Designing Woman…..

Well first I must say, Dallas you disappointed me!!!!
When we arrived on Thursday night it was COLD and by
Friday it was SNOWING!!!  Needless to say, our team played
NO soccer games and this soccer momma hardly left the
Hilton Garden Inn in Ft. Worth!!!  No Wisteria visit for moi!
Hopefully I'll be back someday and am quite sure
my opinion will change.  Thank you for all the suggestions,
perhaps next time Mother Nature will cooperate.

**************

I know I have said it before, but having people hire me
to help them make their home prettier and more functional
still surprises me sometimes….I have to pinch myself that
I get to work independently in a creative field.  It truly fills
me up more that you will ever imagine.

And lately, work with local clients has kept me very
busy!  Right now I am working on MANY different styles
of homes and decor - from contemporary, transitional, neutral,
stately and traditional.  I have some brave souls and some
who prefer to play it safe….I am happy to accommodate it all!

I thought this week I would show you some recent
concept boards that I have worked on for a few local
clients - many times I do these to show a look or direction.
Some of the items are definite selections for the room,
others are more a representation.  Ultimately,  I always
want the client to trust me with styling the space so usually
the accessories are more representative.

Happy Monday to all! I hope the sun is shining where you are.

Our *holiday* cards and some {giveaway} love from Minted.com…..

I am not ashamed to admit that this year I sent 'Happy New Year' cards.

I did it for a number of reasons - first, I did not have a good

photo that everyone agreed was Christmas card worthy -

Mom's of small children, hear me now……enjoy the days

where YOU and you alone choose the photo YOU like best -

without hearing, "ooh, you CANNOT send THAT photo out, I 

look soooooo gross in that picture"…..

And the second and final reason I sent a New Year's card was 

that I just didn't have my sh*t together……And as the song goes, 

I 'let it go', 'let it go'……

Pictured above is the front of the card that was sent to our peeps on

approximately January 15th.  I love this photo of my girls because 

it sums up their personalities to a 'T'.  My 16 year old

is big hugger, lover, and overall touchy/feel-y girl - her sister, not 

so much…thus the pose!  My 16 year old got her braces off about

a week after this photo was taken…right in time for her

sister to get hers on…next week - cha$ching! 

While I love this photo, I sometimes long for the days when I got

to choose their outfits, hairstyles and had time for a proper

photo shoot…….ah, the good old days!

I was grateful for Minted.com and the fact they had SO

many great New Year's cards to choose from  for all us slackers!

******

As a HUGE fan of the all the 'minor' holidays - I have promised myself that I
am not going to be behind on my Valentine's Day preparations - In the past

I have order personalized Valentine-themed journals for my girls,
this year Minted has some beautiful options for Valentine's gifts, art and cards!

Minted has been a faithful partner of Forever*Cottage…..I am a HUGE
fan of all their products.  And to help YOU get a head start on your
Valentine's gifts, Minted has graciously offered to give TWO
Forever*Cottage readers a $75 credit to shop Minted!

To Enter:

* Go visit Minted and check out their fabulous
Valentine's Day products.  Then come back here and
let me know which ones are your favorites!

That's it!

I will close the comments on midnight on Sunday, Feb 1st
and announce the winners on Monday!

My Favorite Things 2014

First, thank you to Melissa from 320 Sycamore for including me in
her Favorite Things blog tour this year!  I loved doing this -
I even asked my family what they thought my favorite things were!
I wanted this list to be authentic….things I really love, use
and were a part of my life in 2014!

I have included some explanations and links if you
are interested in making MY favorites YOUR favorites!

Volcano Candles
These candles meet my 'candle standards' in many ways -
They smell good, are in a pretty container and are long lasting.
If you want your home to smell like an Anthropologie store, these are your candles!
I tend to burn a candle every day - I find it calming and it instantly cozies up any space.

BM Revere Pewter
I would define this neutral paint color as my 'go to' neutral.
Revere Pewter is painted on the walls of many satisfied 2014 clients, enough said.

iPhone 6 Plus
I recently upgraded my old iPhone 4 and chose the biggie, iPhone 6 Plus.
Despite my children's complete embarrassment and teasing….I love it.  Since I am 40ish,
my eyes have a hard time reading small print and this phone is a great help!

Ugg moccasins 
My days have been busier this year with my business and my
momma duties….when I come home after a long day, I switch into these fluffy
moccasins and instantly feel cozy and comfortable!  Uggs can be pricey but
last forever - totally worth the investment!

Hang and Level Tool
I hung many a gallery walls this year and I could not have
done it {without putting a million holes in my client's walls} without this tool.
It's an 'As seen on TV' product which cracks me up.

21-Day Fix
I am not really overweight but last spring I was feeling
'soft' and really wanted to do something to tweak my eating.  I already exercise
regularly but felt like my eating could improve and I desperately needed some
discipline.  I joined Marta's group and did the 21-Day Fix.  I stuck with it and
ate NO flour and very little sugar for 21 days.  I have continued to really
eat very little flour and have definitely increased my fruit and vegetable intake.
My jeans are looser and more importantly, I feel better!

Noonday Jewelry
I don't remember when I first learned about Noonday,
but I have purchased pieces over the last couple years from my friend Paige and
wear them often…..This year, I hosted my first in-home Noonday party with
a local Noonday Ambassador and definitely increased the number of
pieces in my collection.  I love knowing that my jewelry is handcrafted by
artisans that receive a living wage in return for my purchases!  Noonday is
changing lives and bringing hope to impoverished countries all over the world,
that is something amazing that I am happy to be a part of!

Starbucks Green Tea Lemonade
This was included at the urging of my teenager……who describes my
love for this drink as an 'obsession'.  I can't help myself….
Admittedly, I drank many of these over the summer.

Beauty Aids
I am a pretty simple girl when it comes to beauty products.
I try to spend as little time as possible getting ready in the morning….
I love Smashbox's Camera Ready CC cream!  It evens out my skin and
gives it a healthy, dewy glow.  It's really forgiving an application is super easy.

I recently went pretty short with my hair but will never give up my
Kerastase products!  Now, these products are on the pricey side
but I have learned that better products are more concentrated so you
don't need to use as much in your hair.  I highlight my hair often and this
product leaves my hair looking healthy and smooth!

Now you can head to over to Elizabeth at Fresh Plate to see what
are her Favorite Things!

** Also - Melissa is hosting a link-up on Thursday and would like all
of you to post and link YOUR favorite things if you would like!
Please do - inquiring minds want to know!

MODERNBATH.COM…...

When modernbath.com contacted me and asked me to take a look at their

products, the timing could not have been better….My girls' bath could use some 

attention and updates so using the modernbath.com website, I was able to 

put together a inspiration board with some products that are not just beautiful

but really quality items that will stand the test of time and use!

Modernbath.com is a wonderful online resource for luxurious home
and bathroom products including bathroom vanities, bathroom faucets,
bathroom cabinets and mirrors, bathroom shower panels, and a variety of other
contemporary bathroom items at discounted prices.  Go check them out
if you are in need of any of those products for your bathroom projects!

vanity/toilet/storage cabinet/mirrors

Schoolhouse Electric

There are so many wonderful things about my hometown of Portland, Oregon -

we have great food, wine, beer, plenty of coffee,

parks, mountains, rivers, an eclectic/creative population…..

AND we are home to Schoolhouse Electric!  

I had the opportunity this week to visit their retail store and tour their manufacturing facility

in northwest Portland - it was SO fun to see how Schoolhouse's fixtures are

really handmade - such great care goes into making each and every

fixture!  And they make them ALL right here in Portland.

 As you can see, their facility is very in keeping with their products - in

fact, I even got to see the fourth floor where they shoot most of their 

products for their website and catalogs.  The painted brick, beams and industrial

feel serve as the perfect backdrop for product shots.

The retail space is SO inspiring and includes a coffee shop

and florist too!  Mixed in with their beautiful, vintage inspired lighting are

art prints, books, serving pieces, furniture, bedding, throw pillows, hardware,

gifts, shower curtains, aprons, tote bags etc….all with that

vintage/cool/hip Schoolhouse Electric vibe!

Schoolhouse just launched their spring line and there is SO
much goodness…….

I chose a few favorites but it was so hard to narrow it down!

How about that brass cabinet hardware?  Or that striped

duvet/sheet set?  And the lighting……..So good!

You can checkout Schoolhouse Electric online HERE!

Mother's Day Gift Ideas from Uncommon Goods { + a giveaway!}…….

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

In many ways I feel like yesterday was Christmas, yet this week is Easter - the
days seem to be whizzing on by (see yesterday's post)!  

Spring is really my favorite time of year, so
many special days - including my birthday, Easter and Mother's Day!

Uncommon Goods is a online retailer that features unique designs and
handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment and without
harm to animals or people.  I love that Uncommon Goods mission is to 
support artists and designers - half of what they sell is made by hand,
in the good ole USA!  I admire their commitment to the creative community!
Check out some of their wonderful gift ideas HERE.

When Uncommon Goods asked me to choose some of my
favorite Mother's Day gift items, I had no problem finding
lots of things I would love to receive from my peeps.
You can go HERE to see some of these items for yourself.

Uncommon Goods is offering ONE lucky Forever*Cottage
reader a $50 gift card to help YOU with your 
Mother's Day gift shopping!

To Enter:

* Go to Uncommon Goods and check out their site

* Come back here and let me know what gift from 
Uncommon Goods you would love to receive.

*Share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
and let me know for an additional entry.

I will choose a winner on Wednesday, April 16th.
Enter by Tuesday, April 15th midnight PST.

Christmas Ideas 2013 - What momma wants........

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

I learned long ago that it's best if I give my family
suggestions for what to give me for Christmas - makes
life easier and happier!  This year, as in past years,
I put together a collection of suggested gift items.
Obviously, I like monogrammed and cozy/warm items.
Oh, and I could use a new wallet.
Have you seen the Kontex towels
made in Japan? They had me at 'gingham'.
And I might want to show my love for my
beloved Oregon.

And lest you think I am spoiled - this collection is
sort of like the list my 11 year old creates to send to 'Santa' -
10 pages of items created as
the holiday catalogs arrive in the mail......
It's become her holiday tradition despite not really getting anything
off the list.  However, she is happy with anything she is given
and is one of the most generous and
enthusiastic gift givers.

A girl can dream, right?

If I could I would....

Emerald green has come back into design favor.....

Recently, when looking for a sofa for a design client I came

across the sofa pictured above at Crate & Barrel - isn't she lovely?

So I whipped up a little design board  featuring the sofa

along with some companion pieces...in a room that is 

so unlike the spaces I live in and have designed lately,

but nonetheless.....a girl can dream, right?

Happy Birthday to me.....and a giveaway for you!

Today is my birthday. 

 Unfortunately, I am blogging from 

my cozy bed - I am down and out with a nasty cold

 - no bueno.

This week, my friend Jeanne Oliver wrote a beautiful post 

that really resonated with me.....I encourage you to take the

time to read her words. I feel fortunate to have many 

women in my life like the special ones she has in hers.

Inspired by Jeanne, and to celebrate my birthday, 

I would like to give away a design board to one

lucky Forever*Cottage reader.  Basically, you pick

a room in your house, send me photos, tell me your 

likes/dislikes, budget, how you use the room, and other

pertinent information and I design a room for you. 

Sound good?

******************

To Enter:

** Simply leave me a comment telling me 

which room in your home you would like

my help with - don't worry, if you win you can

change your mind, I won't hold you to it.
** added 4/18 - I will close comments and choose
a winner at 6:00 pm PST tonight!

Jonathon Adler Inspired Design....

Last week I was fabric shopping and came across this grouping of

new HGTV fabrics.  I posted the photo above on Instagram and commented

that I would like to design a Jonathon Adler inspired space using 

these fabrics.  What can I say, this is the way my brain works,

I am weird like that ......

A tried and true design junkie, I am.  Adler is a bit too
contemporary for my home but boy do I think he is a genius.
I love his whimsy and playfulness in design - he just
doesn't take it so seriously. I love that.
And if Mr. Adler would like to send me one of his
fabulous needlepoint pillows that would be nice too.

Guest Bedroom

We have guests coming to visit! Our next door

neighbors from our Minnesota Cottagewood 

neighborhood are coming to Oregon! 

We are SO excited.

Nothing gets you moving on a decorating project

like the anticipation of guests coming.

Our guest bedroom serves dual purposes in our home.

First and foremost, the room functions as

my husband's office but also needs to accomodate

guests when needed - it's a tricky combination which

is why I have basically done very little with this

room since we moved in almost 2 years ago.

The Schumacher Chiang Mai Dragon fabric kicked off the color

palette which needed to lean in a manly direction - ahem, HUSBAND'S OFFICE.

The navy linen shams and duvet cover are from West Elm and the quilt

and coral blanket are from Target!

The curtains are Ikea - I added the navy grosgrain ribbon.  The

bamboo blinds are from Overstock.

I am still waiting on hardware for the Ikea Rast nightstands 

I hacked and sconces for either side of the bed.......

I ordered some but had second thoughts after they

came so I ordered another set........

I thought it would be fun to have you guess 

which sconces I ultimately chose to use.....

What do you think? What would you choose?

Master Bedroom Inspired....

Since moving into our home almost 2 years ago, our master bedroom
has remained a bit neglected.  I had it painted before we
moved in and have kept the same bedding and furniture -
it's perfectly fine but I am ready to turn it up a notch!

I created the design board above to work out a color
palette - I am partial to white bedding but wanted
to use some color and I am loving the coral/navy blue combo.
The room already has a pretty dark grey on the walls but
I am definitely considering going even darker - isn't everyone?
Almost a reason to NOT go darker - ha!

The art is pure inspiration - I have had a bee in my bonnet to
paint something myself {gasp!}.  Our current headboard
is also going to be transformed with paint and fabric -
**Disclaimer - I am not a super diy-er so we
shall see how this goes.

Happy President's Day weekend!

Young House Love Lighting ......inspired space.

Have you seen the new Young House Love

lighting collection at Shades of Light? It really is 

fantastic and very reasonably priced.  I was

particularly smitten with the 'Large Globe Light'

pictured above, it comes in SEVEN colors!  

While I gravitate to a more traditional design aesthetic 

in my own home, I am at heart a design-junkie who

appreciates all kinds of styles. 

This fixture could be used in so many 

different spaces.  For fun, I created a design

board for a modern living space using

the Large Globe Light!  I like to

 keep modern spaces from feeling too 'cold' by

incorporating lots of texture - the flokati rug,

grasscloth wallpaper and mirrored coffee table all add

those important elements of texture to the space!

I would love to help you design the room of your dreams - whether

it be traditional, contemporary, eclectic, glam or transitional.

I have a couple e-design client openings in the month of February - 

please email me at jill.hinsondesigns@gmail.com 

so we can chat about your project!

Happy Monday to you!  

*** this is NOT a sponsored post - I just love the new lighting collection!

Lake House Design

I have been working with a client in Minnesota over the past couple

months.  The family of six recently purchased their 'forever' home -

located very near a lake where they enjoy boating and swimming.

The great room is the first room you see when you walk in the home.

The design was inspired by the client's favorite piece of art

{included above}.  The room needs to be a comfortable space

for entertaining and family activities.

While many might automatically think of white slipcovers and striped cotton

rugs when they think lake house design - this house is in Minnesota.  And

having lived in Minnesota for a couple years, I know that the chilly

climate calls for a warmer lake house design.  A lighter, California beachy

style would be out of place in the upper midwest.  The design includes

a sailboat model for the fireplace mantle, neutral chenille slipcovers 

 on the pair of Lee sofas, warm woods and texture
with baskets to store extra pillows and/or a cuddly

throw for a cold winter's night. I designed a

space that is pretty much all about tradition but with some

contemporary elements, like the floor lamp, included for this young family.

********

Have a wonderful weekend - stay warm for all of you

in those colder climates!  

I will be enjoying some precious one on one time with my little

girl while the big girl and the hubby are away for

a soccer tourney.  

Client Project......'Finishing Touches'

I was hired by a friend to help her 'finish' her kitchen and family room -
now mind you, this friend's home is gorgeous and many would think,
"whaaaaaat"?????  Why does she need a designer?

However, I am finding lots of homeowners are good at what I call the
'big stuff' - couches, tables and rugs but struggle with how to really
make their space feel cozy and personal.

This particularly space if full of white furniture and white cabinets.
And while I knew my friend did not want to inject a ton
of color, I knew the space needed texture and some
'pops' of color sprinkled about.  The art chosen for above the
mantle definitely inspired the color palette.

If you are interested in either starting or finishing your space in 2013,
I would love to help! Please email me at jill.hinsondesigns@gmail.com.

My list.....

I'll be honest - the gift giving part of Christmas stresses me out!
Of course, it has always been important to get our
girls enough to make them happy but not too
much as to over-indulge them.  My husband and I
have usually kept to a couple simple gifts - but he
is completely hard to buy for!  My parents are
generous so you always want to try and match
their generosity and also have the gift reflect
your appreciation. Often, I feel like I fall short.

Me, I am pretty easy - I know what I like and then
I put everything in a Polyvore set and blog about it
for the world to see!  Mostly, I did this
for fun - as many of these items are
pretty spectacular!
Based on my selections, I
would say I am a girl looking to work on her fitness,
who likes to be comfortable and stylish and
perhaps cook a mean pot roast! Ha!

*We are not yet decking our halls - still enjoying
pumpkin pie and an impromptu out of town visitor!
Happy Saturday to you!

Client Project: Sisters sharing a space!

I am lucky to be working with a local client on designing a
space for her two daughters who share a bedroom.  What makes it extra fun....
and where I bring some credibility, is the girls are the same ages
as my girls!

While  I love to design kid spaces - this project is challenging!  I need
to be able to satisfy two different personalities and different ages!
Luckily, the room is large and allows me to  design two different living
spaces that meet each girl's needs and wants in terms of use and color.

The design board above is for the 13 year old's side of the room.  I love
using inspirational art for kids this age!  It was also important that
she have 'hang-out' space for her and her friends and accessories
for a dressing table that is built-in to the space.  She
also wanted flexibility to have framed photos of her friends and family
so I included Ikea's picture ledges into the plan, they will allow
her to add the photos and frames she wants and change them
out easily.

The bedding in PB Teen and the rug is from Dash & Albert -
quite sophisticated in black and white!

I'll be back soon to show you the 10 year old sister's space!

House Beautiful Cover Inspired

I fell in love with this room when I spotted it on the cover of 

the current issue of House Beautiful.  

The room belongs to designer 

Thom Filicia and is my kind of space -

seemingly unintentional, collected and comfortable.

I created a design board inspired by the space

and thought I would share it with you.

So what do you think this room's 'show-stoppers' are?

The room shows off the designers new line of fabric's 

beautifully and I am in LOVE with that coffee table.  I especially

like that the room seems so accessible to people with real

budgets - a sisal rug, black lampshades and flowers!

Notice the seagrass wallpaper?  It's just one element 

of texture in this room.  I really believe that texture;

nubby, shiny, smooth, worn, new, fluffy etc... make

rooms sing!

I have been working with local clients and design boards

definitely help communicate a designers vision.  

So how did I do?