A Cocktail Room with a Coastal Twist

Relax, socialize, and sip your cocktail in a coastal inspired space. Having a designated cocktail room in your home is a fun and creative way to route guest into other areas, keeping the party flowing while entertaining. Check out details of this lovely cocktail room for some inspiration!

Large, over-sized, chairs surround a round ottoman, giving this cocktail room a cozy feel for a sit and sip with friends. The fun pattern on the cushions give this space a festive design, perfect for a party.

The arched windows are dressed with custom made plantation shutters and towering drapes that elongate the walls of the space.

This weathered wood entertainment center makes for a great bar space for guest to mix or pour their drinks. Above the bar hangs a grand mirror, which gives the overall space a larger feel. 

Tall shelving borders both sides of the bar area holding cocktail ingredients and details with a coastal touch.

My favorite part of the space is this shabby chic wall art. This piece is so unique and eye-catching. Plus, it actually holds bottles of wine! Not only does this piece add character to the space but it also incorporates the room’s theme taking this design element to the next level.

This coastal inspired cocktail room leaves no details behind, creating a beautiful space to enjoy with friends. 

Fabric Makeover

Oh the things fabric can do!

So, I am working on redecorating different areas in my home, and this lounge chair is one that needed some love. It is an old chair and something our dogs wrestle, sleep and jump on all the time (as you can tell in the before picture). I decided that if I was going to keep it, it needed to be reupholstered.

With the relaxed, coastal style of our home, I knew when picking out fabric I wanted to do something with a soft blue hue but also with a fun pattern. Aside from the look of the fabric, I needed to have a fabric that could take a beating, (remember, the dogs love this chair).

I knew the best choice for this chair would be a fabric by Sunbrella. If you are not familiar with this type of fabric, you should be. This type of fabric is my absolute favorite. Almost every piece of furniture that has fabric on it at my house has Sunbrella fabric. This fabric is designed to be soft and beautiful yet it can handle just about everything. It gives me peace of mind, because I don’t have to worry about a nice piece of furniture being ruined by a spill, the color fading, or my dogs playing on it.  

After choosing the fabric, I ordered it specifically to use on my lounge chair. I love the way it turned out. It is neat how you can get such a dramatic change by simply changing the fabric. Check out the before and after pictures below.

Before

After

Creating a kitchen that is both appealing and functional: Part 2

Like I mentioned before, the kitchen is my husband and my favorite spot in the house, because of all the meals we enjoy cooking together. This week I am going to give you more details on how to create an appealing yet functional kitchen, that all your friends and family are sure to swoon over.

Adding Small Details

Take a look at our kitchen plate rack cabinet. I love this sweet detail in our kitchen because it is eye catching and functional. The plates we have are a coastal style (of course!) with a light blue color which is the same as our walls. Using accent pieces, the same color of the wall brings color to a room without going overboard. Our plate rack holds 12 plates making it a useful storage area as well.

Another small detail that makes a big impact in our kitchen is these hanging accent lights. We actually got them from a local coffee store that was moving locations. I love the colors because they go great with our two-toned cabinetry.

Two colors are better than one

Here is a picture that shows off our two-toned cabinetry. This is an element I think makes our kitchen stand out. It sets the island apart from the rest of the kitchen. The dark and light mixture gives the kitchen a traditional yet unique look, creating a space with a interesting design.

I hope you all enjoyed my kitchen! 

Creating a kitchen that is both appealing and functional: Part 1

There is no doubt that designing a kitchen can be challenging. It involves a lot of measuring (and re-measuring), design changes, and decision making. The goal is to create a space that is both eye appealing and functional.

My husband and I love to cook together. The kitchen is our favorite spot in our home. We both love the style of our kitchen and for us, it is very functional. Today, I will begin sharing my kitchen with you, starting with the focal point. 

We spend a lot of time creating delicious meals in our kitchen together. But, when you have two people cooking at the same time, it is important that your kitchen is functional. When we have multiple pots and pans out, counter space is crucial. Our kitchen has a ton of counter space. This is especially important during the holidays and when entertaining.

Creating a Focal Point

Our kitchen island is the focal point in our kitchen. It is also one of the most used spots in the space. The island holds our cook top with a vent hood above it. There is also a lot of counter space, which makes it easy to prepare meals on.

We enjoy entertaining, the counter stools at our island make a great spot for our family and friends to sit and hang out while we prepare dinner. I love the nail head details on the stools.

Next week, I will be breaking down more details in my kitchen. 

It’s the little things

When designing a space, sometimes the biggest decisions are also the most difficult like which sofa would look best for the space, what countertops to choose, or what overall style you want to achieve. Although these are important decisions, have you ever noticed how the smallest details make the biggest statements in a room? Today, we are focusing on the little things, the pieces that tie a space together.

Deciding where you need it

I love little details that make a space more interesting. When you are trying to decide where you need something, simply take a walk around the room and look for empty spaces. Perhaps on top of a table, on a wall or mantle. Then brainstorm ideas of what you think would look best there.

How to choose the right details

It is always exciting picking out something for a space. When I am shopping for these pieces, I look for objects that have a similar color scheme, different textures, patterns, and shapes that work together.

If you have an accent color for the space you are decorating, choose details with your accent color. This helps bring out the accent color in a space and tie the room together.  

Before shopping, measure out these spaces so you have a good idea of what will fit where.

Placing them

This is the fun part. Let your creative juices flow while doing this. It usually takes me a few times to get the placement of these details just right. I like to arrange and rearrange them to see which option I like best before deciding.