An Open Letter to Ruthie Sommers

Dear Ms. Sommers,

In a design world filled with shades of greige, clean crisp lines, bleached wood, and ruthlessly (no pun intended) edited interiors, I'd like to personally thank you for the colorful, vibrant, happy spaces you created that were featured in the March 2014 issue of House Beautiful.

You make it cool to combine feminine colors like turquoise and pink, and then you go the extra mile by topping it all off with a crystal chandelier, lots of flowers, silver candelabra, and a scrolly gold mirror.

       You make combining floral wallpaper with floral fabric look fresh and new! All this and flowery lamps with pink shades!?!  Color me enamored.

And you can layer some colorful pattern like nobody's business!  You make me want to climb into this page and ride out the rest of the winter on that sofa.

So on behalf of all of us on team Pretty, thank you for doing what you do, and for making it hip to walk on the pretty side.  Keep up the good work.

xo

Kim

PS - I'm honored to be posting 4 of my Favorite Finds over at Classicly B today.  Stop by and say hi to Brittany!!

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to Happy Homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

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Chic Bargains from Around the Web

Happy Monday my friends!  It's been a whirlwind sort of weekend, but today I wanted to share some super chic bargains to be found on the interwebs.

Keep your credit card at the ready.

First is this lovely pillow cover from West Elm.  I love all things marbleized and this silk pillow is at the top of my list.  Currently on sale for $19.99

                                                                      here

Equally lovely is the green colorway

And from an unlikely source, these linen grosgrain ribbon trimmed curtain panels from Country curtains are crisp and affordable.

here

I'm not sure how I feel about this next one.  You be the judge.

here

Lowe's has a bootleg Sputnik for $189.

And finally, this blue & white paisley wallpaper from Wayfair is a super steal at $5.10.

here.

And speaking of wallpaper, my friend Sharon from Novara Way is sharing a little wallpaper love at her place.  Read about it here.

The Green Room Interiors provides interior decorating and design services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

Fish Scales

Today we're talking fish scales.  This pattern, like many patterns that most consider "modern", has been around for centuries.  The most recognizable application that comes to mind is the fish scale shingles seen on the exteriors of houses of the Victorian era. Fish scale shingles were used mainly in the gables of these homes.

Image from Flickr user sftrajan

And sometimes the fish scale design was used on roofing shingles.

But we're talking about  the here and the now, and the fish scale design seems to be gaining popularity - again.

"Nippon" wallpaper in Emerald from Mimou  Love this one!

Cole & Son's "Feather Fan" wallpaper

Fish scales would be an easy fit in the bathroom

Here is a modern bathroom by Emily Henderson that features fish scale tiles on the floor.

And another bathroom that features fish scale tiles on the shower walls.  

Image via Pinterest,  original source unknown

I love how the fish scale pattern was used as a border on the rug below.  It adds interest while being understated.

Image Source

And for those of you that want to add a little touch of fish scale without a major commitment, why not add a fish scale pillow?

or this shower curtain from Jonathan Adler.

What do you think?  Do you like the fish scale pattern?

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design services to happy  homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

One Room Challenge Week 6 - My Kitchen Reveal!!

Welcome to the final post of  The One Room Challenge!  Before we get too deep into this, I'd like to serve up a biggie size thank you to Linda at Calling it Home for inviting me to participate!  I am completely honored to have been given a chance to make over my kitchen along with 19 of the most talented designers/bloggers/friends out there.  High fives, ladies, we made it to the finish line!

If this is your first visit to my blog, then you came on a good day.  For the last 6 weeks I have been sharing the trials and tribulations of my kitchen makeover.  If you'd like to read the back story, click here.

Let's have a final look at where it all began:

Oh my.  That's a dreary little kitchen. 

If you recall, I didn't make any changes to the kitchen's layout and I kept the original cabinets and flooring. 

I (meaning the husband) removed the upper cabinet to the left of the sink and we (again, the husband) replaced it with subway tile and white shelving from Lowe's.  Said shelves were styled mostly with stuff I already had.  The lemons and clementines are fresh.  Shopping for accessories in the produce department was a new and out of the comfort zone experience for me. 

This is a look at the cabinet wall across from the sink.  I styled the counter tops with things I already had and leaves from my back yard.

And here's my teeny tiny dining area. I'm pretty delighted with the 11th hour bench I scouted out at a local antique mall.  If you recall,  I wanted to keep this side of the seating area open by using a bench. Unbelievably I found a bench with nearly perfect size and form.  I zhushed it up with paint and fabric during the wee hours last night.

And did you notice that lovely sconce over the dining table?  I found the the perfect solution to my lighting dilemma at Rejuvenation.  Those folks are wonderful to work with.  I went with the Reed Plug-in Wall Sconce in a "burnished" finish and the shade is "old brass".  The plug-in feature means no electrician had to be called in and there is very little anxiety for those of you with commitment issues. You know who you are.

Can we just talk about how much I love my print from Etsy artist Loopy Lolly.?!?!?? I  wanted something whimsical over the kitchen table, and I knew instantly this was "the one".

My dining table is styled with leaves from my back yard, a thrifted trophy vase, and swan salt & pepper shakers we got as a wedding gift.

This is my favorite view into the kitchen, taken from my family room. My awesome Joy at my work room whipped up the roman shades for me out of super inexpensive cotton duck fabric trimmed out with craft store grosgrain ribbon.  They are beautifully made and she had them to me in 3 days.  Thank you Joy!!

And one last "big picture" photo.

Thanks for following along on my kitchen makeover journey. You guys have been so supportive and encouraging and I appreciate all of your comments and emails.

Oh, and a special thank you to Jaime for her beautiful photography work!!

PS.  I've been so impressed with the bloggers that are linking up with their room makeovers every Thursday! Make sure you check out their reveals too. You can find the links on Linda's blog tomorrow.

I'm dying to see how everyone else made out.  Here are the links to their reveals!

Calling It Home

Chinoiserie Chic 

Classic Casual Home 

Cottage and Vine 

Design Addict Mom 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room 

The Green Room Interiors

Henhurst Interiors 

Little Black Door 

Maddie's Nest 

Mix And Chic 

My Notting Hill 

Pawleys Island Posh 

The Pink Pagoda

Shelter

Simple Details 

The Vault Files 

One Room Challenge Week 4 - My Kitchen Wallpaper is Up!!

So here we are at Week 4 of the One Room Challenge, the one where I and 19 other bloggers/designers are making over a room from start to finish in 6 weeks sharing our progress along the way every Wednesday.  All of this fun is courtesy of my hero Linda from Calling It Home .  She's smart like that. Anyway, if you're just joining the series, you can get caught up on Weeks 1 - 3 here.

You may recall that I left you last week with a little tease that arrived in a cardboard box all wrapped in shiny plastic.

Curious about which pattern I chose? Take a look!

 Ha ha.  Just kidding.

Here's the pattern I chose.

Scalamandre's Tabore from here.

I put my own spin on it and had my wallpaper ladies install the paper horizontally. I don't know if it made much difference but it made me feel pretty clever. Here's how it looks on my walls. The color in real life is somewhere between the drabish olive seen above and the what you see below.  It's vibrant without being garish.  And I love it.  Truly.  It's transformed my kitchen!

But wait!  That's not all.  I also got my shelves up!  Those came from Lowe's. Right off the shelf.  They had the perfect size (17.7") to fit the tile where we removed the upper cabinet.  Happy!

Hey, outlet just hanging out there in the middle of the wall between the tile and the window. Why are you there?

So, let's all calm down for a moment and consider the other issues that need to be addressed to make this kitchen worthy of the Dollhouse.

Two issues in this photo.  1.  Lighting.  The overhead lighting does not adequately light the dining area at mealtime. That little lamp sitting on the table is a band-aid.  Obviously I need something better and cuter.  2.  That's a big blank wall that needs some interest.  I've got to figure out what to put there.  Feel free to jump in with your ideas on that.

So that's all I have for this week.  I'm feeling overwhelmed and under prepared because I need to have decisions made and in place to show you a finished kitchen 2 weeks from today.

Dang.

Don't forget to check in with the other participants and offer up your encouragement and kind words. It really does help!

Calling it Home 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Classic Casual Home 

Cottage and Vine 

Design Addict Mom 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room 

Henhurst Interiors 

Little Black Door 

Maddie's Nest 

Mix And Chic 

My Notting Hill 

Pawleys Island Posh 

The Pink Pagoda 

Shelter 

Simple Details 

The Vault Files 

ORC Week 2 - Some Progress in the Kitchen

I think I owe my kitchen an apology after last week's post.  The truth is I love this little kitchen even though it doesn't have fancy pants finishes or high end gadgets. What it does have is a perfectly laid out work triangle, plenty of countertop work space, and lots of potential!  

Remember what my kitchen looked like before we moved in?

Let me bring you up to date on some of the changes we've made so far.

The cabinets have been painted Sherwin Williams Dover White - its a clean, warm white, and we used an oil-based paint for durability. We also replaced the kitchen countertops and I decided to go with butcherblock countertops to add some softness and warmth.  I love lots of white combined with wood, so we replaced our stainless steel sink with white porcelain.  We also changed out the faucet.

After a lengthy search we found an almost counter depth refrigerator that fit the available space perfectly!

And we tiled the backsplash.  White subway tile was selected for its timeless clean look and budget-friendly price.

A very poor quality photo, but we've removed one of the upper cabinets and the ugly wooden valance that was so common in homes of this era.  Note new vintage light fixture above the sink.  It's so sweet and the prismatic shade casts the most wonderful, sparkly light.  In place of the deleted cabinet is more white subway tile, and soon I will have some shelves instead! Something like this.

What else?  Well, I have a small seating area that could  use some love in a large way. Between the nasty wallpaper and the 80's flooring I have 50 shades of blah going on here. Left side of the wall shows the wall repair in progress. 

And speaking of walls, these are crying out for help!! I think a wallpaper intervention is in order. 

Behold.

That's all I can share for now!  I hope to have my dining table and chairs figured out and ready to share with you next week.  

Let's head on over and see what the other ladies have managed to get done, but meet me back here next week for another progress report!!

Calling it Home 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Classic Casual Home 

Cottage and Vine 

Design Addict Mom 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room 

Henhurst Interiors 

Little Black Door 

Maddie's Nest 

Mix And Chic 

My Notting Hill 

Pawleys Island Posh 

The Pink Pagoda 

Shelter 

Simple Details 

The Vault Files 

The Green Room Interiors provides interior decorating and design services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

Pimp My Dollhouse with Little Black Door

Welcome to the latest installment of the Pimp my Dollhouse series.  You know the one.  It's where I've challenged a few of my favorite bloggers/designers/friends to come up with a plan for my formalish living room and dining room. Here's the catch.  They have to incorporate a few pieces I already own into the design.  Specifically, the items pictured below.

Participants have no budget limitations (!)  and they know how much I love color, pattern, and Chinoiserie.  

Today I'm excited to welcome the incredibly capable and talented Elizabeth from Little Black Door.  If you've checked in on her blog, and I'm sure you have/do, you know that she can rock a makeover and any kind of DIY you can throw at her. 

Here's Elizabeth:

As for the boards - in the living room  - that yummy green velvet sofa of yours just screams library to me so I went for it. Dark, moody blue bookcases filled with books and great accessories and some brass sconces for easy reading. I like to find the smallest color in a fabric and pull that out. So in your lovely floral fabric I pulled out the yellow and pink. You know I must have some pink.

- in the dining room - dining rooms are most often used at night, so I say embrace the darkness and go dark. The toile wallpaper is crazy good and is set off by the white and blue sideboards and your beautiful dining table. The chairs tie into the color of the sideboard and the accents are set off by that great pink rug.

Can we just take a moment to discuss how much I love the touches of raspberry?  And that wallpaper in the dining room is pretty spectacular! Not sure if I love that more or the blue painted book cases.

What do you think? Are you loving Elizabeth's vibrant plan as much as I do?

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to experience the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

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Pimp My Dollhouse - With MAKE + MODEL

How was your Labor Day weekend?  Mine was great - lots of shopping and cooking out with a side of sleeping in.  Fun stuff! Anyway, I have a very special guest in the house today who's putting her spin on my living room and dining room as part of my Pimp My Dollhouse series.  It's Brandy from Make + Model!  Yes, she's another Tennessee blogger and she has a swanky, sparkly style that I know you're going to love as much as I do!

Here's the story on the Pimp my Dollhouse series. I've asked a few bloggers/designers/friends that I admire to come up with a plan for my living room and dining room that incorporates 4 items that I'm sure I'll be using in these spaces.  Not only do they have an unlimited budget, they've been made aware of my love of color, pattern, and Chinoiserie.  And also that I want a trad/mod mix that's sophisticated but not stuffy.  Still with me?  Good.

And so, here are the items I've asked everyone to incorporate into the design:

And now - here's what Brandy says: 

Hi Kim!  Thanks for including me in such a fun project.  I loved working with an unlimited budget and I'm sure several of my choices will reflect that.  The good thing is the same look can be achieved with less expensive pieces.  I love rooms with a lot of layers so I've combined your love of Chinoiserie and Trad/Mod with my love of  Mid-Century, Hollywood Regency and added what I call a "textural touch" to pull it all together.   I hope you enjoy!

DINING ROOM BREAKDOWN

• TRADITIONAL: Parquet Flooring, Dining Table
• MID-CENTURY AND MODERN: Sconces, Chandelier, Side Chairs, Artwork by Jessica Rae Sommers (I'm a huge fan!)
• CHINOISERIE:  Mastercraft Chairs w/Greek Key detail, Malachite Dishes
• HOLLYWOOD REGENCY/ GLAMOUR:  Chandelier, Gold Foil Wallpaper (only on one wall; I've used this wallpaper for a client and in my own home...it is amazing), Brass Finish of Chairs
• TEXTURAL TOUCH:  Cheetah Print Hide Rug (hides are amazing in a dining room; they are impervious to stains), Side Chair Fabric: Brown Hornback Leather
• PAINT:  I'm a white paint girl.  I recommend a nice clean white like Benjamin Moore's Simply White.  This will allow all of your pieces to pop and keeps your space feeling young and fresh!

LIVING ROOM BREAKDOWN

• TRADITIONAL:  Emerald Green Sofa
• MID-CENTURY AND MODERN:  Milo Baughman Side Chairs in Coral
• CHINOISERIE:  Pillow Fabric, Vintage Cream Pagoda Resin Lamps, Black Lacquer End Tables With Scalloped Hardware, Malachite Console
• HOLLYWOOD REGENCY/ GLAMOUR:  Lucite and Brass Bar Cart, Brass Stools, Brass Gilt Wheat Sheaf Coffee Table
• TEXTURAL TOUCH:  Moroccan Beni Ourain Rug, Seagrass and Mongolian Lambswool Stool Fabric
• PAINT:  Same as above, Benjamin Moore's Simply White 

Oh dear.  How brilliant is Oh Joy!'s Petal Pusher on the wall?   Did you hear me mention that Brandy's style was swanky and sparkly!?!?   And I'm completely obsessed with the Malachite dishes and console.  My little Dollhouse never looked so hip!!

Brandy, thanks for playing along!  Make sure you visit Brandy's new website to see what vintage treasures she's offering up for sale.  

What do you love most about Brandy's inspiration boards?

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to experience the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

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