I've had a lot of fun this summer making over my daughter's bedroom. We changed the baby pink walls to a deep, rich coral. I painted New Art for above their beds, New Fabric for their window treatments, and New Pillows to accent it all. This is actually how I started designing textiles. About three years ago, I noticed in my Interior Design business, I couldn't find certain art peices or fabrics so I decided to create them myself. In this case my girls love the Kiss Me Collection so I moved forward with adding pieces to it that would compliment and make the collection strong. If you take a close look at my New Glam Damask design you'll notice some familiar shapes, well that is if you love make-up and perfume! My Mod Medallion fabric has a mix of a glam and retro feel and I added in a bold black and white stripe to make it all pop. You can check out all my new designs in my shop!
Monday's Mood Board - Spice Up Your Entry!
A great entry way immediately sets off what the experience is going to be like in your home. If you have the space for it, I love a good console table. It's such a fun accent piece that you can change with a few decorations each season. This incredible one came from CircaWho. The elephant accents on the legs are what did it for me. Her shop looks like a designers dream! Good thing I'm all the way on the West Coast or I could see myself doing some serious shopping there! The lamps on my Monday's Mood Board came from there too. Such a fun web site to browse through as well.
The Pagoda Mirror (to die for) is from the lovely ladies over at Zinc Door. I am loving Navy lately!
But as much as I love Navy, I'm personally not the monochromatic type...Give me Color! These Green Linen Ottomans from Shop Ten25 are the perfect accent. Navy, Green, Coral....Oh My! You can find these fantastic ottomans here! They come in other colors as well.
Fall is coming...now is the time to take a chance and spice up your entry with some unique pieces that have interest and character, add in some delicious color and you will smile every time you walk by your fabulous entry!
1 Little Green Vase From Anthropologie 2 Barclay Pagoda Mirror From Zinc Door 3 Faux Bamboo Lamps From CircaWho 4 Illume Boho Mediterranian Candle From Zinc Door 5 Elephant Pagoda Console From CircaWho 6 Green Linen Ottoman From ShopTen25
Monday's Mood Board - Update!
Remember this?
It was my concept illustration for my daughter's bedroom make-over. A few things have changed but I'm getting very close to finishing it all up...just a few more pillows to sew and items to hang! Instead of the black strped drapes I decided to create my own fabric which will be available in my shop next week. My sweet mother and I sewed the window coverings last week and I just finished these painting for above their bed. I still plan on painting a boarder behind the paintings but you'll see all of that when I reveal the entire room.
Painting Layout....just getting started.
I did one with three roses and the other with two and added crystals to the inside of the roses.
Hanging on the wall but not quite complete...Make sure to come back next week and see the finished product!
Fantastic Front Door Make-Over!
I feel very fortunate to live and work in California. Being an Interior Designer on the Central Coast has allowed me to work on a multitude of projects. From nurseries to restaurants, each project has been interesting and fulfilling. Being immersed in design I spend a lot of my time researching the latest products, trends and design styles. Much of the architecture in California has a Spanish or Tuscan flavor. I have to say that is predominantly the design style most people prefer here. So today I’m sharing with you one of my favorite little tricks. I have found a great product that has a huge impact when used correctly and it’s a lot less expensive than wrought iron. I just love this product. It’s called Tableaux. If you are local and you would like to see the product in person, check out Rosa’s Restaurant in Pismo Beach. When I designed their remodeled I used it in the bar and even on the ceiling! Tableaux is light weight but has the look and feel of custom wrought iron. It comes in many finishes, designs and is easy to install. You can see how I was able to transform my client’s front door with this product. So if you are looking to give your home an instant make over, this would be one of my recommendations. Bonus tip: Stain the Oak Doors in Sherwin William’s Bistro Walnut. Second Bonus Tip: Don't just visit Rosa's for the decor, make sure to dine there too. The food is heavenly!
Congratulations Shop Ten25!
Most of you know that I'm an Interior Designer by day and Watercolor, Textile, Home Decor, Graphic Artist, what am I leaving out??, Chef, Seamstress, Crafter...basically, my life IS Art in any form I can get my hands on. At the beginning of this year I started a new thing on my blog...(which I think I'll finally be able to get back too- what a crazy summer!), of doing My Monday Mood Boards, which are simple watercolor illustrations of home decor items and other pretties that make me smile. Well....I found many of these beautiful items from Shop Ten25! As it goes in the blogging world, the owner, fabulous Interior Designer, Abbe Fenimore and I became friends. I admire Abbe's fresh take on design. Her style is modern and colorful and we both share a passion for making our surroundings beautiful. Soooooo, you can only imagine how THRILLED I was when she asked me to do the illustrations on her new website!! Her new site launched TODAY and it's loaded with treasures! I'm happy to say you'll be able to see some of my collections there very soon too!!! Congratulations Shop Ten25!!!
Screen Your Room!
There are so many things to love about the Central Coast and last night was no exception to a good time. I took the girls to Farmer's Market in downtown, San Luis Obispo to go hunting for treasures. With three (almost) teenage daughters, it's impossible to not pay our respects to Urban Outifitters. It's always a bit odd for me because the building that is now Urban Outfitters was the old Copeland Sport's headquarters where I worked for almost ten years after graduating fom Cal Poly. So when I walk upstairs to what was my Advertising Office and see this, it's a bit of nostalgia for the old but interest for the new. Look what they did with these old silk screens. They created an entire room. Such a clever idea. How can you not Love that?
One in particular caught my eye with this terrfic patter. I can only image what textile it was used to ceate.
Of course, leave it to my daughters to find *anything* kitty oriented! I posted pics throughout the night from various locations on my new favorite passion, Instagram. Now you can Follow Me there too. Happy Friday everyone! Time to get ready for a big photo shoot of our new product!
Monday's Mood Board - Snuggle Up!
Today's Monday Mood Board is all about a cozy place to snuggle up and read a good book. Most of my clients will tell you that I am not a fan of hallways.
I try to avoid the long bowling alley effect as much as possible but sometimes due to the shape of the land and the positioning of the house, it can't be avoided. But there are always solutions to charming up that hallway. When designing my clients house, I had suggested putting in a window seat but my client took it one step further by creating a deeper reading nook area. I loved it! It's deep enough now that you can actually put a twin mattress on it. Pa-lease! This is where I would want to spend all my time!!!
In California we design a lot of Spanish style homes. Largely influenced by the beautiful and historic Missions that line our coast. The architecture makes you envision warm earth colors mixed with cool ocean blues. So today I am sharing with you some of my favorite finds for both! Although I didn't find this gorgeous mirror until after I had painted my Mood Board, I included it as a beautiful alternative to the art on the back wall. Just stunning in sapphire and gold by Bunny Williams available at Zinc Door.
I love, love, love this Flame Stitch Rug from Shop Ten25. Talk about adding a little pizzaz to your hallway!
For the fabrics I picked a few from Fabricut and Highland Court. They are a nice compliment to this decorative throw pillow from ETSY.
1 Sapphire Mirror from Zinc Door 2 Flame Stitch Rug from Shop Ten25 3 Various Fabrics from Fabricut & Highland Court 4 Decorative Throw Pillow from ETSY
Chip It! By Sherwin Williams
My Bulldog Pillow Chipped
Well this is just about the coolest thing I have seen in a really long time! As an Interior Designer picking paint colors is a standard part of the job and one I'm pretty good at since I've been doing this a **really** long time. Often times the color we choose comes from an inspiration piece, photo or fabric. I have always likes the Sherwin Williams colors and I like the fact that you can purchase inexpensive sample jars..the whole deal, they are a great company to work with. So when I saw Chip It, I was thrilled. It's a super easy application that you can drag into your tool bar and then when you see an image on the internet, you hover over it and Chip It. The coordinating colors will pop up next to your image. You can then save it to your own file or print it out. I Chipped a few of my products and here is how they turned out. So much fun!!!
My Sparrow Pillow Chipped
My Chanel Print Chipped
Mid-Week Mini Mood Board - What To Do With A Hallway?
Some days are just really fun and today was one of them. I met with some of my favorite clients today as we have started the discussion on the interior details of their new home. The architecture is Mediterranean which brings to mind a treasure trove of details. Warm colors, dark wood doors, floors and cabinets just to name a few. Today we were having the discussion on what to put at the end of the hallway. All, yes all, of my design clients know that I'm not a fan of hallways, but if you have one, best dress it up the best you can. In this case the walk down this hall will have gorgeous floor length windows and french doors to the left, a cozy reading nook (I sense an upcoming blog post) to the right and a deep set window at the end of the hall to draw you in. Dark beams above, dark wood floors below and creamy walls....now that's a hallway I can live with! My client wanted a sketch of what that would possibly looked like so before our meeting today I painted this quick, like super quick, sketch. Happy Mid-Week Moodboard!
1 Marrakesh Pendant from Ballard Design 2 Suzani Pillow from One Kings Lane 3 Reynolds Bench from Ballard Designs
Monday's Mood Board...Spring Redesign For My Girls!
The beautiful Spring weather always puts me in the mood to reinvent my home. Time to clear out the clutter and re-design. This time I’m focusing on my two younger daughters who share a room. When we built this home they were only 2 and 3 years old. They have since grown into lovely 12 and 13 year olds and the baby pink room is about to grow up. I’ve been consulting with them and they are giving me very little lead way in the design process.
Raquel and Chyna picked the color palette. Dark Coral walls (I know-right?!?!) with accents in White, Black & Gold!!! Across from their beds they said they wanted a Bulletin Board “Wall” like the one seen in Kylie Jenner’s video. I also found this cute one on The Happy Home Blog, it’s not quite big enough for what we want to do but I wanted to share her idea with you. She shows you how you can make this yourself step by step on her blog. Something else I found on Pinterest is this super idea from The Vintage Treehouse. I love how she reinvents these old frames and lace to make jewelry holders.
Behind their beds I was thinking of doing something like this lit canvas as seen on Apartment Therapy. The idea kind of sent me running down a bunny trail but instead I've decided to paint two large canvas’s with all our colors, to tie the room together. Behind the paintings I’m going to paint a black and white border on the wall to frame them.
Rocky told me she really likes the silhouette pillows I made of them a few years ago, so I’m going to make new ones for them, trimmed in gold and backed in coral. I’ll also create a new heart pillow for them as well. Drapes will be a bold in black and white stripe and I’ll be adding a desk under the window with a funky chair of some sort. We already have a manikin. Her name is Lola and she’s super for belts, scarves and purses. Of course we’ll need a full-length mirror too…all of these ideas and more you’ll see unfold on the follow up posts.
So there you have it. From my sketches to my Mood Board, that’s the plan for their room. I will be posting updates to this project as I hope to have it completed in the next couple of months!
Monday's Mood Board - Lipstick & A Good Perfume!
A few weeks ago my oldest daughter and I went to Sophora. If you know Sophora, then you know that it’s basically a candy shop for women. I love browsing through the perfumes and finding a new scent to wear. I also love, love, love lipstick! I’ve often told my daughters, “All I need is Lipstick & a Good Perfume.” Something else also struck me that day, all the beautiful packaging but I tucked away those images in the back of my mind.
Then recently I’ve had two design projects that made me start thinking about that day again. As you can see from the prior post, I’m designing a boutique and I’m also designing a teenage girl’s room. Both projects are incredibly fun!
When looking for art, I started to pin certain things that inspired me on my Pinterest boards. Can you believe that this Dolce pin has received the most re-pins out of anything I’ve ever posted? That got me thinking about Sophora and all the great packaging of these beautiful products…so inspired, I decided to create my own art and out came the watercolors.
Today’s Monday Mood Board is all about Lipstick & a Good Perfume. These are my favorites!
All Images Copyright 2012 Mari Robeson, please ask before shaing. Thank you!
Monday's Mood Board Is Getting All Dressed Up!
Every once in a while I get asked to design something really fun and unique. This time it’s a little clothing boutique that just needed a breath of color. My inspiration piece is this gorgeous chair I found during one of my addictive Pinterest afternoons. As you can see I’m continuing with my Rose theme…It’s what is inspiring me right now along with "That Chair" (pitter-pat goes my heart) that was featured on Lisa Mende’s Design blog. I’m in love with the large textile and the stripes on the armrests. It became my muse!
In keeping with the black, pink and gold theme, I found this wallpaper, soooooo pretty! I’m going to use it on the bottom of the wall and add a black piece of trim to cap it off at chair rail height. I’m also going to use it just on the back of each dressing room wall.
Down the hall across from the rooms I’m also going to add some artwork and these round mirrors I found at IKEA for only $14 but to make them more interesting I’d like to paint a gold and black design behind them. I’m also going to paint a frame around the large mirrors they already have in the dressing rooms. This is a much less expensive solution than framing the mirrors with wood.
I still have more things to ad-dress ha ha in this space, such as lighting and artwork so stay tune for more updates on this fun project!
1 Chair Lisa Mende Design 2 Black Baroque Mirror IKEA 3 Floral Wall Hooks Anthropologie 4 Round Mirror IKEA 5 Rose Wall Hook Anthropologie
Monday’s Mood Board – Taking Time To Smell The Roses!
Last week we launched our Vintage Rose Pillows and Fabric and ever since, it seems everywhere I look, I see Roses! We have several varieties lining our courtyard in the front of our home and they are all “just about” ready to take off. A few of the early bloomers are already cut and placed around my home.
Other than the typical places to have arranged flowers, I personally like to have flowers in every bathroom too. It offers a little element of thoughtfulness that one doesn’t usually expect. I add a small clipping of jasmine and it keeps the room smelling wonderful all day and night. Side note: I love Jasmine too and have it planted under all our bedroom windows. In spring the entire house smells divine.
This little, red vase inspired the design of our powder room, The Red Bathroom as everyone calls it. We built our house over nine years ago and I still love the color of this room.
Monday’s Mood Board is full of Rose Inspired décor for the home. I hope you’ll take time to stop and Smell The Roses this week!
1 Wall Decal 2 Place Setting 3 Rose Knobs ETSY 4 Melamine Plate ETSY 5 Vintage Rose Fabric 6 Rose Wall Paper
Monday's Mood Board...Black & Yellow!
Monday’s Mood Board celebrates the launch of my new Vintage Rose Fabric and Pillows! Yay! I’ve always loved Black & Yellow together so it was really timely when a new client of mine told me her daughter wanted to do a yellow bedroom. Yellow is a tricky color, especially for a bedroom. You want to make sure the yellow is a warm yellow and avoid the bright yellows that have a green undertone to them. That type of yellow is an agitating color and not conducive to rest. Even the yellow in my watercolor is too bright (but fun for a watercolor) which is why I want to mention that to you.
I’ve included some fun finds in the room. My client has a long window above her bed. Instead of covering it with a traditional window covering I wanted to treat it with something more unique. I saw the work of this ETSY artist and thought it would be terrific if they could create a wood cut-out that I could insert inside the window frame.
Another great find on ETSY were these chevron storage baskets. Tuck them inside a bench at the foot of the bed for extra storage.
By now you know I love the work of Jill Rosenwald and think her lamps are amazing. You can’t go wrong when searching for beautiful furniture and accessories when shopping at LaylaGrayce which is where the beautiful side tables and chandelier are from.
I couldn’t fit everything I wanted into today’s Mood Board so Wednesday I will post a follow up of some more ideas I want to do in this room. Happy Monday everyone!
1 Vintage Rose Pouf & Pillow 2 Tufted Headboard from Amazon 3 Vintage Rose Fabric By The Yard 4 Newport Teardrop Lamp 5 Maura Daniel Chandelier From LaylaGrace.com 6 Bennett Nightstand From LaylaGrace.com 7 Elwoodworks On ETSY 8 Umbra Frama Mirrored Wall Décor Appliques
Monday's Mood Board...Pagoda Inspiration!
I feel really fortunate to have graduated from a college in an area that I have fallen in love with, San Luis Obispo, CA. I feel even more fortunate that I can live and work here. A few years ago I watched the corner of Marsh and Higuera St. in downtown, San Luis Obispo, transform from a dirt lot into a beautiful park. Cheng Park is the creation of retired Cal Poly Landscape Architecture professor, Alice Loh. The Chinese Park sits across the street from an Asian inspired home designed by one of our greatest architects, Frank Lloyd Wright. (Another great reason to live here.) You can read more about Cheng Park here.
I drive by the park on a regular basis and the wood pavilion as well as the grand entrance to the park, inspire me. The odd thing is, I don’t know if it’s selective focus, but I’m seeing Asian inspired home décor goods everywhere and I’m in love with them all. Photograph of Cheng Park from SLOCity.org.
A very dear mentor of mine once told me that she believed a home is not fully appointed until it has at least one piece of Asian Décor. I’ve kept that philosophy in mind when designing for my clients and now I’m sharing a few of those ideas with you.
For more ideas on Asian inspired décor, these blogs are great: http://blog.thepinkpagoda.us/ http://chinoiseriechic.blogspot.com/
1 Seda France Mini Pagoda Candle 2 Thomas Paul Pillow 3 Tangerine Pagoda Giclee (Love all the art on this site!) 4 Pixie Dust Decor Pink Pagoda Toile Fabric (Other colors available - great products!) 5 Chinoiserie Toile Pagoda Fuchsia Napkin 6 Red Thibaut Oriental Toile Fabric (Other colors available as well as wall paper) 7 Vaughan Design Chinese Fretwork Lantern (Beautiful lighting on this site)
Monday's Mood Board - A Little Dachshund Love!
Monday’s Mood Board was inspired by my good friend, and amazing jewelry designer, Cindy Arnet and her cute little Dachshund, who she calls Fwankie. She sent me a couple pictures of her a week ago, so just for fun, I thought I’d include her in this Monday’s Mood Board.
For a long time I’ve had my eye on this Greek Key Rug at Shop Ten 25. I love that it comes in several colors and when my “16 year old, trend spotting, fashion setting daughter” says she would like to put that in her room, then I know it’s a winner. Besides, it looks great with my Peacock Pillow and coordinating Chaz Pillows! And who wouldn’t just faint over a pair of Dolce & Gabbana Slippers….ahhhh dreaming…
Thanks for stopping by...check back later this week for a special post (& Mood Board of course) on some of my favorite books! Have a Fantastic Week!
1 Fwankie (Priceless & Not For Sale) 2 Greek Key Rug In Pink from Shop Ten 25 3 Dolce & Gabbana Slippers 4 Peacock Pillow from my Shop
Monday's Mood Board! Chic Chairs & Kate Spade Love!
Last Friday I had back to back meetings and at the end of the day I was so happy to be home. I threw my purse on the chair and quickly went in to my room to change into some comfy lounge wear for the night. Later I looked at my purse on my dining chair and thought, "This would be a cute little vignette to paint!". Since I'm constantly looking for product for my clients and I'm stuck on this love affair with Macau and Bamboo Chairs, I picked a few of my favorites and paired them with different purses from Kate Spade...all of which I would Love to own! Four chic chairs, four chic purses, four little paintings that make me smile. I hope they make you smile too!
You can find three of the four chairs at one of my favorite sites, Zinc Door. The pink faux bamboo chair came from Craig's List of all places according to blogger, Pink Mohair. Just a reminder to always keep your eyes open. You just never know what you may find!
1 Striped Stevie Bag 2 Mount Perry Rumor Bag 3 Barclay Street Sera Bag 4 Westchester Treesh Bag 5 Faux Bamboo Chair 6 Zinc Door Ambrose Clove Arm Chair 7 Zinc Door Elise Clove Arm Chair 8 Zinc Door Regeant Arm Chair
Posting this a little early because tomorrow is crazy busy! :-)
Just A Quick Mid-Week Mini MoodBoard!
This week’s Mid Week Mood Board is a quickie because I’m swimming in design projects right now, so I wanted to do something simple and fun. I’m obsessing over these Chloe Chairs from Bungalow 5 (and their case goods too!). You can purchase them at Layla Grayce on-line. I thought about putting a little Bulldog in my illustration when it dawned on me that my Bulldog Pillow would go great with this chair…so Viola! A quick and simple Mini Mood Board for this week’s continued design inspiration.
Monday's Mood Board - President's Day!
This Monday’s Mood Board is in honor of “President's Day” and depending on which State you live in you may be celebrating Washington, Lincoln and other notable Presidents…but for me it’s also a Celebration of this Country. We’ve been pretty beat up lately but I still believe in the USA!
This great Spitfire Chair, 19th Century Porthole Side Table and Counterpoise Task Floor Lamp are from Restoration Hardware. The Flag Pillow and Wall Art (made of USA License Plates) are from two very talented ETSY artists. The beautiful Horse Sculpture is from one of my favorite shops on the web, ShopTen 25 and the Fallon Zig Zag Federal Blue Rug is from another fantastic on-line shop, Zinc Door!
1 License Plate Flag Wall Art ETSY 2 Spitfire Chair from Restoration Hardware 3 Porthole Side Table From Restoration Hardware 4 Task Lamp from Restoration Hardware 5 Horse Sculpture from ShopTen 25 6 Vintage Flag Pillow from ETSY 7 Zig Zag Rug from Zinc Door
Raise your flag, send good thoughts out for our Country, and enjoy your holiday!
Monday Mood Board - Pink Love!
This week’s Monday Mood Board is inspired by Valentine’s Day and my favorite color of all time…PINK ! The inspiration started with this fabulous headboard from Posh Tots. I paired it up with some new goodies from my shop, my Peacock Pillow and my Hot Pink Chaz Pillows. I’ve also been experimenting with Poufs! I posted on my FB Page if anyone thought it was a good idea and judging from the response I had I believe I will pursue creating them!
Of course I get all kinds of inspiration from Pinterest and this is where I found these great Vintage Lamps from ETSY. (Always trying to support those small businesses) The fantastic side table is from Shop Ten25. This watermelon rug is divine from Madeline Weinrib and what I really love is this frame from John Murphy. You must check out his photography in his shop. So fresh!
You can always find my picks for my Mood Board Illustrations and where to get these items (plus a few more that didn’t make it to my final illustration) by following me on Pinterest.
I hope you like some of these ideas. Happy Valentine’s Day!
1 Hot Pink Chaz Pillow in my Shop 2 Peacock Pillow in my Shop 3 Vintage Hollywood Regency Lamps from ETSY 4 Hot Pink Frame from John Murphy 5 Peacock Pouf Coming Soon to my Shop 6 Watermelon Rug from Madeline Weinrib 7 White Lacquer Oriental Chest from Shop Ten25 and 8 Hot Pink Headboard from Posh Tots