McCarthy Dining Rm

McCarthy Dining Rm by mrshadrick featuring Ethan Allen

Untitled #54

Untitled #54 by mrshadrick on Polyvore

Bailey Rd Dining Rm

Bailey Rd Dining Rm by mrshadrick on Polyvore

Jameson Mood Board

Jameson Mood Board by mrshadrick on Polyvore

New Website, New Blog!!!

I have been very fond of my blogspot blog, but in order to streamline my online presence, I have moved my blog to Wordpress.  Please visit my newly relaunched website and blog at:


www.mi-interiors.com


www.meghansinspiredinteriors.com/blog


See you over there!

The Look For Less

I am currently researching ideas for a new project.  While flipping through the new CB2 catalogue I noticed these pendants:

I immediately thought of Tom Dixon's "Beat Light Fat" pendant, which I've been admiring for years. 

The CB2 price: $250, Tom Dixon's light: $500 for the smaller pendant and about $1000 for the larger version.  The beauty of Tom Dixon's light is in the details.  It has an architectural appeal and the interior is hammered gold.  Its a real beauty.  If you have to save a bit on the budget, I can see the CB2 version working quite nicely as an alternative.  To recreate the gold interior,  apply a bit of gold leaf paper to the interior or even gold spray paint could do the trick.  I might suggest doing something different to the maple wood as well.  A walnut color might work better with the gold interior.  

Key West

My family and I recently came back from a trip to Key West.  Not only was it a refreshing get a way from the winter, it was great to ingest the vernacular of a place that is different in so many ways from the Northeast. The architecture of Key West is often described as mix of Victorian, Bahamian, and New England, and I really think they took the best those three styles had to offer.   We had rain the day we toured many of the neighbordhoods, but I did take a few snapshots of some of the more striking houses before it rained, as well as some pictures from the Audobon House Gallery.  The Gallery sells some original art of James Audubon's works as well as many reprints (which looked as good as the real thing in my opinion!) I would love to design a whole room around the crane picture below!

A Support Pole Makeover

Just a couple weeks ago I posted some before and after pics of my clients basement redesign.


I promised to explain one particular detail in the design- the support column.  Here is the before  picture again. Kinda sticks out at ya-and-not-in-a-good-way, doesn't it?

During our design discussions, one thing that came up in discussions was the support pole that essentially holds up the ceiling.  There were a myriad of different ways to try and incorporate this eyesore into the space.  If this were a more formal area I might have suggested wrapping it in wood and making a nice column out of it.  Then we threw out  making a tree out of it, adding some branches and faux painting the whole thing....but I needed to brainstorm a bit more, afterall this was primarily a kids space , and I wanted to do something really fun and out-of-the-box. The whimsical nature motif exists throughout the design, so the tree idea would defintely work.


One thing lead to another and I found this great shop on Etsy, Eve's Little Earthlings. Eve makes among other things, wine cozies from recycled sweaters.  They often resemble tree stumps. 

 I contacted Eve and she was happy to custom make the "pole cozy".  She did a really great job, and here is the completed Pole Cozy today: (I wish I had a better close up, and will try to add one to the post at a later date.)

I feel like it really becomes part of the design rather than some afterthought.  

  

Rae Allain Master

Rae Allain Master by mrshadrick on polyvore.com

West Elm Bath Collection

West Elm is always one of the first retailers to launch their spring collections (I mean here we are in December still!!!), and I recently got a sneak peak.  I love the new bath collection which is globally inspired from tradtional bath houses in Turkey.  I'm espcially fond of these bath mats as they are less "bathroomy" looking (if you've ever been a student in one of my staging seminars you've heard me preach "get the mat off the floor unless in use".  These however, are more like an area rug and the construction seems very durable......and they are machine washable! Whats not to love!

The Turks are world renowned for their super absorbent but thin woven towels called Pestemal.

I usually don't love too many of the soap pumps, tissue box holders etc., but this one really appeals to me.  Its clean lined, organic stone texture means it could really fit in to many bathrooms styles.  

Before & After Basement Redesign

Remember this post: whimsical modern
One of my recently completed projects was furnishing an entire basement living room.  The client had already made great use of the footprint by incorporating extra closets, a kitchenette, and a full bath. This new layout really put the "F" in function for the family of 6, however, there was no cohesive design scheme to keep organized on a daily basis.  The homeowner wanted this to be primarily a kid space for games, TV, art and crafts, but she also wanted to be able to entertain adults as well.  The jumping off point for the space were the Ikea blue and red kids chairs. Since it is a basement where natural light is limited,  I wanted to incorporate bright colors, graphic patterns and a sense of whimsy to the space. 


Before:

After:

The new layout separates the space into two zones.  The first zone above incorporates plush slipcovered chairs for easy cleaning for the adults to sit, read, or entertain.  We even incorporated a cozy little electric fireplace for added ambiance.  I also included two red vintage industrial chairs for extra seating or for using with the folding desks.

The second zone is the kid zone.  This area includes a rattan hanging chair, a chaise lounge, and the original Ikea blue and red kid chairs with customized cushions to play games, or watch movies.   To maximize floor space for the kids toys, I selected two wood stump side tables as opposed to a larger coffee table.

Did you spy the concealed support pole separating the two spaces?  We figured out a really fun and creative way to hide this, and I will dedicate a whole post next week to who, what, and how we made this eyesore a fun part of the design!

Genevieve Gorder for Capel Rugs

I very much admire the rooms of interior designer and HGTV host Genevieve Gorder.... not to mention she seems really down to earth.  She defnitely has a global bent in her work, but artfully conveys an eclectic feel without being too trendy.   She recently debuted a fabulous new rug line for Capel Rugs.  Marisa over at Stylebeat got these shots from her trip to High Point Market. I'm particularly fond of this emerald green moorish rug. I am already picturing it in a 3 season porch or sunroom with vibrantly patterned throw pillows. 

Who doesn't  love a good Chevron inspired print too!

Here's A Story...of A Lovely Dresser

One of my favorite things to do in designing a clients room is finding that special token piece, whether it's a pillow made of a hand printed fabric, a vintage lamp or a piece of furniture.  Sometimes that token piece adds a higher end feel to a more budget conscious design.  Sometimes it adds that one-of-a kind personal touch that no showroom or catalogue can replicate. I think that is what make a room feel really special.  


Here is such a piece I recently did in my client's daughters bedroom.  We decided the width of the wall really dictated a wider than normal dresser. We talked big box stores, but then the choices for finish would be limited.  Wood stain would darken the compact room too much, and white just seem a bit blah.  


As luck would have it, I found the perfect dresser on Craigslist almost immediately.  It had lovely traditional lines that complimented the vintage bed handed down to my client, and once painted, it wouldn't seem so serious for the pre-teen and toddler sisters sharing the room.

I selected a two-tone semi-gloss lacquer treatment for the dresser to liven it up.  To keep the room light and airy, I chose the body color to be one shade darker than the wall color, Sherwin Williams Enchant, while the drawers were painted Sherwin Williams Heavenly White.  Most of the original hardware was kept but sprayed silver, and I found some whimsical knobs at Anthropologie for the center drawers.


Here is the revitalized piece in the room:

In the next couple weeks, we will be finishing up a reading nook with a new window seat and wall mounted bookshelf, and I'll be sure to post more pictures of the redesigned room!

Happy Halloween....belated!

Happy Halloween!!! Better one day late then never, right!  It turned out to be a great Halloween day despite a weekend snowstorm that blew through (boohoo).  

It was Cowboys and Lions for 2011!

aarons pad

aarons pad by mrshadrick on Polyvore.com

LilSugar.com

I was thrilled to hear LilSugar.com wanted to feature my son's chalkboard table  project on their website! If you don't know about LilSugar.com, I highly recommend visiting it from time to time.  It's chalkfull (no pun intended) of great information on home, fashion, parenthood, and everything in between!

Check out the article here:

Some Contrast For A Quick Fix

With the Hurricane turned Tropical Storm Irene blowing its way through New England today, we are staying indoors and bunkering down for the day.  Its been a newspaper, movie, and clean-up the house kinda day.  I thought it also might be appropriate timing to fix a real eye sore in the house.....our back door.  This was the state of the sloppy-barely-primed-paint job our landlord had done at some point. Add to that a few years of dirt build-up:

Its bothered me since we moved in, but I just didn't think to do anything about it.  I finally decided to prime the door again a few months ago, and the new primer at least took care of the cracks and dirt showing on the door.  I figured at some point I would get around to selecting the right black or gray paint....The pantry needed something dark to ground all the stark white going on.  As luck would have it, I was at my local hardware store a few weeks back and decided to check out the "oops" paints they have from time to time.  Low and behold there was a little quart of charcoal gray sitting there calling my name!  I picked up the $5 can and thanks to Hurricane Irene, here is the finished door today:

I love my new door! Now if I could just snap my fingers and have the rest of the pantry freshly painted.......

Happy 1st Birthday Cora!!

We had a relaxing 4th of July weekend in the Berkshires in Western Mass at our friend's wonderfully rustic lakeside cabin.  Being that it is nearly off the grid completely with varied cell phone reception, and no TV or computer in sight.  What a way to get away.  

Cora had her must have 1st bday cake mug shots.  

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  More celebrations ahead when we have our family party in Narragansett, RI this weekend.  We'll see how my beach themed party turns out: )


I have to add this final shot of Liam and our friend's little niece in the hammock. It could be a postcard!

Remember this dining room....

Remember these pedestals and dining room? 

Well, we finally got around to shooting some afters (during daylight hours), and I long ago promised a shot of the console table I custom designed using some salvaged old stone balusters from the Boston State House.  

I also have shots of the living room we were working on at the same time.  Again, I was working mostly with existing furnishings but we really changed the overall feel completely through accessories and paint.

Before:

After: