the wallace

pinterest link goes to http://www.dailycandy.com/los-angeles/article/161280/The-Wallace-Opens-in-Culver-City?et_cid=68893&et_rid=103773

i have a new-found love for restaurant designs. they can be simple, classy, upscale, homey, or ultra-posh. there's so much variety that can happen, and usually they have a very personal atmosphere. i was skimming through pinterest earlier and my attention was instantly caught by this amazing photo of this california restaurant, "the wallace".

the first thing i noticed was those amazing lights. one of my current design obsessions is exposed light bulbs, which is a good thing, because they're a major fad. i'm not sure what i love so much about them except maybe that they are a little eccentric and almost never use fluorescent lights, which is so perfect for me, because i honestly despise those fluorescent bulbs. they create the most UNNATURAL lighting, and i've never been able to find anything i like about them. but enough about my hatred of fluorescence. just look at these beautiful lights. that gorgeous glow they spread in the room, and the eye-catching reflections in the picture frames. 

speaking of picture frames, that brings me to the second attention-grabbing thing about this picture. gallery walls are another personal love of mine, simply because they fit so much creativity and individuality into a small space. you can use anything you want, from family photos to framed butterflies to a prettily-patterned wallpaper scrap or even just an interesting piece of art or graphic design.

another interesting thing about this particular gallery wall is how high the pictures are hung. it gives enough space between the tables along the wall and the ceiling that the room doesn't feel cramped, and even gives the ceilings the appearance of being higher. [which, speaking of ceilings, can i just mention for a second how beautiful those ceiling beams are??] the designer of this restaurant has used large frames and spaced them several inches apart, which also adds to the feel of the restaurant being bigger.

finally, i'll give a quick shout-out to the simplicity of the tables. basic wood and metal chairs, no fuss, no excess. the table settings are clean and simple, and the tables themselves are small. it doesn't get more basic than that.

altogether, the restaurant gives an open, cool appearance while at the same time somehow seeming warm and inviting. if i were walking past the window on a cold day, it would instantly draw me in with its quiet beauty and the idea of a warm meal.

sketchup

so, i thought i'd deviate a little from my norm of reposting my favorite pinterest pins and tell you what i'm up to right now!

one of my favorite designers, sarah m. dorsey (i mentioned her in the previous post), recently posted an update on some of her interior design projects. she had them all laid out in 3-d modeling, and i realized that i really need to start playing around with the same programming if i want to do anything in interior design, just to get a feel for what i'd have to do.

so, i found out what design program she used, and lo and behold, there's a simplified version available for free online, which i promptly downloaded.

it's called "sketchup", and looks really, really cool... once i get the hang of it. it's going to take me awhile to learn how to use it. but hopefully, i'll learn quickly, and once i get some designs laid out in it, i'll post the pictures.

i really want to do this mainly to see if this is what i actually want to do in the future. i know already that i'm fascinated by colors and patterns and layouts, but i need to know if i can handle the technical stuff too!

so there's my update. maybe soon i'll post my first sketchup design!

abstract oil painting

it's been a little while since i last posted, but i'm trying to get back in the swing of things!

image via: sarah m. dorsey designs: http://www.sarahmdorseydesigns.blogspot.com/2012/11/abstract-oil-painting.html

my sister introduced me to an amazing design blog a few months ago, and the author, sarah dorsey, has become one of my favorite designers to follow. she has a lot of DIY projects that she and her husband complete together. i would highly recommend checking out her website. she has fantastic ideas for creating beautiful interiors, and even has an etsy site where she sells some of her paint stencils and DIY creations!

sarah m. dorsey is an artist as well as an interior designer, and this is her latest painting. i absolutely adore the colors she used here. there's something about abstract art in particular that always catches my eye. i could stare at colors and designs and patterns and eye catching, mesmerizing mixtures of paint for hours on end.

personally, i think the color combination here is perfect. with the navy, aqua, and turquoise mixed in with touches of green and yellow, it's like catching a glimpse of the sea. but i may be just a little bit biased on the level of perfection here, because these colors have always been among my very favorites.

so there you are! a little more fabulous color to add to this (so far) painfully pale blog.

simplicity

pinterest link goes to http://www.frolic-blog.com/frolic/2012/04/friday-flowers.html

 "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"

{leonardo da vinci}

my new motto, in case you were wondering.

laura faith

repurpose

found on pinterest, redirects to ninbra.tumblr.com

this used to be a barn. A BARN. the design scheme here isn't necessarily my favorite {just look at that orange lamp in the foreground- quite ugly}, but i am just stunned by the fact that this used to be a barn, but was turned into something very liveable and pretty.

i love love love high ceilings, and exposed wood beams always make me happy. i love seeing some rawness in design, and signs of real life. instead of looking like everything was covered up or painted over, the natural beauty shines through.

the stone walls are okayyy, but i honestly think i would have gone with something else. i'm just not sure i like it. maybe it's just this particular style of stone: to me, it just doesn't seem to match well.

the windows at the end of the room are... interesting. i don't think i'll ever truly complain about a window, because, as you've seen through past posts, i just can't get enough natural light. but this brings me around to my actual complaint about the windows: they just aren't big enough!!! they're too narrow. i think i would have just combined the three into one huge window. those french doors on the side are perfect, though. and i adore the skylight.

the wooden floors are perfect, although i might have used a darker stain. it's a little too pale for my taste. i typically like a very pale room with pops of color, but with the darker ceiling beams already there, i think you should go with darker flooring too, and in an even darker stain than the beams. you don't want it all to be the same shade, though, because that's boring. so if there's going to be contrast with the ceiling beams, continue the contrast a little bit more with the flooring.

i must say i DO like those couches, but i think i'd probably scrap everything else and start over. even though i criticized the windows and the flooring a bit, i could definitely live with it, and if i owned this lovely place, i'd probably just leave them and try to work them into a design.

but the main purpose of this post: how i LOVE the idea of re-purposing. i really, really like old houses {or in this case old barns}, and i love to see them turned into something really beautiful. i get a little tired of all the "country-chic/vintage/diy" interior design projects i see around, but i love when you can turn something truly "country-chic" or "vintage" into something clean, bright, modern, and beautiful. {i'm a big fan of modern design. clean lines, people, clean lines!} so i look around for stuff like this. an old barn, given a touch of clean white paint inside, big beautiful windows installed, and turned into a really beautiful home. it's all very "hipster" to re-purpose, but i really enjoy it. i'm not trying to be "in", or go with the crowd, i just really, honestly do enjoy it. recycling is great.

laura faith

brightness

image via jonathan lo: http://www.happymundane.com/

so. been a little while since i last posted, but i thought that today i'd add a little color to this so-far-rather-colorless blog.

i absolutely love yellow and orange. especially together. bright colors make my day. it makes everything seem happier and more positive somehow. they're just so cheerful.

jonathan lo has a very bright, clean, and happy style, and it's one that i'd like to imitate. he's a pretty big inspiration of mine. check out his blog sometime- http://www.happymundane.com/!

laura faith

bedrooms to love

once again this is from pinterest, and it links back to http://emmas.blogg.se/.

i love gray, white and black together. basic, such a simple design, but comfortable.

the pictures above the bed are so well placed. above the symmetry of the bed and lamps, it's absolutely perfect.

the mirror is amazing. i'm a big fan of large, stand alone mirrors leaning against walls. it gives a sense of accidental design, if that makes sense. it's like someone didn't have time to do anything besides prop it up against the wall, but decided to leave it there because it just worked.

THE WINDOW... natural light. need i say more?

walk-in closets are the best. the more space, the better. and, you can actually design a walk-in closet like it's another room.

the lamps are a brilliant way to add in another color to what could be a drab room. the room is trying to stay neutral, but you need a little variation. light wood stains are pretty much an ideal way to do that, and tying the desk area in with the wooden decor helps pull some of the extra color variation farther out into the room.

the chair/desk/tabletop arrangement is perfect. it's simple, but practical, and like i said, it really just pulls the wooden tones further into the room.

last point, the rug. it's almost invisible, but it really just works. it pulls together all the colors so well.

like i said before, simple is my favorite.

laura faith