Modern Coastal

I love this modern Pacific Palisades beach house that was featured in Coastal Living.  The family has six kids,  yes six, so the house has to be very durable. But, designer Maya Williams shows us how durable can still mean beautiful and modern.    

Hello gorgeous dining room.  Those bamboo chairs with the white x-base table are so airy and peaceful. Spills are easy to clean up in this room.  

This is the room that stopped my flipping fingers.  White high gloss polyurethane floors - the same material used on basketball courts.  It makes the whole space so light and airy. Plus, when the sun streams through you won't see all the dust bunnies.   But I love, love, love the marine blue runner on the stairs. This is the perfect balance to the white floors and won't show any dirt or juice stains.  Brilliant.  I also love the whimsy of the faux bois table against the pinstriped wallpaper. 

Very casual and relaxing living room.  Great driftwood table paired with a clean modern sofa and neutral silk rug. Not super kid friendly - but every house needs at least one room that's off limits to the kids.  Otherwise, where are you going to hide. 

The master bedroom.  The bed extends beyond the mattress to hug the bedside tables.  It extends almost 17 feet. Definitely creates impact and high drama without a lot of visual clutter. 

Another view of the master bedroom. Love the Oly chandelier and simple fireplace with the beach inspired grass cloth walls.   What a peaceful retreat away from all the kids!  

The other side of the bedroom.  I like how Maya infused the blue palette from downstairs into the room with the floral drapes.  I also like that they didn't install carpet in the upstairs - they continued the white wood floors.   

Now this is a modern, coastal retreat.  Well done Maya. 

Mixed Materials

I love the mixed materials in this kitchen by designer Erika Powell that was featured in the new Coastal Living. Check out her blog/website for more incredible tailored designs. http://www.urbangrace.com/.



The copper range hood and sink are the standout stars. They have incredible patina and add so much warmth to the space. It's so unexpected which is why it's so fantastic. Then she mixed in polished nickel faucets and cabinet hardware with brushed stainless pendants to tie back to the appliances.

However, she didn't stop there. Most white kitchens would have white bar stools so they weren't adding too many colors. But, Erika mixed in a darker chocolate bar stool to contrast against the medium wood floors and balance the copper hood.

Glorious. The end result is a cozy, timeless kitchen were you just want to hang out. The best kind of kitchen in my opinion.

Happy Monday. Thanks for your patience while I recovered from this cold!

Comeback

First, I apologize for being absent from the blog for so long. The holidays just kick me in the butt every year. Add a busy work schedule onto entertaining every night for 4 straight nights (yes, that's how we do holidays in my house - not the one day and it's over method) and I'm a zombie for a couple days.

Enough said. I apologize. Please forgive me. I will try to make my comeback posts worth your time.

I'm working on a project right now that has tight spaces in a bedroom and family room. My solution - create a custom desk in the family room and a custom console in the bedroom. I'm using these two magazine tears as examples. There's nothing some legs and a solid core door can't solve. When their done they will look like custom pieces.

So easy, affordable and usable.

Image courtesy of Martha Stewart

Image courtesy of Coastal Living

I hope you had a wonderful holiday full of family and friends. Mine was crazy but filled with laughter and fun. Onto the next holiday. This time I only have 4 actual Christmases. Makes me tired just thinking about it.