We are a nation in mourning. I sent our six year old out the door this morning, and hugged her a little longer, until she finally told me I was going to make her late for school. Over the weekend I decided to never take anything for granted, and if she has 4 wardrobe changes in the morning, or she lingers in the bath for 10 minutes too long, I am going to wait patiently. This past Friday, I was where I should have been, with her, at her school holiday party. There was a “Designer Luncheon” that I thought about going to with a group of ladies in the design industry, and as fun as it may have been, I opted the day before to spend the day with my daughter never even imagining how the day was going to unfold. I made the right choice. She came with us everywhere this weekend even to a holiday party hosted by some life-long friends in Atlanta, she was welcomed with open arms, and of course was the “Belle of the Ball.” Secretly, I think she relished the fact that she received so much attention, even thought she repeatly told me yesterday that she was “the only kid there”. We stayed in Sunday, and just had a quiet family day, watched old Christmas movies like “Frosty the Snowman”, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” (the Burl Ives edition), and just cherished being together as a family. Because you never know…
So today it’s about children, and I thought I would highlight a room from a project that we just finished, it’s the bedroom and lounge area of a sweet little girl. Her family just relocated back to the states from Singapore, where they lived for eight years. We did the whole house, and added furniture, accessories and window treatments, in some cases we did the entire room, and the rest just added to their existing pieces. My clients had an incredible art collection which we used as inspiration, and Chinese antiquities which we incorporated into the design. It was a designer’s dream, and dream away I did because there were many nights when the creative space in my head just filled with ideas, keeping me awake until the wee hours. Mr. B. would come downstairs just as dawn began to break and ask me “Do you know what time it is?” Seriously? Of course, I did…I may have been caught up in a creative vacuum, but I can still tell time.
One of the teens had a love of neon, mostly green, and Bridgette Clonts, my trusty associate created a stylish, colourful haven inspired by artwork chosen by our teen client before she and her family left Singapore. We’ll have more pics in January when a photographer is coming out to take some professional photos…I’m excited to have the entire project captured on film because that’s something that I rarely do. After some careful prodding by some designer friends I realized I needed to start updating my portfolio pics. So here’s a sneak peek of a room designed by Bridgette…
The “Before” they had just moved in…
The “After”….with custom bedding and decorative banding along the bedskirt and drapery, a mix of high and low price points, the coverlet is from Horchow, the end tables from West Elm and the custom lamps from Pottery Barn. The artwork is from the client’s personal collection.
The laquered entertainment center is from IKEA and is absolutely gorgeous (a surprise to us too). Our installer was ready to go on strike, after 3 hours of assembly and a misprint in directions. Eventually it will be moved to the end of the bed…
A portion of the lounge area, with West Elm tables and an IKEA sofa with custom pillows…the artwork was from the homeowners dorm room during her college years…and then passed down. We still have some finishing touches, more artwork, a rug and an ottoman…
Almost finished, IKEA chair and table…with a Pottery Barn lamp. The perfect rug is yet to be found, and desk accessories coming soon…
A snapshot of the “styling” magic performed by the uber talented Bridgette Clonts….
I wanted to end this post with this painting done by an extremely gifted local artist, Hannah Renae, who created this beautiful tribute to those who lost their lives in Newtown, Connecticut.
Her caption reads…”The 1st second in eternity will immediately erase the worst that evil can do in a lifetime. 12 girls and 8 boys celebrating their first Christmas in Heaven.”
