Studio 7 Interior Design: 2016

Blogger Tour: Tips For Brightening Your Home

blog hop, brighten your home, bright spaces, white, interiors

Good morning and happy Monday!!! I wanted to welcome you all who are joining me from the talented Kellie's blog, Gratefully Vintage! Thank you so much for joining in on our blog hop!

I am so excited to share some of my favorite tips to brighten up your homes today. Being an interior designer I find that this is my most requested thing my clients wish for when hiring me to design their spaces. They want to brighten up their homes. It's easy to see why with the availablity to dream room pictures with pinterest, instagram and houzz. I see so many inspiration rooms my clients have saved, and those inspiration rooms are always much brighter then their current spaces. Sometimes it takes a full room design, but most of the time I can accomplish a room refresh with just a few tweaks. And I can't wait to share my few tips with you today...

The first thing that I can promise you will make such a different and ground your entire space is...

ADD AN AREA RUG TO YOUR SPACE

There are so many amazing options available out there, you'll be so happy you did!

This is an E-design I proposed to my client in California. They just moved into an older home that had been remodeled and they were stumped with their front room. They wanted a room to make a great first impression to their guests and also a room where they could be happy relaxing as a family. The thing my clients gushed over the most was this area rug. The rest of the design is great, but the area rug brings life into the room that couldn't have been accomplished otherwise.

I was so happy to see this design come together. This rug makes the space, and my client has recived so many compliments on this rug first and foremost.

The second thing I can suggest to brighten up your home is...

ADD WHITE TO YOUR SPACE

White is a trend in the design world right now. But the best part about it is its such a timeless design move. Your entire room doesn't have to be sterile looking, but if you add some pops of white like these shelves, or this white chair rail you will make your space so light and airy feeling. I remember when I proposed this dark charcoal color to my client. It looked SO dark on the swatch. She may have been a bit terrified. Thankfully she trusted me and balancing this dark color with the whites and lighter palette made the room have a bit of drama. She and I couldn't imagine this design any other way.

Or take this picture below... There is a lot of pattern play going on. But it works because the patterns aren't competing with a loud base color. The white nightstand and the lighter palette creates the right base to make the boldness of the prints work together beautifully.

The next thing I want to suggest is to...

INCOORPERATE COLOR INTO YOUR SPACE

I am in love with color. But, there is most definitly a right and a wrong way to do color. This blue chair is quite a bold choice... but notice the rest of the decor. It is all nuetral. By keeping the rest of the space in a nuetral setting it makes the chair not only stand out the way it should, but it makes the space a bit more soothing.

I just created this E-design for a client in New York. She requested a modern color palette but didn't want the room to seem too busy or too bold. The navy chair and the bright throw pillows and accessories add the right amount with out being too much. This room will still be soothing with out being too in your face. The perfect amount of color.

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Next is my favorite thing to do when decorating a room...

ACCESSORIZE TO MAKE A ROOM HAVE PERSONALITY

blog hop, brighten your home, bright spaces, white, interiors, pillows

From throw pillows to curtain panels, to accent lamps to art work and accessories... All of these little things are what will make your spaces come to life. I have had so many people hire me after they have purchased their big ticket items and they get stuck on how to accessorize their rooms.

Take the below pictures... This client did a fabulous job renovating and had their dining and living room sitting for over a year before they had me come and put the finishing touches on the space. Just adding this picutre gallery and some accessories on the table pulls the space together with out being stuffy or over styled. You don't need too much and my thoughts are always less is more when accessorizing.

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It truly is amazing how these few accessories brightened up this dining room and added some much needed life to this space.

There you have it... some of my favorite ways to brighten up a space. I hope you find these tips and ideas useful when decorating your own homes!

Next up on the Blog Hop is the beautiful and crazy talented Summer from

She Leaves A Little Sparkle

Be sure to stop by her blog to get her favorite tips and tricks on how to brighten up your home!

Please visit my other friends' blogs for more lovely home pictures and great tips!

LindsayHillInteriors.com

LifeIsBetterAtHome.com

HappyHappyNester.com

TheGraceHouseInteriors.com

CCandMike.com

FadedCharmLiving.com

GratefullyVintage.com

Shop This Post!

Living Room Plans using iHomeRegistry

I wanted to share the progress of my living room with you today and the plans for the other half of the room. I love how its come together so far, and my gallery wall full of my favorite quotes make me smile every time I walk in the room. I love the cool, soothing palette, and the tiny pops of color adding some personality to the design.

I have a piano on one wall, and have been going back and forth on whether to move my desk back into the room. We moved it out back in December to make room for our Christmas tree, and I just haven't been able to bring myself to move it back into the space. I'm not the tidiest person when it comes to my workspace... I always hated having it in my "first impression" room... So I think I've finally decided that I'm moving my desk into my basement family room so I can get work done there in a common space while my kids play. I actually moved the desk during nap time today and I'm writing this post with the desk in the common play area and its by far the most convenient work space I've had!

Here's the room when the desk was in it...

Here is the 3D design plans for the other two walls in the room. Again, www.ihomeregistry.com blew me away with their awesome website. If you haven't signed up with iHomeRegistry yet, you must!!! It's great for designers AND homeowners! Homeowners can organize and store info on items they are thinking about buying for their home, connect with other homeowners and designers and use the 3D tool to make sure the furniture you are thinking of will fit the space well!

This is my living room TO SCALE... With the exact measurements of items in the space and the items I hope to put in the room. I've already used the program for a few new design proposals I've been working on and my clients LOVE to see their room like this. It makes going forward with the design process so much more comfortable for them, and puts them completely at ease.

I love that this tool is also avaible to those who aren't designers. My dad is using it to save some money and do his laundry room plans himself... Its so easy to use, not to mention, pretty fun!
Be sure to sign up while this amazing website is still free.
www.ihomeregistry.com

I plan on using General Finshes Java Stain to repurpose my piano. There are so many knicks and dings on this from all the years of being used and I cannot wait to make this all new and beautiful with the stain! My dad bought this piano for my mom as an anniversary gift and he's asked me to keep the integrity of the wood... it means so much to them. Not to mention this is the piano that I learned on, and now my sweet almost 7 year old is learning on. I can't wait to show you the afters.

You can purchase General Finishes Java Gel Stain HERE.

I then plan on creating a ship lap accent wall on the piano wall. There is no over head lighting so I will hardwire some sconces that will be turned on by a switch. This will add so much to the room. Those details with the focal point as my long time favorite antiqued brass round mirror and the accent wall will surely make me one giddy girl.

I have my eye on this sconce. You can hardwire this one, or just hang and plug in if you aren't wanting to commit to holes in the walls.

You can purchase it HERE.

On the wall opposite the sofa I plan on purchasing a console table with ottomans underneath for extra seating options. I will move the turquoise lamps to this table and will have this painting on this wall.

Click on the links to Shop This Mood Board and the rest of the living room design!

Round Brass Mirror

Wall Sconce

Coffee Table

Round Accent Table

Lamp

Canvas Art

Console Table

Ottoman

I cannot wait ot have the room complete! I'll be sure to share it as soon as its done... Be sure to check out @studio7interiors on instagram for daily pics and progress photos!

iHome Registry: Master Bathroom Plans

Master Bathroom, Brass, gold, antiqued gold, glass chandelier, marble, carrarra marble, gray, teal, double sink, vanity, 3D, 3D renderings, widespread faucet, free standing tub, ihomeregistry, interior design, interiors, bathroom

Have you heard of iHomeRegistry yet?!?

It is my new FAVORITE design site!

I completley got lost in in the other day as I was making my master bathroom plans come to life and almost forgot date night! Seriously, though, it is such a brilliant concept where you can conceptually design your own spaces TO SCALE.

The main thing I cannot get enough of is the brilliant 3D designer that you can manually create your current home plan or

"Upload your floor plan and
convert it into a 3-D rendering
that allows you to experiment
with different furnishing ideas
and visualize the look and feel of
each room in your home in 3-D
real time."

-It is a site designed for homeowners and designers to connect by sharing a viewing professional interior designers projects and to keep up on styles and trends.

-You can also create your own home decor and design registry where you can upload and keep track of the items you are thinking of adding to your home.

-Add all of that to the amazing 3D designer and it creates the perfect triple threat in making your house a home.

Check out this video I snapped to some friends...

I basically just measured the space I am planning on renoing and I was able to easily create the 3D images on their platform. I then took the measurements from the items I am planning on purchasing for the space. Ihomeregistry lets you change the measurements of the items on their site to fit the pieces in exactly how they will fit in the space. So whether you are planning on a free standing tub like I am, or a sofa you've had your eye on and need to know how it will feel in your space... you can visually see it in your room before hand!

I was able to save these images from the site to show you how my plans easily came together. There will be a wall and barn door way here, but I removed it to let you more easily see the design.

Right now my bath room is half this size. I have my heart set on doing an 8 foot extention in the future. Bacially doubling the size of my kitchen (a floor below) and my master bathroom. Where the vanities are now are where we have his and her closets. Where the tub and toilet and shower are is where the bathroom is now. So, the plans are to double the shower, have a vanity to get ready for the day, create double sinks, a free standing tub, create a new widnow and the entire 8 ft extention will house a new walk in closet. Creating this would be a dream come true for me. I love the flow, and all the elements of this design.

Here are the design elements.

I want the vanity to be a deep teal color. The vanity in this room needs to be 80 inches long so I picked out this gray one and will have it painted before it is installed. All of that storage makes this girls heart go pitter-pat.

I want the space to be airy and relaxing with a bit of a sophisticated glam, so grays and brass paired with the teal (my favorite color of all time, in case you couldn't tell...) will be the perfect combination.

Let's not forget to mention this glass chandelier paired with this free standing tub. Not only will it visually be a piece of art, but I see many, many relaxing bubble bath's in my future.

So there you have it!!!

SHOP THIS LOOK:

(click on the item)

FAUCET

HONEY COMB TILE

TUB

CHANDELIER

DRAWER PULL

3-LIGHT FIXTURE

DOUBLE SINK VANITY

Kitchen Styling- A Little Goes a Long Way!

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I'm thrilled to be sharing my newly styled kitchen with you today.

We are coming up on 3 years living in our home and sadly I just recently decided to bite the bullet and give this kitchen some love. I've been dreaming of a white kitchen, but since it's a ways away before that dream becomes a reality I decided to do some small fixes to make this a kitchen that I can love.

BEFORE:

You can see how much a little bit went a long way in this space. The valance and new light fixture MAKE THE SPACE in my opinion. Adding some color and fresh flowers add so much to make this monochramtic room pop.

I've always loved the look of pendant lighting in kitchens. Since my ceilings over my penisula aren't wired for them yet I did the next best thing and had the can light swapped out for this beauty from PROGRESS LIGHTING. The design and bubbled glass make me happy every time I look at it and adds a little bit of class to this space. It's beautiful quality, and I'm actually putting this same fixture in a client's kitchen! She loved it that much after seeing it in my space.

You can purchase it HERE for a great price!

The valance I made with some fabric, foam board, quilt batting, a staple gun and some velcro strips. It cost me less than $20 to complete this project! You can look on pinterest for some great tutorials.

There you have it, just adding a little bit of color and life into this kitchen makes me love it so much more. Grantid, I'm still dreaming of a white kitchen someday, these updates are making the wait very enjoyable. :)

Be sure to check out Progress Lighting for some beautiful lighting options! I have several on my list!!!

Here are a few I loved...

(click on the coordinating letter...)

A, B, C, D, E

Jord Watch Giveaway

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Father's Day came early this year for my husband. I was too excited to give him this gorgeous watch I ordered from www.woodwatches.com My husband loves the unique wooden band and it wears great... light and comfortable. They have some pretty awesome styles to pick from for men and women as well. Be sure to check out their site for some great gift ideas! (for you and the men in your life!) Your men will thank you!

And I have some exciting news for you all!

Everyone is a winner in this giveaway!

The winner will recieve a $75 credit towards a JORD watch of your choice and every one else who enters will recieve a $20 credit to use on a watch!

Click HERE to enter the giveaway and to recieve your $20 coupon!

Adventure Themed Nursery

Sorry, for the blogging hiatus!!!

It's been a VERY busy few months with my design business... So busy, I'm actually looking to bring on an intern! It's been so amazing watching this lifetime passion of mine become a reality and a blooming business. I'll be posting a lot more of my completed designs in the near furture so please stop back often!

With that being said, I decided it was high time to get my son's nursery up on the blog... seeing as he IS a year old and all. I can't believe its taken me so long to post about his room. But, believe me, it was worth the wait. :) I have spent hours and hours in here and a year later, I still wouldn't change a thing. I love the neutral, soothing palette.

Be sure to check the end of this post for room details... I'll be sharing where to purchase look a likes and be sharing paint colors, etc...

Nursery, Boy Nursery, Black Crib, Gallery Wall, Faux Taxidermy, Faux Elephant Head, Adventure Themed Nursery, Safari Theme, Neutral Nursery, Black and White, Zebra Head, Black Crib, Board and Batten, Curtains, Trellis, Bead Board, Arrows, Pouf, Rocking Chair, Vintage, Black Dresser, Brass Hardware, Vintage Dresser, Rug, Rugsusa, Rugs Direct, Blue Rug, Mint, Mint Nursery, Turquoise, Blue Nursery, Boy Nursery, Gender Neutral Nursery, Gray Nursery

Do you see this darling Mint Elephant Head??? This was the first thing I ever won on instagram back when my account was itty bitty. I had this over a year before I even knew I was pregnant with my son, but I knew the minute I recieved it that this would be the inspiration for my next babies nursery. I was going to do a safari theme reguardless of gender. It was the jumping off point for this entire design.

Now here is the Room Reveal!