Perfect Party Patio

As graduation is approaching, I'm dreaming of revamping our patio (or as we lovingly refer to it as the partio.)  Here are a few inspiration photos that I'm drawing from:

I love the mix of layered rugs, soft warm and fuzzy shearlings in the chairs, the kilim cushion covers and the rustic warm woods.  This would probably be the happiest medium for the hubby and me.  There's still enough white, and light in it, but it still feels warm and cozy for him.

This next one appeals to my love for white.  Also, I am scheming up a plan to get a custom built swinging bed.   I love how the rope frays at the bottom.  I also love the mix of white and rustic.  Our beams are wood, so we would (wood) already have enough of the wood tones, so I think it could still be a happy compromise for the hubs and me.  I also would love to throw a bold black and white graphic outdoor rug in the mix!

Something about this swinging sofa is calling my name.  Could it be as simple as inserting some giant eyehooks into a cute sofa and hanging it from the rafters?

Again, this one says, "I'm a little bit boho, I'm a little bit rock and roll!"  I love the pops of color amidst the white cushions.  And that zebra hide takes it to another level!

So, this one has a very laid back moroccan thing going.  From the collection of lanterns to the layered mixed rugs.  I'm also thinking something like this could work for both the Mr. and myself.

Alas, if budget and space were no issue, I would have all of them, but as it is, I will have to do the best I can with what I have.  I have some great pieces an fabrics to work with-- I just need a good outdoor rug, some plants, and a little tlc to get my partio ready.

I'm also a sucker for entering giveaways, and this one from Hayneedle came just as I was dreaming up a new space.  I'm gonna try my luck, and encourage you to do the same.  Good Luck!

This Little Piggy

This Little Piggy (who has two thumbs and some bright yellow pants and shiny silver boots) is going to High Point Furniture Market, and so excited about all the finds for clients and the store.  I'm sure I'll be saying, "wee, wee, wee" all the way there and home!  And spring is finally here, and the trees and flowers are a blooming!

And Now for My Next Magic Act

So how about that disappearing act?  I didn't mean to go away for so long, but things have been a little hectic around here.  The end of one year, the beginning of the next, my last semester of school which consists of a 17 hour semester and a 20 hour/week internship!  All of this can be a little crazy at times, but I'm trying to find a rhythm and I'm keeping at it.  A few things have certainly fallen by the wayside (like this poor neglected blog, my hair, my sleep schedule, and my house), but I can see the finish line in sight, and I'm picking up my second wind.

I have to say that I am absolutely loving my internship.  I'm interning with Lisa Sherry at Lisa Sherry Interieurs.  She is an established designer in High Point, NC, and shares a space with her husband Ron Royals, who is a pretty established photographer.  They both maintain an easy casual luxe style, and their house will soon be on feature in Domino Magazine (look out for the summer issue.)  One of the highlights of my internship so far, was to meet the editor of Domino, Michelle Adams.  Adams is a former editor and founder of LONNY and worked for the original Domino earlier.  It was such a thrill to meet Michelle, and to see what a big time photo shoot entails (not much if you are already effortlessly chic like Lisa!)

Here are a couple of Lisa's beautiful design projects

Other perks of my internship have been helping with blog ideas for Lisa's blog, and getting to play along in the creative process.  LSI is working on a couple of showrooms, and I was given a hands-on approach to one of them.  I'll snap some pictures of the install and be sure to come back and share them here.  I'm learning so much, and really appreciative of the opportunity that I have.

Ciao for now,
Gina

Winding Down a Whirlwind of a Semester.

In the words of my one of my classmate's sweet little son, Miles, "Goodness Gracious, what was that?"  

This semester flew by, and I am about to click the final submit button to finish it out.  We worked on some great projects this semester.  I've already shown a little of what our Commercial class covered, and I'd love to show you one of the projects that I worked on in Residential as well.  

Our final project was for a real life organization that is near and dear to me.  Mary's House is a recovery house for women with addiction and their children.  It is in an historic neighborhood very close to my own house, and it is run by a very dedicated and strong woman, Craig Thomas.  Mary's House is named for Mary Magdalene and offers an extended housing and recovery program for 8 women and their children at a time.  My classmates and I were partnered up, and assigned a room to measure, design, and present.  I was fortunate to be able to partner with the oh so fabulous, Sheryl Pugh of Pugh Design Group, and we decided to take on the dining room.  

Here are some photos of the dining room as it currently is

Dining room as seen from the door way

Kitchen pass-thru
Hi Tina

Dining room from far wall 

Dining Room Window Wall

When we visited the site for our initial consult, Craig, the Executive Director told us that she loved yellow.  She also explained to us the importance of AA and the support system that it provides.  So, we decided we wanted to give the space a bright and cheery feel as well as incorporate some custom art with the 12 steps and the 12 traditions.  There were lots of simple but inspiring print outs on the walls, but they had all just been printed from the computer in black and white.

Something about the space made me remember this cute little print that I had seen on Etsy, and that became one of our early inspiration pieces.

Sheryl brought in a room inspiration from Pinterest that was right up my alley, and I knew that she and I were on the exact same page.  

The entire class chose a color scheme from design-seeds that featured warm yellows an corals and light, turquoise and teal.  

Here is the floor plan and the proposed cabinet wall elevation

And here are the furnishings and finishes that we selected for the Mary's House Dining Room

 Here is the beautifully rendered perspective of the proposed dining room, looking through the kitchen pass-thru.

And just for fun, we thought it would be really cool to paint their steps with the 12 Promises 

We want this space to feel warm, and fresh.  Inspiring the women of Mary's house as they venture into a new phase in life.  Most of us probably have fond memories of sitting around the dining table with friends and family, discussing everything from how our day at school was, to grade school crushes, politics and important family decisions.  We have visions that this space will help to do the same to build fond memories at Mary's House.  We not only imagine families gathering around the table to eat, but hope that they will use the space for homework, arts and crafts, and for playing cards and board games.  

The presentation went very well, and Craig brought along her friend and fellow interior designer Betsey Isley who asked us to explain some of our design choices, and gave us great feedback.  This presentation will be entered into a competition through HGTV, but Sheryl and I are hoping that we can make it happen regardless of whether or not we win!

Check back soon for more posts on other projects as well as links to what my other classmates have been working on!

Camp Laughalotta Upstairs

While the downstairs is a kid-friendly, fun and colorful space, the upstairs is calm, tranquil and subdued--perfect for a camp counselor who is looking to wind down after a long day of corralling 30 high energy kids.  We chose a reclaimed hardwood floor for most of the public living spaces, an eco-conscious wool blend carpet for the Executive office and conference room, and ceramic tile for the bathrooms.  The residential space is a perfect blend of rich woods, soft textures and mid-century case goods. 
Below is the floor plan for the downstairs. 

 And here is the floor plan for the upstairs.

Very different, huh?

Camp Laugh-a-lotta

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

CONCEPT STATEMENT

At Camp Laughalotta we believe that laughter is the universal language.   Laughter cures most ills, is highly contagious and can melt even the most hardest of hearts.  Our mission at camp is to fully develop the stages of laughter (from the teeniest tinkling of a twitter to the big bold nose chortling and belly guffaws.)  We take this laughing business pretty seriously.

MOOD

Fun, playful, colorful define the mood and feel for the camp.

EXTERIOR OF ACTIVITY CENTER

1ST FLOOR FLOOR PLAN

The idea for the Bienenstock Furniture Library competition was to create a bold and vibrant activity center at Camp Laughalotta that was fun, kid-friendly, and accessible for all.  Detail to texture including walls and flooring were pivotal in assisting the vision impaired.  A stage that also serves as elevated seating includes a wheelchair accessible ramp with a dressing room and storage in the back.  A nurse's station with frosted and colored tempered glass provide an open and playful feel while still allowing privacy to those inside receiving first aid for minor cuts, scrapes and general booboos.  The tables can quickly be folded away and packed into the the storage facility along with the 30 brightly colored metal stackable chairs.  Cubbies provide storage for the campers while colorful cabinets provide additional stowaway for crafting materials and games.  Fun, tongue-in-cheek rules are displayed along the walls in colorful poster prints.  The additional seating on the stage is for select campers to sit in at meals or at craft time, and are designated as special award seating.

Requiring immediate proximity to the entry of the activity center is the nurse's station, and adjacent to the nurse's station are the two accessible restrooms.  The restrooms needed to be located within a certain distance to the exterior walls.  The stage sits in the middle of the first floor and to the front of the stage are tables and chairs that can quickly be packed away to create open space or audience seating for special presentations.  

Special attention was given to flooring, furniture and finishes.  Although there would seem to be an equal emphasis on color, the color green actually received top billing.  As in GREEN, eco, sustainable.  

FURNITURE SELECTIONS

First aid blankets

 tactile signage along the walls and halls

 colorful storage

 great patterns and textures

 nurse's station

 stools for nurses station

stage curtains

 folding tables

stacking chairs

cabinetry

house rules

All of these together make for many happy campers at Camp Laugh-a-lotta!

Mont-u-mental field trip

Last Thursday and Friday, in the chilly October rain, my RCC classmates, my amazing instructor, Holly, and I, all set out for a Presidential Passport field trip to the Charlottesville VA area.  We spent quite a bit of time planning our adventure, mapping out where we wanted to stay, and eat, and sites we hoped to see.  The trip was planned for October in anticipation that the fall foliage would be in its peak. We made plans to stay in the Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, eat some yummy food along the way, and visit Montpelier and Monticello.

Our first stop was to get to Charlottesville for lunch at the Nook.  After eating a great lunch, we headed on to our Founding Father of the Bill of Rights, James Madison's home, Montpelier. James Madison was our fourth President of the United States, and helped to write the Constitution that sets the framework for our government.  He married Dolley Madison who was born right here in NC very close to Greensboro.  Dolley was a widowed Quaker who won the eye of James Madison and became his wife.  Dolley was really the original First Lady of the White House, and took great measures in creating a beautiful and social environment.  She won the heart of the nation when she saved the portrait of George Washington from being burned in the War of 1812.

James Madison

Dolley Madison

Dolley Madison saving the portrait of George Washington

Upon approaching Montpelier, we first noticed the pastoral fields and horses.  We stopped in the visitor center and watched a very short film about the Madison family and the home's history.  The home had once been much smaller, but as James Madison gained prestige and married, he added an additional wing to the home that allowed separate spaces for James Madison Sr., and his wife Nelly as well as James Jr., Dolley and Dolley's son, Payne.  I would have to say, that other than the salon that features busts of famous politicians and beautiful paintings, that the gardens were my favorite part of the tour.  I did also enjoy seeing the neat pocket windows that flanked the doors to allow for air circulation.

Below are a few more pictures from Montpelier.

Mini James and Dolley

Dolley set the bar pretty high for Jackie and Michelle

 James and Dolley and Montpelier along with a telephone, walkie talkies and a boom box!

 Minipelier

 a soggy entry

 God is in the details

 entry way

 Paolo, the pensive lion 

Baptisto the bashful

 beautiful formal gardens

 I lichen you

 portilaca grandiflora

After a rainy night in Charlottesville, we left our hotel to head to Monticello, the home of third president and author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson's estate was much more grandiose than Madison's, and featured many more original pieces that have been returned to the estate. Mr. Jefferson spent much time in France as Minister to France, and combined with his stays there, and his studies of Andrea Palladio's The Four Books of Architecture, drew up the plans for his home, Monticello, which means "little mountain" in Italian.  Over the years, Monticello grew in size to eventually encompass 11,000 square feet.  I truly enjoyed most every room that we were able to see beginning with the main entry and it's second floor overlook, the great clock that tells the time in seconds, minutes, hours, and days.  I also loved the collected and curated pieces from the Lewis and Clark exploration.  An interesting fact is that Jefferson did not have a formal staircase, and considered them to be a big waste of space and energy; instead, he had 2 very narrow spiral staircases.

Thomas Jefferson

Monticello

Front Entry

Front Entry

Curated pieces in front entry

 Salon

 Jefferson's study

 Front entry

Jefferson's dining room was a great space, and our tour guide showed us where dumb waiters for wine were on the sides of the fireplace and must have been used non-stop during the great reunion of the reunion of Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette where they partook in almost 300 bottles of wine in less than a weeks time!  Jefferson's office and library were also quite impressive and some of his inventions were on display.  His bedroom featured a neat built in bed between an alcove and a walk-up closet above!  Mr. Jefferson was quite the scientist, and his gardens and grounds were a beautiful reflection of his curiosity of horticulture and plant life.

Dining Room

 Dining room and smaller room 

Garden

 built in bed and walk up closet over head

Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures of the interior, but luckily, there were a great deal of interior pictures of Monticello available on the internet.

Both of the lives and accomplishments of these men, and their homes are quite impressive, it is also a harsh reminder of the dichotomous lives that they led.  Both estates relied heavily upon the work of slave men and women who were most likely mistreated.  Madison and Jefferson both are on record as to speaking of the abominations of slavery, yet they both relied on slavery, and Jefferson owned more than 600 slaves in his lifetime, yet only granted freedom to 10 of them.   I'm sure that there have been studies on the subject, but it definitely cast a shadow on their character on an already cold and rainy trip.