I ran across an article recently about a “lost apartment” that had been left unopened since WWII. Apparently the owner had left the apartment sometime during the war and never returned. The apartment was left completely untouched for decades. Recently it was opened and the findings are incredible! Can you imagine being one of the people who were part of discovering the contents of the apartment? It would be like stumbling upon indian ruins in a cave or finding a lost treasure I imaging. Like a time capsule opened after years of waiting.

This apartment would have been an antique goldmine for me.

Isn’t that old Mickey Mouse awesome?

I loved reading about this unopened paris apaertment because French country decor is one of my favorite styles and something that influences my designs a lot. I love French-style antiques and the easiness that is brought on by the French country style. I love the mis of neutrals, linen, rustic wood and gold that is so common in French decor.

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One of my favorite things about my job is seeing old items take on a new life. Whether that involves giving an old piece a new home as is… or re-doing the piece to have a whole new look of its own. I love it. Things leave our office looking one way and return with a whole new life! It is like Christmas for me overtime a re-upholstered chair comes through the door… or a custom headboard, that has only lived on paper perviously, is made real!

Well, today I got to keep a little of that magic for myself. When my grandmother, Mimi, was getting ready to sell her house I had my eye on this antique chair that had been in her living room since forever. I have no idea how old it is, but it is so unique and still in great shape. I asked Mimi if I could have it, and so when her house finally sold the chair came to Nashville to live with me!

Even though I LOVED the chair…. the fabric was not what I wanted. Sorry, but lime green doesn’t match anything in my home. So I started pulling fabric samples to figure out a new look for it, and I definitely changed my mind more than a few times. You would thing for someone who does this for a living it would be easier to pick a fabric for myself but I think it is actually harder! Maybe because I see soooo many  amazing fabrics everyday that I had option-overload. Anyway…. today is the day that the chair is finished and I couldn’t be happier with the way it looks now!

BEFORE:

Designer tip: notice all of the detail and the shape of the frame; that is what will tell you if a piece is worth buying or not. Fabric and finishes can change so don’t be thrown off by an antique with a bad fabric. If it has a great frame it will be a winner.

AFTER:

Here is a close up of the pattern in the fabric. I wanted something with a slight pattern so that it would be interesting without taking too much attention away from the reed back and detail in the frame. I like that it looks more like a solid from a distance. I am planning to make a lumbar pillow with a fun fabric to add a pop of color.

I just love this “new” chair! Thanks to Mimi for letting me have it, I will give it a good home and use it for years and years.

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Thank you to everyone who visited the shop last week! Yall all made me feel so loved with your support and encouraging words. Stay tuned for new work to become available!

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In other news…. do any of you follow the blog Velvet and Linen? Designer Brooke Gianetti and her husband are building a truly STUNNING home called Patina Farm and the pictures she has been posting lately have left me drooling over my computer numerous times and its not even finished yet! The pictures both inspire me and make jealous at the same time. I mean… with a house like this who would needs to go on vacation? like ever?

How gorgeous is that tub and faucet?!

The entire shower is glass and open in the back… isnt that amazing?! There will be a full hedge wall surrounding the back of the master bathroom for privacy… but you’d still have to have some guts to shower in the open like that. Is a bathroom that gorgeous though, i think I could muster the courage.

Here is what the finished bathroom will look like.

The kitchen is equally beautiful. I love the built in details and that stove is unreal. The brass accents are calling my name too.

This is the door to the laundry room…. excuse me, what? Our current laundry “room” is part of the bathroom right now, and it definitely doesn’t have a cute farm door like this.

Even the chicken coop is amazing! In my next life can I come back as a chicken that lives at Patina farm? Please?

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SOme of you may have noticed a theme to last week’s posts… One of the things I highlighted was decorating your home with prints. I love using prints, to liven up any space, mostly because they are often fun and imaginative, plus they can be easily swapped out. While photographs and art are wonderful, prints can add that extra element of whimsy and inspiration to your home without too uch extra expense.

Since I love prints so much I decided to try my hand at creating some of my own to share with you! Today I am happy to introduce the Sarah Barksdale Design Shop. (for easy access to the shop in the future, simple click on the “Shop” tab on the menu bar)

In the shop you will find custom art prints designed by yours truly! These prints are designed specifically with home and family in mind. Each one will fit any regular 8×10 frame and is printed on thick card stock paper for durability. They Here is a taste of the prints that are available:

This is one of my favorite prints, it is the entire chapter of John 21 typed out with the last line of the chapter printed in bold across the page. This is one of my most beloved verses in the Bible and a few years ago I did a piece of artwork for my home which was the inspiration for this print.

This print would be perfect for any child’s bedroom or playroom! And it would also go great paired with one of my custom name prints…

These custom name prints are designed per order to accommodate any name that you want on the print.

To see my full line of available prints please go and visit my shop! I would love to hear what you think of it. If you like what you see please tell your friends and help me spread the word.

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Some people daydream about vacations or fashion or love…. I on the other hand daydream about interiors. Don’t get me wrong, I dream about all those other things too but I daydream about interiors the most. The other day, I literally pulled out my phone to show Matt a picture of my “dream chair” that we HAVE to own one day. He response was something along the lines of “Really?, a dream chair? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Anyway, interiors are what I love, and its ok to get excited about the things you love. Today I thought I would share some rooms that have been inspiring me lately:

I could sit in this claw foot tub and look at those butterflies all day!

Robbins egg blue + paneled walls + pretty prints = l.o.v.e

I just adore the airy-ness of all the soft neutrals in this room. Who needs color in a room like this right?

Those vintage prints are da-bomb! I hope I have a daughter one day so I can do a room like this….

LOVE this old pew. Matt and I bought one at a flea market about a year ago, I am hoping I can do something like this for an entry one day.

{All of these photos were sourced from my pinterest account.}

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On another note… I have a big HUGE announcement coming next week!!! I will give you a hint on what it is about…. notice anything that these rooms have in common? Second, hint…. it has something to do with Tuesday’s post too….

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{Originally posted on 3/13/12}

Last weekend was moving weekend for me! I am officially in my new apartment, and all I need is for Matt to move in about 6 weeks from now! Anyway, our new place has a TON more wall space than my last place. So I have been brainstorming ways to decorate the walls without just framing a million wedding pictures (not that I wont still frame a ton of Wedding shots too)

So here are a few inspirational idea I have come up with (cheap ideas of course, gotta stay on a budget)

Frame botanical prints. You coud easily buy an inexpensive botanical calendar, and frame the pictures. Then the prints would all be the same size.

or old city prints

This is awesome, especially if you are into music! Blow up some sheet music to poster size and frame it.

Maybe I could find a cool map to frame. My parents have one framed at our farm of the Mountain our land is on.

I love this! (pun intended). I really do like the idea of framing a word, saying or verse.

Or maybe I can find (or make) some abstract art to frame.

Remember, you can always frame posters or wallpaper too… just because something is printed cheaply doesn’t mean it will look cheap if placed in the right frame.

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Being an interior designer is definitely my dream job. It can be really hectic at times and I have to be a jack-of-all-trades on a daily basis but I wouldn’t trade it for another job. My favorite part about this crazy designer life is when project start coming together. I love seeing all of our hard work, planning, brainstorming, scheduling and on the rare occasion panicking come to fruition in the form of a beautiful design that makes both us and our clients happy.

I work with an awesome designer named Rachel Halvorson. I have learned so much from her and best of all I have grown as a designer during my time here with her. Our office dynamic is awesome. And our work truly speaks for itself (is it ok if I brag a little here?).

Today I thought I might share a few snapshots of projects we have been working on lately… these are by no means professional pictures (they are all taken from my iPhone) and all of these were taken while the projects were in process… but you can get an idea of the kinds of things we do. Enjoy!

Would you believe I built those chairs myself? Jack-of-al-trades I’m tellin’ ya.

These are some photos that our client took himself and we had them blown up HUGE for the living room.

A little antique dresser turned sink vanity for a powder room. Side note: I LOVE the wallpaper in this bathroom

This Kitchen is completely custom… including those light fixtures which we designed and had specially made. I wish you could see the marble counter tops better… they are ridiculously gorgeous.

These are some custom doors we made… one is a barn door, both are made from reclaimed wood.

This client wanted to hide her TV in the living room so we found some antique doors at a flea market and had them made into a cabinet above the mantle. I also love the beams and furniture in this home.

If you want to see more of our work…(with WAY better pictures) visit our new, up and running website! You can see more of our work and click on the bio’s to meet the lovely ladies that I spend 40+ hours a week with.

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Well, for those of you keeping up with me on Instagram (saymo1), you may have notices quite a few puppy pictures lately…

(photo credit to my neighbor Whitney, who loves our girl as much as we do)

That is because we got a puppy! I am happy to introduce Lacy to you all. She is an Airedale Terrier and we love her a whole lot. She has definitely brought a lot of energy and joy to our household. WHo knew that being a young married couple and getting a dog could instigate so many conversations and potty training… is that supposed to happen when you have kids?

I have been working on “shake” with her lately… just for fun really. Its not an important command like “no bite”, “stay”, or the most important one… “leave it!” Leave it is for when she is getting into something she shouldn’t, which happens about 60% of the time.

Anyway, I was taking her outside last week before Matt got home and I said: “Lacy, shake” while putting her leash on and she did it!! That sweet dog put her paw in my hand like she had know how to shake for years. Talk about some momma-pride! I was pumped and made her shake about 10 times before Matt got home haha. Which was a mistake because she lost interest and wouldn’t do it for him. Oops… lesson learned. (She did it for him the nest day though)

(this is from the night we brought her home… she was so timid then but not anymore)

We love this little girl and have been having so much fun with her. Stay tuned for more adventures in the life of Lacy Barksdale!

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Today I am happy to announce the winner of this week’s giveaway that Daniel from Brilliant Globe String Lights has been so gracious to sponsor!

CONGRATULATIONS……..

You are our winner! Please send me your address and I will have Daniel send you your string lights.

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And don’t forget, if you didn’t win there is still time to order some lights for yourself and get $5 using the coupon code: friendsofsarah5off. This offer is good for $5 off each item ordered (regardless of how many items) through 4/24/13. (only 1 coupon per customer). Just enter the code friendsofsarah5off during checkout.

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One thing that I believe whole heartedly is that your home should reflect your style and what makes you happy. WHo cares about what is on trend or in style if it doesn’t line up with your taste. You will love your home when it feel like…well… YOUR home. One of my favorite parts of designing is tapping into what makes each of our clients unique and trying to capture that into a design that make their home come alive.

Personally, I am a neutral girl. I like color… but I like it in softer, more muted tones. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am around color and patterns ALL DAY LONG and I need a visual break from it when I am off duty. Who knows.

Anyway, I have been really inspired by bold color lately though. I guess the Spring time does that to me. I have been seeing some really awesome bold bedrooms that I just had to share with you. These rooms seem so fun and lively to me that it is making me hope for a funky bedroom redo to hit my desk soon so that I can get my color on.

That bedding says it all. What a great focal point that bed is making in the room.

Going bold certainly doesn’t mean that you have to choose bright colors. Navy can be just as bold. Especially when paired with turquoise and  orange accents like this room.

Patterns can also give a bold look. Take the wallpaper for example, its not a bright color but it is making a statement none the less.

Or maybe you are like me and neutrals are more your taste, but you want to spice things up just a bit without going overboard. You can always add a touch of color or pattern with one stand out piece like the way this room is styled.

So what do you think? To go bold or not to go bold?

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Also, don’t forget to enter this week’s GIVEAWAY! The winner will be announced tomorrow!

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