Emerald: Pantone's color of the year for 2013

I'm sure most of you have heard by now about Emerald being chosen for Pantone's 2013 Color of the year but I figured I'd add it to my little space on the interwebs just in case you didn't ;)

I must say, it certainly beats the tangerine from last year. Orange is very difficult to successfully work into a space and still get it to remain classy instead of tacky or childish. Emerald on the other hand is definitely classy and has a very regal feel about it.

I recently painted my dining room emerald green (about 3 months ago) and am getting ready to repaint again since I didn't like it! hahe, I don't know if that makes me ahead of the times, or behind the times for not liking it. Actually I like the color, I just feel it doesn't flow with the rest of my house. It feels too formal.

Here are some inspiration photos of people who've rocked emerald and I must say, every one has that feeling of royalty about it. What do you think?

Source: Uploaded by user via Ali on Pinterest

Source: simpleeverydayglamour.blogspot.com via Christine on Pinterest

Source: kirtsy.com via Katy on Pinterest

Source: octaviabrownnyc.blogspot.com via Jil on Pinterest

Source: goldandgray.blogspot.com via Linda on Pinterest

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Lindajane on Pinterest

Source: reneefinberg.blogspot.com.au via Marissa on Pinterest

Some pretty amazing tile!

Source: prague-stay.com via Patricia on Pinterest

I thought I'd throw these in just for fun. After all there's no better designer than God Himself! :)

Source: trendytraveler.tumblr.com via Debbie on Pinterest

Source: 500px.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: top10pinterest.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest

2012 Christmas in the Village

Yesterday I shared my design for the front porch I decorated, and today I'm sharing some more photos from the weekend. Tipp City's 2012 Christmas in the Village was a big success and a lot of fun for everyone involved.

Here are some photos of the other homes as well as the other designer's work.

This dining table was designed by Anne Rettig:

I love the idea of putting a mirror on the table to reflect more candlelight.

Dining room designed by Ashley Powell of Luken Interiors:

Love those candle holders with the beeswax candles! And plaid is always fun for Christmas.

 Dining room designed by Sharon Bledsoe along with some shots of the rest of the house:

Very sweet and elegant.

 

 Dining room designed by Diana Begley:

Little details make all the difference!

Floral arrangement designed by Monica Andrew Harris 

My husband Brian waving from the front porch :)

The ultimate Victorian Christmas:
This tree spun on it's base. It was so pretty! Normally Victorian is not my style but for Christmas, the more over-the-top the better!

Table designed by David Fair:

I love that the quail feathers are made from paper. Even up close you could hardly tell they weren't real. 

Even the backyards were decked out. I these landscaping details were nice. 
With Brian and I landscaping our backyard ourselves, we need all the ideas we can get!

 I hope you're getting excited for Christmas!

Client Project: Front Porch Decorating

This year I decorated the front porch of a home for Tipp City's "Christmas in the Village." Tipp City hosts the Christmas homes tour every year and this year over 1200 people attended!

For a look at the before photos, you can see them here.

And this is what it looked like for the tour:

I kept the design simple and clean. I wanted it to be elegant with a bit of earthiness in the mix. My favorite color is green so it was fun using all the garlands and adding the green tablecloth to compliment the gold tones.

Tomorrow I'll post more pictures of the other homes. Have you gotten a start on your decorating yet? What color schemes are you using?

Tuesday's Simple Idea: Giant Photobooth Pictures

Saw this on Pinterest yesterday and just had to share it with all of you. I think this is such a cute idea and is cheap to boot! (Although I've found things always end up costing more......maybe it's just me?) Even so, this idea seems worth it!

The instructions are as follows: "go online to Staples, upload photos and order the 18x24 engineering print for $1.97 each!"

As soon as I find a place to hang these in my house, I'll let you know how it goes!

Source: girlinair.com via Laura on Pinterest

Finders Keepers

I remember seeing this funky little sofa YEARS ago (like, I may have been in highschool) and I have never forgotten it! Unfortunately I never saved the photo or the source.

So imagine my surprise when this little guy shows up on Pinterest! With the source!!

It's called "My Beautiful Backside" designed by Doshi Levian.

However, I found one site where it can be purchased that stabbed my dreams to smithereens with a rusty blade here.
Maybe I can get a cyber Monday deal? haha

Source: madeindesign.com via Laura on Pinterest

Bathroom Sneak Peak

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm thankful to have both of my families (both mine and my husband's) here in Dayton. We got to eat two Thanksgiving dinners yesterday! :)

A lot has happened in the past couple of months and I know I've been terrible at keeping my blog updated but here's a little sneak peak for you of two bathrooms recently completed. This was a project where we took one very large bathroom with a lot of wasted space, and made it into two separate bathrooms; one for their son and one for their daughter.

Since this is the season of being thankful, I'm thankful for the opportunities to put my design skills to the test working on some really fun and challenging projects lately. I love every minute of it and am proud of myself for coming such a long way since I started my interior design business 4 years ago. More projects in the works that hopefully I can share soon!

For now, enjoy!

His:

Hers:

Kitchen Mini-Makeover

This was a fun project sprucing up this kitchen. Much of the existing kitchen stayed since the cabinetry, countertop and flooring were all in good shape. Some of the appliances stayed and some new ones were added. (unfortunately I couldn't find my "before" photos so I'll do my best explaining the changes that were made!)

One of the first changes that was made was the lighting. Before there was only a single ceiling fan in the center of the small room. Removing that and adding can lights really opened up the room and made it look nicer overall. We also added a pendant light over a small cabinet we added.

A warm neutral wall color ties in better with the flooring and rosy tones of the countertops. Before the walls were white and provided little contrast with the cabinets. 

Just about everything in this next photo is new. The white cabinet below was another little project I took on. Tomorrow I'll show you how I transformed this little cabinet into something usable. It's the perfect size for this kitchen and really helps add more storage and seating for a mini eat-in area.

The fridge is new as well as the added barstools.

 

This modern stainless steel sink and faucet replaced a white acrylic sink/faucet and really made an impactful change. I love how the stainless ties in with the appliances and hardware!

The linear backsplash was added for some color and pattern in the space. It's made up of colored glass and white quartz. It really gives this kitchen a whole new look while not costing very much to do.

 

One of my favorite changes to the kitchen is the cooking area. The vintage range hood was already there and of course we had to keep it! It really adds some personality to the space and still works great!

The wall oven is new and luckily we were able to put in in a box in the garage on the other side of the wall. Bumping it out into the garage saves a ton of space in the kitchen since there's not much room to work with. 

Another item I added is the little bookshelf for cookbooks. The client wanted a place for her books and this area was previously not being used for anything. I found this vintage bookcase and painted it white to tie into the cabinetry. Luckily it was the perfect size! It couldn't be too big since to the right is a doorway that goes to the garage and basement. We didn't want to block too much of the doorway.

 

 There you have it! You can see how small changes can have a big impact overall and doesn't have to cost a lot of money. If you're thinking about a kitchen makeover for your home, send me an email! I'd love to hear from you!  Laura@happyroost.com

Have a great day everyone!




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