Resources Archives - Kathryn Lemaster

Fall Decor Inspiration: At Home in Arkansas front porch feature!

Happy October!!

Fall is my absolute favorite season, of which October always feels like the official kick-off to me. It’s the best month of the year in my book, which is why I am especially thrilled to have a fall decor project included in this month’s issue of At Home in Arkansas magazine! Snatch up a copy and mosey on by their website to read the full feature – aptly titled “Welcome to Fall!” – for more lovely photos and fall decor ideas!

Here’s a preview of “Look #1: Cheerful, Warm, Eclectic” – designed my moi and styled with the expert assistance of Editor in Chief, Chip Jones, topped off with glorious photography by Rett Peek!

Behind the scenes bonus material! (Crafting, coffee consumption, and amature photography by moi as well…)

Burlap and twin garlands and pumpkin wraps in progress. Produce hunted down at various pumpkin patches and grocery stores. Materials found at local craft stores and my garage. 😉

Nothing like a few handmade Kantha quilts and pillows made from recycled Indian saris to warm up a space! Available at my favorite yoga studio, Arkansas Yoga Collective.

Styling away! My estate sale retro side table had to come along, of course. So did a few fun rugs from Cynthia East Fabrics. The Gerber daisy and ceramic planter were less than $10 combined at Home Depot. #score

Ready, set, shoot!

The pros, making that photo magic.

That’s a wrap!

Make sure to visit At Home in Arkansas to read about this fall front porch design and see more glorious, non-amature photos. 😉 We’d love to hear your thoughts or questions about sprucing up your own space for fall, so feel free to leave a comment below or on At Home’s page.

Thanks for hanging out on the porch with me. This was fun. It’s going to be a great fall!

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! 😉

Best of Houzz 2014

I was ecstatic to receive the below email from Houzz earlier this week and couldn’t wait to share it with you all!

I’m truly honored and want to thank each one of my amazing clients who offered up their time to write about their experience with Kathryn J. LeMaster Art & Design last year. It is because of your honest testimonials that I was voted to receive this award! So thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

If you’d like to read the reviews that contributed to this award, click here!

If you’re not familiar with Houzz, I invite you to check it out today. It’s the number one tool I use to communicate with clients in the beginning of their projects to share inspiration and ideas. Think of it as a social media website for everything house related!

It’s free an easy to create an account, and once you do, you have access to millions of photos to save to “ideabooks” you create for your home projects! It’s a great resource to locate building professionals, ask questions, read helpful articles… I could just go on and on. You can follow me on Houzz, here!

Thanks for being here today and sharing in my excitement. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you next week!

Stay inspired,

-K

The Farmers Market

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We went to visit our friends, who moved up to Columbia MO a few months ago, so it was the best of weekends! One of my favorite things that we got to do with them during our stay was shopping at their local farmers market.

It was just the funnest thing ever – so beautiful and inspiring, too! Everyone had their products displayed so nicely in their booths. Everything looked like fall and smelled like fresh coffee and baked goods. I’m not sure how I’ve managed to miss out on the local farmers market experience at home, because I absolutely loved the one up there. Note to self: go to Arkansas farmers markets. Like, now.

(photo cred: Laura)

My take-aways from our market trip were an amazing cup of freshly pressed french-press coffee by the Fretboard Coffee, Inc. and a giant basil plant that cost a whopping $3. What?! It matches Laura’s basil plant (above) she picked up on an earlier visit, along with some tomatoes and farm fresh eggs. Omelette, anyone?

Trevor Thurow Custom Furniture & Design

Today it’s my pleasure to introduce to you the incredible Trevor Thurow Custom Furniture and Design! Trevor and his lovely wife, Jenni, are based out of Austin, Texas – a state near and dear to my heart. (I was born in Dallas and let’s face it, once a Texan, always a Texan!) 🙂

Trevor is ridiculously gifted at was he does – his work is simply spectacular! Everything from the furniture style to the variety of materials used is precisely my cup of tea. Check out some of my favorite pieces of his work below!

Awesome, right? To read more about the above pieces and see more of Trevor’s work, be sure to check out and like their Facebook page and visit their website.

Now that you’ve met Trevor Thurow Custom Furniture and Design, I’m so excited to share that I’ve been asked to work with them to design a piece of furniture from these amazing old barn wood beams! What?!

I’m extremely honored to be teaming up with them on this one-of-a-kind project. It’s going to be a blast!

Stay tuned to my blog and Trevor’s blog to follow the design and production process over the next month.

Back to sketching! 😉

Look-alikes: Glam Living Room

I’ve had this image of a Jan Showers designed living room pinned to my “Living Rooms” Pintrest board for awhile now. Every time I see it it just makes me happy! I absolutely love the bold geometric prints and bright colors – what sophisticated fun.

(schlegel penthouse by jan showers via decor pad)

You can read more about the owners and the design of this space in this article by D Magazine.

Using the above image as inspiration, I created a look-alike living room design of affordable options to get a similar result!

1. Lamps – $80 each

2. Side Tables – $60 each

3. Black Pillow Covers – $38 pair

4. Pink Pillow – $99

5. Sunburst Mirror – $250

6. 8×10 Wool Rug – $310

7. Gold & Glass Coffee Table – $173

8. Daisy Arrangement – $50

9. White Tray – $30

10. Gold Vase – $20

11. White Sofa – $1090

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Everything on the board totals $2,340. But just think – if you were working with an existing sofa, then you could get everything else for $1,250!

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Here’s to a happy Monday and great end to September. Tomorrow brings my favorite month of the year… 🙂

Stay inspired!

-K

Interview Feature on Wade’s Blog!

Today, it is my honor to introduce you to the fabulous Mr. Wade Barber! Wade is a long-time family friend of mine and in the past year, he and his wife became a valued clients of mine as well.

Wade is a Realtor with Keller Williams here in the Central AR area, so keep him in mind for your home buying and selling needs. He has recently joined the world of blogging to be able to bring you expert advice and input on everything home related.

I was thrilled when he asked to interview me for a blog post on home design tips! Head on over to his new website and blog to read his post about our interview and learn more about Wade and how he could help you!

Guest Post on House of Turquoise!

Good morning and happy September to you all!

Today, I am so incredibly thrilled to be guest posting on one of my all-time favorite blogs, (drum roll, please) House of Turquoise! What a privilege.

The lovely lady behind HOT, miss Erin Olson Moser, is a happy new mama to sweet baby Wesley as of a couple weeks ago. Congrats again, Erin!

Needing to take a little time off with husband and baby, Erin set into place a great line-up of guest posters to fill so she can spend this precious time with her new little family.

Though I was just flabbergasted that she asked me to be among the guest posters, I was truly honored, and had so much fun putting together a special post for HOT.

So without further adieu, please check out my guest post by tuning in to the one and only House of Turquoise today (and every day really! Seriously, if your not already, you should follow HOT. That’s my bit of advice for the day.)

(via peppermint bliss)

If you’re stopping by my blog via HOT today, well then welcome! I’m so glad you decided to click on over for a visit. Please, make yourself at home, check out my blog and site, and feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a message here if I can answer any questions for you! So glad you dropped in, and hope to see you back soon. 🙂

If you’re hankering for more turquoise inspiration after browsing House of Turquoise – which I consider to be the mecca of this superior hue – you can always follow my Totally Turquoise board on Pintrest here, or check out my previous post on Turquoise, here!

Thanks again for being here today. I really and truly appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to slow down for a moment soak up some inspiration with me!

-K

Ikea Love

Can we just talk about how much I love Ikea for a moment? I love the product variety and reasonable prices. I love the innovative thinking of the product designers. I love the crazy Swedish product names. I love their cinnamon rolls (and free coffee if you’re an Ikea Family Member, which you should be). Where else can you go for a combined dining and designing + showroom and shopping experience? Nowhere I tell you. Nowhere.

I returned home from Dallas via Frisco yesterday in order to stop by Ikea on the way out of town. I needed to pick up something for a client as well as pay a visit to my Swedish “family” and pick up a few treats for myself. It’s always a sweet, sweet reunion (partially because of my traditional cinnamon roll snack).

During this visit, I met this chair named Strandmon and I really wanted to take him home! He’s very handsome, super comfy, and comes in gray or orange linen or dark blue velvet… and is only $279!

Allow me to introduce you to my new crush, Mr. Strandmon Wing Chair.

Here’s a pic from Ikea’s inspiration gallery of Strandmon and a few of his buddies chillin with Isala (the cute little coffee table.)

Yep. I’m bumping two orange Strandmons to the top of my wishlist. I’ll come back for you someday, my dears!

If you live far away from an Ikea store as I do, you may find it helpful to know that Ikea’s website has great inspiration galleries for various room types. It’s the next best thing to visiting the showroom in person, as it helps to see how items can look within a certain context and a great way to get ideas on how to incorporate their products! Here are a few of my favorite Ikea inspiration pics:

How about those yellow Stockholm swivel chairs?! Super fun and funky and a great pop in this living space! View more products from this space here.

Who knew you could create a complete kitchen design including cabinets and countertops all at Ikea? It’s a one stop shop I tell you! View this image and find out item details here.

From the dining room gallery, I’m loving this rustic/industrial look! For more item details, click here.

Last but not least, how about this cozy living room? What a great way to create a Pottery Barn type feel, but for a fraction of the cost! More details on this space, here.

I hope you enjoyed this little Ikeaspiration sampling. If you get a chance to go by a store soon, please give Strandmon my love. Thanks!

Clear Choices

Let’s talk clear today. Whether acrylic, lucite or polycarbonate, clear “plastic” furniture and accessories can be just what the designer ordered.

The benefit of being colorless is that it goes with everything. It also opens up a space since it’s transparent so light moves right on through. Something about it just adds that touch of glamour and sophistication and most pieces tend to adapt to their surroundings much like a chameleon, which helps it fit into a wide range of styles from traditional to contemporary.

(Pintrest)

While glass is also clear, it’s not always ideal for every application due to it’s weight and breakable factor. Plastic materials like the ones listed above are not only visually weightless, but are actually light weight and surprisingly durable too.

(Made By Girl)

There’s lots of reasons to use this material, but sometimes the only reason you need is that it’s ridiculously FUN!

Here’s my line-up of “clearly” fabulous pieces:

(Small Lucite Tray by Dabney Lee At Home – You can customize the bottoms of these trays from a bazillion different pattern/font/color options!)

(Vapor Counterstool by CB2)

(Tea Table by Plexi-Craft)

(Tobias Chair by Ikea)

(Peekaboo Nesting Tables by CB2)

(Umbria Bench by Plexi-Craft)

(Canali Crystal Clear Chairs by Overstock – I actually have a couple of these babies in my dining room, and absolutely adore them!)

(Lencon Lucite Desk by The Paris Apartment)

(Adair Acrylic Coffee Table by Overstock)

(King George Bench by Plexi-Craft)

(Baroque Clear Acrylic Table Lamp by Euro Style Lighting)

The price point for pieces made of these materials can range from the hundreds to the thousands. The good news is if you’re looking for an inexpensive pop of clear you can usually find it at places like CB2. If you’re looking to shell out a couple grand for a custom statement piece, there are places like Plexi-Craft who can create pretty much anything under the sun!

Keep it real. Happy Wednesday!

-K