One Counter...Two Bathrooms

We redid a fantastic master bathroom, changed the floor plan by moving the shower, eliminating a bath tub and creating a private water closet. We picked out a fantastic Silestone counter top in Grey Amazon. There was enough counter top left over for a small bathroom counter so we did a mini-makeover on the guest bathroom and changed lighting, counter, sink, toilet, floor tile, new cabinet fronts, repainted with new hardware. Both bathrooms have a completely different feel even though we used the same counter top and same floor tile.

Master Bathroom - Double Sink


Tile Detail


Water Closet - with floor to ceiling storage.



Guest Bathroom- Same Counter; Different Feel

Furniture Layouts

I often create Room Layouts for clients, which can be a vital step in the decorating process. Typically I create 2-3 layouts per space/room. A floor plan helps define measurements, furniture sizes, traffic patterns, etc. Each layout I create comes with a detailed list of furniture & sizes, and it may include pictures and sources. After a client and I settle on a layout, either I implement the plan or the client can then do the footwork themselves. A Room Layout saves time, frustration and helps prevent costly mistakes.

I've included two samples of the same game room, in which a client wanted to include a pool table but also wanted a lot of seating. Pool tables take a lot of floor space because you must allow square footage for shooting with pool sticks. After putting together 4-5 plans, it became clear to the client they weren't getting as much seating with a pool table. It's up for debate, but most of the family thought the pool table should go into the garage.
Layouts may include: windows, doors, walls, appliances, flooring, measurements, lighting, furniture, rugs, etc.

Have you heard? Mauve is Back!

What does it mean? Well, as always it's all about a fresh spin and making an old color look new. See below how mixing mauve with browns, blues or greens keeps it fun & fresh. Keep you eyes open because you will see mauve leaning any where from pink, purple, gray or to brown.

According to Funmum.com this season’s hottest colours straight off the catwalk are contrasting brown and mauve and they have managed to work that trend into this beautiful top.
Here's an interpretation of that mauve & brown combo in bedding by Elizabeth Allen Atelier.


I love how Elizabeth Allen's bedding is paired with this golden headboard. The barrel lampshade adds a fresh modern style, which also helps this new country look stay fresh.


Here Elizabeth Allen's mauve colored bedding is paired with a luscious apple green. The classic, clean lines of the headboard, popped with green and mixed with classic, mauve flower pattern still feels fun. It's all about what you pair together.

Back in December '08 I put together a young girls room in a monochromatic mauve color scheme. Remember this Glamorous Girl's Bedroom?

Glamorous Girl's Bedroom

Here's a really fun girls room I finished last week. This was a fun room to do and eight year old Allison LOVES it. Here's what she had to say...."it's so awesome, like floating on clouds, and I can't wait to come home from school every day just to be in my room."

This room was easy to pull off. The stripes give it a lot of detail with a big bang for a small buck (and one of Allison's favorite things). The bed is Pottery Barn, vintage Barbie prints from Z Gallery, curtains & rod from JC Penny's, and bedding, lamps, shades and flocked artwork from Target.

The first picture is probably the best for natural light and true colors. Enjoy and don't get distracted by my photography skills.

Not All Corporate Offices Are Boring

I thought this small company in San Ramon was very innovative in their desire to provide a real lounge their employees could relax in, watch TV, eat or have meetings. I've heard they've even had a few Wii game-offs.

How did I do it? Here are five basic steps that anyone could follow.

1) Define Style: Cozy, comfortable, clean lined, interesting, appealing to employees and durable materials.

2) Floor Plan & Budget: What did they need? Dining area, TV, sitting area & some outdoor seating. I created a couple layouts with furniture options, which helps determine scale and size of each piece. As well, a budget was in order. Honestly a budget helps the client take a realistic look at their needs, priorities and plan of action.

3) Select Furniture: These dining room chairs were my first find at a Palecek sample sale at the Palecek warehouse in Richmond. The texture and color of the rattan chairs combined with the golden leather end-chairs set the direction for my color palette. Combining different dining chairs gave a homey, eclectic feel to an office environment. From there I kept the wood tones similiar to keep a unified feel, repeated the leather in a dark leather sofa, and softened the seating area with cozy chair. Take note that the flat screen TV could have been hung on the wall; however, I chose a media console which anchors the TV and prevents the TV from "floating" on the wall. Plus the TV console actually balances the dining table.

4) Create Color Palette: This picture captures the essence of the color palette. Dark woods, soothing blues, golds and greens with pops of aqua blue, plus texture from the rug, pillows & dining chairs. As well notice, how I pulled the gold from the leather dining chair into this side of the room in the art and vases. It's all about creating balance.

5) Accessories & Art: Accessories and art are the last layer that finishes a room. It was important (especially since this was an office environment) to include little touches to create a feeling of comfort & coziness. This was achieved by incorporating throw pillows, vases, magazines and natural elements such as orchids on the dining room. As well, this last layer allows for a balance of color throughout the room.

Do you know what's missing? What's missing is lighting. If I had my preference I would have added a chandelier of sorts over the dining room table and a table and floor lamp. Lighting is an often over looked opportunity to add... light! Surprisingly homes are often missing basic lighting. However, in this case there is plenty of natural light with a whole wall of windows and plenty of florescent light. So even though we didn't add it here light fixtures can balance and create scale to a room as well as incorporate accessories & sculptural elements.

This was a fun project! It worked in an office but it would just as easily fit into someone's home.

Eclectic Living Room

An eclectic mix living room in a Walnut Creek project. The key here was mixing both the old with new. Sometimes you have to work with things you don't love such as the off-white side chair in the corner, but we made it work by accessorizing around it and creating an attractive niche. A future buy will be two clean-lined contemporary side chairs.

Some things we did: custom curtains, new carpeting, new area rug, accessorizing, new gold sofa, balanced the sofa by touches of gold in the vase and the throw pillow & inexpensive art.

We needed to fill some expansive walls, one of which was done with collection of Ikea frames which we filled with pictures from magazines. I found a whole stack of Asian Art News magazines in a thrift store and they had fantastic pictures of great works of art.

West Elm Bargain

West Elm has a great candle holder the branch tripod floor pillar standing at about 52" high. It was $69 and can now be found on sale on the website for $49 but the Corte Madera store had it on sale for $19.99! If this one is too big there are a couple smaller branch candle holders that are just as nice. I used it in a bathroom.

Coming this fall you'll be able to find the same form in a table and standing lamp. I'd love to see it as a table leg too. If you are handy you might consider making a plant stand or high table with the candle holder. Let me know if you have any other creative ideas.

Original Art - Blend the New & Old

I wanted to share a couple shots from a client's house where we very successfully incorporated some contemporary, original art pieces with her charming California ranch house.

We wanted to give this entry way the "wow" factor with a pop of color by pairing a vibrant painting by a local artist with some more traditional pieces from an inherited entry console to a thrift store chair. What initially lacked any "umph" now greeted guests with a powerful welcome.



The Bay Area has a great art community and loads of wonderful artists. It's impossible for me to stay on top of all of this which is why I'm fortunate to have my very own art consultant Shelley Barry of Artful Solutions. She was able to recommend talented and affordable local artists including everything from paintings, mixed media to photography.

From the entry way to the living room we go to the main focal point the fireplace; however, the fireplace it somewhat non-descriptive. We weren't ready to invest in a new mantel or overhaul the fireplace, so the next best thing was to enhance the space around the fireplace. We did this by installing custom window treatments and again by adding unique original art work. These three pieces are very sculptural and clearly not something you would find at a local departments store. Of course the picture doesn't do any of these pieces justice, but clearly you can see how they pull your eye from the fireplace and command their own presences.

How to achieve decorating success?

Sometimes we look around at the rooms in our homes and we want to change them…NOW! We just want to start somewhere! So we buy paint to repaint the entire living room. Or we buy a new bedroom set without a thought of the final product: a space we can love. Taking a slapdash approach to decorating lends to mistakes, added costs, and the frustration of not knowing where to go next.

That is why the first step you SHOULD take is to create a P-L-A-N. It's a nasty, four letter word, but yes you need a PLAN if you want your decorating adventures to be a success.

Start with an idea file. I assure you, if you write down your ideas and clip magazine pictures you love, you will see trends in your taste and your decorating style will come to life. Use these pictures to understand furniture arrangements, lighting, color combinations, and accessorizing.

Create a home decorating notebook, album or folder for each room in your home. It will serve as your decorating road map. Include at least the following information:

Note the function(s) of a room.

• Include room dimensions.
• Note the location of doors, windows, electrical outlets and switches, as well as other architectural elements.
• Add sample paint chips
• Insert fabric swatches
• Note furniture items and their dimensions
• Take photographs of each room

If you are struggling with a particular room, find an inspiration piece such as a picture, rug, pillow, vase or theme.

Simple tips to keep you on track:

• Don’t be caught without your decorating road map. Keep it with you or in your car. You never know when you will need it!
• Create cozy seating arrangements.
• Avoid the temptation of placing furniture on the perimeter of a room or leaving lots of space in the middle of your room.
• You do not need to use every piece of furniture or accessory you own. If it doesn't work, don't use it. Rotate accessories throughout the year.
• Clutter and piles? Eliminate them. Period.
• Periodically take a look around and ask yourself what do my guests see when they come over.
• It's OK to get help from a professional decorator. Our lives are too busy be an expert at everything

Happy Decorating!!!