Well designed events: Fall 2009 - Thanksgiving

Instead of going home to Texas this Thanksgiving, I was fortunate to spend the day with my second family who live just down the street. Amy and John are wonderful people who love to open their home to anyone and touch them with a little hospitality. They are blessed to live in an amazing home that is perfect to gather in. (The house recently underwent a major renovation and was completed earlier in the year...see "the projects"). Amy put alot of thought into creating a unique and meaningful thanksgiving dinner and I was lucky to be apart of it.

I'm thankful!

I love the pear place setting! (Alternating the brown and green pears was my idea)

Photos of every guest were suspended from a decorative vine that hung from the ceiling, it made everyone feel special.

Yes, that is me below...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well designed events: Fall 2009

My dear friend Keli is expecting her first child in the spring and her baby shower was amazing! Shocking for me to refer to a shower as amazing because I generally have negative feelings towards them. A gathering solely focused on the alien looking human being inside a friend is less than entertaining.. especially when there is no wine involved! This shower however, set a standard that has forever changed my opinon about them. I think it was the thoughtfulness of design that earned my appreciation for this type of event. Friends, take note...!

Our friend Liz was the mastermind and host of the shower. She opened up her home in Long Beach, CA and transformed her patio into a place out of a fairytale; butterflies and flowers will forever be a girls dream. Our inner child was really joyful :)

The pink chairs were rented from Baker party rentals in Costa Mesa and a portion of the cost was donated to the Susan G. Koman breast cancer society!

Lovely!

This is one of my favorite things...the candy table! Such a fun way to utilize something so inexpensive to create a stunning presentation.

Tea and cookies anyone? Yes, please!

I wanted us all to have the chance to create something special for Keli and baby Kenzie so I put together these little takeout boxes filled with fabric and paint to design onesies!

To: Baby Kenzie


Liz, Amira, Keli, and Shannon

A surprise 80th!

This weekend was a friend's mom's surprise 80th birthday party. I had been helping her plan it for months in advance...and it turned out beautifully! I willingly volunteered to take creative control to turn the atmosphere into something magical! So Friday after work I popped into Conroy's in Costa Mesa which offers 50% off all flowers (Friday's only). I literally cleaned out the shop! Gladiola's, Lillies, and Iris for around $1 per stem are you kidding me?? I made out like a bandit...and when I returned home my little place began to look like a flower shop itself!

I was slightly overwhelmed at first as I had never really created floral arrangements before! And there were so many flowers! They were going to be used as centerpieces... which is the main focal point of each table! So I couldn't have them looking unprofessional! After a couple of tries of undoing/rearranging I was pleased with how they turned out!

The BEST part was that her mom was shocked and it was a total surprise! Friends and family flew in from all over to be a part of this celebration...everyone was just delightful! Such a magical party :)

A very surprised birthday girl!

The clubhouse was spanish style with dark wood floors and golden toned walls. I wanted to lighten the space up a bit and complement the existing decor, so I chose celadon table cloths with creme colored linens along with the silver-leafed Chivari chairs...my favorite!

The centerpeices I wanted to be representative of The birthday girl; fun and free spirited! Her birthday gift to herself is sky diving!...At 80?!? Isn't that illegal! Anyways, I combined oranges/yellows with purple and creme to really button things up.

The Projects

Okay, so aside from all of the vacation time, my mind has been at work! Who am I kidding...it never really stops. So I painted the rest of my apartment...finally! I swear I am so non-committal when it comes to choosing decor and style for my own place! It's difficult because there are so many things I would like to do, but lacking in the funds and space to actually see it through. So I just pulled the trigger! Although I feel personally life is mostly black and white...my apartment reflects shades of gray.

Night stand purchased at a garage sale for $5 along with the lamp $1

Drawer pull from Anthropologie

Bookends from Urbanism

Floppy hat - Target

I love my metalic silver drum from TJMaxx Homegoods $50

Deco Pillow - Target $20

This is just a sneak peek of what my pad looks like...finishing touches to come.

Is it really late September?

Well I have been M.I.A over this last month...I can't ever come to terms with how quickly time passes! My younger sister visited for 11 days and following her was my dad who spent another week with me :) It was really nice being able to spend time with them individually and doing different things around So Cal! I took Hailey (my sister) to explore beautiful Santa Barbara and it really turned out to be an amazing trip! We totally lucked out and were able to bunk at The Bacara Resort which is absolutely breathtaking!

This resort is magical! There is something about it that just restores the "butterfly" feeling when in love! I know...that sounds cheesy, but it seriously rocked my world! Aside from being luxurious...I mean who wouldn't want to snuggle in Frette sheets? I didn't want to get out of bed!

Showering with FRESH was an experience all in its own. The weather wasn't ideal for sunbathing...but there is nothing more relaxing than a brisk, gloomy morning in California and a room with a fireplace, no home should be without one of these.

Here's what inspired me today:

The Nines Hotel in Portland, Oregon

Meijer and Frank Suite in a monochromatic color scheme
I find this very comforting and soothing

The Library
I love this warm library style lounge, this would definitly be my hangout spot in the fall,
just give me a top hat and a cigar

How refreshing is this tiffany blue pop of color in the Junior Suite?
I would have included a splash of ruby red in a center pillow on the sofa or,
small bud vases holding cardinal red hydrangeas on each side table

The Delux Room


Just love these colors together!

but the tea table is missing something...

like an old fashioned telephone or simply just a potted white orchid

FYI...

I want you to know that Project: Couture Home is a blog to inspire and excite the creative beast in all of us that needs to be unleashed! I will be posting articles and images of things that have interested me as well as design projects I am currently working on. I love bringing new life to old pieces of furniture and will especially highlight these projects once I get started...Thank you for being patient as this blog is like a fine bottle of wine...it gets better with age! :)

Dreaming in San Francisco...

Am I in a fairytale right now?? Where is Alice and the little white rabbit?

This is my interpretation of what the streets will be like in heaven...


The sky dripped onto the shutters...

Window shopping...too dangerous to enter!

I would love to see this pink awning above the windows of a beach cottage...

Hidden Treasures

I love to stumble upon the unexpected. New York is an explorer's dream come true. I spent my weekends roaming the streets, visiting neighborhood flea markets and unique little shops. As I continue my exploration in Orange County I was pleased to discover this great antique shop in Newport!

The Cannery Exchange

2640 Avon Ave. Newport Beach, CA 92663 * canneryexchange.com

I adore funky lamps! $75.00

French Neoclassical Table

LOVE these original mini paintings from Roky Roca $50.00