Thanksgiving Table

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

My goal this year for me was to set a very "natural" table.  I wanted neutral colors and simplicity.

My daughter and I found a Magnolia tree close by and we took a drive with our clippers in hand. It was a blast and a memory with great laughter.

We found more than just magnolia leaves.

I had a brand new large tarp (bought from Lowes) that fits over 2 large tables.

It was the perfect texture and color for what I was looking for.  We wanted everyone to be able to sit at one large table.  All 21 of us fit perfectly.  Now that we have teens, they would rather be with the adults.

I then placed black striped wrapping paper down the middle as my runner.  I found the animal print pumpkins at Hobby Lobby for 80% off so I was thrilled.

The magnolia leaves were layered down the center and I added fresh pears for some color.

 My husband bought me the plates for an anniversary present several years ago and I love them! I also layered cut aspen pieces amongst the magnolia leaves.

Time together around a table is priceless! Great conversation, good food and a beautiful table makes everyone happy!

  This table could easily be duplicated for a Christmas table.

Just add some pomegranates and you are set!

If you would like to see the live periscope that I did of our table, visit Katch.me where you can view the replay video.

You can also see many other video's I have done for decorating inspiration.

Two Lion Master Bedroom Makeover

We recently finished a two day install for a client.  We decorated their dining room, kitchen, family room, entry, library and master bedroom.

We broke it up into 2 days and worked so very hard!  Over a 3 month period, I had things repurposed, reupholstered, repainted, reworked, etc.   We used the homeowners furniture mixed with old and new items.  I incorporated thrift store finds, high end custom furniture, lower end and high end accessories, custom artwork, kids artwork, antiques and many meaningful treasures the client already had.  This home now feels very "collected, not decorated" and that is my trademark. All these things mixed together makes for a FABOULOUS end result!

I had the second day of the professionally shot by an EXTREMLY TALENTED videographer who is putting together a video of the entire day so stay tuned.  The reveal with the clients is AWESOME!

I call this the Two Lion Home because there are two great big lion statues that greet you at the door!

In the meantime, I thought you might like to see some before and after shots of the master bedroom.

I absolutely LOVED this cove in the master bedroom when I first saw it.   When I walked into the room, I immediately thought that this could be a great feature wall.  My wheels where turning all night after that consultation.  It seems I do most of my creative thinking when I should be sleeping, Urggggg

I finally came up with this idea below and it turned out beautiful!  I could not have done it without my fabulous workroom!

BEFORE

AFTER

New light fixture, draperies, headboard, bedding, side tables, lamps, accessories, artwork and sitting area.

Photography by T. Lamar Photography

This room is filled with light that a camera cannot capture.  It is so beautiful.

I found the side tables and didn't like the knobs that they came with.  We installed new knobs from Anthropologie.com and it instantly transformed them.

You can see the pattern of the fabric on the headboard, isn't it spectacular?

The bed skirt and the draperies were custom made.

I found this bust and it was an ugly white and needed a makeover. Logan, one of the teenagers that is helping us, spray painted it for me and it looks perfect on the bedside table.

The client had these chairs below.  We had them reupholstered in a soft velvet.  We found some artwork done by their kids and hung them above the chairs.

BEFORE

AFTER

So personal and PERFECT for a master bedroom.  The colors were perfect too!

I found two of these chairs at a resale store.   Really comfy, great shape and fun curves but outdated.  We reupholstered without the fringe and added swivels to them for good TV watching. Perfect now.

AFTER

Hope you enjoyed the tour.  I'd love to hear what you think!

I'll be posting more about this home later on.

You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest (DecRenew Interiors).  I am also on Periscope where you can watch me live as we decorate behind the scenes and give you tips and inspiration for decorating your home.  Click on the icons on the right if you would like to follow us!

Have a beautiful weekend in your HOME!

Transitional Navy and White Kitchen Remodel

Kitchen remodels are always the hardest on my clients.  It totally disrupts every day life.  However, these clients were READY TO GO!

BEFORE

As you can see, the homeowner  started the demo in the above picture but that is about as far as they got with this remodel.  The fun thing about this client is that I have decorated other rooms in their home so I am very familiar with their style already.  They wanted a dramatic kitchen and truly trusted me to make that happen (so honored that they trust me) I recommended that we paint the cabinets a dark navy and they were SO EXCITED and  asked me to take it from there!

AFTER

As you can see, even though we painted the cabinets a dark color, it didn't make the kitchen feel dark at all.  With the bar all one level now and the light granite and stacked stone, it feels very open and light.  The adjacent eat in dining area has lots of light pouring in too so that helps.  As a decorator, I choose colors based on the space and what is going on in the room and surrounding rooms.  Color is tricky and it is very important you hire a professional to help you choose just the right color for your space.  The color that is right for this kitchen may be totally wrong for your kitchen.

BEFORE

We added glass front cabinets to the top of her existing cabinets and refaced the doors to give them a more modern style.  No need for brand new cabinets if the bones are good already.  All the cabinets got pull out drawers put inside them which makes the kitchen much more functional.  We kept the existing oven, stove and the client had the vent-a-hood already that she wanted us to work around.

The wood floors were replaced during our PHASE I last year.  The granite was leathered to take away the shine.  It really is amazing in person.

They had some cabinets that were not being used so we made them a wine cabinet to store their wine.

New backsplash and hardware and it turned out gorgeous!  Hardware is the jewelry in the kitchen.  Don't skimp on your selections, they can make your kitchen have so much style.  They are not cheap but if you are wanting your kitchen to look classy, do it right!

New accessories for the counter and it was a wrap.

We then tackled the kitchen eating area.  Added new drapes, new table, chairs, lighting and accessories.

I found these fabulous blue and white drapes and got so excited.  I adored the henna like design.  However, they were too short for the space.  I purchased them, found some fabric we could add to the bottom of them to make them the right length and added some trim and lining.  They are now perfect in this room.  Added light and not too much pattern. The rustic table is imported from India and can't be damaged by the kiddos in this house!  Actually, the more you use it, the better it looks.  Family friendly = fab

Isn't the chandelier spectacular with the pendant lighting?  The chairs with the oval hole in the back makes this room feel more open and less crowded.

Thanks to my wonderful installer Reuben who spent lots of labor on this rod that continues all the way around the window. You can see how fab the pendants are below!

Thanks for joining me on this tour.  As I was writing this post I received a text from my client saying this "OK Ruthie, you need to leave me a bunch more of your business cards!!!! I'm having a birthday party for my son and his baseball team and parents.  The mom's want your contact info.  I'm getting hand cramp from writing your number down." I always feel so blessed when I get feedback like that from my clients.

 I'm off to finish off a bathroom remodel and another kitchen.  Will post pictures soon. Hope it is a great LABOR DAY with friends and family!

Modern Blue and White Family Room

A couple weeks ago we finished up a wonderful family room for a couple that are now empty nesters!

They wanted a bright, cheery space with a modern twist.

The rug was my inspiration and we went from there!  One of the chairs was a chair that the client had and the other was one I purchased that we redesigned and reupholstered.  I love to repurpose furniture and this one has a swivel for easy TV watching!  My husband tells me that I have a love affair with old chairs.  I admitted that he was right!  I LOVE chairs!

Can you believe that this was the chair BEFORE?

AFTER

Crazy transformation, right?

 Guess who got the other chair?

ME!!!!!

BEFORE                                                                                       AFTER

The client purchased the new leather couch and we added everything else in the room.  I love the glass top coffee table and the open geometric design.  With a rug this beautiful, it is crazy to cover it up with a heavy coffee table.

Velvet pillow that I found while in Atlanta about 5 months ago, just for this project!

Before this chair was slipcovered it had huge rounded arms.  It was dated but still good quality .  The client loved how comfortable it was so we  totally transformed it into a modern, comfory chair.  It is so fab!   Not dated anymore!

The client had the artwork and mantel accessories, we just moved them in from another room.  Added lamps and side tables to finish it off!

The newly stained hardwoods look amazing too!

Details, details!

We added this custom artwork to the adjoining kitchen nook.  I took all the fabrics we were working with to an artist and we got creative with what I wanted this grouping to look like.  Mary Howe with Design Inspirations is so talented and these add so much color to the space and marry the two rooms.

I'm in love with their new chandelier aren't you?

Happy weekend!  I'm ready for some down time and plan to sit by the pool a bit with the family!

Birthday Celebrations

 

This year my birthday fell on Easter Weekend!  It was incredibly awesome to share the weekend with all the celebrations of Easter.

 My husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year.  The one thing I really wanted was to be with my good friends around a table.  We thought about a restaurant but I don't like restaurants for parties, you can never really chat with everyone.

  Being that my hubby loves to cook, he recruited our daughters and 2 of their friends to cook for us in our own house.

The weather was perfect so we did it outside by the pool.  It was casual and FUN!  Great music and loads of laughter with 14 of my good friends that I do life with!

We had salad and appetizers and the girls served us all evening.  Even Ava, our doggie, enjoyed the party!

My wonderful, talented friend made these amazing tufted cupcakes.  Aren't they incredible?  They were super delicious too, all decorated in easter colors.

Kimmberly Ramos at http://www.Kimmscakes.com 

It was my husband's birthday about a week before mine.  He turned the BIG 50.  We have some amazing friends that took us out for dinner at a new restaurant in Dallas to celebrate.  If you haven't been there, it is an amazing steakhouse.

"The Knife".  http://www.knifedallas.com/

Bacon Tasting of 5 varieties for the appetizer, so good! Notice I am just sitting nicely while my husband just about stabs me LOL.

For my present, my wonderful handyman husband hung these vintage stained glass lanters for me in our cabana! I've had them in my storeroom for a while now and just didn't have time to do anything with them.  He agreed to hang them for my party!  Best gift ever is one done with LOVE!

Speaking of LOVE.....

17 years ago my husband Dan sold his TR6 because we had babies, I quit working and we needed the money. I remember standing upstairs looking out the window as his car drove away!  It was a sad day but he did it with no hesitation because it was the right thing to do.  He and my dad had totally rebuilt the car and had put loads of hours and lots of memories into it.  I remember thinking to myself as I watched it drive away, "one day, I'm going to buy him a car just like that." This month he turned 50 so I surprised him with a totally refurbished 1974 TR6, just like his old one. He has encouraged me, supported me, and worked hard along side me in my business.  Nothing I give him can ever thank him.  Most of all, he has loved our family so well!  It was a great suprise but I realized, it is not about the car.  It's about the meaning behind it and the memories we created with it.  

Every where we go in the car, we are stopped and someone tells us a story about how they use to have one just like it.

 So Fun!

My birthday was the same thing this year, filled with memories with good friends.  These kinds of memories are priceless!!