Showing posts with label ASID Showhouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ASID Showhouse. Show all posts

Monday, January 16, 2012

Outlet Shopping and a College Apt.




I went outlet shopping this weekend, looking for some miscellaneous items for photo shoots and a new rug for my daughter's college apartment.  She goes to school in the hill country area of Texas and the San Marcos outlet mall is a rather famous destination.  Shoppers from all over head there for some real deals.  One of the best stores there is the Pottery Barn Outlet, full of furniture and home goods from their stores, PB,  PB Kids, William Sonoma, and West Elm.  You can't go there with anything too particular in mind because you never know what you will find.  Crate and Barrel and Restoration Hardware are there too, but RH's goods always seem to be heavily damaged.  It sort of turns you off from the products there.  Crate and Barrel is more dishes, storage, and misc., not much furniture. 

I scooped up these items for some upcoming photo shoots.




There's always lots of great baskets.



A couple of French chairs for $299 ea.



Zebra printed cowhide rug for $399.



Cashmere throw for $79.  Tangerine Tango???  I had to really resist this one!



Then after digging through the stacks of rugs rolled up in the back, I found this one.



Perfect color and size from West Elm....for $150! 


It looks great in my daughter's apartment, filled with the furnishings from my Showhouse I did last April.  It was a mix of high and low, old and new, in some bright fun colors with a white envelope.  Click HERE for more about some of the specific items. I knew it would transfer well to my daughter so I designed it with her in mind.




The Ikea sofa and vintage coffee table were purchased for the apartment, the rest came from the Showhouse.  Doesn't the rug look great?  We're looking for a deal on a parson's style coffee table.  She gives her furniture lots of abuse so I'm looking for something very durable.  I'm thinking of having it made in laminate!


Her apartment, like most, is completely devoid of color and personality.  The rug really gives it some life.



She has some shelving built-in, but no room for a tv.  We did an Ikea tv stand, kind of matches the built-ins.  She has some of her art projects displayed.  The wicker chair was used on the balcony in my showhouse room.  I bought it at market in Dallas last year.



The desk is actually an old Ikea pine table that my son used in his college apt.  I had it painted and had a glass top cut so she could use it for a desk or a table if she wanted.

(Another art project on the desk!)


The table before.  It actually cost me more to paint it than the table was itself, but then it wouldn't have had the perfect color, would it?




She used the art I had for the Showhouse room all over her apartment.  The three vintage fashion ads in their Target frames look great there on the wall to the bedroom.  We amped up some storage in her little kitchen with a Target storage cart.  Gee that was tedious to put together. She did it all herself.



She was able to use the dresser and tackboard in the bedroom.



The bed and leaning mirror all worked in the bedroom.  A turquoise paint color on two walls would be great in here.  If she stays in the apt. next year, she might do it.  She would have to paint it back when she left.



We changed from the white duvet cover to a subtle pattern for this apartment.  It is easier for her to keep it looking nice.  She loves the bed!



The bed, furniture painting (I took the wood pieces to a professional finisher), and custom pillows were the "high" part of the project. Everything else was from Ikea, Target, outlet stores, flea markets and antique shops. Now if I can just see the rug when I go back to visit, underneath the clothes and art projects!


Linking to:

Simply Klassic Sundays

Metamorphosis Mondays at Between Naps on the Porch

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Thanks for the Feature!


My Showhouse room was featured on the blog, Love Where You Live, written by Susan Fox. It was so nice to meet Susan and to have my space featured. She has a lovely blog, please check it out!


I'm planning a giveaway coming up in a week or so. It will be something from my showhouse room. Stay tuned!


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Pillows - Which Design is Right for You?

Pillows are a wonderful accessory for fine tuning a style in a room and adding comfort and luxury. Neutral upholstery and bedding can be punched up with color and pattern with pillows. They only take a yard or so of fabric and can easily be changed out when styles change or you tire of the look.


The pillows above in my Showhouse bedroom on the ivory bedding make a graphic, colorful statement in the space. I chose a simple knife edge design to keep the focus on the patterns and variation of size and color, rather than the detail of the pillow construction.

Large scale graphic patterns provide a big visual impact and are very popular now. These large designs look great with minimal fuss or trimming. Pillows below are from Ryan Studio.












Solid colors look great with special details. Trim, edging, special added details like buttons all work well with solid color pillows.


I love applied tape trim on pillows.


The tape trim here gives a dimensional quality and pattern to this pillow.


Sometimes a pillow just needs a contrasting edge to make it stand out on the background. I love this flat pipe. The smaller and neater the better.


Tape trim and a flat pipe....nice statement pillow.


I love mini-flanges too. Trim and neat, this mini-flange uses some pleats at the corners to dress it up a bit.





More applied tape trim with a small piping to bring some contrast and interest. Carol at Sofas and Sage has a great tutorial on how to mitre tape trim on pillows.


Monograms are a classic touch, especially in a bedroom.



I'm definitely going bigger with pillows now, 22" square minimum, 24" and 26" sometimes. I always do down unless someone is allergic. They just sit so well on upholstery. I love custom sized pillows too. This large rectangular pillow above was 24" x 46". By contrast, the small velvet pillow is 9" x 14".

If you have pillows like these below, tapestries with tassles, it's time to update. Don't worry, things all come back around so don't toss them out. Just delete a few and throw in some simple textural linen pillows for a cleaner, 2011 look. (BTW, these two are not from Ryan Studio.)
These above are a little heavy and ornate for how we are decorating today.



I love these custom patterned linen pillows that Donna Jarnigan used in our Showouse on the sofa in the game room. The long linear shape accentuates the high back of the sofa and provides just the right amount of contrast.




These raw silk pillows on the guest room bed, done by Pamela Hoffer, benefit from some detail with the edging and buttons. Love these.

Lastly, I sometimes like statement pillows. That one unique pillow that really stands out, a little piece of art. Sukan Handmade Design pillows on Etsy has some beautiful handmade pillows that would be perfect on a bed or upholstered chair.

What is it about owls right now? They are such a popular motif. Love them!

Love this hand stitched design.

These would be so cute in a child's room!


If you're thinking of updating your decor just a little bit, pillows are the perfect place to start!


Need some advice on pillows for your home? Contact Aston Design Studio for a consult today!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Shopping for Showhouse Accessories

I've been shopping for accessories for my Showhouse bedroom for a teenaged girl. It's so much fun! Since I have a 20 year old daughter, I just imagined what she would like and went with that. I found the book above at Anthropologie. It's a collection of stories from famous creative people, who recount their first moves to NYC....actors, journalists, artists, writers, etc. from the last 50 years. It's perfect for my teenaged client who envisions herself living there someday! I found the bronze Empire State Bldg statue at a local antique mall.

I raided my daughter's bookshelf for her old Gossip Girl books and picked up some current fashion magazines.
The jewelry tree is a decorative metal tree from Aidan Gray. It's nice for jewelry, crystals, and the odd things my client wishes to adorn it with. Sort of a whimsical artistic display.

I found this colorful assortment of bowls at Anthropologie for jewelry and such to sit under the tree.



Rectangular frame is from Marshall's, round one is from Anthropologie.

Turquoise vase is from Target. Platter is from Marshall's. All the jewelry was a real deal at Forever 21.


Love the bright punches of color in these prints from Unique Arts of Houston. I hung them in frames painted to match the wall.




Love this corded trim below, from Robert Allen for the leading edge of my sheers. Great contrast with the dark French doors.

Come and visit the Showhouse in Sienna Plantation. It starts this weekend! I'll be there all three upcoming weekends.
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