Throw a fabulous holiday party on a budget!

This past weekend we were celebrating 2014's big accomplishments for Nicole White Designs, including a featured spread in Better Homes and Gardens!

 

 

 

First thing to choose is a guest list,  once you come up with a comfortable number then choose a venue that can accommodate your guests. We choose Brio Tuscan grill because of their private outdoor area with 10 tables for our 30 guests.

Come up with a food and drink plan,  we wanted happy hour cocktails and appetizers along with a fabulous dessert table of cake pops and red velvet cupcakes!

 

Finally the decor, our color scheme was black, white and gold. The linens were white so we added black placemats to the tables that I folded into a diamond shape that complimented the round tables. I used gold ornaments and added gold tinsel to our hydrangeas vases.

 

 

Our dessert table was courtesy of Mimi from Divine Cakery. She used gold candalabra style cupcake stands and black and white cake stands (a score from HomeGoods) to showcase her desserts. The final touches were added by using gold gift boxes I found at the dollar store to create height to the table. I used a roll of black streamer on the dessert table to create the black and white stripes. The result was a perfect holiday party that reflected Nicoles impeccable style!

 

 

Dollar Store decorations: $50
Whole Foods Flowers: $40
Styling a party for $90 is almost unheard of but remember to keep things simple and elegant to keep costs down.

What Ive learned during my Internship with Nicole White Designs

 

Follow your heart when choosing a mentor.

When I found Nicole White Designs, I reached out to her for advice and even in her super busy schedule she replied with some great advice. They way she blogs and talks about her projects, you can tell that she puts her whole heart into everything she does...that's something I wanted to be a part of.

 

Check out her blog;

 http://www.livelaughdecorate.com/

 

Admit when you're wrong and don't assume

There are plenty of design terms I had to google while working with Nicole...what the hell is a nesting table? But anytime I didn't understand something and assumed I did, it would come back to bite me in the ass. Over ask if you don't understand.

 

Always gather all your information
There was so many times I would walk out of a store without getting the contact name and would have to call back to get it, or leave a clients home without that crucial measurement. I've learned to take notes for everything and gather all information.

Staying organized is a whole other story...

 

Do business with honesty and integrity

Owning a business and staying in business is about getting referrals and returning customers who want to work with you because they trust you. Build a good reputation and always treat clients and your employees with respect.

 

Interior Designers wear all the hats

I've seen Nicole be the creative genius she is, to a therapist to an accountant all in one day. Sometimes things can zap your creativity and that's why its so important to take time to live your life and recharge.

 

You know you're a design intern when you find this in your back pocket at lunch.

Interior design is not glamorous

I cant lie, I was warned... but I still put on my expensive suede boots and went to a job site, I was useless. You have to be willing to get your hands dirty. Especially starting out in this business, you will have to paint, clean, make home depot runs, anything to make sure the job gets done.

After I learned my lesson, I wear my sneaks and NWD shirt to Installation days!

 

 

Kourtney Kardashian Krib Envy

When Kourtney bought her first home she wanted to have everything white and neutral, then thought nevermind... I'm too young for that!

I'm so glad she did,  her home is a always an inspiration for me. She did a perfect mix of bold and bright in the bedrooms and natural cozy in the kitchen and living room. Lord Disick describes it as "Alice in Wonderland meets Beetlejuice." Check out her gorgeous home designed by Jeff Andrews.

 

 

 

 

I love the teepees she places throughout the house for the kiddies!  

 

 

 

 

 

This kitchen gives me a great idea of how to fill the space above the cabinets!  

DIY pillows tutorial for the DIY challenged.

My friend, Danielle asked me to help her with a project she found on a DIY blog on how to make custom pillows out of fabric and Liquid Stitch, sounds easy enough! The blogger stated that each pillow cost her only $3 and took her a couple hours to complete. Come on...really?

 

So Danielle chose her fabric from Fabric.com and we started making our cuts...

 

 

at $20 a yard, the fabric ended up coming to almost $100....luckily she already had the pillow fillers from old pillows that we were reusing. (Those can run you up to $40 each at Pottery Barn)

 

 

We measured the pillow fillers at 20x20 and cut the fabric adding two inches 22x22, the we made two more cuts for an envelope style pillow. The last two cuts cut taking away 5 inches so it would be (2) 22x17 cuts. Try doing this kind of measuring and math with Danielle's adorable boys running around, Finn at 5 months and Thomas at 2 with some potty training set backs... lol

 

 

 

 

We used Liquid Stitch and glued the fabric together at the borders with the color parts of the fabric touching, so you'll be looking at the inside out while the glue dries overnight.

 

The next day she flipped the fabric inside out and put the fillers in, this was surprisingly the finished product....

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, this would end up costing about $100 for four pillows and took us about 4 hours, I'd actually recommend trying this project if you have some pillows that you want to refinish with new fabric but try Joann's Fabric for a better price.

A Home Office Transformation part one

When my client contacted me to help turn his home office into an organized man-cave to run his business out of,  it looked like this... (Notice his adorable dog, Ivy)

 

 

 

 

This is the first phase of transforming his space. We added an olive green paint color and this 3 piece canvas work map picture we found on Amazon.

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned,  more to come!  

Fall Styling

I was born and raised in South Florida, I barely know what seasons are...

 

But with this Monday being the First day of Fall...it calls for some changes in your wardrobe and in your home.

 

 

Throw in those red tartan pieces!

 

Chalkboard walls for those Pumpkin Pie recipes!

 

Throw a pumpkin in the mix on your kitchen tray or coffee table.

 

Florida may be hot for another couple months but there is no reason to not bring out those booties and leather accessories.

 

 

 

 

My favorite Fall colors are Gold & Black with burgundy.

 

 
 
 
 

 

Chalkboard Wall

I need storage, space and organization in my kitchen!

My husband and I write love notes to each other...(I know, gag) but I really look forward to waking up in the morning when he has left for work to a little post it note in the kitchen that says "Good Morning, I love you" That's all...

So I figured the perfect way to organize my kitchen and still be able to leave a little handwritten note is to do a chalkboard wall! I also needed a place to organize mail and a place to house our sunglasses addiction, literally things were piling up in my kitchen....

 

Before...

 

 

I used two coats of Valspar Chalkboard paint, and two Ikea Grundtal Kitchen wall storage racks. Make sure you use good nails with anchors to hold up the heavy pots and pans.

 

After!

  

Then I hooked up my stainless steel Tupperware Cookware that we received as a wedding gift to get this finished project! 

 

 

So organized...so fun! Done and done.

A fun take on Coastal Decorating!

When you think of using a Coastal style of decorating your home, you maybe think of whites with lots of nautical and ocean inspired pieces. I wanted to bring out our love for the ocean and surf in a brighter kind of way...

 

A purple sea fan is used as a back drop for silver IKEA Candle holders.

 

Some souvenirs from Venice Beach, California is used as a fireplace mantel décor that tell a story of travels.

 

Some old surf books make a perfect base for a lamp.

 

Gallery walls don't have to be just pictures arranged on a wall, it can be a collection of things that make you happy and bring back memories.

 

 This seashell wreath was a great find at HomeGoods and is used on the door on the inside of the home!

 

Now all you need is a dog and your life is complete!