Dramatic Studio in the Theatre District

Hello dear friends! It's my first post since one of the dearest people to my heart passed away, my grandpa, ("Bampy"). He gave us so much to celebrate and a helluva lot to miss. It seems so fitting today to get to share a recent project I had the opportunity to do in the beautiful city of Boston, home of his Red Sox. We shared a love for New England and although I don't get to call it home anymore, the next best thing is having the chance to design beautiful homes nestled in some of Boston's most beloved neighborhoods.

Today's reveal is a studio right on the outskirts of the Theatre District. I've always wanted to design a studio - Something about the challenge of cramming your living, dining and sleep into one room just piques my interest! Hah! While this one is definitely of generous proportions, I still had a tricky time with layout. But it was an exciting challenge to take on and I'm so happy with out it turned out!

Let's take a look around:

First, you can't beat these windows. All that natural light is making the design look goooood! I wanted to wrap the space in something dramatic so I chose a charcoal gray, (Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore), that could move well from the lighter side near the windows, to the walls furthest out.

That Red Sox literature is for you, Bampy. :)

Another first for me was using a canopy bed! I figured creating a cozy sleep space in a studio could be a challenge. I wanted it to feel set apart and intimate, and I'm so pleased with how this piece, (found for a great price at Wayfair), fits into the space!

And if you're in to the behind the scenes process, here is one of the floorplans and design boards from this project! There are always edits but I try to hit the big picture concept early on so it's just tweaks from there. For this job I wasn't given pictures of the space beforehand nor measurements of the windows or between the windows, so when we saw how close together the windows actually were it made sense to rotate the living area.

That's it - Pretty short tour when it's all one room! If you have any questions about where I found what please don't hesitate to ask in a comment below! I'll be back next week with another design reveal from the Windy City!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Reveal: The Concrete Cave

Hi friends! Jumpin' on with another eDesign reveal today - this week's space is tucked inside Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood and was a real test to my cozier sensibilities. Last week's space I did in Boston was easy peasy- exposed brick, large windows, warm wood floors - all the ingredients to go cozy to the max! The space I'm sharing today gave me a bit of a chill when I first saw the photos the client sent over:

The window-less room above is the bedroom. So what to do? Embrace the uber modern elements or go against the grain and add warmth and texture? I settled on both and found some helpful inspo images before finding the right mix of pieces!

With the influx of eDesign reveals here I cannot express enough how much I value floorplans! They are the least visually appealing aspect of a job but allow me to really understand the space. I play with various arrangements until I find one that enhances the elements of the room best. Here's a peek at the final arrangement and the floorplan we stuck to the closest.

And to help the client 'see' the space, an example of one of the design boards used for this project:

Without further adieu, welcome to Chi town!

The physical space is unlike anything I've ever worked with; it's industrial, yes, but also modern in an almost sterile way. My objective was to embrace both the industrial and modern, but also to warm things up, (without going all bohemian with layers).

If you can't beat em', join em'! I really love how this concrete coffee table pulls it all together; like it was grown right from the floor!

The bedroom was really exciting to me! A room without windows - no problemo! I chose a dark charcoal gray for the walls and my favorite CB2 Mantis sconce in nickel and wood. A leather headboard finishes it off and it's transformed into a sleek hideout cave complete with concrete bedside tables.

That's it! A short and sweet tour for today. Thank you to the installation team up there who hammered it out and got it done! I always have a feeling of anticipation when I know a design is getting installed and I'm hundreds of miles away waiting to see how it turns out! It's exciting, indeed, and good for my blood pressure, too. ;)

Thank you so much for coming by today!

Reveal: Industrial Meets Cozy in Beantown

Got another eDesign reveal today! The client started with a very industrial 2 bedroom space - interior brick, city views and large windows; all my favorite things together! I had complete stylistic freedom, but a limited budget and limited time to get it complete, so I started with some design inspiration to help me hone in on the ideas I wanted to prioritize. Some of my favorite inspo images are below and with each one I had made a note of what caught my eye most.

For this project I was given a sketched floorplan and a video tour of the space. Since I didn't have photos to go by, I was meticulous with the floorplan. I had a vision of what I wanted the space to look and feel like, but a vision is just a vision if the pieces don't fit perfectly and the flow is not a hundred percent comfortable. I created a floorplan for each room in the space and several for the living room - it was an oddly shaped room and I wanted to try some different layouts, but the one seen below is what we ultimately followed the closest!

Finding the right pieces for this space was an absolute blast, but not without some particular challenges! The client needed the design completed 2 days from handing me the specs on the space, so I needed pieces that were not only friendly to our budget, but that offered a speedy delivery! Below is one of the final moodboards of the living room. I used several to indicate some specific details, but this one shows the jest of it.

And voila!

I really trusted the client's measurements of the space as well as the measurements indicated with this sofa - if either had been off it wouldn't have worked. Luckily it was a perfect fit and I got to tuck the sofa cozily inside this brick clad nook.

I'm so grateful to the hardworking installation team that carried out this design to 'T'! eDesign is most successful when the designer can clearly indicate the details of the design and the installation team interprets the instructions properly. The team did a fantastic job carrying this design to fruition; it turned out exactly as I had imagined and hoped!

Although the kitchen was an itty bitty little thing, the client desired a small eating area that could accommodate 4. I used a modest round table and simple chairs on the smaller side, but also shared in the design boards a couple fun alternative options for one of the chairs to be used elsewhere for when space is needed during meal prep. Options are always good!

I wanted to give the bedrooms a cozy, sophisticated feel that is so true to Boston. Bostonians are not excessive in their style; nothing too contrived, function over form. Always. It's been a while since I've lived there, but that aspect of the city as a whole has been around for ages. There's an old story of a Boston matriarch bein where she got her hat, to which she responded, "We don't buy our hats, we have our hats."

Bedroom 1:

Nothing too fancy here, just classic, comfortable design.

Bedroom 2 is the slightly less sophisticated younger sibling of Bedroom 1. But they 'speak the same language', as Cate says, and the laid back, comfortable vibe is consistent between the two.

It's such a delight to see this space finished - it was a whirlwind putting it together in a matter of days but I absolutely adore how it came together! Even with such a short timeline to work with, the creative freedom to do just about anything I wanted with this space was an incredible opportunity to be entrusted with. I look forward to sharing more such projects with you soon!

Thank you so much for coming by!