A Sneak Peek Into Our Current Design Projects – What The HECK We Are Up To…

Tomorrow’s scheduled post got bumped at the last minute (turns out writing a post about going back to church takes a bit more editing/thought than the 6 months that I’ve spent writing it). So I realized that a lot of you don’t know what we are up to, design-wise and some of you are even calling us out in the comments (I’m actually glad you care). After the mountain house, I promised myself I would take a break from massive renovations to focus on A. the book and B. more relatable content, with a heavy dose of C. extra time with my family. That doesn’t mean that we don’t do design projects as you are clearly about to see in a minute. But meanwhile, two of our design team members went freelance in January so it’s down to Julie and me, the rest of the staff is on the editorial and partnerships duty. So it may look like there are 8 of us on design projects, but it’s just Julie and me these days. But Julie is killing it juggling so many different rooms, styles, and budgets making working at EHD truly a graduate program in design. No two projects are alike and we never ever ever know what I’ll say yes to NEXT. Here goes…

Violet’s Bedroom

My friend’s daughter’s bedroom is THIS CLOSE to being done and it’s looking VERY cute. You may remember this trend/intro post about it. We are simply waiting on the awesome bed from Buildlane to get installed in a week and then we’ll shoot it and show you what a magical mid-century fairy bedroom looks like.

I hesitate to give you too many sneak peeks, but my gosh that wallpaper and swing are already so killer (we’ll link products up in the morning when my team gets in, don’t worry).

Grace’s Bedroom – 7 Years Later

This is another very fun one. Seven years ago I designed Grace’s bedroom with Orlando (remember this video?). Her family has consistently been one of our best clients because they are frankly wonderful people that understand the design process (You know those clients who look at an invoice and say “Thanks for your hard work” then write the check? That’s THEM). So when they reached out for me to update Grace’s now 16-year-old bedroom (which will be a guest room in 2 years) we, of course, said yes (see their whole house here). This is the inspiration they sent through.

It’s more grown-up, with some old-world refinement, but don’t worry we are adding enough youth to make it still feel cool to a 16-year-old.

Please note we are still using the same antique bed that was her mom’s when she was little. We LOVE IT and those kinds of pieces make a room special. We actually took off a lot of the fun stuff from the mood board as to not give it all away, so trust me it’s going to be amped up (but we wanted to give you a sense of where we are headed).

Suzanne’s Master Bedroom

My sister-wife/neighbor/one of my best friends, Suzanne deserves a properly designed bedroom, and since she is so close and her bedroom has such charm we are of course helping her out. If you are wondering if my friends pay me or not to help them, please check out the post where I outline the “friends and family” program. Here is her inspiration, although it has shifted a bit as we have been designing it.

We are calling it “the big hug” as sometimes that’s all we want from a bedroom.

There is more to it than this (keeping the rest a secret), but we are about 4 weeks from finishing it (and might even lime wash paint it ourselves) and it’s going to be alarmingly soothing…

Chandler’s Living Room

One of my other best friends, Corbett has a brother who just moved into an AMAZING historically preserved apartment in Hollywood and we couldn’t just let it sit there without getting our hands on it.

It’s hard to tell how amazing it is, but to give you more reference here is the exterior. It’s pretty incredible.

It’s full of architectural elements that can make a room. This is our inspiration.

A lot might change, but that’s our first mood board that Corbett is helping us implement.

Emily’s (My) Living Room

Now onto our house in LA which as you know I want to shift more into the “Eclectic English Grandma” vibe. We’ve been toying around for a while and trying to figure out what that looks like for me.

I’ve made some decisions that I’m very excited about. Some floral fabrics are happening, with some pops of red and a lot of eclectic weirdness. It’s building slowly, and yet might be done in 2 months. Stay tuned.

Our Kids Shared Bedroom

The kids moved in together a year ago and mattresses have basically been on the ground since then. As a recap here’s what it looked like before the move:

It was cute, but I never walked in and was like ‘THIS IS IT’. It never felt right. So now that they live together I want to rework it and make it feel better for both of them (as well as myself).

I’m going for it in a way that I didn’t before and there will be a lot more fun elements that take it to another level. Here is a very rough board that gives you an idea without giving it away.

Hopefully, you are confused and excited. I know that I am.

Brian’s Future Office/Guestroom

The basement has become this massive source of stress. We bought this house for many reasons, one of which because it had this space that could be great for guests, as well as Brian. But it kept flooding for reasons we don’t know. It’s pretty cool. So while we are trying to figure out the source of the water damage, we are also redesigning it to function for our future needs… once the mystery is uncovered.

Julie already designed the bathroom, and the second we know how to move forward with the water damage we will implement her design.

Apartment Therapy Small/Cool Event

Meanwhile, we are also doing the “Small/Cool” Apartment Therapy trend project which is so fun and different, based on the trend that we are super into.

You can guess what they are:) #eclecticenglishgrandma

Sara’s Master Bedroom

While Sara’s living/dining and TV room are wrapped and shot (coming to you soon!). Her bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom are in the works. Here’s a peek into the bedroom…

It’s a blank slate and we are going to make it feel old world in the best new world kind of way. Here’s her inspiration. YESSSSSSSS

Ian & Trilby’s House

Lastly, besides the book, we are taking on decorating my friend’s house (maybe you remember Ian’s last home I helped with?) which is pretty much my dream house. They have a great architect that will get them to the decorating phase, and it’s there that we will enter.

It’s INSANE. Every room is special and desirable, so once we are done we’ll have like 24 different reveals for you. I hope you love beautiful rooms with an insane view and lots of old-world personalities, pattern, and color.

Of course, I still have that book to finish and if you are thinking it’s not a big feat know that it is. I asked my editor the other day if it feels like the hardest book she’s ever seen written and she confirmed, without hesitation that this book is more work than she’s ever thought possible. Somehow I pitched the most difficult design book to conceptualize, shoot, produce, write and pull together. Ever. YAY FOR ME. I know it will pay off because it’s a book I’m DYING to own myself, but if you are wondering what I’m doing beyond those projects above and writing and producing daily blog posts, it’s THAT BOOK.

Thanks for supporting and following along. We have a lot to do but I’m supported by such a great team so I know that we can nail it. xx