Canyon Crest: Family Room + Dining Room

I'm excited to introduce you to the CANYON CREST home!

This home was purchased by my client a little more than a year ago and though it wasn't a total gut job, it was pretty darn close.  The first time I stepped into the family room I thought to myself  "this is where taxidermy goes to die."  Almost every member of the deer family was represented on the walls: elk, buffalo, antelope... all staring at you from two stories up. CRREEEEEPPPPYYYYY... 

(to see before shots of this space as well the custom furniture process, click here).

 Needless to say, this home was a little more rustic than my client's personal taste. First thing we did was rip out worn shaggy carpet (can we PLEASE get over that trend?) and replaced it with a loop pile broadloom that resembled sisal (MUCH more tailored and timeless).  We repainted the faux-plastered walls in Kwal's Old Washer and restained a lot of the stain grade baseboards.  This proved to be the perfect facelift!! It did wonders. Once we had the base of the room squared away, it was just a matter of layering in a fun elements, like a rug from Anthropologie, a huge custom ottoman in a Celerie Kemble fabric, and lattice wingback chairs from Bassett Furniture.

For the kitchen and dining space, there were two existing stains: a honey tone on the knotty alder and a dark java.  Since we wanted to add as much light into this space as possible, we painted out all the dark java elements, namely, the oven range area, island, and built-in china hutch.  We replaced the dated Tuscan lighting fixtures with more contemporary glass pendants adding even more brightness to the space.

Add in custom designed wingback dining chairs, farmhouse table and bright rugs and accessories, 

and you have yourself a fresh vintage rustic space!

To jazz up the built-in china hutch, we also wallpapered the back of the cabinet in a pretty blue geometric print.  Having the colored background really makes the accessories pop!

  

{Interior Design by Brooke Jones Designs, Photography by Jylare Smith}

Berkshire Estate: Kid Spaces

I am a big believer in designing kid spaces for the future, not just for today.

Kids grow up, so if a space is designed around an age specific theme 

(i.e. Winnie the Pooh, Super Man...) then you have placed an expiration date on the space. 

Someday the kid will outgrown the theme and you will have some redecorating on your hands.

If you design kids spaces that are YOUTHFUL instead of YOUNG, 

then the space will grow with your child.

Great examples of this concept are the 

BERKSHIRE'S KID SPACES.

Though the boys of the house love Toy Story and Cars, 

we designed their rooms around basic stripes and industrial finishes, like gunmetal and chrome.

The 'young'-ness comes in through their toys and easily replaced items, like shower curtain hooks.

Do you recognize the nightstands (or at least the corner of the nightstands)?

They were actually the master bedroom's nightstands that were made to the wrong measurements. 

With the addition of a low profile gunmetal bed, though,

we were able to save these gorgeous pieces from the recycle pile!

The kid's desk area is open to the main kitchen (which I'll be revealing in all it's glory tomorrow) so we repeated the island's materials.  We painted the desk a charcoal grey, added stainless steal pulls, installed stained concrete counter tops and hung three globe pendants in row.

Now for the envy of every kid in the neighborhood:

THE BALL PIT AND SLIDE.

(the concept of keeping kids spaces timeless kind of went out the window with this one...

But come on, it's a BALL PIT with a SLIDE!)

 Such a cool idea to use up the awkward space under the stairs.

Chucky Cheese who?

{Interior Design by Brooke Jones Designs, Photography by Jylare Smith}

Berkshire Estate: Master Bedroom + Master Bath

If I had a master suite like the

BERKSHIRE'S  MASTER BEDROOM + BATH

I may want to hide out forever and never see the light of day again. 

Out of every room I have ever designed, this space reflects my personal style the most.

After searching high and low for large scaled bed and nightstands, we decided to go the custom route.

I sketched up the upholstered wing back bed for my upholsterer and my client worked 

with her cabinet maker to create the substantial sized nightstands.  

(Can  you spot the lucite pulls? I mean, I die...)

Anything ready made would have looked under scaled under this vaulted ceiling. 

The rug was a design obstacle as we needed something around the 12'x16' range. 

The solution? Flor tiles!! Not only were we able to get the size that fit the room, 

we were also able to customize the color palette and design. 

You'll see a lot more of these awesome Flor tiles throughout this home.  

For the MASTER BATHROOM we 

decided to go a little more glamorous than the rest of the house.

Beveled mirrors, crystal knobs/pulls and amazing light fixtures.

I could just lie in the tub and stare at the Capiz shell chandelier for hours.

We used a mix of materials throughout this space. The free standing tub surround is limestone, 

the counter tops are stained concrete, with porcelain tiles for the back splash and floor.

Add in some dark stained cabinetry for contrast and you have yourself one rich looking bath!

Tomorrow we'll take a tour through the kid's spaces
(did someone say ball pit with a slide?).

{Interior Design by Brooke Jones Designs, Photography by Jylare Smith}

Sneak Peek: Canyon Crest Family Room

Today's preview is of 

THE CANYON CREST FAMILY ROOM.

How do you liven up a large beige box to fit a young spunky family?

Inject a lot of color and pattern!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Stay tuned for the 

FULL REVEALS NEXT WEEK!!

{Interior design by Brooke Jones Designs, Photography by Jylare Smith}

Sneak Peek: Berkshire Master Bedroom

 I am so excited to get a few detail shots of my projects back!

Today's preview is of a newly constructed custom home where I assisted in 

designing details from the custom upholstered bed down to the doorknobs and hinges. 

Here's a sneak peek at

 THE BERKSHIRE MASTER BEDROOM.

A lot of sweat and tears went into this project. 

Totally. Worth It.

My photographer, Jylare, was amazing. I mean, AMAZING.

The girl has some serious talent, as you will see in upcoming posts.

Stay tuned for the full reveal next week and for more sneak peeks of another project tomorrow!

{Interior Design by Brooke Jones Designs, Photography by Jylare Smith}

French Dining Chairs with Unfinished-Finished Backs

My jaw dropped when I came across this image of these

FRENCH DINING CHAIRS WITH UNFINISHED-FINISHED BACKS.

(Could that be the most awkward description of a chair? Possibly...)

I adore this unexpected twist to the timeless Neoclassic frame.   

I have been hemming and hawing over dining chairs for YEARS now 

(literally, I've never used my dining table due to the lack of chairs), 

and I think these won my heart! 

Here the chair frame I have my eye on, finished in a creamy white:

and maybe upholster the seats in faux shagreen?

RAAAARRRR.... So sexy...

{images via The Decorista & Online Fabrics}

Jonathan Adler Channing Collection

Now that I purchased a desk for my living room, I have started focusing on the finding the perfect credenza to coordinate.  I've scoured 1st Dibs (you know it's my favorite!) and other high-end furniture websites looking for a vintage-y but not too traditional and not too modern credenza.  I was actually sitting at a park up the canyon yesterday afternoon when I stumbled across this little guy from Jonathan Adler on my iPhone:

Perfection.

Unfortunately, the price is not perfection.  My plan is to recover from the latest curtains+desk+(hopefully)chair purchases and then custom build a credenza quite similar to this to keep costs down (maybe twice as long with 4 doors?? Hmm...).  Until that great day happens, here's a look at the coordinating pieces to Adler's stunning Channing collection to dream about:

Remember this philly from this post?  I still adore it.

I'm CRAZY for this screen.  I may have to attempt a DIY to recreate look.  It couldn't be too hard, right?

This chair isn't a part of the Channing collection but it was too pretty not to include.

There are no words...

{images via Jonathan Adler}

My Excuse...

Sorry for being M.I.A. this past week. Life has been nothing but crazy since I made it back from the Lonestar State. Whew!  This is the first time I've had to sit down all week!  Next week I will be better, I promise.  Several posts are in the works, including some inspirations from San Antonio.  Until then, here's a sneak peek at one of the interior design projects I've been working on lately:

I can't wait to show you the final product!!!

A Day In The Life of A Designer

Life as an interior designer can be crazy.  Here's a snap shot of my day.

First, I started out with a space that needed a little TLC:

(These images are from before my client owned the home.
I didn't want you thinking my client is into buffalo and  ram heads amongst other clutter...)

Then I took several weeks to brainstorm, space plan, create design boards, shop, select finishes, materials, etc. etc. Today I was able to check in on the progress:

(painting out the hood, island, and built-in china TOTALLY changed the whole look of the kitchen.
It's much more fresh and clean.  Don't you just die over those pendants? That's all my client.  She has great taste.)

(Custom window seats and new carpet in progress- no low pile shag here!
Doesn't this room look so much better without Bullwinkle staring us down?)

I then ran to several different workshops to check in on the progress of custom furnishings:

(Custom captain's chair almost ready for the most adorable slipcover you've ever seen.)

(Reclaimed barn wood table after a little sanding, but before some finishing top coats.)

(Trestle table base)

After I gave my thumbs up on the custom pieces, I had to run and pick up a rug pad that just happened to be the last one in-stock, called the slipcover lady and text/called client with updates on the above progress.  All this before noon. Whew!  Interior design isn't as glamorous as it looks in the magazines, now is it?  

I wouldn't want to do anything else. I love it.

Stayed tuned for images of the completed project! 

{images via Brooke Jones Designs, LLC)