Pool House Styling Project

Today's post is tour of an all-season pool house that I had the incredible opportunity to style.  The homeowners already had a great start in this space.  They asked me to add the final layer by helping them coordinate rugs, fabrics and accessories. 

The space belongs to Sara and Erik.  They love to spend their summers outside, with their two young children enjoying their amazing backyard oasis.  This space serves as their summertime living room.

The room is an all-season space but still has some exposure to the elements.. 

including an occasional wet bathing suit. 

Therefore, we chose durable materials such as an indoor/outdoor area rug. 

You would never know it was an indoor/outdoor rug.  It is amazingly soft and beautiful enough to be used in any interior space.  We also selected a companion to this rug for the lounge area next to the pool. 

Sara and Erik love to entertain family and friends in this space.  Therefore, many of the accessories double as serving pieces.

You may remember my post the other day on summer time centerpieces that included this fern-in-a-basket. I used the fern as a large scale coffee table centerpiece.  It easily be set aside when the coloring books and board games come out. 

Sara commissioned her favorite local artist Julie Abbott to paint this gorgeous custom piece…

{Julie Abott}

This piece describes Sara's favorite things…smiles, kisses, wine and summertime.  It's a beautiful piece that adds a ton of her awesome personality to the space. 

  Their existing furniture was given a new life with new seat cushions, custom covers and lumbar pillows. Sara hired a local seamstress for this project and was pleasantly suprised at the cost. Using the rug as our color pallette inspiration I helped her choose indoor/outdoor fade resistant fabrics from an online fabric retailer.

Blue and teal look amazing against these crisp white walls.  Just outside the window is their gorgeous pool that reflects this color palette.

Punches of coral were added throughout the room in pillows, throws and accessories. 

Large pieces of driftwood, sand and shells are perfect summer time accents.  When fall rolls around these items can easily be changed to something more harvest-esque.  

The goal in this styling project was to give the room a finished, pulled together look while keeping the space comfortable, practical for the outdoors, usable and family friendly.  

Thank you, Sara and Erik for inviting me into your home and allowing me to style this space.  It was so much fun working in such a beautiful room.

Enjoy your summer!

© Copyright 2013 The Yellow Cape Cod

For information on my affordable online design service,please click here. I'm currently accepting new clients. 

Doing What You Love...

In honor of Father's Day, I'd like to take this opportunity to answer one of the most FAQ's I get on the blog and in my inbox.  I just received this email a few days ago…

"Hi Sarah...Seeing all of your work I can't help but wonder how you got started with your passion for interior design and your online design business…Interior design is a career path that not many people choose to take so its always exciting to see inspiring work like yours…"

Although I really enjoyed my job as a banker,  my heart's always been in decorating.  I realized design was my true calling when my bank clients started coming to see me with paint chips and fabric samples.  What made me finally take the plunge and leave my banking career?

My Dad.

A Detroit area newspaper wrote an article about him titled "Doing What You Love".  It was a full page article in the sports section about his passion for his job as a long time golf course superintendant. A few years after the article was published we lost him to a four month battle with cancer at the age of 57.  His passion for his job (and his love for his family) got him through the difficult days at the end.  I found comfort knowing although his life was short, it was full and passionate.  He spent every day doing what he loved. 

Happy Father's Day, Dad.  Thank you, for inspiring me to follow my obsession with passion for design.  My business is doing well and I'm so happy to be doing what I love.

© Copyright 2013 The Yellow Cape Cod

For information on my affordable online design service, please click here. I'm currently accepting new clients. 

Decorating in the OC~Ladera Ranch Magazine Feature

For the past year, I have had the incredible opportunity to contribute to Ladera Ranch Magazine, an Orange County California based lifestyle publication.  It's been a wonderful experience. 

As soon as a new issue is released, I become a mail box stalker.  Aside from the anticipation of seeing my articles, I can't wait to read the rest of the magazine.  

In the current issue I'm sharing tips on making over a tween space using Hannah's bedroom makeover as an example.  Murphie is no stranger here the blog, but this is first appearance in print so he is very excited. 

If you are in the mood for a visual treat, stop by the Ladera Ranch facebook page.  They are always sharing something fabulous (decor, recipes, entertaining tips and more).

Thank you, Erinn and Ladera Ranch Magazine for this wonderful opportunity.  I absolutely love your publication and I've really enjoyed being a guest in the OC.  

© Copyright 2013 The Yellow Cape Cod

For information on my affordable online design service, please click here. I'm currently accepting new clients. 

Two Rooms, One Colorful Design

Today's featured design boards are from a recent Two Room Online Design Plan for Erika's living room and dining room.  The custom palette we chose for her spaces was subdued blue and soft pewter with restrained pops of vibrant red.

Designing these two rooms at the same time allowed us to create a plan where the two spaces to flow with each other seamlessly yet they each have their own distinct personality.

The Living Room...

New art and accessories were a large part of this project.  We found this gorgeous, character rich clock while working on this project and immediately added it to my collection of favorite home decor. 

Erika's Clock

Click here to view this piece in my collection.

 What I love about Erika's clock is the large scale, cool square shape and amazing blue distressed finish.  It adds instant character and personality to the design.  In Erika's Dining Room, we found a gorgeous rug that brings color and pattern to the space.   

 Warm wood toned furniture provided beautiful contrast to the soft wall color.

Since the rug is the star of the show in this room, the accessories were kept clean, simple and sophisticated. 

{Large Potted Boxwood}

Here are both rooms together, side by side…

I'm currently accepting new online design projects.  I'm also now offering a multi-room discount if you have more than one space to work on.  Please click here for more information or instructions on how to make your reservation.  

© Copyright 2013 The Yellow Cape Cod

*Also included in this design plan was a true to scale floor plan, product source list, and step by step instructions on how to implement this design.  Please feel free to use these design boards as inspiration, or click here to reserve your affordable custom online design plan.

Super Simple Summer Time Centerpieces

If you are like me and love to entertain during the summer, but want it to be simple and no-fuss, today's post is for you.  I'd like to share two quick, inexpensive centerpiece ideas.    

Fern-in-a-basket…

One of the easiest ways to liven up a room for summertime is with a fresh fern centerpiece.  My go-to container is a large chunky woven basket from a discount home store (like this basket from HomeGoods $18).

'

Hosta-wrapped-tulips…

Another favorite summertime centerpiece uses bright orange tulips and clippings from around the yard.  In this example, I  wrapped a few leaves from my hosta around the tulip stems before placing them in a clear vase. 

I put these together last week while working on a project for a special client. The fern-in-a-basket will last throughout the year and the hosta-wrapped-tulips are great for their weekend. 

Happy Summer!

© Copyright 2013 The Yellow Cape Cod

For information on my affordable online design service, please click here. 

Bedroom Makeover~Before/After

I know I've said this before, but I mean it every time…this is one of my favorite room transformations.   When Erik and Sara called upon me to help with their guest bedroom, their main complaint about the space was that it felt "unfinished".  Individually, they had great pieces (an upholstered headboard, a beautiful duvet, a rich brown leather chair and a dresser with sentimental value), but they weren't happy with the way these items looked together. 

Here's a quick look at the room (and dresser) "Before"… 

(Before)

After a brief consultation, I got to work creating a custom design plan for their space using their existing pieces as the basis of the design.  

Here was my inspiration board…

{Please click here for more info on my affordable online design service}

Color, pattern, texture and carefully chosen accessories were used bring their existing pieces (the bed, duvet, dresser and leather chair) together in one cohesive, finished, custom design.   The plan included a dresser makeover project, new window treatments, additional bedding layers, custom paint color selection, new hardware and fun accessories.

Here is a tour of the space "after"...

These beautiful candle holders and clear lamp base were already owned by the client, tucked away in a closet.  The translucent quality of these pieces made them perfect for the nightstand in front of the window.  Together they create a non-view blocking table top vignette.

Speaking of the nightstand…it was built by Sara's father to coordinate with the dresser that received a makeover.  The top drawers of the dresser were removed to make room for storage baskets followed by a crisp white paint job, subtle distressing along the edges, and new hardware.  Instead of purchasing a nightstand with a similar look, her Dad offered to build her one.   

How lucky are you when your Dad can whip up a gorgeous piece of furniture at a moments notice?  Pretty lucky!

I tied their brown leather club chair into the design by incorporating dark roman shades layered under drapery panels and dark storage baskets inside the furniture.    

I recommended dark bronze window hardware and dresser drawer pulls to coordinate with the existing door hardware used throughout their home...

All of these rich brown accents provide amazing contrast to crisp white furniture, drapery and bedding. 

Pops of muted yellow found in guest towels, family photos, pillows and lampshade are fun and unexpected. 

The new custom paint color selection provided drama.  The amazing moldings in this room are now highlighted by this fabulously rich will color.

This project a great example of how a room can still feel light and bright despite using a dark wall color.

Thank you, Erik and Sara for giving me the opportunity to create a design plan for your guest room.   Your home is exceptionally beautiful and it's been a pleasure working with you.  I hope your guests enjoy their cozy new digs.

© Copyright 2013 The Yellow Cape Cod

Click here to reserve your very own affordable custom online design plan.