Modern Rustic Design Trend

Are you on the bandwagon, yet? It's been sneaking it's way in for a couple of years, but is full throttle right now! Modern Rustic Design is what I'm talking about. We built a house close to 8 years ago with this style before it really had a name. The best way I can describe it is texture vs. smooth. The modern has smooth, straight lines and rustic has texture and patina in it's natural state. There is also a sense of something old that has a story and a can't-recreate feeling. Wallpaper peeling off the walls. The texture and look that can't be found.

This is the house we moved from. I love that brick backsplash and walls!

 A lot of people think the copper tub was uncomfortable. It's very comfy and the water stays warm the whole time you are in it!

 Three years ago The Wall Street Journal described it as Rough Luxe:

Rough luxe is, at first glance, a study in Contradictions, an attempt to reconcile the antique or the just plain old with the contemporary, the accumulated with the newly acquired, the decrepit with the pristine. It’s artful dissonance. For those who have come to think of luxury as smooth, shiny, polished, refined and expensive, rough luxe will undoubtedly come off as unfinished, unplanned and somewhat chaotic.

That is EXACTLY how I love to decorate. Sometimes it feels masculine. I just love to use texture and natural elements in my designs. Our last house was on the market for several years. So many people came through and thought it was too masculine. The house we moved into is very rustic. It was built in 1964 with all reclaimed, salvaged materials. You may have read this post where the family came by that built it and told me many, many stories! The character at Hansel and Gretel is so incredible. Almost every person that comes in asks for us to call them when we are ready to sell. The idea of the Modern Rustic aka Rough Luxe is to use items that are not updated or cleaned up. It's also is to use items in unlikely places. There are no rules. I have really low ceilings with dark beams covering the ceiling in what I call the dining room. Then hanging from the middle of the room is the most gorgeous chandelier with more crystals than you can imagine hanging from it! 

I work with Southern Accents Architectural Antiques promoting ways to use the architectural salvage they get from homes that are being demolished. I created a Pinterest board to give you several ideas of how to incorporate this style in your home. I hope you will check that out and if you want to see more of what Southern Accents is doing, you should like their Facebook page. It wouldn't hurt if you told them I sent you....just makes it look like I'm doing my job {wink, wink}! 

Follow along on more things that inspire me on my Facebook page, Twitter, Instagramhttp://instagram.com/lucysinspired and Pinterest!

Gift Card Giveaway for Spring Clothes from the Pants Store!!

The Pants Store. Are you familiar with it? It's a great boutique in Alabama that carries pants. And dresses, and skirts, and tops, and t-shirts, and shoes, and boots and clothes for men, women and children. So, to sum it up....EVERYTHING!  I get to work with them on projects every once in a while and we are currently working on something BIG!! I can't wait to tell you all about it....next week! ;)

In the mean time, I went by to see my friend, Peyton, because she was getting in all kinds of fun spring time clothes. I love clothes. My closet is one of the biggest rooms in our house! haha, just kidding....kind of. I need to clean that sucker out and make room for all the new arrivals. I stopped by the Leeds location as they were pulling out new things and steaming them to the 5 locations. Peyton does all the social media and has to photograph the clothes to put on Facebook. I volunteered to try on a few things....just to see what they looked like!

These are 7 For All Mankind jeans. Oh my goodness. I LOVE them! The snake is in for 2013 and I'm so glad!  It's my go to animal print. This top is a popular one, too. They just showed a picture on Facebook from market with neon colors for Spring. Neon? maybe!

I've already worn this very outfit like 3 times!

For some crazy reason this didn't make it in my shopping bag that day. I left and text Peyton when I got home to save it for me! It is so cute and very comfy! It will be perfect on those hot, sweltering days of summer! 

Ok, this went home with me, too. I couldn't decide where I would wear it, though. I need a wedding to go to this summer....who is getting married? ;)

Spring is in the air! It has been a gorgeous day in Alabama. The sun was shining and I wanted to be outside all day! I can't wait for it to be sunny and 80 degrees!

 {wait, I live in Alabama....it will go from 60-95 degrees in about 2 seconds.}

This is just a sample of what they carry. I was by myself that day. Next time I will take Emma. They have lots of things she will LOVE! I did buy John Connor a Bama Wild t-shirt. It's Pants Store's own brand of t-shirts. The one he got has the state of Alabama with a deer head outline on it. Perfect for that kid!

A few brands you may be familiar with are Antelope shoes, Southern Marsh, 7 for All Mankind, Everly, Mountain Khaki, Bama Wild, Miss Me and MM Couture. Most of the styles I'm wearing are Pants Store brand!

Now for the giveaway! After leaving the store, I sent Michael a text and asked if he would be interested in giving away a gift card to my fabulous readers! He knows how great you are and said YES! I have a $100 gift card to giveaway to one of you lucky people! They have a website, but all merchandise is NOT on there. I would recommend watching the Facebook page for all the new arrivals. Peyton was opening boxes yesterday! Lots of bright, chevron tops and there is a Hot Steal of the Week each Thursday! Check out the Rafflecopter below to enter for your chance. This contest will end February 27th at Midnight! You know the drill. Like my facebook page, the Pants Store facebook page, share on Twitter! You can also leave me a comment and let me know what outfit you like best. Honestly, I can't decide. I really need to clean out my closet! SOON!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Birmingham Home and Garden Show

Oh man, that was a long week! I can't believe how hard it was to have a booth at the show. We started set-up on Tuesday. I was at the BJCC on Tuesday morning helping the guys lay the floor, decide where to put the doors and carpenter's bench. On Tuesday evening, back to the BJCC to meet Garlan and Michael to go over a few changes and where we wanted to add flowers. We are in the middle of the Gardens of the show, so bear in mind, we aren't going to win the flower category! I was up until midnight with Lori and Ashlee working on the brochure.....we still had a typo! oopsie, maybe because we were up so late? I'm sure our eyes were crossing! We did copy it from the website, but we should have read through that!

We had a few minor issues when setting up. Thankfully, Adam knows how to use a drill, saw and nail gun! I need a clone of him in my back pocket!

I think we have an amazing booth. I'm a little worried about being an architectural salvage company and being in the middle of the Gardens. The event planner assures me that she would not PAY to move! Ok, here we go. Wednesday we added the rest of the banners and all of the little things. Carpenter's pencils and small blocks of reclaimed wood with a Southern Accents logo stamped on them were giveaways.

A few of us "in" the booth. That's Daphney from Thursday, Garlan and I were there Saturday and Sunday and Michael stopped by on Saturday to check out how his flowers looked in the booth!

I was thankful to not have to work on the booth this night. Emma was trying out for cheerleader on Friday and I wanted to see her practice. I needed to feel good about her being ready! Of course, she was! She's a pro ;)! The show started at 11:00am on Thursday. Mike met me at our booth with the brochures. Garlan brought in a few things we needed at the last minute and the show got started!!

We were full force all day Thursday. There were lots of people waiting to get in before the doors open. I had so much fun meeting each person and telling them about Southern Accents. Thursday was Valentine's Day. I had no food and nothing to drink all day! Someone could've brought me dinner, don't you think? Daphney brought me lunch and I ate half of my chicken salad sandwich at 9:30 in bed that night! I was worn out and thankful I didn't have to work on Friday.

I did meet Heather and Mandy at the show Friday morning. They were running a little behind. I didn't mind hanging out at the booth for them. I ended up staying until around 1:00. Cheer tryouts were after school and I had to be there for Emma! She went through around 5:30 and said she did everything perfectly! I am always so proud of her. She works hard at cheer and tumbling and it pays off! After she finished, I took her to Taziki's, one of her favorite places to eat. While we were sitting there the results were in! SHE MADE IT!! We were thrilled! Being in Middle School has lots of lessons. This year a good friend that was on the squad last year didn't make it again. Emma was very upset and not sure how to handle it. I talked her into texting her on Sunday. I think it was good for both of them.

Saturday and Sunday are a complete blur. I was at the show at 10:00am on Saturday and barely remember being home until Sunday night! I do think the show was very successful. We got several leads and lots of email addresses! I think they are doing the Hunstville Home and Garden show......not sure if I'm going to make that one! I will have to wait a few days to decide!

 I was so glad to do this project. It was fun designing the booth and banners. I think it turned out gorgeous. We had lots of compliments and lots of interest in the store. I had a blast meeting so many people and giving them a better understanding of the company.

Just a few more photos from our booth. It should've won an award! We were on Fox6 the morning of the show. One of the news anchors broadcast live right in front of it!

All of this could not have happened without months of work! I know the store was pretty much shut down for a week working on the floor and the blocks of wood. Thanks to everyone that had a hand in making it perfect! It was all worth it, don't you think?

Hickory Flooring at the Creek Party!

This flooring came in several months ago to Southern Accents. I knew it was going to be gorgeous and knew I would use it somewhere! I was thrilled when the Creek Party! plans were coming to fruition and I would have a house to build. We lived in our last house for 7 years and while I was VERY sad to move, I was also VERY ready to change a few things. The Creek Party! was the perfect place for my creativity. I've been giving you sneak peeks along the way. We are opening the house this weekend for the first real party. Connor's Grandfather turned 85 in January and we are celebrating with the 50 close family members! I saw on the weather that it's going to be gorgeous that day! {yay}

So, back to the hickory flooring. That's why we're here, right? They milled this floor in several widths. I love wide plank flooring, so we went with the 5 inch planks. The main floor is hardwood and the basement is stained concrete. I'm just going to show off the pics now.

I was in the loft looking down on the floors in this picture. That is a ladder and it's HIGH! But, I love the color variation in this flooring. We chose to just put a clear coat on them to show the natural colorations!

 Another "top" view.

You may have seen this one before. That screen door, the wood balcony for the loft and the heart pine table built by Connor's Grandfather. I love this picture!

 A view of the kitchen. This is one I took and instagrammed. The house was still unfinished here, but you can see the skin wrapped beams and that octagon shaped one in the center is a beauty!

Creek Party - One More Week!

We only have one more week before the Creek Party will be holding it's first party!! We are celebrating my husband's Grandfather's birthday. We call him Papa. He is 85 years young! We're so excited to break in the Creek Party for his birthday. It is the perfect first "party", don't you think?

We were out there on Saturday and Sunday. We made beds, hung pictures and other fun stuff on the walls. The kids played climbing up and down the ladder! We HAVE to get a staircase to get into the loft. It's high and dangerous!

In the basement, we have barn wood skins on the walls. They are very rustic. It's a huge open room with concrete floors, a bar on one end and the door at the other end is a garage door. I have a feeling it will stay open ALL the time! We may need one of those screen things to keep the bugs out!

I took a few pics with my iphone of the crate-shelving wall. I wanted these over the table for games, etc. We decided to move it to another wall and I have a feeling it will be moved once again. Here is what is up now. I got these at Scott's Antique Market last month. I'm heading back there on Friday and can't WAIT! I will be getting a few more, no doubt. These are great for lots of projects.

Anyone notice it's the shape of an L? Laura and I decided it looked best that way ;)!

I also hung the arrow chalkboard. I've been selling these in my Etsy shop. I had this one left and knew in the back of my mind it would end up at the creek! I LOVE the way it looks on this wall. It's the first thing you see when you walk downstairs.

This is such a cool place and I know there will be lots of memories made here. I plan on sharing as many details as I can here. It's going to be a great party!!!

Smoking Glue Guns January Edition

I know, it's January, but our craft was inspired by Valentine's decor, so we decorated for the day of LOVE! I love all the banners and Ashlee's chalkboard from her childhood with our theme!

This was our inspiration. Ashlee took some ideas she saw on Pinterest as the inspiration. Our old wood stash has come in handy for several projects!  I love how these are so far from perfect cuts. We wanted to blend the rough and rustic with the sweet feeling of yarn and hearts.

We used the circular saw and the sawzaw to cut these. We should have a video camera set up for that. It's comical and dangerous! Ashlee was on the phone when I tried to use the sawzaw for the first time. I think I scared her!! I know how to use it now. {watch out }

I love how Lori captures everyone working and enjoying each other. There are some pretty serious moments, too. You want those nails to be lined up just right! {wink}

I didn't have any yarn at home, but found this spool of velvet ribbon from Scrap ETC days. I had no idea if it would work. I LOVE how it turned out! I didn't fill completely in. 

My lines seem uniform. I love how Nichole's were in all different directions. It's like a puzzle. I made an F and it's pretty thin. I'm going to do this to make it look more full. It really makes an impact!

Lori's cross was one of my favorites. She used all thin pieces and did a green stain on the wood. Her jute was really thick and stands out on that background. I see a Christmas Tree in the future!!! Or a star? The possibilities with this are endless!! You can see through these pictures the process. 

I think one of my favorite things about getting together with a group of women to make something is that even with one inspiration, you can have so many different looks. Everyone's personality takes over and you come out with your own, beautiful piece of art!

Does anyone else get together with a group to do craft projects? I would love to see your works! Leave a link in the comments so I can check it out!

playing at this linky party this week: