which comes first, the furnishings or the art?  should my art match my sofa?  does this painting go with this coffee table?

believe it or not, we get asked these questions all the time.  and when i say we, i mean me and lauren, of course, but also our friend kate singleton, who runs a blog and a super cool art consultancy called arthound.  kate contacted us a few months back and we’ve been chatting about our similar business philosophies ever since.  we thought it’d be fun to put together a little series to explore ways we can combine art and furniture pieces to create cohesive rooms, as well as help answer some of your burning art questions.  so here it is, the first edition of decorate from the ART!  (get it?)

so in this edition, we’ll start with the furniture pieces.  let’s imagine that our fictional client already owns this gorgeous ornate bed, a sexy side table, a slouchy chair, and a modern wardrobe.  kate took a look, and suggested a few pieces that she thought might work in the room.

this big love by christine kessler, and langdon graves’ hold.  we loved the addition of the soft pink to our monochromatic scheme, and the surreal quality of the second piece was a great match for our dramatic furniture.  now, the fun part.  accessories!!!

we added bedding, a pillow, a blanket, an alarm clock, and a funky chandelier, and voila!  our room is done.  very girly, very over the top, and everything works together.  once we had the art in the space, the direction was clear, and it was easy to choose pieces that echoed the art without over powering it.  our fictional client loves it of course, and so do we!

next time we’ll work with the same furniture, but different art, and take the room in a whole other direction!

come out and see us again, or for the very first time!  in the spirt of “back to school”  we’re going to get back to work, by helping you create or just revamp your home office to make it a room you actually like to be in.  because, let’s face it friends, sometimes just entering the room is half the battle!

we’d love to see you at the @work design shop (7500 west madison, in forest park) on thursday, august 26th at 6:30!  just rsvp to julia@atworkdesign.com to attend.

i know. i know. it’s been a long time since either of us have blogged. sorry! i’m going to say that it’s a good thing…we’re so busy and haven’t had the time to think about anything other than the clients we’re working with at the moment. but on the other hand…i miss you guys! i miss my little online ramblings. anyway, i’m taking a momentary break from the moodboards to share this project with you guys.

my sister was lucky enough to find this kids desk on the side of the road. hooray for free furniture! neat but not inspiring.

but after a good sanding, a coat of glossy orange paint, and whiteboard treatment on the desktop, it’s perfect! a great place for my niece to play and scribble and do homework when she’s old enough.

no? not excited about doing homework? sorry, kk.

yes this was just an excuse to post pics of a cute baby.

bye bye for now.

we were hanging pics at a client’s home the other day, when she whipped out this ridiculously handy tool.  seriously, we were floored.  we’ve never seen something so clever.  ever.  it’s called the picture placer.

all it is is a ruler with a little screw screwed halfway in.

the instructions are printed on the placer itself.  all you do is slip the head of the screw into your picture hanging wire, and hold the picture by the placer.  making sure it’s centered, place your picture against the wall where you want it to hang.

then press firmly on the center of the picture, (or your loved one’s face) and the pointy end of the screw, which was facing the wall, creates a little divot in exactly the place your nail should go!

brilliant, right?  now go make your own!  gallery walls for everyone!!!!!!!