April Stay Home - Free Designer for a Day (Vol. 9)

It’s our last volume of our Free Designer for a Day (from April) advice. Squeezed it in just before June. Whew. If for some reason we missed your submission, feel free to email us! Hello@grayoakstudio.com

Question - I would love to see a few mood boards for a toddler playroom that is both pretty and functional, especially after all this time inside :)

We pulled together a gender neutral, high-low mix of playroom fun. A “high-low” room is one that includes both expensive and budget-friendly furnishings. We believe that when it comes to interior design there’s time to go high and a time to go low. Unlike when it comes to responding to bad behavior where, as Michelle Obama says, you should always go high.

How do we decide when to go high and when to go low? Anything that will make a big statement in a room (example: an amazing chandelier) warrants a higher budget. Anything that will be useful and beautiful for the long haul and, thus, needs to be great quality in order to last (example: sofa) warrants a higher budget. But trendy decor and “temporary” furniture shouldn’t break the bank. Somethings are just at good at Target as they are at Pottery Barn (and beyond). There are always exceptions to the rule, but these are good guidelines.

Full prices are listed below, so be sure to click through and see ongoing sale prices (there are a bunch!).

House-shaped Wardrobe - $119

Cube Storage Organizer - $70

Animal Storage Cubes - $17 each

Large Woven Basket - $27

Floor Pillow - $200

Triangle Rug - Cost varies by size

White Table - $220

Blue chair - $95 (for set of 2 - they come in many different colors!)

Rainbow Art - $10 (lots of coordinating art available)

Light Wood Frame (for art) - Cost varies by size

Schoolhouse Clock - $189

Wall Color Idea - Kensington Blue by Benjamin Moore

We think one of the pillars of a functional playroom is ample storage. Places to hide all the stuff, quickly and easily. So, we layered it on.

There’s that beautiful, minimal house-shaped wardrobe for all the costumes. The cube storage unit with the adorable cubes is key. The cubes can be filled with categories of toys (blocks, dolls, cars, etc.) and the empty spaces can be filled with books. The big basket is a catch-all when you’re doing a “quick clean up, guests are arriving in 5 minutes”. And the table has storage inside! Each side lifts to store all the crayons and coloring books. We used this exact table in our Prospect Project.

We also found these gorgeous wood hooks. They could be another place to hang costumes or crowns, capes, the classic Melissa & Doug toy dust pan and broom.

VIA Wooden Athens

And that is that! While we’re no longer accepting submissions for Free Designer for a Day advice, we are always seeking inspiration for new blog posts. We love hearing from followers and readers who have real and general design questions.

- Leah

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April Stay Home - Free Designer for a Day (Vol. 8)

You are not wrong, it is MAY. And, frankly, we’re more than halfway through. But, we had so many amazing submissions to our “Free Designer for a Day in April” that we’re continuing to answer the questions and provide some transformation advice. And today we’re chatting through an exterior design question! Which is perfect for this time of year as everyone is getting excited for more outdoor time and there are sales upon sales in the world of outdoor furniture.

Question - I have an "outdoor" design question for you: A few summers ago, I purchased a patio dining table at a tent sale. It was a great deal so I stored it away thinking I'd get the matching chairs later on. A few years have gone by and I've just pulled the table out of storage, wondering if I could pair a different type of chair with it (rather than something that's part of the set, and hopefully at a more reasonable price-point). My patio is uncovered so the chair would need to be resistant to weather (we'd store everything away in the winter though!). Is it possible to mix materials when it comes to outdoor dining? 

And here is a photo of her awesome table. It looks like it’s in perfect condition.

So the short answer is YES! You can absolutely mix metals with outdoor furniture. Here’s the trick when mixing any metal (whether indoor or outdoor): make it obvious. Don’t make it a question of “Are they a match? They look really close…but not quite…hmmm…” or “Are the chairs just dirty?” or “Maybe they were a match, but the table wore worse than the chairs?”.

Keep it obvious and eclectic. This is especially true when you’re working with brass, bronze, pewter or iron because there is no “standard” for those tones. Aged Brass at Pottery Barn may be very different than Aged Brass at Ballard Designs. Nickel and Chrome, however, are standard. So you should (hypothetically) be able to buy those finishes from different retailers and match everything perfectly.

Now, let’s talk about the existing table. It’s great for some non-matching dining chairs because its style is neutral. It’s not uniquely ornate nor does it nod to one particular genre (mid-century, rustic, etc.). It also looks like a matte black finish, which works with all sorts of colors and finishes. Black is also, hypothetically, a standard finish. So, this homeowner could actually buy other black chairs to “match”, but we’re going to pose some ideas for a curated look.

Everything comes in multiple colors (so click through to see more options) and everything is on SALE. Prices below reflect the sale.

1. “Cactus” color metal chair - $693 for a set of 2

2. White frame with neutral woven back - $59.95

3. All-Weather wicker stackable chair in charcoal - $249

4. Gray nautical rope chair - $279.98 for set of 2

5. Eucalyptus wood chair - $76.99

6. Slope chair in natural with black frame - $224.25

7. White metal bistro chair - $134.25

8. Light weight gray stacking chair - $143 for set of 2

One last tip - there is a difference between true outdoor furniture and “patio” or “covered porch” furniture...so know what you’re buying!

That’s all for now. I’m keeping it short so I can head outside and enjoy this weather!!!

- Leah

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5 Tips to Help You Care for Your Plants - We Swear They are Really Easy

If you were lucky enough to hop on our plant train before quarantine hit, then you may be finding yourself in deep and surrounded by all sorts of lovely greenery in your home. And if you are like us, you may have even started talking to your plants at some point during these 7 plus weeks of being stuck at home, no judgement, really, we too are a hot minute away from becoming best friends with a volleyball, Wilson!!!!

Tip 1 - Make a Schedule

Set a certain time each week to care for your plants, I water mine every Friday, it’s just burned into my brain at this point. It’s actually become my special zen time, I slow sip a cup of coffee and mozy around the house to water my 30 plus plants and do a general wellness check on them. 

Tip 2 - Know Your Plant

When you bring your plants home, it’s important to keep track of your cast of characters. You will need to know the names of your plants so that down the line you can easily look up some tips online if you come across a problem or two. We like to make a cheat sheet, a simple excel doc will do, with your plant name and location in your home, we even give these to our clients after our installs.

Tip 3 - Change with the Season

It’s a good idea to do a wellness check every once in a while, and think about how happy your plant is looking in its current location? Plants change and grow just like we do, and their needs change as well. Seasonal changes can affect your plants, and a once heavenly lit sunny window in the winter months can turn into a burning inferno and overheat your plants come summer. Pay attention to the changes in your plants and experiment with new locations that may better suit their individual needs.

Tip 4 - Spring is Special

Spring time, like right now if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, is a great time to add some extra nutrients to your plant care routine, throw in some fertilizer into your weekly watering routine to help boost plant growth during their active growing season. Just like a sleepy bear that hibernates all winter, your plants are now waking up from their winter slumber, and they are hungry, be a good plant mama and feed yo’ babies! Just be sure not to pour water with fertilizer on your actual plant leaves, which can scorch them, focus your watering skills on the soil.

Tip 5 - Do Not Overwater

If you are still with me, bless your heart, I am deep into my favorite subject here, so if you take nothing else away, this is the one tip to remember. Please do not overwater your plants. Most plants meet their doom by too much water, too much water literally drowns the plants and causes a host of nasty conditions like root rot, and this is no bueno. 

Gear Up!

Time to get you geared up with some pretty plant care accessories, this will be sure to make your plant care routine that much more enjoyable, kind of like buying yourself some “nice” workout gear in hopes that they will motivate you to actually workout, but instead you just end up lounging around your house in said fancy workout gear, or is that just me?  I digress, it is actually nice to have some fun accessories as part of your routine, some that would even make Martha Stewart proud, life goals!!!

Below are links to some of our favorite plant gear, and as a bonus, they are all from small businesses, and as we know this is a great time to support small businesses.

Unleash your inner plant lady with these fun planters, they are perfect to brighten up your kids room or just make you smile, we love things that don’t take themselves too seriously!

These planters are minimal, neutral, just perfect. Will make any plant look like a pretty lady!

These modern concrete cuties come in an array of colors. We need these in all the colors, but blush and gray are our favorites.

Now a true plant lady needs the proper gear, and we love these gardening shears, they are perfect for pruning and keeping your plants from getting to unruly.

Great little watering can to take your watering routine to the next level.

If you are a newly anointed plant lady, welcome to the club. Grab a few of these classic cuttings and you will be well on your way.

Philodendron “Glorious”

Watermelon Peperomia argyreia (Peperomia argyreia)

Pilea Peperomioides Plant, Chinese Money Plant

If you just can’t jump on the “real plant” train, we get you,  you can still add some lovely botanical art to your home to help bring the outdoors in.

Here are some of our favorites pieces.

We love the minimal, clean lines of these sketches. (link here)

Again we love the clean lines, and really love the color blocking. (link here)

A simple botanical photo is always a go-to. (link here)

That’s a wrap, we hope that we have inspired you to embrace your inner plant lady and to take the plunge and bring some lovely greens into your home. For us, a space doesn’t feel complete without some of these beauties. Don’t forget to share your journey along with us by using the hashtag #grayoakplantclub.

- Sonia

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