Dallas Blog | Material Girls | Dallas Interior Design

One of my all time favorite movies ever is 9 to 5.  How can you not just love Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin?  I could seriously watch this movie every week!

I’ve been thinking about how these stellar heroines transform their working atmosphere by the end of the film.  They’ve been on my mind a lot lately, as we’ve been workin’ 9 to 5 (and then some), on tons of home offices for clients these past few months.  I’ve always believed that people work more efficiently in an environment that they’re comfortable in, so for me, an office full of  personal touches and some glam elements makes me work that much harder!

Our clients must be thinking the same thing because, they also want colorful inspiring environments to work in and we are having a blast designing them.

So without further ado…. meet our seven most recent office designs (including our own!).  All of these designs rock a different color scheme and have their own unique personality.

NAVY/SLATE/ORANGE/WHITE-

We knew from the start that we wanted deep rich navy walls in this home office and so when we found Oscar de la Renta’s amazing grosgrain ribbon fabric at Lee Jofa, it was love at first sight.  This gorgeous silk fabric comprised of slate blue, navy and white was the perfect fabric to pull everything together.  We added splashes of orange through her vintage butterfly chairs and abstract artwork while incorporating a gorgeous carrarra marble countertop desk and custom metallic snakeskin swivel chairs. The big gold sconces from Global Views and stone lamps from Currey and Company were a no brainer in this room!

GRAY/BLACK/WHITE/GOLD/PUTTY-

This client wanted a calming color palette that would flow with the rest of her house so gray, putty, white, black and gold immediately came to mind.  She had an existing black and white zebra rug that we were to incorporate over a sisal rug as well as beautiful white built-ins.  We found a scrolly Lee Jofa fabric that screamed perfect (there is that Lee Jofa fabric saving the day once again!) and we decided to do this fabric on the backs of two rounded French Louis desk chairs.  When you walk in, the patterned backs are the first thing you see which makes for a really dramatic entrance. We paired the French chairs with a modern lacquered lucite desk (love the juxtaposition here) as well as custom greek key pillows, mirrored twig tables, and a gray tufted settee. This one will be installed soon- I cannot wait!

BLACK/WHITE/BROWN/GRAY/BLUE/GREEN-

This office was also a lot of fun to work on because it was for a client’s commercial office.  This was his personal office and as a home builder, we wanted him to have a very aesthetically pleasing space with lots of cool pieces to reflect his taste as a builder.  We used items that had a slightly masculine mid century modern feel to them.  Most pieces were neutral and then we added a pop of color in the large scale artwork.  We made sure all of his neutral pieces had a lot of texture to them- zebra wood, cowhide, rippled leather, etc so it would keep your eye wandering from one piece to the next! How fabulous are those cowhide arm chairs from Palecek?

 

CHARCOAL/GOLD/TAUPE/CREAM/PLUM:

This office couldn’t be more of a focal point in this client’s home..it is the first thing you see when you walk up the stairs so of course, it had to be eye catching and fabulous!  We love this office because it’s traditional and classic, but with a contemporary twist!  I’m obsessed with the moroccan drapery fabric at top left and the tufted velvet gray sitting chairs.  Of course no office is complete without a wall mounted set of horns (for those UT longhorn grads)!  We picked up on the deep purple through the abstract landscapes from W King Ambler and were over the moon when we found this gold and black funky sunburst from Cyan. It’s a perfect marriage of masculine and feminine pieces- an office space that works for both hubbie and wife!

DEEP TEAL GREEN/CREAM/CHARTREUSE/CHOCOLATE BROWN/GOLD-

This office was a more of a library/sitting room area (not your typical desk/desk chair set up).  We painted the walls a deep green and incorporated four small cozy wingback chairs for curling up with a good book. I could stare at those Russian landscape art all day- they are some of my favorite prints!  This office was super calming but also really cozy.

 

GRAY/BLACK/CHARCOAL/GOLD/CREAM/BUTTERY YELLOW-

This office was definitely on the more dramatic and glammy side!  We incorporated a dark manly desk with modern artwork behind it.  The mirrored credenza was my favorite piece (actually, it’s a toss up between that and the herringbone patterned cowhide rug) And take a look at those lamps with the black shades from Arteriors- love!! We need those for our own office.  The sea urchin wall art from Global Views completes the look.

TEAL/BLACK/WHITE/WARM WOODS/DEEP PINK/GOLD/EMERALD GREEN-

And last but not least…I’ve also been working on my own office!  I bought some new wall art while I was in Roundtop this week and I can’t wait to get it framed and up on the wall!  We also just had wall to wall seagrass put on the stairs, as well as the second floor!  I had the pink terracotta tiles downstairs painted white, (thanks Kelly Wearstler for the inspiration)  Now we’re just waiting for our deep teal morroccan style rug to come in!  We bought the gold Indian “hand” to hold our business cards (thanks Scout!) and will eventually do a gallery wall up the stairs. I randomly found some gorgeous acrylic and glass lamps from Home Goods for $49 each (who would have thought?) and am now just waiting on a black Dorothy Draper chest to magically appear at my local consignment shop so we can snatch it up and have a pretty place to hold our printer paper (who are we kidding?)

Hope you enjoyed our office design tour. And now off to utilize our own office design some more…with some late night work!

After telling my father in law that I was on the hunt for a vintage sputnik fixture, it wasn’t more than two weeks before he texted me with a photo saying “Sputnik complete. Buy of the day.”  He found it at the Goodwill Auction in Athens, Texas for…..drumroll….$40!

In the past, he’s bought me a pair of bamboo chairs for $10, a glass top for my bamboo patio set for $15- all from either the local auction or garage sales.  The moral of this story is that you never know what you’ll find at these types of places.  One man’s trash could be another woman’s treasure (ie: me!) and I’ve never felt apprehension about parking my car on the side of the road and venturing into an unknown thrift store, consignment shop, garage sale, estate sale, or the like.

Last night I thought it might be helpful if I sent my father in law a list of the vintage pieces that I’m always on the lookout for (since apparently he is my good luck charm)..a vintage dictionary of sorts.  As I start typing out a LONG list of 25+ things with descriptions on each, (and wanting to send the list to everyone I know so they could be on the lookout too) I realize that there might even be people out there stumbling upon these pieces at garage sales, without even knowing their worth.

{image via Again and Again}

So without further ado, here’s my list of “trendy” vintage items that are hot hot hot right now! If you see one of these for $10 at a garage sale, it would be wise to throw it in the back of your truck bed and never look back..seriously….I guarantee that there are a bunch of people out there who will be glad to take it off your hands!

{All image examples via Circa Who, Again and Again and Gypsy Soul Interiors- just a few of my favorite go-to vintage sources. Circa Who- please move to Dallas!}

1) Faux bamboo- I’ve never met a piece of bamboo furniture that I didn’t like.  I often call myself the “bamboo” lady.  I love bamboo pieces because they are easily paintable and look awesome in bright colors.  Dressers, nightstands, armoires, dining and patio sets- you name it. Faux bamboo is everywhere now! Especially in my house.  I would say out of everything on this list, faux bamboo detailing is probably the easiest to find.

 

 I have this same style of patio set (and painted it glossy blue gray)- best find ever. Thanks Christian!

Circa Who has a set in this style as we speak!

2) Lucite/acrylic- This clear material can go by either name but I find that it’s most commonly referred to as lucite.  Lucite can be found in both furniture and lighting.  Finding acrylic is like finding GOLD! Snatch. It. Up.   Whether the whole thing is acrylic or just the legs/base, I’ve discovered that people are okay with even the slightest bit of acrylic heaven!  Post something on Craigs List with lucite in the name and it is gone in a flash! The ghost chairs of course are some of the most widely known acrylic pieces but as much as I love them, I’m partial to unique vintage lucite pieces.

Oftentimes, you will see people selling just the lucite base of a coffee table or dining table on Ebay or what not.  It’s so easy and affordable to get a glass top cut for one so definitely don’t overlook those pieces that solely include the base!

3) Rattan- It has a similar look to bamboo and is made up of stems of a palm.  I’m actually looking for a rattan hall tree at the moment with very specific dimensions which has been hard to find.  I saw one in Canton a while back and my husband convinced me not to buy it- the one time I listened to him, it definitely backfired on me! Rattan also makes great patio chairs like these below.

4) Elephant Garden Seats- People love these little whimsical garden stools and planters. I’ve always been a little on the fence about these. I think they are fun but I know if I brought one home Ben would give me the “why” look times a thousand..

5) Black lacquer ming chairs or ming style of furniture- People die over the black lacquered ming chairs! A pair will often go for $800-900.  I wish I had somewhere to put these in our house….still trying to make room!

6) Dorothy Draper chest- I’d sell my first born for one of these.  You will come across the Dorothy Draper impostors and the true Dorothy Draper’s. The impostors can go for $750 and the real ones in the thousands. A pair of these can be hard to find! Not too long ago I saw a pair on Dallas’ 24-7 estate sales website and so I raced to get to the estate sale right when it opened and the lady there told me that they were gone…someone had camped out in front of the sale since 2:30 AM waiting for them!! Although I pine for a pair of these chests, my beauty sleep is a little more important.

7) Pagoda- anything “pagoda”- esque goes- light fixtures, mirrors etc. Gold, white or a bright color is always nice!

8) Fretwork- Snatch up anything with fretwork on it!  You usually see this interlaced detailing on cabinets, armoires, and dining tables.  I saw a big white rectangular fretwork dining table at a warehouse sale a while back for pennies and was so sad that it wouldn’t fit in the EJ Interiors office.  Maybe it was a sign I didn’t need another vintage piece!

9) Caning- I personally love anything with caning. My dining chairs have cane backs and I love them, but you do have to be careful that you don’t lean too far back into them (I have stretched a cane back or two). My favorite are cane back benches…

Bamboo AND Caning combo?  Cha ching!

10) Wicker or fiberglass fan chairs- I have a pair of these in my backyard (courtesy of Gypsy Soul).  They have such a great shape to them. My fiberglass ones survived the legendary Dallas hailstorm in June so I’d say they are pretty sturdy little things!

11) Blue and white porcelain- Timeless. Enough said.

12) French Louis chairs- These have caning which I love, but the most sought after ones have an upholstered back with either a round or square shape.  The square ones can be especially hard to find!

13) X benches- A pair of these is definitely worth picking up! Most of the time they are all upholstered, but sometimes only the top is upholstered and the base is metal or wood.

14) Shell back chairs- ever since I saw one of these chairs in Leslie Pritchard’s home (of Again and Again), I have daydreams about these!  When I saw six of them on Circa Who’s website, I was like a kid in a candy shop.

15) Brass- It seems most of my clients either lean one way or the other- silver or gold.  I tend to gravitate towards gold.  Anything with brass is a must in my book!

 
16) Mirrored- I always say that every space needs a touch of mirror. I have a hard time finding vintage mirrored pieces (I find more new mirrored pieces) so it’s extremely exciting to stumble upon something like this every now and then-

 

17) Bar carts- Finding my $40 brass bar cart was the highlight of my year!  People LOVE the brass bamboo ones, but lucite bar carts and chrome bar carts are also other bar cart must haves.

 

18) Greek key- I know it’s something we see everywhere, but greek key still seems to be going strong!  I especially heart a pair of greek key wooden nightstands like so-

19) Elephant desks or elephant consoles- People go nutty for these consoles and desks with elephants on the legs!  I must say…I’ve always wanted one! My favorite is when they lacquer them a bright orange.

 

20)  Tassel or rope detailing- on furniture/mirrors is very popular right now!  We’ve blogged about this before but this motif seems to be here to stay!

21) Animals- are the perfect home accessory!  Elephants, greyhounds, foo dogs, owls, lions, horses, zebras- you name it! These adorable creatures are definitely man’s best home decor friend-

22) Garden stools- it can be hard to find a good vintage garden stool (especially a pair of them!) You often see them in ceramic or metallic form.

23) Campaign furniture- How to identify these?  From the brass hardware.  The burl wood is more desirable than the oak but both make pretty statement pieces and can always be lacquered up in a heartbeat!

24) Fiberglass outdoor dining set- These are so adorable and are a great space saver (with their small chairs and round table) for small backyards/patios.

25) Quatrefoil- This motif (aka the four leaf clover) can turn an otherwise basic furniture piece into a true gem!  Gypsy Soul had this super cute wooden chair with quatrefoil accents.

26) Faux bois- Love a good faux bois detail! It always looks great on a dining chair or arm chair.  Look at these with cane- perfection!

As a first time homeowner, the idea of filling your entire home with furniture (and filling it quickly) can be daunting and not to mention, expensive.  The case of my home is especially severe because a) I’m extremely impatient and want every room done yesterday (I’m still trying to comprehend the fact that I will live here for 5+ years and there is no deadline)  b) I am constantly changing my mind and switching out things so nothing stays in the same place longer than a month’s time.

{Zoey on the day we moved in…. thinking- “mom, how are we going to take this entirely pink painted house with gross peeling trim from drab to fab (and fill it with furniture) by next week?!”}

So where does this leave me?  Well, in Ben’s eyes it definitely doesn’t warrant buying all new super nice furniture for every room and honestly, I don’t think I could ever have a house of all new things. I love old things just way too much and especially giving pieces a whole new look through refinishing them. Lately, I have been doing a LOT of that.  Sometimes I paint the pieces myself and other times if it’s just too difficult, I hire someone to do it (ok, I admit, a lot of the time I  hire someone else to do it).  Remember the part where I said I was impatient?

Here are some of my recent before and after furniture projects and the info on the paint colors that I used-

BEFORE-

Antique secretary-

AFTER-

Antique Secretary-

Paint- Benjamin Moore- 689- Rhine River- Satin Finish

 

 {still needs to be accessorized!}

BEFORE-

Vintage Dorothy Draper-esque Nightstands-

 

AFTER-

Vintage Dorothy Draper-esque nightstands

Paint- Benjamin Moore White Dove with gold accents

(Need your opinion here dear readers! Do you think the gold is too orangey and should I go back to more of a soft/antique gold or do the outline of the drawers more of a yellow gold like the pulls?) Decisions, decisions!

BEFORE-Funky vintage sideboard with geometric detailing-

AFTER-Funky vintage sideboard with geometric detailing-

Paint- Home Depot- Behr- Custom Color Match

BEFORE-Fiberglass peacock chairs

AFTER-Fiberglass Peacock Chairs

Paint- Home Depot dark charcoal spray paint

{Excuse the flowers falling from the tree and our nice mess in the background }

BEFORE-Faux bamboo armoire (can’t seem to find the before photo so I borrowed this photo from Bazaar of Serendipity blog)

AFTER-Faux bamboo armoire

Paint- Sherwin Williams- Pure White

BEFORE-Faux bamboo dining chairs and table

AFTER-Faux bamboo dining chairs and table

Paint- Benjamin Moore- White Dove

So basically throughout the house I painted most of my furniture white and gray so they’d stand the test of time and then sprinkled in other pieces with more bold pops of color to add some excitement.

And stay tuned for the “afters” of these “befores”!

This week, I was so honored to be included in iVillage’s article, “What My Mom Taught me: Celebrity Home Designers” in celebration of Mother’s Day.

It got me thinking about how much my mom has influenced my career path and how much she means to me.

My mom has been interested in interior design as long as I can remember. Growing up, things were always changing around our house.  Whether she was re-painting a room or a piece of furniture, putting up wallpaper, or making drapes, she was the woman who did it all (and all by hand).  Most of my friends assumed she was a decorator and did that for a living.  My husband loves to tell the story of how when he first met my parents and came to their house, he sat down on the couch and realized he was sitting on mounds of fabric swatches.  Little did he know, the same thing would continuing happening a few years later at our own house

 {My childhood home, in which my parents still live in today}

I have such fond memories of my mom and decorating.  I think it was at some point during highschool, when I caught the design bug from her.  My bedroom’s color scheme went from pink to purple to blue to turquoise.  The artwork in my bedroom (AKA, the Mark Paul Gosselar poster) was strategically placed at eye level and the Laura Ashley bedding was always fully coordinated to a matching valance.

My mom has always been there for me through every move- dorm, apartment, rental house, office and now, our new house.  These moves always bring a fun new decorating adventure for us.

 {My oh so stylish college apartment}

Most weekends we spend at the consignment stores hunting for treasures for one of our houses and telling eachother “you so need that!” (when we clearly don’t)…like this bar cart I got last weekend for $45!

My phone usually rings within hours of receiving the newest House Beautiful in the mail with my mom asking, “did you see that gorgeous spread?” or “did you read the blog post today on Colour Me Happy or Cote de Texas?”  We pour over magazines and blogs together, analyzing each and every room.

 

 {House Beautiful}

We’ve also recently started going to Roundtop to further feed our obsession with antiques.  We also hit up all the warehouse sales in the design district, go on local home tours, and stalk our favorite streets in Dallas (hello, Tokalon).

 {Some of our china from Roundtop}

We can’t help it- Interior design is just what we do! (and it always has been)  We couldn’t care less about shopping for clothes- in fact, that’s usually considered a nightmare to us.  We will take Riverfront Boulevard over Northpark any day of the week!

So in honor of my mom on this Mother’s Day, I thought I would share with you her thirty year transformation of the house she has lived in since the 80′s (and boy could you tell it was the 80′s when she first moved in!)

Entry in the 80′s-

“Why put off buying today, what you can sell tomorrow?” (is my new personal slogan).  It’s a revolving door over here at casa de Larkin.  It’s not uncommon for me to buy something and then the next week it shows up on Craig’s List.  I just can’t stop myself- I have furniture and accessory A.D.D.  I will buy something vintage and then get sick of it before I even have an opportunity to recover it.  With the new house, the addiction has only gotten worse.   I’m constantly lurking on Craig’s List, Ebay, estate sales, thrift stores, vintage shops, 1st Monday at the WTC, warehouse and sample sales for that unique find.  It’s gotten so bad that I just realized my whole house is filled with faux bamboo and I’m starting to look like the crazy “bamboo” lady. If you are interested in taking any of these off my hands, please email for pricing, availability and condition (I may have more photos too)!  (I’ll also post them on a link on the Dallas page)

 {Abstract giclee art from Dallas design district.  Framed in brushed nickel frame. 49.5″W x 73″H}

 

 {PAIR of vintage  butterfly back chairs- approximately 30″w x 25″d}

 

{Vintage white faux bamboo dresser with gold hardware- 54″w x 20″d}

{Abstract giclee art from Dallas design district- framed in black frame- 31.5″ square}

{Global Views faux malachite magazine holder from Dallas design district- never been used- 20″L x 14″W x 20″H)

{Pair of 24″ square pillows with Duralee artichoke print- green and gray; One rectangular gray/white greek key pillow in Duralee fabric}

{Vintage desk/vanity chair- needs to be re upholstered and legs re painted}

{Amazing octagonal mirror upholstered in light creamy taupe fabric with gold nailheads- 42″ x 42″.  Antiquing on mirror}

Close up below-

{Global Views drum shades- set of TWO white shades with gray trim- will sell separately- 25″dia x 12″h}

Can easily make them into gorgeous chandeliers! (this is what it looks like made into a light fixture)

{Gorgeous beveled Horchow mirror- fell off my wall so has two cracks on front and one on each side- but should be repairable.  Selling it for super cheap!- 32″w x 47″h}

{Pair of mercury glass lamps with white shade- 15x10L- shade size x 24″H}

{Wood pedestal table-  22″dia x 26.5″ h}

{Highland Court/Duralee fabric- blue and white ikat- 1.5 yards}

{Curvy/glossy black vase- 12″w x 14″h}

{White armoire with acrylic Anthropologie hardware- probably needs to be re-painted- 82″h x 41″w x 23″d}

{Dark wood floor length mirror- 18″d x 26″w x 70″h}

{Set of three tall jewel tone vases- will sell separately- Green- 19″h; teal- 22″h}

{Fairly new CB2 Acrylic Counter Stool- 16″L x 16″W x 33.5″H- Seat height- 23″H}

{Craft desk- dark espresso- very similar to the craft desk they sell at Pottery Barn- 48″L x 30″W x 36.5″H; Accomodates one counter stool}

{Small sunburst mirror- 14″dia}

{5 yards of Pindler and Pindler gray-blue linen fabric- from the Dallas design district- 54″ wide- still in its original packaging!}

{Global Views- turquoise oblong shaped bowl- 24.5″L x 7.5″W x 8″H}

{Vintage plates from Roundtop- a PAIR}

Also selling- two Pottery Barn natural rugs.  One is a 5×8 seagrass rug with neutral border and the other one is a 5×8 sisal rug with a black border, black iron patio dining set, tv stand, TV, white outdoor rocking chairs, wood table desk and more fabrics!

There’s a lot more where this came from…email if you need something specific. You never know, it may be collecting dust in my garage!

The old mantra “out with the old, in with the new” may have met its match.  Nestled in East Dallas, the Hollywood Heights neighborhood makes me wish all zip codes were this well preserved.

With most of its houses dating back to the 1930s, it is one of the oldest conservation districts in the whole US-of-A, and homeowners in the area today are not permitted to tear down any part of their house or even renovate their exteriors, which allows for a true and rare glimpse into the history of American architecture!

Now, doesn’t that just make you feel downright patriotic?

 

Each year, the HSMNA (Hollywood Santa Monica Neighborhood Association) puts on a home tour.  This year marks its 21st  and I’ll be there with bells on, supporting my new hood.

There is an entire weekend full of events- starting with the Candelight Tour and Auction Party on Friday night at the Arboretum and ending with the Art in the Park event at Lindsley Park on Sunday (which will feature local art and gift vendors, including art from Christian at Think Twice!)  Five houses will be open to visitors on the tour.  I can’t wait to see which homes are on the tour and how they are decorated on the inside!

This event is extra special to me, as it takes place right around the same time we move into the neighborhood.  (HSMNA, please consider this house below for one of your upcoming home tours- I’ll be ready in five years! wink wink

Purchase Home Tour tickets HERE for $12! See you there!

April 28-April 29

Saturday and Sunday

Noon to 6 pm

Although it’s fun to keep up-to-date with the latest and greatest in design trends, it sometimes pays off to look into the past for a little inspiration.

Campaign furniture as we know it has been in use since the traveling armies of Julius Caesar, but is most commonly associated with the British Armed Forces. Why the war-time trend? Because that’s where the ‘campaign’ name comes from.

 

 

Considered to be any type of furniture made to be easily broken down or folded for easy transportation, campaign furniture was initially designed for armies to pack up and carry with them on their marches. Demand for these portable pieces increased in 18th and 19th century England but now you’ll find them all over the globe (including in Dallas, on Craig’s List)!

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon an extremely affordable and chic campaign desk on Craig’s List that just needed a little bit of extra TLC. I had been wanting a piece of campaign furniture for a long time, but hadn’t come across “the one” yet.  Since we are moving into a new office and need another unique desk (I’m not one to buy office furniture from IKEA), I snatched this up from sweet Bonnie and immediately started searching for painted campaign inspiration.

{Desk looks very similar to this one here}

While the most common item of campaign furniture is actually not the desk but the traditional chest of drawers (also referred to as a military chest or campaign chest). These campaign cuties come in so many different shapes and sizes, the options are endless. Campaign furniture is most often made of mahogany or teak, and can be easy to distinguish because of their recognizable folding places, but others only have their standard brass corners and strap work (originally used for travel protection).

We love their worldly feel, and even though you may not be packing up your entire set of drawers for your next road trip, these pictures of inspiration show that you can still have lots of fun with them.

This kelly green painted campaign dresser quickly became an internet sensation-

 

Are these nightstands brown or black? I can’t tell…either way, I’m in love!

 

This deep blue color is stunning!

 

Other kelly green beauties…

 

Classic white paint always looks good and boy does it make the gold hardware pop!

Ok I don’t know if it’s the gold chair with the zebra print or what, but I’m completely obsessed with this set up here-

Va va voom coral!

This turquoise color is nice and fresh! Notice the black top for contrast…

And the best of every world- multi-colored campaign!

There are so many color options out there! Now I ask you dear readers, what color do you think I should paint mine? Leave a comment if you have a favorite bright furniture paint..would love to get your opinions!

Thank you Merida for blogging about our Frisco client’s dining room!

We used one of Merida Meridian’s gorgeous sisals on this project- (Luxe Silver Topaz with a Soft Cotton Twill binding to be exact) and we loved how it turned out.  The textured sisal was an amazing juxtaposition to the shiny metallics, smooth blown glass and sleek mirrored finishes.

It can be challenging to source a grayed out sisal.  Since sisal is a natural material, it’s much more common to find them with warm gold tones.  When we stumbled across this one from Merida, we knew it would coincide perfectly with everything else in the room.

The lighter rug ended up making such a huge difference in a room that started off as a sea of dark brown.

{Luxe Silver Topaz Sisal}

When the client and I first met, she said that everything in the room could go except for the trim and wall colors.  We both agreed that since we were leaving the dark brown paint, a wallpapered accent wall on the back wall would give this room the pizzazz it needed to set it apart from the extremely traditional neighboring Frisco homes. (Anyone who reads this blog knows that I’m not a fan of the painted accent wall, but wallpaper is a totally different story)

As they say..out with the old, in with the new!

Before-

After-

For more about the Frisco dining room renovation, visit Merida’s blog!

For the past two years I’ve been living in a 1,000 square foot house in East Dallas with no disposal, a dishwasher that you have to hook up manually to the faucet, one bathroom and a vintage O’Keefe and Merit oven (which is adorable until you want to make cookies and have to buy a special tiny cookie sheet for the oven and THEN have to light a match to even start the baking process).  At times, I forget that I’m living in the 21st century

Don’t get me wrong, we love our quirky little 1930′s house.  It has lots of charm (original doorknobs, warm wood floors, scalloped built-ins, and french doors.) It’s also fun living near White Rock lake, Mockingbird Station, Greenville and Lakewood.

This house has been a great first house for my husband and I..but let’s be honest…one bathroom, closets that only fit half a season’s worth of clothes, and a living room that doesn’t fit anything larger than an apartment sized sofa, are things that are wearing on us just a tad.

{an example of our oven}

With our lease expiration in May fast approaching, the clock has started to tick on finding a larger place.  We’re toying with the idea of buying something and I have to admit that I’ve been doing what must be typical of every interior designer (right???)- something I like to call obsessing.  I check the MLS for new listings every single day trying to find the “perfect” house in our price range. My realtor has dubbed me the “picky” client as I always seem to point out what is wrong with every single house (“oh I need a separate formal living and separate formal dining”, “is that carpet in the kitchen?”, “does this backsplash give you the heebie jeebies?”, “does the orange undertone in these wood floors bother anyone else here?”, “Zoey can’t live in a house with a detached backyard”)

Okay, okay she’s right- maybe I am picky…but I think the main problem is that I improve spaces for a living and so I am out there every single day seeing the latest and greatest so when I see the not so great, I immediately have to comment on it. Of course no house will be perfect and really, what fun would it be if it was? My husband has been dying for us to get a fixer-upper so we can work on it together these next few years.

Until then, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming of the perfect house, is there?

There are so many images on MLS that make up “my dream house” but since that 12 million dollar house on Strait Lane is a little bit of a reach for me , I thought I’d compile my favorite images of realistic houses that we’ve actually been looking at into a virtual “dream home” for ya’ll to see- enjoy!

Hollywood Heights, Santa Monica, M Streets or Lakewood? I’d be overjoyed to live in any of these East Dallas neighborhoods. You don’t get a lot of space for your money, but because I die over those Tudor exteriors, I’d gladly give up square footage for curbside appeal with one of these cottage cuties-

An updated kitchen can be hard to come by for the right price in this neighborhood, but I managed to find a few white kitchens that I’d be happy to bake my cookies in (and I look forward to joining the rest of the world with a modern oven and dishwasher- woo hoo!)

I love a formal living room.  I know it’s not really practical this day and age, but I think I’ll always want to have one.  It’s the one room where you don’t have to feel guilty about purchasing unique vintage chairs that are on the smaller side, delicate mirrored coffee tables and clean lined, dainty tight back skirted sofas. This room can be all about PRETTY.  If your husband is anything like mine, he doesn’t care what goes in this room, as long as he has a “man cave” or a comfortable den, so this room truly becomes whatever you want it to be- bliss!

Of course, a family room is important too, but unfortunately most of these smaller houses in East Dallas only have one living area, so in this case, I’m loving how these homeowners mixed the formal with the informal to satisfy both parties in the family.

Arched doorways, painted wood fireplaces, and crown moulding give these houses architectural interest and extra detail.

My husband came across this listing the other day and said that he wants this exact room as his “man cave”- I can deal with that!

In general, I love me some dark wood floors, white trim and gray (or off white) walls!

I’m a nut for a clean and updated looking bathroom.  You can see that this homeowner was on top of the ball when he chose to use white marble in this guest bath.  I always say that every space needs a touch of black- he must have thought so too!

White subway tile is a very affordable way to give a bathroom an instant makeover.  Normally you see white cabinets with white subway, but I like how this homeowner went against the norm and stained his cabinets a deep brown. It warms up the small space nicely-

This room was done by the homeowner, who is an interior designer (can’t you tell)?  Most bedrooms I stumble across on the MLS in our price range aren’t this put together.  Notice the custom cut sisal around the perimeter of the room, custom window treatments and upholstered headboard. You can tell that this homeowner is with it.  Perhaps if we buy this one, he’d consider throwing in the sunburst mirror for free?

And I almost forgot about storage!  Since our house is bursting at the seams currently because of no storage space, I’d add some extra built-ins to our make believe house like the below-

Since this is a dream, I suppose I’ll add on this indoor side porch too.  It makes such a cute sitting area-

Of course, the backyard is very important too.  Even though our house is tiny, we have a great backyard with a deck (it’s probably larger than our house) so I know that is one of the things that we will miss. Here are some other views from the back porch of my pretend East Dallas home, that I wouldn’t mind waking up to every day-

And while we are at it, let’s throw in a guest-house for EJ Interiors to office out of-

Well I suppose it’s time for me to wake up from my house dream and get back to reality. Until next time!

It has been absolutely nuts ever since we got back from holiday break. We have started a bunch of new projects and have been going full steam ahead ever since Jan 3rd so the fact that this month is almost over just blows my mind!  It feels like just yesterday that I was in California with my family for Christmas. It was my first visit to the golden state, and I must say that I loved it!  The laid back attitude of Californians, the amazing weather and gorgeous views, made it very tempting to move EJ Interiors across country and set up shop there.

We covered Newport, Laguna, LA and San Diego in a short amount of time.  It was an adventure to say the least!  Of course, it couldn’t all be about sand, waves and water.  I had to incorporate some aspect of design on my trip to keep it interesting and to slowly but surely educate my husband (which he loves of course!)

We stayed at Pelican Hill in Newport for a few days and the views around this place were breathtaking- Paloma wasn’t kidding!

It was a little bit more traditional than the hotels Ben and I normally stay at, but it was really beautiful and super cozy nonetheless!

During the days, we ventured out to Balboa Island (where I met Jill!) and Laguna Beach. There was the most adorable home shop in Laguna called Tuvalu.  It had lots of items with familiar names such as Currey, Arteriors and Palecek.

We then took a day trip to LA with my entire family (we should have known nine people in a limo bus on an all day tour was a recipe for disaster) but hey, that’s how the Johnstons roll. It’s not a family vacation if at least three people don’t get Hangry (angry because they’re hungry) or in trouble with my dad for running late.

Luckily, a beautiful drive up the coast and an amazing church made it all better.  Who wouldn’t want to get married here in California’s perfect weather?

I then had one (and only one) request of the bus driver…and that was to take me to see the infamous and mysterious Chateau.  I’ve read too many issues of Us Weekly, not to go there.  This castle on a hill is legendary in my mind and although I only saw it from the bus (because I’m not a B or C list celeb), you get this amazing slanted I phone photo…

OK, I did have one more request on the trip to LA….to see the iconic Martinique wallpaper that was made famous by the Beverly Hills Hotel and then later used by Paris Hilton and Brian Atwood/Nate Berkus.  We’ve blogged about this leafy paper before HERE. I had to beg the guy at the hotel to let me take a photo of it and luckily he obliged!  What I didn’t get a photo of were the tiny Olson twins eating next to us at the Polo Lounge five minutes prior. I don’t know what got me more excited- seeing Martinique or Michelle Tanner!

The next stop got a big roll of the eyes from the husband (well, a few stops did) but this one was the most memorable- The Beverly Wilshire hotel.  We just had to see the Pretty Woman elevator! I told Ben it’s on the list of things I have to see before I die, so that helped convince him.  As we walked up to the hotel, I heard my twenty two year old brother mutter- “What’s Pretty Woman?”

Oh geez- the adventure continues!

“Well color me happy, there’s a sofa in here for two!”

So now that Ben is almost convinced this is a complete girls’s trip…I reassure him of this by heading over to the Viceroy Santa Monica to stay the night and gawk over KW’s design.

The colorful California Viceroy was a complete departure from Wearstler’s more neutral design in Anguilla.  With bold kelly green and graphic black and white accents, this hotel was definitely more bold and vivacious.  It’s no surprise that Saturday night here by the pool is “bumpin” (per Trip Advisor).

We then headed to our next hotel stay in San Diego at the historic US Grant Hotel.   I ended up really liking this hotel.  It had the most comfortable bed (which counts a lot in my book!) I also liked how they mixed the elegance from the 1910′s with an updated more modern feel.

I had to take a photo of the TV cabinet in our hotel room too.  What an inspiring and attractive design for a custom casegood!

The day after we arrived in San Diego, we went to one of the largest and most progressive zoos in the world. I can’t help but notice design and pattern no matter where I am- even on the fur of this leopard!  Such a gorgeous gorgeous animal…

After many recommendations from friends, we took a visit to”the Del”, a 120 year old hotel in Coronado.  The Hotel del Coronado is known for its Victorian design, reported ghost sightings, movie set background and celebrity visits.

The last stop on the journey (and the whole purpose of our San Diego trip) was the UT bowl game.  As a Sooner, I felt like a traitor wearing burnt orange, but it got me a new sweater from Banana!

All in all, such a fun trip and I can’t wait to start planning my next California trip- to San Francisco!

(Sorry for the strange spaces between the photos- blog issues!)