Vacation: Florida and Panama

I'm going to be away from the blog for the while. I'm going with the Boyfriend and his family to Florida, and from there, to Panama. It will be my first trip out of the country, and I couldn't be more excited, except that it's still so surreal. I've also never been to Florida, so I'm excited to see it too:)

I'll make sure to report back regarding my adventures:) but for now, I'll see you in a while. We'll be back mid-August.

Rachel May

Skills: Perspective and Rendering

Remember when you first learned a certain skill? You dedicated time to it, effort, a lot of energy, etc. Well, that's how I was with sketching when I was in school. I loved it! But since I've graduated college, I've fallen off the wagon. I'm trying to work on that (and rendering too). I think it's great for getting an idea across to a client.

Sometimes you find something that totally inspires you. I was totally inspired on Friday when I found this blog: A Schematic Life. It's filled with beautiful renderings by a talented interior designer named Michelle Morelan. Here is what I came up with, after looking at her archives for longer than I care to admit:

This is NOT my design, it's a rip-off of one of her renderings that I used for practice, located here. I drew the picture by hand, using her perspective and rendering as reference. I highly suggest you check out her work. She's so skilled, so inspiring!

Rachel May

IKEA does not disappoint

Ikea is opening here in CO (Centennial, CO to be exact) on July 27th. I may be geeking out about it A LOT. I can just see all of my money going to this place in about one trip there. So many things to love! In preparation for my shopping trip (which I'm treating like a vacation, because I've only been to IKEA once before), I'm going virtual shopping.

It's always interesting to see how different companies style their products. I would LOVE to stage for IKEA. In exchange for free furniture and textiles, please.

I started perusing their website, and really liked this room:


Then I saw something...something that I've been virtual-shopping for a while. The perfect loungy-chair. And the perfect price (69.99). I might need two.


Hello, HULTO. I've been looking for you for a while. Sure, it doesn't look like much now, pretty much just a wicker chair. But the shape and size is perfect (our couch is really low to the ground) and the texture is much needed in our space. All it needs is a little color, like some throw pillows:

Maybe not these particular pillows, but colorful ones for sure. I think I know what my first IKEA purchases will be!:) (all pictures are from IKEA's website, here)

Have a great weekend!

Rachel May

My House: Living Room Seating

So, I'm kind of totally in love with this chair. I think it would look amazing in our living room. And the price is right. But I really need to work on an entire design scheme/plan before I buy more furniture. This is going on the wish list though.

You can find it here.

I always go back and forth. Do I want a cute and comfortable chair with arms? Or a sleek, stylish chair without? What do you think? I would probably add an ottoman to this, and definitely a bright colored pillow. The reviews on this piece are hit-and-miss, but I suppose that's to be expected for a chair this cheap.

What do you think?

Rachel May

My House: Counter Seating

Before we moved in, this is what our house looked like from the front door:

Yeah, not so glamorous, but good bones, right? That's what I love about this house. Everything vital is in place, good wood floors, great architecture, decent lighting (in some places) etc. All it needs is a little facelift and our personal touch.

I decided that painting the main area-living room, dining room and some of the kitchen, was vital before we moved in. I knew it was one of those rooms that we'd later say "Yeah, we've been meaning to paint that..." so I stopped packing boxes to move and headed over to Home Depot.

Most of the walls are a light brown/beige with a touch of grey, but I wanted to punch up the kitchen. So I painted the dividing wall a chocolate brown to divide the spaces and enhance the architecture (can you see those sweet track lights? Yeah, awesome.)

This is what it looked like when we moved in (before all of our stuff was shoved in, that is):

And now I'm thinking I need 3 of these for that peninsula (there are 3 people in our house-me, the boyfriend, and the roommate):

Found here.

Oh Anthropolgie. Why can't you be in my pricepoint? Sigh.

I really need to work on my living room. That was decided after watching 4 episodes Secrets from a Stylist and adding her blog to my blogroll. My house needs some style. And not the "we just got out of college so we're poor" style. That's not cutting it.

Rachel May