Mid Week Mini Mood Board!

It’s Wednesday, so how about a Mid-Week, Mini Mood Board? (That’s just fun to say!) Continuing on with this week’s theme colors, blue and yellow, it makes me think of beautiful blue and white vases. I found this one at Amazon of all places. I also have on my “someday wish list” Red Macau Chairs. Although I didn’t quite find a red one yet, Ballard Designs has these in black and white. I would cover the seat cushion with a blue and white Ikat fabric to keep with my color palette and then finish the vignette with a sweet, little side table from Shop Ten25…a wonderful place to find designer goodies! Hope this little pop of color brightens your week. Check back every week for more of my Mood Board Inspirations, Resources, and Paintings!

1 Macau Chair From Ballard Designs 2 Blue & White Vase at Amazon 3 Side Table from Shop Ten25 4 Ikat Fabric 

Introducing Our First Monday Mood Board!

Well Hello Monday! Welcome to my very first Monday Mood Board!

The idea came to me as I was photographing my products for my shop. I was wishing I had all the money in the world so that I could create beautiful room photographs that would show case my products…since buckets of money didn’t just drop from the heavens, I got a little creative instead and dusted off my watercolors and paint brushes from Waaaaay back In the day when I illustrated children’s books and greeting cards.

Not that I don’t do sketches all the time for my design clients but that’s what they are…for my clients. When I design for them I’m designing what they want and helping them to bring their vision to fruition. Instead, this is an opportunity to just paint and put together a room design how I would want to do it…no budget…no limitation to color palette…just fun, little whimsical rooms.

Another passion of mine is supporting independent artists so when I can, I will be including their wonderful work as well. All of these links are from companies in the US. My product is sewn right here on the Central Coast by incredibly talented seamstresses who had their facility shut down when production moved over seas. That said, yes, it costs a little more to make it here but I believe it’s worth it. I think if we can all do a little bit, then it will collectively make a big difference.

Last of all we have to include some DIY projects in here and today I’ve included two projects from the very talented blogger, Miss Jackie over at her blog, Teal & Lime. The lampshade in the center of the room is made with stencils she created (I know, now that’s talent) and the shelf in the room is made from Stair Treads! How clever is that? The full tutorials are over at her blog along with lost of other inspiration. Thank you Jackie!!!

And one more thing…yes, that adorable dog was up for adoption…since I started this last week, she has found a lovely home!!! Yay! But there are many more waiting, and if you're local, you can find a little furry friend for yourself at Woods Humane Society.

So that’s it! You can follow my Mood Boards on Pinterest they contain all the links and a few other options that may have not made it into my Mood Board Illustration. (For instance there are some inexpensive options for some of the items shown here) Like this upholstered headboard from Ballard Designs vs a $40 decal headboard from What Is Blik.

I’d love to know what you think and of course I would love it if you “Liked” my FB page. If you have a favorite piece of furniture or home décor product you would like me to design a room around, shoot me an email!

1 Suzani Throw at end of the bed from ETSY artist, Hollie Milne . 2 Jonathan Adler Book ends. 3 Mirror from Rosenberry Rooms. 4 Fabric for window treatment from Contemporary Cloth. 5 Trunk from Rhino Trunk and Case. 6 Lamps from Mottega 7 DIY Shelves from Teal and Lime. 8 Chair from Wanelo. 9 Bulldog Chevron Print from Mari Robeson. 10 DIY Lampshade from Teal and Lime. 11 Striped Rug from Zinc Door. 12 Lab Lovin' and Chevron Pillow from Mari Robeson 13 Adorable Rescue Doggy from Woods Humane Society

Pantone Happiness!

I am soooo happy to see color coming back into the design world...and to make me even more happy, Pantone has added 175 New Colors! Can that even be possible? And the color of the Year...Tangerine Tango....oh so happy! I love Tangerine!! Check out Pantone for their 2012 Fashion Color Report.

On another note: Yesterday I announced the Winners of my Calendar Give Away over on my FB Page. If you haven't "Liked" us yet, now is a great time because I have  a lot of new products to share and more Give Aways too!!!

Pinning Love!

I can honestly say that I have never been this busy in my entire life. This is a good thing, I think...I just finished designing a new restaurant in Morro Bay, several home remodels going on, licensing deals with my lovely partner in New York (so exciting! but can't talk about yet), and of course, my three beautiful daughters who keep me endlessly driving to and fro... so finding time to blog lately, is kind of like finding time to read a good novel...I miss it! My latest distraction has been Pinterest. If you don't know what it is, it's a great place to create pin boards of all the fabulous things you find on the internet. Being an Interior Designer, I'm constantly researching and looking for inspiration and now I have one place where I can keep it all organized. The fun part of it is you can follow those with like interest...it just opens up a whole new world of friendships! Follow me! :-)

Stencil Love!

One of my favorite little tricks in making a room have some unique character is using stencils. I'm not talking about grapes and ivy here, stencils have come a very long way. I love this simple Moroccan stencil from Royal Design Studio.  (Looks great with my Mod Moroccan Collection!) This is a fantastic and inexpensive way to update your space...and besides, when you get tired of it, it's just paint!

Another Fabulous E-Magazine For Party Inspiration!

I can't believe March is almost over...there is so much going on at our studio, it's hard to find time to rest! If you've read a little of my blog background, I'm a designer by day and home decor product designer by night...add to the mix some new styling projects and a "green" table top collection coming soon, three amazing daughters, a fabulous hubby, well, you get the idea... so the day goes minute by minute...thankfully there are amazing inspirational people all around the internet to keep me inspired! Via twitter, (follow me!) I just discovered, yet another fabulous on-line magazine, created by the very talented Victoria Hudgins. If you like to entertain like we do at the Robeson house then you will love her magazine! Her blog is called A Subtle Revelry and loaded with beautiful pictures and entertaining ideas. I mean, look at this...yummy!

My Day Job & Latest Article For HomeWorkshop.com!

I feel so blessed to wake up every day and do what I love for a living. I thought I'd share a little glimpse of the design process. This is for a client of mine who recently bought a new home and had no idea where to start. They have some beautiful pieces from their travels around the world but needed a few appointments to finish off the space. On this board I make suggestions for furniture, space layout, and color. I chose the color palette of camels, browns, blacks and pops of red for accents. Just thought I'd share for fun. This project was a little more involved but if you want to start with decorating something small in your own home, check out my latest article for HomeWorkshop.com. There I give you helpful tips on how to set up your dining room as well as some fun accessories to bring a pop of color into your home. Happy Designing!

Guilty Pleasures!

It’s true…I have taken quite some time off. I literally have been going non-stop for over a month now, designing new product lines….so excited to share about this soon…and working on some large Interior Design projects. Couple that, with the fact that my two younger daughters have had soccer tournaments every weekend…they are in the top 4 finals for State Cup!!!…which means I haven’t even had one day to catch up on laundry or cleaning and my poor gardens are all over grown! Did I mention that I also started to teach a new Dance Class that I'm in love with…Dance Boot Camp! Oh Ya! At least, I’m still working out!

In the tiny moments in between…in moments of procrastination…I have, however, indulged in some guilty pleasures. It’s these beautiful on-line magazines that are popping up left and right. (These images are from High Gloss Magazine) My latest guilty pleasure is High Gloss Magazine….purrrrrrrrr! Of course I love Lonny Magazine, Nesting Newbies, and I just stumbled upon Matchbook Magazine. A lovely way to enjoy a cup of coffee and some design inspiration!

Loving Turquoise Poppy!

Happy New Year everyone! I’ve been a bit behind in posting because I’ve been working on a new collection of tabletop linens and just like everyone else, trying to play catch up after weeks of entertaining, cooking and cleaning!

Sometimes my days are fairly lonely, sitting behind my computer drawing and playing with color. I started to think about how often I get asked questions about design. Like many professions, it seems as soon as people know what I do for a living, they have a long list of questions they want to ask. (I’m actually convo-ing with a friend on Facebook about color choices right now) The truth is, I really love to talk about design…I live it, breathe it, dream about it 24/7. I felt inspired to post the question on FB if anyone would be interested in a Free Design Workshop…I was really excited by the response. Even more exciting was when a friend of mine in Turkey asked if I wanted some help with it.

So this morning I woke up early (they are 10 hours ahead-this is the sunrise from my bathroom window, I know, stunning right?) and had my first Skype (Loving Skype too!!!) call to my friend Tara (the incredibly kind and wise master mind behind Turquoise Poppy). Tara knows all the ins and outs of having a web presence and she graciously spent an hour of her time consulting with me on how to create a viral video of DIY Design Classes to share with all of you. Even more than her consulting services, she guides you in following your inner creative passion. It was an incredibly inspiring conversation. I truly believe I have found a kindred soul.

The best thing about this is Tara offers her services via her website, Turquoise Poppy. If you are looking to create a larger web audience for your creative career or if you’re just trying to figure out what that career should be, I highly recommend consulting with her. BTW I love the name of her website, Turquoise Poppy. It signifies Turkey, the country where she now lives and Poppy for California, where she is from. Thoughtful….

The rest of my story…look for my on-line web design ideas next month!

Apartment Therapy!!!!!!

Wow! I have been a huge fan of Apartment Therapy for years and I just found out my Mod Moroccan Tablecloth was featured on their website Re-Nest!!! Wow! I'm so honored....Thank You Apartment Therapy!

Check it out!

A little while ago I mentioned that I was asked to be a contributor for HomeWorkShop.com. What a fantastic site for you design junkies out there! My first article just went live. I share how to create your own fabric for a room make-over. Check it out and let me know what you think! A very special thanks to my friend Jenny Malott who always takes the best pictures...and also to my talented friend, Nina Taylor, for her sewing magic!!!

HomeWorkshop Inspiration & Exciting News!

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a wonderful woman, Kathy Barlow, Chief Design Junkie and owner of one of the best design blogs out there, HomeWorkshop.com! I have followed the site since it began. It's loaded with valuable design advice, contests, and overall design inspiration. So how cool was it when she asked if I'd be interested in being a contributor? Ummmm....Yes!!! So I'm busy putting my thoughts on paper to share with HomeWorkshop very soon. Until then, I highly recommend you pouring yourself a cup of coffee and checking out this terrific site!

A Little Before & A Little After...More To Come...

I've been cleaning and organizing and working and...i, yi, yi! Not much time to post these days because of this huge transition I've been making with my business as well as multiple design projects...and those 3...4...5...8...holy cow how many kids are spending the night? and why is my grocery bill so crazy? Welcome summer....it's just nutty!

But as I'm organizing my new studio space, I'm finding all kind of goodies. I found a purse that I thought I lost that I just loved, some money, a few gift certificates, lots of pictures and art projects....fun stuff! Just as I'm organizing my physical space, I'm also organizing my information for my new website. I'm so bad at taking pictures of the jobs I've done, but happily I've found a few before and afters. Here are just two...I'll be updating my flickr folder if you're interested in seeing more.

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen After:

This was a fun project. My client is an Ambassador and traveled all over the world. They had an unused room and tons of books, so I suggested a library. I was inspired by a mask from one of their travels and built the room around it.

Before:

After:

It only takes one small piece that you love to use as a jumping off pad to design.

More to come... :-)

Central Coast Interior Designers...

Are Wonderful! I had the great honor to give a talk last night to the CCID about the evolution of my experience as an Interior Designer and Textile/Product Designer. I have to say I was really nervous because these are my peers and designers who I have a lot of respect for. As soon as I got there Alexis of First Impressions made me feel very welcomed and put my nerves at ease. It was a really enjoyable evening and I felt very humbled to have had the opportunity to talk about my designing.

Then, back home to real life! :-) I stayed up until 11:00 making these little felt puppet people with my daughter, Chyna. It was Chyna's "brain-child" to make these for Open House tonight. How could I not help support this clever little idea. So cute!

My Bedroom Makeover! Finally....

At the beginning of this year I gave myself a project...to Thoughtfully Design my "own" home. I started in my garden, which hopefully we'll be able to tackle again this weekend, with soccer tournaments and a lot of California rain, my garden project has been slow going. So I turned my efforts inside...to my bedroom. It's challenging being a designer because there are so many choices. What is so simple for me to see for others, can sometimes be the opposite for myself. I'll tell you what though, when you get an email from the editor of a fantastic magazine and they say they'd like to see some room shots with your product in it...well, you figure it out real quick!

I literally had about 2 weeks to re-design my bedroom, which meant I had to work with what I had. There was no time to order new furniture etc. but much to my liking, I'm pretty happy with how I reinvented what I already had. To start with was this dresser. Yikes! A throw back to college days. But when looking at it, I really still liked the shape of it, so a new coat of paint to match the coral in my Mod Morrocan fabric and, well, I'm pretty happy with the results!Some of you may remember an old screen I had found at an antique shop. I actually had it in my boutique window for a little while. At first I was going to paint the dresser white and the wall behind my bed coral but decided to switch that at the last minute and paint the wall black... You know I tell my husband, "Honey, I'm painting the wall black." and he doesn't say a word, he just comes in and paints it for me. Then we added the white trim from good ole' Home Desperate, I'm mean Home Depo...one of my clients told me that. :-)

The really fun thing was that weekend my niece, Shaunah, was visiting and we collaborated on what to put on the black wall, the wings or the screen from my window??? You can see what won below.

So last week the amazingly talented Jenny Mallot of Live Artfully Productions took some fantastic photos of 3 of the rooms that I've designed with my new fabric (not even in my shop yet!) and we sent the pictures off to the editor...fingers crossed, hopefully they'll want to use a few of them. Until then it was a fun project that I'm happy to cross off my list for 2010!

Also, I have to give a big Thank You to Nina Taylor, who sewed a tons of pillows and these drapes for me just in time for the shoot! More to come on the fantastic Sewing Atelier soon!!!!

BeforeAfter

Viola'!

Just For Fun...

Yes, it's true, I've been very MIA lately...all for good reasons though....I can say a lot of my absence has been because of a wonderful venture I've been on. I've been designing, for hours, a new home collection and I'm so excited about it!!! Between my Interior Design projects and designing a collection...oh ya...and those 3 incredible daughters and husband of mine, I've been stretched a bit thin. Did I mention I now have 2 daughters who are playing Club Soccer???? I've turned into a soccer mom!! Dun, Dun, Dun.....

So I'm off to Ventura for a little R & R and a home to work on. Yes, it's true...always working....The boutique will be closed until Wed. when I return. I hope you all have a fantastic Easter and Spring Break with your loved ones. Here's just a fun link if you're into design and want to keep up on the latest trends around the country...it's a fantastic site, Material Girls.

Hop, hop, hop....

As Promised...

Wow! Has it been busy or what? Holy Cow! Last weekend my Rocky made it to the top 16 in State Cup Soccer, then we lost 1 - 0...grrr...Up-side? I have my weekends back! Boy you don't realize how much falls behind when you're gone every weekend...sure fun though. A couple weeks ago I mentioned a nursery I designed for a friend in my Cherry Fabric. Here's pics as promised. It's still missing a few appointments but I'm so pleased. Lots of credit to the new Mom to be, Miss Tina. Tina was involved every step of the way. I love the blue in a little girls nursery...so refreshing.
I couldn't resist taking a picture of her closet with all her tiny, sweet clothes! Can't wait to meet you Baby Ariana! 

Design Inspiration...

OK want to procrastinate a little and get some awesome Design Inspiration? Check out the latest on-line version of Lonny Magazine... so many great ideas. Love it!

What A Week!

Jimminy Cricket! What a week! Last week I received some great news that a wonderful e-commerce site wanted to carry all my product. Sooooooooooo exciting!!! So I call my photographer to set up some photo shoots and get ready to send off new designs to my printer, everything is good to go....then, Monday, the email...ugggg....my printer has sold his business and can no longer make my textiles....deep breath....OK I can figure this out... So from Monday night until just now, I have been talking to people all over the world. Very interesting! What I learned from this? Keep an open mind. Just when you think one door has shut, many more open. This week confirmed many things for me and now I'm even more excited about the new product I have I the works! Oh yes, and in between all this, life still goes on...I still have a design business to run. Here is a fun project I designed for some of my favorite clients. This is a playroom for their two sons. We just added this room on and pretty much gutted most of the interior of the house. I love the way it all came out. This is a pretty big wall, about 12', so I designed a frame around 3 bulletin panels that I covered in coordinating fabrics. The boys have lots of artwork! Love that! My client said, "I thought you were just going to put up a board." ha ha...not in my lifetime.... everything is art, even a bulletin board. Have a great weekend everyone!

Sunday Afternoon Design

Sunday afternoon and I'm tucked away in my studio working on a nautical office design for a new client...I finish up my initial concept board and I hear my youngest daughter call my name. "Look what I made." I just thought it was so cute. Here we are both working on our designs...hmmm...hers looks just slightly more fun. :-)