The Evolution of a Room

To many people the design of a room seems to be some baffling, yet magical process shrouded in mystery.   The domain of snooty designers who you fear will sniff at your belongings and tell you to just “throw it all out, darlin’ and start over”. 

Well, not so!  Certainly not here at Perfect Home.  Don’t be fooled by the name of my store… no home is truly perfect!  This I know.  Homes are for living in, not for filling the pages of some shelter magazine.  Don’t you ever wonder what they do with all their “stuff” in those glossy magazine pages of perfection?  Where the heck are the scuffed up tennis shoes, dog’s bowl.. and where is the TV?   Where is real life?

I thought it might be interesting to show what truly goes into the decoration of a room.  A behind the scenes peek at the progression of a project from start to finish.  I certainly never profess to be an elite high end designer with all the degrees and fancy portfolios, but I do love pulling a room together for my customers.  I try to make the process as painless as possible.  We’re not decorating for a magazine shoot…. we’re decorating for real life.  It’s not brain surgery folks, it’s decorating and it should be FUN! 

The beginning of a new project is always exciting, for both the client and myself.  The exchange of ideas, the initial concept, the planning and progression of the project…all in good time.   Let’s take a look at what goes into making a room somewhere you will enjoy spending time.  And in the process you will see it really is enjoyable and not at all intimidating.   Here we go!

One of my latest projects is a study/office for a young family I’ve worked with before.  They have graciously invited all of you along for the ride.  I hope you will enjoy watching the evolution of this room. 

OK, I know all of you with small children have { or had at one time}  a room like this! Don’t judge!!

The bones of this room are wonderful and we will work with the existing curtains.

After a discussion of what this room wanted to be, we decided on a warm and cozy study for the grown-ups with a desk to function as somewhat of a home office.  The messy bill paying/ tax preparing /coupon clipping home office will be elsewhere.  First stop, the desk.  We just needed a smaller desk to hold a laptop, so the search was on!

After searching through my resources and considering this one….

a little too  “desky”….

or this… a little too dressy.

For a while this was a possibility….

And then, my client, while visiting her sister for an afternoon of antique shopping, called me and said I think I found it!  After emailing photos and calls back and forth, this is what we decided on.

We both loved the rounded shape and I especially love the stretcher bar at the bottom.  It has lots of character, yes?  I think it will live very happily in this lovely home.

And so it begins.   The evolution of a room.  In the next post  I will take you through our fabric selections….stay tuned.

Reesa

Technorati Tags: design project,study

Welcome Schumacher Fabrics!!!

I am so excited to finally be offering Schumacher fabrics at Perfect Home!  This is the one designer line of fabrics that I have been asked about most through the years, and now here is is!  I am  thrilled to be able to special order this exquisite line of fabrics for anyone who is interested.

See… even Gingee is ecstatic  with Schumacher!  Had to take a few swatches home for a test drive.   ( I see a newly slipcovered chair in my future.)

Here are just a few of the samples I have at Perfect Home.  There are more samples to see, but right now they are draped over this chair, or that pillow, at my own home!

Check out their website to see more.  http://www.fschumacher.com/

 

 

 

  Of course, I will be happy to pull additional samples for you from the ADAC showroom.  No problem to do,  the showroom is maybe two minutes  from my “home away from home” in Buckhead.   Just come in and we can discuss what colors and style you are looking for. 

As you may know, Schumacher is definitely  considered a “designer” line of fabric  and a bit pricier than the other lines  I carry, which are more moderately priced.  Since I don’t have the complete library of Schumacher books and will be bringing in samples only, I can offer this exclusive line at my special “designer pricing” that I also offer on the higher end special order  furniture  lines  I have recently added to my design library. Maybe  you just use a few yards of a unique signature fabric as pillows, table skirt, or only part of a window treatment, without committing to yards and yards of expensive fabric.    This is a great way to get a designer look without the designer ($$$) price tag!  A little Schumacher can go a long way.  It doesn’t take much to make a real statement, especially when mixing it with more affordable fabrics. 

I also just received a new collection from Kasmir Fabrics that I wanted to share with you, as well. Kasmir is a more moderately priced line that I have carried for years and love using on projects.    These are their Spring 2010 offerings and they are really great!  Here is a peek at some of the best.

This is a linen with caramel,blue and gray stylized flowers.  Love the two coordinating fabrics with this.  Perfect for maybe a chair or sofa and use the larger scale fabric for windows or as accent pillows.

Black background fabrics always look so sharp.  The glen plaid or maybe a black and white hounds tooth would be a really nice complement to this colorful print.

How fun is this?

Or this?

Or especially this?   FROGS!!!

And lastly, my favorite.  I just love the graphic look of this silhouette in crisp blue and white.  Wouldn’t this look great in a guest bedroom with crisp white bedding and white painted furniture?  Anybody up for re-doing a bedroom?   Give me a call!

Hope you will stop by Perfect Home soon and see all the new fabrics I have to offer.   There is so much more I didn’t show, you will just have to see in person.  My drapery workroom is ready to sew up a storm!   Hope to see you soon.

Reesa

Technorati Tags: Schumacher fabrics

Lovin’ Tuftin’

 

I don’t know what it is lately, but I can’t seem to get enough of tufted furniture.  I seem to be drawn to anything with that  deep plush lush detailing.  Just look how comfy this chair seems.  Can’t you imagine snuggling here on a warm spring morning  with the sun peeking through the window, having just awoken from a good night’s sleep in this elegantly tufted bed…

Too much tufting?  How about this look.

a more modern styling…love the shape

a true classic… just imagine in leather

more to love…

love a little tufted ottoman…

courtesy of Mrs. Howard’s , one of the most beautiful stores I have ever seen!

I promise to write a post in the near future about this fabulous store in Atlanta that I sometimes visit for inspiration.  If you can’t wait til then, go here http://www.phoebehoward.net/  for a virtual tour.

I just ordered this chair, actually two, one for a client’s new study and one for my own study which I’m in the process of redecorating.  (more about that later)

And this beauty is on order for my great room.  I had it made in a golden taupe linen silk tussah.  Lightly tufted seat and front apron.  See, I told you I had a thing for tufting.

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings on tufting and if you are inspired enough to have your own piece of “tufting love” visit Perfect Home and we can special order something for you. 

Happy Spring,

Reesa

Technorati Tags: tufted upholstery