just because

i really like these images....

i'm off to get my weekly shot. it's loads of fun but it's keeping my little man safe and sound and hopefully (fingers crossed) preventing me from going on bed rest.

*images courtesy of aubrey road/ martha stewart, everything fabulous

love....

the contrast you get with a dark grout and a classic, white subway tile.

*images courtesy of torie jayne, city sage, marley and lockyer, inspiration for everyday living

a perfect combo.

in case you can't tell, life around here is super busy....please forgive me for not being able to give my blog a ton of attention. i promise things will return to normal soon- i hope :)

*images courtesy of desire to inspire, decor pad, cstellin, tracery interiors, canadian house and home, tracery interiors, country living

clawfoot tubs

when i see an old clawfoot cast iron tub, i am immediately taken back to my childhood....i grew up in a 100+ yr old house that my parent's renovated themselves. all of the bathrooms, except for my brother's, had clawfoot tubs. they were great for taking baths- super deep so the water could get really high w/ out overflowing (except for the one time i fell asleep w/ the water on...the library ceiling unfortunately paid for that mistake). my mom painted all of the bottoms of the tubs. mine was (and still is) red. it matched an accent bird on a vintage scalamandre wallpaper that the previous owner's had in the bathroom. i hope that one day i can have a clawfoot tub in our house....and i, like my mom, would have to paint the bottom a fun accent color!

*images courtesy domino/amanda peet, apartment therapy, jessica helgerson interiors, flickr/sarahleead, kathryn ireland

tile my wall please....

when it comes to kitchen and bathrooms, the more tile the better....take it up the wall to the ceiling, use it as a wainscoting.....start thinking beyond using it as just a back splash or to cover a shower area....the results are awesome!

*pics courtesy of casa reveal, decorno, porchlight interiors, restoration hardware

the bathrooms...

here are some of the bathrooms in the house that i am working on. the master is my personal favorite. we used a lot of marble in the bathrooms as counter tops, subway tiles, and then in a basket weave on the floor of the master. the tub in the master is waterworks candide in burnish. penny rounds were used in two of the guest baths (love them...great floor tile for anyone building or remodeling).

loving the nail head....

i adore the nail head accents on these mirrors...i have never seen ones like that. sorry for the lack of posts...i have had a not so great week. but these mirrors in the new cottage living put a smile on my face. and get my head thinking that could be a diy project....hope y'all have a wonderful weekend.

if you need me, i'll be hanging out here....

i just ordered one of these....for a client of course. i wish it was for my bathroom! she is so beautiful.....

*found adorable dog pic on erika's blog...i was in love w/ this picture when it was in southern accents!! and it shows the tub off great!

now that is a toliet....

talk about some bling! the miniloo is sure to be a conversational piece in any home.... and as always, luxury never comes cheap! she's real cute though!

it's everywhere you look...

i recently had an appointment to do a kitchen backsplash for a house i am working on. i was talking w/ the tile rep and i asked him if he was seeing any new trends in tile? he said what i knew already, "subway, brick pattern tile is still what people are using". it's everywhere you look. i spent a couple of hours looking thru my magazine collection for new ideas for a backsplash and seriously, every kitchen had the white, 3 x 6 subway tile. or if they didn't, they had an extension of the material they used on their countertop: like calcutta marble would be the countertop and the backsplash behind the stove.
i like the classic subway tile. you always know it will pair well with other tiles; it gives a clean look to a space, but at times it can be a little monotonous. companies know that this classic tile is what people are using so they are trying to put a little spin on it...you can find the tile smaller or larger in size, crackled, glass, metal. you can also find different takes on the pattern which i like:

you can flip it and create a bamboo pattern (done by kwid in many bathroom applications), you can line it up in rows to create a linear look, or you can find it in a basket weave kind of pattern.

whatever you do, one thing is for sure...it looks like this tile is going to be around for a while longer. and you know, that's okay with me b/c i do think it makes for a great, simple backsplash.

go "green"...

and look hot doing it. waterfall bath is a fabulous eco-friendly company that is supplying wonderfully hip bathroom vanities. check out all of their great stuff...it might have you drooling! i am in love w/ the pulls they use and the color finishes are so up-to-date!

see a penny pick it up.....

i am loving penny round tile!! i had a meeting fri to select the tile for the spec home i shared with y'all and we did this adorable tile in two of the bathrooms. i think it is a refreshing take on ceramic tile. it is definitely not limited to just ceramic- there are glass option, stainless steel, cork, etc. we are going w/ a coral/ gray palette in one of the baths and then a sky blue (pictured above) in the other- both will be flooring. i think this is something you will be seeing a lot more of.

i love this...

the idea of a family style bathroom featured in House and Garden...great for children who are sharing bathrooms. i especially like the idea of everyone having their "own station". my husband and i could benefit from this...he always leaves a glob of toothpaste in the sink and i get water everywhere when i wash my face!! i especially adore the long drift wood top that the sinks sit on...kind of makes you feel like you are at camp!

i wish i had a jack and jill....

i absolutely love using an element like this industrial sink from kohler to think outside of the box for a jack and jill bathroom. while it maybe a little pricier than your standard sink, the impact that it gives off will be worth it. plus, you save by not having to outfit a vanity in the bathroom. i love what designer jackie terrell did to the underside of the basin...painting it avocado green! how much fun is that? if you are interested in this look but think that it's too expensive to achieve, check out local salvage stores...you might stumble across an old one which would make it just that much more fabulous!

bubbles and wine can totally clear my mind.....

after my daughter had her meltdown last night, i needed some time for ME....what do you do when you need time to veg? my husband thinks i have turned into an internet nerd...i love searching it for ideas, reading other people's blogs, celebrity gossip, etc. but after 2 hours of crying (just b/c she could) i wanted to relax. my poor husband took the brunt of the crying...which i hate b/c he only has 2 hours with her when he gets home from work and when she is crying bloody murder, it doesn't make it pleasant. especially after working all day in a place which in my mind is identical to the office.

so you ask what i was doing while my sweet hubbie tried to calm our daughter....i cleaned our bathroom. i think that this is quite possibly the worst job anyone can have and to have your background music be a very unhappy baby, only makes the job that much more painful. now, i NEVER voluntarily offer to clean the bathroom...but i knew that i wanted to soak in a bath after our screaming kid was down and so i had to "do it for the family". my husband and i hate cleaning the bathroom so much that when we got married, we hired someone to help us clean it. unfortunately, when i decided to start my own company, that was the first thing that had to go.

so back to my story, my way to veg is a bubble bath. in the winter, i love to take a bath every night w/ lots of bubbles and to read my magazines. last night, i giggled to myself b/c i felt like "the reverend" on run's house...(ok, i love mtv- it's out in the open now). you know you have seen the end of the show, where he sits in his bubble bath and types on his blackberry about the lessons he has learned from the day's events....good thing i don't have a blackberry b/c who knows the things i would have written last night! this is the time of year to give thanks- therefore, i am thankful for a sleeping baby and a clean bathtub....

cool bathroom.....

what a funky bathroom...i love the mixture of old and new. living etc called this "rustic modern" and i love the play of those words together as well as the actual outfitting of this bathroom. i guess there are things i love more than others in this space....i love what the actual sink sits on....an old table reinvented as a bathroom console is very clever (a little more interesting than purchasing the whole kit and caboodle prepackaged), the sink and faucet look amazing on the wood (the knob on the faucet is extra cool), and i love the propped up mirror. i think the walls are interested...i would love it against an old, exposed charleston brick wall more :) ! and the naked light bulb could be replaced with something a little more finished but still keeping with the simplistic nature of the room. all in all, the combination of rustic and modern make a great bathroom.....don't be afraid to mix and match....the possibilities are endless and the look will be a style all of its own!

*on a separate note....poor, poor britney...unfortunately the combination of her vma routine left my mouth wide open saying "oh no she didn't".........