sometimes the sectional has got to go. sometimes it just needs to get out from under the windows... sometimes tchotchkes have got to go. sometimes they just need some spray paint... spray paint anthropologie's up kirklandy things... sometimes you already have something great for the coffee table... sometimes a few new pieces make your home feel more like you... pottery handmade by your children trumps anything you buy in a store... we redesign in one day while you are not home. we find it is best for you to see the room as a whole rather than piece by piece and it is best for us to create in bare feet and solitude while singing along to the avett brothers. there is no coming home until we are finished. but their daughter missed the memo and came home early. we were so happy she did. she confirmed everything we already knew. this family is bright and happy and fun. the kind who hum while doing homework. the kind who skip a little rather than just walk. the kind whose enthusiasm is contagious. their traditional and super serious things did not reflect who they really are... now, bright and happy and fun. just like the people who live here... sweet jasper... found these gorgeous bowls way up in a kitchen cabinet... found this perfect pottery on the pile of "not sure if any of this will still work"...
before you buy anything, ask yourself... do i LOVE this? will this make life better? if the answer to both is no, put it down and walk away. she is cool and hip and i always want to ask her where she got her shoes. she is what my stylist would call on trend. she is west elm pillows on a chesterfield sofa. but her home was kirkland's tchotchkes on an ethan allen ottoman. there was a disconnect. your house becomes your home when it reflects who you are and what you love. so angela anthropologie'd up her kirklandy things with a few cans of spray paint... 20 minutes and $7.00 later, on trend just like her shoes... the rest of the redesign tomorrow.
xo.. CBL by christina britt lewis photography by angela statzer warm brownies and a basket full of goodness... we have the best clients in the whole wide world. they are a fun family who have been too busy being awesome to bother with this front room. but it is the first room you see when you walk in the front door and as much as we love to redesign with what people already have, sometimes it's time for something new. they didn't think they had much to work with. we begged to differ. this china cabinet, their books, the art they have collected, and a few pieces of their pottery become the focal point of the new library slash reading room. there is beauty in what you already have. these are the things that tell your story and make a house a home. i have been saying those words for over 10 years, but some of you still don't believe me... we switched this piece... for THIS piece... all things they already have and love... oh and not framed pages from a vineyard vines catalog. they are really that stunning. ...maybe i should take up fencing. on guard! if we shopped for months we would not have found a pillow more perfect than the one they already have...
your home is a puzzle, your things are the pieces, we just put the puzzle together. we have been doing puzzles for more than 10 years, angela has been photographing what we do for just 10 months... people used to ask to see photos of our work and i would say something like... "because i work with what people have, my work does not photograph well. i am not a real designer who buys designer things that look like a magazine cover. our clients happy words tell our story more than any photo ever could. here is a list of references." it was the truth at the time. but now that i see what we do through angela's eyes, i know this was more true... "i'm a psycho perfectionist. nothing is ever good enough for me. i feel like a fraud and i worry that someday somebody is going to knock on my door, ask for my designer card, and tell me i have to get a real job." tim says i have impostor syndrome. but i'm all like "no, i don't just think i suck. i really suck." and then... i see a photo of a stack of old family bibles found tucked away on a top shelf. i see perfection in the imperfection of the finished puzzle. i see truth and beauty. you don't suck either.
peace be with you. xo... christina once in a while we get to redesign with stuff we previously picked...when people move. it can be challenging to make everything work in a new home. big sectionals are big pickles usually. but we were thrilled with how most things worked as if we got them specifically for their new home... unless your dining room is gigantic, lots of leaves in your table does not make your dining room feel grand. they make it feel squishy. candlelight totally does make a dining room feel grand. next time you have friends over for takeout on a friday night, fill the middle of the table with tea lights in your juice glasses. put a few on the windowsills too. turn the light off. use real plates. listen to the avett brothers station on pandora. everyone will look more beautiful and nobody will notice that it's time to clean. we love a big comfy sectional, but in this room the sectional meant that the tv had to go in a window. we don't love a tv in a window. so we found a fabulous new sofa and rug that worked well with everything else they already have... we could not do what we do without uncle bill, best of the best handyman in charlotte. voting is happening right now for best of the best interior design blog. show us some love, vote here. we love you right back. you are the best of the best people in charlotte or wherever. without YOU...i'm kinda talkin' to myself here. kelly and me on the sexy new sofa and gorgeous rug that only look expensive. angela made us do it. hehehe... we found that painting for their old house and totally happy danced when it perfectly covered the big tv hole over the fireplace as if we had shopped for weeks. we found the rhinoceros for them too. i love him deeply and madly... this is my favorite part. because we didn't buy a thing for this gallery wall. all their things. things that tell their story and make their house feel collected and meaningful. art is anything that moves your soul. you can find it in a gallery and you can find it in your attic. if it makes you happy, it's art... we are SO EXCITED to be heading to DALLAS next month to redesign a home. we have redesigned beach houses, but this is the first time we have flown anywhere to help somebody love coming home. i wish i could be all cool about it, but i'm so excited i can hardly stand it! angela will be photographing and instagraming behind the scenes as well as before and afters of this already beautiful but gonna be even better home. woohoo! xo.. CBL |