Small Space-Big Impact!

For lack of any literary inspirations lately my thoughts tonight turned to wallpaper! I think that is because my dear friend, Jean Anne and her husband Forrest just moved into their new home and have done such a great job in making it their own. You see, it first belonged to Forrest's parents and now that Jean Anne and Forrest have moved into it they have carefully added a few new elements to the already gorgeous design. The one that stands out in my mind is their foyer wallpaper. A fabulous Schumacher paper in charcoal and ivory. The colors are very reminiscent of the paper shown below. Perhaps it is also because I've been with Jean Anne a lot lately thanks to my birthday lunch today and Jim's 50th birthday party this past Sunday night! What a week it has been! But nonetheless, her foyer is beautiful and one of these days I plan to photograph as much of the house as she will allow! What a fabulous post that would be! 

While this powder room from Pinterest shown above evokes feelings of pure beauty to me…the paper below is what stole my heart away when I first entered Forrest and Jean Anne's new home! I truly love it! It reminds me of ideas I've wanted to implement in the past and just never did. 

You can see this paper used again in a small bathroom that I found on Pinterest…but trust me on this one, it doesn't hold a candle to the foyer in my friend's new home below!

One of my favorite elements in design has always been to have a big impact on a small space. I truly think this is done quite well when one uses beautiful fabrics or paper to create that intense emotion. A powder bath, dressing room, butlers pantry or even an entrance hall are great places to make a statement! It doesn't have to be obnoxious! In fact, my love for big impact is far from it! I will show you a few of my own rooms in my home that I have done this with and hopefully you won't be too judgmental! 

These papered closet doors are truly spectacular…wish I had a place to actually carry out this wonderful idea!

But, as I stated earlier….a powder room is just perfect for this elegant touch! I love this room shown above…and I'm crazy about the mustard floral fabric shown below! Love having Pinterest as well as so many wonderful design blogs to back me up when I have a crazy notion to express my design loves to you!

So, moving right along…I will show you one of our "Powder Baths"! 

The wallpaper pattern is quite large...

But the colors are subtle and truly flow right into each other…

 (maybe flow isn't the best term to use when one is showing the actual potty!) Sorry!

And then, wow…I guess I am only showing you several of our bathrooms to make my point! But the one above is my husband's bathroom…and the one below is my tub area! We are lucky to have our own bathrooms in our Master Bedroom and to be totally honest, I can never go back to just one bathroom! We are spoiled and we didn't plan on this aspect of our house! It was truly inevitable! But, I'm just showing you large scale wallpaper in a small, confined space. Yes, we need to update! And I'm dying to do that. However, I love what we have and I've enjoyed it for the past 15 years. If we never get to change it I can say that I am fine with that fact! That's how much I still love it! Which is why I always tell people to wait! Wait and get what you truly want as opposed to something that will only make do! Otherwise, you will never truly love it and you will waste money in the long run.

My daughter's small bathroom with many angled ceilings and corners is the perfect place to make my point! I just wish I had the ability to photograph it to it's full potential! This isn't a "giant" scaled pattern…but it is a large pattern and makes a great statement in this particular bathroom. I also used it in my mother's beautiful powder room with straight lines and walls and it is just as spectacular! This is one of my all time favorite papers in any of the color ways it comes in! 

We actually used this in the fabric version in the mustard color way in our very first Decorator's Showhouse! People loved it!

And last night…as my thoughts drifted off as to why I feel like I'm in such a "writer's slump" I thoroughly enjoyed the images I found on Pinterest as well as many other sights! It allowed me to dream a bit...

And to forget just how busy I have been lately. It reminded me of what I used to love!

It reminded me of the fun, large scale designs I used to seek out when I was first designing the home I'm in now as well as the homes of many family members and friends…

It reminded me of my love for color as well as black and white...

I

It reminded me of youth as well as old age…

It reminded me that true beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder...

And then, it jerked me wide awake as I realized I was drifting again thanks to the plethora of birthdays that my family has encountered over the past week! One cannot eat 7 birthday meals in a week..enjoy that many desserts and well wishes without losing it just a wee bit! Of course it's been fun! I wouldn't trade it for anything! But it's made my mind become a bowl full of jello!

And yet, one thing I do know is this….I know what I love…I know that I love large scaled wallpaper and that not even a writer's slump can jolt that fact out of me! I know that I love to make a statement…however little or big it may be! I know that I love good design and that good design will stand the test of time! I know that I love blogging and i've missed it like crazy! 

I know that I would love to be able to post the Eli Young Band's song, Crazy Girl for you to listen to! I will do my best! I also know that I want you to understand that one can definitely make a big impact in a small space…whether it be with paper or fabric or just your influence on someone!

 Big Impact in Small Spaces can conquer a lot of areas! 

I hope you are all doing well and I cannot wait to show you our latest arrivals at the shop! I also can't wait to tell you about our incredible event coming up! But for now, I will leave you with the fact that I love you! I love your friendship and your support! I am definitely thinking of turning on the word verification again as my spam emails have become that annoying! I hate to do that and I know many of you hate having to type them in! I guess I need to give up my pride and quite worrying that I will lose any readers. Who was I kidding anyway! I'm just happy to be writing again…even if it's craziness! 

Hope you all have the best week! I for one am living to leave this craziness with my almost 50 year old husband of almost 30 years! We are hitting the road and enjoying a nice semi long get away! Our real getaway will happen in April when we converge on St. Lucia! Get ready!

Ok…I did it! And yes, I am as crazy as this song is! But, you can listen to it right HERE!
So glad Jim loves a crazy girl! I guess we are all crazy to an extent!