New Blog

I have moved...please find my new blog here....

amandacarverdesigns.com

See you there!!

Amanda

J Crew gems re-purposed.

One beautiful thing about living in Lynchburg, Virginia is the J Crew clearance store. Beautiful. I found a busted up headband there the other day for $2 and was able to re-purpose all the adorable gems into headbands and clips. Take a look!

The shower curtain that saved the day...

Look...here she is...I knew she was out there. A shower curtain that has the power to make the pink bathroom work. After buying and returning several options...here she is. The tone is perfet for the space.

Now, if the toilet is replaced we will have ourselves one sweet retro (this is the new word for outdated and slightly tacky. It can be used to make anything sound cooler) bathroom. I really do like it.

Dining Room walls

After ripping several layers of wallpaper off the dining room walls, I decided to go with really neutral walls and curtains. I am hoping to bring in color in different and fun ways.

These are a few of the items we have been collecting to cluster and arrange on the dining room walls. I need more...a few pieces that tie the green and blue together would be perfect! All of these are from thrift stores and have been between .25 cents and 2.00 dollars.

To be honest, I love this idea, but am a little intimidated about the execution. I see all kinds of groupings with items like these, but actually deciding on the final arrangement will be tricky. This is my sweet little design assistant, Caroline. Wish us luck!At this point, she was saying..."It's pretty mama.." Good eye baby.

When this, then this...

When your dining room looks like this (one shelf hung, one not, and nothing else on the walls..and it has the potential to stay in this state for another week or so)
Then it is important to glance over at this....and have a happy design moment ( both shade and base previously owned, now partnered together to create an entirely new looking lamp, for FREE) Happy moment.
When your countertops look like this (and the edge is potentially dangerous, and could remain so, for um....ever)
Then it is a good idea to glance in your new, WAY bigger closet and see your new (way cheap from a yard sale this morning shoe organizer) and have a thankful moment.

When the moldings in your home are a variety of woods and stains and random paint colors...

Then it is an excellent idea to glance over at the garden urn full of fresh apples (tiny and probably inedible, but fresh) apples from your new awesome backyard and just smile.

And finally, when your kitchen walls look a little like this...(because you went on a rampage at 11:30 pm that quickly ended about 11:35 pm when you realized the wallpaper was pretty much drywalled to the wall)

Then it is crucial to have something like these fresh hydrangeas sitting in the middle of your kitchen table. You just can't help but exhale a deep sigh of thankfulness.

Interior Design Consultations

Do you have an empty wall you can not figure out what to do with? A living room full of furniture that you know could look great, but currently looks unfinished? A pile of frames and wall hangings that you are too intimidated to hang or place? This can be so frustrating!!!

I LOVE to help people create a space they LOVE to be in. I also LOVE using the things people already have to do this. Sometimes adding a few affordable new items can create an entirely new space. A great mirror, a new large clock, some fresh curtain panels...just small things that bring a lot of "bang for the buck."

Let me know if you would like me to help you "pull a room together." Right now I am charging $30.00 for a one hour consultation. In this hour, we might re-arrange furniture, we might hang your long-forgotten frames, or even draw up a plan for future renovations. Let me know if I can help....I would love to!

New old floors

Our current house has these great, very dark wood floors. They stay clean for about 10 minutes or less. They show every spec of dust, every piece of dog hair and every random item we track in on our shoes. With each move and remodel we have learned a little more about what surfaces are the easiest to keep clean. So, while I love the look of these...it is time for something more user-friendly! Enter...our new (old) floors. At the new house are using a more medium tone with a brown base. I like the tone a lot. This is just the first step, so they might look a touch darker after all the steps are completed. Quite a change from what we are living with now.

Checking out the progress. Still loving my wallpaper? that's a joke. But really when I glance from the first picture on this post to this one, I think, "now, why are we moving?"
Before the stain...view from dining room into living room (we also decided to tear out the old baseboard heat, which is why the baseboards look like a mess.)
Shot of stained floors, taken with my Iphone. Which I am ready to say, "I absolutely love." To be honest, I have (at times) judged my husband for his obsession with the iphone. I would like to state that I can see why he might deeply love this object..it is pretty impressive.