Shade Under a Walnut Tree

Happy Wednesday!  Because it's so hot out, and because I enjoy treating myself and this little human inside me....baby J, I've stocked up on popsicles, lemonade, and, ice.  I picked some fresh mint from Will's mom's house this morning to put in the lemonade for the KY3 tv entertaining segment I had today.  It smelled so good.

source

Summertime is my favorite.  It is about being a kid at heart and catching fireflies, drippy popsicles, lemonade stands, inch by inch garden growing, portable radios in a field, golden night skies,  tree-climbing, patio umbrellas, zinnias, roller skating in the driveway, backyard picnics, tee-pee building, rock collecting, creek floats, blowing electric fans, charades, outdoor parties, mean croquet matches, country drives, badmitton.

Our yard has a towering walnut tree that shades our whole back yard.  The stock tank is going to be filled today and I plan on dunking in it for a bit this evening with my Sylvie after a big day at Boca Mocha cafe.  The cafe opens day after tomorrow and we're in the midst of crazy faze of everything going wrong that could possibly go wrong.  It will all get ironed out though.

I'm giddy for the owners.

Don't forget the soiree tomorrow night! It's getting all fluffed at the store today and tomorrow.  Smiles and Summertime Shade to you today!

xo
sharon

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!  Next week has us all a buzz with excitement for lots of fun reasons.

  #Boca Mocha Opening {just ordered some yummy, shiny, black patton leather to go on some rustic, rattan chairs for the organic meets glam coffee/restaurant shop. 

Summer Soiree at my shop.  

KY3 tv segment...I think Wednesday? 

About the shin-dig invite up above:  Please come, no matter who and how old you are!  Elsie will be in the house along with my other fave artists, dainties, and fluffs!!

Get your summer wedding AND summer outdoor entertaining shoes on and come on in!!

xo

sharon

Bocha Mocha Progress

Remember the Pizza Hut-looking cubby booths + chairs I showed you at Boca Mocha?  The whole space was covered in dreadfully awful booths and cheap chairs.

At first I wanted to obliterate most all of the booths.  They were BAD.  I can't think of a person that would want to sit on those grimy, stick-to-your-thigh-skin booths in the summer {winter, spring, fall for that little matter}.  Not to mention the snag-cloth {polyester backing}. There was just not one ounce of ambiance to be had with all those booths and awful chairs.

Design is tricky though.  You have budgets and you also owe it to the earth to at least think about how to not make it suffer heaps and heaps more with piles of grody, old, used commercial furniture. So, my first question in designing were and continue to be:  How do we save costs, earth mama, and not sacrifice style?


Using what we had, I decided to cut the short backs off of the booth benches and separate them so that the cubbies were not facing each other. I had all the seats reupholstered in a warm grey, had some high-back tufted boards assembled, and made it all go flat against the wall.  Placing the tufted backs out, gave the room a softer, more elegant feel.  I kinda like it.  What do you think?

This image above is before installation.  The tufted backs are actually taller now that they are installed.

                                         Here's a close up of what the booths looked like before.

I'll be back with more.  There's been a lot of bustle going on at the shop, and with projects.  I hope you'll stop in next week for a summer soiree at the shop.  I'll post the invite soon.

Have a lovely, sunshine day.

xoxo
sharon

{Press LOVE} Springfield, MO Weddings

Getting some nice press on "what I do"...

As a Springfield, MO girl...It's always nice to see my work gracing the pages of magazines and sites that I absolutely adore.  Thanks so much to the following:

The Knot Missouri/Kansas Weddings Magazine...where we made one of five on their "Hot Sheet List", highlighting our new studio , design work, and "unique, outside-of-the-box" ideas.

Also, over on Style Me Pretty yesterday, Abby featured a wedding that she said "will be a feeding frenzy for ideas".  Elsie and Jeremy's Beautiful Mess Wedding that Kendra Skinner and I collaborated on for reception site design.  It is one of my fav weddings ever.

source

We are also so grateful to be featured in the local Metropolitan Bride's beautiful summer issue!  It was a 7 & 1/2 full pages that touched on three different projects of ours:
Our new boutique design studio {Pickwick House}
My REAL SIMPLE weddings feature for 2011
And a summer tablescape I designed.

source

NOTE: 

 Mark your calendars for a Summertime Soiree at Pickwick House on June 30th 

CELEBRATING: 

Our New Design Studio

All Things Wedding-ISH

Recent National Press

Stay Tuned for an Invite!  We will have summertime refreshments, music, fresh ideas & "Taylor-Made" decor tips for entertaining!

Can't wait to celebrate with all of you!

xoxo

sharon

Boca Mocha Rendering #1+ FOUND Things

Hi All!  I took a little leave of absence from blogville.  Sorry.  Last week was unusually crazy.  Here's a long post.  If this drains you, just realize you can be fueled back up with Boca Mocha from Haiti, here in a few days or two.  

Follow me on twitter, ST_Designs, you'll see that I was busy working on four different photo shoots with @Nathaliebearden {photog/friend who is now moving to Houston, Texas shortly}last week.

Nathalie and I have worked together and clicked so well since last summer. I'm pretty sad that our future jaunts are being cut short, just as we were  forming a good friendship and biz-lady-mom-bonding.  So, to say the least, these have been #bittersweet photo-shoots.  Interiors and Party-Scapes.  One more to go that is going to be so sweet and all Nathalie inspired.  Houston is lucky.

Boca Mocha Project Update:  Here's a rough draft rendering that my wonderful intern,  Danielle, and I have been working on.  Still not sure whether to paint the awkward cabinetry above the countertops.  Any thoughts?  We're two weeks out from deadline, and still have not been awe-struck with lighting/uber cool chandeliers out there.  I'm designing something to be custom made out of coffee bean burlap sacs.  We'll see how goes...

Boca Mocha

In other news, the fam and I went up to St. Louis to see my Louis compete in the State Cup soccer games. We saw the second of his team's game-winning streak, had a mini-mini-vacay, made some work phone calls, kissed Louis good-bye + good-luck to more games, drove home for a "good-to-go" ultra sound, and just now got word that his team won quarter finals!  SO, now I'm heading back up to St. Louis tonight, completely empty-pocketed after hotels, gas, and food, to see the semi-finals game tomorrow. I don't want to miss these next few games. 

I left St. Louis with an awe-inspired appreciation of FOUND style, architectural wander, industrial-wander genius ideas. The City Museum.   The City Museum was incredible.  It's one of the top ten places for family fun in the world.  All genius envisioned by one guy.  Bob Cassilly.  With all it's gears and fancied up junk, I'm in high gear for Boca Mocha project.

Industrial Rack on Wheels {to sell coffee and coffee stuff} Found for $50

FOUND these Hefty-Backed Horses for $10 each




I'm thinking white lacquer on the wood, white vinyl seating, nickel finished tacks all along the edging, and they'll look like million dollar chairs.  Contemplating leaving the back side that's black leather and stenciling on a bold letter to spell out B.O.C.A....

FOUND:  for $12 bucks

We'll use this for either wall art or a fun/funked out light fixture.  The tag said this was yard art.  I think it more like upscale wheelin' and dealin' art work.  Gold spray paint will glam it.

Remember these?

Pizza Hut Ponies

My Little Pony

One of the Boca Mocha owners, Rachel, decided she'd hand-paint chevron stripes on some canvas after we couldn't find an inexpensive fabric that we liked.  A girl after my own heart.  Mom + DIY-er with good tastey ideas.  She has 79 more of these pony seats to go...using an additional weather resistant urethane to protect them from food and coffee spills.  Each one will be different patterned too.  Any suggestions on a graphic stencil that might make it go quicker?  Oh, and luckily, we sourced the best painter that will sand, paint, and re-seat each chair for only $5 a pop!  

This project is turning into mostly all up-cycles, and we didn't even intend for it to be fully so, it was just found that any new furniture we wanted to order, would take six to eight weeks for shipping and delivery.  And the clock was ticking under six weeks when I took this boca.‘km 

I just sent off these double sided monstrosities to be upholstered by one of the three upholsterers we have on the project. 

In the meantime, to fluff up some historic proportions of junk, I fell in love with this room's curtains.  I'd love to do a sweeping 18ft drape at the back of the store.  Just for some good ol' Scarlett O'Hara drama.  You know, I love that Scarlett was a grassroots DIY girl herself.  

anngetty.com/

A little Boho

Lastly, for today, but not least, I sourced a hanging chair {sorta like this one} from a friend who found one for the shop in KC.  Rachel, the shop owner showed me this one from Anthro, and I thought it perfect to hang from the lofty knook.

St

Fist Pump

I've notice that designers are enamored with the Pedro Friedeberg Chair.  Who has one?  Jonathan Adler, Kelly Wearstler, and now, me.  Except mine aren't solid-gold-chic. They are the "Wanna-be-Pedro's" {knock-offs} to be used in Boca Mocha. When I'm done with mine, these chairs will be joining all the cool people.   

{Ever seen the cool people dance with their hands pushing up and down?  That's what these chairs look like...Cool dancers, fist pumpers, and really impressive, fabulous hand-shakers.}

Here's one of Jonathan Adler's client's homes with a pair.  

(source}

Kelly Wearstler in her foyer.  Posing in her usual rad way with her rad skateboarding boys.

{source}

More golden goodness in Kelly Wearstler's home office, featured in her newer book, HUE {which I sell at the store.

In need of a good manicure and hand massage.

I'll be priming it and then using a high gloss brush-on gold from Benjamin Moore.

So excited to share these DIY's and a few more that I've got going to the shop.

Hope you're staying cool, with this debilitating heat were having here.  If I had it my way, I'd be near some cold water today....Splashing away to a wildly wet Wednesday.   

xo

sharon

BHLDN Decor + More

BHLDN decor has hit the market and who wouldn't love it??  It's anthro's sister for all things wedding and soiree's. Here are some fun faves to get you started, but to see more, go here.  Just the sweetest stuff for weddings, parties, and life's sweet cele-BRA-tory occasions + fashion.

It's a wedding weekend for me.  A sweet, vintage minded girl named Jillian is getting hitched at Wommack Mill in Fair Grove and Kendra, Danielle, and I are coordinating and setting up.

The setting is too precious... Follow me there as a I tweet.  {ST_Designs}

 Happy Weekend!

xo

sharon

BHLDN decor has hit the market and I'm loving it!  Here are some fun faves to get you started, but to see more, go here.  Just the sweetest stuff for weddings, parties, and life's sweet cele-BRA-tory occasions.  And some fashion.

Boca Baby

Need a smile to brighten your day? Go here.  Hope you enjoy!!

In other bright news: I had my first "Tony Braxton"{non-real contractions that cause drama reactions} moment today {with little guy} and Sylvie also got a new cousin on her Papa's side of the fam today.  Welcome to the World, Sophie Ellen Lampe!  Congrats, Callie and Tom!!

Speaking of kids, the Boca Mocha cafe will have a sweet little loft upstairs devoted fully to:
kids, moms, dads, creative playspace, a cozy cafe, a quiet hideaway, an art oasis, and a neighborhood meeting spot.

source

Here are some inspiration pics.

source

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday.  I hope to share some renderings tomorrow.

xo
sharon

Boca Mocha

The owners papered and taped up the windows today at 320 Park Central West.  They painted a cute little temporary logo on the window too.  The two couples' excitement is so evident and really cute. The girls are here, while the boys are on a coffee buying trip in South America. Getting ready for the latest coffee shop/cafe to open.  Boca Mocha.  

I've been drawing up inspiration boards, and renderings with my assistant, Danielle. It's so fun.  But it's also work.  We're crunching numbers, re-drawing bids, making changes and trying to stay under budget. All in an effort to say "Buh-Bye" to a 1980's Pizza Hut-looking-space.

What do you think of the before picture?  It's a lovely old building, huh? {The old Randy Bacon Studio}.   I'm hard-pressed on this project because there are an awful lot of pressed wood chairs, laminate top tables, cheap cherry wood carpentry, sage green walls, rust-colored accents, and hunter green duct-work.  

Lighting a match to the wood, would be my first instinct, but I think we can achieve a really rich look for less with a little paint.

the one up top is "right white"

"gravel" is the bottom right

For starters, Restoration Hardware's "right white" for the walls, and "gravel" paint for the wood.  It took some time to convince the landlord that I know what I'm doing.

This is a big generalization, but do a lot of men have a hard time painting wood? What is up with that?  Even if it's cheap.  I love wood, don't get me wrong, but it's all wrong, here.

{source}

Here's what I want to go for:  A rich-warm-grey wood cabinetry with white walls.  I want to weave in concrete, woven rattans, reclaimed wood table-tops, industrial metals, lacquered chairs, and soft feathery cushions.

More to come on this later this week.  I hope you're having a great week and that your past weekend was wonderful!!

xo
sharon