One True Thing.

I used to own a children's boutique. We did it all--furniture, bedding, window treatments, custom art, and on and on and on. I had clients with small budgets and clients with budgets so large that I couldn't total their purchases fast enough. While I loved the big sales, the budget-friendly sales made me work harder. How to make a $5000 room with $500 is a challenge and this was before Pinterest. I shudder to think what would have been presented to me had Pinterest been around then...

With every room I did, I asked people to bring in one thing that they loved. Be it an antique *tsotchke, a fun piece of art, or a tiny scrap of fabric, I loved seeing what people had a connection to. I didn't care if it came from a generation of grandmothers before them, a yard sale, or TJMaxx. The customer just had to love it. When we were asked to do a nursery for a "Street of Dreams" house in Tyrone, Georgia, my inspiration piece was a sheet that I had seen on the Garnet Hill website. I bought 12 of them, and this is how it turned out:

Photo from Parents magazine. See more of the nursery here:

http://www.parents.com/baby/nursery/design/girlie-garden-nursery/

That's how I look at every room in my house. I am in the process of re-decorating several rooms in my house (even while I have a few that have never been finished in the almost 7 years we have lived here). Having the store gave me the ability to look at price tags with suspicion (since I knew what the mark-ups could be on on things). When I decide to redecorate, I find the one thing in the room that I love and build around it, whether it be with color, theme, texture, etc. Here are a few of my newest inspiration pieces, and I'll post photos of the completed rooms (along with their Polyvore plans as I complete them).

Playroom

Guest Bedroom

 Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom 2

So, the next time you want an update...think about it. What do you love?

*word that I can't pronounce courtesy of B. Davenport

A, B, C, D, E, F, G...

I do a lot of large pieces for clients. For myself. For random sale. Because I bought it, and the husband got tired of looking at it on the porch. I like the feeling of completing a large piece. However my current fun comes from letters. In the store, we sold four different kinds of wood letters, and while they were all cute, more often than not, I ended up painting them to match a customer's room. This was one of my very first and while it's simple, just looking at it reminds me of Alexandra's entire nursery...

Alexandra's "a" (2004)

I keep a rotating stock of letters from New Arrivals, Inc. and Smile For The Birdie, but they are expensive (especially when I am going to be repainting them anyway). I did a mini-session class here in December and we had a blast taking those and turning them into personal pieces of art. Here are a few of them:

 Such talented clients!

One of my clients from the December mini-session is purchasing an A and a B to mount on the two fronts of her daughter's bathroom cabinet doors. How cute is that?


I'm always thinking bigger and better (refer back to loving large pieces), so when a client asked for a LARGE wood letter last year, I figured, "why not?" After figuring out what wood to use, what attachments, and how to cut "just so" without chipping the wood, we have been pretty happy with how the 3-foot letters are turning out. I say "we", because the jigsaw is something that I don't think I will be playing with anytime soon.

Here is my latest 3-foot wood letter. The font and color was chosen by my client, and she was meticulous about her choices! I think she done good...

Madeline's "M"

The possibilities are endless with these letters--from size to font to color, and they can really add a great accent to any room. No need to stick with a solid color--we do metallics, stripes, Chevrons, polka dots and even fabric or patterned papers. 3-foot wood letters in any finish are $75, and we can ship anywhere in the US. I am pleased with the pricing and quality on these, as I have seen them on ETSY for $125 plus (not including shipping). I love coming back to something that I have always done and improving upon it. Little projects like these letters keep my creativity flowing.

We offer almost any font in any size, but you can also order pre-cut letters from us if you want to try making your own! I am currently working on a BURRUSS est. 1996 set of individual letters for a large wall in my living room. It's entirely possible I might get it completed and hung before I get to Z with client orders.

Always learning my ABC's.

Diving into color.

Hi, my name is Krista and I am addicted to color. Always have been--from the way my closet is organized, to the hundreds of paint chips in my decor bin to the piles of fabric (still) taking up a 20'x15' room in my home. I can't help it. I need it. You might say I "crave" it.

Color can do so much when it's applied to different things. Painting a room in your home can change a drab bedroom into a slumber haven. That blah tan living room turn into a hotbed of conversation with a slap of peacock green. We've all looked at a wall and thought, "how can I make this mine?" Most of us have done it. Some of us have been highly disappointed and had to start all over. It's like hair--you can always change it again. Don't get me started on the fabulousness of fabrics--when I added a mixture of gray and yellow Chevron fabric pillows to my currently gray and black dining room, I saw what it could be (and will be).

Take that notion and apply it to that high-gloss cherry dining room set your great-aunt gave you. Sure, it may be an antique, but if you hate it, it's doing you no good. That's what I do. I look at pieces that might be headed for the trash heap or the local consignment store and imagine their possibilities. With color.

I tend to want to stick with creams, black and grays, but I find that I am most satisfied with a piece when I (or a client) steps outside the (color) box. Bright turquoise, fun coral, and hot pink have been some of the colors that made me giddy just looking at them. I'm currently working on a subtle turquoise and bright yellow piece, and if it turns out the way I hope it does, I'll be giddy again.

I tend to take chances with color. Polyvore is a great tool for playing with color--whether it be clothing or room decor. I'm not much of a clothing gal, so my favorite Polyvore creations are done for decor projects. This is my Guest Bathroom, which is about 50% complete...

KBB's Guest Bathroom (created on Polyvore)

So, if you have a piece of furniture that isn't doing "it" for you, take a chance with some color. I'll help.

What's your color crave?