sparkle

I love, love to decorate for Christmas!  All over the house, everywhere!  This year, time has been tight so I've squeezed in five minutes here and there, but I'm making sure it still happens :)

I'm telling you, I hang ornaments and embellishments everywhere, including my jewelry area :)

and one last look at our adorable tree!  what's your favorite way to bring holiday decor to your home?

Interested in working together? Contact me at 

katiegaviganinteriors@gmail.com 

for rates and availability.

recent happenings

Hello! I know I've been MIA and please believe me when I say how sorry I am! Blogging has been on my mind (and to do list!) but has been pushed out with so much going on around here. Just thought I'd share an update of some of the past few weeks' activities...

girlfriends, good food and gold leafing :)

and my version of black friday shopping...thrifting!

loved this set for our deck but passed on it (still thinking about it though!). so good!

first haul: tons of artwork for three projects i'm working on, $4 boots for upcoming trips to utah and michigan, awesome cozy sweatshirt, random accessories, fabric...all for less than $40! had another, even more successful run later in the day but didn't get photos (sorry!).

cool shadow box / cork board for the girls' room i'm working on. the paper lining is pretty cool but we'll probably switch it out...we'll see!

and then i hit the flea market early sunday morning before church....

rugs, rugs and more rugs!

ahhh this chest is just so good, but i couldn't justify it and really don't have a place for it! i think it will always be remembered as the elephant chest that got away.

love love love this table but again - no room for it myself and doesn't fit any current projects. so sad.

considered this chair to pair with a vintage desk for the girls' room but then found something even better...

snagged one of these amazing benches and can hardly wait to re-cover the seat with some awesome fabric...it's gonna be great!!

also snagged this beauty for myself for just $10! pretty sure it's going to go over the bed...stay tuned :)

before all the shopping, of course, was thanksgiving! we celebrated with our church family which was great fun. i sprinkled in a few decorations...

darling friends jasmine and william posing in their thanksgiving outfits :)

my sister and i having a little too much fun setting up...ha! 

i'm off to finalize lots of details on two projects, help plan a Christmas Tea for 100 ladies this Saturday, and run errands! what a fun week! (don't worry, pictures will be shared :))

a room for two sisters

Meet my new clients...

I am so excited to be working with these two amazing young ladies on their bedroom design. Their family moved into a new home a few months ago, giving us a clean slate to work with.

Both girls have great taste and strong opinions about what they like (and don't like), which is awesome! We learned a few things at our first meeting.

caitlin wilson design

They're both drawn to soft colors with some pops of darker colors.

A very pale pink paint might be a winner, including ceilings. Their room doesn't have much natural light and the right paint color will add a nice glow. We need to nail down a few other details before making a decision on the the paint color.

They both love canopies, which I'm pretty excited about. We're leaning towards an L-shaped bed in a corner - I think that a simple draped canopy design like the above could be great.

jenny komenda interiors

Both sisters are fans of this tufted velvet headboard. With the corner beds, we likely won't do headboards but perhaps we can find a place for some tufting on stools or a bench. :)

design*sponge

They both gasped when they saw these magical floating pom poms, so they will very likely be making an appearance. What I love about them is that they're a low-investment art choice which can be swapped out if/when the girls grow out of them as they get older. I believe that kids' rooms should be able to grow with them for at least several years, and I'll be designing this room through that lens. Stay tuned...this is going to be fun!!

Interested in working together? Contact me at 

katiegaviganinteriors@gmail.com 

for rates and availability.

our new dining room banquette

Just a quick post to show pictures (as promised!) of the dining room with the new addition.

For a long time I've been thinking about some kind of a bench or banquette here. I assumed we'd have a simple bench built, mostly because I didn't think that a large piece of furniture like this would be in the budget. As I mentioned earlier, I found this at Salvation Army for a steal, and I think it's perfect for the space.

When we install the new chandelier (once I finally decide on a color!), I'll use a hook to center it above the table - the light fixture mount isn't really centered to the room in either direction but this can easily be fixed!

I find myself using this room much more often now...love having a cozy seating option next to the table where I can pull up my feet and read, work, use the computer, etc. Definitely a huge upgrade if you ask me!

Interested in working together? Contact me at 

katiegaviganinteriors@gmail.com 

for rates and availability.

patience pays!

Hey all...

If you happened to read between the lines in this post about cozy dining rooms, you probably picked up on the fact that I was dreaming about a banquette in our dining room....someday.  Well, it happened yesterday! I stopped by Salvation Army, knowing they would be having a 40% off sale (like they do for any and every holiday, which I love!).  And I found it!!!  And what a bargain it was. We're picking it up today and I'll share photos soon.....sooooo excited about the level of coziness it's going to bring to our dining room!

Kristen Panitch

Interested in working together? Contact me at 

katiegaviganinteriors@gmail.com 

for rates and availability.

tv console inspiration (green?)

We're currently using two Ikea Rast dressers as our TV console (only since the mass rearranging a couple of weeks ago), and I've been trying to decide what to do with them.

all images can be found on my pinterest page

As you can see, I have green on the brain. I'm actually thinking about a darker green but can't find any images to show you at the moment. Our ottoman is currently green, but I've been thinking about switching it out with something larger/closer to the scale of the sofa. If I decide to go green with the console, the ottoman would definitely need to go (somewhere else in the house :)).

All the images I was drawn to today have some level of ornate detail, whether it's molding, carving or hardware. I don't think I'll go overly ornate, but I'm definitely inspired by some rich character. There are many amazing Rast hacks out there and I'd like to do something different...we'll see what I come up with.

Interested in working together? Contact me at 

katiegaviganinteriors@gmail.com 

for rates and availability.

otomi decisions

I have long LOVED Otomi art in any form. We purchased our first paintings on a trip to Mexico in 2010, and I think they have lived in just about every room in our house since then! There is something so special about them to me, and of course I never tire of the bright, saturated colors. And, especially when purchased directly in Mexico, the artwork is SO affordable. These two pieces (about 12"x15") were around $18 each!!

update: photo by {tris}Photography

On our Mexico visit earlier this year, I hoped to find something in the textile family to bring home.  It's surprising to me that you don't spot much of this at the big markets (at least where we were, in Cancun and Merida), since it's been so popular for the past few years. I had pinched my pennies in anticipation of some market bargains (and bargaining :)).  So, I was pretty giddy to find these (ha - that's an understatement - my husband can tell you that I seriously COULD NOT contain my excitement, and may have scared him a bit in the process :))...

Woo hoo!!  The textiles are a little pricier than the paintings, at least from what I've seen.  (I think each of these was around $25-$30.) I've drooled over many an otomi bedspread, headboards and other large pieces which run in the hundreds.  When we uncovered these smaller pieces, I could hardly believe it and snatched them up! They're both 13"x16"...and here's where this post comes in.  They are still sitting in my fabric pile, waiting for a decision to be made about what to do with them!  I've considered framing them.

somehow i can't find sources for any of the above...will update if i find them!

But since we already have the paintings in wall art form, I'm seriously leaning towards pillows. They would pack a punch on our daybed, sofa or bed...and would very likely rotate between these three spots and more, because nothing stays the same for long at our house :)

The piping works great with the black here - really provides some nice structure.

Leaning towards something like this for ours - add a bit of white border to get to the size I'd like.

All of the above are from this Etsy store. 

What do you say?  I'm almost ready to just go for it and start on the pillows. The problem is that I'm always aware that different inspiration may strike at any moment which causes me to hesitate, especially when something isn't easily replaceable or accessible...but I think I'm just about sold on this one.  Want to try to convince me otherwise? :)

also spotted this bag and really had to share :)

And one last bit of beauty from Anna Spiro who never ceases to inspire :)