Happy + Thankful

Below {at bottom} is the first and only professional photo I've shared of a kitchen I designed and personally oversaw with Pickwick House {my business} as the established renovation company.  I saw this project thru a complete whole home renovation that took the better part of a year.  For those of you who know and follow my work, you know that this was also 'my baby' along with the 'babies' {kids}.

I could recount in my sleep every decision, 3 hour meeting, measurement, source, appliance selection, vendor, color, finish, style, glider weight, lighting source, redo, complication, regret I had {and still had up until as of last week} over the work put into this as well as the rest of the house.  I have a design binder for the number of countless options and sketches I drew up for what was to be our family's 'forever' home.  It was a house I lived in with my five children for close to five months until as of recent.  

The 'forever' part didn't happen there, but I am counting my blessings here on the blog anyway.   Especially my children and that I didn't sell our long time Rountree home.   That is a truly happy thing.

I can tell you I am now doing really well...and YET, God is not done with me yet.   

I'm so excited for where my work will take me next and am happy to report that the following ad is taking on!  Thank you, Thank you!

I will leave you with what mom instilled in us.  She lived and breathed most all of these values {and plenty more} in her tightly run household of nine kids {my siblings who are a continual source of creative and entrepreneurial inspiration}.  I currently have this phrase written on our home's wall and hope that my kids will see these words as a call to daily action.  Everything except the 'LOUD part'.    Yelling is for house fires, in my opinion.

{Disclaimer for the rights to this image below:  Photos I share of my design work are copyrighted to Sharon Taylor Designs/Pickwick House. LLC.  The photography is by Heather Cherie Photography a and ownership was granted for printing and advertising purposes in spring of 2013}

I still have a special announcement to come for small business Saturday and Pickwick House.  Check in soon.

Happy Thanksgiving Prepping and Nesting in your kitchens!

xx

sharon

SILVER GOBLETS w/Paper Towels

It's been a while.  How are ya'll?

*We've been moving a carload and a truckload at a time.  Across 'the pond' {one neighborhood away}.
*I've worked 'the business' throughout the time we were moving so it got pretty hairy and STILL is.
*Settled into my very first home office and have to say, it's very nice to have it so easily accessible with young children.   Yes, we are still keeping Pickwick House, and have been planning some new and exciting things to happen there.
*John-John broke his collarbone the second night we stayed in the new house.  He fell off of our new, {taller than most} beds:(
*Our samsung front loader {which is less than two years old} broke again for the umpteenth time.       {Don't ever buy a samsung.}
*We still have no dish towels.
*Will has managed to painstakingly polish all the silver goblets in our cabinets but we still have no drinking glasses.
*Our old house is basically empty.  I have been mourning it actually.  It's now time to devote some attention to that bittersweet home before flipping it.
*We hosted a party for Syl's 5th birthday less than five days after moving in.
*We co-hosted a private concert with guest performance by Austin based bluegrass acoustic sensation, 'MILKDRIVE' at Pickwick House.  It was one of the funnest nights that I can remember.
*Sylvia, Eleanor and I visited a dear friend in KC over the weekend.  She gave us the best ever VIP junkin' tour.  And we also took in some art at The Nelson .  We lived stress free for over 48 hours, went swimming, painted fingernails, shopped and ate good food.  {More girl trips are in tall order.}
*We've received a new line of hand blocked wallpapers at Pickwick House.
*Went on a rug buying trip and brought back a load of gorgeous antique tribal rugs for home and clients.
*We also snuck a family photo session in with the amazing Heather Cherie Photography.
*Hired a wonderful new assistant, and have two new interns slated to start Mid-May.
*It snowed all day long here on May 3rd!  First time since 1907.
*Cooked my first meal in the new kitchen.  Pork Roast.
*Just now checked our trash out on the curb, and rescued several items.  Lost and Found items are the best. Especially when it's tanning cream after a long, cold winter.  haha.

                                                            photo by Heather Cherie Photography
The kids love the new house.  We now just need to make it a home.

Thanks for checking in.  Oh, and the winner of the GREEN giveaway is JANE TROUP!

Be sure and stay tuned for our next giveaway.

xx
sharon

Pickwick House is a full service design/build company in the heart of the Midwest!  {Springfield, Missouri's Rountree Neighborhood}.  We handle all aspects of residential renovations from small to large projects and are available for full service and consultation design, and/or stylizing from Springfield and beyond.  Call or email us today.  We may be on location, but we'll get back to you in no time.

 417-459-8988 *sharontaylordesigns@yahoo.com

KY3 TV Holiday Segment + Centerpiece DIY

The holidays are here upon us! I'm feeling WAY behind this year, but as I've gotten older and added a a few more children, activities, and blissful chaos, I've come to realize it's really just about 'being in the moment'.  Making memories.  That's what the holidays are about, right?  This year, inspiration for my table scape came from that motto.  'Slow Down'.  'Stick close to home'.  Create a warm and inviting wonderland that's simple, yet memorable.

My talented friend Heather from Heather Cherie Photography came by Pickwick House to photograph our latest holiday table scape we created for a KY3 segment.  Hop on over to her blog to see the post and you can see the KY3 segment here.

Clementines are a favorite at our house.  Not only are they such a juicy, easy snack for little hands to grab and peel, they have no seeds. And the skins smell so good as you are peeling the vitamin C goodness.  They also offer a juicy jolt of color for the holidays.  [We buy them by the case around our house.]

DIY Clementine Arrangement:

Materials:
Small wooden box.  {I used one I had on hand from a past wedding}
Nine fresh clementines {We call them cuties.  I like to look for the deeper orange colored ones.  They are my favorite.}
Small sprigs of evergreen {We used pine and rosemary sprigs from the yard}

How To:
Turn the box upside down
Lay the grid of clementines {I put three on each row}
Lay the sprigs of pine and rosemary in between each clementine

That's it!  You're done.  I placed ours over a bed of fresh greens that my friend brought to me.  So easy, inexpensive, useable, and beautiful!!

Add caption

Hope you are enjoying this time of year!   Let us know if you need me and my team to help warm up your home or throw an unforgettable party holiday party this year and into 2013!

xx

sharon

One Room Challenge: Week 5

And week five of the #1RoomChallenge is here.  This week's post was supposed to be about the drapes.  The drapes are done.   But the valances have gone back to the drawing board for a final edit.  So needless to say I won't have any pictures to show you of final drape installations for this week's post.  But, wait, don't stop reading.  The tail end of the post is better than any project I could ever have done or will do.  So, read on!

Okay, so the valances I designed were pretty experiential and not completely thought out, but I know they will be well worth it right?  They are exactly what I wanted for my client, and heck, for any room I would design...indoor or out.

The picture above is the template my mural painter drew up for the wrap around fretwork she painted on the salmon colored secretary.  You can see the secretary in the previous post here.  Anyway, I decided to use the bottom part of this same template for the scalloped valance design. 

And below is my inspiration for the valance design.  Take note of the darling scallops across the top of this outdoor room.

via pinterest

I have to admit that I did a "No, no thing".  I had the valance design drawn up and given to the seamstress before we found out the exact, EXACT dimensions of the cornice boards.  Reason being, I got a little ahead of myself with this 6 week time crunch looming over me.  Another testament to the phrase "good things can't be rushed".

Fact is, I had no idea that the seamstress would work as fast as she did at sewing them up.  She had them all completely sewn up before the cornice board dimensions were set in place.  So, naturally, the valance strips were about 1 inch too short on each side..with no hope for changing the sizing of the cornice board dimensions...due to the hardware bracket depths.


When does it ever happen that the seamstress works too fast?!  This seamstress doesn't work with a workroom, obviously.  Although she could, because she's that good!  Back to my original point...workrooms are extremely, extremely slow. For example, workrooms around here are backed up at least 8-12 weeks!  I'd be curious to hear what they are like for anyone else out there?  Other designers, what are you used to working with?

As you can see, I'm going to be real hard pressed to have the whole room done by next week.   The pillows have not arrived from the manufacturer.  And when I call the manufacturer every other week, they tell me that they are waiting for them to arrive off the ship {from Sweden} any day now.  Which will probably be another ten years from now.  The pillows are the clinchers and sinchers to this room.

And, yes, the whole other half of the room is still needing some major fluffage.  Still no bed screen yet.  The lamps need cool shades.  Monogramming needs to be done on pillow shams....blah, blah, blah!  I know I'm boring you with all the details.  This is not at all unlike most projects I do, though.   Just want you to know that patient attitudes are definitely needed with projects and works of art that are unique and not just purchased from the big box stores.

Since the valances are white, I designed them to be detachable and washable with velcro backings.    

Okay, so here above is a pic of my cobbled together approach...the Benjamin Moore "gentle breeze" wall color, the waverly drapes, the Sharon Taylor Designs valance {at top}  Do you see it up there?  Like or not like?  Swatch color of the secretary, and that tapestry is a new find I got at a recent fancy estate sale.  It's from France and I think it'll match the "fresh-take secretary" pretty well.   My inspiration for this room comes from the central and middle eastern styles and also from textile designer John Robshaw, with whom I have a slight-mad crush on.  

Speaking of the name John, here's another John that is my main crush for life. He mellows my storms and approves all my paint choices. He comes to work with me everyday and smiles at everyone and accepts that he sometimes has to sleep in his car seat in the back bathroom {my explanation will take too long}.   I don't know how much longer he will want to keep hanging with crazy ol' me, so I try to savor every moment he's in my arms... because I know that time will fly, he'll become papa's boy soon, go to school, and then he'll be a teenager before I snap my fingers.

heathercheriphotography.com

Be sure to check the others posts out here....

My Crafty Home Life

Living Savvy

Dutch. British. Love. 

(A Lifestyle Thing)

House Four

Insideways

Taylor Morgan Design

Nana Moon Shop

Trapped in North Jersey

The Pink Pagoda

Rue de Emily

Kim Macumber Interiors

Nicole Scott Designs

Saved by Suzy

Thanks!

xx

sharon