Mi Casa es su Casa: Designer's Home

When we purchased this original mid century home in Houston, my husband and I knew what an undertaking it would be. Of course, I loved the layout and design of the house itself, but it was in dire need of my personal TLC. Though very happy with the progress, we know we have a bit further to go in order to transform it into our ideal home. Much of the major work so far has been on an intense kitchen renovation, with all other spaces in the house getting a (less intense but still major) facelift. So, without further ado, allow me to welcome you into our home!

Let's begin where most home tours begin: the living room. First, you'll notice the neutral color palette and the blues and greens that welcome you into a state of calm. To add height to the room, we used long grommet curtains with an abstract geometric pattern, which add some interest. The large window at the front of the house allows streams of light to pour in and inundate our home with glowing warmth (by the way, our dog absolutely loves to sun bathe here!). 

In keeping with a mid century designed home, bringing outside elements inside is crucial. The wooden furnishings in our living room are made of re-purposed wood, smoothed and stained to perfection. Quality wood furnishings are harder to come by these days, but their durability, strength, and style will allow them to virtually last forever! In case you're wondering, the side table (blocks) are suuuuper heavy- looks are deceiving!

Just a few pieces I want to mention before moving on: take a quick look at the glass-globe side table lamps, the varying accent pillows, low profile couch, and the archetypal mid century modern chair. If you haven't noticed, I love incorporating original art work in the homes I work on to add an even more personal, and unique touch. This piece in particular is actually my own creation! Can you guess what it is?! It's an abstract representation of a magnified hop bud (my husband and I are avid craft beer fans)! 

Before we move into the kitchen here is a little before and after of this 1950's original kitchen!

 Passing through the living room, we enter the heart of our home: the kitchen. Because we love to cook and entertain so much, we had to extend our kitchen three whole feet! We wanted a strategic, clean design with maximum storage space. Our next phase in the renovation is to gut the flooring in the entire house, which needless to say will be a huge project. So, ignore the floor and take a look at everything else! 

Since storage is of utmost importance, we removed the bulkhead (also known as a fur head) which is the useless gap between the tops of cabinets and the ceiling that is only inhabitable by dust bunnies and spiders. I don't understand why kitchens were so popularly designed with bulkheads, but I made sure to promptly remove it from my own. Now, these large cabinets flushed with the ceiling store everything we have and will acquire in the future. 

 

Next to the fridge (which was moved down for better accessed), we installed a pullout pantry cabinet that runs the height of the kitchen. Without this nifty pantry, this would have just been an empty little nook. Because the shape, size, and design of kitchens and large kitchen appliances don't always cooperate, it's important to utilize whatever leftover space there may be, especially if you want ample storage and a clean, streamlined design. 

Though you see a lot of black in this chic kitchen, we were sure to install LED lights under the cabinets to illuminate the counter work space. The recessed can light above the sink replaced the old fluorescent lights that yellow a room and damper the mood. To bring in more light, our kitchen came equipped with a pleasant little greenhouse window above the sink as well. The earthy, stacked limestone tiled back splash softens the image of our edgy black and stainless steel kitchen which helps to brighten up the space, along with chrome accents scattered throughout the kitchen. 

Now, let's shine the spotlight on our lovely composite sink, equipped with a professional-grade faucet. No nobs, no hoses, no problem: we love the simple, streamlined design of this heavy duty faucet! The sink reaches the depths we need, all in stylish black granite. This contrasts beautifully with the white quartz counters, all illuminated by the chrome industrial style pendant hung from above.

Moving on to the guest room: a space where visitors can relax in style. All furnishings are new, except the velveteen yellow tufted chair: it was an heirloom piece from my abuela! With mostly calming neutral colors, the yellow was incorporated in order to blend the chair in with the rest of the room.

Coincidentally, the yellow chair and neutral color palette also worked perfectly with this beautiful Japanese fan, which was a gift to me from my father from his travels. Coordinating colors and keeping consistency is easy to achieve by employing various patterns in throw pillows and other textiles. 

This guest room has a perfectly placed window that lets in all the sun. It's not even on the same side of the house as our front room, but there's just as much sunlight pouring in! Again, we used the elegantly elongated curtains here to shield some of the light, and offer a gorgeous glow to the room. 

Before we reach our final destination of the tour, take a look at this gray-scale hallway. This was such a fun project, and actually my husband's suggestion! On the wall, we donned custom art from the two places we've lived together: Texas and Philadelphia. 

Last stop of the tour is our master bedroom. We wanted a space that was truly ours, with bright colors calmed by gray textiles and wooden furnishings. The series of paintings above the bed are my personal creations, and combine all the colors featured in this room: the green from the walls, sunny orange from the medium toned wood, and gray from the bed spread.

Symmetry is a symbol of order, and we wanted our room to be a place where we could find balance. The bed side tables and cylinder lamps are smaller furnishings that complete this feeling of centrality. In addition, the bed frame is fashioned in a way that showcases its beautiful wood and smooth lines.

 

And with that, my home tour is concluded! I am incredibly thankful to have a place where I can always find my inner peace, and where guests can always feel welcomed and entertained: that's the beautiful balance found in mixing a calming, neutral palette with pops of color and intriguing designs.

 We have quite a bit more to do in our home, so keep checking back to see our future projects!

If you have a project in mind but just don't know where to start, we can help! Contact us! 

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The Heights Oasis

When two people live under one roof for the first time, compromise is key. Thankfully for this couple of young professionals, there was little compromising to be had. Their home in the Heights was designed with the bigger picture in mind: achieving harmony and balance. From living room, dining room, to bed room, a continuity runs through much like a serene river delivering peace and calm to each space. Deep, rich walnut offers structure to the neutral hues of gray and blue, with accented silver like reflections of sunrays off water.

 

 The living room serves as the center of the home, complete with fireplace and piano to make it a truly warm and inviting space. Because the fireplace is tucked away in a corner, it can’t exactly serve as a focal point in this living room despite matching the color and textures of the flooring and furniture. This presented an interesting design challenge, but strategic placement of furnishings, artwork, and other important pieces is crucial to overcoming this obstacle. For example, L-shaped sectional helps to close off a space where guests can enjoy the warmth from the fire in the comfort of the low, streamlined sofa that opens up the entire room. 

 

Two living room must-haves: pooch-proof furniture and a piano. Imagine snuggling up with your pup, humming along to a sweet melody played by your significant other. This couple wanted just that: furniture that was comfortable, durable, and stylish where they could relax with their dog and guests alike.

This living room lends a relaxed mid-century modern feel with geometric patters accenting the neutral colors and natural woods. The furnishings feature crisp lines that offer straightforward functionality and organization to the room.

Old fashionistas may tell you that black and brown can simply never, ever go together- but that rule is simply outdated! While we can’t escape the black plastic of today’s entertainment technology necessities, we can definitely embrace it. No need to hide these sleekly engineered gadgets: placing an equally sleek, black leather seat does the job to incorporate all these tech items nicely into the rich array of browns featured in the natural wood floor and cabinets. 

Flowing from the living room is the dining area. The deep wood and subtle curves of the chairs complement the straight cuts of the table. Notice the angle of the chair and table legs: about 30 degrees off center, rather than jutting at a harsh 90 degree angle. This seemingly minute detail vastly changes the room and creates a much more open, inviting atmosphere that is typical of the mid-century modern design. 

 

White lacquer: so sleek, so chic! This ‘dry bar’ table is one of the most beautiful, simple, and sophisticated pieces added to the house. Though small enough to flush against a wall, this narrow two-tiered table is incredibly functional and streamlined, just as mid-century modern designers intended. Setting rich, polished wooden dishes on this white lacquer table catches the eye: an intriguing juxtaposition.

 

Think this home could get any more serene? Enter: the master bedroom. This room was designed to achieve ultimate relaxation and rejuvenation. White bed linens symbolize purity that allow you to begin and end each day with a clean slate. The white bedding and walls also serve to keep the room looking fresh and clean, while the subtle blues and grays in geometric patterns give shape and interest to the room.

As we’ve explained before, part of the mid-century modern look was bringing the outside, in. The decorations featured above the headboard are custom-made driftwood art, reminiscent of birds’ nests or even sea urchins! Up for interpretation, these beautifully unique pieces are meant to remind the inside onlooker of the wonderful world outside.

This home in the Heights serves as an urban oasis for this young, professional couple to escape from bustling city life with their beloved dog. Incorporating natural elements and hazy gray-blue tones with clean, crisp lines and white lacquer achieve the mid-century modern look with sophistication, ease, and simplicity. 

 

If you have a project in mind but just don't know where to start, we can help! Contact us! 

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Urban Residence: The Dwelling of a Homo Sapiens Urbano

At the turn of the twentieth century, a novel and peculiar species of man evolved: the homo sapiens urbano. Distinct from other species of man, the homo sapiens urbano tactfully merges elements of the outside concrete jungle with the sacred space inside their home. This urban residence transforms into a serene escape from city life while keeping consistent with the neutral palette and pops of color seen in any bustling cityscape. 

 

 As a functional city requires a straightforward, streamlined layout; so does a functional home. The homo sapiens urbano has a heightened awareness of this necessity, as evidenced in the minimalist philosophy that defines the style of this clean living space.

Additionally, this species proves to be quite territorial, marking its space with unique artifacts such as the custom paintings and artwork displayed throughout the home. These offer opportunity for abstract thought, profound reflection, or simply for aesthetic admiration for the artist.  

The dwelling place of the homo sapiens urbano achieves balance between dark and light by using slightly muted tones of orange and yellow that accent the stone and light sapphire painted walls. 

Just as blooming flora and bright fauna diversify an environment, the color, shape, and texture of pillows, rugs, throws, upholstery and other accent textiles simultaneously offer diversity and comfort to this urban abode.  

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Project: A Place Fit for a Queen

I recently finished a project where my client wanted to use her favorite color, purple. Being a designer can have it's challenges, such as designing with a new color or creating an overall look or style that you have yet to do before. Designing high rise lofts has become a favorite for me and every time I get the chance to design them I have a blast! With my most recent project that was the case and we were going to design with a color that we don't use very often. For this project, my client a cheerful, easy-going lady who wanted her home to be show stopping. Incorporating her love for purple, making each space have a wow factor was important. She wanted something unique, functional and stunning. Here are some photos of the finished spaces and I want to share them with you! Enjoy!

 We wanted the bedroom to have a little femininity to it but nothing over the top. A soft ivory linen, tufted headboard was a great place to start and to make the bed more of a focal point we used a warm grey paint as the accent wall. This made for a nice backdrop for the white and purple painting. 

 A chandelier is always a must for a queen's bedroom, with the 10' ceilings this allowed us to use a decent size chandelier without being too large for the space.

 When the sun goes down there is light to be need at night. We used small mercury glass lamps on the bedside chests for soft lighting in the bedroom. The chests were a must for this smaller room to give our client enough storage and to keep her organized.

 While we kept  most of the room neutral, we wanted to bedding to be the pop of color we need. Solid in color but heavy in texture gives the bed that inviting feel while also mimicking the tufted headboard.

 Crisp and clean lines make this room feel relaxing even with the bold purple bedding.

 Client requested a good amount of pillows and so that is what we gave her, a hotel looking bed with plenty of pillows.

 The views in this place are amazing so we opted for no window treatments to allow the views to be a focus. Minimal furniture in this space to allow traffic to flow from room to room. We used the same grey paint from the bedroom in the living room and it works perfectly with the charcoal sofa.

We did a personal photo wall in the entry. I love giving clients something that makes there place reflect them even more. We mounted large black and white photos on gold paper and framed in a simple, clean black frames. Gold was an accent we use a little in each space but since the hallway need a little more interest, we decided to use in as the backdrop for the photos.

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The Modern Bedroom

Ah....the bedroom. The place where you retire at night, read in bed, snuggle with your partner and of course sleep. Bedrooms should be a relaxing and clutter-free space, so when you wake up to start your day you feel refreshed and happy! Being an interior designer, I sometimes get asked to design a bedroom or two. This is always fun for me! Bedrooms usually consist of lots of textiles and soft materials which can make your room have that cozy, curl up feeling. A client of mine had seen a previous bedroom I designed on my website and was so happy to find a designer that didn't just add "stuff" to a room to fill voids. Empty space can be beautiful and should be in every room. It gives your eyes a resting place and can make a space look larger than it really is. Below are a few bedrooms I designed with a somewhat minimalist approach. Enjoy!

 

Hope you guys enjoyed today's inspiration! Fell free to leave a comment.  Tell us what you liked and if you are in need of inspiration and its not here.....we will find you some!

 

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