Musings Archives - Kathryn Lemaster

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!

West Coast Weekend

Happy New Year from sunny San Diego, CA! I hope you all had a festive New Year’s kick off with your loved ones and are feeling refreshed and ready for an awesome year ahead.

I took a little time off and flew in yesterday with half of my family for an extended weekend get-away to attended a friend’s wedding… what fun!

I’ve only been here a day and I already LOVE it here. Both the people and the weather are all warm and friendly and the landscape is equally lovely!

Are any of you “west coasters” or know of any must-sees while I’m out this way?

Hope you all have a wonderful first weekend of 2014 and I’ll see you next week!

-K

It’s beginning to look alot like Christmas…

Happy December everyone! Lovely weather we’ve been having, yes? I don’t know about you, but I’ve been iced in for about 4 days now.

Everything’s coming up frozen in our back yard!

Rather than succumbing to cabin fever, I’ve focused on decorating for Christmas around our “cabin.” It’s coming along!

Here’s my Insta-recap of the first week of December:

Thankfully we made it to the tree farm and picked out the perfect Christmas tree before the ice storm hit. With the help of our neighbor, we even added some flocking to give it that snowy look. Although if we’d waited a few days and just left it outside, we could have had a nice coating of the real deal complete with sleet.

Hope you all are already enjoying some holiday cheer and staying cozy warm if it’s cold where you are too!

I’ll be back later this week sharing a few of my favorite Christmas picks from a great online shop I recently discovered. A few other things to look for on the blog this month: a furniture design reveal as well as a guest bedroom before and after, so stay tuned!

-K

Don’t you just love New York in the fall?

New York City is dear to my heart. I used to visit every chance possible while my sister went to school in the heart of Manhattan for 4 years. It became especially special, however, in March of 2008 when my now husband completely surprised me on one of those visits to see my sister, showing up on top of Belvedere Castle in Central Park and proposing to me.

Sneaky AND romantic!

Well, our 5 year wedding anniversary was a week ago today, so Will and I flew out first thing last Saturday morning for an extended weekend in NYC to celebrate. Of course we had to return to the spot where it all began.

This is us at the scene of the surprise, five and a half years later:

What a wonderful 5 years it’s been!

Of all of my visits to the Big Apple, this was my first visit in October, and my was it lovely! Temperatures in the mid 60’s, sunshine and blue skies, and the leaves had already begun to change for fall. We strolled through Central Park for about 3 hours one afternoon and soaked in the symphony of colors and critters that unfolded around every turn.

These were just a few of my favorite shots from our stroll in the park. It was an amazing trip and I can’t wait to share more of my favorite photos from around the city, soon.

The week of celebrating isn’t over yet, because tomorrow brings another favorite day of my year – my birthday! 🙂

Hope you all have had a great week and are heading into a wonderful weekend, too!

-K

Savannah

During our vacay to Tybee Island, we got to take a day trip into Savannah and spend a little time in the oldest city in Georgia, established in 1733! What a charming city with such rich history.

We had the privilege of taking a trolley tour through the historic district, which was absolutely incredible. What I loved about the layout of the historic district is that it’s made up of 20+ town squares, most revolving around a monument. The architecture of the homes and buildings surrounding each square reflected the style of the time period in which it was built, whether Colonial, Victorian, etc. It was like a little Spanish Moss-covered stroll through time.

(I really could not get enough of the Spanish Moss. So graceful!)

The architecture was just beautiful. Whether intricately detailed, brightly colored, or weathered old brick – every structure was lovely in it’s own way an seemed to emanate yet another story from another time. Here are a few of my favorite shots from throughout the tour of structures, colors, and materials that struck me.

If you haven’t been to Savannah yet, I highly recommend taking a trip there! There’s so much to do and see, so many little shops and restaurants. Here are two eateries I would highly recommend trying out while you’re in town:

For some of the best ice cream in the world (seriously) you must stop in “Leopold’s Ice Cream” for a tasty treat! Be sure to read the story of Leopold’s nearly 100 year family history. You may find the current owner inside, Mr. Stratton Leopold, as he is there regularly and loves visiting with his customers. Be sure to ask him about his fascinating second career as a movie producer, too! A few of the films he’s worked on include Mission Impossible 3, Captain America, and Paycheck. You can’t miss the displays inside full of original props and still shots from the films!

If you love southern food, go a little gourmet with Paula Deen’s “The Lady & Sons” restaurant. If you decide to dine there, I highly suggest making a reservation ahead of time, as our large party had a reservation for middle of the afternoon on a weekday and there were still 30 or so people waiting at a time. If you end up having to kill a little time, no worries, there’s of course a shop inside with tons of Paula gifts, goodies, and kitchen accessories!

And I only spent one day there. I would love to go back and spend more time, there’s no telling what all I left undiscovered. If you’re a Savannah local or have ever been to Savannah, what are some of your favorite/must see places? I’m making my list for when I return! 🙂

Tybee Island

Hope you all had a great week! I returned yesterday from a week in Tybee Island, GA. What a wonderful family vacation! Just what we all needed.

While I’m getting caught up this week, I want to share images from my trip with you. Today let’s look at snap shots from the beautiful island, and later this week we’ll take a stroll through historic Savannah.

I got to do a little bit of everything I was hoping to. I think my favorite was just spending time by the water. The shore was mere steps from our beach house. You could just take the sand trail through the tall grass and bam, you’re there. What a dream!

Strolling to the beach with my lovely little sis to sip on some coffee and read.

We made friends with the seagulls. My dad and little brothers were the real “bird whisperers” and got them to eat right out of their hands.

My favorite feathered friends where the pelicans though. They were so beautiful! I got such a kick out of watching them dive straight into the ocean to catch fish, always flying in a perfectly spaced “V”, and standing in rows… so organized!

On our boat tour with with Crab Creek Charters (highly recommend!) we went right by Billy Currington’s house – had no idea he lived on Tybee! Not too shabby, Billy…

Another highlight of the boat tour was circling the beautiful old Cockspur Island Lighthouse that was built in 1837!

I just couldn’t get enough of the tall, wild grass. It was everywhere!

The sunsets were of course, breathtakingly beautiful.

*sigh*… I miss it already.

As hard as it was to leave, it is good to be home, cause there’s no place like home. It’s definitely on my list of places to return to though… as soon as possible! 😉

I’ll be back in a couple days with photos from our trip into Savannah!

Painting Party

Congrats to my brother and sister-in-law who closed on their first house this past weekend! Welcome to the wonderful (and sometimes overwhelming) world of home ownership! 🙂
We spent this weekend giving their new house a face-lift with fresh coats of paint throughout the interior. And I must say, after alot of prep work and elbow grease… it looks mighty spiffy!

What perfect timing that Sherwin Williams was running a 40% off sale over the weekend?! We stocked up on everything needed for a successful painting weekend, including the complimentary coffee from their Keurig station. Thanks, Sherwin!

Not sure about everywhere else, but in the Little Rock area at least the sale runs through the 22nd. So if you need a new splash of color or some “purdy” great supplies, run on by today and save a buck or fifty!

To cover over existing wall colors quickly, we went with the “Super Paint” 2 in 1 coverage recommended by the SW specialists. This was my first time working with this particular SW product, and I must say I was impressed with how it covered. We were able to cover over the existing gold, blue, and pink walls with one coat in every room!

Here was the final line up of paints that completed our neutral interior color palette. Taking the 8′ ceilings and amount of natural light available into account, I made sure to stay on the lighter end of the fan deck to allow margin for the colors to appear slightly darker once applied. The main goal was to make the space feel more open throughout. Mission accomplished! I was quite happy with the results and I think our new homeowners wholeheartedly agree. 😉

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Here’s to a happy Monday and fresh starts all around!

Designer House Room Reveal Week!

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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Souvenir

We made it to Dallas this past weekend to visit family, friends, and some favorite stores. It was a fantastic trip, mainly because of the people we saw, but also because of places we got to go.

Our lunch destination with friends after church took us to the Knox-Henderson area, which was just packed with wonderful stores. Among them being none other than the fun and funky Jonathan Adler!

Jonathan Adler

I have admired the shiny pretty things this brand has to offer for years via the web, but this weekend was my very first time to actually step foot in a store. Yep, it was an exciting moment. So of course I had to purchase something to remember the trip by.

Jonathan Adler Lighting

So after being torn between the $1,250 Mini Sputnik Chandelier and the $2,200 Giant Sputnik Chandelier (in my dreams…) I decided on a humble $18 coffee mug. Normally I would not spend $18 on a coffee mug, but after staring at the larger price tags hanging all over the store, 18 bucks started to look like a good deal for a drinking vessel.

Blue Carnaby Talitha Mug

So here is my beautiful little blue baby, the Blue Carnaby Talitha Mug, modeling a fresh pour of French Roast.

Close up

I love the bold graphics and of course love the navy and turquoise color combo.

Mug Shot

I’m quite thrilled with my first JA purchase and look forward to adding to my collection in the not-so-near future. Gotta start saving for my Sputnik light. 🙂