How to Create a Mood Board

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“The design process can get overwhelming - even the smaller projects. By creating a mood board, you are creating a reference you can return to again and again so you won’t lose sight of your intended design goals.”

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Hey, everyone. Just wanted to let you know that the latest issue of Marin Home Magazine is out. My article, "In the Mood", has some great tips on how to create an inspirational mood board. Hope you'll pop on over and read the FREE digital edition on issuu! Lots of great stuff in there, including an article on Frank Lloyd Wright's Civic Center design. (I can see the gold spire from my backyard - cool, huh?)

I know I haven't posted for awhile, but I'm still here. :)  For those of you who have wondered whether or not I'm still taking on clients - yes, I am! Please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'd love to talk to you about your upcoming color and design projects.

Starting the New Year off with Recovery

Hi, everyone.

It's been awhile. I've been on a roller coaster of health issues the past four months. I might go into the details later, but for now I just wanted to share a thank you that I posted on facebook to keep you all in the loop.

Exactly two weeks ago I was in the hospital getting a blood transfusion. One week ago, I was in surgery. Today I am happy to not be in the hospital, and am extremely thankful to everyone who has helped me on my road to recovery. This includes all of you who have sent your blessings and prayers. Those of you who donated blood (I wish I could thank my donors personally.) And the caring and skilled nurses and doctors who have taken such great care of me. Thank you. It's been a rough road, and I can't wait to come back and be present with all of you again. Hopefully soon! xo

2015 has started off in a strange way for me, as I'm sure it has for many others. Life can throw the biggest challenges at us at any given time. I hope that most of you are off to a beautiful new year. But for those of you that are having a rough start, remember to take care of yourself first. Sometimes we just need to take time and space to recover from whatever it is that's thrown our way. There is no predictable timeline for your recovery, so don't rush. Your body, mind and spirit will let you know when it's time to begin again.

Many wishes of peace, health and joy to everyone.

The Deets on My Apartment Therapy Room For Color Contest Entry

It's time for Apartment Therapy's Room for Color contest again. I entered last year and was one of the finalists in the "Dark" category. (I wish they didn't use that word, "dark". It sounds so scary! I much prefer "deep." Because a space with deep colored walls can have lots of light and therefore not technically be "dark". But I digress...)

Here's a collage of my living room entry from last year, "Kelly's Deep Teal with a Funky Vintage Vibe":

This year I almost didn't enter. Honestly, my "Mystical Atelier" wasn't done done. There are a lot of things that are kind of wacky and unfinished, but I figured what the hell. It was a good kick in the pants to spend a little time cleaning up and styling and taking some decent photos of a space that is how it is. It's a real living space, not a perfect one. At that is a good thing to share.

Before

This room wasn't much to start with. It's a 1950s box with zero detail. The glass in the window is broken, there is a hole in the floor where an outlet used to be, the door doesn't close properly, and it has a silly central vacuuming plug that we have yet to remove from the wall. (I'm sure you can spot it if you look carefully!) The furniture is mostly hodge-podgey leftovers - pieces that didn't fit in the rest of the house - and the area rug (from Overstock) was a quick fix. We needed something for the pup to lie down on so he didn't bang up his bony little elbows. Oh - and it desperately needs window treatments. But, like I said, it is what it is. And hopefully there is some inspiration in that.

After (or rather, "in-progress")

As I wrote in my entry, I was "looking to create a masculine, intellectual, artistic space for reading and playing music. Charcoal gray on the walls was the right color to help lay that character foundation. To keep the space from getting too moody, however, I came back in and painted the bookshelves in a bright red."

The walls are painted in Sherwin Williams Sealskin, a deliciously warm and deep charcoal gray. The bookshelves got leftover front door paint in Sherwin Williams Real Red. (You can see the same color on the front door in the living room pics.)

And just for fun, here's a before of the bookshelves, which we purchased from an estate sale just across the street. Keepin' it in the hood.

As most of you know, I love vintage. The chair was a find at an antique store a number of years ago. It looks pretty, but being a real Victorian piece, it desperately needs to be re-stuffed. Someday.

The mirror is also vintage from an estate sale. I stole it from the living room to fill up the wall space for the photos. But it looks so good there, I'm going to leave it. 

The armoire - which is HUGE - was made by my dad to house our gargantuan TV back in the day before flat screens. This is literally the only room in the house where it fits. It holds a lot of junk, which is good. And not so good.  

I had fun with this gallery wall. My husband has a strange collection of "anthropological" things, and one day I curated this small gallery for him. Yes, that is an actual coat of arms from his family's lineage. The desk below the display was my grandmother's.

I found the green lamp - which I love! - at a garage sale for $3. And the mid-mod end table? Free on the side of the road.

The fern was another item I stole from a different room. But, again, it looks too good in here to move back. I'll just have to buy another one.

The day bed was a recent purchase from Cost Plus World Market. It's not super fancy, and I hope to replace it with some cool vintage velvet find at some point, but for now it does its job well. And I love how the cream color brings lightness to the space. Oh- and the pillows and throws? Some are from Ross Dress for Less (I am not ashamed!) and some are vintage. 

So, now you know all the dirty little secrets behind this room. Hopefully it endears you so much that you feel an overwhelming urge to head over to Apartment Therapy right this second and give it your vote! Voting ends October 3rd. I'd be much appreciative if you can share the love. I promise to send it right back atcha. 

Small Bath Remodel: Before and After

Last week I popped over to a client's home to take photos of her recently completed bath remodel. Turned out pretty cute, right?

We had a VERY small space to work with, which is pretty common for older homes in San Francisco. We ended up keeping the existing toilet and tub to keep costs down, and it worked just fine. Not all bathroom remodels need to begin with a complete gutting.

Finding a vanity to fit in the small space was tough. The original pedestal sink looked cute, but had no storage. And with this being the only bath for two young kids to share it needed some sort of storage. Fortunately, I found this great piece, only 21" wide, with a bit of a rustic style, and sink included, by Fairmont Designs.

We kept the tile design pretty simple, using a basic white subway field tile in the shower surround, and accenting with some gorgeous marble mosaics by AKDO purchased through Ceramic Tile Design in San Rafael.

The client wanted to add a niche - a great storage option when you have none! - so we took the opportunity to highlight it with more decorative tile. The same tile, in fact, that was used on the floor. Isn't it gorgeous?

The ironic thing is, as soon as the bath remodel was completed my client bought a new house. So, the lucky new owners of this property will get to enjoy the redesigned bath more than my client ever did. Not a loss, though, as we all know that updated kitchens and baths help sell real estate properties and have a high return on investment. 

If you need help with your kitchen of bath design, give me a call or send me an email to discuss your project. Even the smallest remodels can benefit with an hour or two of design guidance. 

Before

After

Pratt & Lambert Style & Design Guild

I've got some fun news this Friday. Pratt & Lambert Paints has officially launched their re-vamped Style & Design Guild and I'm honored to be one of the members!

The Style and Design Guild is "a think-tank for the design industry composed of an exclusive team of interior designers, architects, stylists, writers and fashion-forward thinkers who have a shared passion for visual intrigue and for pushing the limits of design."

The other members are: Michael Bagley, Joseph Boehm, Luis Caicedo, Stacy Garcia, Maria Killam, Laura Kirar, Rae McConville, Kate Smith, Asler Valero, Kendall Wilkinson and Eldon Wong. I'm in very good color company!

So head on over when you get a chance. You can check out my favorite Pratt & Lambert colors and my top five design tips, including this one:

““Eliminate the need for perfection. It is the enemy of creativity. When we strive for perfection in design we can sometimes overlook the most beautiful solutions. It’s the imperfections of a space that make it feel most like home.””

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Everyday Home Magazine: Paint Color Trends for 2014

Have you picked up your copy of Everyday Home? It's a new publication that just launched with its Spring 2014 issue. (Candice Olson fans will be thrilled because she's featured on about 25 pages!) And I'm thrilled because I got a little real estate in the article "Paint Color Trends for 2014." Big thanks to my design blogger friend Kristie Barnett, otherwise known as The Decorologist, for reaching out to me to for my color insight. If you haven't checked out Kristie's blog, you really need to. She does a lot of great work in Nashville, TN and specializes in staging, an art all in itself!

"I think, in general, we'll be seeing more saturated hues as well as deeper hues. Some of my clients have been asking me 'Can we go brighter? Can we go darker?' It's been catching me off guard, but I'm thrilled! After the past few years of playing it safe, there seems to be a movement towards bigger color. Color that really says something." - Kelly Berg, Story & Space 

You might recognize this bedroom. This photo has had some major mileage! I'm happy to see it published again, although every time I look at it I realize how much I need to get working on my current bedroom, which looks absolutely nothing like this right now.

Anyway, Kristie wrote a great article on paint color trends for the year, sharing her own insight along with mine and David Bromstad's. (I love being in great color company!) Now, if you've been following me for awhile, you know that my general perspective on color trends is that we really shouldn't worry about them when designing our homes. However, that's not to say that we shouldn't pay attention to them and that we shouldn't have a little fun with the "new" colors that we see each season, year and decade. It's important for me, working in color and design, that I understand color trends and am open to using "trendy" colors when appropriate.  And, to a certain degree, it's impossible NOT to use trendy colors in design. When we shop at home decor stores we are essentially shopping all trends, colors included. 

With that said, I do try to take a more philosophical approach to color trends, rather than focus on colors that are "all the rage" or "must haves". I don't believe that a color should be used in the home just because its trendy. There are other more important reasons to bring new color(s) into your spaces. But using color trend articles and insight like this is helpful for several reasons. 

First, we get to learn about designers' perspectives on the colors their clients are gravitating towards. Sometimes these colors will be very similar, pointing to a bigger movement culturally, as different colors have different symbolic meanings. A movement towards ravishing reds carries a very different meaning than a movement towards pale beige. 

Second, we also get exposure to differing color perspectives. While we may see huge similarities with some color trends, simultaneously we can also see smaller micro-trends that can vary tremendously both regionally and globally.What's popular in one region or country, might be quite a bit different from what's happening in another region or country, depending on the cultural, social and political influences at that time.

And, last... the super fun part of all this color trend talk? 

We get exposure to new ways of using the same old colors. Because really, no individual color is ever "new". There's no color that's "never been used before." No color that's "never been seen before." (Ok, maybe there is if we start to get super scientific...like the color of microwaves or gamma rays or something else beyond the visible spectrum, but we'll save that for another conversation. And I won't be leading it, so I'm taking volunteers. Anyone?) 

Color is all the same as it ever was. But maybe it's new to us, in the moment. And sometimes we need reminders to have fun with color again. Color trends can do that. And talking about color - keeping it at the forefront of our day-today conversations - is beyond important. It's what keeps color alive. 

If you need a color consult, I'm here to help.  Send me an email at kelly@storyandspace.com or give me a call at 650.867.3896. And I promise not to talk about gamma rays.