Sonia's 2018 Design Goal

Last week, Leah revealed her 2018 design goal and this week I'm up!

If you've ever heard the old saying that it's the shoemakers children that always go barefoot, the same holds true for designers, our homes are not immune to spaces that need some design lovin'.  This year I'm on a mission to update my home office. Over the past year our office has become a landing spot for packages awaiting their return, random baby gear and a load of unorganized papers. This year my goal is to update my home office, so over the past few weeks I've been pinning away and developing a plan. 

My current home office has a few problems to be addressed: first, I share it with my husband and at the moment it is really set up for one person. There is only one desk and one chair. We need desk space and seating for two. The office is also lacking some necessary feng shui - the desk is currently facing a wall with a big ol' window on the opposite wall. Not an ideal layout, facing a wall is not great for productivity and doesn't provide much in terms of inspiration. Design wise, the room is lacking overall in texture, it's a bit one note and it needs something to bring it to life. Plants? Wall paper? Leather? Hmmmm....

On the bright side, it has lots of windows and gets amazing natural light. It's also a decent sized room and has some nice storage options. All major pluses. It's a great space, it's just a matter of making it work for our changing needs and updating the general aesthetic. Below are some initial ideas I've gravitated toward. You'll see deep blues, brass, dark gray and wood tones, neutral rugs, and two person working stations. 

(SOURCE: Amy Kartheiser Design)

(SOURCE: Studio McGee)

(SOURCE: Traditional Home Office by Denver Interior Designers & Decorators Duet Design Group

Back to pinning...I'll keep you posted...

- Sonia

Leah's 2018 Design Goal

January is a great time for resolution making. It's also a great time for design goal making. If it's not completely obvious, design goals are goals you have to update/renovate/transform your house. And it doesn't have to be your whole house, in fact that would be a totally unrealistic, stress-inducing, setting-yourself-up-to-fail goal. Instead, the idea is to pick something narrow and achievable. Successfully meeting any goal leads to more goal making and more goal achieving.

With the blog to keep us honest, Sonia, Michele and I are all going to reveal our 2018 design goals to you over the next couple weeks. Because we don't just design and transform other people's homes, we are constantly working on the transformation of our own homes. And we fully expect you to question us, remind us (and even berate us for procrastination) as the year plays out and (hopefully) our goals become reality.

I'm up first and I'm really excited about my goal because it really needs to be achieved. Here it is: CLOSET ORGANIZATION.

The inside of my closets are not just eyesores that lack any semblance of function. They are truly dangerous. Opening my cleaning supply closet will almost definitely result in a concussion as a mop handle swings at your dome. My linen closet is partially full of bottled water. Hmmmm...take that one in. My basement storage closets, which I'm very lucky to have, are full of things...things I can't tell you about because I don't know. These closets are so completely disorganized there's truly no telling what's in them. I won't even attempt to describe the state of my clothing closet or garage. 

So, my design goal is really a design necessity. Now for the fun part - my inspiration, so far. 

SOURCE (Bliss at Home)

That's a magical linen closet. It's not so big. But, manages to look beautiful without skimping on use of a single inch. 

SOURCE (house of philia)

I love this closet. My own closet is a small walk-in that I share with my husband. It has a window, which is awesome for the natural light, but not awesome for the wall real estate it takes away. Function will be top priority here because a heap of shoes in the middle of the closet floor isn't working out so well.

SOURCE (A bowl full of lemons)

This garage is dream like. Can you imagine?! It's so good it feels unachievable. But, let's not start down that path. I have 11 months to do this. And I will. I must...

As a general inspiration, I'm turning to The Home Edit (I'm a huge fan). The Home Edit is an organization company that has designed the closets, pantries, etc. of major celebs - like Gwyneth Paltrow. Apparently Gwyneth has more than one pantry. Of course. Anyway, it's completely ironic that I'm a huge fan of The Home Edit because I have harnessed absolutely none of the organization power they bestow on their followers. Until now. Until 2018.

Get ready mop in my cleaning closet, you're about to get properly secured to the wall. 

- Leah

Interview with CC & Mike

Hope you had an absolutely wonderful Christmas. Can you believe it's over? Neither can we. We're still in our flannel pajamas nursing a snickerdoodle hangover. Coffee is always good, and movies. Because you can't see National Lampoons Christmas Vacation too many times. It's not possible.

Well, we have a late Christmas gift...for US. And you, of course. We were lucky enough to interview the amazingly talented CC & Mike and today we're sharing the genius they had to share. We should back up though and fill you in on how this interview came to be.

For starters, we're huge fans of CC & Mike. So, if you happen to not know of them, let us introduce you:

                                       source

They are an amazingly talented husband and wife team that runs a home design, remodel and renovation business. They also have a fantastic lifestyle blog and print shop where you can score budget-friendly, beautiful art. A few months ago, we reached out to CC & Mike to ask if they'd be willing to share some thoughts on home design. It was on a whim and we can't believe we did, but we're so glad we did because they responded almost immediately with a Yes! (Of course we geeked out and began a group text message made 90% of emojis). 

                                                                                                                                SOURCE

I mean, can you handle this? This is from their Tulsa Remodel. It's truly perfect.

Ok, ok, enough fangirling. Onto the interview. 

Gray Oak: What advice do you have for someone on the fence about hiring an interior designer for a home redesign or new construction build?

CC & Mike: You get what you pay for! If you want your home to look beautifully designed and don’t have the skills to do it yourself, then you should most definitely hire a designer!

Gray Oak: What is an aspect in design that you think people should not skimp on? And then, when is going budget a no brainer?

CC & Mike: When we are designing a home, we always say to spend your money in the kitchen and the exterior. Those are two places that you should definitely not skimp on. I am all for doing things on a budget but the kitchen and the exterior are two places we definitely allocate plenty of money to so that we don’t have to skimp there.

Gray Oak: Has a client ever been skeptical about your creative vision? How do you get clients on board with some of your more "crazy" ideas?

CC & Mike: We have had both! We have had clients who buy into our vision 100 percent and clients who are skeptical. We always say “This is your home so ultimately the decision is yours,” but truly, our best projects are the ones that our clients trust us and trust our vision and let us go for it!

Gray Oak: We LOVE your print shop. Such beautiful, accessible art. Do you have any tips for people who aren't sure where to start in choosing artwork for their homes?

CC & Mike: Art work is so personal. To me, art should speak to you. If you see a print and it “speaks to you“ (i.e. you can’t stop thinking about it, it stops you dead in your tracks, etc…) then that is a good sign you should have it in your home! From there you have to decide what room you want the art to go in, take measurements, and plan the space! But my advice is this: if a piece of art speaks to you, then buy it!

And that's that! Aren't they so fun?! And talented...

                                                                                                                                SOURCE

Get some sleep...if you can. And get ready - we have a lot in store for 2018!