Art and Design
I was thrilled to discover that my work was featured on Curbly yesterday!
To see what Featured Contributor Faith Towers has to say about the Patio Bath makeover, check out her post here!
Incase you’re new to Curbly like myself, let me just tell you it’s awesome and full of great ideas! Here’s a little introduction from their about page: “Curbly is a DIY design community for people who love where they live.”
DIY design community? Yes, please. Head on over, check it out, thank me later.
🙂
So honored to have the Designer House Patio Bath project featured on KES Photo’s blog today!
In her post, Karen goes behind the scenes of the photography of this project, explaining her thought process and approach to this successful shoot. Check it out, here!
Thanks again for the amazing work, Karen! 🙂
Ladies and gentlemen… it’s finally the moment I’ve been waiting for. It is my pleasure to unveil and share with you the “after” photos from my room at the ASO Designer House XXII, the Patio Bath!
(If you’re just joining us, you might want to catch up on the reveal to this point by checking out the previous posts on the Before photos and the Design process.)
Ready? Here we go!!
Tah dah! There you have it folks. I hope you were inspired by today’s room reveal, and if so, I hope you will pass it on and share with someone who this may not have reached yet.
Thank you once again to my extraordinary photographer, Karen E. Segrave of KES Photo for so beautifully capturing this space so dear to my heart!
I was extremely blessed to be a part of such a wonderful event and work with so many amazing people throughout the entire process.
The key people I need to thank who contributed their time, skills, or resources to this project are as follows: the very talented Monica Smith of Sew Much for turning my textile dreams a reality, Jim Wawak and the Sherwin Williams team on Markham for donating a gallon of paint to transform the walls, Shades of Light for working with me to help the Springfield Sconce make it into the project, Joe Darr with Southern Reprographics for so carefully creating 1st edition prints of my original artwork, Larry Baxter and the All-Brite Electrical team for creating light where there was none, Louis Rodriguez for the impeccable paint job, Alex Juarez for helping make the new counter top possible, Rachel Danforth for being my expert shopping, framing, and installation assistant, Barry Jones for your mad skills at everything from valance to sink installation and for being there to help every step of the way, Lillian Jones for being my design sounding board, bringing me coffee and for the thorough Scotchgard application to protect the runner, Nancy LeMaster and Jeff LeMaster for your apt timing and assistance with the drapery installation, Stephen Jones for fixing me up with a taller ladder in a pinch, Hannah Jones for being my assistant and moral support throughout the tear down, Will LeMaster for winning the most supportive husband award and helping with all of the heavy stuff. 🙂 And to the rest of my outstanding family and friends who showed up in big and small ways to help make my vision come to life and went above and beyond to support me throughout the entire event. I can never repay you for th encouragement you brought to me!
A very special thank you to my music teacher and mentor for 10 years, Helen Vanlandingham, for teaching me everything I know and appreciate about music, and for thinking of me for and believing in me throughout this project.
Thank you to everyone who came to the event in support of Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, I cannot thank you enough! Your support for me and all of the designers, but especially for the ASO was appreciate so very much. Without an audience, there would be no “show” at a show house. You all are the best!!
-Kathryn
Today I want to give you a glimpse of the design process I went through in creating the Patio Bath in the ASO Designer House. The process is similar to how I begin every project.
If you missed it, be sure to check out my previous post with more before pictures of the space!
The next thing after thoroughly documenting the space on camera is to document it on paper through measurements and more notes. Mine are always VERY rough sketches and scribbles, but it’s the numbers that count. When I get home and get all of the numbers and scribbles into AutoCAD (drafting software)….
… I can turn this (above)… into this (below):
My drawings are my maps. To start with an accurate, scaled drawing means I’m not going at this blindly. It eliminates so many question marks and protects from wasted time and energy during the selection process. They are the absolute truth that let me see how much space I have between point A and point B, thereby dictating what size light fixture, mirror, frame, rug, etc. I have allowance for.
I put that allowance together with the needs I’m trying to meet within that space functionally and visually. With that information I then know what I need to be looking for when I start selecting. When I select something, I draw it to scale to make sure it’s the perfect fit from a functional stand point, but also from a visual stand point of appropriately filling and balancing within the space
Switching gears from the technical side of the process to the creative!
I knew I wanted to create something fun and whimsical but at the same time calming. Like a little daydream of sorts! Since designers are responsible for the cost of labor and materials for their rooms in the Show House, I wanted to keep the cost reasonable by using things I already had if possible. I had yardage of these Dwell Studio fabrics on hand. They are some of my absolute FAVORITES that I’d swooned over for years and purchased awhile back with the intention of using them in my Master suite someday.
Thus began my inspiration for the direction I wanted to take the room. One by one I started thinking of items that would work wonderfully with these fabrics, evoking the feeling I envisioned. Then I’d add the items to my inspiration board.
An inspiration board is the first method I use when developing a design scheme. It contains anything from general ideas to specific selections. The helpful part of this is getting everything on the same page – literally – so you can get an idea of how it all works or doesn’t work together. It can include everything from specific ideas (the custom shower curtain I designed) to general ideas (a geometric rug).
Another method I use besides inspiration boards to give me rough idea of what things could look like together is creating a mock-up in photoshop over an image of the actual space. It helps to see things in context of the room.
As each selection checked out from every angle (budget, fit, scheme, deadline) I started ordering, scheduling subcontractors, and spending alot of time on site installing what I could as items arrived. My sweet family showed up time and again to help me out with the install at various points along the way where I could not have done it myself. They are my heros! 🙂
Before I knew it… it was ready!
Don’t miss the reveal tomorrow morning!!
Today I wanted to share more “before” photos of the Patio Bath along with the initial observations I noted upon first seeing the space that helped shape the outline and “punch list” of my design. Please enjoy this room tour from my perspective!
In my previous post introducing the reveal, we left off here:
*enter room* It’s very… coral? I love coral! Why don’t I love it in here? Ah – it’s a tall skinny room with inadequate lighting. The coral is closing in around me and I don’t like it in this application. Glass shower… that’s nice. I wish it were frameless. The frame lines make for so many right angles. I think I want to hide it. Something soft. Note: I feel uneasy. Change wall color. Something calm. Add soft billowing curtain to cover shower.
Speaking of inadequate lighting, what kind of lights are even in here? *look up* 1…2…3 can lights. One over shower, two off centered over vanity. Two windows is good natural light. But I want more overhead light. I love light. It helps the space feel bigger. It helps you see. And the right light fixture makes such an artistic statement. Note: Add fun lighting. Something on wall over vanity, something in the center of the ceiling.
*look down* Hm, nice travertine floor. It looks cold though. Maybe it is cold, from the air vent. Don’t love air vent placement. Don’t love tiny fluffy crooked rug. But I want something soft. How would two bath mats work in here? They’d fit, but I don’t love where how they would fit. I want to unify the space. I want one rug. I want a runner! Note: Look for skinny runners (not the marathon type, the decorative type.) Ask if it’s a problem to cover air vent temporarily for “show.” If that’s a no-go, can I cut out a hole in the rug for the vent? Hmmm…
*look back* More coral. Yep, definitely need a new color. Hey, those electrical outlets and switches stick out like a sore thumb. I want to hide them. And hey, are there no towel bars in here? How will I dry my hands? Note: tall floral arrangement in corner to distract from switching/outlets and towel ring next to them to dry hands on way out the door.
*look to right* I like the vanity color, and the cute little feet. What’s bothering me? Ah – the countertop. It’s cultured marble with a poured sink and back-splash. Why does it look like plastic to me? I would love to upgrade that. That would be expensive. Hey, there’s satin nickel hardware everywhere. Shinier would look nicer here. Note: Go over budget and look at upgrading counter-top. Something white. Marble? Quartz? Change out all satin nickel hardware for chrome.
*look closer at vanity* While I’m thinking of upgrades… how COOL would a glass vessel sink with a waterfall faucet look in here?! I mean this is alright… it works. But something sleek and spa-esque would really help accomplish the feel I’m going for. Note: Pinch pennies to get new countertop… so that I can get a glass sink and faucet. Yep, definitely want to do that.
*look to left* It already has wooden blinds… those can stay, you need privacy in a bath. One again, so many right angles. The window needs to be softened. Drapery? Floor panels are sort of impractical for a bath, but especially one with a shower. Cornice? Valance? Yes. Nothing overwhelming. Just a simple “hat” for the window to soften the corners and bring in pattern/color. Note: Pull images of outside-mount window treatment style options. Think about fabric. Call seamstress for quote.
*walk back to entrace and turn around for another look* Yep. The shower is fine but nothing special. Drapery in front of it would be prettier. The countertop will do, but if I can swing it, and new one and new sink/faucet would be fabulous! The mirror is too square for all of the right angles already happening in here. Maybe round? Definitely want to add a wall sconce over the mirror, or maybe one on either side of it. Hey, a giant piece of art or a grid of several pieces would look swell between the mirror and shower! Okay, yes, good talk with myself. I have something here. This could be great.
Stay tuned to read about the design process next!!
Though the event came to an end a few short weeks ago, it feels like forever that I’ve been waiting to share with you all my work from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse! I hope you got a chance to experience the event in person and support the music and work of the ASO and ASO Guild. If you missed it, well, I can’t really get the whole experience back for you. But I can hopefully communicate a snippet of the wonderfulness through my room reveal this week!
This was the event program cover, featuring the Living Room by Terry Williams of Terry Williams Interiors. (Loved the green and coral scheme!) At Home in Arkansas and renowned photographer Nancy Nolan did such a wonderful job capturing the event through these beautiful and informational programs. Below is an excerpt from the program describing the room I designed, the Patio Bath.
I’d grown so attached to this project, I might have slightly lost sight of the fact that it was temporary, and for “show.” It nearly broke my heart to take apart the room that took months of dreaming, planning, and preparation. One by one the art came down, nail holes were filled, rug was rolled up… and within hours, it all vanished. Well not all of it. I left a few things, for the good of the room. 🙂
THANKFULLY, my space will live on forever through the treasure of photography! I am eternally grateful to the wonderful Karen E. Segrave of KES Photo for so beautifully and meticulously capturing my little oasis, so that I can keep it for always and share it with you. I will be sharing her immaculate photography work through the “after” photos of my room that will be revealed at the end of the week, so stay tuned!
Today I’ll leave you with a preview of my first meeting with the Patio Bath:
Though the space was already off to a great start, it was completely transformed by the time I was finished with it. I’ll be sharing my whole journey through the process with you in the next week, from the inspiration and drawings to the finished result! So excited!!
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