Journal – Kathryn J. LeMaster Art & Design

Designer Insights: Interview with Terry’s Fabrics in the UK!

I hope you all have enjoyed a wonderful summer! If we’re connected on social media, you’ve probably seen it’s been a fun and full one around here. (If we’re not connect there… Um, we should be! I’m on Instagram and Twitter daily – @kjlemaster – please reach out and say hello. I’d love to stay in touch with you there!) Time seems to have flown by at lighting speed. It’s hard to believe autumn, my very favorite season, is just around the corner. Lots of exciting things are on the way, including some fall decor inspiration. More on that soon! 😉

A recent highlight I wanted to share with you today: I had the privileged of being interviewed by Terry’s Fabrics, an awesome fabric and home decor resource located in the UK, as a part of their “Designer Insights” blog series! Writing answers for the Q & A and sharing some decor inspiration I’m loving for the Top Choices section was so much fun. I always learn something new about myself and my style through collaborations like this; it is my hope you will learn something new through it, too! Click the article below to read the full page version on their blog. Thanks again to the wonderful Terry’s Fabrics team for the opportunity to be a part of this great series!

Courtesy of: Terrys Fabrics

Heights Remodel Project Featured in At Home in Arkansas Magazine!

It’s been such an exciting whirlwind that I haven’t had a chance to announce on the blog yet, but At Home in Arkansas Magazine, our state’s ultimate home and lifestyle publication, featured our Heights remodel project in their May 2015 Before & After issue!!

(Instagram moment from when I read it for the first time… #memories. Follow on Instagram, @kjlemaster to keep up in real time.)

You can pick up the magazine in newsstands around AR today, or subscribe to receive your very own, glossy copy in the mail! What makes this being in this issue even better than it already is – one of my super talented, good designer friends – Brittany Nixon – has a remodel project featured in the same issue! This is the kitchen from her project on the COVER! (Go Britt!! *virtual high fives*) If you see this magazine – snatch it up fast! The Before & After issue is one of the most popular of the year and will be gone before you know it.

The Heights remodel is a very special project we’ve been working on since the end of last summer and just wrapped up – barely in time for the magazine photoshoot! The story is one-of-a-kind. I just can’t tell you how thrilled I am that you get to hear it first from an outstanding source like At Home. From the editor, to photographer, to writer, to everyone else involved – the team that covered it is amazing, and I’m so grateful to share it with you all this way thanks to them! I’m positive you will enjoy it and glean something inspiring from it. Click here to read the full story on their website, and enjoy a preview of one of the before & after comparisons below!

Laundry Room turned Home Office:

Before:

After:

I die over that cheerful little office. Every. Time. I still wish it were mine!

Be sure to stay tuned this month and next for project extras, bonus photos, and behind-the-scenes that may be surfacing on our blog and At Home in Arkansas Magazine’s blog! 😉

Unstyled: A beautiful mess

Everyone loves a beautifully styled photo. I’m the queen of taking 15 minutes and 12 shots with my iPhone just to get that perfect “selfie” of my coffee cup, complete with the morning sunlight streaming in to highlight the steam coming off the top… #coffeesesh #cupojoe #goodmorning #mycoffeewokeuplikethis … you know the drill. We like pretty pictures of pretty things.

Plus, styling is fun! Maddening as it can be, I love focusing on details, so I love the tweaking, fluffing, centering, taking away, adding more – whatever the equation is to get the desired composition in frame. It’s an art form. Toss the throw (throw the throw?) over the sofa this way – no, it looks better that way – okay now just two inches to the left – nope now it’s covering the pillow. Let’s just scratch the throw all together…

That’s art though. When it comes to reality, who actually lives in a perfectly styled or even clean house all the time? Somebody? Anybody? If that’s you, I’d really like to know your secret because 99% of the time my house is a complete disaster zone! My friends and family will be the first to tell you that. Because life is crazy. When I’m short on time (which is always…) and something has to give – the people in my life will always take priority over the places, spaces and things. Laundry will stack up to ridiculous heights. My desk becomes buried under piles. Name a surface – it probably hasn’t been dusted. The cute coaster and candle vignette you saw in a picture has been replaced with the PS3 and TV remote and a coffee ring… where did the coasters go?

I wanted to stop comparing my imperfect home to all of the perfect ones I see in photos – even the photos of spaces I’ve created for others! Just like I shouldn’t compare myself to the seemly flawless, stick-figure thin fashion models. That’s art. Those are photos. This is reality. It’s important to be happy in your own skin and in your own home.

With that in mind, I snapped a few photos around my office and living room recently as an exercise. Could I candidly snap a single photo, with no rearranging, no fluffing or polishing, no straightening the drapes or moving the clutter – could I do that and not be embarrassed by the flaws and imperfections I see?

With all the things I’m still critical of on my own “to-do” list still to be done – could I just appreciate what’s there now, as is? I began to focus on the beautiful things about this photo. The tall windows, the natural light, some of my favorite colors, the sweet puppy curled up on the couch… hey… that’s actually a pretty beautiful sight! Remotes and all!

I was surprised how much I loved these spaces when I actually stopped and looked at them in a candid state. I love the stories behind the things in the room, regardless of the “camera ready” status. I know my rug is crumpled. I know there’s a crack in my ceiling that needs to be covered with crown. Yet somehow when I look at these images, it just makes my heart really happy because there’s a story behind each and everything that i love in here. The garland left over from my best friend’s baby shower. The rainbow art I created on my front porch on a sunny day with a glass of wine when I just needed some art therapy. The sketch of Paris my sister brought back for me from her travels abroad. The bell jar light fixture my mom and dad helped me install. Even unstyled and in slight disarray – it’s a reflection of me and those I love, and that is what really amplifies the beauty!

The blue velvet chairs that were my grandmother-in-law’s. The pillow I made that made me realize I’m not a seamstress. The side table I picked up on an estate sale adventure. The lovely antique desk I get to use while storing for some of my best friends. There’s so much to love in this photo – no styling needed!

Love the space you’re in – appreciate what you have. To-do lists, wish-lists, dreams and aspirations for your home are great – that’s why I have a job – I get to come in to help people achieve those dreams. But don’t let those things stop you from realizing and appreciating how beautiful your home is right now, when it’s put together or when it’s falling apart – because it’s a reflection of you and your real life.

Embrace the beautiful mess.

Rufus and Nellie sure have.

(Yes, that’s a tear in the sofa cushion. That was the dogs contribution to making the room really look lived in. Thanks y’all, for helping me keep it real.)

The Perfectly Imperfect “Come Back” Post

Hello friends! Near and far, old and new. I’ve missed you all while the blog has been in “hibernation” for several months. Here’s a bit of the back story on that – fellow bloggers, listen up – I betcha some of you can relate…

Initially, I pushed the pause button for some blog restructuring. Then, my wonderful clients kept me so busy that the plans I had for blogging had to take a back burner through the holidays to meet all of our deadlines. Once the new year hit, I wanted to come back and say hello, but I’ll admit I felt guilty for being absent so long. I wanted to have a perfect plan in place first, complete with a detailed blog calendar, a stockpile of posts on ingenious new topics stored up ahead of time – you know, all of the things the experts say you need for blogging “success.” The longer I waited, the more perfect I felt my “come back” post and plan had to be. I became petrified of not measuring up, and like petrified things do, I stood still.

Then, one day last week, I was listing to my favorite podcast and the whole thing was a very aptly timed, divine intervention. The podcast was episode 19 of Launching Creative by the brilliants Nik Parks and David Rock (which aired last summer, meaning I’m 34 weeks behind on my favorite podcast, if that tells you anything about how I’m falling behind in every area of my life…) The equally brilliant man they interviewed on that episode, was Ryan Hanley of Content Warfare.

The show was going along, being wonderfully enlightening and all, when suddenly near the end Ryan got all revved up and on a “soapbox” as he called it – this is what he said:

“Anyone who tells you – as a creative, as a business person, as someone who’s just starting out – that there is a way you HAVE to do something, like, it HAS to be done this way in order to be successful, is just trying to sell you something that isn’t going to work. Every single case of someone becoming successful or just being happy with what they have and what they’ve created – they’ve done it their own way. Now, granted, there are some basic best practices and some things that can help you, but, no matter if you’re writing about something as boring as insurance or something as interesting as the “Humans of New York” guy – JUST DO IT YOUR WAY. If you’re up front with people and say like, “Hey, I’m not gonna post a blog for a month but I will be back in a month” – I promise you, that the people who actually are reading your content are going to come back in a month, because they like you.” -Ryan Hanley, Launching Creative Podcast.

That rocked my world. I suddenly felt a weight lifted. I felt free – to be myself, to be candid, unscheduled and unconventional. What’s crazy I don’t really struggle with authenticity in other areas of my life and work – just blogging, apparently. It was such an intimidating tight rope walk of thinking I had to do everything a certain way in order to be a “real” blogger. I was constantly comparing myself to others who have paved the way to blogging success and have it all figured out, so to speak. While I definitely want to learn from others, I really don’t want to do things “their” way.

As it turns out, all I really wanted is to be one of those people Ryan was talking about, who is “happy with what they have and what they’ve created.” It’s not about a popularity contest. It’s not about success by other’s standards. It’s not about a numbers game (although checking site stats can be addicting, as I like fun graphs and charts it makes…). It is about authenticity – sharing real stories, ideas, and beauty with real people. If what I share in this space resonates with or inspires even one person – then I am happy, and that to me, is success.

So if you stick around you will be following the candid journey of an eager creative, small business owner, imperfectionist in the making (I feel like we need an AA group for recovering perfectionists…) and I will do my best to do my best at sharing with you victories that are won, mistakes that are made, lessons that are learned, ideas that are had, and beauty that is created and discovered along the way.

This is me in my early days of creating pretty things (or “Get Well Soon” banners, apparently…) when I didn’t worry about what people thought of my art. I just wanted to hang with my girls, have some fun, and make stuff. Looks like success to me!

Thank you, Ryan, for your words of wisdom, thank you Nik and David for creating a platform where I could hear them, and thank God for the perfect timing. 34 weeks behind, yet exactly on time.

“If you’re authentic, people will connect with you and they’ll let you work through those troubles, as long as you’re moving forward.” -Ryan Hanley

Keep moving forward, and stay inspired.

Much love and gratitude,

Kathryn

PS: In all this sharing about sharing, I failed to mention today is a very special day… it’s Kathryn J. LeMaster Art & Design’s 2nd birthday, what what?!?! What a happy day, indeed. I will probably eat a bunch of victory cupcakes later and post pretty pictures about it. Oh wait, no – that’s what we did last year… hmmm. Oh right, and it was DELICIOUS!

House of Turquoise Feature: Before & After Reveal of Rustic Modern Bath

Ladies and Gents, thank you ever-so-much for coming by on this special day for a very exciting before & after reveal!

I am incredibly thrilled to have the one and only Erin Olson Moser from House of Turquoise unveiling this project in terrific HOT style by featuring the after photos for the very first time today!!

This is going to be so much fun! I’m sharing the before photos and design plan here – then you can hop on over to House of Turquoise for the amazing after photos, photographed by Karen E. Segrave of KES Photo. If you’re coming over by way of HOT, welcome!! I hope you enjoyed the finished result and will relish your regressive design “meal” as you take a peek back at how it all began.

Meet my friends, the Bollens, a wonderful young family with whom I had the pleasure of working on this project. Jessica and Daniel were new homeowners and ready to kick it up a notch or 10, functionally and aesthetically, with their master bathroom. Take a step back with me to their original master bath:

There were many reasons to bid farewell to the existing layout and finishes. From the brown tile and cave-like shower to the ho-hum single sink vanity, it was simply time for an update.

They opted for a DIY style design plan, as they are savvy do-it-yourself-ers. They also enlisted the help of skilled craftsman and builder, the talented Mr. Chandler Tedder, to oversee the remodel.

I wanted to include their wishlist items (make-up vanity space, double sinks, glass shower, display and hidden storage…) while incorporating their taste and style, which was one of my favorites – a rustic-modern fusion! After collecting their input, I set to work designing their dream bath and presented them with a design concept which included dimensioned drawings, a concept board with selection options, material samples and a resource shopping list.

Here is a sampling of a few of the new selection options to give you an idea of where we’re headed:

Below are the concept drawings illustrating the new design!

Can you image it now? Thanks to the Bollens and Chandler, who took it from a concept to a reality, Karen, who captured it, and Erin, who’s sharing it today… you don’t have to just imagine – you can go see it, right now!! Jump on over to House of Turquoise for the grand after reveal!!

Kitchen Remodel Before & After Reveal – Part 3: After

Welcome! If you’re just joining us for the reveal, you can catch up on Part 1 and Part 2 to see the before photos and design process to understand the details of how far this kitchen has come to what you’re about to see today.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am so excited to share with you for the first time ever the entire collection of “after” photos from the Barber’s kitchen remodel!

You may recognize some of the after photos of the kitchen if you saw the project in At Home in Arkansas’ April issue, which showcased beautiful photography captured by the talented Nancy Nolan exclusively for the magazine feature. The collection I get to unveil today are the original portfolio images taken shortly after the projected was completed last year, shot by the amazing Karen E. Segrave KES Photo and fantastically lit by Mike McCall of Backfocus Productions.

Brace yourselves for the dramatic change you are about to behold…

I bring you, the Barber’s new and improved kitchen!

Thank you for following the story of the Barber’s kitchen makeover! I hope you’ve enjoyed watching the process unfold. If you’ve been inspired by this project or can think of someone else who enjoy a good before and after project, I invite you to please share, pin, tweet, or spread the word in whatever fashion you like!

Happy Sunday – stay inspired. 🙂

xo,

-K

Kitchen Remodel Before & After Reveal – Part 2: Design

Picking up where we left off in Part 1: Before… (if you missed the before photos, check them out here first!)

The Barber’s existing kitchen floor plan had several issues that were working against proper traffic flow and space clearances. Take the breakfast peninsula, for example, that divided the room in half.

The first step with any design is to think through the functionality goals, storage, and traffic needs of the users in the space. Notice the changes from the existing plan above (and before pictures) to the new design drawings below:

Much more open and aetheticly pleasing already, even in black and white, yes? If you’re curious about the details of the big changes we made, I’ve included them below! (If not, keep scrolling for details on the next part of the design.)

—-

1. Shrunk the island – by designing a custom, smaller scale island, we were able to allow the minimum clearance of 36″ on each side of the island while still keeping it a functional size, big enough to store the trashcan inside.

2. Swapped the peninsula for a windowseat – the space really opened up by omitting the large breakfast peninsula and replacing it with a built-in storage window seat and rustic farm table. Much prettier, too!

3. Relocated pantry space – the original location of the pantry closet closed in around you upon entering, the door swung into the traffic path, and the “walk-in” feature wasn’t even usable with items overflowing from shelves onto the floor. Instead, we reallocated the pantry storage space in two new built-in cabinets flanking the beverage station that have track system gliding shelves for easy item visibility and better organization!

4. Utilized unused space in bonus room – the room at the north end of the kitchen was previously empty and cluttered all at the same time. One wall was virtually empty, while another housed an overstuffed bookcase and desk space. The new design took advantage of every inch of space, wrapping all three walls in custom cabinetry to include a desk with office storage, pantry space, a beverage station complete with ice maker and extra sink, as well as a china cabinet with a pass through. We packed alot of much needed functions into this tiny space that allowed us to do much more with the rest of the kitchen!

5. Opened up east walls, adding a pass through and bar – we created two openings in this wall that serve multiple functions. The first is the pass through in china cabinet to the dining room, and the second is creating a two-seater bar area under an arched opening created where the oven and microwave wall once stood. Not only do these openings allow visibility into the next rooms, creating the feel of a more open floor plan, but it allows light to flow through from room to room, which makes the kitchen feel bigger as well.

6. Added additional lighting – LOTS of additional lighting! In the before images, you’ll see the only lighting came from the pot rack/light fixture, a small chandelier, and a can light over the sink area. Combined with the sage green wall color that acted as a light sponge rather than reflector, it was a dark kitchen. We added about 8 can lights, pendants over the island, bar, sink, desk, beverage sink, as well as a chandelier over the breakfast table, as well as under cabinet lighting. The new illumination reflects beautifully off of the fresh white walls and dreamy-creamy cabinets.

—

Once the space plan and cabinet details were set, we could really jump into the “fun stuff” such as finishes, fixtures, and fabrics. When it came to creating the color scheme and overall aesthetic for the kitchen, we took cues from Tuscan and southwest inspired spaces and details.

The base of the color scheme started with wanting creamy cabinets with a cocoa glaze to contrast with warm wood floors, stained beams and stained island. The accent colors were inspired by Jessica’s favorite hue, turquoise. Selecting oranges as the other accent color followed suit as being the natural complimentary color to blues, as well as playing off of some inspiration pieces of pottery!

The print fabric for the pillows did a wonderful job of tying all of the colors in the room together – cream, espresso, turquoise, rust – as well as adding interest with hints of butter yellow and a splash of sage green!

What do you think about the new design? I’d love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions about it in the comments below!

Thanks for joining me today. Stay tuned for “Part 3: After” which I’ll be sharing a week from today!

Happy Mother’s Day weekend to all you mother’s out there!

Stay inspired,

-K

Kitchen Remodel Before & After Reveal, Part 1: Before

What fun it was having our kitchen remodel project be the Before & After feature in At Home in Arkansas Magazine for the whole month of April!

To continue the fun, we’re kicking off the month of May with our before and after blog series on this project, rolling out more before and behind the scenes photos, design drawings, as well as the entire portfolio collection of after photos by Karen E. Segrave, shared for the first time ever!

Let’s go back to the begining – the walk through and the before photos, which include some great action shots of the family at work! I didn’t want to disturb the cooking and cleaning while snapping photos and taking notes, as it was helpful to observe how the kitchen functioned (or in this case didn’t) for their big, busy family on an everyday basis.

Without further adieu, meet the Barber’s “before” kitchen!

(Upon entrance from the left/south end)

(Sink area to left)

(Cooking area to right)

(Breakfast peninsula to left)

(Study/Office beyond peninsula)

(Turning back toward entrance)

(Looking back toward entrance)

Note the many activities happening at once – dishes being unloaded, dinner cooking, grocery bags just unloaded from car to counters, homework being done in the midst of it all – can anyone relate? Multitasking is already a chore, but with the current layout of their kitchen, it was nearly impossible to have various activities going on simultaneously without bumping into someone or knocking something over. Though in need of style updates for sure, the first issue we tackled was function and space maximization. I’ll walk you through what we changed and why in the next post!

Thanks to my wonderful clients for being candid and willing for me to share where we started so that you could fully understand and appreciate the drastic difference of where we end up.

Stay tuned for the the next post, revealing the redesigned plan!

Groundbreaking News: UCA’s Greek Village

UCA – home of the Purple Bears – is soon to be home to 5 new sorority houses and an NPHC meeting center, kicking off the beginning of an all new Greek Village at UCA in Conway, Arkansas!

Did I mention this was also my home? Yes. I am a UCA alumni and I loved the four years I spent on their beautiful campus full of historic buildings and lush landscaping going through the interior design program.

This is why I was so thrilled when I was presented with the opportunity to come back to be a part of this monumental project! In the last month, I’ve had the huge honor and privileged of working with UCA, their builders and architects, to consult on finish spec options for the sororities to choose from for their new houses.

The process has been fast and furious, as well as lots of fun. Here’s a little snapshot of the product researching, sampling, selecting, and presentation board building that’s been going on around here in the last several weeks:

The goal of the finishes design is to have a versatile, neutral palette that leaves flexibility for the groups to personalize and make each space their own. By providing a clean and simple, sophisticated color palette, I want to help them create the perfect canvas as a foundation for the furnishings and decor to come.

Yesterday was an especially special day in the project – the groundbreaking ceremony at the Greek Village site! Each sorority had their letters set up in the clearing near the location of their future houses – too cool.

There was a fantastic turnout, and after hearing from several speakers including President Courtway, the event wrapped up with the highly anticipated golden shovel ceremony. The president and board members scooped the first shovels full of dirt, then everybody jumped in on the fun!

I was delighted to be included in the festivites, especially standing among all of these great and talented folks from UCA, Nabholz Construction, and Caradine Architects. What fun!

It was like a bunch of kids in a sand box, just more organized. Let’s face it – playing in a dirt pile is fun. Especially with shiny golden shovels!

Of course I had to get a shot with two of the fabulous ladies I’ve enjoyed working with on the team from UCA: Diane Newton and Wendy Holbrook!

What a day – and what a year it will be now that construction has officially begun. And by construction I mean our expertly excavated dirt piles. Luckily Nabholz will be setting up shop on site soon to take over from here. I’m sure they will appreciate the head start. 😉

Kitchen Styling Tips on At Home in Arkansas Blog

If you enjoyed our Before & After feature in At Home in Arkansas this month, you’ll definitely want to click on over to their blog today for a bonus feature from this family friendly kitchen design!

They will show you how we built in flexible accessories to be able to swap out styles in a pinch, creating two different looks and feels. Hopefully you’ll get some ideas on how this could apply in your home!

Click on the image below to connect to their post, “Styled Two Ways“!