I have mentioned that we plan to do some remodeling to the downstairs of our 80+ year old home.  So, I do not want to do a lot of decorating in advance of what is sure to include a fair bit of demolition.  But, we like to entertain and have a few things on the schedule in the next month and I really do not want our guests to see this….

The Maddie G Family Room 

I thought posting this pitiful image with a promise of “after” shots might hold me to finding an interim style to tide us over until we have more permanent decor in place.  Here are a few inspirational images I’ve found while searching online.

 Cottage and Vine

In the image from Cottage and Vine, I love the texture provided by the grasscloth.  I also really like the mix of elements from the natural basket to the white ceramic and the glass.  The shelves look well done but not overdone!

Tobi Fairley

I love the color in the back of these bookshelves and the use of family photos interspersed.  I know we are not supposed to overdo it with photos in the home….but I do love a photo to bring a personal touch into a space.

Sally Steponkus

In the room by Sally Steponkus above, I love that she actually used books to fill the shelves!  And, I love how many of the red bindings subtly coordinate with the chairs in the forground.

Jay Jeffers

More color in the background and careful editing.  Notice the way the books are stacked in the bottom left.  I like the creative placement of the books vs. just lining them up on the shelf.

Finally, for even more inspiration and some “Do’s and Don’ts” hop on over to Dwellers without Decorators who had bookshelf styling on her mind last week as well.

Stay tuned, I vow to do something with my bookshelves this week.

The week before last I read on katiedid that Jay Jeffers’ San Francisco home is now on the market.  I have long admired his work and even copied one of his designs for my own home.  Below is the Mark Nelson “Stump Rug” he designed for the 2009 Modern by Design Showhouse.

Photo by Matthew Millman. Design by Jay Jeffers.

Here is the same rug in his home.  Image via Southeby’s.

When researching for a blog post on a powder room that Jeffers had designed, I emailed his firm to request more information on the products used.  I often do this and never hear back from the designer, but was surprised to hear back from Mr. Jeffers himself.  Of course, I had to tell him I’d been inspired by his rug.  His response was unexpected and thoughtful…he appears to be as nice as he is insanely talented.

In any case, to see more of his incredible home, hop on over to Southeby’s.

Ever since I saw the below powder room on Odi et Amo, I have not been able to get it off my mind.  I do not think I am the only one, I’ve also seen it posted over at Aesthetic Oiseau and House of Turquoise.

The powder room was designed by Jeffers Design Group.  I seem to fall in love with everything Jeffers and his group does.  You may recall that my dining room rug (which is being delivered next week, yay!) was inspired by the version he designed for the Modern By Design 2009 showhouse in San Francisco last year. 

In any case, my dining room is a robin’s egg blue and my adjacent living room has a cranberry silk couch and chinois print window treatments, with a dose of cranberry and a hint of blue.  So, I thought the paper in the above room might be perfect for my home.

I decided to go straight to the source for more information.  I did not fully expect for Jay Jeffers to email me back….and certainly not so quickly, but he did.  And for that I am thankful.  But, his answer was a bit more complicated. 

You see, the walls are not wallpaper.  According to Jeffers, outside the window of this powder room is Presidio National Park.  So, this is his interpretation of the Presidio.  He worked with a decorative painter to come up with the design.  The painter then took the design and painted it on canvas, which was then applied to the walls.

This morning when I checked my email, I had another email from Jeffer’s group letting me know the name of the decorative painting firm.  Based in San Francisco, Willem Racké employs a full time crew and serves both local and national/international clients.  You should definitely check out his website.  His firm has some amazing work in their portfolio.

Below is another project he did for Jeffers Design Group.  This image is from the Modern By Design 2009 Showhouse.

Jeffers Design Group.  Photographed by Matthew Millman

What do you think?  Do you love this powder room as much as I do?  I think I love it even more (if that’s possible) now that I know the work that went into creating it. 

Thanks so much to Jay and Molly at Jeffers Design Group for the information.  I really appreciate it!

One of the first design blogs I found was KATIEDID.  I love her blog and particularly loved her feature on Jay Jeffers’ designs in the Modern by Design 2009 Showhouse.  I thought everything was gorgeous (and spent hours on Jay Jeffers’ website after I read her post).  Particularly, I absolutely loved the rug he used under the game table in the below room.  It was supposed to look like the cross section of a tree stump.  I wanted this rug and set out to find the source.  I did not have to look far before I found Mark Nelson Designs.

Photo by Matthew Millman. Design by Jay Jeffers.

So, I contacted him.  He was wonderful in explaining the process to me, answering my questions, sending samples for me to touch and feel, etc.   So, basically the process was….

1. Contact
2. Rough estimate of price (e.g. Am I in the realm of possibility or am I dreaming).  Mark was great, he offered three options with a wide variance in price from the top to the bottom.  The difference was in the materials, of course.  The options at the varying price points were wool, semi-worsted wool, and silk and wool.  Of course, the showhouse rug was silk and wool.
3. Once we determined this purchase was realistic, I sent Mark paint and fabric swatches from the room.  From there, I received a box from him with samples (so I could figure out what type of materials I wanted to use) as well as a plethora of “poms” in various color possibilities.  I spent a while finalizing the perfect colors and finally made my selection.  I sent everything back to Mark and sent over a purchase order and a 50% deposit.
4. Many weeks later, I received a “strike-off” of the rug.  This was my chance to give final approval, make any changes, etc.– sortof speak now or forever hold your piece!  I LOVED it.

So, that’s where we are in this process.  But, I recently received an email from Mark.  My rug is being put on a ship tomorrow!  It will arrive in a month.  From there, it will go to a local carpet workroom.  They’ll cut a custom rug pad (which Mark included with the rug) and will deliver it to my home.  I’ll post pictures when it arrives.  To say I am excited would be an understatement!

So, do you have a vision? A rug you’ve seen that would be perfect if only a few colors were changed, materials were slightly different, etc?  Do you want to start from scratch and design your own rug from start to finish?  I’d love to hear about it.