meta name="p:domain_verify" content="83432fc69a1d6df071f49df584f9d839 Laurl Designs: August 2012

Thursday, August 23, 2012

One Kings Lane- Blogger/Designer tag sale

I have been fortunate enough to work with Marianne Strong Interiors for nearly a year now. She has been chosen as one of the Blogger/ Designers for the current tastemaker tag sale!
Some of my favorite items are still available!

4-Shelf Brass Serving Bar
Fantastic brass and black glass bar for under $900.
Industrial Textile Spools, Set of 5
I love, love, love these industrial spools at around $200!
Unique Large Iron Wall Sconces, Pair
Awesome and nearly 5 feet tall! This pair of scones make a statement.





Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Easy floral arrangements

Here are some photos of my recent easy floral arrangements from yesterday's photo shoot.

This photo of white roses was a easy grouping of palest peach to cream. Pretty roses made prettier with a few photo stylist tricks.

1. Start my trimming the end of the roses about a 1/2" and place in warm water. This will begin to open the roses.
2. Grab the hair dryer and turn it on, to the coolest of slightly warm setting, to blow the rose petals open. The warmth will aid the wind in opening the petals.
3. Re-cut the stems so that the base of the flower is and 2-3 inches above the vase. The larger the vase the longer the stem- this vase was about 5-6 inches tall.
4. add greenery from the yard- whatever is the greenest without and brown marks or holes.

easy rose arrangement
Contemporary arrangement-
I like a bold color combo in my contemporary arrangements. I also see inspiration from the Japanese Ikebana tradition of simplicity and scale. In this arrangement below, I used purple, fuchsia and lime green. Here's the steps-

1. Choose your color inspiration and consider the two colors close together on the color wheel and one that is opposite.
2. In your "clean lines" vase, group the colors together and look at scale.
3. place your largest color flower, or group of flowers in the vase, then the second color and lastly the third.
4. to keep the lines clean and visually uncluttered, I wrapped the stems of the gompherna in a host leaf, since they looked messy. Messy tends to not work in a contemporary arrangement.
For this arrangement the purple hydrangea is the dominate, followed by the hosta leaves then the gompherna. I also looked at the pattern story that this tells- mass of lightly patterned purple, smooth lines of the green and dots of the fuchsia.


The third arrangement was just greenery from the yard- cheap and easy! It included, boxwood, ivy, juniper, and ligusterum. Because easy plant has a markedly different texture, I  grouped them for their textures- like a landscape of trees. Boxwood in the center, ligusterum and ivy for height and juniper is the filler.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Great flower arrangements

Tomorrow brings a number of photo shoots, where I will be creating the flower arrangements for. I thought I would share my great finds!

Pretty flowers from Everyday Occasions blog by Jenny Stephens Hobick
I like the clustering of the flowers from Birmingham Blossoms.

I love purple, pink and lime green in flower arrangements

Pinned Image
Great find by my friend Jan Gautro, from her pinterest page.

Very tempted by these Juliet roses from David Austin!


Country Living offered great ideas for simple arrangements!










Sunday, August 12, 2012

Back to School- the guy's dorm room

The past dorm rooms I have covered have been girl's rooms. However, I have helped many guys move into their dorm rooms and I know that if they have a blanket and a gaming device with a TV they are good. However, it is nice to purchase pieces of furniture that will last past dorm-hood and into adulthood. It is also important that it doesn't look like Mom helped, but maybe a really cool older brother who understands gaming and girls.
To that end, I have created some design mood boards for just those guys- the ones who game and the smooth operator with the ladies! Hope you are inspired to help your guy make his home away from home be as comforting as his real home. If you need any help, just let me know!

Guys dorm a la Chuck Bass
The sophisticated guy's dorm room for the guy who is Chuck Bass... if only in his head!!
Guys dorm essentials- gamer
The gamer's dorm room- perfect for study break for clearing your head and marathon weekend with the guys!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Back to School: The Dorm - Senioritus and the bridge to adult digs

I always love the back to school issue of Seventeen magazine... long after I was 17! It was the issue that instructed how to take your high school look and elevate it to a college look. Taking that inspiration, I would like to share ideas from Senior year dorm life that transitions nicely to the first apartment and the real life.
Like learning how to wear your fave jeans to the office by adding the jacket from your interview suit, dorm decor can transition to the apartment with the addition of a "grown up" items. Hot pink, neon's and bold florals can be tempered with neutrals. Maybe neutrals seem boring, but everyone cannot be the star of the show. Make your favorite items from college be the leading lady and build a supporting cast of neutrals with fabulous textures.

Here's some mood boards to help create the blend!
dorm decor- pink
A collection of decor from the Senior year dorm
first apt- from pink dorm decor
Taking the parts of the hot pink college dorm room and creating a first gathering space!

 


Inspiration: Great on the outside and in

This pattern could go traditional or Southwestern
depending on the accents- great warm color selections.
I have been inspired by a neighbor. I don't live in a neighborhood where we leave the drapes open for all the world to see the living room. However, I passed by a house the other day who does leave the drapes open and I was inspired by what I saw. The house is a medium tone brick with cream shutters and trim, and a soft orange front door. Doors are a great way to express your personality and utilize a little color theory to tell your guests about your home. They are also the easiest to change- and the cheapest costing about a pint of paint and a Saturday afternoon.

The inspiration came from the bigger picture than the orange front door, because the large plate glass window framed a pair of wing-back chairs in a bold cut-pile fabric in colors of oranges, browns, greens and cream. This pattern and colors expressed the energy of front door and created a repetition of color and pattern that is most comfortable for the mind.

To celebrate great facades, I have created great pairings of fabrics and exterior trim paints for you to spice up your home! The upholstery fabrics are paired with Sherwin Williams paint colors using their new Chipit! online program. It's fun to see what colors the programs pulls, of course choosing colors in person is best to take lighting conditions into account, but this program is a great start!
Fun cut velvet giraffe fabric with great beach-y paint colors


A twist on animal print makes this fabric contemporary and a great home accent piece. I would love to see the Eminent Bronze on a front door of a contemporary style or international style house!


Modern classic damask pattern would be striking on a large chair in a picture window on a cream house with a Tricorn black or a Raisin front door!


Robert Allen floral for your formal spaces and very pretty when viewed with a creamy white exterior and a Polished Mahogany or Saguaro painted door.
Robert Allen Velvet Stripes perfect on contemporary lines of a chair or chaise in the front window! I'd choose the Rookwood Dark Red on a light house or the Garden Sage on a medium toned house.

Need help coordinating a paint color or with fabric selections. I'd love to help! Color is one of my favorite things to work with and fabrics are a long passion of mine! Drop me a line and we can chat!
laurlself@gmail.com