Monday, April 29, 2013

Cheap, stylish, rad....my new nightstands!

Happy Monday y'all!  I hope your weekend was wonderful!
I was at Ikea this weekend looking for products to design an office space with and I came across these BEAUTIFUL Chests!!
 
They are the Nyvoll chest and let me tell you, they are the best thing Ikea has right now!! They are a GREAT price point at $199.00 for the size and style!!!
 First, they are the perfect size for a Night Stand at 35 3/8 x 31 1/2 h.  I prefer night stands to be around 30" high and much wider than what manufacturers classify as night stands.  I tend to look more at dressers or chests because I like something that is at least 30" wide.  So, these Ikea chests are the perfect scale!

 
Here it is on the Ikea site
Second, the finish is beautiful. I love the two tone aspect of them with the very subtle grey wash/natural wood color with the contrast of the glossy/lacquer drawer faces.
 Third, these puppies can really look high end by just adding impressive drawer pulls.
 
 
 
I'm pretty sure I have found my nightstands for our new house.  I am going to add these brass drawer pulls from My Knobs and pair them with a simple linen headboard something along the lines of this...
 
I am really excited about this find!!! 
Have a great week!
 
 


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Lately

I just wanted to check in!  I haven't blogged in a while, so sorry!
 I have been busy working on a new home here in Austin.  We are in the beginning stages, selecting materials for the kitchen and bathrooms.
Here's a little taste of some things we have selected.
More to come :) 


Monday, April 1, 2013

BDG Art Tips



I recently read somewhere in one of those "decor trends for 2013" articles that people will start to pay more attention to artwork in their homes this year.  I hope this is the case!
 
When it comes to art...there really are no rules.  Art is so subjective and therefore so difficult to judge whether a piece looks right or wrong in a space.   That said, I do have some basic guidelines I naturally follow when selecting or framing art for clients. 
 
Tip 1:  Size
I am a lover of proportion.  I think a small piece on a big wall looks off.  If the piece you have is much smaller than the wall it is on then it needs to be mixed with other pieces in a gallery type display.  There are also a lot of interesting framing techniques to make a piece appear larger.  You just don't want to have a beautiful piece lost in a sea of drywall!
 
 
Tip 2:  Work with what you have. 
Re-use, re-frame or re-think
I think it is always nice to start with artwork that has meaning to you or your family. Passed down vintage art is irreplaceable. Once you have filled your home with meaningful art and photo galleries searching for new pieces that flow with your interior can give your home that "finished" feel. 
I recently installed art work in this California home (pictured above).   I started this process by first, having the client lay out all of her existing art in one space. I separated a few things that were usable as is and a couple that needed to be re-framed to fit the new interior style.
When I had everything we would re-use organized, I walked around the home trying to find new spots for these pieces.  From there, I made a list of dimensions of pieces that I would like to see on specific walls.  Once I had an idea of the amount of wall art I needed and preferred sizing, I took my list to a couple different Home Goods before I jumped into the higher price points.  This takes me to my next tip...

 
Tip 3: Mix high and low price points
It's nice to find inexpensive ready-made items to mix in with some custom framed show stoppers!
 For this project, I took my list of ideal dimensions, and shopped around some local and online retailers.  I noticed this simple image (below) at the local Home Goods.  It was the perfect size behind the chair in the Family Room.  I texted my client the image to make sure she liked it (the colors where great) and purchased.  Custom framing is expensive and I wanted to "rob Peter to pay Paul"...'Paul' in this case being the giant staircase that needed some crazy big art! $$$
 
I also really liked the floating frame this piece was in.  It was a bargain and I love the way it looks in this corner. 
 
 
There are so many other great resources on-line to find artwork.  Etsy, is often times the first place I look.
 

For my San Clemente project, my client found this great piece from an artist on Etsy.
I took it to the framer and had it framed to make it large enough to make an impact above the fire place.

Another great resource I love for art images is:
ART.COM
Art.com makes it easy to search for what you are looking for.  I have purchased several items from this site!

Framed Bird Wall Art
west elm

West Elm always has a few interesting options that are affordable.

Flea Markets, Estate Sales and Art Galleries/festivals are some of the best places to find artwork!


I hope these simple tips will help you on your search for Artwork. 
If you have any questions let me know and I will do my best to answer!

Have a great week!