Bedrooms | Lori May Interiors

April 22, 2013

A Preview of the 2013 Decorator’s Show House

The last week has gone by so quickly. With everything that has happened in Boston, it has been difficult to focus on the blog. I decided to focus instead on my girls and their mental well being after another tragedy that I can’t control, much less explain. Today felt like we were back on track and my mind was able to get back to normal. While my thoughts and prayers are with those who are still hurting, today we’re going to distract ourselves with absolute beauty.

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Not too shabby, huh? This is the 2013 Decorator’s Show House. If you live in the Atlanta area, you know that there are many show houses throughout the year. The Decorator’s Show House which is sponsored by the Atlanta Symphony each year is one of the best. It is a must see. For those of you who can’t get to Atlanta, I’ve got a treat for you today. A sneak peek! I was lucky enough to be sent professional photos of this beautiful home.

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Even empty this room would be amazing. The subtle, elegant design feels warm and inviting. But, my favorite thing about this space is all the seating areas. It reminds me of what Windsor Smith says about bringing the family back to the center of the home. There is a place for everyone.

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Love the simple styling on the coffee table and that fabulous round pillow.

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Hate that this photo is so dark, but a room by Jimmy Stanton is always worth seeing. Neutral and full of texture. The light fixture and the gorgeous sea fans are so beautiful.

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I’m drawn to neutrals, that is no surprise, but this space with the orange walls and chairs really make me smile. The graphic rug plays nicely with the amazing windows.

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What is this you ask? Apparently, the man room is giving way to the coffee bar! Not so sure about this one, but way to think outside the box!

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Look familiar? This room is completely designed from Ikea merchandise. Ikea is a sponsor of the show house this year. Would you have known if I hadn’t told you?

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Love this kitchen, but it’s the light fixtures that make it amazing. Yes, they are cut crystal. Gorgeous!

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Proof that a room does not have to be huge to be fabulous. The tub alone is a work of art, but add in an exquisite painting by Holly Irwin of dk Gallery and the bar is raised. I could spend a good deal of time in this bathroom.

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I saved my favorite space for last. The master bedroom by Melanie Turner is just lovely. The casual, yet elegant touches are classic Melanie Turner. It is always so impressive to me that a designer can pull off these kinds of rooms every time. If you don’t believe me, head over to her site and take a look at her portfolio. It is worth your time.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the sneak peek. There’s more to see, but I’ll save a few for after I see the show house myself! Can’t wait!

Thank you to Jeff Roffman photography. The show house is open through May 12th.

Be safe friends, and hug your family. My thoughts are with you all.

by Lori | Filed Under: Artwork, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Dining Rooms, Inspiration, Kitchens, LIving Room | 3 Comments

April 1, 2013

Sweet Easter DIY treats and a Room Service Atlanta update

Hi everyone, I hope you had a wonderful weekend. It was a wet Easter for us, but warmer than it has been, so we were thankful.

My sweet girls and I put together this quick DIY project to take to our Easter brunch with friends. I realize that Easter is over, but wouldn’t this make a great end of the year teacher gift? Just switch out the bunny for a pretty flower and you’ve got it. Here’s what we did.

We started with chalkboard paint, a foam brush and a plain terra cotta pot.

This is the first pot after 1 coat. A word of warning, this does take multiple coats of chalk paint. It took 3 coats to cover ours completely. Don’t forget to wait 24 hours to use the chalk or you’ll scratch off the paint! (Lesson learned the hard way, unfortunately.)

Here is the finished product. Easy and inexpensive. The girls loved it and so did I!

Now, for an update on our Room Service Atlanta project. Angela, Rhoda and I met last week and primed the entire space. This is where we started.

After a day of priming.

Priming in the kitchen.

This is me standing on the counter trying to remove two of the cabinets. It was not going well. It’s amazing what you find yourself doing in these projects.

A few fabrics we picked up from Award Fabrics, one of our fabulous sponsors. I’m so loving that navy stripe. We have some wonderful things up our sleeves for this makeover!

Last, but certainly not least, here is Rhoda, me and Angela at the end of the day. I’m not quite sure why I chose to pose with that artwork, but it is an original piece that we found. It will be hung on a gorgeous gallery wall that we have planned.

Stay tuned. Be sure to follow me on Instagram at LoriMayInteriors to see the updates on our Room Service project. More awesome things to come.

by Lori | Filed Under: Artwork, Bedrooms, Kitchens, LIving Room, My Projects, Tips/Tutorials | 6 Comments

March 28, 2013

A client reveal: A boy’s room

Today, I’d like to share with you one of my most recent client projects. My client was an 11 year old boy with a love of the NC Blue Devils, legos and hockey. My challenge was taking all of his favorite things and all the different colors and designing a room that would feel pulled together and organized.

I took these 3 photos on my first visit. We talked about what he wanted to keep and what we could clean out. Most of the furniture was new, so we decided to keep almost everything. Between the Blue Devils and hockey, I had an existing color palette of yellow, blue and red to work with as well as a very tall ceiling. How do you bring all that together and keep everything within our modest budget?

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Let’s start with the design plan. You can see that I really wanted to add stripes to the room, so I gave them several options. This plan is a great example of how I like to work with my clients. We took the design plan and modified it to work for them. My young client did not like the yellow lamp or the graphic bedding, so we went with his existing lamp and solid bedding. The plan, however, is still the guide for the overall feel of the room.

I decided to use paint to unify the strong colors in the room. Gray walls and a charcoal and red stripe brought a new focal point to the room taking the focus away from that tall ceiling. Solid white window treatments softened the plantation shutters without taking anything away from those great stripes.

I used red, blue and gray bedding to continue the color palette from the walls to the furniture. The artwork above the bed is a hand made plaque of my client’s hockey mascot. I also added small shelves to hold his trophies and baseballs. These shelves blend into the charcoal stripe. They are functional, but do not overwhelm the space. The lamp to the left of the bed was designed by my client’s mom. How talented is she? She had seen this lamp in a local store and decided to take on the DIY project. I think it turned out great!

The desk area was decluttered and organized. I took some of my client’s memorabilia and created a small gallery wall above the desk. Remember that a gallery wall does not always have to be full of photo frames. It’s a great way to organize your collections and artwork.

Here’s another shot of the before.

And the after.

I love how it turned out. This project definitely shows how you can take a small budget and still make big changes.

Have a great day!

by Lori | Filed Under: Bedrooms, My Projects, Tips/Tutorials | 8 Comments

March 25, 2013

Obsessing over trims and tapes

Mary McDonald from Schumacher

This image showed up in my inbox a few days ago and I have been obsessed with tapes and trims ever since. These fabulous options are from Mary McDonald’s new line for Schumacher. I’ve always known that you can dress up your window treatments with beautiful tapes, but it seems like I am seeing them everywhere lately. Let’s look at a few ways you can dress up custom or ready made window treatments.

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Another look at Mary McDonald’s line. She used a very wide trim here, but what a dramatic touch it adds to those beautiful orange panels.

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This is a much more simple look. Many of us use solid panels. Adding a simple solid trim in a pattern dresses them up nicely.

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Love how the trim finishes off the edges of these ikat panels. Can you see how the trim pattern brings out the antique bronze of the table and the lantern? It’s a subtle detail that makes a big difference in the space.

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Another dramatic look. Plain white panels would not have had the same impact in this room.

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This is what most of us think of when we think about adding trim to panels. The trim can be sewn on like these or…

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…glued on. I used fabric glue, black grosgrain ribbon and ready made panels from Ikea to create these window treatments for our last Room Service project. It was so easy and added a nice detail to the white panels.

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Trims can also be used on Roman blinds. I love the light trim on the dark fabric.

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This trim adds a traditional flair to an otherwise non-traditional color palette.

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Finally, trims and tapes are not just for window treatments, added to this tufted linen ottoman and you have a completely custom look.

I hope you have gotten a few good ideas that you can use in your own projects. I’m already thinking of how I can use trims in my own home!

by Lori | Filed Under: Bedrooms, Dining Rooms, Inspiration, LIving Room, My Projects, Tips/Tutorials | 11 Comments

March 20, 2013

It’s that time again: Room Service Atlanta #3!

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It seems like just yesterday I was writing about our last Room Service Atlanta project at the United Methodist Children’s Home. Angela, Rhoda and I collaborated on three spaces in the Sam Bell cottage for young men. You can read about it here and here. It was such a fun project that we decided to team up again and take on the girls’ cottages this time! Let’s take a tour.

This is the view as you open the door. Very similar to the boys’ spaces at first glance. Remember all that paneling? Yes, we will be painting all of that again! The room has great light just like our last space and good light truly adds life to any home.

Here is the view back toward the door. You can really see the light pouring in from this view. The floors are in good shape, so that is not a worry this time.

The bed will be placed on this wall. Almost all of the furniture that you see here will go. It’s not bad, but very oversized for the space. Think that wall will need a bit of primer??

Here is one of the major differences between the girls cottage and the boys. A bathroom. Not so pretty at this point, but just wait.

Here’s the other major difference. A tiny kitchen! Rhoda has already secured one of her wonderful sponsors to replace that very uneven countertop for us. Yay! We have big plans for this space. Remember this before shot, because you won’t recognize it when we’re through.

And here is the final before shot. This brick wall is one of the main reasons we chose this space. So. Much. Potential!

After we chose our space, we headed over to UMCH’s “store”. Our vision for the space will come from several of these amazing pieces of original artwork that we found. We’ll share the color palette soon, but these pieces along with a few of Angela’s beauties will create a gorgeous gallery wall. We will thrilled with this find and several others. Speaking of the store, if you live in the Atlanta area, UMCH will be holding their annual flea market and bake sale this weekend and there are some major finds to be had. Head over to Decatur and check it out if you’re in town.

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This is Rhoda and I and our loot headed back to the cottage! This is going to be a great project and as always we would love your help. Help can be given as donations, your time or both. We will be painting soon, so if you’d like to help out, please feel free to email me at lori@lorimayinteriors.com.

Stay tuned for more updates!

by Lori | Filed Under: Artwork, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Kitchens, My Projects | No Comments

March 2, 2013

How to create that Ballard look with Target benches

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Hi all, thank you so much for your sweet comments about my master bedroom reveal from earlier this week. A couple of you guessed the DIY project in the room. It was the benches at the end of the bed.

My clients and I agreed from the beginning that we wanted to use benches at the end of the bed. They are both functional and pretty at the same time.

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This lovely from Ballard Designs was the look we wanted, but $1000 for 2 was not going to work for our budget.

We came across these at Target and a light bulb went off. Although, DIY is not my specialty, I really thought I could pull this off.

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With the help of Annie Sloan’s chalk paint in graphite, both the clear and dark wax and my fabulous upholsterer, we were ready to go!

This was the bench after 2 coats of paint. Remember chalk paint requires no primer. I literally just painted directly over the shiny faux cherry finish. While it did look 10 times better, I decided to take sandpaper to the edges to give the benches a bit more rustic, vintage look. Once the sanding was done, I added a coat of clear wax and then a bit of dark wax to accentuate the sanded areas.

This was the result.

Add the reupholstered seats.

Here they are in the room.

And a closeup of the finish. To say we were all pleased was truly an understatement. This was an incredibly easy project that ended up costing just over $200. Remember the Ballard benches were $1000. I’ll take an $800 savings any day.

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One last room shot, with the finished benches. What DIY project have you tackled lately?

Tomorrow, I’m headed to Design Blogger’s Conference in Los Angeles. I am so excited about it and I can’t wait to share it all with you. I’ll be instagramming and tweeting, so be sure to follow me @Lmayinteriors on twitter and LoriMayInteriors on instagram! See you next week!

by Lori | Filed Under: Bedrooms, My Projects, Tips/Tutorials | 16 Comments

February 22, 2013

A client reveal: Master bedroom retreat

Hello all, after all the excitement of the Inspiration House and last fall’s Room Service project, I have gotten very behind on my project reveals. Today, I’m going to share with you one of my favorites. These clients are like many of us. They have done an amazing job on many spaces in their home, but had done nothing with their master bedroom. This is what I saw at our first meeting.

You can see I had a blank canvas to work with. My first priority was to remove the red accent wall and design something interesting for the ceiling. I find tray ceilings very bland most of the time. It’s the perfect place to add texture.

So, this is what I did. The existing ceiling fan, which my clients wanted to keep, doesn’t even look that bad on the new ship lap siding ceiling. I love the added texture. Once the ceiling was finished, the entire space was painted out in a warm white. Ready for the after shot?

Here’s the after. Big difference, huh? I love how it turned out and so did my clients!

My clients wanted to keep several pieces of their dark furniture. Even though I used a very neutral palette, the dark furniture worked because several of the fabrics had dark graphic patterns. This balanced out the heavy feel of the dark furniture. I also added an upholstered bed and slipcovered chairs to soften the hard lines in the space.

Here’s another look at where we started.

And after. Next week, I’ll share a DIY project from this space (Can you guess what it is?) and a few tips that you can use in your own home.

Have a great day!

by Lori | Filed Under: Bedrooms, My Projects | 39 Comments

February 20, 2013

My week in pictures

Hello again friends. When I checked in with you last week, I mentioned that there was a lot going on. Today I thought I’d share a few pics with you, some work and some personal. Enjoy!

Sherry and I took apart our Inspiration House space on Tuesday. It was certainly bittersweet. Hard to believe that what was once this…

…became this, in an hour. Such a wonderful experience. So many wonderful people. I was honored to be a part.

After work, came play, and we were off to spend some much needed time away.

We headed to the NC mountains to stay in Angela’s cottage. The kids stayed back at the cottage with my parents and Eric and I toured the Biltmore.

If you have the opportunity to visit this American “castle”, please do. I’ve been before and each time, I discover something new. I only wish they let you take pictures inside. :(

This was my favorite shot. I have no idea how old this wisteria vine is, but it’s a beauty. If you follow me on Instagram and Vine, you saw many more pics and my first ever videos. You can find me at Lori May Interiors. I’d love to hear from you!

We were able to make a quick stop here after our Biltmore tour.

Not real sure what these were used for, but I loved the colors.

I still regret that I didn’t get these stars. I think they would have looked great in Kate’s room.

Pins and bouys, anyone?

Sherry, I thought of you when I saw this fab brass propeller. Perfect accessory for a bookshelf. At $75, it was a bit rich for me.

Love the sparkle and shine.

Great use of old yard sticks.

One of my favorite chairs.

Great lamp.

Back to the Biltmore for just a second. Remember the shot of Eric and I at the beginning of this post. The bright blue clear sky? As we were leaving this is what we saw. I should have known something was about happen.

This is what happened. We woke up Saturday morning to this. My kids were ecstatic!

The day was spent doing this. So happy that my sweet nephews were able to join us too!

By Monday morning, this was the view as we headed back to Atlanta. I hope you all had a great week last week. I’m still getting back into the swing of things. Four day weeks are always hard for me. I’ll be sharing that master bedroom reveal that I told you about on Friday.

See you then!