Urban Outfitters "In The Bag" Sale

Hi! I know I was supposed to share Emma's 12 month update, and I am still within her birth month so I have time! Not much time, but I do! It's been a crazy month and I will update you all when I can with all the craziness!

So I am always on the lookout for a great sale. I love shopping and perusing home good items #interiordesignproblems but I never pull the trigger and order things. I was alerted to the Urban Outfitters "In the bag" sale and I had to peruse, because up to 70% off is always intriguing. Of course some of the items I loved were already sold out! Check out the sale and here are some of my favs!

Ladder Storage Basket $69 now $49

Magical Thinking Geo Medallion Pillow $34 now $29

 Three Potato Four Wooden Wall Art $34 now $9.99!!!!! (Thinking I need this!)

Home Modern Media Center $629 now $299.99
For the love of all mid century modern! I wish I had a place to put this! LOVE IT!

Industrial Caged Organizer $79 now $59

Locust Copper Pendant $98 now $59.99 (wheels are spinning)

Plum and Bow Curved Lines Table Lamp $129 now $74.99

Still loving my teal!

Mid Century Vanity $349 now $159.99 (!!!!!!!)

Locus Monogram Hook $10ea now 2 for $15

Can I redesign my entire apartment now? This post isn't sponsored. I just wanted to share some awesome finds that are on SALE!

Apartment Design - Tina and Bree

I often get approached by family and friends with design questions. Needing an eye for an entryway, a new furniture layout or sometimes just an addition of some accessories to their existing furniture. Sometimes I can be of assistance and when I can pull something together and they love it, I feel really good. In my professional life I mainly work in commercial and medical spaces so its a nice change of pace to be able to select the squishy stuff!

We all know that when you live in temporary spaces; I.E. renting, that it can be daunting to decorate. You can't paint (unless you want to un-paint) you can't change architecture, you basically can only accessorize. My aunt and cousin are renting an apartment and wanted to do something fun and girly with their living space as they have dubbed it "The Maxi Pad." In a recent trip to everyone's favorite Swedish home store Ikea, they picked up this whimsical art piece. It was that, and this living room post by Amber Interiors that I had to work with. Enter their living room:

A little bit on the plain side because they haven't picked anything yet. An ottoman, a side table and three navy throws that came with the white chenille sofa. Not exactly the look they wanted. I was tasked with coming up with accessories to go with the artwork, a rug, draperies and maybe a gallery wall. Here's what I came up with:

They both like an older feel, my cousin likes Mid-Century Modern (duh we are related) and my aunt likes an old world feel, so trying to marry those two concepts together, while keeping it feminine wasn't too much of a challenge. I brought in light colored drapes to open up the room, texture in the pillows and some fun artwork for a gallery wall. Maybe adding in a tray with some flowers to their coffee table and some other tabletop items and it should be complete! Hopefully we can pull it together and get a photo of it assembled. Just thought I would share! Links to selections are below!

Magical Thinking Rug: Urban Outfitters

Amelia Drapery: Pier One

Multicolor Patchwork Lumbar Pillow: World Market
Plum & Bow Andanda Kilim Pillow: Urban Outfitters
Blue & Brown Embroidered Medallion Pillow: Pier One
Metallic Beaded Pillow: Pier One
Yellow Chenille Pillow: Ikea
White Sweater Pillow: Ikea
Bright Side of Life Hanging: Pier One
Natural Vine Heart Wall Decor: Pier One
Champagne Burst Mirror: Pier One
Water Snake Lady: Ikea

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! :-)

Rainbow of Design - Tuesday Topics

I thought that I would do something more geared towards my field of expertise for this weeks Tueday Topics and do more of a rainbow colored mood board. I thought it would challenge me to find some fun colored design/furniture elements.

Red: Strandmon Wing Chair I love the shape of this wing chair from Ikea. I haven't been an Ikea fan in the past, but they have really kicked up their game over the last couple of years. Orange: Jaipur Rug I am really in love with the graphic pattern in a bold  pattern, but I love that it has a neutral background even more because it can be paired with so much more! Yellow: Barn Door's are all the rage lately. I am loving the fact that these people took it to the modern level by painting it a bold color! Green: Pendant Lights always add a little extra touch to a room. I like the fact that this has an interior tube to help get pure light, it also gives it a little extra design element. Blue: Chevron Stripes are also all the rage right now, not just in fashion but in interiors as well. We all know that I have a mild obsession with teal in my home (as seen here, here and here) so this pillow would just look priceless in my house! Violet: Bold Accent Walls always give some interest in a space. I love that even though this is a violet color, it's still reading as a neutral on the wall with the help of the calm architectural elements and adding in the violet in the accessories.

I hope you enjoyed this post and if you would like more design posts just let me know!

7 Things You Should Know About Designers - Tuesday Topics

This weeks Tuesday Topics revolves around the place that we as adults spend most of our time. Our job. I am an Interior Designer.....not to be confused with a decorator. I went to school and got a degree in my field of study. You do not have to have a degree to be a decorator. There are many miscommunications about what an Interior Designer actually does and what I actually do at my company.

1. Interior Design involves more paperwork than you would initially think. I tend to do a lot of the filing in our office so I see the amount of paper that it generates; from printing plans, to applications at city building departments, emails interfacing with clients, property managers and contractors. There is so much to keep track of.

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2. We have a lot more knowledge of building construction than just your basic selecting the pillows or hanging the draperies. We look into all aspects of a building and make sure that it is aesthetically pleasing yet still functional and of course structurally sound. We interface with many consultants i.e. structural, mechanical, plumbing to make sure that our build outs pass all the proper city codes as well as have knowledge of the laws in California such as Title 24 (dealing with proper use of energy consumption) and Americans with Disabilities Act to make sure all public and now most residential spaces are adequately built to accommodate people with disabilities.

3. I use the computer A LOT. With technology what it is and with the internet, we have every resource at our fingertips. We are constantly doing research for our clients to make sure that we are providing them with the most up to date and functional products. We also use AutoCAD in our office to create construction documents and space plans to make sure that our designs not only layout appropriately but at the most accurate of scale.  

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4. Not every design we present is accepted as is. We work with our clients to make sure we understand the vision that they have for their space a to make sure the design is timeless enough to last many years. Building spaces are leased for 10+ years and we hope when we are finished and we go back in ten years to re-visit the space, it doesn't look dated.....I'm talking to you avocado kitchen's of the 70s. Design is always evolving and we can go from one end of the spectrum to another within the course of one project. Our ultimate goal is to provide beautiful work that our clients will love for years to come.

5. We do site verification also. We go out to buildings and measure each space using laser measuring devices to get the most accurate as-builts of our spaces. We then utilize these drawings to create our plans off of. Sometimes we have some surprises during construction....a random column hidden in a wall, or plumbing lines that cannot be moved. However for the most part we are pretty knowledgeable about the space and these surprises are few and far between.

6. I love to pick finishes. It's really fun to start from a blank slate and be able to pull an entire space together with my fingertips. From floor to ceiling we like to make sure every aspect of our spaces are thought through and work together as a whole. No elephants in the room here.

7. Sometimes we can go months before we see the finished product ourselves. Going back and documenting our projects is something that I love to do because photography is a hobby of mine. Seeing the before and afters of any space always makes us smile.....even if if has been a year since it's been installed.

There you go! 7 things about my job! I truly enjoy what I do and always love to see a completed project!