Design Influencers

There are two ladies, two very good friends of mine that are in my life that have big influences on the designing the spaces around me:

1. Ricki Uster, Event Designer.  {Pinterest}.
2. Caroline Van Slyke, Interior Designer & Urban Farm gal.  {Pinterest}.

Both have impeccable taste, ideas, and ooze creativity.  Both I’m happy to say live less than 5 minutes away from me, and have visited my home before I started renovating it and helped me with each room with ideas, with where to position furniture, either giving fresh ideas, or reaffirming my choices.

Other influencers who I don’t know personally but follow and praise obsessively:

1. Erika McPherson Powell, Interior Designer of Urban Grace Interiors.  {Pinterest}.
2. Reichel Broussard, Blogger of Copy Cat Chic.  {Pinterest}.

After my cleaning gal Cruz comes, (because that’s the only time it really looks like it’s supposed to), I’ll take photos and I’ll be giving you a tour of certain rooms of the house – kitchen, office, living room, and bathrooms to give you an idea of all the renovations I’ve done.  And, really excited that Caroline will be providing some of her expertise with home gardening and landscape layout for our pad to be executed this summer through fall.

And as always, me and my big mouth will give you all the details of the people who helped, ideas, paint colors, and references.  While most might not like the idea of constantly redoing or fixing up a home, I have to say that I feel like that is the best thing about our home – it will always be a work in progress.  I love that we live in a 1952 brick home, I love that it’s older, I love my neighbors, and I love our space.  If it ever stops, I guess that’s when it’ll be time to move and start again – which is something Mr. Wonderful doesn’t want to hear me say!

Meanwhile, here’s what’s new around the house:

Row 1: My husband’s 6th grade silhouette I shrunk via Illustrator to fit in 1 of 2 matching frames.  I’m now on the lookout for mine when I return home this summer / A chalkboard list of items in our cupboard so I know what’s in there / Pottery Barn cubby organizer to hold all my necessities just an arms length away for business, Ricki’s idea.  Row 2:  Wrapped some rope from the storage room around this battery remote control candle from Willows Home and Garden, inspired by Pottery Barn / I was cooking up a storm last week, chalkboard inspired from a design by Urban Grace Interiors / Part of my office, a glimpse from the living room – nothing new per say, but organizing this summer.  So much helpful design of that from Ricki.

 Diana Elizabeth thinks that remove control battery candles are amazing, especially during the summer because they don’t give off any heat.  The one she bought was only $20 and came with a remote and uses 4 AA batteries and even has a dimmer and timer on it.  Seriously, probably cheaper than an Illume candle.