Sunday, May 31, 2009

Design Tip of the Week (06.01.09): This can also be used as a headboard...

What do doors, room dividers, and shutters have in common? You can use them all as a headboard!

Check out these VERY unique headboard DIY projects.

Use vintage shutters for a shabby chic look. Check out curbly.com for this and other unique headboard ideas.


This Do-it-yourselfer used wicker room dividers from IKEA. See other innovative headboards at IkeaHacker.


or go for iron....see more chic and cheap headboards at Better Homes and Garden


Secure a set of doors placed on there side and get a refined looking headboard.


There are so many more unique headboard options. We will be sure to continue this Design Tip of the Week with followup postings.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

We Will Be Back Next Week!


Hello P4D'ers! Yes, Chrys is now married!!! And yes, we are still on vacation mentally! We will be back next week, and back to our normal Primed4Design-ness!

Meanwhile, how much do you love the photo taken by Jen's boyfriend Ryan above?! He is also a talented graphic designer, check his website here.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Happy Memorial Day!


We hope you get the day off! Go enjoy a picnic in the park like the little guys above (from VMG2009's flickr photos)

We will be back tomorrow & of course happy to blog, but not happy to be back from wedding/vacation bliss!!!! :)

Friday, May 22, 2009

Friday Finds ~ Wedding Registry Fun!



While I was perusing Chrys & Rick's wedding registry, I KNEW whatever I got them had to be design/decor related! Duh! ;) Chrys registered for these beautiful Kate Spade "Pompano Point" Candlesticks and 8x10 Frame.


The stylized bamboo-inspired details will be perfect for Chrys & Rick's beach wedding photo! We will have to share the final wedding photo in the frame with you once they are back from their honeymoon. :)

p.s. - Today we will be on the beach as Chrys & Rick get married! Congratulations!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Art Smart ~ Unique Wedding Photos

Good morning! We hope you have been enjoying wedding decor week in honor of Chrys getting married in the Dominican Republic tomorrow! :)

We have been to SO many great weddings in the past 5 years or so - and we thought a great feature on Art Smart today would be to highlight some of our friend's beautiful professional wedding photography.

We think each picture really represents each of these couples personalities, as well as a nice range of ways to have your photographer take photos you on your big day. Whether candid or posed, make sure you look for a photographer that can do a whole range of photos for you and your new hubby. :)


{Mina & Joe ~ married March 2007 in Washington, DC ~ photography by Amy Mullarkey}



{Nichole & Dave - married November 2004 in Fort Lauderdale, FLA}



{Megan & Steve - married June 2008 in Richmond, VA}

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

DIY Tips & Tricks ~ Playing Footsie

Brandon and Celeste are a fun couple with a unique style influenced by their time spent in Austin, Texas. They got married on Cinco de Mayo in Hawaii and moved into their first house about a year ago. When decorating their home they really tried to integrate their couple style into all aspects of the house. Here is a fun DIY project that they did to showcase their collection of his and hers "footsie" pictures taken every place they have ever traveled! They bought a bunch of the same frames, then found some fun scrapbooking paper and mixed and matched unique mattings for each of their photos. The result is a colorful collage with a uniform theme and design that all their guests stop to take a peek at.

The playing footsie collage.



Feet on a gondola in Venice.


Just married feet in Hawaii!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Dandy Chandy Tuesday ~ Mason Jar Chandy's





On August 6th, 2005 (wow feels like forever ago!) Jen was in Amie & Drew's wedding as a bridemaid. It was a beautiful outdoor country wedding setting in Maryland. Hot August day may I add! ;)

The above photos were taken of the simply elegant mason jar candle chandy's that Amie made for her wedding. So lovely and budget friendly! :)

Monday, May 18, 2009

Design Tip of the Week (5.18.09) ~ Finding Your Wedding Style


{Smith Wedding Party, via capturingrealife's flickr photos}

Hello everyone! This week we are off to the Dominican Republic for Chrys's Wedding!!!! Yayyy!!!! In honor of her getting hitched, we have lined up a whole week of wedding related decorating/style ideas!

Every wedding is so unique, and it should always reflect the couple. Have you ever been to a wedding that didn't "feel" like the couple? I hope not! & thank-goodness we haven't! Whether its a fun wedding cake topper, DIY invitations, or a unique wedding location - make sure you think through all aspects of your wedding. But please, do not get overwhelmed! There are so many great resources out there to help you plan the big day!

* Style Me Pretty is THE blog for the Style Obsessed Bride. They have so many sections to peruse through and get ideas from, they also have a Real Weddings section that is so helpful and fun to look through for inspiration.

* chicweddinglove
~ our friend Courtney's (aka Mrs. Bling) wonderful wedding blog. She is obsessed with weddings & we thank her for it! She always features beautiful and unique finds.

*Etsy
~ our go-to for anything in life - home accesories, weddings, etc. I swear if etsy had food, I wouldn't need to shop anywhere else. Oh wait...they do! :)

*The Knot ~ the great go-to source for many-a-brides.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Friday Finds ~ Saturday, in the Park!



Today's find is so awesome in its retro-picnic-ness. It has a tray if you don't have a picnic table. Perfect for an ant free day!

I think today's friday find also symbolizes Chrys & I have checked out mentally on a picnic to vacationland (aka The Dominican Republic where Chrys is getting married next week!)

We have a whole week of wedding related features lined up for you while we are gone, so stay tuned!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Art Smart ~ Asian Inspired Kitchen

Lovely Day! :) Lovely finds for you as well!


Our art piece featured today is from RyanTakaba's etsy store. It is a delicate and asian inspired porcelain wall budvase. I just fell in love with it - and imagined it in a nice, modern kitchen on the wall to put tiny plants in, or tiny flowers. So interesting and inspiring.



While imagining myself looking at this bud vase sculpture, I thought some other cool asian inspired items would look great in a kitchen along with it. Like this Black Floral Switchplate from funkychickendesign.



And this vibrant Coral Heat Wave Banded Towel from onasmallscale's etsy store.

All handmade and unique! Love it.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Our Faves! ~ Chairs Chairs Everywhere!


Checked my email this week and received an eblast from Brocade Home (Our Favorite. Store. Ever.) and the title was "OUR FAVORITE CHAIR NOW AVAILABLE IN BLACK HI GLOSS!"

Brocade Home, we love you! And today your favorite chair has become our favorite chair. Check out all of their beautiful chairs here, they are made out of bent wood which is SO COOL. They are so romantic yet modern. Lovely Lovely! :)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Dandy Chande Tuesday ~ Traditional Chandy

Every girl loves Tiffany! Tiffany style chandeliers are a great way to bring a little style and color to your home. Tiffany glass is in a class of its own and has been a recognized and distinctive style since the beginning of the 20th century (the first lamp was actually introduced in 1899).

Tiffany Style Serpentine Scroll Pattern Chandelier

Monday, May 11, 2009

Design Tip of the Week (05.11.09): Building your Home Decorating Library

Being that the P4D girls are into everything design, of course we have our own little book club! So to help you start a nice library of your own, here are some of our suggestions.

Kelly Hoppen's Home: From Concept to Reality is an inside look into the process of this British, hip designer. Enjoy reading about her approach at every stage from the conception of an idea, through preparation and decision making, to implementing plans and achieving a reality.



Stephanie Hoppen's Perfect Neutrals is rethinking our perception of neutral showcasing the vast variety of new neutrals from sage green to soft lilac, from cool silver to whispered gold. This book is jam packed with lots of great pictures and help creating your color palette.


For those of you interested in the psychology of designing your home, Winifred Gallagher's House Thinking: A Room-by-Room Look at How we Live is so interesting. It really makes you think about the function of a room from a deeper perspective.



These are just a few to start you off (you can buy all of these on Amazon). We will share more of our book club faves so you can build up your library!

Friday, May 8, 2009

Friday Finds ~ P4D Reader Finds!

We would love to share some of the ideas and general reader thoughts that we receive with all of you. So Friday's once a month we will try to do a post on what our readers have found and want to share.

Raj from Maryland shared the following with us.

I took my whole family and went on a mission to find nice, inexpensive couches. We had been through the vast choices of furniture stores and were catching furniture-fever as nothing would match our less-than-$1500 budget. After three weekends of looking, we ended up at Marlo's (a reasonably priced furniture store in the area) for a sale event.

We finally selected a dark brown microfiber sofa + love seat + recliner and also got a huge contemporary rug all for about $1500... great deal. Case closed! The sofas were real cosy and casual and we really loved the soft touch of the microfiber.

We didn't consider the heavy usage that we put the sofas through in the last 6 months and now they are bare of the fibers! The soft microfiber touch turned into flat cloth-like! We did find nice covers to hide the bare, but would have loved to have the comfy touch... I think heavy use makes the fibers 'sleep' but now they refuse to wake up!


Thanks, Raj for this great tip! Buying a couch is a big purchase and many of us look for the best bargain. Fabric wear is something to consider because the best bargain at the time could lead you to spend more money down the road.

Please share your finds with us, whether it is a great new product for your home or a lesson learned as you attempt to beautify your space! Email us at
primed4design@gmail.com and we will post it on a Friday.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Art Smart ~ Enlightened

Did you love the style of yesterday's Designer of the Month post and want to bring in some Bohemia to your place? Check out these Buddha mosaics to enlighten your empty walls! They are VERY reasonably priced at $89 so they wont en"lighten" your wallet...couldn't resist the pun.






Complement these wall hangings with these accessories!

Indian inspired, jewel tone pillows


Sari curtains

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

May Primed4Design{er} of the Month ~ Urban Bohemian Chic

Good morning! We are very excited to share with you today's Decorator's of the Month. We are saying Decorator's (2) because it was really the couple who has their own unique view on decorating/design, Megan (Art Teacher/Amazing Artist) and Steve (Graphic Designer/Amazing Artist), just bought their home a few months ago in Adams Morgan, Washington DC.

Their decor is very bohemian eclectic, fun, and drawing from worldly inspirations-carved figurines, deep reds and browns in their art and furniture, makes for a very cozy and comfortable feel throughout their house.

At the entryway you are greeted by a colorful table and an indian-inspired mirror:





To the right is the living room, with a large Pier One mirror (Megan got a REALLY great deal on it) and red, beige and black furniture & decor throughout:






As you turn around, there are beautiful built-in bookshelves along with a fireplace, and their favorite wedding photo:









Walking back to the entryway towards the dining room, you will find a beautiful handcarved statue underneath the TV (a great way to hide electronics & wires):






As you enter the dining room, artwork Megan made greets you on the left (how beautiful is the large red painting?!), as well as the best chandelier EVER - Monkeys!










The simply decorated, yet beautiful guest bathroom off of the dining room:







To the right is the open kitchen (note the Jonathan Adler pottery). If you don't have much cabinet space, A great way to store as well as display your glasses is to get an iron rack like they have, and put your colorful glasses on top:





Going up the stairs to the loft/office space and master bedroom, we are greeted by Zoe their cat. :) As you enter the loft/office space, note all of the graphic posters of Steve's throughout the room. Also fun little figurines in the room to look at (and a rattlesnake, eek!):











The previous owner took the condo above them, and added the stairway to connect the upstairs and downstairs. Their really wasn't a closet door, so they used nice curtains to hide their clothing in the hallway to the master bedroom:



The master bedroom has hints of blue throughout, as well as colors from downstairs. Megan has her jewelry hanging, so it doesn't get tangled, but it also just looks beautiful. Note the beautiful lamp that has been in Megan's family:











For a full slideshow of Steve & Megan's Urban Bohemian Chic home, please click here.