FINALLY! My Completed Project for 2013 Room Service Atlanta

Before I get to the pictures, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me in my efforts to make this project an overwhelming success!  Overwhelming?  Sure, because I had no idea how I was going to pull this off.  All I had was a vision!  In no particular order:  Gerald Peterson, Jackie Kearse, Terry Kearse, Rice Painting, Marco Lemon, Scott Kelly, Kelton Bryant, Deirdre Frutiger, Dale Oudems, Steve and Jill McKenzie, Brigette Young-Martin, Dr. Karen Chaplin, Laura Newsom, Ramsey Eddington, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams (Atlanta), Floor and Décor (Southlake), Glidden Paints, Walmart (Midway Drive), Target (LaVista Rd) Walmart Distribution Center (LaGrange, Ga), and Dayka Robinson & Erika Ward (Room Service Atlanta Organization Founders).  If I overlooked anyone at all, please charge it to my head and not my heart!  I could not have done this without any of you!  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

 

I remember when Gillian and I first toured the Girls and Boys cottages; she wanted to do a girls space, but I was more drawn to the boys.  Why I chose the largest space in the cottage, I have no idea!  I left there that day thinking to myself, what had I done?  I was leaving for Paris in two days, so I thought I would worry about it when I got back! 

 



 

That is a 47" 3-D television that was donated by the Walmart Distribution Center, located in LaGrange, Georgia as well as the amazing Carson sofa sectional donated by my good friend Jonathan White at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams in Atlanta!  The DVD player was donated by Terry Kearse, along with his DIY skills at putting down the tile in the small bathroom!  The dry erase board, books, and games were original to the space.  The posters and frames, as well as the snacks are from Walmart.  The glass canisters, clock, and pillows are from Ikea.  Oh! the popcorn containers are from The Dollar Tree!

The cross is original to the space also.  You can see it in the first picture, tucked in the right corner, sitting on top of some books.  Gillian gave it a coat of paint and we left it where we found it!  After all, God was in every detail of the planning of this space.  You don't mess with perfection!  What goes better in a space where movie watching, sports, and gaming are happening?  Snacks...and lots of them!

 



 

 As you can see, Gillian was in the right corner of this picture making her own video commentary!  She wasn't pleased with my decision, but lent her support in every way she could during the project!

 

The flooring made the biggest difference in this space!  Oh it's so much better than the two layers of commercial carpet glued on top of some weird kind of tile!  If you haven't heard already, my most amazing friend Deirdre Frutiger made this possible!  The art was so generously painted by Steve McKenzie!  He and his wife Jill truly are two of the most gracious and supportive people I've met in a long time!  I think it's just incredible for these guys to have original artwork by a very talented local artist!  The Luna 45" table is another fantastic donation by MG+BW!  The chairs were found by my good friend Dale Oudems from Ikea via Craigs List!  This guy can sniff out a deal!  I'm never that lucky!  But I guess with friends like mine, luck has nothing to do with it...I'm very blessed!

 



 

 Look closely at the Ikea side tables!  They were my attempt at creating a little rhythm to flow with Steve's paintings!  Ha! close, but definitely no cigar!  I actually really like them, though!

 

 

 Not sure what these window treatments were, but I knew they had to go!  It was pretty scary!  The furniture was used in other spaces.  Those designers that snagged them, did some pretty amazing things to them!  When I saw them, I just didn't have any imagination whatsoever!  My hat goes off to these very imaginative designers!

 

 

 Truly never knew what a Fat Head was until this project!  My girlfriend Jackie Kearse has three sons and so she knew all about them!  As if contributing two weeks of her time and sweat wasn't enough; she made these Fat Heads possible as well!  These things come with tons of decals!  We only used the individuals, their names, and a couple of the Falcon ones.  The rest, I'm sure her sons will enjoy when I do their new bedroom!  Her home burned in February, so she was very inspired by this project!

 

 

That wallpaper paneling piece, that was once an exterior windows kept my mind in riddles until literally the 11th hour!  That's how creativity works sometimes!  It had to be God inspired people, cuz I had nothing until driving one day!  A few people suggested some really cool art piece, but I just wasn't feeling that!  What I did finally come up with ended up being my favorite spot in the whole space!

 

 

 That's right my friends, Astroturf purchased at Home Depot for less than $20 bucks!  It was already pre-cut, so I just measured out how much I thought I would need to make a small rug for the gaming chairs to sit on, and I had just enough left over to hang in that horribly, unsightly space.  After we hung it, I began to think out loud and expressed how cool it would be to paint a football field on it and carry the theme onto the floor as well.  Jackie went to work!  She grabbed her phone and googled some images of football fields, and voila!  Those gaming chairs are so cool!  I love the speakers in the headrest with the controls on the sides!  This area I set up for the guys to play PS2 (which was also donated by Jackie's boys) and watch movies on the DVD player (donated by Target).  Walmart Distribution Center also donated the 32" television!  The chest that the television is sitting on is from Ikea!  I just decided I would add my on little DIY touch and paint a little of the trim and louvers!  What do you think...pretty special, huh?

 

 

I knew I wanted to put something very personal in the space and I thought what better place to put it than on the bathroom door.  These are all the things that I had to have in order to make this space a reality for these deserving young men.  The only one I didn't put up was gratitude, however in the personal piece that I wrote to them, I made sure to let them know that showing gratitude for even the smallest acts of kindness and support, keeps the blessings flowing!

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda



Read More

With A Man In Mind: A Gentleman's Dressing Room

Today I am featuring the Gentleman's Dressing Room from the Traditional Home Show House at the Adamsleigh Estate in Greensboro, NC that I toured while at High Point Market.  This dressing area was thoughtfully designed by Lisa Mende and Traci Zeller, both based in Charlotte, NC.  The wall covering was a special design tribute to John Hampton (Hamp) Adams, textile magnate and patriarch of Adamsleigh.  It is an architectural toile, designed from the original blueprints of the home.

 

 

The fabric that is covering the ceiling is also found on the back of the shelves in the closet.  This was also a very fitting tribute to "the mansion that socks built!"

 

The green grosgrain ribbon detail can be found in elements throughout the space.  It is finely placed around the chair and one of the pillows, as wells as surrounding the walls and ceilings.  For details on how this was executed, click here.

 

I would like to think that my husbands closet would be as nice and styled as this one; but alas, I'm afraid that it just would not be!  However, one can always attend show houses and dream!

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

*Quote

Read More

Monday's Office from the Century showroom at High Point Market

I have had such a blast at Market! It has been a busy weekend with all of the social events (PARTY), the educational events (much to be learned), visiting the showrooms, discovering new finds, meeting new people, catching up with old friend from across the country, and just being in the midst of an electric, high energy, exciting event otherwise known as High Point Market! If you've not been before, you have really been missing out!

I'm still at Market, but I wanted to share at least one picture with you, and it's appropriate for today's Monday's Office series. While roaming the amazing rooms at Century, I came across this office setting and immediately thought about my guys "With A Man In Mind" and my "All About Men" Pinterest board.

Later this week I will do a Market re-cap, but for now...

Make it AMAZING!
Rhonda

Read More

With A Man In Mind

Today, I will let the quotes and pictures speak for themselves...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

 *Images via my Pinterest board All About Men



Read More

2013 Room Service Atlanta Update!

I am so beyond excited about how amazingly generous my friends are!  I am truly blessed to have them in my life.  They support, honestly, everything that I do.  It's like a reflex!  I literally just express a thought, idea, need, whatever; and they are there with a means, a resource, a hand, an "I got you, don't worry about this" way of supporting me!  These are the kinds of people we all need in our lives that enrich it and makes us so much better for their presence!

 

The 2013 Room Service Atlanta project is underway and many designers have begun the process of getting their spaces ready.  I've yet to start the physical work, but I have been busy putting all of the pieces in place.  Erika Ward and Dayka Robinson are the charitable geniuses that gave birth to this incredible organization!  You so need to click on their names and visit their sites to get to know them!  I can say that I genuinely adore both of these women.  They are very different from each other, but they each are reflections of my personality collectively!  Weird, huh?

 

 

My color inspiration for the lounge!  I cannot wait to get started on the painting!  Well, hmmm...I'm not quite sure how much of the painting I personally am going to do, but I can't wait to see it!  You know what I mean!  I'm sure I'll paint something because I'm a little too much of "I see things that need to get done, so I need to do them" kind of person; so my hands will have paint on them, I'm sure!  SPECIAL THANKS TO GLIDDEN PAINTS FOR SPONSORSHIP AND DONATING THE PAINTING SUPPLIES for the entire project!  Wow!  Such an awesome contribution!

 

The sofa sectional has been donated by another incredible RSA sponsor, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Atlanta!  Jonathan White and his team in the Atlanta store are totally the best!  I've had the privilege of working with Jonathan, and I promise you, he is the real deal!  What you see is what you get!  I love him!  I may have to reconsider the lighting, as I'm thinking that if the guys get a little rowdy tossing a ball around and hit this amazing fixture, it may not end so pretty!  I'm not 100% on the coffee table; I'd actually like four cubes that will serve as a coffee table and additional seating if needed.  Maybe I'll make them...again, not "Me", but I'll have them made!  Shaking my head!  You guys should know better by now!

Okay, so totally excited about the gaming area!  I may have to visit from time to time to get in on the action!  My husband had the sweetest idea of having multiple televisions in the space for television viewing and for gaming.  He was getting a little carried away with all of the TV's he said to do, but his idea was fantastic and I am running with it!  I plan to paint the furnishings featured here in bright colors.  I will need help with that, as I have not ever painted furniture before!  You Tube will be viewed quite a bit in the next few weeks!

 

Words seem to escape me when trying to describe her, my friend Deirdre Frutiger purchased the laminate flooring for the lounge area, and the tile for the small restroom that's located inside of the lounge!  Did I not say in the very first paragraph that I have the most supportive friends???  Well, here ya go!  I cannot tell you how much this means to me!  Sometimes all I can say is "Wow"!  And for those of you who know me, it speaks volumes when I am rendered speechless!

 

 

This donation is so overwhelming!  My client/good friend Dale Oudems, assisted me with getting the flooring, that Deirdre purchased, to the cottage one rainy day.  He just happened to look up at the roof and says, "Have they had this roof inspected?  It looks like they could use a new one.  Have them send me some information about the organization and I'll see what I can do to get them one."  He was so matter of fact when he said it, so I was like, ok.  I got the information to him and two to three days later, the company where he is the human resources manager; CertainTeed in Peachtree City, Ga...was calling the CEO of the United Methodist Children's Home to find out how many tiles they needed in order to replace the roof!  Shut the front door!  Speechless!  Again, I am so blessed; so much so to the point where I can't do anything except say "Thank you, Jesus"!  We are all blessed to be a blessing, and my friends totally walk in this!  Again, Thank you Jesus!

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

*Quote

 

***Although I've not taken any additional pictures of the space, please visit the RSA tab at the top to keep up with the progress as I move forward with this incredibly amazing project!

Read More

Monday's Office

I'm not sure if I've ever featured a masculine office space before?  If I have it's only been one or two.  The elements that most caught my eye in this space are the finishes and textures.  I wish I could tell if the walls are painted or are covered in a wallpaper; either way, I'm really attracted to the gray with the natural wood crown molding.  These are a great complement to each other.  We painted our downstairs and loft area last year gray, and we have light hardwood floors that I think looks really good together.  So this combination is very familiar.  The texture of the bookshelf looks as though it's brick, slate, or even wood.  Sometimes it's challenging to tell because of all of the great innovations in design right now.  Wood is now being made to resemble stone, stone is being made to resemble wood, and so on and so forth.

 

Did you notice the little bar tray on the third shelf?  Now that's what I'm talking about!  You never know what the day holds and what you're going to be up against, so it's always a good idea to have some spirit lifters nearby to help in case of an emergency, or a cause for celebration.  I love the way the framed images are hung on the wall just below the bar shelf.  That's not really anything that I've thought to do and I'm liking it a lot!

 



David Scott's gentleman's study at the 2013 Kip's Bay Showhouse

 

My dad is the man's man; no fuss, no muss, and a little messy (sorry Daddy), but I could totally see him working in this space. It has a masculine vibe with somewhat of a no nonsense ease. It is decorated in a collected way, but still well edited. The antique desk works great in a room that has a more modern sensibility, showing how the two can work together to create an office that is comfortable and conducive to getting down to business, as well as kicking up your heels and just reading a good book.  I know this may seem rather insignificant, but the addition of plants and flowers in any space automatically brightens it and lightens the air.  Oh, and let us not forget the placement of art!

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

Image via my Pinterests board Work Spaces



Read More

With a Man in Mind

I was having a conversation the other day with a friend of mine where we were discussing trends in interior design that had staying power.  The one that we both agreed that is here to stay is the impact that men have had on their living spaces.  Obviously, women's voices will always be heard in design just because that's still considered more of what we do, but with the family dynamic undergoing some changes with stay at home dad's and/or men working from home; their needs and desires must be addressed.  Not to mention with more and more men wanting nicer, more stylish and sophisticated diggs, they are taking more of an active and deliberate role in creating environments that speak to who they are and their lifestyles. 

 

 

Men tend to think more about function first and then aesthetics.  That's not to say they put a small amount of value on nice looking things, it's just that it needs to suit the purpose first and then be great looking.  Oh my gosh, let's not forget about convenience and their interests.  These are the jumping off points for their design endeavors.  Once these are satisfied, they can then move on to the task of making it amazing.

 

 

Linen, denim, a pocket square, and a nice watch!  I would say this is a great way to do casual.

 

Leather totes are a very stylish and handsome way for men to carry their work essentials.  This tote would look good whether he's wearing jeans or a suit.

 

 

Bed and bedding... Now obviously not everyone is okay with a mattress on the floor; not even the average guy.  However as shown above, as long as the space is clean, organized, and clutter free it can work.  This is totally a bachelors bedroom!  The wall color is subtle with a couple of great framed images, and the on trend brass details in the art lights and light fixture, well I mean, it's fabulous.  The draperies hung simply from discreet hardware, along with the no nonsense bedding...hmmm, just smart.  This room would not offend me at all.  I would date this man.  Well, I would have dated him!

 

 

Okay, so I had to throw Lenny in for a little eye candy!  Wow, just beautiful.  I remember when I was a little girl, my dad's facial hair would tickle my face and I didn't really like it all that much.  My how things have changed!  I love a nicely groomed beard.  Yes, I really do (nodding approvingly as I smile from ear to ear). 

 

What can I say about this Bugatti Veyron?  Sexy?  Absolutely.

 

Accessories are the details that speak volumns and yet they are most often the last to be given any thought at all.  I do think this is changing with the guys.  I don't know, there seems to be an evolution of sorts happening.  I am so glad about this, too.

 

 

Really!  The high ceiling along makes this bathroom incredible!  Come on!  The contrast of the wood planks and the beams is striking!  The dual vanity, reminiscent of cross-legged trays that are used in living areas to hold anything from bar essentials to collections of pictures and treasures is totally handsome in the rich walnut finish.  I'm loving the louvered window treatments.  It is a very clean and clever way of letting light in and also having privacy when needed.  The wall tiles make a huge statement in large part because of their size and in part because of their finish.  Interesting also is what appears to be wood slats in the walk-in shower.  Do you see this?  Only what is convenient, necessary, and functional in a very sophisticated design.

 

 

Classic.  Both the wardrobe and the club chair.

 

Obvioulsy, women aren't the only ones that need organization in their closets.  There is a place for everything here; even a place to sit, which by the way is a very smart chair with a hide underfoot to add a little warmth and texture. 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

*Images via my All About Men Pinterest board



Read More