Wallpaper Project: Powder Room

When we moved into our house 8 years ago, the VERY first project I was desperate to complete was removing the dated wallpaper from our powder room. I wish I had a picture of what this room looked like before - the wallpaper was dark green and gold "splatter paint" with shiny brass light and bathroom fixtures. Definitely a mid-90's designer's dream, and a late-2000's designer's nightmare!

After the painstaking process of removing the wallpaper, I painted the bathroom a simple beige, spray painted the brass fixtures "hammered bronze" from Rustoleum, and the room has been that way ever since.

My bathroom then and today - a simple "Pottery Barn Delight"

Fast forward 8 years and I'm ready to spruce up this little gem that was my first - and probably least expensive - project that I have tackled in this house. With all this talk about wallpaper, and the fact that I am now trying to sell this idea to my clients, I've decided to jump on board.

Take note - my husband is TOTALLY OPPOSED to this idea. We have torn down wallpaper in a total of SEVEN rooms between our two homes, and the thought that we are now putting it up (?!?!?) is completely frustrating/pissing him off. I'm taking the approach of just continuing to mention this idea of having the bathroom wallpapered so that by the time it happens, I have worn him down enough that he won't be ridiculously upset when he comes home to a freshly wallpapered bathroom. Fingers crossed.

So, fingers crossed, I have been combing through my new wallpaper books to find something that will work with my existing fixtures (cannot get away with an entire bathroom remodel here), will be fresh and fun, but will be something that I will still like in 5 years. Talk about potential divorce - "oh, honey…….let's take that wallpaper down that you told me never to put up in the first place"!?!

Right now I'm a huge fan of lattice/trellis prints, medallions, and oversized florals. I need something that will work with bronze fixtures, but looks updated, and also works back to the aquas and beiges I have in the rest of the house. I have pictures of my narrowed down choices below - I'm definitely looking for some weigh-ins here - so feel free to comment on your favorite to help me decide!

Medallion Print

This oversized medallion print below is from Seabrook Wallcoverings' Arabesque Collection. It comes in multiple colors, has a little bit of texture to it, an also has a little bit of metallic thread to give that hint of sparkle (check out my blog on Metallics here). The color ways that I have below are aqua, beige and grey. The grey version (#4) is this is definitely one of my front runners.

Oversized Metallic Floral
There is some whimsy to the oversized floral from York's Carey Lind Vibe Collection. If I had silver light and bathroom fixtures, the blue and silver would hands down be my first choice. It makes a cool statement without being too over the top on color, and would be a great way to perk up a tired bathroom.

Metallic silver or metallic gold……tough choice!!

Trellis Print

An easy to love print that is also a classic pattern is the trellis print. The warm grey version of this trellis print below from the Ashford Geometrics Collection from York is definitely in my top three. The metallic aqua trellis print below is also from Carey Lind Vibe Collection.

So, cast your votes by commenting on my blog below and let me know which is your favorite! I'll be posting pics of the finished product soon!!

-Melissa

Focus Group Findings: Metallic Home Decor

We hosted our first focus group this week for the new company and had some great insights and feedback from our attendees. They told us what trends that they were currently drawn to which included neutrals colors, textures, and metallics.  These are very similar to what we saw on our competitive shopping trip we went on a couple of weeks ago.

Melissa and I at our first focus group - lots of color and monograms!!

Our plan with this new company is to offer accessories in great color palettes that will update an existing neutral or tired decor.  What the focus group helped us see was that they were interested in layering neutrals on neutrals, and texture and pattern were key.  Strong color palettes can look too young if not balanced with sophisticated neutrals.  Armed with this new information, I am on a mission to determine which of these trends we can offer our customers in a reasonably priced, but still custom and special way.

The first one I'll discuss is METALLICS.  Metallic home decor has been emerging for the past few years, but with the neutral color palette being dominant, it has become a way to spice up grey and beige by adding something special.

Metallic Printed Pillow - SOLD OUT on Amazon

One of my first projects a few years back - the silver trellis wallpaper in her bookcases is from Schumacher

Yes, everyone, GOLD is making a comeback!!

This room has a great blend of grey and gold with modern and natural elements

More of that gold and grey here in a fun wallpaper!

I spoke with my Robert Allen rep today and scheduled a meeting with him to go over his best selling items and also review his well-priced offerings in this trend.  Here are two fabrics we are currently looking at adding to the line:

This metallic linen from Robert Allen is a hot seller right now

This color run of fabric is called "Glam Sheen" from Robert Allen

My girls and I are meeting tomorrow night to discuss our findings and rework our assortments.  We are headed to furniture market in High Point in a few weeks and I am excited to see all of the new trends in the showrooms!  I am guessing that there will be a ton of that gold and grey mix - it seems to be the new and next thing to pair with grey!  I look forward to sharing our findings then!

-Melissa

Competitive Shopping - Saturday Girl's Day Out

Saturday we all loaded up in my friend Melissa's Ford Escape and headed Uptown to The Southern Women's Show to check out any home decor items that may be selling there.  We made two conclusions upon arrival........

My friends Meghan and Melissa, co-conspirators on this new project, with me at the Southern Women's Show!

1) This is any husband's worst nightmare (as you can see from the amount of women milling around behind our heads in the picture above). Lucky for most, there were very few of them following around their wives as women fawned over free samples, got hair and make-up makeovers, and spent much of their hard-earned money on jewelry, purses, and other female "must-haves".
2) There were not many home decor booths set up and the few that were there did not have much interest. We can now cross the Southern Women's Show off our list for next year as a place to possibly exhibit our new line.

We did find a local candle company based out of Dilworth called Mallory's candles and talked to the owner, Michael, about carrying some of his line.  He gave us some samples of his best selling scents to get feedback from our focus groups at the end of the month.

Sample packs of three would be great hostess gifts!!

After feeling somewhat disappointed, we headed out towards Dilworth to check out Mrs. Howard / Max and Company. This place carries everything that is drool-worthy for a home. One of my seamstresses told me earlier this year that the fabric they use for their window treatments is "better than sex". If I am ever able to have a home that resembles anything like what their store looks like, I would consider myself a very lucky woman. However, none of their decor is "kid friendly", so it would need to wait about 15 years until after my children are grown and not smearing PB and J all over my house!

Meghan checking out the construction of window treatments to perfect her sewing skills!

This cabinet with the antique mirror front would make an awesome focal point in any room!

This is a ceiling in one of the showrooms. What a way to create some unexpected drama!

Pretty embroidered linen pillow at Mrs. Howard

Circa Interiors was another store that we stopped by on the way home and what we found between both high end stores was a lack of color. If there was any color, it was in a muted palette. Grays and neutrals have been the forefront of color palettes in high end homes for the past 5 years and I foresee a shift into more vibrant color stories mixed back to classic neutrals. 

In conclusion, we think our perfect spot to position ourselves is somewhere between the Southern Women's Show consumer and the high end consumer that Mrs. Howard and Max and Company appeal to. There is a lot of buzz about color finally coming back, and by being in the forefront of that will position us well to offer something that is new and exciting to our customers!

Home Decor Launching in 2015!!

It's been almost two years since I posted and the majority of it has to do with the fact that I have been too busy to write anything that I felt would be worth reading. I am beginning to find that by reading other blogs that sometimes just a daily inspirational picture is enough, so my hope is to begin doing something of the sort starting right now.

However, today I have more than just an inspirational picture to post.  I have a HUGE INSPIRATION to share, and wanted to officially do so today. It is a solemn day for most of us in the United States, a time to take a moment of reflection. I still remember sitting at my desk at my first job in the buying offices of the The Bon-Ton Department Stores in York, Pennsylvania, listening to Howard Stern on an official radio (not streaming through the Internet) with the rest of my team. On the show, they were talking through the actual events at the World Trade Center as they witnessed them from their window in the recording studio. I still remember hearing the disbelief in their voices as they said a plane had hit the tower, and then minutes later, that another plane had crashed into the second tower. Since that moment, the landscape of New York City would be forever changed, as would our Country.  So many things have changed, many for the better, some for the worst, in the past 13 years.

Since I sat at that desk 13 years ago, I have worked in the buying offices of three different department stores, merchandised back products for a small chain of stores, baked and sold special order cupcakes for parties and a dessert bar, and started my own interior design business. There are so many things I enjoyed in every single job I have held (and parts of each that I have not), but I have found over the years that my true passion falls somewhere in between decorating homes for others and merchandising and creating products to sell.

About a month ago, I off-handedly mentioned the idea of selling custom home decor items to two close friends of mine. A week later, one of them came back to me and told me that if I was serious, she would sell them for me. Since then, I have lost many hours of sleep turning over this idea in my head, looked through hundred of fabrics, competitive shopped, reached out to local business owners, and have held multiple strategy meetings with my two friends who are helping me start this new venture. Over the past few weeks, I have come to realize that all of the experience that I have gained in the past 13 years has brought me exactly to this perfect point. As of today, I think we have the concept just about right.

There are still many months of planning ahead of us - a website to build, focus groups to host, a product line to finesse, bloggers to contact, and a launch party to plan. My hope is to post the progress here as our excitement and plans for this new venture continue to grow. I am thrilled about expanding our reach and offering my vision of beautifully and affordably decorated homes outside of the Charlotte area!

MUCH more to come, so please follow me as we embark on this new journey!
Stay tuned!!