Designer of the Week - Daniel Romualdez

Daniel Romualdez describes himself as a problem solver.

"My job is to be a problem solver. As in, 'I need one more bedroom than the apartment has,' or 'I have a collection of X, how do we display it?' If I don't solve the problems first, no matter how pretty the fabrics are, the job isn't a success." The good news, he says, is that "solving the functional things informs the design. Otherwise, decorating can be very arbitrary. You come into it saying, 'Oh, let's use that color here.' It's far better to ground it in the requirements of the family." (WSJ)

Romualdez' California Home
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Romualdez's design has a wide appeal. His clients range from Mick Jagger to Tory Burch, all praising him over his attention to detail.

Romualdez' Connecticut Home
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Deeda Blair says "Daniel just gets things. He has a thoughtfulness beyond measure." (WSJ) "Tory Burch's apartment doesn't scream Daniel Romualdez," says Blair. "It screams a most attractive house for young boys and a young family." (WSJ)

Tory Burch's Hampton Estate Solarium

Romualdez is not, however, someone with a signature look. He recently completed a residence in Aspen, Colorado, for Aerin Lauder that is at once modern and woodsy, while his latest store for Tory Burch, on Madison Avenue, feels like a high-gloss private townhouse. What his projects do have in common are a strong concern for context and a compelling design narrative that steers clear of cliché. (AD)

Romualdez' Connecticut Home
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Romualdez  four personal homes are his design labs where he experiments and takes risks. 

Romualdez' black lacquered library in his Manhattan apartment
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Daniel Romualdez is truly an inspiration. To read more on this amazing architect and designer, read the articles linked to in the images above.

xo, 

Laurel 

Buying an Island

Yes it's true...

We are looking into purchasing an island, but we are having debates about which side of the Atlantic would suit us best. I say west, but the hubs says east... dilemmas.

Just kidding, but we are going to buy a kitchen island.  We are saving our pennies so we can have one that I designed for our space custom built. One day I will do a kitchen before and after post, but as I said before our goal was to update the kitchen for less than $1,000 - including buying a dishwasher.  Now, this island is not included in that price, but the island will be the only piece that stays when we completely redo the kitchen in a couple of years. 

I knew the look that I wanted was more of a furniture piece than an island -

 I mean look at these pretties...

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So, here is what I came up with...

For now, the island will have a wood top, but once more pennies are saved - a carrera marble top will be added. The island will be 7' long and 3' wide. I debated forever about the island being at table height or counter top height, but in the end I decided to go with counter top height. I also debated about having a shelf or two below, but with babies crawling around - that would be one more spot calling their name to destroy (and climb). Some of the drawers will include silverware dividers, and there will be a hidden outlet on the more private side of the island.

If you would like me to design a custom island or kitchen for your home contact me at LaurelHPowell@gmail.com.

Have a great day!

xo,

Laurel

12 Days of Christmas: Gold & Glam Gift Guide

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12

Santa, you know where to find me.

xo,

Laurel

Merry Merry Friday!

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I'll keep this as my motto this weekend! I'm headed to Nashville to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of a good friend!

xo,

Laurel

Announcing the Official Launch of...

Laurel Powell Designs is a full service residential 

architectural and interior design firm.

More information to come, 

but in the mean time give me a call or shoot me an email.

LaurelHPowell@gmail.com

423.902.3636

xo,

Laurel

Powder Room Plans

Happy Wednesday!
Piggybacking on yesterday's post, today I'll share my powder room inspiration board. The powder room is slightly larger than the size of a sardine can... 4' x 6'3". I wanted to use existing walls to save money, and this size would just barely meet code - so I went with it. We did have to swing the door out to make it work, but you gotta do what you can with whatcha got, right?

My goal for the bathroom was to give personality to a small space. Through a mix of materials and shapes I wanted to create a fairly masculine space with feminine touches.

The main materials in the room are wood, mirror, metal, and porcelain. It's a bathroom folks, so let's be realistic, especially in a powder room - you can't hide the proportions of the white porcelain (the toilet). So, I knew I wanted a vanity with a white porcelain sink as well.  I chose this metal sink base because of the juxtaposed feminine detailing with the industrial chic lines. And as the hubs would point out - it is functional too - the shelf is perfect to stack guest towels and the cabinet can hide extra toilet paper. Behind the vanity I am planning on creating an antique mirror wall in a grid pattern with antique brass rosetts. Though the aged mirror is definitely a feminine touch, the orderly grid gives it masculine structure, which once again, will be intersected with the feminine shape of the antique brass sconces. These sconces are made by Shades of Light and are to die for.

Now is the part where I talk about fantasy verse reality. I would love for the other three walls to be Scalamandre's zebra wallpaper in the safari brown colorway, but unless Santa's Elves are knocking off design houses, its not in the budget right now, so I'll stick with the greige BM paint color shown above. On the floor, I'll have a small overdyed rug to warm things up a bit, something like the one pictured above, which is Stark's overdyed Ikat Rug. And lastly, a small gallery wall of some of Mirko Hanak's illustrations.

Here are some larger images of Hanak's work.

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I will do a post on the finished product at some point! Wish I could twitch my nose like I Dream of Jeannie and it all be finished! Ha, don't we all...

xo, 

Laurel

Powder Room

The original layout of our house had a full bath / hallway right in the smack center of our house. That's right... bath (slash) hallway...  It just did not work for me or the house. SO, that was one of the first things to go. We didn't need a bath tub in the main living area. Instead, I opted for a small powder room, backed up to a butlers pantry. 

sketch by Laurel Powell Designs

History lesson.. what is a powder room?

In the 17th century a powder room was a small closet where men and women would go to have their wigs repowdered. The expression carried through to the Victorian era.  Any reference of bodily functions was considered rude, so women adapted the phrase and would excuse themselves to go "powder their noses".

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Just  a little Audrey and Grace... why not?

Now, a powder room refers to a small bathroom that contains only a sink and a toilet, usually located on the first floor.  I encourage my clients to have a powder room, because it allows guests to use facilities separate from the homeowners' private spaces.  Also, it is a little easier to keep clean and free of little boy overspray. ; )  *cue the shuddering Victorians, ha!

Now, the pretties... some powder room inspiration:

via Massucco Warner Miller

I love that wallpaper, those sconces, the mirror, the console... 

Basically, I LOVE it all! 

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The mood of this bathroom is so intriguing to me, dark and relaxing.

And the charcoal, brass, and carrera ... swoon!

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This bathroom is so preppy and fun. 

Just look at all those details - lacquered mirror, painted ceiling, upholstery details on the walls.

Stay tuned for a post on my powder room design plans!

xo,

Laurel

Fab Fabric Walls

This Image haunted my mind for days until one night I went on an internet binger to find out who made this to-die-for wallpaper. And you know what I mean by internet binger... 30 minute turned into like 3 and a half hour at 2 am, glued to my screen, on a mission research mode. #sorrytothehubbs

(via - Entry design by Allison Womack Jowers)

Only to find out that this wasn't a wallpaper at all - a fabric, one of Michael Devine's beautiful hand printed fabrics.  It is called "fretwork" - and it is his take on the oh so popular trellis pattern.

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I mean seriously... I-die... 

(via - Bath deisignd by Rebecca Elliott)

ok, one last one - and then moving on... 

#can'tgetenough

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Check out this cozy room upholstered in a preppy stripe.

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Muriel Brandolini used fabrics she designed in her townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She created layers by upholstering the walls and ceiling of the master bath. 

Tres Chic - if you ask me...

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Jackie O's baby sister's (check my grammar on that one) beautiful Paris library is upholstered 

in Le Manach fabric. 

PS. the photograph of the giraffe is by Peter Beard.  

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Such a fun bedroom designed by Steven Gambrel. The walls are upholstered 

in a vintage Uzbek ikat. Delicious.

Whew...

It's Monday Y'all!

Back to life... Back to reality...

xo,

Laurel

Merry Merry Friday!

I dream of...

I dream of built-ins. 

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I day dream of built-ins. 

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I basically salivate over built-ins.

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I mean...

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can you blame me?

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xo,

Laurel

A little nip & tuck won't hurt nobody

I knew that our kitchen would not be our forever kitchen, but it was going to be our for-right-now kitchen... so it needed a face lift. Initially she was just going to have a little botox, a pick-me-up of paint and hardware, but of course (in keeping with how every project I embark on turns out), she ended up getting an entire face lift. 

But, I digress... today we are talking about paint.

I love a white kitchen, I mean who doesn't, clean, classic, timeless. If we had gutted the kitchen I would more than likely have gone the white route. But, knowing I would only have this kitchen a couple years, I wanted to step outside the safe trendy white and do something slightly different.

So, gray it was.

Here are a few inspiration pics (the pretty pics... be prepared b/c my camera pics are u-g-l-y) 

(how could you talk about gray kitchens and not mention Martha)

Now for the bad phone pics...

Here is my before

Here is my after

*I know these pictures are terrible (Dear Santa, I need an iPhone and a FoRealz camera)

This is the only picture I have that kind-of shows the color before we added the new counter tops.

*don't be distracted by the yellow laminate or the naked jay bird!

You'll just have to wait to see the sink, counter top, and back splash.

#90-10issues #ineedafairygodmother #ineedanidreamofgenienose

(yes, I am hashtagging my blog post, because #iheartinstagram)

xo,

Laurel

Shades of Gray - 4 not 50

If you are looking for a gray, ask me. I have researched and tried so many grays it would make your head spin. Just ask my husband about our stash of different gray paint test pots.

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We had to pick our exterior paint color in a hurry. I had three days to decide. Don't get me wrong, when it comes to design, I can make a decision in a hurry, but I prefer to have a week to look at paint samples.

The house we bought was originally red. It is a saltbox house, which is a New England style of American colonial architecture. I knew before we bought the house that I was going to paint it a different color. Its funny how many people asked if we were going to paint it. The first question 50% of people that knew the house asked when they heard we were buying it was "are you going to paint it". The other 50% said "you know that means you're in charge of the triangle, right?"(a garden at the fork of the road... more on that later). And then their second question would be "are you going to keep it red?".  I knew I was going to paint the house eventually, but it was a priority further down the road. I also wanted to give the previous owner a little comfort and not paint it right away. Little did we know that we were going to be required to paint it before we could close.  I'll never forget having to tell previous owner, a very sweet 87 year old lady, that we had to paint her house before she moved out and that I wanted to paint it gray. She put her head in her hands and just shook her head. But, my mind wasn't going to change. I had the image below in my head - and you know when a lady's mind is made up... well it's made up!

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The exterior of the house, though it had awesome bones, needed a face lift. It needed a lighter color exterior to highlight the traditional architectural features.

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Once the word was out that the house was to be painted gray, text and calls from the compound, family, and friends... "gray, what kind of gray, Summer Town gray?" Hmm...  no, my reply was "more of a New England gray".  Sometimes I would get blank stares, sometimes I would get an "ahhhh..." (meaning, I'm picking up what your putting down), but finally after the third time my husband heard it, he said "what does that even mean"...

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Well, I will tell you. All grays have an undertone.  A "Summer Town" gray has green undertones.
What I was meaning by a "New England gray" is that it has more of a blue undertone.  A crisp gray that was to be paired with a clean white, and a preppy pop of black. Oh, how I dream of a natural weathered wood.

Three things you should know about gray:
1) It is spelled with an "a" not an "e"
2) Undertones - grays have lots of undertones and can take on any shade from green to purple and any temperature from warm to cool
3) Gray is sensitive to light and shadows - make sure you test your gray on all four walls of your room to see how it will take on the light especially during different times of the day. (Or in our case - different facades of the house).

Below are four of my favorite grays:

                                  BM Coventry Gray HC-169           BM Kendall Charcoal HC-166

                                 BM Rockport Gray HC-105                    BM Gray Owl OC-52

*** Our Home Sweet Home is now painted BM Coventry Gray - it changes color with the sun and shade.  Sometimes it is a pale gray and other times it is a more moody blue/gray.