Granny Chic Bathroom

A friend of mine sent me this photo seeking help for her rental bathroom. Take a look at that dated wallpaper! Since she is only renting, she obviously can't do anything permanent.

So I went to the drawing board and came up with this story board for a "Granny Chic Bathroom" This old dated wallpaper better be ready for a big face lift!

Teenage Dream

A friend tagged a photo on Facebook asking my opinion and budget costs for a teenage girls bedroom...
It got my inspiration wheels spinning and this is what I came up with...

What do you think? Would you love this room if you were a teenage girl? It would have been a dream come true for me! :)

Happy Sunny Sunday!

Hope everyone is having a beautiful Sunday! It's been full of sunshine here in Florida. 

This image leaves me craving sunshine and enjoying the day poolside with my pals...

Image via: Photographers Gallery

A Classic Look

I love this photo, and I love this coat. Isn't it fabulous?  So I decided to create a story board inspired by this classy lady. I think it would make one fantastic room. Tailored and full of class but punched up with color, fabrics and a few other modern elements...

Giddy for Green

Lately, I have been on a serious green kick. Usually, I am attracted to the beautiful hue of Kelly Green, but recently all types of greens have been making me giddy! What is it about green? It's such a great color and can evoke so many emotions. It can leave and fresh and energized or moody and creative. Take a look at some of these green interiors that are inspiring me today:

First, I want to share some moody greens. I once read that art is represented best on a dark green palette. This following images proves that in fact, that statement is true.

Image via: Elle Decor

Image via: Elle Decor

Image via: Veranda Interiors

How about adding some green through window treatments? This Malachite fabric looks stunning in the form of tailored shades.

Image via: Coco + Kelley

Check out Sir Elton John's pad designed by the one and only Martyn Lawrence Bullard. That green wall mixed with the large scale art is electric!

Image via: Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Currently, I have been a little hot for Mint Green. Yes, I know, that surprises myself as well. But I can just can't get enough of the refreshing color!!

Mix it with black and then pop it up with some coral:

Image via: design-crisis

Mint Green paired with Kelly Green? Now we're talkin'...

Image via: Simplified

And last, but surely not least, look at this beautiful exterior. I would love to come home to this everyday:

Mint + Black + White

Image via: Elements of Style

Which green speaks to you? Would you put green in your interior or exterior color palette? 

xoxo-

Lisa

For the Love of Design: Hotel Allegro, Chicago: Part II

In case you missed the previous post, I recently stayed at Hotel Allegro in Chicago during my wedding weekend! The previous post was full of photos of their lobby area, that I completely fell in love with. Now that we got the common areas out of the way, let's move on to the King Suite we had!

I love that Hotel Allegro was in such an old building in Chicago, but they didn't let that hold them back when it came to modern design. They dressed the rooms with modern wallpapers, furniture with clean lines and details that make you say wow...

The color palette was very soothing, blues ranging from deep and moody to clean soft blues...

Notice the blue ceiling? Isn't that such a nice look rather than a typical white or cream ceiling? It gave a very refreshing feeling!

I am an advocate for paying attention to the details. One way to do that is through furniture hardware. I think of hardware as jewelry for the home. Aren't these knobs so jazzy along with the mirrored desk? 

The bathroom was quite beautiful as well, I loved the wallpaper they selected:

Notice they kept the pale blue ceiling throughout the space? I love that they took a traditional marbled tile and installed it in a little more modern layout, rather than your typical staggered subway look...

I am so upset with myself, I didn't take photos of the bedroom area! It had the most beautiful navy blue upholstered headboard and gorgeous table lamps. So you will just have to imagine it since I don't have the images. 

xoxo

Lisa

For the Love of Design: Hotel Allegro, Chicago

You may have seen in an earlier post, that I recently acquired a husband! Our wedding, was in the beautiful city of Chicago. It holds so much meaning to the both of us. We were ecstatic that people were planning to travel from all over for our day. We had folks from Florida, New York, Philly, Georgia, California and even Canada. So as you can imagine, we wanted to impress them and their stay in the city we adore. So the pressure was on.

I searched and searched for hotels to accommodate our guests. Some had great prices, some not so much. Some offered perks for the bride and groom and some offered nothing at all. Then I stumbled across the Allegro Hotel and my search was done. First of all, being an interior designer, my heart fluttered over the beautifully designed rooms the website pictures featured. Then, I worked with my awesome rep, Sarah and she made it a breeze.

So let me take you on a journey through the Allegro, be ready for some serious wow factor. This hotel is all but ordinary.

As you enter through the revolving doors, you are greeted with this lovely little vignette and these breathtaking stairs up to the second floor lobby...

Don't you love the wallpaper they have winding up with the staircase?

I mentioned the lobby on the second floor, right? Cause it's GORG! I was in luxury and whimsical design heaven. I couldn't stop staring at every square inch of textiles...

There was color on top of color, patterns mixing with patterns and textures flirting with each other liked I had always hoped and dreamed. I was in my own personal bubble of design happiness. 

^^ Notice the green alligator print and gold legs!

^^ Aren't those drapery panels to die for? Look at the velvet details on the edging. They could have stopped it with just plain silk drapery, but no, they took it to the next level for the added glamour. 

^^ Now, let's talk about this sofa. First of all, it's a luscious navy. Second, look at the curves on that beauty. I gave this sofa the nickname Marilyn, it had curves that no one could ignore. ;)

For any other hotel, that would have been it for the lobby, but not the Allegro, this lobby just continued on for what seemed like light years. When it reality, it was probably just a city block. What I liked most about the design of the lobby is that they let you feel like you were traveling through all of these stunning design spaces, you were left wondering what would be featured around the next corner...

In this portion of the lobby is where you checked in at the front desk, and again they featured that amazing wallpaper that greeted you up the stairs, well played Allegro....

^^ I talked about patterns mixing with patterns, right? 

I wasn't kidding, they didn't even let the floors bore you. 

Remember that enormous city block I was talking about? Well the last little part of the lobby was a huge surprise to me. I surely wasn't expecting this...

All I could say was "wow" (about a million times). This hotel was simply stunning. It took design to an exciting level. The best part? I hadn't even seen our suite yet. Keep an eye out for part two of this post featuring our lovely suite. 

So what do you think? What was your favorite part of the lobby? Don't you find it exciting how well the different colors, patterns and textures (even styles of furniture) mingle so well with each other? Doesn't it give you a rush of to go out and infuse colors and patterns into your personal space?

  

A Lovely Trio

I am excited to share this lovely trio of furry friends! I completed them prior to my wedding vacation, but haven't been able to post them until now.

Enjoy!

This first one, Allie, is very special. She is a hero. She saved her family from a house fire...

Isn't Ruby such a cutie?!? I love her tiny features and long ears...

Last, but certainly not least, Daisy...

I hope you like this group of friends, I know their owner is very happy! Thank you Sheryl for asking me to paint them! What do you all think?

xoxo,

Lisa

The new Mr & Mrs!

Some of you may not know, but I got hitched over the 4th of July weekend.... In the great city of Chicago!!!! The week was rather hot, but we got lucky and it cooled off to the mid 70's for our big day. Here are a few photos from our amazing day/night. Thank you so much to all who came and helped celebrate with us, we are so grateful!! Our wedding was a mid century vintage Americana theme, with comic books laced throughout. It was a total labor of love and we celebrated our personal styles!

 Sneak peek from our amazing photographer Kristen Lynn Photographie...

We can't wait to see the rest of our photos from Kristen!! She is AMAZINGLY talented!

Here are some from the event that guests took:
My dad walking me down the aisle...

His vows were so perfect.

A peek at some of my bridesmaids dresses! They turned out beautifully! I had them made by an amazing fashion student, Julie at SCAD. I couldn't have been more happy with her work. (I can't wait for you to see the professional photos with them all together!! I don't have any of them all right now.)

Cake cutting time!! We cut our cake to the Mad Men theme song "A Beautiful Mine" I kind of loved it. :)  

The best part? It was the same cake topper that my grandparents used in 1957, here is a photo of them:

Myself and David with my two new brother in laws! 

Such a beautiful night:

Stay tuned for more photos of your night!!! Can't wait to share the professional photos once we get them!

xoxo-

Lisa