Hamster vs. Wheel

So much going on around here, some days it's hard to keep up!  I'm so blessed to be busy and even more blessed to have such great clients.  This week I took one of those clients (who happens to be my niece) to the fabric store to help select fabrics for her new room.  My sister and her family are moving to Arkansas this summer and yes, I'm super sad!  To help ease my sorrow, I've jumped in feet first helping them with their new house.  It's beautiful on the outside, but the inside definitely needs work.  We have a long list, but first is paint and new light fixtures.  Oh, and getting rid of that awful Bama red in the bonus room!

The house on Bird Dog Pointe is finishing up, just in time for the parade of homes in a few weeks.  I've been working hard on putting together the design plan for the furnishings and I can't wait to present them next week.  Here's a sneak peak at a few fabrics in my design plan for the family room and the kid-friendly keeping room off the kitchen.

Finally, in addition to my client load, I'm redesigning my website, blog and business cards.  It should all be ready to go "live" next week or at least in time for the parade of homes.  Now, back to my lists!

Can I Have This Dance?

This week I did one of my favorite things...installed a bedroom for a little girl!  Little spaces are the best.  Clients tend to be more open to color and pattern and we usually have a young one chiming in on what they want  This was the last untouched room in the house since my clients built it a few years ago.  Their youngest daughter was finally ready for a room of her own and requested "ballerinas" as her theme.  As you can see we were working with a pretty clean slate...

My first step in a room design is to always a create a furniture plan.  What can we fit in here?  The client needed a larger bed so the room could function as a guest room, clothing storage, a place for books and a cushion for the window seat - on a tight budget no less!  So, we agreed to invest in the bed, dresser and window seat cushion, but then stretch the budget on all the details.

So, to Target and Home Goods I went and presented this design plan to the clients.  Everything was quickly approved and off I went to finalize the details and get the orders going.

And here is the final result...

 

My clients weren't home when I was there and just a few minutes after I left, I received this text...

 

   

Reason number 9,446 that I LOVE MY JOB!

Progress at Bird Dog Pointe

It's been a busy week, but the highlight was yesterday.  I visited my Bird Dog Pointe project and am thrilled to see so many of the finishes going in now.  This home will be featured in the Parade of Homes in May, so it's got a little special place in my heart.  Plus, my client is a dream!  She has two young boys and came up with the best idea for their bathroom tile. 

Here are a little sneak peaks of what I saw yesterday.  Lighting and counters go in next week, then floors and faucets.  It's going to be beautiful!

I'm Still Alive!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've written on the blog.  To give you an example of how busy I've been, I honestly forgot to wash my hair in the shower this morning.  I was thinking about my day and literally, forgot.to.wash.my.hair!  

Work has been really busy, but life has, too.  The month started with a great conference in Atlanta (more to come on that later), tons of activities with my son, a trip to New York City for spring break and getting my work schedule ready for our upcoming The One Week Boutique later this month.  I'm not complaining - only justifying my lack of commitment to my blog.  Is it working??

My client from Atlanta just hired me to furnish some rooms in her new house, so I'm super excited about that.  The house is really coming along and will definitely be ready in time for the Parade of Homes in May.  I love having a house in the parade and am looking forward to seeing all the selections come together over the next few weeks.  I met with her at the house last week and the cabinets were just starting to be installed.  Look at this detail we added in the kitchen island for her furry child...

I also installed the last piece of art in another client's sitting room last week.  She's a vibrant grandmother who really wanted the room to reflect her and I think we succeeded.  She had a number of family pieces that she wanted to keep and a coffee table she loved, so with some great fabric and color, she has a beautiful new space!  

The first two photos are how the room looked before and then you can see the process of how we got to the final product.  What a difference a little color and fabric can make!

Chez Sois {take six}

My client is in!  The remodeling phase of Chez Sois finished up last month and my client has officially moved into her new place.  I received this email from her after her first night..."It's just amazingly gorgeous to wake up to, and I do appreciate all of the talent and knowledge you have put into making it an incredible place to live." How great is that?  It's just a wonderful reminder of how blessed I am to be doing a job I love.  

I wasn't able to get in to do any formal "after" photos as she started moving in before everything was 100% done.  But, I was able to get a few shots with my phone that I'll share today.  I plan to have professional ones done as soon as all the furniture is installed.  I promise, it will be worth the wait!

The fireplace wall turned out better than I imagined.  We added some beautiful trim details.

The kitchen is a perfect mix of design and function!

The powder bath is definitely a jewel with it's cobalt wallpaper.

The new master bath is a delight in travertine!

The staircase sets a tone for the rest of the house and you get a peak at the new wood floors.

This isn't the best picture of the balcony railing, but it's all I have at the moment.

Here is a little BEFORE shot of the above window looked before we created the balcony.

Brass is back!

I know!  I've been trying to fight it, but brass is definitely back in a big way in home furnishings.  This is definitely not the 80's shiny brass or the antique brass, but a soft, colored brass.  I'm working with a client now who is loving the brass for her lighting and I couldn't be more excited to see it all come together.  Here's a little sneak peak of what we are loving today...

 

In addition to lighting, I found these other beauties online today that I had to share...

If you are ready to add a little brass into your life...give me a call!

100th Post!

It's hard to believe that I'm sitting here writing my 100th blog post.  What started as a marketing tool for my new business has turned into much more for me.  I've been able to share news about my business, advice about design and even some personal stories.  I hope to be able to take this blog to the next level this year with plans to attend the Design Bloggers Conference in March.  Thanks to everyone who has read a post, commented or followed me these past few years.  I'm always amazed anyone even reads what I write!

I thought I would share my top three blog posts in case you missed them and can't wait to see what this next year brings Jennifer Taylor Design.

What started as a few snapshots of a recently completed back porch to send my client, became a Pinterest sensation.  This photo from Back Porch Livin' has been pinned over 250 times which makes this my 3rd most viewed blog post. 

This photo is from Decorating 101 - Window Treatment Ideas where I had the idea of writing about different design advice and thanks to Pinterest, it was my second most viewed post.  This was the first and last post in this series...I may need to pick this back up again in 2014.

Finally, this photo brought over 1200 people to my Come On Baby Light my Fire post about how to design your fireplace mantel. I'm really proud of this one and thinks it gives a lot of great information on ways to design a real focal point in your room.

A Peek at Pine Fair

I have another new construction project that is finishing up and I was able to stop by right before Christmas to check on it.  Pine Fair is a home for a great, young family and I so enjoyed working on it with them.  It's a wonderful mix of traditional design and some slightly modern touches.  There is still lots of cabinetry work and cleaning to do, but it's really close to being complete.  Here are few sneak peeks...

What started out as an idea on the floor of Home Depot...

...turned into this beautiful master shower.

The boy's bathroom

The kitchen is pretty chaotic right now, but hopefully you get the idea.

Stay tuned for final photos...