Project Sneak Peek, A Masculine Themed Master Suite

Happy Monday,

As promised I want to start sharing with you some pictures of my most current work. This project is for a bachelor client and his 2 daughters. He likes things clean and minimal with a bit of a well traveled feel to them, let's call it global.

Here is a peek in to this new bedroom.

Now, to recap let's take a look at what I started with. Here was the master bedroom before.

 Before:

The only thing that I had done when I started here were the floors which we simply continued throughout the second story of the house. I told you my client likes that "global" feel to his home, and when he chose the above fire engine red I'm sure he was on some sort of an Asian kick. There was no bed, no TV stand, no lamps, no night stands, NOTHING, well except for that cozy purple blanket which I had to retire.

Let's go to where things are now.

After:

The room is actually 95% finished. I am waiting on a series of art that will go above the bed and will lighten the space. The finish is a dark grey and has a bit of a suede affect to it, and the ceiling is done in a lighter shade of grey with the center done in the same shade as the walls.

Since my client wanted a room that had a hotel feel I installed track curtains with sheers on the inside and a dark grey silk blend lined with black out material for the outside so that he can close them when he sleeps, Vegas style.

The bed is an amazing leather platform bed that sits very low to the ground and eliminates the need for a box spring. It has a braided leather woven headboard to it and the leather is a very soft Italian leather. I dressed the bed in luxurious linens in shades of greige (definition: shades of grey and beige). It is one of the most comfortable beds EVER! 

The rug is hand woven from Jaipur in the color Ashwood. 

That AMAZING dramatic light fixture is actually imported from Indonesia and I had it custom designed to become a hanging fixture with a chrome plated canopy. It is massive at 55" and is made from a wicker material. Definitely a global show stopper. 

I'm in love with this sultry and admittedly masculine space, and more importantly so is my client.

What do you think?

HGTV | "Weekends With Luis" - Jay & Jenny's Carport

Did I ever tell you about the time I worked on an HGTV series called Weekends With Luis??

Well, I did and it was awesome!

When I started my career in design (as in actually getting paid for it) I was contacted by a good friend and interior designer who saw my blog. She asked me to work as her assistant designer both on actual projects and for a pilot series for HGTV called Weekends With Luis. She would be the person who I credit my career beginnings to and helping me find my own passion, as well as gaining invaluable knowledge and experience with. I am grateful to her to this day.

The series was about a contractor named Luis Bosch who helped homeowners tackle "weekend" projects in their homes that they wanted to do but didn't know where to start. Sound familiar?? We've all been there. It was such a fantastic experience to be a part of this show and the team that made it happen.The YouTube video above is my actual episode. In the show the contractor and his team do all the dirty work i.e. all the construction and building and once he's finished the design team comes in and pulls the room together with allot of advanced planning and stages the end result to be camera and TV ready.

My role as an assistant designer was to help with the rendering of the room, finding the inspiration images for the space, sourcing and shopping all of the materials, decorative items, drapes etc, and also being there for any and everything that needs to be done (VERY QUICKLY) along the way to make the space come together for the big reveal.

It is much more fast paced than "real world" design, and you work with very tight time lines and budgets. It can feel a bit chaotic in the finishing process because you have to get this room done literally right before the home owners are walking in the door. It's crazy and exciting. It's also important to note that there is a whole village making these homes come together. I saw this again when our own home was featured on Color Splash Miami. There is allot of hard work and dedication from an entire team on these shows.

Above is a video of the episode and if you look really close you can catch a glimpse of us behind the scenes, but we were by no means the feature of the show lol. The absolute coolest part of the whole experience for me was being in the kitchen and listening the happy homeowners during the reveal. They were moved and so thankful which made the whole experience that much better.

In the end we went back to working on our other design projects, and so far I haven't heard that the show is running more episodes. Too bad I'm not working on another show for HGTV. I would love to do room transformations on a budget, or designer room replicas on a budget......or ANYTHING! Hey, a girl can dream;)

Summer Lovin, Having A Blast!

Hey!!!!

Well, we've been traveling allot lately which has been a nice retreat. The kids have been out of school, I've had family in town, my projects luckily are ending and beginning all at the perfect time, and we just got back from a trip to Costa Rica where I uh hem, surfed! FINALLY!

** Costa Rica Summer 2013

Needless to say, I'm feeling good my friends. Now of coarse I have to get back to work which is well needed after the holidays and the spending, but I'm still in a summer kinda mood.

I figure I'll kick blogging back off with some sunshine state love. Summer from me to you:)

I literally ADORE that sequin pillow on the casual seating. Leave it to me to love me some sequins.

When we were in Costa Rica last week they were selling these amazing scalloped hammocks for only $50!!! I waned one so bad I could taste it, but then Rob the blob told me we had no where to hang it:( This was true, but I may creatively work one in one day.

This little set up is my yard crush dream yard, of coarse mixed with the sequin pillows above. The modern concrete and pool style are what I'm aiming for in our upcoming pool design. To be continued.

I just ordered this Holy Chic pillow from Joss and Main. I'm in love with all things sparkle, gold and catch phrase these days which is both in home decor and fashion alike. **Sorry it is a limited supply and last I checked they were sold out.

This living room design is one of my own projects that you can see more of here. This client had such a love of beachy drift wood silver havin coral displaying goodness that her home just screams "breath of fresh beach air"

This was my 4th of July outfit inspiration. With the flag, jean cut offs and Coca Cola need I say more?!

 

I love high waisted shorts this season. They are so cute and easy to wear. Here in Florida they have been a summer staple for me both day and dressed up at night.

I would love to blow this image up and hang it on the wall in my daughters room, and I just may do that!

Colorful and casual. I love the use of the Asian inspired media console and the low laying cushions. This is a place to bunker down in and read a book. Mmmmm!

This is a hair country chic, but I can dig it. I would love to transform my mom's sun porch in Utah so that she could sit there and enjoy herself some down time. Love it!

Why oh, why can't Robert just read my mind and create this lovely little place for the two of us to share champagne and stone crabs from the famed Miami Beach Joe's Stone Crab (take out of coarse!)

 

This happy little outdoor area again pays a bit of nostalgia to my Utah roots where is is pleasant to sit outside in the evenings under some cute cafe lights and enjoy the cooler air at night. Can you tell I'ma bit home sick lately??

So, now that I've enticed you back with some happy and very summery images I hope you'll still want to stay tuned for what will be coming back to The Cuban In My Coffee soon.

Here's what you can expect to see:

-Portfolio Pics coming soon for my most recent project which I've only shown you a few Sneak Peaks of (sorry about that).
-Upcoming Home Office Makeover. It's a fantastic one.
-Upcoming Home Makeover and Project Reveal for a 5,000SF home.
-There will also be some happenings around here. Front Yard and drive way reveal, landscaping the front yard garden/terrace, backyard refurnish and pool coming soon, more art and accessory changes, and the typical usual Whitney changing the house AGAIN when I'm in need of a lil something new.

Summer has been a nice retreat from the stresses of work and the stresses of life, but it's time to get back to business and especially back to blogging. I've had requests and complaints from some of you missing my posting which always makes my day.  I hope you'll come back along with me and continue to enjoy The Cuban In My Coffee;)

Preteen Transitional Room, Project Sneak Peek

Good morning,

As promised from my previous post, I want to share with you the beginnings of an amazing and glamorous little girl's room. For this room, the idea is give her a more grown up space that can easily transition into her upcoming teenage years without being too childish but still keeping it fun.

Here is the design scheme for Daniella's room.

You see in the scheme that these basic elements can transition easily in to different colors and styles.I chose simple and clean pieces for her room mostly in white. The idea here is that it is still fit for a little girl, but as show grows up the simple change of bedding and color can change the feel of the entire space.

Clean White Upholstered Bed

White Laquered desk with lucite handles added for a higher end look.

 

 

 

 White night stands with glass drawers and trellis detail.

Glamerous chandelier to up the "wow" factor.

Here are a couple sneak peeks (taken at night) to give you a vague idea of the progress.

 I just love the moroccan pouf and the glamerous upholstered bed. So pretty, lucky little girl. I still have a gallery wall to create above the bed, and curtains to hang as well as the final staging, so the final images coming soon.

Oh, and just in case you wanted to see the shaping up of the second daughter's room. Remember the room scheme that I posted recently?

Here is a glimpse at her room as it's starting to come together.

Don't you just love that vivid zebra print rug! Amazing! The shelves aren't stages, the mirror isn't painted, and I don't even have a duvet cover on her bed!, but you get the idea.

I swear that one day I will actually bring AND use my nice camera to get you some non embarrassing photos, but in the mean time you get my iPhone pics;)

There is still allot left to do, and stage but these rooms are starting to come together and are looking great. It's always interesting to do 2 daughter's rooms at the same time. I should know, I have 2 girls and since I do this for a living my younger daughter is constantly worried that I will make some other little girl's room better than hers. She will understand one day, Ha!  Things can easily go wrong if one room is even slightly "cooler" than the other. In this case I'm working around what each girl wants as far as color and patter and keeping them as equally cool as possible as to save their father the headache of hearing about it later.

I'll start showing you more of the house this week. It's come a long way baby!

What do you think of the 2 girls rooms so far? Do you prefer one over the other?

A Little Sunshine In This Girl's Room

Good Morning!!

It's been a while since I've posted and I am making a goal to get back to it! Lately it's easier said than done, but I am going to make an effort.

Today I want to share with you the board for one of the little girl's rooms that I'm working on in a current project. This room is for an adorable little girl who has the biggest personality in the world and I wanted her room to be as happy and cheery as she is.

I love designing rooms for kids. It is extremely rewarding because the cute little buggers are always so excited and thankful that you are bringing "cool" to their new little worlds. This little girl is no exception, and puts a smile on my face every time I see her. 

Take a look at the design scheme for Adriana's room.

As you can see this room packs a punch! The main points for this room are a) to maximize the space in her room, b) give it lots of color and character, and c) incorporate zebra print which is her personal favorite print.

To maximize the space I chose a day bed, which leaves the space open. The style of the day bed I'm using has a very modern trellis wood design and it is just amazing. I also kept all the walls white which keep the space feeling very open and clean. Light colors are a nice trick to keeping a space feeling large.

I then added pops of zebra to make this little girl happy. I did that by grounding the space with a large 8' round wool zebra rug that has allot of white in it with an exaggerated zebra print. I also added it through accents such as the sheets and the ends of my custom bolster pillows. The idea was to not go over board, but still bringing in this admittedly wild print (no pun intended).

Lastly, to add the sunshine and life to this room I am using pops of sunny yellow and magenta pink. I also had curtains made with a very vibrant Ikat print which add so much character and also unify the many colors and styles that are coming in. Sometimes you need that major statement to bring your space together and in this case it is this fabric. I also used it to make 2 large bolster pillows for the day bed which I capped of the ends with a zebra accent. Mmmmm.

The end result of this room is anything but boring! Things are starting to come together so I should be able to reveal progress pictures for you soon. I will also share the "grown up" bedroom for the older sister which is simply elegant and beautiful.








What do you think of this little girl's room? Visually it has allot going on, which in kid land spells "F.U.N" The white base throughout the room keeps it more toned down, and allowed me to go a bit crazy with the prints of zebra and ikat. I personally love a colorful space for kids. That's part of the fun in designing them, you don't have to color with in the lines.

Talk to you soon~