nice, comfy skin and current inspiration

Back in the day, when we first moved into this house and started this blog, Sam and I spent a lot of time thinking through our design style. We were making fairly permanent (or at least difficult to change) decisions regarding this remodel, and we wanted those decisions to be informed and well thought out. So, I read and read and read some more, and we considered each new choice carefully.

That was time well spent.

Now, almost three years later (3 years? craziness!), I'm to the point where I don't feel like I have to agonize over every decision. The house has some momentum now. A pretty clear course marked out. I feel confident in it. Confident enough to play around more with the less permanent stuff - to throw polka dots on the mantel if I feel like it. To put a vintage tablecloth out if I want to. The foundation of each room is carrying a cohesive mood to allow for all of that without a completely schizo result. Finally.

Not that we're necessarily nearing our finish line. But, the progress is tangible. The house is more pleasant on the whole. It's brighter. More functional. More orderly. More cheerful.

More us.

But this "us" has come about through a variety of "thems". By that, I mean there have been a few definitive sources of inspiration that have helped guide us to where we are now.

As I mentioned in my last post, I like to give credit where credit is due, and since at times I may experiment with an exact copy or close to exact copy of someone else's idea, giving credit is only right and good.

In no particular order, here are the women whose work and homes continually inspire and challenge me...


urban grace interiors via pinterest


Erika McPherson Powell. Here's her blog, Urban Grace Interiors. Everything Erika touches is instant gold. It seems like it, anyway. Her style is more exacting, more polished, more professional, more well-funded than my own, but I look to her rooms to help me work in touches of comfortable sophistication. They're real rooms, but with a designer's mark. She challenges me to work with finishes, pattern, and texture to get the feel I want in our spaces. And she gets the old house thing. Her photos of hardware make me melt. Oh, and the color green. Erika made me fall in love with green.

Source: Uploaded by user via Rachel on Pinterest

Lauren Leiss of Pure Style Home. Lauren has this incredible signature style. Her rooms, even when fundamentally different, all have a little something that is just her. Her eye is incredible. Lauren, like Erika, is a professional designer and her rooms reflect that. They're a little too "designed" for my personal style - a little too magazine perfect. But that's what she does so well! The inspiration I take from Lauren is mostly philosophical. She has great things to say about authentic spaces and being comfortable in your own skin. Her own home is nothing to sneeze at... I'm interested to see how it continues to evolve as they add a third little one and as her children get a little older. Lauren also helps me think through pattern, texture, form, and scale - especially concerning neutrals.

Source: megduerksen.typepad.com via Laura on Pinterest

Meg Duerksen of Whatever. Meg's is easily my favorite blog right now. She's not a designer. She's like me. A mom to five kids, staying at home. But she has this fabulously huge, gorgeous old house in Kansas. Everything at Meg's blog seems generous. Her style is a little more cluttered, funky, and flea market shabby than my own. However... however, I love it in her house! Meg challenges me to add color - bright color - and to not think too hard about what I instinctually love. Or take it all too seriously. If it makes you happy, why not put pom pom trim all over your wall?! There's a part of me that has always resonated with the Megs of the world. If I were going to list out a few Meg-like things I've loved for over a decade, they'd be pom pom (we had it on curtains in our previous house), silver plate, quilts, polka dots, and kids' art/crafts. She's the inspiration for letting life smile through our rooms :)

Source: ashleyannphotography.com via Joy on Pinterest

Ashley Ann Campbell from Under the Sycamore. Ashley is an amazing woman, amazing mom, and amazing photographer. Her style is very feminine, much more feminine and lacy/scrappy/crafty than my own. But, Ashley inspires me like no one else when it comes to capturing my home, family, and days with my camera. I'm still learning. Her posts, her photos, are just beautiful to study. I do, from time to time, take inspiration from her home or crafts, too. But, mostly, she challenges my phototaking.


apartment therapy via pinterest


Apartment Therapy. Hands down, the best thing about Apartment Therapy is the house tours. Real homes, real people, real life... usually in a small space. Right up my alley. I love scrolling through the tours, looking for bits of inspiration and ideas that fit within our aesthetic. Fancy talk for stuff that will work in our home and make it better.

There are other sources, too. Pinterest, Google searches, sometimes Lonny. But the ones I've mentioned in this post are the Big Guns. The ones I really feel like come together in bits and pieces in my mind to make our home what I want it to be.

Rockstars. Every one of them.

Thanks for the inspiration, ladies!

tidbits from my last mama night out

Last week, my usual Mama Night Out didn't happen until Friday night. I didn't like going out alone on a weekend night at first, but when I realized that everything was open an hour or more later than on a weeknight, I decided I could roll with it.

I didn't get to leave the house until a little after 7pm, so I decided to head to a local outdoor mall where I knew there'd be several stores open until 10pm (and a bookstore open until 11). First stop - Panera Bread. Rumbly tummy.

photo: that girl with a camera (fun blog!)

I used to turn my nose up at Panera... for a really prissy reason. I didn't like clearing all my dishes cafeteria style. Honestly, I still don't like it. Something about putting your dirty forks into a bin with everyone else's dirty forks - ew. I deal with my family's spit and slob just fine - it's the spit and slob of other peeps that makes my skin prickle.



shudder.



At any rate, I changed my tune when this whole weight loss thing got underway. Panera has some great-tasting, low-cal options. This summer, I've been pretty much sticking to what I know works. Have you tried the Asian Sesame Salad? 410 calories, and yummy. I skip the bread (I know, but hey - bread vs. waist) and go for the apple, which I usually save to eat an hour or so later. The salad has nice wontony crunchies, a tangy/sweet viniagrette, and cilantro. Love the cilantro.



Blood sugar stabilized... I headed to BR. Mission: find some skinny jeans that work with my mom body. BR? for mom-friendly skinny jeans?, you say. Worth a shot.

photo credit hereI tried on several clothes and chatted with my favorite sales person, Stephanie. She's probably about 22 and she is so, stinkin' cute. She stands back in the dressing room and chats with me about how to wear my scarf this fall, what boots might be best, etc. She's great. Too bad all the jeans just weren't working for me that night. Depending on your height & shape, they might work out for you. These almost worked for me, but the skinnies had some weirdo sagginess behind the knee. Plus, their low-rise is pretty, well, low-rise. I needed to find some mid-rise skinnie to keep that dreaded muffin top at bay. Bye, Stephanie. See you, soon!

eddie bauer modern fit skinny jeans in "rinsed"

I never go into Eddie Bauer, but maybe I should. It's right beside BR, and last week I decided to go in because I'm still in the market for a classic denim jacket (last year's is too big - yay!). I'd check on a jacket and I figured there was a chance they'd have skinny jeans, and - if they did - they just might be mid-rise. Bingo! Eddie Bauer, I'm converted. These are GREAT jeans for moms who need a higher waist but still want to get the dark wash, skinny look. Don't worry, I won't wear these without a top to cover my rump. They might look fine, but I'll wear them with longer tops for modesty reasons. I didn't buy them just yet. I'll take my sister with me next time and get her opinion before I make the purchase. Skinny jeans are part of my fall core wardrobe plan, though, and these are serious contenders.

Well, that was fun. Two stores down was Ann Taylor LOFT. The stores weren't closing until 10pm, so I still had time. Why not?

ann taylor loft charcoal and ivory striped sweater

I sort of accidentally found a shirt that I really liked. Do I love it? I'm not sure. I at least really like it. It looked good on, too. It's not every day that some other shopper in the dressing room comments. I had two ladies comment when I had this on. Do you think the store plants those shoppers to get you to buy their stuff? ;) Problem - it's $60 and not on my wardrobe plan. I already picked up something that covered the "gray stripe" category. Hmm. Dunno - I really liked it. It looked super cute with my rolled boyfriend jeans and black ballet flats. Drat.

cold stone's berry yogurt (more low-cal options here)

Being unsure, I left the sweater behind for the time being. The clock was striking ten. Did I have time to quick step it to Cold Stone Creamery? Sure thang! Cold Stone is a calorie-counter's nightmare, by the way. I mean seriously, people. Did you know one of their big ole "creations" can rack up over 1500 calories!? Yikes-ola. However, they now have "healthy" options. My favorite of which is the berry frozen yogurt. Its texture is somewhere between a traditional frozen yogurt and a sorbet. I added raspberries as my stir-in and ordered a kid's size. The Like It size is about 140 calories, so I figure I came in around that with the add-ins. A little splurge. Totally worth it. The photo is from flickr, and looks rather soupy. Trust me, though. If you like a little sweet/tart action, this is a great treat.

Okay. Everything was shutting down, so I trotted toward the bookstore and munched my yogurt. There was an older gentleman playing the sax on one of the corners. I love street music - when it's good. And he was pretty good. I plopped down on a bench nearby and scrapped the last drops from my cup. Beautiful night. Sax. Treat. I could feel myself re-fueling. Mama Nights are awesome.

I've been pulling back on the interior design inspiration for the last month or two. I feel like my inspiration file is filled to over-flowing. I need to do, now, not just get inspired. So then what, I ask you, caused me to pick up Bunny Williams - of all people? Man!

available here

I had flipped through this book before. I think, though, that was during a time in which I was trying to edit out the more formal inspiration sources. I strongly admire the work of the old-school traditionalists like Charles Faudree, Charlotte Moss, Albert Hadley, and Ms. Williams. Their designs are for extremely wealthy people, though, and rarely offer much for me to actually work with in our own home. So, when I thumbed through An Affair with a House, I must have pushed it aside as too formal.

Friday night, though, I picked it up and looked at it with fresh eyes. Eyes that had been mostly absorbing "accessible" and eclectic design. Formality in IKEA doses. So, this time Ms. Williams' designs were bringing balance to my mental cache. Can I tell you something? The house and property in this book are hands down the most amazing I can possibly imagine. Sure, my personal style is different than Ms. Williams', but this house... this land... these out buildings. Gah!

If it were for a get-away. A Sam-and-Jacci-only weekend. This place would be 100%, completely perfect in every single way. The word "inspiring" doesn't even begin to touch it.

This was Ms. Williams' weekend home (she has an apartment in NYC) for 30 some odd years. 30 years. Of Bunny Williams loving on a house. And, really, that's what I took away from the book. She loved that house into what it became. A multi-million dollar budget didn't hurt, of course, but she and her husband loved it into perfection.

If you struggle with convetousness, maybe it's not wise to leaf through this book. If you can take it all as inspiration and use it as a springboard for you own home within your own means, I can't recommend it enough. I have many weaknesses, but one of my strengths is the ability to take something inaccessible and break it down into parts and adapt those parts so that some of them become accessible. I look at this book and the biggest thing that stands out to me is the emotional reactions it draws from me. The sense of history, elegance, rest, hospitality, graciousness. The connection to nature. The lack of pretense. Really, don't laugh - I mean that last part! If this were my home, it would be pretentious. I'd be trying to be something I'm not. However, Bunny Williams' is a wealthy, wealthy woman. She came from money and she, obviously, has money. She and her husband are mature, no kids at home anymore. I totally believe that this house is them. I just don't get the sense that it's pretensious. I've never met Ms. Williams, but she seems very comfortable in her own skin. And completely confident in who she is. This home is her.

from this wonderful New York Social Diary article

Look. Isn't she so cute? I love the perspective of this photo. You can see her hubby there in the hall, and I can just imagine sitting opposite her and chatting. We're waiting for the shephard's pie to finish baking before we enjoy it with a simple salad out on one of the idyllic porches. She says that guests will always be drawn toward the rooms you use the most as a family because those are the rooms that have the most soul. This is such a great room... lots of soul, I think. It may not seem like it if it were photographed without Ms. Williams and her poochy, but with them there you see that it fits them. They don't have kids, but they have doggies and it's fun to see how they keep such upscale interiors comfortable and welcoming. This is what a room looks like after 30 years of Bunny Williams.

The New York Social diary article in the link above is top-notch. If you're interested in more about the house, check it out.

I headed home after the bookstore closed at 11. I seriously don't know if I can take any more inspiration for a while. I have ideas running around in my head like mad. I've had to sit down from time to time and sketch some things out, just to free up some mental space :) Some of the best ones are straight out of our trip to Door County (so fun you honeymooned there, Renae!). More on that soon.

Have an awesome day!

Erika McPherson Powell, Designer

Here I am, all snuggled up on the couch and munching away on a frozen chocolate Whip with my trusty laptop. Children are snuggled and snoozing. Sam is playing indoor soccer for an hour or two, and the house is - get ready for this - quiet.

I felt like it was just about the perfect night to write that post I've been promising. The title doesn't keep many secrets :) Tonight, we're taking a closer look at Erika McPherson Powell of Urban Grace Interiors.

If you aren't familiar with Erika, her work, or her blog, let me introduce you! This is Erika :)

via My Home Ideas

Isn't she super cute? She strikes me as one of those moms you'd see at the playground, hanging out and looking all carelessly chic in her jeans and tank - and killer shoes. You know, those size 4 moms with great hair ;) From her blog posts and from a few brief email interactions, she also strikes me as totally genuine, natural, and truly sweet. And did I mention the woman's got style? Here, take a look...

I love this room. Just like Erika, it has a pulled-together, chic look without trying too hard. After I planned on writing this post, I was delighted to discover that these clients of Erika's had their home featured in Southern Living's February 2010 issue. It just hit newstands and I snapped it up. The photos of this room, in particular, fascinated me and gave me a whole new appreciation for the design. I won't scan them here, though - you'll have to sneek a peek next time you're at Barnes and Noble. Incidentally, if you've been reading for a little while, you know I've sort of adopted "timeless character" as my catch phrase for our home. I had to chuckle when those exact words were part of the Southern Living title for Erika's article - "New House, Timeless Character".

A month or two back, I decided I really needed to edit the design influences that were cramming themselves into my head. Swedish, Belgian, French, Farmhouse - yeesh! I went through my blog reads and nixed the ones that really didn't match up to my own (barely, barely defined) aesthetic. I decided to quit looking at IKEA catalogs, books on cottage style, and - this one was a little hard - even House Beautiful. I had gleaned what I could from all those resources for the time being. I needed to focus. I set out to find images that really encapsulated what I loved in a space and to discover designers that "nailed" the look I wanted.

Enter Erika.


At about the same time that I decided on this edited path, I wrote down my current thoughts on our aesthetic and posted them in my sidebar. This was before I had really taken a good, hard look at Erika's portfolio. When I did go through it, photo by photo, I was struck by how much her rooms reflected my own goals for our home. Although, let me be the first to point out, Erika is a professional designer. So, try as I may, I just won't turn out the same caliber room, regardless of what my sidebar says. That's pretty much a given. It's easy to look at something someone has already done and tell yourself you could do that, too. It's a whole other ballgame when you actually have to do it - and do it on your own. Suddenly you realize that the pros make it look so easy because they're pros! :)

Plus, I don't have the coin her clients have.

Erika's rooms inspire me without distracting me from my own design direction. That's nice. Here are a few more photos...

via My Home Ideas

High contrast neutrals. The dark photo frames and the medium-dark tone of the painted bench against the light walls provide exactly the kind of contrast that I love to see in a room. This bench illustrates another point I recently made about avoiding too many new purchases in our home. I don't want our house to look canned or formulaic. It would have been really easy to grab a standard bench from Pottery Barn for this area and call it a day. But, instead, with Erika's direction, her client took the time to really find a one-of-a-kind, vintage piece for her home. The green paint gives it that extra element of character and charm that just isn't going to come straight out of a stockroom. It's classic.

Here's another example, from Erika's portfolio, of that same principle. Same home, too (did I mention that the Southern Living article has lovely, lovely photos?). A brand new, mass-produced side table would've looked fine here, and would have certainly been easy to come across. But, a little patience, a little time, and there's a table with personality and timeless character. Honestly, a table like this needn't be any more expensive than a newer one, either. Depending on where you look, you may be able to find a solid wood, vintage side table for roughly the price of a similarly sized table from Target! I love that Erika doesn't design solely with to-the-trade pieces. I mean, the girl even trash picks! In an article with My Homes Ideas, Erika says, "I still find myself doing things I remember them [her parents] doing when I was a young child -- stopping to pick up furniture, frames, or lamps out of someone's trash, hitting up the local antique shows to check for new items (antique shows and flea markets are my choice of entertainment), gardening, etc." You have to love the down-to-earth approach :)



Are you beginning to see why I really like the homes Erika designs? It's because I like the basic foundations of her aesthetic - the thoughts behind the rooms.




White. Lovely, bright, perfect white. The dark wood anchors it all and gives that interesting element of contrast, again. I think, too, the white has a feminine feel that is balanced by the heavier, more masculine wood tones. This is one of my favorite rooms in Erika's portfolio.

At the risk of really beating a dead horse to, well, to death - I have to share this excerpt from Erika's website that pretty much sums up her commitment to timeless style (how many times can I type "timeless" in one post?) Here's the quote: "Erika’s style is both modern and classic, an ideal just-right mix of old and new that is forever timeless (apparently, at least once more!). Reluctant to define herself by one certain look (or place), one thread runs common throughout all her projects: impeccable attention to details. Considering the architectural bones of each project is a source of pride for Erika. She has commented, 'Ignoring the architecture would be like a dressmaker making a dress without a proper fitting'. This level of details is what her happy clients have come to expect." Can I tell you that I nearly jumped up and down with glee when I read that? All this time and work to change our mouldings, doors, windows. I feel like we must not be too far off the right track when I read something like this :)



So, that's a little of Urban Grace Interiors. Such great sources of inspiration. It's obvious that Erika has worked hard to study and develop her talents. She's been able to work alongside some highly respected names in the business. She has training, experience. Are you wondering why I bother drooling over her rooms when I'm a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom and wife with zero background in interiors?! :) Well, the short answer is that I think we can all come at design from our own starting points. I'll just learn what I can, when I can, and hope to at least come close to my goals and not waste money on poor decisions. By taking the time to observe and really learn to see, I feel like I can learn something, even if I don't know everything. Really, I just get tickled when I feel like some of my thoughts and directions are validated - like I'm not totally out to lunch. Erika's designs push me along in my own thought process. It's encouraging to be able to say that I've found a designer who regularly hits on an aesthetic that resonates with me and whose thoughts align with my own.

Not to mention that it's just a huge bonus when that designer has such an adorable baby. I just had to fit her in this post somehow :)

All images, except where noted, are used with permission courtesy of Urban Grace Interiors. Quotes are taken from a recent My Home Ideas article. It's a great overall introduction to Erika's thoughts on design, and also features more photos of her work.