Things have been quite busy around here so I thought I would bring y’all up to speed!
From client installs:
to new client projects:
to MAJOR 1900 pound deliveries:
we found ourselves needing some fun in the sun!
Hope y’all are also enjoying your start to Summer and are taking some time to stop for some fun in the sun!
From bracelets
via Pinterest
to beach towels
via Pinterest
monograms are everywhere!
Growing up a Southern girl, I had everything monogrammed! So it was no surprise when I used this in my master bedroom:
via Lauren Nicole Designs
So it got me thinking about other ways in which monograms are used when decorating your home. Here are some interesting examples that I found on Pinterest:
I love how subtle this monogram is on these beautiful valances. Classic, elegant AND personalized!
I am a sucker for anything in the form of moss or boxwood so this monogrammed burlap plaque is a winner!
This is an innovative way to not only monogram something in your home but to decorate a space with a clever touch as well. Using this stencil technique on a mirror that has been distressed in some fashion- mercury glass is a good example-is a great project that can yield results with high style. And a sense of accomplishment to boot!
check out www.facebook.com/lilahomedesignsfor more info on how you too can have a monogrammed mirror in your home!
Have you used your monogram on any of your home decor projects?
I am sure that many of you are seeing and reading about how gray is taking over the title as the new favorite neutral. It is everywhere! I am seeing it used online and in magazines and my clients are loving it too!
Just like any other color, there are many different shades and tones of gray. And you have to be careful not to go too cold and institutional but this cool color can be an awesome backdrop to most any room.
via pinterest
The gray tones can be paired with lots of other colors to add excitement to the room, such as navy, kelly green, coral or softer blue tones. Or, a room designed in a more monochromatic sense may boast different shades of gray paired with a crisp white to give a clean and classic look.
via pinterest
via pinterest
Some of my favorite grays are Ben Moore: bennington gray, grant beige and revere pewter. As with any color, I would always recommend painting 2 coats of a sample on several of your walls in the prospective room and living with them to make sure that you are in love with your new plan.
Good luck going gray!
Nothing makes me happier than happy clients! So when I receive notes like this, I get all mushy and I have to take a moment to stop and realize that all of my efforts are not only to bring beauty to a home but to help make a difference in the lives of my clients. How amazing that I get to do this everyday!
In the spirit of Spring and baseball starting up again—this only excites one member of our household—I thought I’d share some quick pictures of some client installs that my team and I knocked out of the park! These are all very rough, not staged, and all taken with my iPhone but it is always fun to capture a project coming together!
Check out what a little paint and drapery action can do to a room!
My next client had a specific request to keep the peace in her house. She works from home and is often on calls or trying to concentrate when her large canine companion spots a squirrel in their beautifully wooded back yard and goes bonkers barking at the windows incessantly. But because her view is so nice we needed to keep the trees visible. So a top down/bottom up shade was the perfect solution. Oh and she wanted a WOW island light fixture too.
I have my own little slugger at home who is hitting lots of her own home runs!
As you all probably know by now, my life is a non stop flurry of activity and a constant balancing act of work and family. And I love every minute of it! Today was a perfect example. I scheduled a client meeting for today that was a make up from last week but given the Easter holiday, that made for an extra careful day of planning.
We started off with Finley’s gymnastics class, which was a hit, and then I was off to my meeting at 11am. (which was a fantastic meeting full of exciting new projects!) We were scheduled for a neighborhood Easter egg hunt at 3, then to my in laws at 4 for more egg hunting and cousin fun. We were in charge of the dessert for our family gathering but because I was gone for most of the day I had to call in backup, in the form of my expert baker husband:)
I found the recipe on Pinterest and he made it happen!
WAY TO GO CHRIS! I couldn’t believe how perfect it was! It looked just like the picture online…..and we all know I could never have done this on my own! And most importantly it tasted AMAZING!
Here are a few other pics from our afternoon fun~
whhhheeeeeeee!!!!!
what do you mean there are no more eggs?
From the Lauren Nicole Designs Team and the Clement Family we wish you all a very Happy Easter!
After a long Winter…my girls have literally been sick since October…I am hoping that Spring will make it’s appearance here in Northern VA VERY VERY soon. Today, my Finley was channeling the bright colors and bold pattern of Spring style with her new Spring wardrobe. And a few other accessories. But her outfit has actually made me think about how I use a variety of patterns, colors and textures to design a space for a client. Who knew this little fashionista would inspire a blog post?!
Dress and leggings by Target and glasses and heels a la Mom
Here are some examples of how I mix TO match patterns, colors and textures to create a beautiful room.
This sitting area in a master bedroom boasts a large scale damask print on the chairs, a fabulous embroidered circle pattern on the draperies and an antiqued diamond pattern wallpaper on the ceiling. And it all works together! The similar colors and restful feeling of all of these elements make them all work well together.
This above shot is from a music/living room that has an overall casually elegant feel. Because the sofa, a large half circle shape, is in a solid neutral fabric, the other elements of the room needed to pull it all together. So I combined a large print and bold color pillow with a small scale and more muted green houndstooth pillow. **For those of you still getting to know me–I LOVE HOUNDSTOOTH!** And you can see that the drapery in the background has a neutral color but strong pattern to add to the casual elegance that my client wanted.
This sunroom has three walls of windows and is truly an indoor/outdoor feel so I aimed to enhance it’s setting in the design plan. While the color palette has less variety, the patterns and textures of this room are a great example of how to get out out of your comfort zone and mix and match BUT with a plan—not like little miss Finley! 
From the zebra pillow to the embroidered circle pillow to the woven sofa fabric to the soft ultra velvet chair fabric to the varying textures of the moss spheres, this room wins you over with it’s MIX to MATCH design plan.
I hope you can see that you can combine colors, patterns and textures to create a beautiful space. Happy decorating!
Happy Weekend Y’all! I thought I would kick it off with a bit of inspiration for you! Following up from my last post on Before and After Part 1, here is the next transformation in this lovely home.
This formal living room is actually more of a piano/music room for this family. So we needed a beautiful place for friends and family to enjoy the beautiful sounds that their daughter will produce when she is home from college. PLUS this is literally the first room that you see when you walk into this home as it is very open to the foyer.
The room started with two chairs that we just not right. Not the right look, style, size, color and most of all were just plain uncomfortable! Here is the before:
And here is the after!
What do you think?
Now this family can enjoy their musical performances in comfort AND style! I love adding black somewhere in a room and here the black based area rug provides the perfect backdrop for the rest of the space. The rich red geometric drapery panels are classic yet current and grab your attention right away. The leopard ottoman keeps this ‘formal’ room from feeling stuffy and add an element of FUN into this gorgeous and sophisticated space.
**Formal living rooms can be a tough room for people to address. It is often the most unused room in the home. But if you can find a use that is functional for your lifestyle, think about how to play that up instead of making it a traditional sitting area that may not make the most out of the space for YOUR lifestyle.**
After all…..it is ALL ABOUT YOU!
Twice a year I am fortunate enough to have my interior photographer make the journey from his home in Cape Cod to Loudoun County to photograph my work. We usually spend 3-5 days together and we laugh 90% of the time! Mr. Randy Foulds is the most talented photographer out there but is such a great friend as well! This past fall we shot two homes and 7 beautiful rooms, some of which I have already shared with you. But I thought I would take each house and post each room to show y’all our progress. Who doesn’t love a before and after session?!
This particular home is about 10 years old and my clients had moved in over the Summer and knew they needed to make some changes to update the home and make it their own. This full bathroom (before picture below), has dual access- from the main hallway and from the home office. So it is used as the main powder room but is a full, attached bath since the home office could be used as a bedroom. My clients will not use this as a full bath and since the shower is quite pronounced–especially the seat–we wanted to minimize the ‘shower’ feel when guests walk in.
I knew immediately that I wanted to add a beautiful drapery and cornice to shield the shower seat and soften the look of the shower in this powder room. I also knew we needed to update the fixtures from the brass and chrome combo to a rich bronze finish. My client knew that she wanted a faux finish on the walls and trusted me with the rest. Here is the transformation!
Now this full bath/powder room is a beautiful, warm, inviting space for my clients and all of their guests. Both husband and wife expressed how happy they are when they enter this happy little room. Oh how I love my job!
I love delivery day SO much! And this particular room has been a long time coming, not just for me, but for my clients who have waited their entire adult lives for a ‘grown up’ family room.
When I met my clients, they said, that everything they had could go. They were in search of a sleek and sophisticated look but livable for their young family. They wanted lots of seating for their growing family and all of their friends and neighbors. And the above colors of that pewter gray, silver-y blue, and chocolate were their top picks.
Taking all of that into account, the above family room was born! A luscious chocolate sectional–made in ‘kid proof, puppy proof, life proof’ fabric sits atop a happy and transitional area rug that provides a comfy place for their daughters to play. Flanking the fireplace are two modern wing chairs in a FABULOUS grey damask fabric. The sleek steel blue drapery panels add height and color to the room and are the icing on the cake. Of course there are more accessories and more art work to come but I am so happy with this project!
And when all of the pieces were in place, my client said, “we finally have a grown up room!” Being able to deliver exactly what my clients are anticipating for their home brings me such joy! This room, and the others in this home that I am working on, are such works of art. A lot of thought and detail has gone into every inch of their spaces. I am excited to share more photos as we deliver more rooms!
