Teen Scene Decor

As a designer, I am drawn towards bright, fun and vibrant colors. While my clients don't always let me use these kinds of palettes in their home, the one place I usually get to use them is when I'm decorating their children's rooms!

In my opinion, the most whimsical rooms I get to work on seem to be kids' rooms because basically anything goes! They can be played up with fun fabrics for younger kids, soft sophisticated ones for teenagers or a mix for both. While searching on Houzz today, I came across this amazing neon lit sign in a teenage lounge for a home, which reads "you only live once". 

It is functional because this would be a great room for friends to gather, do homework, and have their own space to feel like young adults without being to kiddish in design.  The color palette is playful and I love the way that the pictures are organized into a heart shape, adds that extra whimsical touch. Probably one of the toughest parts about designing a kid's room is that you want the child to not grow out of it within a year or two, especially if you are doing custom window treatments, bedding, etc. I always suggest to clients that if they are doing a teenagers room to make sure that they aren't going to be selecting anything too juvenile that they will not be able to grow into as a young adult.

What are you looking for when you're redesigning a space for your young adult? Let me know! 

Be sure to check out my Little Ones: Kids & Pets Board on Pinterest for other Kreative ideas for crafts, DIY and decor for kids! 

Until next time, make sure everyday you do something kreative!

~Kristina

Shop the Set: You've Got Mail

Movies have always captivated me ever since I was child. What started as a love for fairytales and Disney movies has evolved into a love for the storytelling capabilities and because of my chosen profession the set designs and the details you would miss if you weren't looking for them. While most people are focused on that screen stealing joke, I am looking at their surroundings. The homes, stores and other places these movie characters find themselves in I find completely fascinating.

You've Got Mail came out when I was just starting to watch PG-13 movies. I can remember being captivated by this amazing storyline but I also remember looking at Meg Ryan's character, Kathleen Kelly, and wanting to be her. While essentially the life that she knew was crashing down with the closing of her bookstore, she had this FABULOUS brownstone in NYC, what little girl didn't want to live in the heart of New York. This was long before Carrie Bradshaw and her friends had hit that scene so my ten year old self wanted to be Kathleen Kelly in some way.

Fast forward to fifteen years later, my dream has changed but my love for the fabulous things in life hasn't. After recently being snowed in thanks to Nemo, I pulled this DVD off the shelf and decided to re-watch it. Every time I watch a movie that I haven't seen in awhile I always notice different things. This time I was really watching the stylizing of Kathleen Kelly's brownstone, simply put, shabby chic at it's finest. While this isn't my favorite interior design style, I appreciate it for what it is, a style, which rings true to the entire movie. 

Allow me to help you "Shop the Set" of this classic love story by sharing some of the great finds that are inspired by the movie, You've Got Mail. 

1. This white enamel colander is just like the one in Kathleen Kelly's kitchen. 2. Her apartment is filled with different sort of prints like this floral arrangement. 3. While all of her correspondences with Joe are via AOL, Kathleen has an old typwriter like this one to write her childrens book. 4. "I love daisies.. They're so friendly. Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flower", one of my favorite lines in the movie. 5. This flower delight pillow would fit in perfectly with her flowerly Laura Ashley decor. 6. Pride and Prejudice is brought up a few times throughout the movie, this is actually a clutch from kate spade new york, love it! 7. Another great find these wood lamps are very reminiscent of the two that flank her dresser in the picture below. 8. One of my favorite scenes in the movie takes place in Zabar's, where Kathleen doesn't have cash in the cash only line and Joe swoops in to save the day. 9. This occasional chair is a dead ringer for the one that she has at her desk in the picture below. 10. The epitome of shabby chic is in this loveseat, oversized with that slip cover look, so much like all of the furniture in her apartment.

Kathleen Kelly's Upper West Side brownstone is country shabby chic defined. This movie takes you back to a time to when people used to utter things like, "I go on line, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three words: You've got mail", it's impossible not to feel nostalgic at the sound of the screeching AOL dialup.

Until next time, make sure everyday you do something kreative!

xo Kristina

Paper the Walls

I can vividly remember when my parents moved our family into the home that I grew up in most of my life. My parents tell the story that they were in our old house and they were discussing all of these home improvement projects and suddenly it clicked "Why don't we move?". I think my parents just went on a whim to an open house and my mother fell in love instantly with the house on the quiet street with the park at the end of the road, the perfect house to raise a family. The only "problem" the house was dated with it's interior decor but had a great layout and plenty of space for the four of us.

We used to joke about the "Where is Waldo" wallpaper that was in the dining room, foyer and ran all the way up the stairs into the hallway. It was hideous, I almost wish I had a picture of it to share but luckily it was taken down almost immediately and replaced with beautifully painted walls. The wallpaper was so dated because my parents had bought the house from the original owner who had been there since the 60s.

I think a lot of people have this negative connotation when it comes to wallpaper because they think of nightmares like the one that was in our house but not all wallpaper is like that. In fact, today in design there are so many fun options for all kinds of spaces. 

For example, this Thibaut wallpaper below is such a fun trendy animal print but because this zebra print is so neutral it would make a lovely addition to a space and can be updated with different pieces added to the room throughout time.

One of my other favorite ways to use wallpaper is a fun pattern in a kid's room. There are so many great wallpapers out there that fit this bill but some of my favorite collections for kids come from Harlequin. The main reason I love this company so much is because Europeans are not afraid of color and neither am I. These kid friendly patterns can add that extra special something to any little prince or princess' room. 

There is nothing like a beautiful natural material that envelops a room quite like grasscloth. It instantly adds comfort to a room that wasn't there before. Back in May of this year, the design firm that I work for, Creative Wallcoverings & Interiors, was part of the Mansion in May Designer Showhouse in New Jersey. We got assigned Space 10, it was a real lemon of a room with no architectural details or any character. Below is the before picture.

Our design team decided to take this lemon and make lemonade by adding a silk lemon colored grasscloth on the walls. My favorite application of the grasscloth though was the unexpected application of the metallic one on the ceiling. It was such a nice touch. Below is the after picture so you can see the real transformation of this space.

So don't be afraid to paper some walls in your own home.

Until next time, make sure everyday you do something kreative!

Kristina

U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!

I am proud to be an American but more so when the Olympic Games come around. I have been into sports my entire life and the Games are the best of the best in the worlds coming together and competing, it doesn't get any better than that! It gets even better when they start winning those medals especially ones that come in gold. Because of all the patriotism rushing through my veins right now I thought I would find some things that would reflect the pride I feel for my country.

These nails that I found on Pinterest just scream U-S-A, they in fact are so cute I am thinking about trying to do this to my nails around Labor Day at the end of this summer.

When I am looking for inspirational color palettes for interior design, I sometimes look at Design Seeds. You can pick a color or a theme you are trying to find and then this database comes up at your finger tips with so many different color combinations that can really get your kreative groove going. Today, I came across the above color scheme and had to share because it just fit in so well with the Olympic Games because this is called Grecian Brights and that is where the Olympics originated.

Patriotism can even be shown in fashion. To me nothing is more American than Ralph Lauren, so it was fitting when it was announced that once again he would be designing the outfits that our Olympic athletes would wear as they processed in to the opening ceremonies. Slightly disappointing that there was the problem with them being made in China, but that is besides the point. You too can create a look that shows your stars an stripes like The Pink Peonies blog post above. With the combination of the large stripe shirt and the small nautical navy blue print top, this outfit is as American as apple pie. 

While the above isn't an apple pie, this American flag cake would be a great way to celebrate any summer patriotic holiday. The step by step instructions make this cake look a lot easier to make and just about anyone can handle it and would be the perfect dessert to make for one of those backyard picnics at the end of the summer.  Thank you Glorious Treats for this amazing recipe.

Again, good job Olympians and thank you for representing our country on the world's stage.

Pin pin pin

The importance of being on the internet in today's day and age is very important in the interior design world. You need to have an online presence so that people know that you are out there and what kind of work and or services you can provide. As I am just starting out in the interior design world and am part of generation now I completely have to be on the computer looking for the latest and greatest design inspiration. I've had my Pinterest account for almost 2 years now but I really don't think it caught on until early 2012 for most people. I enjoy using Pinterest for looking at different things that inspire me to be a creative person on a daily basis. I enjoy following people I don't know because it keeps me in the loop with different things.


Follow me on Pinterest:  kayrovtar

love what you do

I am really only just beginning to get my feet wet in the world of interior design. While I have been working at my current company on and off through college, I finally feel as though I am coming in to my own in regards to design. I am starting to form my own tastes as well as becoming more and more knowledgeable on what exactly it means to be an interior designer. Because there are so many new, fun and interesting things out there to furnish a home it is sometimes difficult to reign in what exactly you want or need. That is where a design professional comes in handy because we have tons of different resources we can use to help clients pin point their design tastes as well as help them throughout the entire process until they are happy in their homes. 


Since, I am basically just starting out, I get really excited about work when I find things that I absolutely love and can't wait to show clients. Since most of my job is considered "research" I really do enjoy going on the web and finding new things because the world of interior design is ever changing. That being said, I want to share with you some of my favorite recent finds and where you can get them and incorporate them in to your life. 



This first one is from Oly and comes in two different sizes. This would make an excellent centerpiece for a sort of table with some fun accessories in it. 




Not only is it fun to find new products but it is also amazing to come across things that you may or may not be able to do yourself. The above image is taken from ArtsInCraft's Etsy Shop and would make such an interesting conversational piece in any home bar or entertainment area. 



A great way to relax in any home is to light some candles and draw a bath for yourself to unwind from the hectic day you just had. These sparkling tea light holders will illuminate the around the room and make it feel instantly cozy.




I want to start doing some more projects that are more green when I have my own place, this is the perfect way to reuse some of the books that I have laying around my room. For someone who is very interested in design, I'd have to admit if I am watching television, I would say that you can probably bet I have on HGTV and that is where they show you step by step how to recreate this look for your home. 


As always, I am happy to share with the people that read my blog. Check back for more tomorrow!


Kristina

new year, new products

New products make me happy to be a designer. I'd be lying if I were to say that I don't want to use this to decorate in my own home but hopefully this fixture can make it's way in to one of the homes of our clients. It is such a unique piece and really has a lot of character.



The Redfern Chandelier made it's debut on Niermann Weeks' website (http://www.niermannweeks.com/)  earlier this morning. The company said that they were getting a lot of requests for smaller fixtures and this certainly fits the bill. You could work this in over a kitchen table or dress it up in a formal dining room. It is that gorgeous!