fun and playful yellow birds with clouds wallpaper!

We found the perfect mirror.  Well, the shape of the mirror was perfect, but the color was not.  Thankfully, my client isn't afraid of color,  so we customized it.

The color was chosen: (firecracker) by Sherwin Williams to be exact, and the mirror was custom painted.

The light was replaced to a simple, clean fixture and the room began to come together beautifully.



And since it was a such a dreary day outside when we took pictures of this room, I have to say...This room would make me happy even when skies are grey!

Like what you see?  Follow us on Instagram and "like" us on Facebook.  We'd love to work with you!

Front Door Inspirations

Now that the snow is starting to melt, I have a MAJOR itch to spruce up our front door.  Right now, it's white. Can you say, B-O-R-I-N-G?  

I have huge plans for this door, and in true designer fashion, it includes color!  I happened to pick up some AMAZING, gold textured planters for either side of door, and I can not wait until it's actually warm enough to put some flowers in them!!!  

Here are some fun front door colors I've been dreaming of… 

Photo via Pinterest

Photo via Pinterest

Photo via Pinterest

Photo via Pinterest

Photo via Pinterest

Photo via Pinterest

What about you?  Do you love a fun colored door? 

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Comparison | The thief of joy

com·par·i·son 

1. The act of being comparing  2. The state of being compared 

 3. Capability of being compared or likened

I struggle with this.  I think if we can be all perfectly honest with each other, we all might struggle with this in some shape or form.  If we aren't careful, we can start down this dangerous path that everyone is somehow better than we are.  I see it EVERYwhere.  The world in which we live, where one can instantly click a button and see how successful everyone else is.  A society where all of our lives are front and center for us to compare what we aren't doing right, or how many less followers we have than our other friends or colleagues.   

       
We were all created with unique gifts.  You could be a designer, a writer, a musician, a stay at home mother, a photographer, a teacher…. Whatever you do, it is YOUR gift…YOUR calling

My friend Sallisha is an amazing woman. She is so full of joy and authentic beauty that if you saw her across a room, you would be instantly drawn to her infectious personality.  This last month, her husband and her, along with seven of her closet friends and spouses went on a vacation.  The kind of vacation where you spend you're ENTIRE day in a swimsuit.  If that's not a opportunity for major comparison..I don't know what is!

All the woman are incredibly diverse and  SO different.  Among them are business owners, stay at home mothers, athletes, nurses, teachers, authors, teachers, pageant winners, etc., but instead of comparing each other, they embrace each other's strengths and love each other unconditionally.

I asked her what words of wisdom she had to offer all of us woman who struggle with comparison.
She replied, "Incredible joy is found in friendships free of comparison, free of competition.  Here, victories are celebrated, hardships mourned, shortcomings embraced…and true transparency are secure and safe." 

Let's learn to love each other BECAUSE of our DIFFERENCES….not in spite of them!  

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Going back to my roots | Why I struggle with Design

Last week I went back to the area I grew up in.  My daughter had a photo shoot and I had some time to kill.  We happened to be near the neighborhood I grew up in, so I thought it would be fun to show our other kids the home I had spent most of my childhood in.  I never expected it to bring back such a flood of memories. The homes around it had all changed color, and yet ours looked the same. I sat for a moment and reminded myself of how far God has brought us.  It was just the three of us back then, and my mom was the only parent I ever knew.  While she worked hard to provide for us, we had many moments of financial uncertainty.  Not knowing where your next meal would come from, or if you would lose your home because you’re unable to pay rent is a scary world for a child. 

We didn’t have a plush bedroom. There were no beautifully painted walls, perfectly placed artwork, or expensive looking light fixtures. We slept on a mattress that sat on the floor, in the basement, surrounded by cement block walls.   Cobwebs hung from the unfinished ceilings and we were within arm’s length from both the washer/dryer and garage door. We mixed boxes of powdered milk and ate whatever meals we could afford. I have vivid memories of people leaving boxes of food at our door.  To this day, I have no idea who left them, but I’m certain that God brought them there and we were never hungry.  My mom was a wonderful provider for us often sewing us clothes so we had something “new” to wear.  And though we had little, our faith, family, and love made life ok. 

As a designer, I struggle with my past and present life.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE design, but I struggle with the reality that many don’t even have a home to call their own. They worry less about what the perfect shade of color should be for their room and more about where their next meal will come from.  They are concerned about their children having a warm bed to sleep in and less about what fabric will go on the windows… A far cry from the design life I live where the money flows abundantly and people get upset when their furnishings don’t arrive exactly when expected.

Through my very humble beginnings, I believe God gave me an appreciation for all things beautiful.  The beautiful times we spent around our table, sharing a meal that someone else brought gave me a heart to serve others.  The simple trips we took up to the North Shore bonding as a family; my sister, and mom taught me how important family is… even if it meant just sitting around a bonfire and roasting marshmallow’s.  The little things we owned gave me an appreciation for seeing the potential in older things and making them new again.  The outfits my mom sewed for us, and the idea of creating something out of nothing would become a lifelong skill I would not soon forget. 

So friends, if this is your story, know that I understand.  I get what it’s like to be moving from rental to rental.  I know what it’s like to be cold at night and live where there isn’t an endless supply of food, but I also know what it’s like to be provided for.  It will be several more years before I knew what it was like to have a home to call our own, but even in the darkest of times, I was able to look around and find something beautiful.