BORED WITH BEIGE?
Unlock my badass designer secrets to banish boring from your home and let your awesome self shine.
My first apartment boasted a hand-me-down beige plaid sofa from my grandparents, a structurally unstable bed purchased from IKEA, and was shared with my suuuuper messy ex-boyfriend. As an interior designer and neat-freak, let’s just say these were not my ideal living conditions.
I never thought I’d be jealous of two boys under the age of 10, but let me tell you, their mom hired me create a Design Kit for the coolest kids playroom that puts my first apartment to shame. This spare bedroom was a majorly under-utilized space that needed to become a playroom, video game hangout, homework space, and guest room all in one.
An awesome orange sleeper sectional is the bold and badass centerpiece of the room, and it’s where the boys and their friends will get comfy to play video games (and wrestle and build forts and stuff). We swapped the totally impractical double closet doors for a pair of curtain panels mounted on a tension rod which freed up the floor space to add a hip industrial desk big enough for both kids to share. And if they can’t share, there’s a laptop table for some extra work space.
The boys are also getting a major bedroom and bathroom makeover too, in their favorite team’s colors of orange and grey. I’m not a fan of literal theme rooms (no sports logos here!) but taking inspiration from the colors and styles of a favorite sports team, book, or movie is an awesome starting point when designing a space for kids.
Pssst…bored with beige? Unlock my 7 badass designer secrets to banish boring from your home and let your awesome self shine. 👉 Click here for the FREE goods.
Hands up if you’ve ever redecorated a room – and it ended up being waaaaay more that you had hoped to spend. You’re not alone! Here’s the truth about how to keep an interior design project in budget.
You may not like to hear it though…
Can’t view the embedded video above? Click here. Prefer to read? Transcript is below.
Hey everyone, Lesley Myrick here. Interior stylist and owner of Lesley Myrick Art + Design where we create some pretty awesome interiors with an offbeat edge.
I’m going to talk today about something not a lot of designers want to talk about, and that is:
how to keep a design project in budget.
I feel like “budget” is such an icky word. It sounds so restrictive, and negative, and it shouldn’t be that way when you’re talking about design. What you’re doing is making an investment. An investment in your home, an investment in your family, and an investment in the quality of your life.
And of course there are concerns with how much the investment is when it comes to design. People always ask how to keep a design project in budget, or, within the investment you hope to spend.
I have an answer for you, and I don’t know if you’re going to like it!
It’s easy to blame the designer when a project goes “over budget”. However, here’s a little real talk for you. Sticking within the amount you wanted to invest – your budget – is 100% up to you.
It is ultimately up to you, the client,
to decide what to purchase, to decide what to invest in. My job as a designer is to take care of everything on your wishlist, to show you what is out there that is gonna meet your needs, your wants, your desires, is gonna look amazing, and function for your family.
So here’s the thing about design projects.
I have never worked with anybody whose budget matched their wishlist. That’s human nature. Think of it like buying a car. You might want to invest in a Kia but everything you want is a Mercedes. It is totally in your power to decide if you want to scale down your wants and needs to the Kia, or if you want to up your budget to meet your Mercedes dreams.
I hate to say it but designers are not miracle workers. It is our job to design an amazing space that meets your wants and needs, and its your job as the client to decide what you want to invest in that.
So there you go.
There’s the truth about keeping a design project in budget – it is all in your court.
We’re going to support you the best way we can but you get to decide what you invest in your home.
Want more awesome design tips and inspiration to break out of a “blah” home and let your rad self shine? Get my FREE guide, “Bring Personality to a Boring Space” right here. 🤘
Guys. You know what’s challenging? Choosing the 10 best office chairs. Because it’s slim pickings out there. Office chairs tend to be really plain and uninspiring.
I like to seek out options with some sort of special detail, whether it be on-trend channel tufting, hardware details, wood accents, or an interesting arm shape.
I’ll admit, I often use a dining chair instead of a desk chair when designing home office spaces for my clients. A gorgeous dining chair is much, much easier to find! But sometimes you need the function of a swivel desk chair on castors, so I’ve rounded up 10 of my favorite office chairs.
1. Channel Ivory Velvet Office Chair | 2. Task Desk Chair | 3. Kalmar Desk Chair | 4. Mid-Century Swivel Office Chair | 5. Charcoal Linen Square Back Office Chair | 6. Tyler Desk Chair | 7. Slope Leather Swivel Office Chair | 8. Driftwood Ikat Upholstered Office Chair | 9. Elowen Swivel Office Chair | 10. Rue Cambon Office Chair
I have the Driftwood Ikat office chair in my own office (in fact, I’m sitting in it right now) and it’s held up quite well for the last couple of years. A desk chair is definitely something to splurge on, especially if you’re going to be parked in it for most – or all – of your workweek. Keep your butt happy with a comfortable, supportive chair, and keep your eyeballs happy with one of these options that totally doesn’t suck.
“Lesley’s Picks: 10 Best” are roundups of my favorite home furnishings. Check out the complete “10 Best” archives here, and find more furniture, home decor, and lighting I love on Pinterest.
Your home should make you feel totally amazing. Is something missing? I’ve got your back. Book your complimentary Design Discovery Call now and let’s make design magic together.
Should you reupholster – or not? A couple of years ago I chose to reupholster a loveseat for my master bedroom, thinking it would be a delightfully inexpensive way to transform a basic piece of furniture into something badass. Well, that loveseat definitely got a badass transformation – but it wasn’t inexpensive!
There’s a lot I’ve learned about design choices whether it’s been in design school, while working for other designers, while running my own interior design firm, and while designing my own home. Here’s what I’ve learned (and what I wish I’d known) about deciding whether or not to reupholster a piece of furniture:
Can’t view the embedded video above? Click here. Prefer to read? Transcript is below.
Hey everyone, Lesley Myrick here – interior stylist and owner of Lesley Myrick Art + Design where we create some pretty awesome interiors with an offbeat edge.
I want to talk to you today about reupholstering,
and whether or not it’s a good idea to reupholster an existing chair, sofa, loveseat, whatever it might be. So here’s the thing with reupholstering. People often think it’s gonna be less expensive than just getting a new piece.
Sometimes it is, but not always.
I encountered this in my own home working on a project. We bought this cool vintage loveseat and thought it would be a fairly affordable project to reupholster it. What blew me away is that by the time we paid for the loveseat, we bought fabric for it, bought foam, paid an upholsterer to do a great job, all these things started to add up and before I knew it my “inexpensive” loveseat project cost more than a new one probably would have.
So here’s my thoughts on whether or not to reupholster something:
If you have a piece of furniture that is quality-made, you love the form, it’s comfortable, it’s beautiful – it’s probably going to be worth the investment to you to have it reupholstered versus letting it go and trying to find something comparable brand-new.
If you have a piece of furniture that has a story to it, that has history, or there’s something about it you connect with whether it’s just how it looks or how it feels to you, I think that is a great opportunity to take something existing and to give it new life with new fabric.
However if you think reupholstery is just going to be the less expensive option, it isn’t always. On something simple like a dining chair where you’re reupholstering the seat, that’s an easy, affordable project and that’s one I recommend my clients do a lot if they already have great dining chairs and the fabric just needs a little refresh.
But when it comes to a larger piece of upholstery like a sofa, loveseat, or big chair,
don’t do it because you think it’s going to be affordable. Do it because you love the piece and you want to transform it and give it new life.
So there you go. A few quick thoughts about reupholstering – or not!
Want more awesome design tips and inspiration to break out of a “blah” home and let your rad self shine? Get my FREE guide, “Bring Personality to a Boring Space” right here. 🤘
This Waco family-friendly kitchen remodel is in full swing – we’re about four weeks in to an eight-week renovation. I love designing projects of this scope. A full-scale renovation means there will be an UHHHMAZING reveal at the end and I can’t wait to see it all come together.
Here’s the scoop: my clients weren’t happy with the layout of their kitchen thanks to a weird floating wall and a strangely shaped island, and there was also a “f**king shiplap wall” (their words, not mine – although I find it hilarious!) that they wanted removed. The kitchen was certainly pretty, but totally average. Greige walls, white cabinets, beige granite, beige floor tiles. You know the stuff. Here are a few before photos to give you an idea of just how borrrring this kitchen was:
It’s not shown in these photos, but there was a huge amount of space between the stove and the sink (located on the island), making working in the kitchen pretty impractical. This family has three young kids and they ain’t got time for a badly designed space.
The dining area also left a little to be desired:
So what’s the design plan for this kitchen?
Spoiler alert: it involves teal, funky tile, and some badass pendant lighting.
These are two of the moodboards I presented to the clients to communicate the overall vibe and color palette of the space. The layout and some of the decorative elements have changed a bit during the design and renovation process, but I don’t want to ruin the final reveal so I’ll keep the updates a mystery.
Just know that I might be sneaking a white llama planter in there somewhere, as seen on this pinboard where I’ve gathered fixture and finish ideas for this remodel.
If you’re curious, this is how the remodel is progressing:
Buy-bye, fake shiplap. That wall is already gone entirely (replaced by a sturdy support beam hidden in the attic) and things are moving quickly on this Waco family-friendly kitchen remodel. Big reveal coming in a few months!
Want your own kickass kitchen? Book a complimentary Design Discovery Call right here to get your design project started. 🤘