Kitchen inspiration- the black and white kitchen

My sister asked me to help her re-do her kitchen. So, we have been sharing a pin board on Pinterest to banter about ideas. We have different views on what would make a cool Black and White kitchen!

Her contemporary kitchen pick-

From blog: searching for style

My contemporary kitchen pick~

from blog: SF girl by the bay

Her Shabby Cottage kitchen pick-

from blog: cupcakes and crinolines

My Shabby Cottage kitchen pick~

from website: Jennifer Hutton Interiors

The constancy between both of our pins is glass on the doors to exposed shelves.

I'll let you in on a secret...

So, I love secret pin boards on Pinterest. It is where I store all the great ideas that I want to interpret into my own style. I am working on my Halloween shop design, as I type, and I thought I would share a couple of ideas I plan to interpret in my shop in Interiors and Antiques in Vestavia Hills.

The first comes from Sagebrush Ridge and is a pumpkin from a book. I am interpreting into different shaped pumpkins and I think I will be doing silver wood stems and silver pages with silver vintage German glitter.


This item is actually for sale on Etsy from The Dusty Raven, love the shop name. I love the concept of the corner spider web. I'm thinking silver, not barbed wire,  less Tim Burton-ish and probably a wire spider that hangs low from the web.



A few years ago, when I was a corporate librarian, I decorated a library space for Halloween with waves of bats circling the main reading room. The image below reminded me of that space. (It is actually Martha Stewart's bat mobile) I will definitely be doing the walls in wave of bats in the shop. I'm thinking the look will be like the Bat Cave in the Devil's Sinkhole State Natural in Texas where the bats emerge from at dusk most of the year.



What are you storing, secretly, on Pinterest?

The ABC's of arranging shelves- Part 2

The ABC's of arranging shelves or "One, two, three, four, can I have a little more". Why yes you can.

So, part one of arranging shelves discussed the triangle method of creating visual interest in a shelf, as well as what to put in a shelf. Let's now look at how to group those things... hence the one, two, three, four.

One is for your stand alone "accent" pieces- A lamp, A piece of art glass, etc. A single item is impactful. Choose a large piece that fill the shelf. One that will come nearly up to the shelf above.


Filling the space with a pear or the letter B adds curves in a bookshelves of angles. From Living at Home


A lovely example of single items featured by the center of the book shelf, from Lonny.

Two... now normally even numbered items are not something I like to work with. They can create symmetry, but often two of the same thing is visually uncomfortable. Unless it is something like candlesticks, those they are a bit skinny for a shelf. So, if you want a pair from symmetry, choose two objects that are the same size, or color, but two different things.


Three identical vessels, but only two with flowers. Great clean mantle from House Beautiful.

Three's are my favorite to work with. I like odd numbers of items and I have read that odd numbers are visually comfortable- which is why old windows are typically odd numbers of panes. Or so I have read. Odd numbered items are great for creating the triangles from the part one of arranging shelves.


Clean and easy, three baskets per shelf, for more great laundry ideas check out this post on houzz.com.

Four items can be as impactful as one, if they are all the same items. Four big glass bottles sitting close together "reads" as one item. Four different items can create the triangles and symmetry, however, I think that the negative space actually makes the fifth item in the group.

Great shelves are your for the filling! enjoy.

popular on pinterest this week

My most popular post on Pinterest this week is a calender of vintage cameras. 

2013 vintage camera calendar from Etsy. Click me to purchase!

I think vintage cameras not only express the up to the moment style of the time they were made, but they are an inexpensive item to collect! I have a great collection of old cameras on my mantle- most under $20. And you can find them everywhere from thrift shops to online.

Here are some things to be on the look out for when collecting cameras.
1. decide on the type you want to collect- little box cameras, ones with bellows, ones with color, etc.
2. look for the best condition
3. decide if you want the accouterments or not and buy accordingly.

With these three rules in mind, you will be on the road to buying what you want with intentional blinders on to what you do not want.

I choose to mix it up. I picked mostly for the front of the camera- I love the 1920's art deco patterns on the brownies (like the camera for the month of September). Additionally, I love the vintage-y look of a bellow (like the camera for the month of May), so I picked up a couple of them as well.

Want to see more of my pins? Click on the red "follow me on Pinterest" button on the right!

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!

Fantastic brass and black glass bar for under $900.

I love, love, love these industrial spools at around $200!

Awesome and nearly 5 feet tall! This pair of scones make a statement.

Neutral no more- adding color to your home interiors- part 2

The second part of my adding color to a neutral interior space address a family room/den area. (To see part one of the series click here). In this typical neutral cream to taupe space, I have chosen complimentary colors to accent the space in blue and red-orange. As in the previous space, I have used olioboard.com to create the space. This color palette can take a room to an Americana space, Eastern influenced space, or can go quite modern. I have gone with a hybrid of Eastern and Americana.

With the simple addition of changing the accent pieces I have taken the ivory walls, sisal rug and cream sofa to a brighter, polished finish with blue wing back chairs, on trend patterned pillows with blue and white, tones of orange red in the lamp bases and a bronze Brown cut work bowl with a blue lining. Could this space go further to add color? Surely, but for the color timid, this is a great start by adding small changeable color pieces and practically neutral blue chairs.

If you are interested in any of the item's on this board, I would love to tell you more about them! Simply drop me an email at LaurlSelf@gmail.com, I would love to hear from you.

Playin' Hookie

Summer is the perfect time to play hookie! How else will you hang up all those beach towels, straw handbags and for all you Austen-ite those flowers and herbs you're drying?

Here is a selecting of fun hooks I found on Etsy- the best place for handmade and one of a kind items... then again I am rather partial having a few stores there myself!

This gem is from the Shabby Shak, and perfect for the beach house, boy's bedroom, or sun porch!

I love the humor of an antler hook! This set, from the door stop, is actually cast iron, not real antlers.

Though silverware as hooks are not a new idea, these are particularly well done! From jjevensen, this set comes if a variety of silverware patterns!

Honoring the artistry of the blacksmith, this hand forged hook from SemiosisForge is only $15!

As you can see, hooks can make a statement whether something is on them, or not! They can express a theme like lodge style with antler hooks, or nautical with the anchor hook, without being overt. Rooms are best when they are layered, like people. A cottage chic room, can also be a white room and a nautical room or a cottage chic girls lodge! The forks can be cottage chic kitchen, cottage chic folk art dining room. Or, they can add the whimsy to a formal room with out loosing the formality, since they are silver. Once you have the bog picture of a space with wall colors and furnishings, then you can look to specifically chosen details that relate to the big picture, but add a secondary and tertiaries layer, dare I say theme, to a space.

My favorite color is plaid...

When I was in college I found these red plaid silk pants on the clearance rack at my favorite department store. They were dressy and punk at the same time, I loved the dichotomy, especially since I had maintained for a few years that my favorite color was plaid. Why plaid? The philosopher would answer why not, but the real reason is I did not like to be pigeon holed. I do not want to be a purple person who is considered artsy, a blue person who prefers mainstream/blending in, a red person who is fiery, a pink person who is saccharine sweet, etc. Not that any of these are tried and true, but they are often assumed. I am not one of those people, but I sometimes any and all of those people, so plaid suits who I am. And really, who all of us are.

As a designer, I run into the same problem question as the one from childhood, "what is your favorite color," except now it is "what is your favorite style," or "what is your style." How do I explain that my design style is plaid, without sounding like I design in Scottish Highland style or that I am am secret Jacobite. However, it is still true, I like many styles for many different reasons. I love looking at those clean contemporary spaces with floor to ceiling windows. Conversely, I love looking at a cacophony of patterns from designers that really understand scale. Additionally, I like finding those Wabi Sabi pieces that celebrate the imperfections of design. People most likely want a short answer, but is it a cop-out to say that I like an eclectic style? Should I tell them I like Directoire style, which I do, but as it only lasted from 1795 to 1799, and it is over shadowed by it's popular cousin Empire... few are into it, or even aware of it.


It's all about scale!

What it really comes down to is I like "good design," and what is that? It is different for everyone! However, as a designer my job is to find what your "good design" is and help you make it the best good design it can be by find the best pieces and finishes, consider scale and space planning, and make sure it is the healthiest and safest it can be. A designer's job is not to impose a style on you. So to answer the question, what is your style? My style, personally, is typically the most recent thing I have seen and loved. My style professionally, is what ever style is your... from High Victorian to Cave dwelling. You name it, I can enhance it. I've got mad cave painting skills!
Like to see more of my style? follow me on Pinterest!





No more boring bathmats

Bathmats, function, fluffy and not normally super fun... until now!
I am obsessed with these GIANT doily bathmats I found on etsy. They are pretty, and funny, and granny chic as well as contempory- all at the same time. I want to carve my own giant needles to make these, but buying might be the more practical option.
What makes these rugs so perfect is the scale. Anyone can crochet a big doily with normal needles and yarn, but it would look like a table cloth on the floor. The folks a Squirrelicious understand scale! Please click on the grey words and check this shop out!

Why I like Cultivating Life on Public TV

Last night I caught the episode entitled Rain on Cultivating Life and I thought about how much I like that show. I often think about projects from the show long after the episode is over. And, the projects are really accessible. Last night's project was a rain chain and I think I have everything at home to make it. It was attractive, do-able, and you could think of variation on the theme that you could design.
You can see yourself taking on a project here, a dinner there and planting a plant from one week's episode and next thing you know, you are becoming greener, healthier and more confident. I think being green is about confidence. When you find that you are more sustainable, and can make, grow or built what you need for yourself, you gain a confidence that can't be taken away. You are taking the power of, say, nourishment, away from others and giving it to yourself. It's like buying a garment that doesn't fit quite right and altering it to fit you. You are then in control of what you look like, not the tailor for the fit model or the designer that designed it for a imaginary model.

Empower yourself today!

Sarah Susanka's house

"Bigger isn't better, Taller isn't braver, Stronger isn't always wise," a few thoughts from the musical Barnum. Though these lyrics refer to Tom Thumb from Barnum's circus acts, they can also pertain to design. In Sarah Susanka's Not so Big House series of books, she elaborates on how a home can be smaller and well designer where the owner doesn't need the size and space that the trappings of ego often influence in home decisions. With lowered ceiling in hallways, focal points, and datums, smaller spaces live large. Living smaller has another advantage of costs. Everything, including design is a balancing act, especially in budget. Living in smaller spaces allow one to spend more per square foot, if desired, or allows one to choose a few precious items to feature in the space, be it art, or a fabulous sink and faucet.
I just saw Sarah on an episode of This Old House, one of my favorite series from childhood. I was amazed that these guys could take a house down to the studs and bring it back different and better than before. I wanted to be able to do that to. I think that's why I care more about the making of a project, the design, how it works than seeing the end products. I do love the process. Of course, it is very important that the process produces your intent, or better, but the journey to the end can be a very rich dessert.