The Yellow Cape Cod: linen

Showing posts with label linen. Show all posts

My Living Room Re-Fresh~A New Look For Spring

Hi there! It's so nice to be back behind the keyboard. I've been away from the blog for a little while working on some very exciting projects. I have lots of new online designs to share and also a few dramatic room makeover reveals! Now that these projects are complete, I can get back to blogging about them! Starting today...I recently completed a "Re-Fresh" of the main level of my own home. What is the difference between and room makeover and a re-fresh? As opposed to a full blown room makeover, a re-fresh is a way to give a space a new look with just a few tweaks.

I was able to give my home a fresh, new, style for spring with only five simple changes.

Take a look...

After a long, cold, Michigan winter, my living room requested some bright, cheerful color. I obliged by bringing in a new area rug. This singular change instantly livened up our space. Adding this rug felt like a breath of fresh, spring air.

I fell in love with this rug so much that I added it to my shop. I'll warn you thought, there is a limited quantity available so it's at a high sell out risk...

To allow as much of the beautiful new rug to show as possible, I switched out our large, black, heavy, wooden coffee table for a lighter, smaller scale, glass top table. This coffee table has been in our storage area since we were first married. It belonged to my husbands Great-Grandmother. It's nice to have this piece of his family history in our family room, not to mention I am in love with the way it looks.

To complement the new rug, I added a few apple green toss pillows to the sofa's and chair. These beautiful, linen pillows are simple in design, yet they add so much to the space. The injection of color is just what our white, slip-covered sofa's needed. The solid green linen pillows provided a nice break from the patterns found in the zebra print chair and striped toss pillows.

These pillows are the PERFECT companion to the new rug! If you would like to purchase a set, they are available in my shop along with the rug for a limited time...

Speaking of taking a break in pattern...the next element that I changed up was the drapery. Over the last few years, I've enjoyed my DIY Bold Striped Drapes in this space. When I started this re-fresh, I decided it was time for a change. Something a little simpler in design would allow my new rug to be the star of the show. A tutorial on my new black and white DIY No-Sew Color Block Drapes will be coming soon. You won't believe how easy and how budget friendly these were to make!

The fifth and final change I made in this Re-Fresh was a new paint color, Sherwin Williams "Anonymous". It's a dramatic, deep, moody gray. I love how it provides contrast to all of the white in the space. This is a great example of how a dark wall color doesn't always make a space feel darker. It can actually have the opposite effect by highlighting the lighter elements in the room.

Since we have an open concept floor plan, I carried the same "Anonymous" wall color throughout most of the main level. In the kitchen, this color really showcases our painted cabinetry. I added a smaller version of the rug in the living room to the kitchen as well. This helps to tie the two spaces together.

This little area rug had a big impact on our small kitchen. The bright, apple green color and large scale pattern brought a ton of personality and energy to the space. At the tail end of a long Michigan winter, I'll take a little energy anywhere I can get it.

This rug is a great choice for a kitchen for a few reasons. The first reason is that it is 100% wool. Wool is naturally stain resistant. The second reason this rug is great for a busy family kitchen, is that it's reversible! It looks exactly the same on both sides.

This rug is available in many sizes, I found the 3'6" x 5'6" rectangle to fit the best in my space. To see the other size options available, please click here...

With just five changes; fresh paint, new rugs, new "old" coffee table, new toss pillows and new DIY drapes, our main level has a fresh new look for spring...

If you would like to bring this look home, here are some of the product sources:

Rugs~The Yellow Cape Cod Collection

Green Pillows~The Yellow Cape Cod Collection

Striped Pillows~The Yellow Cape Cod Collection

Potted Boxwood~The Yellow Cape Cod Collection

Zebra Print Upholstery Fabric~Hobby Lobby

Garden Stools~Sams Club

Sofa Slipcovers~Sure Fit

Entertainment/TV Cabinet~Ethan Allen

Hall Tree~Ballard Designs

Monogram and Silhouettes~DIY Projects

Gold Orbs~West Elm

Lanterns~VCF.com

Wall Color~Sherwin Williams Anonymous

Coffee Table~Family Heirloom

*I'm now available for new online design projects. Please click here for more info.

How Your Favorite Room Can Become Your Favorite Outfits With J.Jill Linen

I'm so excited about today's post. It's not often that I have the chance to write about anything other than interior design. I do have other passions; it's just that most of them lead back to my love of interiors. For example, when I was asked to participate in this campaign with J.Jill my reaction was, "Yes! I seriously need a new summer/spring time look". The change in seasons has me ready for light layers, fresh colors, and cool, comfortable fabrics. When I saw the latest J.Jill catalog, the excitement over the opportunity to shop their latest looks and blog about fashion intensified.

Then, I laughed as I remembered most things I enjoy relate to interior design in some way. Putting together outfits is no exception. I've always loved to shop for clothes, but once I began to apply interior design concepts to fashion, it became even more fun.

Below are two mood boards I created to show the direct correlation between a room I designed and my recent finds at J.Jill. First let's talk about the room; I would describe this space as classic and comfortable. The fresh color palette, nautical accents and gauzy linen fabrics give it a breezy feel. Linen is one of the oldest fabrics in use today, so it's the definition of classic. It brings a sense of lightness and lends pure, organic comfort to a space.

When this room is placed next to the fashion ensemble I put together at J.Jill, you can see how they have same look and feel. Classic, comfortable, and breezy are words that I would also use to describe the fashion mood board. There is a reason these boards look so similar. Before I break it all down, let's start at the beginning. I'll tell you how my new wardrobe came together.

I visited my local J.Jill and a friendly associate introduced me to pieces from a few different collections including their Love Linen line. The Love Linen line includes blended knits, fresh details and watercolor effect prints that offer new ways to experience linen. After trying everything on and falling in love with it all, the time came to make my selections. I was able to narrow everything down into a classic, comfortable, breezy wardrobe by applying interior design concepts to each item. I treated each piece as if it were an element to a well-designed room.

Using the room I designed above, if each wardrobe piece were a design element then…

This knit poncho is the throw blanket. This soft, comforting, Textured Pointelle Poncho is my new favorite layering piece. Just as a knit throw blanket adds a layer of texture, warmth and softness to a space, this wrap adds the same qualities to my wardrobe.

This scarf is the art. The gorgeous color and pattern provided by this Linen-Blend Paisley Scarf gives my new outfits a layer of interest, color and personality. Just like this nautical art gave the room a summertime feel, the watercolor-inspired paisley print of this lightweight scarf gives my new outfits the feeling of summer.

These earrings are the lamp. Adding something shiny dresses up and finishes off any well-designed space, these gorgeous Artistic Teardrop Earrings are the perfect way to complete my new outfits.

This leather bag is the baskets. Both the J.Jill Leather Tote bag and the baskets provide storage for necessities. Just as the rich brown color of these baskets provide contrast to the light elements in the space giving it depth, this gorgeous bag does the same for the wardrobe.

These floral print pants are the toss pillows. Adding patterned toss pillows is an easy way to give an overall neutral space interest and personality. These Perfect Side-Zip Print Ankle Pants did the same thing to my new outfits in the fitting room. Their fun abstract print is graphic and eye-catching.

These solid black pants (and the solid black tank top) are the black drapery hardware. No matter what is changed out in this room, the iron hardware (drapery rods, ring clips and tie backs) will stay. They are a staple that ground the design. Since black looks good with almost anything, these pants and tank ground this wardrobe. These Pure Jill Boot-Cut Pants are amazingly soft and comfortable. They can be worn anywhere, whether dressy or casual. The black Spanx Trust Your Thinstincts Tank top makes layering easy, not to mention it has slimming qualities.

The sweaters are the sofa. In my room design, comfort was one of the main goals. Down wrapped cushions give this sofa it's amazing softness. Once you sit on a sofa like this, you never want to get up. When it came to choosing my new wardrobe pieces, I found the same qualities in the Perfect Cardi sweater. Not only is it pretty, but once I put it on I didn't want to take it off.

This linen button up shirt is the drapery. As I mentioned, I love to incorporate linen into my interior design projects, especially in drapery. Therefore, it's no surprise that this Linen Big Shirt immediately spoke to me. It has an incredibly comfortable, casual, relaxed fit with a gorgeous draping quality. No one knows linen like J.Jill. Modern finishing techniques have lessened the tendency of linen to wrinkle (yay!). This top feels cool to the touch, it's highly absorbent yet has natural wicking that makes it perfect for hot and humid days. Another bonus, J.Jill linen is machine washable!

My shopping experience at J.Jill was wonderful. The store associates gave me one on one attention and made shopping J.Jill a lot of fun. Not to mention I'm in love with my new clothes. Thanks for going behind the scenes with me to see how your favorite room can become your favorite outfit.

If you would like to get these looks for yourself, please use my special discount code "BLOGHER" when completing your purchase. This code is good for 30% off one regular priced item, valid through May 21, 2014.

For a chance to win a $100 J.Jill gift card please tell me…

What is your favorite spring look?

Sweepstakes Rules:

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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

 This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 4/3/2014-5/27/2014.

Be sure to visit the J.Jill brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Kitchen and Dining Room~Linen, Gray and Turquoise

Hi there. The other day, I posted the first part of a whole house on-line design plan we recently created for Bernadette's beautiful home. I shared the plan we designed for her Living Room and Family Room. Today, it's all about the Kitchen and Dining Room.

Before we get into the details, here is what all four rooms look like side by side...

If you missed the post on the Living Room and Family Room, please click here.

This project begin as a one room design plan, as we started to work together the client, Bernadette, decided to expand the project to include the entire main level of her home. This allowed us design the spaces together which resulted in each room having it's own personality and purpose with perfect flow from one room to the next.

In the Kitchen…

We began with the same custom color palette that we used for the rest of her home.

Our recommendations included a cabinet makeover with creamy white paint and a distressed dark gray paint treatment on the center island.

For a timeless and clean look, we suggested classic creamy white subway tiles for the new backsplash. These finishes are the perfect compliment to the new countertop we recommended,

Cambria Quartz…

For contrast and warmth, we brought in a gorgeous dark wood dining set and rattan bar stools for texture.

Kitchens have a lot of hard surfaces, to soften the space and to bring in a little pattern and color, we added full length drapery to the windows next to the table…

…and a beautiful tailored valance to the window over the sink…

A rug runner,

pretty kitchen accessories and new dishes complete the new kitchen design we created for Bernadette.

In the Dining Room…

We started with a beautiful hutch and round dining table, already in the space.

To give the room character and architectural interest, we suggested adding panel style wainscoting.

This set of four prints was used to flank the opening to the dining room from the foyer.

A simple, geometric rug lends softness and pattern. We suggested new upholstered dining chairs to give her existing dining set a fresh new look.

We finished off this design with a collage of four wall mirrors and a grouping of candle holders as a dramatic centerpiece.

Here is another look at all four rooms together...

This four room online design plan included true-to-scale floorplans for each space, a custom paint color palette, product source list and step by step instructions on how to implement the new design.

Thank you, Bernadette for this opportunity.

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

® The Yellow Cape Cod

Recipe For The Perfect Bed

A special client fell in love with this gray and white bedding at a local boutique. There were two different sets. One gray cotton/linen duvet set and a white cotton ruched coverlet set. When both bedding sets were combined with carefully chosen inserts this little piece of heaven came to Earth...

Here are the ingredients:

1. 100% Egyptian cotton sheets, 500 thread count.
(The cool organic feel of these sheets is totally worth the investment. And the wrinkles).

2. 2 Base pillows for sleeping with firm feather-down blend inserts cased in the sheet set shams. Feather-down blend inserts hold their karate chopped shape the best. They are also insanely comfortable.

3. Three Large Euro shams filled with feather-down blend Euro pillow inserts. Two in Gray (matching the duvet cover) and one in white with an adorable ruffled box edge.