Blog - Centered by Design

The No Makeup Home Tour

May 21, 2018 Before + After, Interior Design 8 Comments

I will be the first to admit that I’m a perfectionist and that my Instagram feed is curated and planned. The photos you see on my blog and feed are not daily life my friends! My interior design photo shoots are ALWAYS partially staged. I want to create beautiful and livable interiors, but “photo shoot” days are often aspirational. Not many of us have fresh flowers in the house all the time, or perfectly ironed tea towels. Professional photography makes any room look 50% better alone.

I am also the first to admit that I LIVE for and love the photo shoot days. Seeing the interiors I design or style come to life is so much FUN! But perfectly styled rooms don’t last long in the real world, and with my first baby nearing 4 months old (even with all my organizing) there is still stuff ALL over my house!

When Kyla from House of Hipsters told me she was getting some blogger pals together for a No Makeup Home Tour, I jumped at the chance to participate. I love when people on social media try to keep it real. The idea behind these tours is to strip away some of that Instagram lifestyle perfection and give you a real look at our homes.

So full disclosure…I took our “real” non photo shoot photos after cleaning the house (cause I don’t want you to see my dust bunnies!) and on my iphone, because I want you to see the difference between a staged/professional photo and just daily life. I will also add that we are both sort of neat freaks in general (meaning I do not like clutter, period) and with a baby who is not yet crawling, we have not had to baby proof, although that is coming very shortly I think!

I thought it would be fun to pair a photo shoot photo, along side my daily life photo. Here’s a little look into our REAL daily life. Don’t miss the other awesome bloggers participating in this No Makeup Home Tour, everyone is linked at the end of the post. Some of my very favorite bloggers are showing you their dirty laundry too. Just remember, no one’s home is perfect. At the end of the post, you’ll see our never before shown on the internet (ha!) first floor bathroom. This is the one room left in the house to renovate (our backyard needs help too) and we will likely wait another year to tackle both the bathroom and yard – because even designers get tired of renovating their own house! : )

THE NO MAKEUP HOME TOUR ——————————————————————————————————

Exhibit A: Bedroom Nightstand

Photo Shoot Day: Nothing on nightstand except fresh flowers, outlet hidden by books and lamp cord is in the drawer. We do have a hole drilled into top of nightstand to help with cord management.

Photo shoot day

Daily Life: Cord management has gone by the wayside! Baby monitor, computer, hot pad, lamp, cell phone – too many cords! #nomoreflowers

Daily life – cords attack!

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DESIGN SCHOOL: Lynn K. Leonidas

May 16, 2018 Interior Design, Interviews 0 Comments

I first came across Lynn K. Leonidas through Sunset Magazine. Lynn’s firm was hired for a complete gut renovation for the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, Irene Edwards. The pictures of the WILLOW RESIDENCE really caught my eye! Lynn seems to gravitate towards adventurous design choices and unique details, many of which I really responded to. I love her tile and wallpaper choices, which always feel purposeful and inspired.

Then I heard Lynn on LuAnn Nigara’s A Well-Designed Business Podcast. I loved learning more about Lynn’s time in the industry and all the different jobs she had worked, and skills she gathered before opening her own firm. It was a very different journey than my own, and I love how so many various paths lead people into opening their design business.

I wanted to invite Lynn onto Design School, as I know there are many newly opened businesses and aspiring designers wondering how young people launch their fledgling design companies. I hope you glean a little insight into the process with Lynn’s interview. I also invite you to listen to Lynn’s story and my story on LuAnn’s podcast, as we both delve deeply into our skill sets and what motivates us to continue to build our design businesses.

Enjoy! And thanks to Lynn for sharing her insights with us!

DESIGN SCHOOL: with Lynn K. Leonidas

Interiors by Lynn K. Leonidas (lynnkleonidas.com) with project partner Andrea Faucett (andreafaucett.com). Photography by Aubrie Pick (aubriepick.com)

The most difficult aspect of my job:

Running a small enterprise can be demanding, and even lonely, as much as it is equally fulfilling and creative. It is a finely choreographed dance of maintaining a happy and engaged studio team, structured work schedule, client expectations, keeping our contractors responsive, and having some flexibility to drop it all and put out various small fires here and there. Not to mention making time to stay inspired and connected – with the industry, socially, politically. It is never boring!

My secret styling trick:

Art on the walls can be one of the hardest finds to source since taste is so subjective, but it really makes or breaks a room and should be considered from the beginning. We regard an investment in art as an indicator for a client’s willingness to invest in the surrounding furnishings, so this first test lets us know about the project we are getting into.

My childhood bedroom would have this:

I always longed for a canopy bed! I also think every kids bedroom should have wallpaper, for fun.

Interiors by Lynn K. Leonidas (lynnkleonidas.com) with project partner Andrea Faucett (andreafaucett.com). Photography by Aubrie Pick (aubriepick.com)

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Powder Room Makeover with Ferguson Showrooms

May 14, 2018 Before + After, Interior Design, Tips + Resources 0 Comments

I’m so excited to be revealing our Powder Room Makeover Challenge with Ferguson Showrooms today. This little room has gone from forgotten to unforgettable! The plans for this makeover took place over the last several months, while both myself and the homeowner had babies! I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with both of us for pulling this off with flying colors, and we owe a lot of thanks to our friends at Ferguson for making the shopping and sourcing process so seamless. Ferguson also has made it super easy for you to shop this post, VISIT HERE, for links to all the resources we used in this powder room makeover.

The before photos of the powder room are below. Before the room had an oddly placed overhead light and was not making good use of the high ceiling. It just felt sad and dated. There was so much potential, which is one of the main reasons I chose this as the winning space for the makeover. Nice tall ceilings, detailed moldings and a hardwood floor were a great foundation for the room. I knew with a beautiful wallpaper, plumbing fixtures, lighting and stand out mirror the space would be GORGEOUS!

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Color Trends at High Point Market 2018

May 10, 2018 Interior Design, Tips + Resources 0 Comments

One of my favorite parts of visiting High Point Market is looking for color trends 2018 or validating what seems to be trending in the current marketplace. Varying shades of green and blush have been in the market for a few years, but these colors really seem to be holding strong in many of the showrooms. I personally gravitate towards both these colors because they can often act as a neutral or play well with neutrals in a design scheme.

While RED and PURPLE have both been given nods as big colors for 2018, I really did not see them as much on the showroom floor. I’ll be interested to see if red and purple begin to appear in upholstery in the next few seasons. They were huge in the fashion world, but I think a red outfit is easier to commit to then a red sofa!

Blush is morphing away from the sweet “millennial pink” (Pantone Color of the Year 2016) and into richer tones of peach, taupe and brown. I wrote post all about the Evolution of Blush a few weeks ago if you want to learn more. Here you can see some of my favorite BLUSH items spotted at High Point Market 2018. You’ll notice blush being paired with whites, creams, taupes, browns and plums. Blush pairs well with warm tones.

Century Furniture has one of my favorite blush fabrics. This saturated and ribbed velvet was gorgeous! I love how it was used on the settee only as the cushions. This is another trend I’ve seen popping up in upholstery. First it was done with more bohemian styles, draping a contrasting fabric on sofa cushions. I love this more polished and luxe version as shown in the bottom picture.

One of my favorite pairs of chairs spotted at Century Furniture showroom.

The coordinating sofa is to die for! Love how the cushion have been upholstered separately from the piece. This is another big trend right now!

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Spring Home Tours Update!

May 7, 2018 Interior Design, Styling Lessons 0 Comments

If you’ve been reading the blog for a little while you might remember my HOME TOUR last year. I partnered with a few of my favorite designer friends – BRIA – KELSEY – MEREDITH – BRYNN – & DOREEN and we posted a home tour each week in May 2017. This year, everyone has also been working on new updates to their homes. Here at THE WARWICK RENO renovated our whole second floor including our master bedroom and Willa’s nursery, which was featured by Architectural Digest / Clever.

attic-bedroom-ideas-wooden-ceiling-beams-white-walls

Our Chicago bungalow master bedroom.

Custom floating ends tables in our master.

Willa’s nursery with Farrow & Ball wallpaper.

I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about everyone’s updates, and link back to last year’s home tours in case you missed them. Here we go, let’s me introduce these talented women:

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Personal Post: New Baby Photo Session

May 2, 2018 Uncategorized 0 Comments

It’s hard to find the right words to convey the amount of love in this post. My tired mom brain doesn’t do eloquent writing at almost 11pm in these rare stolen moments I find to keep this blog going. I’m going to let the beautiful photos speak for me. I think you can see love and joy in my eyes and on Luke’s face. We made a baby and we really like her. Her name is Willa Valentine and she was about 8 weeks old when these photos were taken in a home that we’ve lovingly restored.

Many, many thanks to our good friend, Ania Sodziak of Anna Sodziak Photography, for taking these photos and helping curate the natural style. A mama herself, Ania reminded me how special these photos will be in the future as this is such a fleeting time. Or as my wonderful aunt Leslie says, “This is the longest shortest time.”

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Insider’s Guide to High Point Market

April 30, 2018 Interior Design, Tips + Resources 0 Comments

An Insider’s Guide to High Point Market:

My first visit to High Point Market was quite the trip! I attended a whirlwind two-day tour with ten other design bloggers, and we were so fortunate to have our tour arranged and sponsored by High Point Market Authority and The Design Bloggers Conference. While it was my first time attending, being with the pros and on a curated tour helped give me a great sense of market. I would love to share some tips, trends and highlights to help you plan your next visit. Also, check back over the next month, as I’ll be sharing two additional posts featuring even more of our showroom sponsors and the design trends I spotted at market!

Tip 1: Pack The Essentials

Bring comfortable shoes, period. There are more than 2,000 showrooms to visit and miles to walk! High Point and the entire market area is very walkable and feels like a quaint little town (of only showrooms!). Also, I recommend bringing your camera to document all the inspiration (print out pictures and create design boards and inspiration boards back at the office) and I love a chic backpack so you can roam hands free.

One of the lovely ladies from DKOR Interiors. Bring a camera and document everything! There is so much inspiration and you can’t take it all in at one time.

The world of Ralph Lauren at EJ Victor.

Trend 1: Performance Fabrics (& Bullion Fringe)!

The above and below photos were taken in one of my very favorite showrooms – EJ VICTOR. This is a do not miss showroom! I love how it’s curated by designer + brand, there are entire rooms dedicated to brands such as Kelly Wearstler (below picture) and Ralph Lauren (above). I spotted some FABULOUS bullion fringe (it’s making a huge comeback) on this ottoman from the new PERENNIALS SOCIAL collection.

The Perennials collection has the cutest tag line, “From Kids to Cocktails” and everything can be made in their performance fabrics so there is nothing to worry about with a white fringed ottoman – yes please!

The world of Kelly Wearstler at EJ Victor.

That fabulous Perennials Social performance fabric ottoman with bullion fringe!

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Color Therapy: The Evolution of Blush

April 25, 2018 Interior Design, Tips + Resources 0 Comments

It’s no secret that pink has been huge for the past several years. It surfaced as Blush and was then coined “Millennial Pink,” which is only a little cringeworthy. When blush first came onto the scene it was an accent and usually paired with grey. It was so digestible the combo quickly made its way into the big box retail scene, marketed towards young females.

Lately we’ve seen it in interiors as an accent and we’ve seen spaces layered with so many varying shades that blush can almost be seen as a neutral. The progression in popularity of this shade has been very interesting and we are smitten — so we’re calling this article The Evolution of Blush!

Image from Hotel Bienvenue Paris

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Modern Luxury Interiors Feature

April 13, 2018 Before + After, Interior Design, Interviews 0 Comments

I am thrilled to announce our most recent press feature and cover line (!) in Modern Luxury Interiors Chicago. The spring 2018 issue features a vintage Lakeshore Drive apartment that we had the pleasure of working during the second half of 2017. This stunning 4,000 sqft home had some incredible bones to work with in the front of the house, and most of the back including the (VERY BAD) kitchen and master bath needed a total overhaul.

You can read the feature story, “Old Is New Again,” in the digital edition and print magazine. I was also very flattered and excited to see that magazine editor, Andrea Mills, listed me as a designer “to watch” in the issue! Many thanks to my clients who were very collaborative and had a wonderful vision for their home. This was a dreamy project and a dream come true to see it in the pages of a magazine.

View the full portfolio of images: Lakeshore Drive Apartment

XO – CLAIRE

Design Bloggers Conference: High Point Tour Announcement

April 9, 2018 Interior Design, Tips + Resources 0 Comments

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be participating in the DESIGN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE – HIGHT POINT MARKET TOUR, this coming weekend! I’ll be traveling to High Point, North Carolina and attending the largest furniture and accessories trade show (in the world!).

I applied for this honor before Willa was born and was chosen to attend and forecast trends with all the wonderful other participants listed below. I’m a little sad to be leaving my baby girl, but very excited to see all the latest and greatest interior design inspiration.

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