You light my world...

Lighting is an influential part of Interior Design. Bad lighting in a space can ruin all of the time and hard work you have put into making the space beautiful and functional. Since I have been doing Residential design lately I will focus on that. It is better to use warm lighting for residences. People's complexions look better under warm yellow light rather than cool blue light. Also, the color in the light affects the colors around it. If you have a shade of grey on the wall and have a cool blue fluorescent bulb that grey on the wall will look differently than if you used a warm bulb.

Artificial light is only half the battle. Natural light is another major factor. You can use "energy efficient" bulbs but to maximize your benefit you should draw in as much natural light as possible. I know this post may seem like its very factual and informative, but I hope that it will help some of you to better understand that Interior Designers wear a lot of hats. If you remember back in this post I talked about how we don't just decorate.

There are many layers to lighting a space. First you have general which would be overhead lighting or something that lights up the majority of the space. Next, you add in task lighting such as table and floor lamps that you would turn on for function or completing a task. Finally, you have accent lighting. This is any decorative lighting such as wall sconces or track lighting to highlight art. These together with natural light create our space. Without lighting there would be no need to design spaces.

I hope you enjoy some of my favorite light fixtures and lighting in some of the spaces that I've designed.

My Designs

Light Fixtures

Shades of Light

West Elm

Shop Ten 25

Shop Ten 25

Shop Ten 25

Etsy

Of course I had to throw in a teal one ;)

One last thing, I want my blog to be unique and stand out in the blog world. So I had the idea to let the reader decide. Comment on this post or any other post or email me and let me know what you want me to post/write about. It can be anything design, food, fashion, wedding, or VT related. If I choose your idea, then you will be featured on my blog :D I can't wait to see what you come up with. Until next time....

XO Samantha

Goals and Pinterest

So I really wanted to do a post on my goals for August and that month flew by! So I decided that I would do one for September and we are almost a week in! Whew! But I don't care there is still plenty of month left to complete these goals. Here we go:

1. Exercise more (at least twice a week)
2. Read an entire book- gotta start small
3. Take more photos 
4. Catch up on my scrapbooking, at least do the honeymoon one (I am way behind!)
5. Get outside more, even if just to walk around the neighborhood
6. Complete my name change (insurance and passport left)
7. Make organizational financial binders (this is a Pinterest idea)
8. Paint my chevron curtains
9. Skype/talk to my friends more often
10. Get wedding photos printed!!

Someone please hold me accountable and make sure I stick to these goals! I know some of them may not seem like a big deal but they are important to me. Lately after work I do nothing except sit in front of the computer and tv and eat. This needs to change. 

Now on to more fun things~ Pinterest!!! I am on Pinterest a lot and I wanted to share some of my favorite pins with you. 

Favorite Fall Pins:

Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup

Oh I would love to have these on a fall Sunday morning!!

Handmade Fall Wreaths

If I do this, it has to look like hokie colors!!

Free Fall Printable

Gotta print and hang this soon :) Maybe even for work too!

Skinny Pumpkin Spice Frappe

Making these myself could be dangerous but oh so good!

Favorite Design Pins

Eat-in Kitchen

I love this fresh bold take on a banquette.

Awesome Bedroom

I love the idea of a seating area. That 4 poster bed is perfect to frame the room.

Chic Living Room

Coral/White fireplace/mirror :D

Bright and Airy Sunroom

Teal, white and that table :) obsessed with this space

Favorite Funny Pins

Pinterest

HAHA Sheldon!

So true

Some ECards

A girl can dream right?

Pug Babies

Ok maybe just cute not funny but I couldn't resist!

and a few more Favorites:

Swell Caroline

These are teal awesomeness!

Reeses Cupcakes

Denise- this one's for you :)

J.Crew

AHHH TEAL COAT! Its on my christmas list!

What are your favorite pins right now? Do you set monthly/weekly goals for yourself? Hope you enjoyed these as much as I do! I will be giving updates on my progress for these goals :)

XO Samantha

Hutch- Before &After

Hey readers,

Today I have a special post. I finally finished repainting my hutch. I mentioned before on my organization post that I had started working on it and I am just now getting to enjoy it. It turned out to be a lot more work than I had originally thought. My husband really helped out though. I especially appreciate the help with sanding it. That part was NOT fun.

For the color, I chose Lemonade Slush by Better Homes and Gardens. At first I wanted something more golden yellow, but after really thinking it over I wanted a more neutral yellow in case I decided to change my kitchen colors. I do think I still want to paint the hardware, but I haven't decided which finish yet. And I removed the doors on the top permanently.

I would really love your feedback. I am certainly enjoying it now. Every time I go in the kitchen, my eye is drawn to it which is what I wanted. It houses all of my fancy dishes that we got from the wedding, so I want everyone coming in to notice them.

Also please ignore any mess in the pictures! :) Thanks. Sorry that the images aren't that great. Its a narrow kitchen so it was hard to get a good angle. Hope you enjoy!

*Before*

*During*

*After*

A couple of inspiration photos too of course:

Centsational Girl

Vintage Rose Brocante

Home Portfolio

Martha Stewart

Now I'm working on my next DIY project: those chevron curtains!! Hopefully I can post about those soon :) How do you think my hutch turned out? Would you have painted it a different color? Do you have any yellow furniture? I would love to see it!

XO Samantha

Link Parties:

Skip to my Lou

Tatertots and Jello

Keeping it Simple

High Heels and Grills

Weekend Wonders

Summer Summary

It may not officially be fall, but since my husband has started back to grad school it pretty much feels like it. I guess this post is somewhat for me to document the summer of 2012 for us but I hope that you find it exciting too.

First: Things we Did~ I'm just gonna say right away that this is the biggest and best summer I have ever had. Why? Well because:

1. We got MARRIED!!
2. We went on a cruise for our honeymoon! (the first cruise for both of us)
3. On our honeymoon we got to go snorkeling in the worlds 2nd largest Barrier Reef.
4. Also on our honeymoon we got to climb some Mayan Ruins.
5. We moved to our new apartment in Richmond.
6. I got an internship at Odell Associates.
7. I got a job at Courtney Ludeman Interiors.
8. We've been relaxing a lot after all of that. Whew! It makes me tired just thinking about doing all of that in about 3 months!

Second: Places we Ate~ We love to eat and especially eating out. Richmond is a great place to find a variety of restaurants. Here is a range of things we tried. Let me know what your favorite eats in Richmond are!

1. Station 2- Burgers
2. Mojo's- Cheese Steaks
3. Bakers Crust- Pizza
4. Baja Bean- Mexican
5. Basilis- Greek
6. Capital Ale House- American
7. Conch Republic- Seafood
8. Buz and Neds- Barbeque

Third: People we Visited/that visited us~ We are so lucky to have some awesome friends and family that love and support us. My friend Denise came for the weekend. Our friends Olivia and Chad came up for the day. Our friends/family Ty and Gabby came up for the weekend. Tim's mom, grandma, aunt and uncle came up for the day. Tim's cousin Ben came for one night. And my friends Kelly and Ashley came for dinner :) We also went home for my friend Chelsey and Sean's wedding!! And tomorrow my parents are coming to visit!!

And last but not least: Local Places we've been~ At first I was unsure about moving to Richmond. I have never lived in a city, but now I love it and there is SO MUCH to do.

1. Maymont Park
2. Poe Museum
3. Byrd Park
4. VMFA
5. Carytown- Watermelon Festival (and quite a few other times)
6. University of Richmond campus
7. fireworks and Friday cheers at Brown's Island
8. Concerts at Short Pump Town Center

What did you do this summer? I wish I had taken more pictures :( I hope everyone has a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!

XO Samantha

Blog Renovation

I really had a hard time deciding what I wanted my image to look like when I was starting a blog. You may say why did you change your layout so quickly? I wasn't very familiar with Blogger and how to use it at the time. Now that I am more comfortable with it, I wanted to try again. I didn't feel that it was very custom, original or exciting. I wanted something more fun and cohesive. What do you think of my new blog look? Should I go back to the original? Is there something you would change still? Would completely redo it again? I would love your opinion!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Here is the rundown of what I changed:

I got the background from Kinzie's Kreations!

I got the banner from Cutest Blog on the Block and tweaked the color a bit.

I added my new title in Photoshop.

I changed the columns and moved the gadgets to the left side instead of right.

I changed the post title font and size.

I changed the post font. (this is the only thing I'm still unsure about)

I also added an about me tab so be sure to check that out if you don't know me or want to know more about me!

There were a few more font and color changes.

Overall I think it made a HUGE difference. Do you?

Enjoy!

Another post to follow later today :) so be sure to check back in!

P.S. do any of you bloggers know how to create a custom signature at the bottom?

XO Samantha