beads as decor

You may have picked up on the fact that I love to hang beads everywhere. In yesterday's post they were on doorknobs and lamps and bedposts. I thought that these examples and a few others deserved close-ups...

My style is all about layers, and this is a great way to add dimensions...of texture, shape, color, whimsy. 

In looking for other examples of beads as a decor element, I discovered I'm in good company. All of the below images are from Schuyler Samperton's work...

Stringing them around bottles is new inspiration for me and I'll surely be trying it out soon!

Interested in working together to make your home the best it can be? I'd love to talk!

Contact me at katiegaviganinteriors@gmail.com for rates & availability.

bedroom makeover thoughts

Our bedroom is in serious need of some TLC. It's in rough shape...there are tons of scuff marks and holes in the walls from moving furniture and art around. At the moment, there's no wall decor. But, this is a perfect example of needing to live in a space for awhile before deciding which furniture layout works best. I tried so many different arrangements in this room, and finally feel like we're really close. And I'm soooo ready to paint and style it up! 

Here are the basic plans. Keeping our headboard, which you see below. Most likely hanging onto the same bedding, at least for awhile - the blue & white stripes you see here - but may add an accent pillow. I'm 90% decided on moving the Moroccan lantern from the dining room to here. (Big plans for a new dining room light fixture people, big plans. Hint: it's being commissioned!!)

I haven't completely decided what to do with the trim just yet. Most of it will be the same color as the walls. There are three doors and two windows, in a very tight space, and not symmetrically located...I LOVE contrasting trim, but in this space it would just be choppy. But we may sneak in a dark door or window. ;)

I already have a rattan sunburst very similar to the one in the mood board (scored for $10 at the flea market), and am thinking it will be great over the bed. And yesterday that awesome rug was ordered, which I'm VERY excited about. Roman shades will also be in the brown family.

You might be thinking, that sounds like a lot of brown and tan (especially for me :)). Did you notice the purple splotch on the mood board? That, indeed, is the planned wall color. It's more of a moody, muddy lavender. Which explains the need to keep everything else toned down and grounded with neutrals. 

Also, let's not kid ourselves. There will be color. Lots of colorful jewelry which is begging to be on display in a beautiful way, at the very least. The cobalt lamps are staying. Perhaps some contrasting, funky trim on the roman shades and lampshades. Oh, and it's hard to see clearly on the mood board, but there will be a small wall (to the right of the dresser, above) "wallpapered" in photos. I always need an element of casual, a little edgy and imperfect, to keep a room from going too formal.

So, there you have it. I think it's going to be pretty great! 

Interested in working together to make your home the best it can be? 

Contact me at katiegaviganinteriors@gmail.com for rates & availability.

good enough is sometimes great

Welcome to my new work space. It's also a corner of our dining room. But let me back up...

As my business has steadily grown over the past year (which I'm sooooo grateful for), I've increasingly felt the need for a dedicated office space to work from. We have a guest room which I was sort of using as my office as well, but it needed to be revamped to become an office first, guest room second. I started painting it and gathering some of the pieces towards the end of the summer...and then we had a change of plans...

My brother decided to move back to San Francisco! and asked if he could stay with us until he finds a place of his own. Of course, we're thrilled to have him back here and this is well worth a little delay in my office progress! So, for the past few weeks he's been camping out in a half-painted room (there's still painters tape on the trim :/ ...) and I'm busy scheming some grand plans in my head for that room.

In the meantime though, with two client installations coming up (meaning growing collections of frames, artwork, mirrors, pillows, lamps, plants, even some small furniture...), in addition to regular work stuff like piles of paperwork, notes, receipts, mail, etc... my style was feeling a little cramped! I noticed I've been having a hard time focusing on work as I would carry my piles and laptop from the sofa to the island to the dining room table. I figured I could come up with a better interim solution, so took a few minutes to walk around the house and brainstorm...

There was a desk in the basement waiting for its home in the new office. (It was previously our dining room table.) Our dining room, though not huge, had the most flexible space. I did some quick measuring and decided I could make it work. I just scooted the dining table & chairs over a few inches to make room for the desk. Previously in this spot was a table of orchids which was also relocated in the process.

Ahhhhh....

I also made room on a nearby shelf for more supplies and corralled loose/small items like receipts into boxes to at least give the appearance of being organized! It's seriously amazing how these little things can make a huge difference to my ability to focus and be productive. I think the best proof is that I'm here, blogging!

So while this might not be my ideal, at the moment it feels like bliss. Less than an hour's worth of work = success!!

Interested in working together to make your home the best it can be? I'd love to talk!

Contact me at katiegaviganinteriors@gmail.com for rates & availability.

purple

image via here

So, I'm typically not drawn to purple but cannot get this shade out of my mind. I realize the texture is helping matters, but I'm seriously re-thinking the color. And yes, yes I would paint our exterior an intense shade, yes I would. And you?