dwellings and décor

I finally got around to doing my laundry and as I was hanging my clothes up I started to imagine the possibilities I could do to make my closet better. So naturally I went into my inspiration folder called “Closets” to get some ideas. Oh how I would love to have a pretty chandelier, custom designed shelving, or maybe a little gate? A girl can imagine! Maybe I will start small and get some nice wooden hangers and if I am really motivated I could CAD out a shelving unit that I could build to get some more shelving. I know I will definitely be making an area that will help define what is my closet space and what is his. :)

1. Behance 2. Madeline Stuart 3. Alberto Pinto 4. Nicole Sassaman 5. Location Works 6. Vixen Australia

I finally got around to cleaning off my coffee table and I ran across a catalog that I hadn’t had a chance to look at called Serena & Lily. You know how we are always complaining because there just isn’t enough cute stuff to purchase in the U.S? We go gaga over Zara Home and Designers Guild and many others in European countries and we can only look because its not available here? (I have it even worse because I am in Hawaii.) So I am so happy the U.S. is finally showing some things that are really cute and Serena & Lily is one of them. The only thing I wish they had was more adult stuff. Their baby and kids furniture and decor is way adorable but it just isn’t the time and hopefully not for at least a couple more years. My favorites from their shop is that cowhide squares rug and that pink headboard! If you get the real catalog in the mail or browse their online catalog you will find decorating tips for each collection and they even put together fabric swatches and paint samples for you! They also have a really cute blog that you can check out here!

Images from Serena & Lily

I just got tagged from Christina from Down and Out Chic to post one interior image that encompasses my interior design style. I ended up choosing (some how) this beautiful office/living space. I love it because it has several elements that I absolutely adore. For instance I love green so I was able to narrow the color down and I also love natural looking interiors with wood and plant like motifs. My favorite style of furniture is danish modern because it’s organic looking, yet clean and modern and most importantly timeless. I also cannot live without decorative pillows and I love how well they coordinate with that luscious wallpaper. A few other elements that I like to incorporate is showing off my collection of books, simple clean artwork, and architectural treatments like pot lights in a cool soffitt. Oh and I also really like when the ceiling and flooring have a sense of balance.

Photo from HERE

I want to give this challenge to a few other fabulous bloggers out there and they are:
1. Julia from Red Otter
2. Karlene from Bloom Studio
3. Brooke from Velvet & Linen
4. Tina from Luphia Loves
5. Ashley from Decor Amor
6. Mary Jo from Trust Your Style

As you can see I had a really hard time picking my favorites this week. I had saved over 25 images and could only dwindle it down to 18 so this is a very large Weeks Best!

1. Blossoming Living Room space with a really cool plant lamp posted over at LaLa Lovely. Great Inspiration for Spring!
2. I am really enjoying all of these beachy interiors that are showing up all around the blogosphere. Avant-Garde has a great post on some called Color of the Sea.
3. The Interior Designer Jessica Helgerson Designed this beautiful Living Space. All the furnishings are vintage finds that they reupholstered and refinished. You can see more of this home at CoolBoom
4. I love this crocheted clock from Dee Beale found over at Design Sponge.
5. This lovely bedroom was found over at Design Shimmer on her post about living with children.
6. This glamorous dining room is from Lara Flynn’s home. Check out more photos over at Moodboard.
7. One of my favorite blogs is Delight by Design and Blair introduced us to the awe inspiring photos of Lynsey Fryers. I just cant get over how fabulous this inspiration board is!
8. Looking for some more Domino Archive? If so a great post to check out is from Automatism. My favorite from her collection is this soft and pretty blue bedroom.
9. Keltainen Talo Rannalla shows us some inspirational interiors with great ideas from Skona Hem.
10. I dont think I have ever gone a week without being inspired by desire to inspire. This week they introduced us to Karina Garrick and I just love this soothing blue and pink bedroom!
11. The fabulous Bandelle blog showed us some stunning work from Fiona Barratt and I am just in love with this living space!
12. Ashley from Decorology had a handful of inspiration this week but my favorite was this gorgeous bedroom from Annie Schlechter.
13. Hei Astrid has been in South Africa and she has taken some great photos of her journey inculding this gorgeous bedroom!
14. Oh, Hello Friend finds the cutest stuff! This week she came across this lovely pillow from a alicia.
15. I am swooning over this headboard and decor in this all neutral bedroom. Found over at the wonderful Please Sir blog.
16. Another gorgeous post from Oh, Hello friend had this lovely crocheted doily clock. These are really popular!
17. Anne over at the City Sage is obsessed with Suzanis and so she did a beautiful collage with furniture and decor inspired by one of her favorite Suzani interiors to get it out of her system. So cool!
18. If you love all white interiors than you will love this post from Marley & Lockyer. This bedroom was my favorite.

I just received the new issue of Coastal Living in the mail today and I flipped through it and found a few cute stuff but mostly I just wanted more. I think that is what the blogosphere has done to me. I no longer enjoy magazines like I used to because I know I can just visit some of my favorite interior design blogs and find some inspiration. Anywho I decided to take a visit to the Coastal Living Website for more inspiration and I came across this beachy lovely home which they are calling the River Dunes Idea House.

Images from HERE

On the website they give you a little slideshow tour with the designers talking in the background about the design process. Some things they said is that they wanted to compliment the colors and feel of the harbor outside. They also wanted to create a relaxed and refined living space for entertaining and everyday use. One thing that they mention that I didnt realize at first glance was that in the dining room they painted the ceiling a really pretty soft blue and they replicated the same color in the rug which creates a really nice balance in the space. You can see the complete slideshow HERE.

One of my favorite materials to work with when designing an interior is tile. With tile you can create endless configurations that can often seem puzzling. There is so much to choose from these days and you can easily get lost in all of the options. One business that sticks to my mind when I think of beautiful tile is Mandala. Their product images are quite stunning so I have to share with you some of the photos that they emailed me. They are so elegant and pretty!

Photos by Mandala Tile

On the website they go in more detail behind the concept for their colors and designs and basically they are inspired by natural hues including what they call Carbon, Cocoa, Cayenne, and Crema to landscape shades of Caspian Blue and Tarragon Green. They say it is a “chameleon” palette that adapts well to any style, modern to traditional. I would imagine these hues would also be quite timeless as well which is really important to have for a bathroom or kitchen. No one wants to have to renovate with in a few years.

One of my favorite things to look at for interior design are the preliminary renderings. Before I went to college for Interior Design I was always really inspired by Candace Olsen’s beautiful renderings and I love at the end of the show how they have the rendering fade into the photo of the completed design.

I am quite a little collector for interior renderings because I like to see how people show lighting and texture. Whenever I start a design I always hand render it first but I usually create a 3d model because clients change things and re-rendering something by hand can be very time consuming. I wish I had the patience because hand renderings are just so beautiful but on the other hand 3d modeling can really help the client see materials and artwork in more of a realistic way. It all depends on the project and the client.

Here are some of my favorite renderings from my collection. Each artist has it’s own style which I really like and I even included one I did for a group project. (# 4)

1. Thom Filicia
2. 265west122
3. via design sponge
4. Art School Rendering by me (Rachel Mallon)
5. From “Billy Baldwin Remembers” scanned by me
6. Robert Lucas
7. Janet Hill Studio **
8. Ortelia Vergez
9. Deco Design
10. Aurelien Burillon
11. Rendering by Steve Giannetti from Velvet & Linen
12. Rendering by Michelle Morelan, Design by Patricia Gray

One of the hardest things about doing business on Maui is that almost everyone is on Maui time. What I mean is that people don’t rush to get things done and it’s quite normal to have to wait a long time to get anything moving. Maybe it’s harder to work when its hot out. I find that I work best before noon and in the evenings. I seem to shut down and work very slowly between noon and three. I guess what I am trying to get at is that I have been more sluggish lately and I need a pick me up. Maybe painting my office red would do just that for me? Unfortunately I don’t think it would fly with the hubby. What have you done to spice up your office area to put your butt into gear?

1. Lovelace Interiors
2. WIB Agency
3. Country Living
4. Art Rep Team
5. House to Home
6. Scott Sanders
7. Inspiration 4u
8. The Rug Company

I have been contemplating hanging an empty frame collage on my very tall wall. I love this idea because it keeps from looking too busy and overdone and I like the simple beauty of the concept. It also seems quite affordable if your willing to search for frames and possibly paint them to achieve the look you want. Here are a few from my inspiration folder. I hope you find them inspiring if you are thinking about doing something like this for your walls!

Row 1
1. via Honey Pie Living
2. Trine Thorsen via desire to inspire

Row 2
1. Easy Living Magazine
2. Emma D’Inverno via desire to inspire

Row 3
1. Claudia Bryant via Delight by Design
2. Lund Photo

Row 4
1. via decor8
2. via Sfgirlbybay

With spring here and St. Patricks last Tuesday its no wonder I found so many green interiors and decor along with florals and natural elements this week. Here are my favorites!

Row 1
1. Whitney over at Darling Dexter designed her new bedroom space and it came out so lovely. I really like how peaceful and serene it is. I would imagine its a great space to read a book.
2. A new blog I found via Bloom Studio is Beach Dreaming and she has some lovely finds including these gorgoeus green pillows. Anyone know where they are from?
3. Belle Maison posted a fun roundup of her favorite green decor and I was quite intrigued by these two really cool green lamps.

Row 2
1. The Inspiration for Everyday Living blog did a little feature on the creative designer Amanda Nisbit and I love her light lime green bathroom she designed!
2. Simple Lovely suggests looking at inspiration from the talented Lili Diallo now that Domino is gone. I am especially swooning for this living room shot.
3. If you are the type who likes to do almost everything with your hubby than these twin green tubs might be perfect. Image found from the oh so inspirational blog Marley & Lockyer.

Row 3
1. The blogger for Make Room for Living is planning a party for her 1 year old daughter. She provides us with so much lovely inspiration I can hardly take it all in. My favorite although difficult to choose would have to be this outdoor dining area. See her complete post here.
2. Over on the Red Thread there is a feature on these beautiful wall hangings from Laikonik. I love this neutral one can it can go with just about anything.
3. If you are on the hunt for green dining chairs than these adorable french inspired green bistro chairs might just be the ticket. These were found over on the Dose of Design blog where you can find a plethora of cool furniture and decor.

Wow! That was a very big roundup. I hope you now have plenty more reads for the week! Hope the rest of your weekend goes well!