Amy Meier Design - Fabulous Friend on Friday

Today's Fab Friend on Friday is Amy Meier of Del Mar, California.  I met Amy last year at Blogfest in NYC and saw her again at Harbinger in LA in March.  And yes, she really is as darling in person as she looks in the photos.  She may appear a little design darling, but she packs a big wallop when it comes to designing a home.  Amy has gained national attention with her creative, custom design work.  As a graduate of Parsons Design School, Amy signature style is evident in her willingness to comb markets to find just the right antiques to mix with the custom designed pieces she so painstakingly creates in an effort to design a unique and individual interior for each client.  Amy was voted best interior designer by Ranch and Coast Magazine for two years running in 2010 & 2011, since that time she has been featured in many national publications including most recently, her own home in Better Homes and Garden.  She writes the wildly popular blog Amy Meier Design ,where she chronicles her design projects and daily life as a wife and mother of two precious little girls.  I caught up with Amy and talked with her about one of her latest project which included the beautiful kitchen featured below.  Be prepared to be wowed!

Isn't this kitchen to die for?  Amy said the kitchen renovation portion of the project took about three months.  When people ask me why they need a professional designer to design a kitchen, I share with them things like Amy shared with me about this project.  Designers pay attention to details like Amy did here in adjusting the counter height to bar height of 40" rather than the standard height, because these clients are extremely tall. She then made the kitchen user friendly for the couple's children by sinking the farmhouse sink a few inches lower in the island, which you can see in the photograph.  It's a detail you would not notice had she not pointed it out but one that makes a total difference to the functionality of this kitchen. To complete the truly custom look of the kitchen, the countertops are 3/4" honed black granite that was mitered to create a solid 2" eased edge.  Open shelving is beautiful but limits storage so to remedy this situation,  Amy created a large island which houses much of the storage for the kitchen and doubles as an eating area/serving area which provides company for the cook.  She added extra storage by enclosing one of the doorway entrances and adding lower storage on that wall.  The wall which houses the bar area was deepened and also doubles as their pantry.  These are details that don't happen unless you have a designer who knows what they are doing. Not only did Amy create an aesthetically pleasing kitchen but one with totally functionally for this family to enjoy for many years to come.  To read more about this kitchen from Amy's point of view please pop over to her blog where she discusses it today here.  

To see her complete portfolio pop over to her website here!

Amy was so kind to share the resources below:

Counter tops: honed black granite

Floors: Slate

Cabinets: custom designed by Amy Meier Design, painted in mountain peak white by Benjamin Moore

Cabinet Hardware: San Diego Hardware

Walls: Edgecomb grey Benjamin Moore

Plumbing: Newport Brass

Lighting: Circa Lighting

Art: Philip Buller and Robert Kingston

Pink pressed glass: vintage

Photography Credit : Brady Architectural Photography 

Just so you can see how visionary Amy is, here is a picture of the kitchen before:

Make sure to follow Amy here to see more of her fab work:

Amy Meier Design Blog

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All photographs property of Amy Meier or Brady Architectural Photography

Thank You Hidell Brooks Gallery!!!!

Hiddell Brooks Gallery

1910 south blvd. suite 130

charlotte, nc  28203

Beautiful interior photograph of Hidell Brooks Gallery

Rebecca Brooks and Katharine Hidell Thomas

To Learn more about Rebecca & Katharine Click Here

When Traci Zeller and I were designing our room for the Junior League of Greensboro/Traditional Homes Show House we knew we wanted to incorporate original art in our room.  Luckily, the owners of Hidell Brooks Gallery , sisters, Rebecca Brooks and Katharine Hidell Thomas were kind enough to partner with us.  Traci and I  knew we wanted abstract art to create tension in the otherwise traditional space, so the process was simple.  We went into Hidell Brooks Gallery  showed them our fabrics, paints, etc and told them type of art we were looking for and they pulled pieces for us.  When you are in the market for art, make sure you know the approximate size you need for your space, take any revalent fabrics, paint samples, etc.  An experience gallery like Hidell Brooks will be able to guide you in your art selection.  Also, if you don't see something you like in the gallery, make sure you ask because they house many painting in their storage area.  There is only so much space for hanging, so the piece you are looking for may not currently be on display. 

Here are the two pieces we chose for our show house room.  

The larger of the two pieces was "Seminole" by Sally King Benedict. Sally graduated from the College of Charleston.  After graduation, she lived in Charleston for 10 years but recently returned to her roots and moved back to Atlanta, Ga.   

seminole 2013

acrylic, gouache, charcoal

& pastel on canvas

36 x 36 inches

$4,100

  The second piece we chose was a piece by artist Kate Long Stevenson entitled "Crescendo".  

Kate currently lives in Charleston but is originally from Greensboro, so we

liked the idea that the art was created by a "local" girl since the show house was

in her home town.  

crescendo, lapis 2013

oil + gouache on linen

30 x 24 inches

$2,400

Here are a few of my favorite currently in the Hidell Brooks gallery.  Please take a few minutes and stop by to visit.  Their new gallery space was decorated by my friend, Holly Hollingsworth Phillips and is just beautiful!  The curation of artists they represent is the best in Charlotte.  If you love art as much as I do, you will enjoy a visit to the gallery.  

Sally King Benedict

Kate Long Stevenson

Katherine Ace

Selena Beaudry

Laura Sanders

Ruth Ava Lyons

Rana Rochat

Chris Hayman

I would like to extend a huge  "Thank You" to Katharine Hidell Thomas and Rebecca Brooks of Hidell Brooks Gallery for partnering with us in our show house room!  We feel the art made the room.  We are so fortunate to have your beautiful gallery in Charlotte!  All you Charlotteans make sure you frequent the gallery for your art needs!!  

upcoming exhibitions

June 8th -  Aug 30th, 2013

shamback * hernandez * porter

benjamin shamback * tony hernandez * ron porter

Follow Hidell Brooks for Current Happenings and Exhibitions:

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All Photos courtesy of Hiddell Brooks Gallery  

Elephants, Zebras, Monkeys & More On My! ~ iomoi!!!

Last night I went online to look for a new iphone5 case and stumbled upon 

a line called iomoi!  They should have named it Holy Moly! Instant love!!!  I'm sure I'm late to the party and all you other seasoned bloggers know about this and have been holding out on me, but I'll forgive you this time.   I wanted to share some of my favorites with those of you who like me are just now finding out about this fab line.

What is iomoi?  

According to it's co-founders:

"It is a luxury, lifestyle brand defined by a timeless aesthetic

 with a modern twist and a wink". 

Here are some of the iphone cases...

They truly have some of the cutest iphone cases ever!  Click here to see all the pattern and color options!  Below are a few of the patterns I liked..Can you guess which one I picked for myself??  [click header to continue..]

ReStore ReStyle 2013 Design Challenge

Remember when I told you that Traci Zeller and I were judging the Restore ReStyle Design Challenge?  If not, you can click here to read the post!   The other two judges were Kevin Mann and Stephan Lynch.  The four of us were amazed at the creativity we found.  It's one thing to design a room and then specify all new designer items to furnish it, but this required much more than just specifying.  Not only did the designers have to design the room they had to make the items to go in their rooms!  Talk about seeing things from a different perspective.  These designers pushed the envelope by thinking outside of the box and creating some really interesting things.  Our job as judges was really difficult.  We could have chosen every room for different reasons.  

Photography Credit to Wendy Yang Photography

It was a great night!  Thanks to Amy Williamson from Our Towns Habitat ReStore

stores in Cornelius and Mooresville for organizing the event and to Rachel Sutherland,
 PR for all the Charlotte area Restores for asking me to participate.

Eight design teams were chosen from a field of 17 applicants and to create 10'x10' rooms using only
 repurposed donated ReStore materials. Boy talk about creative!  These teams really went the extra mile!  
Remember everything they created was found in the ReStore!

So Who Won....

Gretchen Earnshaw: Patio Space





Gretchen created a nautical patio space that was inviting and fresh.  She repurposed
 many  items and still  maintained a clean uncluttered space.  Using a twin bed she
 created a darling little bench and painted it a cadet blue.  Over the bench she
 hung art that was simply a board with a lobster painted on it. 



All four judges loved the inventive "cooler" table she created by cutting a hole in the middle
of a regular kitchen table and inserting a galvanized tub.  She removed the legs from
the table and replace with shorter legs to make this table coffee table height.  



She then used the table legs she removed from the table to frame the shuffle board art.
She made the wreath from the pages from a book.  



This game was crafted from wood, switch plate covers and jars.



Cute little cozy corner with patio chair perfect for relaxing.




Guess what the pears are made with?  Lightbulbs wrapped with yarn!



The before and after boards was interesting!  It was proof of the work and 
creativity the designers had used.  Fun to see what the items looked like
when the designer first acquired them and then to see what they looked 
like once repurposed.  




Caught Traci capturing the room on film!

Meet the Other ReStore ReStyle Designers
 & Their Rooms

Crystal Clark: Girl's Room: 

Crystal created the perfect haven for a little girl! 

A dresser and mirror get a new look with a simple paint job and hardware.

Cute angel made from a cabinet door.

Crystal created the perfect little girl's room complete with covered headboard.
Some of the creative aspects that caught my eye were the angel crafted from
a cabinet door and brackets as well as the stove made from a nightstand.

 Andrea Hartley: Wedding Reception Room

Andrea created a rustic wedding reception room.  

This chandelier made with mason jars was a big hit and drew many

admirers. 

Andrea's room has lots of repurposed items including these frames from old
 windows and the table created from a large picture frame.

 

 Trevor & Kerri Morrical: Family Play Room: Morr Creations, LLC

 

The husband and wife team of Trevor and Kerri Morrical created a family

playroom with everything from a teepee made from skiis and pvc pipe to

a play kitchen made from repurposed cabinets.

Each designer had a hidden object they had to incorporate into their room which

was a light switch cover.  Here is their fairy house made from switch plate covers,

bark and other found objects.

Tinkerbell was found inside resting on her nest.

On the opposite side of the room was a puppet stage made from
repurposed cabinets as well.

What american family room is complete without a flag?  Here is there
version made from wood trim.

Lamp made from a stack of books with the shade covered in the pages
of one of the books.

The pendant in the middle of the room was a piece of laminate flooring
bent to form a circle.  The inside was covered with fabric samples.  
 

Anna Miller: Nursery

  

Anna's green and yellow nursery had an interesting shelf made from a 
repurposed ladder. 

You can't really see it in my photo but she hand painted designs on the floor.

 Karen Adams: Office

Karen created a home office.  Here one of the ReStore workers

explains her hidden work station

This interesting bench was created by using two dining chairs

and upholstering with one cushion. 

Another creative idea Karen incorporated into her space was the use of
drawers as shelves as shown here.

The armoire was custom fitted with everything you need in your home office.

 Kerrie Boys: Man Cave: Kerrie.Can

Kerrie Boys "Man Cave" was such a big hit with the crowd it was hard for
me to get a picture without people in it.  I was told the old cabinet she used 
to create the bar came out of Davidson College.

This pendant created from an old galvanized tub and leather sample 
strips was very unique.

The table was decoupaged "manly interest"

A big "B" covered with bottle caps for Boston.

Card art suspended with fishing line and hung from drapery rod and rings

Lighting made from saw blades

Bar chairs made from boogie boards. 

What man cave isn't complete with a ring toss game?  This room was full of fun!
As a matter of fact the entire night was full of fun!  

Traci and I we so happy to run into our friend Cheryl Luckett

The crowd enjoyed appetizers, drinks and shopping!  It was a successful
event with over $3,000 raised for the Restore! 

If you are in the Mooresville area, make sure you stop in and check out
the Restore.  This is one of the most well organized resale stores I have ever been 
in and has an extremely helpful and friendly staff.


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About Our Towns Habitat for Humanity

Our Towns Habitat for Humanity, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, is a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. Habitat for Humanity brings together people with resources and people in need to provide simple, decent, affordable houses. The houses are sold to those in need at no profit. Our Towns Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1988 and has served 233 families in the Mooresville, Davidson, Cornelius and Huntersville communities. For more information about Our Towns Habitat for Humanity, please log on to our website atwww.ourtownshabitat.org. Our Towns Habitat for Humanity is also part of the Habitat Metrolina Partners, a collection of 11 Habitat stores in the greater Charlotte area. For more information and store locations, visit metrolinarestores.org.