Powder Room: Small Space ='s Big Impact

The topic of conversation last night in our design group was Powder Baths. As it was a small gathering, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite images and then of course my dream powder room baths. Well, I don't have a powder room bath, but if I did, it would be all rock and roll.

On that note, drum roll please:

This is one of my favorite images. I literally love the wallpaper, pedestal sink and swing arm lighting sconces. The oversize round mirror brightens up the space perfectly.

The perfect mix of modern and traditional. Wallpaper is (of course) ridiculously awesome and is perfectly balanced by the simple sconces and traditional mirror. The sink, well it is to die for!

Lets just say my hall bath was a full size bath. Such a classy act is this pretty little pic.

Here we go again! Wall of tile this time with simple and clean fixtures does the job nicely. The look could be easily accomplished with wallpaper for those of us (me) that change our minds all the time!

The River Birch Wallpaper is one of my all time favorites. Go to www.walnutwallpaper.com  to order samples.

If I had an old house with a little old bathroom, this is a fun and easy update!

Here is my inspiration board. What do you think? 

Wallpaper from Walnut Wallpaper. Tile from Renaissance Tile in South end.

Check out the flooring options at Renaissance. I fell in love with the blue little number in the top left corner. Would be ridiculously awesome (and so Kelley Wearstler) in a glass shower. Then put the french blue penny tile on the floor? Maybe the opposite way around? Maybe I could only pick one. Either way. . .

Can you see it better now?

Pretty sure I am sold on a pedestal sink for space-saving reasons.

WITH ONE OF THESE DIVINE FAUCETS

IN CHROME

If I was feeling even bolder, I would do GOLD. . . Ok, make that braver!

or that

A simple flush mount from Circa Lighting would do nicely! ( they come in gold too!)

And for Over the sink!

Introducing a wood mirror would add warmth to the room.

I am still stuck on the swing arm sconces from picture number one. So two of these beauty's would frame the mirror so nicely.

Maybe introduce a mixed metal look. . . two of these from Horchow.

Hope you all had fun dreaming up fun things today.

Cheers,

Tay

Most images above were taken from Pinterest.

Charlotte Artist Jennifer Levine has "Nothing to Lose"

Words I would use to describe Jennifer Levine:

Refreshing, Organic, Positive, Driven, Talented, a Natural Beauty.

Jennifer's background is surprisingly conservative. Originally from Saint Louis, she is a graduate of Chapel Hill with a degree in Political Science and worked for many years in Investment Banking and Commercial Real Estate. She is a mother to three children and wife to college sweetheart Josh. She is a talented artist with a presence at Slate Interiors and Isabella. She does a lot of private commissions and donates more than her share to charity.

The artistic gene runs deep in Jennifer's family. Her Grandmother was an artist and so is her Father. Josh's mother was a traveling CMS art teacher. Her High School mentor, Mr. Grimm, groomed her talent and set the foundation for her work in mixed media, pencil and water-color. Her medium's now include oil, watercolor, charcoal & pen, pastel and most everything else.

Her Dining Room is whimsical and inviting.

Personally, I would say that her art is defined not by a specific style but rather more by a constant drive to "challenge herself." Her art is organic and fluid and her artistic range is great. The constant in her work is energy and movement; more specifically her viewer is left with an overwhelming sense of optimism.

Shown above is the product of one of her recent personal challenges: To draw an object with one line of pen and to "be ok" with the result. She followed with water colors and the stunning piece now hangs in her house.

Jennifer's favorite subjects come from nature; tree's and still life's. She often focus' on the micro, as opposed to the more common macro view of classical artists. She likes to experiment and to "see where it will take" her. As a result her work is layered in color, textured and is deep in content.

Drastically different from the works shown before are the basic silhouettes hanging in her front room. They are however, perfect examples of Jennifer's meticulous attention to detail.

From the templates of her children's silhouettes, she created this little "negative" beauty .

Jennifer quotes some of her favorite artist as Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler.

This inspiration is evident in the "unfinished" pieces in her studio.

To see Jennifer's work first hand you can stop by Slate Interior's. Check out there website for more information at http://www.shopslateinteriors.com/Slate_Interiors_Charlotte/Home.html

Limited pieces are also available at Isabella. Check out http://www.isabellastyle.com/ for store hours and information.

You may also contact Jennifer Levine directly at jenllevine@gmail.com

Cheers,

Tay

BTW-I am terrible at  spelling. . .horrible. . .and I am going to have to have a long conversation with my editor!

Isabella: Myers Park Boutique Delivers It All

This morning, in search of a couple of pictures for an upcoming blog on Charlotte artist Jennifer Levine, I stopped by local Myer's Park home furnishings store Isabella. Owned by Erin Dougherty, this delightful little shop specializes in fine bedding and bath linens as well as lighting, accessories and well, most everything else luxurious.

Isabella is meticulously curated with everything from Lafco Soaps and Lollia Shea Butter Hand Cream to Worlds Away lighting and Bella Notte Bedding. Interested in a more hands on approach? They also have designers on hand to assist in almost every  design need that a client could dream of! Check out Isabella's blog at http://www.isabellastyle.com/blog for examples of Erin and her team's individualized approach.

Not that I was not totally in love with the bedding from my personal favorite Bella Note, but being obsessed with lighting, I had to look up. Which one's do you fancy?

Stoney Chandelier $665

*I forgot to get the price on this turquoise beauty. . .

Long Neck Lamp $358

Enjoy the finer things in life? Lafco Soaps $16

For more information on Isabella go to http://www.isabellastyle.com

Cheers,

Taylor

PS: Sorry about the iPhone photography seen on the last four pics. I ran out of my camera's batterys and just snapped away on my iPhone. Some blogger I am. . .

DIY: Me + Spray Paint ='s Fun!!

I can not be the only person in the whole world that assumes the term "garden stool" would be an all-weather stool meant for the outside. So naturally,  less than 5 months after I temporarily relocated our indoor side table to the front porch, my beautiful, shiny, turquoise stool turned into this:



And after finally buying our dream couch and blowing the budget on two (ridiculously perfect) lamps, I decided to try to turn my old garden stool into a brand new lavender side table.



Sadie, my design partner and BBG (Best Big Girl)  sanded down the old stool.



And primed the heck out of it. . .



Took up my neighbors part of the driveway. . .



And sprayed the stool Gum Ball Purple. . . My NEW FAVORITE!!!

Well that project rocked my world so I decided to follow-up on a lead and save this old farm table  (bachelor furniture)  from a long trip to the dump. . .



Sadie and I made another trip to Blackhawk Hardware and bought more primer, a spray can of white gloss and two spray cans of matte finish and a spray polyurethane. I also reused my gold craft spray paint from my "Return of Brass and Gold" blog.



We took shelter from the wind in my neighbors driveway. After applying as much primer as we could, we sprayed the legs a matte gold and finished with the matte polyurethane to seal and protect them from. . . me and my vacuum cleaner. . .



We used the entire bottle of white spray paint. I would definitely recommend one more coat. . .  Then finished   up with the spray gloss polyurethane.



While our home is still this old Bachelor table's last stop. . .I think it will do nicely for now!!

Total cost of both projects had to be less than $40-. . . Now just wait until I show you the lamps! Oh, and finish the room, the curtains, the mantle and continue to save sweet Scotty tons more money. . .You believe that one right!

Cheers,

Taylor

DIY: Spray Paint 101

With our new couch in place I