Wonder Wall

Decorating your walls can kinda be like writer's block.  You know, that empty, frustrating feeling of nothingness?  

People want their spaces to feel special and personal, but not every item can have deep, warm-your-heart meaning.  If you are suffering from the “blank wall blues”, here are a couple of ways to add some oomph to your space.  Even if you don’t decorate with Grandma’s heirlooms or award winning art pieces, at least make it look like it :)

The arrangement of six frames on the back wall are none other than... pages from a book!  This was a coastal themed beach house in Galveston, Texas, so we found a book with sea animals and birds and had a local frame shop frame and matte them for us.
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Framed and matted intaglios look super rich and classy.  You can get them made of plaster, which is inexpensive.  Do spend money on good framing, it is soooo worth the look you will get.

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Close up of intaglios
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Have tons of digital photos?  Alter the coloring to be black and white or sepia tone and print them out at your desired size.  Most frame shops or Kinko's can help you to do that.  Creating a symmetrical arrangement like the one featured above can create such a strong element to any space.
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Who loves thrift store shopping?  Check out your local thrift/consignment/and even garage sales to find some old vintage frames.  Paint and distress them yourself, then hang them EMPTY.  Yes, let the frame be the art.
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Beach House Bliss- Part I

The Blue Room- Galveston, Texas


Now that it's summer time, let's take a look at a beach house we designed last July.  This is a perfect example that good design takes a really long time to go out of style, if ever.

The blue room, an unexpected attention grabber, is somewhat similar to seeing a celebrity moseying down a suburban street.  The alluring navy blue walls (Benjamin Moore- Stunning 826) paired with cream, its extreme opposite, create quite a dramatic spectacle. 

The concept of this room was derived from the navy and cream, floral duvet.  Surprisingly, the duvet, along with several other items like the art and rug, were purchased from online auctions and discounted home stores.  Because we really needed a high impact punch against the dark wall, we had the leather headboard custom made.  To really add a designer touch, we chose an affordable navy blue velvet and cream nautical rope to make the Euro pillows.  The Euros actually ended up being comparable in price to a retail store, but happened to be exactly what we wanted.  Tips in creating a space like this include utilizing high contrast, mixing “splurge” and “save” items, and adding a few customized touches.

The Sun and Surf Living Room- Galveston, Texas

“Cozy, casual, easy living,” our client’s exact requests for their beach house’s living room in Galveston, Texas.  They originally planned on renting out the residence, but after the initial reveal, they immediately decided to keep it for themselves. 

To get an easygoing vibe of this sort, it actually requires a well thought out formula and inspiration.  The inspiration was not an object, but more of an idea to subtly bring the sunny beach indoors.  Understated yellows and blues anchor the room, while custom-made linen drapes, pops of red, and different wood tones add interest.  Our favorite and most innovative element of the room happens to be the six framed prints of sea animals and birds.  The “prints” were actually pages from a book that we had framed and matted; they flow perfectly with the opposing beach view.

Although there are tons of elements within one space, we had to formulate a sense of balance between them all.  Instead of seeing each individual piece, you see one unified room that screams, “Come relax!”