A Lot of THis & A Lot of That

Is it seriously the middle of June!!  How does time fly by like that?  Filming for Elbow Room ended two months ago but the summer has been busy, busy, busy.  I picked up a heaping handful of new clients as soon as the show season ended and haven’t stopped since. 

I’m in the midst of planning two bathroom renovations for my own home too.  I’m such a huge procrastinator when it comes to doing design work for myself.  I’ve had tons of bathrooms and bathroom fixtures pinned for inspiration for a while now though.  All I have to do is narrow it down and make some serious decisions.  Our bathroom renovation will start in about a month which is so soon. 

Amy D. Morris, you steal my heart with this one.

[amy d morris interiors]

Love this vanity

[source unknown]

Definitely doing the paneling somewhere.

[source unknown]

Love the color in this design, which I’m pretty sure is Erika Powell’s, but don’t know if I want to commit to a color in the bathrooms.

[source sortof unknown but I think is urban grace]

Most definitely love this vanity for our master bath.

[another pinterest unknown]

[another pinterest unknown]

Thinking of doing chrome and brass accents.  Love these Hudson Valley sconces.

And I love the look of this sink faucet.  Great price too, but I would prefer to have chrome.

Decisions decisions…Hopefully I can make some soon. 

With all that has been going on with Charm Home I’ve neglected my own home quite a bit.  I couldn’t have been more excited when the people of Homejoy, a California based cleaning service, contacted me about trying out their services.  They have just opened an Atlanta division of the company.  The booking process is so simple and easy.  You can purchase your home cleaning service online in about 5 minutes.  I scheduled my cleaning service and immediately received a follow up email letting me know who would be cleaning my home.  My cleaning professional, Lauren, showed up on time and did such a great job with my home.  She was also really sweet to our dog, who  happens to hate cleaning equipment.  Our house was the cleanest it’s been since we moved in.  I’m so looking forward to using Homejoy again in the near future.  You should definitely try it out if you have been looking for someone to help with your home.  If you are wondering about pricing you can easily get a quick quote on the site.  I give the whole process 2 thumbs up!

Technorati Tags: homejoy. my home,amy d morris,bathroom,brass

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Show house & Gardens

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the ASO 43rd Annual Decorator’s Show House and Gardens opening night party.  Billy and I got all dolled up for the event and had so much fun touring the home.  We ran into some of our friends there and had a blast hanging out with them.

^{From left to right (Billy, Me, Tricia Watkins, Chris Watkins (Thrillist)}

This years show house was absolutely stunning. Of course, what do you expect when you are dealing with some of the city's hottest designers.  Melanie Turner, Michael Habachy and Courtney Giles just to name a few. 

I think my favorite spot of the entire home was the front staircase and vestibule, but I don’t have a picture of it.  Pictures weren’t allowed at the party or you better believe I would have snapped a ton of them.  It was very reminiscent of this Kelly Wearstler favorite.

[Original source unknown via Pinterest]

My second was the kitchen. Brass pendant lights…HAVE. TO. HAVE. THESE. NOW.

 

I would have absolutely no problem waking up in this master bedroom every day.

Nor would I have a problem taking a bath in this bathroom.

Doesn’t everyone have a wall of framed coral in their home?  If not, they should. 

The ASO Decorator’s Show House is open through May 12th so definitely head over and check it out. There is so much more to be seen than what’s in these few pictures. 

An even better idea would be to visit the Show House over the weekend and then pop over to ADAC May 3rd – 5th to purchase something for your home during the Annual Sample Sale.  At 80% off you can make your home look like a show house too. Well, it’s a good thought anyway. 

Happy decorating!

**Photo credit - Jeff Roffman Photography unless noted otherwise

Here We Go–Elbow Room Season 2!!!

Finally!!!  This weekend is it.  Time for Elbow Room – The Second Season!!! 

Saturday, April 20th @ 9am EST on HGTV

For the last 6 months I’ve been working hard…really hard…exhaustingly hard on Season 2 of HGTV’s Elbow Room.  Season 1 premiered last May and reruns are still airing. But, Season 1 ain’t got nothing compared to the second season. 

Chip has come up with some of the most innovative ideas yet.  And the designs are killer this season.  I thought I would give you a little sneak into the show and also give you a little behind the scenes look into my life on Elbow Room.

Just in case you wonder what happens around the set… [Apologizing ahead of time for the photo quality. Most of these are taken from camera phones]

First off, I am incredibly lucky to be able to work with such an inspiring group of people every day.  My ER family below,

I even love them when they make me do set push-ups, [that’s me in the center of the table. And yes, I’m doing a girly one.]

What you won’t see on the actual episode is how many people are in the room at any given time while we are working.  Total chaos! And, this was the day before a reveal!

Another shot of chaos on the set the day before a reveal.

This season IKEA sponsored a few episodes so there was quite a bit of IKEA shopping,

and when I say quite a bit I mean LOADS and LOADS of CARTS and CARTS.

The only thing that got me through was lots and lots of these little devils.

Chip came up with some crazy good custom elements like couches that seamlessly move from the inside to the outside, a concrete island that spans 10’ and took 8 men 2 days to get it from the driveway to the house,

an ottoman with a zillion functions, a table that rolls up a wall,

and much, much more.

Paddy chased some chickens,

and later built a home for them.

I threw a surprise baby shower for one of the homeowners,

and did lots of manual labor.

We had a few special guests.  My personal favorite was Kristen Davis from KFD Designs [she’ll be on this Saturday’s episode painting a beautiful mural.]

Chip hoisted a really heavy Big Ass Fan through a small hole while climbing a rock wall with a smile on his face, or a big strain on his face…you decide which.

And finally Alex and I had tons of fun goofing off,

especially late at night after working all day breathing bondo fumes.  It seemed really funny at the time. 

Cristi and Alex goof off on the set of Elbow Room

 

At the end of the day we have 13 more amazing renovations completed and I can’t wait to see them on the small screen.  Please tune in, or set your DVR’s, for Saturday at 9am EST on HGTV.  I promise you’ll love Elbow Room!! 

xoxo,

Cristi

An Interview + A Pretty Room

One of my favorite places to find inexpensive tile and flooring is Floor & Décor Outlet here in Atlanta.  They have some of the same tiles that you may find at high end stores but the prices are extremely affordable.  I highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t already.  They have locations in multiple states so hopefully there will be one near you.  If not, you can always purchase online.

I was thrilled when Malika, editor of their online blog, emailed me and wanted to do an interview.  You can check out the my interview HERE.

Thanks a bunch Malika!

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A Pretty Room

Chango & Co.

Have you ever heard of the design firm Chango & Co.?  I hadn’t until I saw this pin on pinterest the other day.  I fell in love with this space.  I love everything about it from the goldenrod throw to the royal blue, vintage-looking, “Lunch” sign, to the light brick on the fireplace, to the chrome industrial pendants.  Something about it looks warm and inviting while still being bright and invigorating.  I had to check out their portfolio after seeing this image.  I wasn’t disappointed.  If you want to see some more pretty images you should check out their portfolio too!  Click on the image be low to go to their site.

Technorati Tags: Floor and Decor,Chango and co.,portfolio,atlanta,interview

Brizo Fashion Week

A few weeks ago I got a little email in my inbox letting me know that the people from Brizo, a faucet and bathroom accessories company, wanted to invite me (along with a select group of interior designers and bloggers) to New York City for Fashion Week.  I was thrilled at the opportunity and graciously accepted.  So off to NYC I went to meet up with the group. 

Brizo put us up in total style at the Eventi hotel in Chelsea.  They also gave us a really cool tote filled with goodies.  The first night I flew in late because of my filming schedule.  I made it into the city just in time to meet a few of my fellow Brizo Blogger 19 friends before turning it in for the evening. 

The next morning we all met again for an informative and interactive session about Brizo’s brand, their design processes and trend forecasts for the upcoming year. It was so interesting to see how their faucets are created and where the Brizo team gets their inspiration from.

We even got to see a few prototypes that will be coming out next year.  Can’t show those to you yet but you will definitely want to watch for them in 2014.  It was amazing to see the full like of products in person in multiple finishes.  I’m used to mostly seeing them online. 

From there we went to a brief session with Elle Décor on the 42nd floor of the Hearst Tower.  Then we got a tour of the whole building.  The views were breathtaking.

After the Hearst tour we went around the corner to a cooking class at Sur La Table.  This was the highlight of the trip for me.  I had never been to a cooking class before.  It was so much fun.  Definitely something I’ll be doing again.

We made 3 pasta dishes and I had some amazing cooking mates.

From Left to Right – Me, Laura Bielecki, Yvonne Blacker, and Donna Hall.

Now for the sad part of the trip.  Unfortunately, due to the blizzard that hit the East coast, I had to cut my trip short.  I was sad to go and especially sad to miss the Jason Wu fashion show and cocktail party.  From reading all the tweets and blogs I know that all of my Brizo friends had a blast at both of the events. Although I missed the last day of the trip, I still was so thrilled to be able to spend the first part of the trip with all of the wonderful people from the Brizo brand. 

Disclaimer: As a guest of the Brizo brand, my airfare and travel expenses have been comp'd.