Archives for June 2012

My Love Affair With The Prettiest of Palettes, Gray, Cream & Pink

I go through phases where I’m obsessed by certain colors or combinations of colors and right now it has to be gray, cream and pink. I just love the soft, pretty feel and want to be surrounded by them at all times. Don’t you just love these colors together?

I have an magazine page pinned to my “non-Pinterest” inspiration board situated above my desk with an outfit similar to this one. I pinned the page because I liked the colors and want to use them in the bags I’m designing, but the outfit itself is so adorable I had to recreate it here for you. What do you think?

From top left clockwise: 1. ALESSI DOMENICO Earrings, 2. “AUDREY (1963)” SUNGLASSES, 3. Crumpet Pointelle cashmere and Lurex-blend cardigan, 4. MICHAEL Michael Kors Bedford Extra-Large Bowling Satchel, Nude Matte Python-Embossed Leather, 5. Cream sleeveless lace dress, 6. LOON 70’s Platform Sandals, 7. ALDO Huot bracelet

So…are you in love with this color combo too? Would you buy a leather bag designed with a couple of these colors, like cream and gray, or all of them? I’d love to hear your input.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mix Together a Bit of The City + A Whole Lot of Country & What Do You Get? That’s Easy…This Amazing & Fun California Home Farm Wedding

If you read this blog regularly or know me personally, you know that I live in and run this blog from Ventura, California, a small beach community about an hour north of Los Angeles. Now, I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “What in the world does that have to do with today’s wedding?”. Well, I’m getting to that…I promise.

So…as you know, among other things, I publish weddings and engagement sessions submitted by amazing photographers from all over the world. But what you may not know is it’s always extra special for me to publish a submission when it’s from the area where I live and grew up in. Or when it is practically in my backyard like today’s amazing & fun wedding just so happens to be.

Yes, today’s bride and groom Jessica and Kevin, owners of Corktree Cellers and gourmet sandwich shop Peebee & Jays, live in and run their restaurants in Carpinteria, just a few minutes drive up the coast from here. So…when I received this submission, I was delighted to be able to showcase a “hometown” wedding. Plus…Jessica and Kevin put together so many fun details, the wedding is amazing based on those alone. PS…their last name is Clark, hence the significance of the Clark bars 😉 And…I love the fact they wore the traditional garb for the ceremony, then changed into festive, country attire for the “pioneer style” reception celebration, cowboy boots and all. And with the help of photographer Cherry Thomas of bycherry photography, they were able to capture these lovely images of their fabulous day!

Photographer: bycherry photography

Venue: Private residence

Caterer: Corktree Cellars & Peebee & Jays

Submission via Two Bright Lights

Thanks for stopping by!

Bridesmaids in Blue & Silver, Dazzling Red Roses & One Gorgeous Vintage Car, All at This Lovely Spanish Hills Country Club Wedding

Whew…that’s a long title, but there’s so much to this pretty wedding it was hard to narrow down any one thing to grab your attention. But I did it, you are here! And now that you are, let me show you how cute this adorable couple is and what a fabulous wedding they had through the lens of Chelsea Elizabeth Photography. PS…the flower girl has to be one of the cutest I’ve seen and I’ve seen A LOT! Anyhow…without further interruption, I am pleased to present the wedding of Nicole and Jon at Spanish Hills Country Club.

Photographer: Chelsea Elizabeth Photography

Hair Stylist: Melissa Dowler

Event Planner: Spanish Hills Country Club

Floral Designer: Floral Designs By Roni

Reception Venue: Spanish Hills

Dress Store: Camarillo Bridal

Cake Designer: Bread Basket Cake Co.

DJ: Matt Graumann Entertainment

Officiant: Dream Day Weddings

Submission via Two Bright Lights

As always, thanks for stopping by!

8 Easy Tricks to Make A Room Appear Larger

Have you ever looked at small room in your home and said, “There’s nothing I can do here to make this room look bigger”? Well, don’t worry…you’re not alone. But designing to make small spaces appear larger isn’t that difficult. I promise! Actually, there are many extraordinarily simple tricks to give small rooms the illusion of being bigger. And lucky for you I have eight of those easy tips just for you!

1. Light and brightly colored walls are more reflective so painting your small room with such colors can go miles in making a space feel open and airy. Lighter, more neutral colors open up a room, whereas dark hues tend to make a room feel smaller than it is. Try painting your small room a blue similar to this bathroom below from House Beautiful. Cool colors can make the walls appear to recede and the room look larger.

House Beautiful

2. Use a glass coffee table instead of the plain old wood one you have. Glass tables reflect light and help maintain a sense of airiness in the room. See, look at how nice this one looks in this image from House To Home.

House To Home

3. A monochromatic color scheme throughout your room from the furniture, to the rugs and walls will make any room appear bigger. Select the same color, but use different shades and textures as was done in this image from Hgtv.

Hgtv

4. Display glass artwork in prominent places to reflect light around the room and draw attention to the ceilings.

Forbes

5. Use mirrors to draw light into a room and magnify the size of it. It’s best not to place mirrors in a location that is dark, but you can never go wrong by putting a mirror in a corner to reflect a light from a window or an amazing view of the world outside. Mirrors across from each other on opposing walls have dramatic affects at making rooms appear larger as well. Aren’t these two sample rooms from One Kings Lane just fabulous?

One Kings Lane

6. Proper, even lighting is key to the design success of any room. However, lighting is even more important when you want to make a room appear larger.

Houzz

7. Believe it or not, your mind detects the flow of room and if there are harsh, sharp objects…the room’s flow will not be fluid. So, instead of using square furniture in a square room, use round furniture to cut the rigidness and allow for more flow in the room. See the rounded edges of the sofa and chair as well as the coffee table and ottoman in the room below from Better Homes & Gardens. Now imagine what this small space would look like if there were sharp edged furniture with harsh lines, smaller…huh?

Better Homes & Gardens

8. If you’re lucky enough to have windows in your small room, half of your battle has already been won. Window light can do amazing things to make a room appear larger. So be sure to use that natural lighting and keep those windows treatment free to enlarge your small room.

Better Homes & Gardens

So there you go. No construction needed, just a change or two and voilà, your small room will appear larger too!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Pretty & Soft Private Residence Wedding in California

Heidi and Jody wanted a low-key wedding surrounded by close friends and family as well as a fun creative affair with DIY details. So…what better way to celebrate in the way they wanted than to host the wedding at a private residence where they and all their guests could relax and be themselves? I can’t think of anything better, especially since my own wedding was very similar! With a gorgeous day and beautiful photography by bycherry photography, Heidi and Jody’s special day was beyond spectacular!