I'm Shopping for... Spool Chairs

When I shared sneak peeks of a client's project about a month or so ago,  I received a few emails asking about the spool chairs.

{Spool Chair in my client's home...  Custom LL Textiles "Squircles" in fresh blue & oatmeal}

I loooove spool chairs.  They're deceivingly comfortable and just have this relaxed & carefree vibe.  You'd never see them in a stuffy room.  My clients grew up together in the Northeast and we wanted to bring that feeling of "home" into their new house, which is here in the DC area, so I proposed a pair of spool chairs.  I was thrilled when my client loved the chairs too & we decided on one of my fabrics printed on an oatmeal-colored groundcloth. 

Spool or "bobbin" chairs, also called "Carver chairs were named after John Carver (c. 1576–1621), founder and first governor of the Plymouth colony in America. A chair of this design, reportedly owned by the governor, was displayed in Plymouth, Mass., in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."(source- Brittanica.com)  ...Which explains why we they have that Northeastern / coastal vibe :)

  

We looked at a lot of different options before presenting two options (a lower end option and a higher end option) to our clients...

We ended up going with Vanguard's spool chair, shown here in white:

..And here in a dark stain:

{Vanguard Furniture}

...But I did fall in love with some others during our search:

{Hickory Chair}

It has box cushions so it's a bit more structured-looking.  It also has casters like the version we selected.

=  SOOO GORGEOUS!!!

{Noir Furniture...  this was our other option, available in black.}

I saw this one, below, a couple of Markets ago, and it felt very rustic with their fabric selections & showroom design:

It's by the Penisula Home Collection Company & here it is in white:

{Peninsula Hoe Collection Co.}

I sat in it & while comfy, I have to say, the spool chairs with the arm cushions are much more comfortable.  I would use if it were a spot for shorter sits, vs. comfy, cozy long ones.

Here's a beautfy by Motif Designs:

{Motif Designs}

..And I loooove the little cushion detail in this one by Julian Chichester:

{Julian Chichester}

...Anyway, as you can see, they're available at a number or pricepoints & there are so many to choose from.  (If you google it, you'll see even more options.)  

If I ever have a lakehouse, I'd love one or two of these for their laid-back days-gone-by feeling...

Where would you put yours?



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Also---  I need a HUGE favor for a friend of mine, Elise, who recently opened the Design Center of NOVA.  She is applying to win a business grant and needs 250 votes by Friday in order to be considered.  If you have a spare moment, please vote here!!

Just enter in "Design Center of NOVA" to vote!! THANK YOU!!

A New Addition to our Team

I am SO EXCITED to announce that my husband David (or Dave/ Dav) is coming to work for our design business!!  Today's his first day at Lauren Liess Interiors (which I now feel like I should have named "Liess Interiors")  and we are seriously giddy.  (Or at least I am.)

{I also just found out about Instagram pictures and am addicted.  Thanks Eddie!}

He'll be managing the implementation phase of our clients' projects / timelines etc., handling the accounting and working on product development (you know, all the fun stuff ;) ;)   For a while now, we've enjoyed going to Market together & meeting & making friends with others in the design industry, but now we'll be really freed up (schedule-wise) to travel when we need to & to get more accomplished.

Our goal is to not only have our business running smoother than ever before, but to free me up a bit more to spend more time with clients, more time designing (vs. paperworking & coordinating) and more time working on the fabric line. We've also been reading your emails about our online decorating services and are planning on bringing them back as soon as I get a bit more adjusted to the new baby/ being back at work/ etc.  (I'll be sure to post as soon as the service is available...  and thank you so much to those of you who've shown an interest!!) 

{The living room of a very stylish long-distance client of ours, Anne.  Her home was featured by Jenny on the Little Green Notebook .  Anne took with the suggestions I gave her and seriously ran with them to create a gorgeous very personal home for her family.  She's one talented mama!!!  Photo by Amy Majors Photography.)

Bringing Dave into the company is a HUGE change for our family & for our business.  I'm both nervous & excited.  It's always been a dream of ours to work together.  (We're sort of one of those annoying couples that likes to spend a ton of time together & never gets sick of being together...  But we aren't PDA-ish, I swear!!!)  It's a big step & we're hoping & praying that it works out.  (And will be working like crazy so that it does.) 

I know Dave will miss working at the highschool (where he was teaching English & was the English Department Chair) and  I've been so proud of him & all that he's accomplished there.  I hope that he loves this as much as that.

okay.. Did I say I was excited already?!!!!!  Because I am TOTALLY FREAKING OUT I'm so excited-  eeeeeek!!!  :)  

(That's me squeeling...  and yes, I really do say "eeeeeek")

So anyway, things will be changing a bit around here, but definitely for the better!!  Keep your fingers crossed for us!!

To view our e-design client, Anne's whole home tour, visit Little Green Notebook, here!  Thank you so much to Jenny & Anne!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.  We are booking for early August for traditional (in-person) full-service projects.

Carnival Style

{allposters.com} 

There's something beautiful about a carnival.  Yes, they're full of over-the-top pictures, rides, toys, signs and loud noises, but there's a beauty in the mayhem.  We went to a carnival recently and to me, when I looked at things individually, they were just rides or tacky signs or whatever, but when I looked around at the carnival as a whole, it was something better.  It was a little world of whacky and crazy and vintage-feeling fun.  And it was beautiful. 

{blogs.sfweekly.com }

Once nighttime falls over a carnival, it becomes special.  Whatever field or parking lot that used to be in its place is totally transformed, and you forget all about what used to be there and what will be there again when the carnival leaves town. 

{flickriver.com}

I haven't been to one like this is a while, but my favorite carnivals or fairs are the kind that have sideshows.  I was fascinated by these when I was a little girl and won't ever  forget the sword swallower I once saw in a tent...  or the contortionist.

I love that sense of mystery...

{pinterest}

I would always try to pick the prettiest horse on the carousel...  usually pink with lots of roses.  ;)

{allposters.com}

...  And the food is so bad but so good...  I love the crazy vintage signs.

 {senselessscribbles.tumblr.com }

It was sitting here, at the counter of the carnival snack wagon the other night, that I started appreciating the details.  I mean, how perfect is it that the snack truck had this little fold-out set of shiny blue barstools to pull up to the counter?  They were just the right size for our boys.  And I love that they serve sodas in the vintage style glass bottles.  They taste so much better that way. 

{my guys- Christian and Justin- sharing a funnel cake}

septembersbliss.blogspot.com

I love that all of these little over-the-top details and the busyness makes something that's just right.  There's an energy & an excitement about carnivals that's fueled by all the bright colors and the in-your-face everything.  All of the colors and things shouldn't work together, but they do. 

{flickr}

And it reminds me of certain rooms & styles of decorating.  (In a very good way.)

{miles redd, house beautiful}

There are so many different bright colors in the room by Miles Redd above, that you wouldn't ordinarily think could all work together, but they do.  It has this great energy to it.

The room below has a bit of that quirky vintage feel to it of the classic old-fashioned carnivals.

{poppytalk.blogspot.de }

The whacky mix of patterns on the floor in the room below creates that happy feeling.  It's so perfectly "off." The little stack of books on the table reminds me a bit of circus tents.

{isuwannee.com }

The tufted turqoise sofa, below, is one of those super-saturated colors seen all over carnivals.  The vintage touches and quirky shapes throughout the space add to the excitement.

{apartment therapy}

The mix of art and patterns below totally comes off as crazy in a good way.  There's so  much going on, but as a whole, it just works.

{elle decor}

The space in my friend Jenny's house (of Little Green Notebook) is perfect in its mix of bright happy colors combined with the vintage gilded mirror.  It's so unexpected but just comes together to create a truly charming space. 

{little green notebook }

I'm sure none of the designers of the rooms above were inspired by carnivals, but they all managed to create spaces that, to me, are energetic and fun-feeling and are really unexpected.  Some are more dramatic while others are more laid-back but they all have that fearlessness that I think epitomizes a carnival.   I reminds me to look harder at everything I'm exposed to, because there's inspiration in all of it, even in a place that at first glance is loud and garish and a bit sticky.

Our boys are already asking about when they can go back.  And next time they might actually reach 42" which means a whole new set of rides!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Updating Vanities Can Transform A Bathroom

When renovating a home, time and attention is often paid to the most used rooms in the home - the kitchen and bathroom. The bathroom especially - because it is such a personal room and one that should inspire comfort and relaxation - is often renovated to reflect the individual style of the homeowner.

Bathroom vanities have become the hot new accessory in bathroom renovation; and the availability of styles and prices make bathroom transformation possible no matter what your taste or budget.

Bathroom vanities are considered a piece of bathroom furniture and include a sink, faucet, and countertop. Typically they also include drawers, cabinets, or a combination of both underneath the sink - offering a place in which to hold personal supplies.

Because they are available in such an extensive selection of styles, they have a versatility that makes them a popular tool in remodeling. The replacement literally means the changing of the overall tone and feel of a bathroom.

The styles of bathroom vanities range from the simple to the extravagant; choosing one depends solely on your personal style and budget.

If you have a certain look you're going for - such as Victorian or Country - you need only to choose the vanity that is designed within that style in order to complete your look.

Many newly built or newly renovated homes feature natural stone bathroom vanities of all colors and textures with sleek and contemporary drawers and cabinets below. Topping off the polished look are a myriad of knob and handle styles; everything from pewter and ceramic to brushed nickel and wrought iron.

For those striving for a more antique feel there are a variety of wood constructed bathroom vanities - carved ornately for a Victorian decor or left with simple lines for a more old-world European style.

There are, of course, many styles of vanities that do not include any cabinets or drawers beneath but just offer a sink and small countertop. These types of vanities can either attach straight to the wall for a sleek, modern feel or include beautifully carved legs for a country or antique feel.

There are a multitude of bathroom vanities for sale on today's market. You need only visit your local home improvement store to find the style that best suites your taste.

Depending on your level of skill when it comes to do-it-yourself projects, you may want to tackle the job yourself instead of hiring a professional to do it for you.

In either case, the larger chain home improvement stores will allow you to purchase straight from their shelves or place an order and then decide how you wish to handle installation.

It's no surprise that people who are looking to purchase a home often look to the kitchen and bathrooms first. They are the rooms in which much time is spent and in which a few chosen upgrades can make the most difference in terms of overall decor and feel of a home.

With this in mind, it's not surprising that homeowners spend so much time and money upgrading their bathroom; savvy renovators know that beautiful additions to a bathroom, such as bathroom vanities, can significantly pay off in the overall value of the home and enjoyment of the space.

Simple Pleasure Friday: Fresh Sugarsnap Peas

One of my favorite things to do (and don't do often enough) is to peruse our local farmer's market with my boys, tasting and buying fresh food.

Last week we bought some sugarsnap peas and as soon as I tasted them, memories rushed back to me.   I haven't had fresh sugarsnap peas since I was a kid. 

{Porcelain Farmer's Market container from my best friend, Frammy.  By Anthropologie}

What struck me about the sugarsnap peas was not how good they were (I like them but can only eat a few at a time... it's not "love") but how they brought me back to summers...  The flavor made me think of my Grandma Maestranzi's summer cottage vegetable garden and also of my Aunt Janet's garden in Rhode Island.  It also reminded me of snapping green beans for my Grandmother.  It's amazing how taste & smell bring on the memories. 

Had any good simple farmer's market pleasures lately?




Enjoy your weekend!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Client Family Room Sneakity Peek & a message from the past

I'm not back to work yet and am still on a "maternity leave" of some sorts, but I have gotten a few things accomplished.  I wanted to share a little sneakity peek of a client's family room:

Our client  found the old cabin blueprints above the sofa at a thrift store years ago and we loved them too so we had them framed.  The blue bowl on the coffee table is one I found a while back and its design is made out of safety pin idents into the clay that were then outlined in gold.  Right now it's a corral for the remote controls, but when entertaining it can be emptied and filled with something pretty like flowers or napkins or something seasonal.

Their new linen sofa by Lee Industries is so comfortable and I wish I'd fixed the back cushions for this pic after I put the throw blanket on but I didn't notice that until later. Oh well.  I love its lines and it's such a comfy "vegging" sofa.

The faded oushak rug has hits of blue in it, so for a bolster pillow, we used my "Pierced Porcelain" linen in a custom blue and we had the pillow edged in the Greek key trim.   

 I added a few interesting accessories to make the room feel like home (my client is very trusting and really lets me have fun & get creative with the accessorizing, which I love.  It's all a total surprise to her when she comes home-) and one of them was an antique children's book full of stories.  Glancing through the book I found this inscription:

{Hard to read but it says, "If my name you need to see, Look on page 103"

Of course I had to know the name, so I turned to page 103:

{If my name you still would find, Look on page marked 59"}

....Well, you can't stop there (at this point I'm thinking, "Ok kid, when is this going to end???") so I kept turning:

"Susan Cornelia Jones"

...

"If on that name you chance to look, Think of me and close this book."

...And that made me smile, because as I slowly closed the book, I did think of Susan Cornelia Jones.

...There was no way not to.  Reading her note gave us just the tiniest little insight into this girl...  she was fun & creative and patient... and more than that, she wanted to be thought of one day, to be remembered. 

I looked her up and found a couple of different Susan Cornelia Jones's  (I mean come on, I'm searching for a "Jones!!") but I did find a Susan Cornelia Jones who lived in Washington, DC in a Georgetown townhouse as a girl and then moved to Virginia with her husband and two children.  I found the book around here so just maybe.  And I found another from Long Island who died at the age of 24.  And then another from Texas... 

I'm not sure if any of these are her or not, but either way, I hope she's looking down today & knows we found her message.



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Our new Patio: Little Liess's Bar & Grill

We spend so much of our time outside & love having familly meals & parties out there so this year we decided to do a little work on our patio. Here is is "before" (I can't believe I'm showing you this pic!!)....  I think this is from two years ago or maybe three??  (is it sad that the years are starting to blend together??) with the AC unit, some messy gravel& the sawhorse table my husband made (which I loved but just didn't work out because it was so heavy!!! and the wood started rotting eventually..  great for a summer though)  I guess it was a couple of years back because it was before we painted the back of our house & shed.   Anyway, here it was "before"--

{We got the patio set at Lucketts for a steal but it came with ill-fitting cushions...  I immediately replaced them with NEW slightly-less-ill-fitting cushions that will hold us over for a couple of years until we feel like springing for new custom ones.)

We planned to continue the concrete all the way along the back of the house & resurface the old concrete to match the new.  I sketched out these plans of the back bar area with slate counters for the contractor:

Our grill isn't built-in...  It's just the same old grill that we made a custom opening for:

And here it is now:

We loooooove being out here now that it's completed & entertaining is so simple. 

Here's a pic of the non-custom cushions I found online that drive me CRAZY because in order to fit them I had to turn them sideways showing the seems, but that I am totally good with making do with for now because they are such an improvement to the original cushions...

The table is from West Elm & I can't say enough good things about it... (It's pretty, hoses off nicely, is super-strudy and holds up to the birds!!  --- if you know what I mean ;) ;) ..see spot in very front of table..  (I clearly didn't do any cleaning up for these pics- woops!)

The stools & chairs are from Pottery Barn & I'm really happy with them too.  The silver chairs are ooold.  We made a little cubbie for our firewood on the right which I love because it just adds a little interest & warmth..

I can't wait to have some mojitoes with my girls out here:

Eventually we'll paint the bar the same color as the house but for now, while we try to have a chill summer, it's staying as-is.  We also plan on continuing our dwarf holly bushes around this area of the patio too so it looks like it's always been here.

One last before:

And one last after:

We love eating at "Little Liess's Bar & Grill" as the boys have dubbed it!!! ;) ;)  Thanks for checking it out!!

And one pic of the littlest Liess, 3 week old Luke:

{Like me & the rest of my children, red-eye remover was required.}

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.