It's Great To Be Home

Sleek + Sophisticated: Floating Shelves

July 21, 2010 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 16 Comments

Whether our next kitchen is in a house we live in or a house we flip, I’ve made a resolution that our kitchen is going to have open shelving of some kind.

Right now I’m kind of obsessed with floating shelves, as opposed to just glass-fronted cabinets or open shelving. They always look crisp, clean and sophisticated, don’t you think? And the best part is that they work in every style of kitchen and they’re more affordable than regular cabinetry.

For me, the perfect combination would be a ton of closed storage and a few floating shelves sprinkled in for either display or those dishes and glasses that we use every day. {Like that phenomenal kitchen from last week!}

Are you ready to feast your eyes on some scrumptious kitchens?

First, a few stainless steel beauties . . .

{ Amoroso Design }

{ Houzz }

{ Phoebe Howard via Decor Pad }

{ Amoroso Design }

I have to admit that dark-stained wood is my favorite look:

{ Apartment Therapy – how cool are those sliding glass panels? }

{ Angie Hranowsky }

Classic white is always in style and allows the shelving to blend into the background:

{ Lonny }

{ Decor Pad }

{ Angie Hranowsky }

{ Anne Coyle via Decor Pad }

{ Houzz }

{ Elle Decor via MadeByGirl }

Floating shelves in natural wood tones give a beachy, understated look:

{ House of Turquoise }

{ Decor Pad }

And floating shelves are so cool when they span a corner, don’t you think?

{ Samantha Pynn via Decor Pad }

{ Anne Turner Carroll via Decor Pad }

{ Pal + Smith }

Would you ever rock a set of floating shelves in your kitchen? Keeping them clutter-free would be a total pain, but do you think the sacrifice is worth it?

I’m In Love With A Kitchen

July 12, 2010 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 11 Comments

Get that T-Pain song out of your head! :)

This is the kitchen that is the current object of my affection:

{ It’s been in my inspiration folder for awhile and for some reason I didn’t note the designer – anybody know? }

When I win the lottery, I hope to have a kitchen like this. Check out that carrera marble subway tile backsplash to the ceiling! The classic Shaker-style cabinets, the contrast that the wood floating shelves provide against all that white and gray, the double islands . . . I could go on forever. I even love the styling with the graphic black & white striped rug and vase.

What does the kitchen of your dreams look like?

Design Advice: Lackluster Law Office

March 5, 2010 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 10 Comments

The decor in law offices is typically about as exciting as you would expect – tan walls, wood furniture, lots of files and papers. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get a ficus.

Back in my lawyerly days I was mentored by an awesome attorney, one of the smartest chicks I know. She recently switched firms and wound up in this glamorous office.

But there is a bright side – her firm actually encourages the lawyers to decorate their offices. Imagine my delight when I got an email from my former mentor asking for a little design advice!!

Although she really wanted fun colors like hot pink, lime green and orange, she worried that such vibrant colors might be too much for a law office – so she requested a variety of options, some including the fun colors and others with more traditional “office” colors like warm reds, greens and tans. Keeping a “traditional but not stuffy” design scheme in mind, her only other requests were for a lamp, some artwork and new, matching in/out boxes.

Design Quickies don’t usually include 10 options – not gonna lie, I got a little carried away!! If you have the strength, check out the different goodies I whipped up for her:

Option 1: artwork 1, artwork 2, artwork 3, artwork 4, artwork 5, artwork 6, frames, lamp, shelves, trays (from See Jane Work, no longer available - try this or this instead).

The artwork in this design is a more affordable, somewhat DIY version of a very popular set of art from Crate & Barrel, as well as Ballard Designs.

{ You’ll notice that these floating shelves make an appearance in each design – they are super long and will look awesome on that long wall by the bookcase. I would stagger them so that the upper shelf extends over the bookcase a bit, and the lower shelf is scooted to the left (towards the door) at least two feet. That way there will be room to lean diplomas, add a narrow vase, personal photos, a book, etc. }

Option 2: artwork 1, artwork 2, artwork 3, artwork 4, frames, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 3: artwork, lamp (from Target, out of stock – try this, this or this instead), shelves, trays.

{ This print is a steal as compared to an almost identical print from Ballard Designs. }

Option 4: artwork 1, artwork 2, lamp, shelves, trays (from See Jane Work, no longer available- try this or this instead).

Option 5: bull dog artwork, basset hound artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

{ Disclaimer: I definitely didn’t expect her to pick this option, but when I came across these quirky prints I just had to concoct a little design with them in honor of her bull dog and beagle pups. }

Option 6: artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 7: artwork 1, artwork 2, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 8: artwork, lamp (base & shade sold separately), shelves, trays.

{ The Bed Bath & Beyond artwork is a an affordable alternative to the Z Gallerie piece. }

Option 9: artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 10: artwork, lamp (from Target, out of stock- try this, this or this instead), shelves, trays.

Whew! Still with me after all that? If you were redecorating your office, which option would you choose? And speaking of offices, what’s your office situation? Do you work from home, from a cube, from a corner office? Or maybe your office days are behind you? Do tell!!

Click on the following link to snag some design advice of your very own – Interior Design Services.