I love getting inspiration from the most unexpected sources, and recently I found it in one of the most unusual places you could ever imagine: a dentist’s office.  A few weeks ago, I took my kids to a new dentist for the obligatory checkup.  The dentist happened to be the mom of a kid that my kid goes to preschool with and she was highly recommended so I made the appointments and brought my kids in.

I could not believe this was a dentist’s office. 

As I looked around, I admired the use of color and the deliberate mix of textures and  styles pulled together in a cohesive way.  I noticed that there were both Lucite and wood stump end tables in the entry, vivid color on the walls, bold original art on large scale canvases, and chrome and beaded sconces and chandeliers. 

In a dentist’s office.  Wow.

After my kids had their cleaning, I had the opportunity to talk to the dentist herself, Dr. Praveena Permalla.  Praveena explaned that no, she did not hire anyone to decorate her office space, and yes, she designed it all herself, floor to ceiling.  She chose every color, fabric, fixture and surface.

It. Is. Uh-may-zing!

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Hello my friends, I have a very special visitor today.  Many weeks ago, I had a long conversation with Gina of The Shabby Chic Cottage and I was so inspired by her story I asked her to tell it here!  I first met Gina at Blissdom and we’ve been friends ever since.  Many of you know her already, Gina is the creator behind The Shabby Chic Cottage blog and Etsy shop. 

Gina has been a comforting presence and voice for me on all topics of small business.  If you have a desire to create and sell your handmade creations in an online forum, Gina has years of experience and an inspiring story to tell. 

Please welcome my friend Gina to share her story of how she started a successful business on Etsy, one that gives her the ultimate satisfaction of creating hand crafted goods, and also a few extra dollars in the bank for her creativity and efforts!

“Hi y’all!  I’m Gina from The Shabby Chic Cottage.

I’m so very excited to be here today!  Kate is such a wonderful source of encouragement and inspiration for me, I was honored when she asked me to write up a post about how I started my business.

I didn’t start my blog with any aspirations of making money.  I had blogged for 2+ years on another blog that barely had any readers, but I’m a writer, so I wanted a place to write what I wanted instead of writing obituaries all day (part of my old “day job” duties.)  After 5 years of living in my childhood home, we finally were at a point where we could begin to remodel, and so I started The Shabby Chic Cottage in April 2009 to journal the changes as we went along, sort of a virtual scrapbook.  I had no idea where it would lead.

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Greetings friends, I have the most special treat for you today!  Michelle of Ten June is a monthly contributor here, and she’s back with an amazing interview she snagged with the latest sensation to hit the design world, Emily Henderson, winner of HGTV’s Design Star and now host of the design show, Secrets From A Stylist.

We’ve witnessed her room reveals over the past year, and each one continues to wow.  We love Emily for her bohemian chic style and magnetic personality. 

This talented stylist is refreshingly down to earth and lucky for us, she agreed to sit down with Michelle and chat about breaking design rules, Nate Berkus, and her forgotten love for DIY.  Grab a snack and get comfortable, because we’re about to learn more secrets from this stylist!

All images from Emily’s portfolio. 

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Q & A between Emily and Michelle:

 

Q:  When styling the accessories in a room, how much is too much?  Do you have any advice as to how to accessorize a space well and add balance without creating chaos?

A:  This is my biggest challenge because I like a LOT of accessories. Like, a LOT.  But here’s what I do, because I’m crazy – I style vignettes using groups of threes or odd numbers.  I keep it balanced by using a healthy combination of weighty/graphic objects (stacks of books or boxes) with more feminine sculptural objects (vases, sculptures, flowers).  Then (and this is the crazy part) I take a picture with my phone and stare at the picture.  If something isn’t “reading” right, then I might have too much stuff, so I edit.  I look at the picture as if it’s a magazine page and think “if I had styled that, what would I change about it?” It’s hard to be objective, so I try and take myself out of it and stare at the picture instead.

 

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Hey there, thanks so much for linking up to the Paint Projects Party earlier this week, here are a few highlights I wanted to share!

Check out this media wall built by Yellow Brick Home, absolutely fantastic Kim & Scott! 

How lovely is this painted stair runner by Anna at Take the Side Street?  Consider me inspired! 

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Thanks so much to the 200+ participants in the Easter Ideas Link Party from earlier this week.  Wow, you all just inspire me with your creativity time and again!  What a fantastic collection of ideas for Easter mantels, crafts and tablescapes.  I’m just amazed!  Here are a few highlights from the par-tay.

Craft a vintage spoon egg holder with Cathe from Just Something I Made.

Create beautiful book page eggs with Dear Lillie.

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