In Remembrance; Hickman Home

Driving down the tree-lined street, I was reminded of many childhood trips for family holiday celebrations, excitedly anticipating the treats in store from my grandparents.  This is Second Street in Marietta, Ohio - one of the first settlements along the Ohio River and where my mother grew up. 

With nice wide sidewalks (perfect for riding bicycles and pulling wagons), big trees with lots of squirrels, and gorgeous turn of the century homes, I have great memories of this place.

  This is the home where my grandparents lived:

I can still see my grandmother sitting on the front porch, drinking her tea.  I can still feel the pride my grandfather took in his garden; his tulips and hydrangeas.

Interior decor has always been an interest to me and I'll fully admit, I've spent many nights dreaming of how I'd change this old home to make it the beauty it could be, even as a child.  But this weekend, as I walked through the rooms where we gathered to celebrate my grandfather's life, I was so grateful for the things that were the same as my childhood memories.

The kitchen was renovated in the 1960's and still reflects the state of the art changes that were made for that era -- dropped ceilings with flourescent lighting and the best amenities of the time.
My most vivid memories were formed around this table:

Avocado green, gold and burnt orange with the most awesome green vinyl swivel chairs that were well worth the trouble we got into for having spinning contests during dinner.  This is where the kids sat for every holiday meal.
And this is the oven used for many a Thanksgiving turkey, still working today:

The awesome built-in paper towel/aluminum foil/plastic wrap dispenser:

My grandmother's tea cup collection

 And her Fenton glass display

 (there was usually candy in one of the dishes).
























Amazing woodwork up the stairs where we took family photographs

And the balcony we used to "fish" for toys on strings

Amazing fireplaces

 And the electric organ.

Many hymns were played on that thing, backed by a mean Bossa Nova beat.
I'm going to miss hearing Grandpa play it.

I know they're just 'things'.
I realize what I do is not a matter of life or death.
But our homes truly reflect our selves and create memories for those who visit.
What memories will you create in yours?

Office Spruce Up: Art

I was given the opportunity to use so many great images from Kristin Moore Photography and this office space had so many blank walls.  I wanted to share with you what I did with the hallway.

Company initials in floating frames are interspersed with more photos of Charlottesville spots.

Striped cotton rugs coordinate with the wall color and color in the photographs.

Another Embellished space!

Modern Family Room

Today's post features another room in the home of a wonderful family, the Guptas.  They love the home they built, but wanted to make it more their own with a contemporary feel that they like and wanted to start with all new furnishings.

We started with the fireplace.   Removing the white dental moulding builder's mantel, we used large tiles with a bronze metallic glaze from floor to ceiling.

  Knowing what wonderful hosts my clients are and imagining all of the delicious treats that could be served, I suggested adding a banquette to the space for entertaining.  We chose a velvet in a taupe color to compliment the tiles in the fireplace and added a sparkly chandelier.  The tufting in the custom banquette shows off the sheen of the velvet.  It is truly glamorous!

 

We added a desk area for the children to do homework and above it, the kids helped to create three large canvas paintings with a pop of fuschia.

Mirrors behind the floating shelves on the opposite side of the fireplace balance the room and add more depth, making it look even bigger and multiplying the light provided by the windows.

A chocolate brown leather sectional seats the whole family and handles accidental spills well.  The rounded coffee table has hidden storage as does the entertainment console.

Love the aubergine accents with the silver scroll drapes, throw pillows and chairs.

 Looking for help with your home?

Ami would love to Embellish it with you!!

Office Spruce Up: Conference Room

Today's post features more of the office makeover on the Downtown Mall.   Despite having plenty of chairs, the staff could not all sit at the table in the conference room and it was full of random furnishings.

The gorgeous exposed brick walls are highlighted with a new wall color.  Another local photo from Kristin Moore Photo hangs above the fireplace. 

 By intersecting two tables, enough seating was created and still fit the room.

The colors of the durable rug come from the green and rust tones of the bus in the photo on the fireplace.

Another work space was created in the corner of the room to accommodate telephone correspondence behind closed doors.

An Embellished conference space!

Sweet Spare Room

This homeowner really wanted her spare room finished before her family came to visit........in less than 2 weeks!  I am so grateful to Marcia Perkins of Sew Beautiful for finishing custom drapes before company arrived -- she even added covered buttons to a throw pillow in the drapery fabric for us!

Before, this room was empty.  And small.

We started with the bedding.  The homeowner really liked the pink tones of this comforter with the coordinating green and white floral.  We took the wall color from the comforter and warmed up the space in a soft tan.  Pulling the salmon-y pink from the bedding, we had pinch-pleated drapes custom made in a tone-on-tone stripe.

A headboard in a natural linen with nailhead trim and two small tables furnish the room.  New wall sconces are on order to allow for more use of the tables and fill the wall.

Here's a detailed shot of the throw pillows -- love the added buttons in the drapery fabric for a custom touch.

The homeowner even painted her own artwork for the walls!

So proud to learn her family loved the room!

Back to the Office: Another Shared Office Space

 This room re-do involved much of the same as the previous shared office space.  I removed unused furniture and created individual work areas for each of the desks. 

This room has no natural light, so I chose a gold color for the walls to brighten the space.  The pattern in the area rugs repeats the pattern of the larger area rug in the adjacent room and adds visual interest while again concealing cords.

 

Adding large mirrors to flank the fireplace also increases the light in the space.

More photography from Kristin Moore, this time in black in white is art above the fireplace.

 

Faux greenery gives the room some life and grey and gold accents serve as focal points.

 

A table allows for group meetings and a large area rug helps to dampen the sound of footsteps on the hardwood floors.

Another Embellished space!

Office Spruce up: the Lounge

Here's a look at another spot in the office space: the lounge.  This room needed more definition.  In all, the office had 6 mini refrigerators throughout the space and had pantry items stored on random tables with little enclosed storage.

Now, the space has definition; a sofa for lounging, a large refrigerator to replace all of the mini ones, and a place to prepare food and store items.

Here's a detailed shot of the pantry area.  Plenty of room for fixing coffee and warming up lunch and lots of space for storing everything away.

Before, this space looked messy.

Here it is, Embellished!