T.G.I.F...does it need a definition?

T.G.I.F.  is an initialism for the phrase "Thank (God/Goodness/Gosh) It’s Friday"

Thank you Wikipedia, what did we ever do without you???

Turning 30 never LOOKED so good

If you haven’t figured it out yet, we here at O+P love design. Not just interior design but ALL types of design. I am always excited about any type of design that is outside the box, so when my sister called from Boston to inform us all that for her 30th birthday she would be getting a sleeve, I was WAY excited. For those of you that don’t know my sister you have to understand that growing up she was always the shy one, never liked much attention. But now that she is 30 apparently she has ventured out of the shy zone into HELLO my name is JESSICA and I have a very large tattoo covering my entire left arm. While my mom of course was devastated about this new permanent design, I was excited about the statement she is able to make and how comfortable in her own skin she must be. If only all women/girls could be that confident, the world might be a better place, right? While here on her visit this past week, we got the first glimpse of the tattoo,

[do you see the old man]

 it’s not completed but it’s well on it’s way.

 

[there is all sorts of things hiding in there]

The detail of the design is amazing.

[it's kind of a where's waldo of forest creatures]

I find most artists fascinating but ink on skin; I think he must be a pretty talented guy. It was kind of funny to see my kinda of shy sister interact with total strangers that just had to inquire about her tattoo.  I think it's a great way to celebrate turning 30! 

[sad I'm 30 face...as if she even looks close to 30]

Of course I have to mention that she also got engaged while here...contrary to what my mom was afraid of her diamond looks FAB-O on her tatted up left hand arm!!

[he put a ring on it face] heehee!!

Congrats Jess!  We love ya!!

-fd

ps. mom did admit she doesn't hate the tattoo!

Gallery Wall

I feel like I'm starting to get a grasp on what I want my new house to be; how it should feel and how I'm going to make that happen.  One of that hardest areas to figure out was my entry hallway.  It's long and there's a lot of wall space!

I'm toying with the idea of doing a floor to ceiling gallery wall like the ones below filled with family photos:

I'm leaning towards a layout streamline like this, but the jury is still out on matching frames. I'm not doing all black and white like this, but it will be floor to ceiling.

Here's another classic and structured gallery wall

Here's a gallery wall using different frames, but keeping all the same color tones and shades.  This look is definitely more boho and casual.

Here's the feel of my entry.  A long corridor except mine has several archways.  I'm not feeling this gallery wall though.  There's no rhyme or reason and there needs to be some sort of invisible "border" around the gallery {in my opinion} to pull it all together and the sizes are way too small for this big wall.  Looking a little cluttered and not in a good way.

I'm always drawn towards large scale, so this appeals to me with larger frames.  All the frames and mats are different sizes, but the color is consistent which I think works...and i must say that this desk is accessorized beautifully.  I love the mix of styles, the fresh flowers, and layering of junk. 

Stay tuned for how my gallery wall turns out!  I'm working on editing the pictures to all be a vintage style so the images from the 80's can hang next to my wedding pics taken this April and not look out of place. 

-jd

Today is Only Tuesday.

Online shopping find(s)

In my mad search to find the perfect fabric for my wing back chair, I came across this site and thought I would share.  It's called P. Tree Textiles. I haven't purchased anything from there, so I can't really give you a review, but the credit card is out and I am in debate.  Here's what I'm thinking:

Rumba- Sunshine is looking like it might be just perfect for my master bedroom headboard, especially at $15.99  a yard!

Cats Cradle- Midnight is super cute too.  I don't know where it would go, but for $19.99/yd, I think I might have to find this one a home.

But I still don't know what to do about my chair....so I'm going to continue my search.  I thought I might do an Imperial Trellis knock off like this one from LOFT32 on etsy, but when I really thought about it, it's too busy................but I'm still getting a sample because it could make some cute pillows

The sweet owner is sending me a little sample to I can make sure the texture isn't whack or cheap.

Here's (what I think to be) the real thing in action.  LOVE

Now, I'm on a "maybe I want to do black and white stripes" kick.  You know how I love a good black and white stripe ;)

80's or chic?  I'm still not sure...

Happy Monday night.  Get offline and turn on the Bachelorette,

-jd

T O T A L L Y O B S E S S E D : Robert Pattinson

I don't know if I can write any words to do him justice, but here you go.....

Y U M

OH.  MY.  GAWD.

H O T

T O T A L L Y  O B S E S S E D

-jd

first impressions

The first impression to your home sets in before people step one foot inside your house.  Guests see your yard, exterior, and walk through the front door and probably already have an opinion on your abode.  What does your front door say about you?  I want mine to say "Haaaay, come on in, relax, kick back, and have FUN!".  I want it to be inviting, intriguing, and have a little spunk. The builder standard color with my exterior paint scheme was black.  It could be worse, but what I'm thinking is...it could be so much better. 

Here's one of my inspiration pics.  I like the pop or color against the neutral gray and the wood accents tone it down.

This coral red door is classic and my floors are dark like this, so I thought red might be cute...

I love this combo too, but I think it looks so good because the house is so dark...which mine is not.

So, these are what I've come up with so far.

That's my front door.  There's a kelly green, dark teal green, light turquoise, burnt orange and a few red shades.  I'm leaning towards the teal shades, but I'm not sure.

There's a zoomed out view.  I will eventually have a pergola over the garage stained the same color as the shutters.  I want to replace those urns (there is a matching twin on the other side of the garage) with a colorful bush and vine that will grow up the pergola....eventually.

-jd

T.G.I.F

Let's try to get keep it cool this weekend ladies!

O+P

we heart their humor!

Outside makes me happy

I think I've forgotten to mention that since we've moved into our first house, I've learned a whole new kind of love..........gardening!  Well, not like in a garden, but more like....yard work.  I love it! 

Here a a few pretty yard pics stashed in my inspiration folder of ideas and things on my long, long "I would love to somehow incorperate this into my house" list:

What a garden party I could throw in this space.  The casual feel just screams "com'mon in and have a mimosa!"

This bad boy might have to be incorperated into Dream Home {year} 2030, but I will have a pool....someday...

lovely!  I could cozy up on that bench with a hot chocolate for sure.

Here's a little project of my own.  This is on my back patio.

and my gigantor hanging planters :)  I'm contemplating painting my front door red, teal, lime green, or orange.............but it will prolly stay black for a while.

last plant project until next season when we redo our planter beds completely!

-jd

projects galore

You all know I've been talking about painting my house gray since before we moved in, but it's a wee bit intimidating.  I have a very open floor plan and my issue was (is) that if I painted one wall, I would need to paint about 800 SF, not to mention our ceilings are painted our wall color too............and that's alotta ceiling.  But after 3 months of hemming and hawing, taping up paint chips, and picturing everything I've been doing with gray walls, I finally bought a little trial paint sample and broke the seal!

Now just a little preface to these pictures.  I don't know if I've ever mentioned the random pressure I feel to have a perfect house since I'm an Interior Designer.  Somehow I think people don't understand that just because you're this oh so glamorous designer, you must have more time or money than the average Joe.  Um, not the case.  So, before these pictures, I've been a little hesitant to post my house as it really is day to day- a work in progress.  An unfinished project with no less than 6 paint chips taped up at any given time; never as clean as I want it and not at all close (yet) to the perfect inspiration pictures I'm constantly posting.  But, let's get real.  I don't have time to clean and accessorize for y'all each time I want to show you something.  So I'm gonna keep it real from now on- mess and all.  With all that being said; here's the gray :) 

Drew has been badgering me to finish the coffee table and the media console we got about 3 months ago (both unfinished wood), but I felt like I couldn't get started until I could see them with the gray walls I've been dreaming about. And the downward spiral begins.  I'm pretty sure I am in love with the gray, but I need your opinion! 

There's my fab living room.  Oh god.  Builder boob fixture and all. (Eventually, that TV will be wall mounted and the console below will be finished and I will have curtains and crown molding and if nothing else, the boob fixture will be replaced).  I like how the builder put two electrical outlets on either side of the TV outlet so far away that there's not a furniture piece large enough to cover them; smart thinking guys!

Ok, so anyways, I know it's just a subtle difference, but I think once it's all finished, it will be such a huge difference.  That off white color is just so..........builder bland.

OH!  On a side note: you know those little square things that claim to make edging a dream?  SO TRUE.  LIFE CHANGING and I totally recommend them.  I don't know why I thought they were a scam all these years???

Before

And after.  I know, I know.  It seems crazy to spend all this time and money on such a subtle change, but I have to. (ps.  this is how much house I would normally show you when it's a hot mess like it is now).

c

Again, totally keeping it real with the laptop plug and shoe inserts on the table- classy.  I picked this wing back chair up at Willy's in Tampa for $150 bucks and despite that heinous floral print, it's a good size (36" wide) and super comfy.  I picked up two fabrics today as options to recover it in (see below)

that crinkly thing behind the chair is the paint chip of the gray color above.  Poor thing (the paint chip) has been taped up in every SF of my house and carried around in my purse for a couple weeks so I could obsess over how it would look.  The yellow stripe would add a nice pattern and look cute, but still neutral with the walls and beige sofas.  The orange linen is actually what I'm leaning towards more.  While being a brighter color, I feel like it's less of a risk becuase it's a solid.  I thought about going super funk with a huge scale fabric pattern (and still might), but I fear that it will go out of style in a few years and reupholstering isn't exactly cheap!

Also planned for this room is this:

rug from West Elm.  I need something dark and durable and while I would love an oriental, I frankly just can't afford it. I like the ethnic look of it and for the size, it's a pretty good deal!

I am leaning towards a crystal chandelier like the one below, but who knows....I haven't even begun to look at fixtures yet ;)

I kind of want something out of control and glitzy to offset the ethnic feel of the rug and provide a focal point.

Whatya guys think? 

-jd

It's only Tuesday and we're bitter

 (compliments of Natalie Dee )

sucka for symmetry

I can't peel myself away from the Bachelorette tonight long enough to write a real post, but I just wanted to share a quick photo that has my heart:

gray, wing back chairs, lucite lamps, natural wood finishes, a dog, and symmetry to boot.  what a dream vignette...

-jd

fun find

My Saturday's usually consist of getting up at the butt crack and loading up for at least 4 hours of junkin'.

Junkin' (verb)
Going to estate sales, garage sales, junk stores, thrift stores, etc to find original and inexpensive items for the home.

I also venture out during my lunch break from the blue cubby and last week, I stumbled upon this gem at Relic in Tampa:

That's it in my hallway.  Cute, right?  Especially for 180 bones.  It's double sided so if I find a place, it can stand free and looks the same on the back as on the front.

I think I'm going to paint the walls (and that electrical outlet) gray and of course add some books and accessories--stay tuned...

-jd

Paint it till it works

Well I finally finished by buffet that I bought at Willy's about two months ago.  When I got it, this is what it looked like:

(it was a TV console temporarily until the real one came in)

So, at first, I loved the whitewashed finish with gold rubbed accents, but then when it moved in to the dining room, it begged to be painted. 

It sat around the house for a week or so with various paint colors taped to it from this sage/gray color to a bright yellow.

Here is the final {for now} product!  I just noticed how bad that slip cover needs steam, so sorry 'bout that ;)  It started out teal, which was too bright.  So I added a little sage over that and then it was too sage, so I finally rubbed some black on top.....and this is how it turned out! 

Here's a little detail of the ornate corners

I chose to strip the paint that the previous owner put on the handles, so they would be the original bronze.  I love how the bronze looks against colored furniture!

I still have to figure out what accessories will go on top; those are just left overs from the wedding, but they'll do for now!  I love those sprigy flower things, but I think I'll cut them down so they're just straight up and down {less wild}.

The dining room still needs a lot of work, but it's {slowly} coming along.  Here's the plan {today}. 

I have a huge blank wall perpendicular to the wall with the buffet that I was at a loss with.  Then, just yesterday, I thought 'I wish there was an architectural focal point there like a window or fireplace'.  But there's not.  SO, I'm going to venture out and get a mantle to create a faux fireplace mantle set up. 

I think a mantle like this would be lovely and add so much!  The table would cover the hearth, so the fact that it's not really a fireplace might not be that noticeable.  I also like the look of using an oriental rug with a soft color that you can pop out like they did here with the red chairs.  I'm on the hunt for two wing back chairs to add to the ends of my table that I can recover in a loud color. 

Here's another fireplace in a dining room.  LOVE this one too.  I'm digging this  perimeter molding detail with the quarter round below the crown.  This is close to the gray color that I would love to paint our entire house {maybe a little darker}.

I'm also on the hunt for a unique chandelier and oriental rug; stay tuned....

-jd