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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Favorite Product! Packin' Smart

These Packin' SMART containers from innobaby help to keep new moms organized when planning out snacks and meals for the little ones.


You can measure out your morsels, click them together, throw them in your bag and know that you are prepared when you are out and about.They are also hepful when someone else is watching the baby/toddler so there is no confusion about what foods your child can have or how much they can eat since you prepared the snack.The stack and snap system eliminates the hassle of multiple containers rolling around in your bag by keeping everything all together in one place.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Spring Break

Island Style



Spring Training


We are headed out of town for a little break to enjoy the sunshine and relax. Here are some inspiration boards created for our destinations using Polyvore.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Ikea Wishlist: Dining Room

More from the Ikea wishlist! Wouldn't allof these products together make a cute dining room or breakfast nook? Since most of us cannot afford the real Saarinen table but still have hopes for high design this Docksta table would be a fantastic alternative.
The graphic black and white rug is so on point and the desciption says it is easy to clean and that chairs slide back and forth with ease.


The red chairs would add a bold infusion of color.


This Pendant light is industrial and chic.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Hudson Baby Design and Bebe Chic

Hudson Baby Design has been recognized by Bebe Chic!
One of our nurseries was custom designed using Bebe Chic bedding and fabrics.
Check it out!

Bebe Chic What a Beautiful Nursery! Custom Bebe Chic crib bedding. Room designed by Brittany Hanlon of Hudson Baby Design and available at Firefly Furnishings in Denver.
http://www.hudsonbabydesign.com/hb_portfolio_nurseries.html

www.hudsonbabydesign.com

Ikea Wishlist: Nursery/Kids Room

Between all the wishing and hoping that a brick and mortar Ikea would land in our town we created a wishlist of products that we would love to have for a nursery. Here are just a few of our picks.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Ikea is coming, Ikea is coming!


There are more than 200 Ikea stores in 38 countries but for the longest time the closet outpost for Colorado was Draper, UT or Tempe, AZ. Good news people, Ikea is coming to Denver(ish)! Rumors had been swirling that the Swedish Superstore would be taking up residence in Colorado and there was even an official announcement more than a year ago. Then there was silence. The rumors began again over some sort of hold up due to paint colors. Alas, yesterday the local news reported the project is a "go" again. The store will be 450,000 square feet and will employ about 400 people when it opens.

Holly has never been to Ikea and she doesn't have air conditioning so she is looking forward to an experience similar to this story from the LA Times with a side of swedish meatballs. Kidding, kidding!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Favorite Product! Compagnie de Provence

Simple, straightforward packaging seems so obvious but there are some that do it better than others. Case in point Compagnie de Provence They took the most basic design and made it desirable. For soap! They have some amazing scents and they even offer an organic line (top image)


I have wanted to buy some for a while but the only time I ever see it is in overpriced boutiques when I am on vacation. I didn't want to risk putting the glass bottle in my suitcase and then find it exploded during the flight or after the baggage handlers gently placed it on the baggage claim machine.


Randomly, I was at Martin and Osa and they had a bunch of the soap and hand lotion on super sale.


I bought 3 soaps and 1 hand lotion for like $20! The 16.9oz glass containers are $23 online.
I got the smaller versions which are actually plastic bottles instead of the glass but they still look great and as soon as they run out I can buy this refill soap.

Or, I will just find another company that makes the scent I like and re-fill the bottle.
Run and go get yours, or call to see if they have it in stock. I am debating going back for the rest :)

Building on the Basics



What a great example of taking some simple elements like a modern crib and a subtle wall color and transforming the room with signature color and lots of pattern. The morrocan pouf is a great piece for a nursery since it can be used for extra seating and is the perfect height and has no sharp corners for when the little one starts crawling and walking. The wall decal packs a punch by adding tons of visual interest and the mixed patterns of the rug, blanket and pillows are all pulled together through the use of a pink. Adorable!


*image courtesey Style at Home

Monday, March 15, 2010

Burberry Nursery Sneak Peek

We are almost done with the Burberry Nursery!
Here is a sneak peek of a small section of the room for the twins.
We are not revealing the rest quite yet because we are waiting on a new glider chair to be made.
Enjoy! This is a wicker elephant that doubles as a side table and triples as a fun decorative element that the kids will love to climb on. I know what you are thinking, those tusks look sharp! Don't worry, we cut and sanded the ends so they are round. In addition, the tusks can be removed or rotated down.
As you can see, an area rug that is similar to the new stripes on the walls has been placed over the blue carpet. It really helps to lighten up the space.
More to come in a few weeks.

Friday, March 12, 2010

For the Dogs


We are big time dog lovers so when we saw this mud room designed with a K9 pal in mind we thought it was genius. Look how nice and organized everything is, food containers are secure and up off th ground, there are hooks to hang leashes or coats and drawers to store treats, brushes, toys, medicine, whatever!

The best part of the room is the water feature. No, it's not a fountain or a waterfall meant to keep the dog relaxed and the room feng shui, it's the water bowl!

Brilliant! No more filling the bowl at the kitchen sink and carrying it across the room spilling it all over the floor along the way. This contraption allows you to fill 'er up right on the spot.

A facuet was installed along the waterline and the bowl is elevated using a sheet of heavy duty metal grating cut to fit the space. Great Idea!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Meet Holly!

Hudson Baby Design could not be more excited to introduce you all to our latest addition, Holly Downs!
Holly joins us as a stylist and design assistant.
Holly's impeccable taste and flair for design are so warmly welcomed on to our team. We look forward to many creative projects and blog contributions from Holly.
Please read below to get to know Holly a little better.
I was born and (mostly) raised in Denver, Colorado the youngest of three to parents who instilled a passion for history, art, travel and design. When the time came to choose a college I headed up US36 to Boulder and the University of Colorado. A semester abroad in Florence, Italy both broadened and deepened my love for art, architecture, fashion, design, Italian culture, travel and amazing food! While at CU I studied Art History but decided to major in Communications and I received my Business Intensive Certificate from the CUBIC program based out of the Leeds School of Business.
I completed internships in several different fields, including film production, interior design, event coordinating and marketing. My first job out of college was with a television production company where I worked on shows for HGTV, the Style Network, The Fine Living Network and DIY network. After three years in TV I decided to make a change and these days my workload focuses on communications, event coordinating, and fundraising.
Those who know me best can tell you that design has always been a part of who I am. My coffee table is piled high with décor magazines, my bookshelves are lined with art and design books and my computer is bookmarked to numerous design blogs. I am thrilled to be working with my lifelong friend, Brittany Hanlon, in a venture that we are both passionate about and where we can make personal connections with clients.
-Holly

Monday, March 8, 2010

Re-furbishing a Great Find

We wanted to share a great DIY project that we have been working on:
We found these great cane back chairs at a local consignment store and decided to re-furbish them to use in our breakfast nook.
They were in relatively good shape, only needing minor repairs and have beautiful detail and shape. The color however, left a lot to be desired. Here's what we did:
Above is a picture of one of the chairs as we purchased it. Notice the great leg details and soft shape of the back. When we took the seat off, there was a tag attached to the bottom that told us these poor chairs had not received new upholstery since 1971!!!!
Surprisingly, the foam seats were salvageable and still give a nice firm seat.
We saw the potential right away and had to have them!
We found this beautiful cherry blossom fabric in cotton rather than the silk that we are accustomed to seeing this pattern in. This selection will be much more durable and easy to clean for dining seating. We were able to have plenty of extra fabric to have some remnant fabric in case of stains and spills by the little ones. We lined the foam seat with muslin fabric and then re-upholstered the seats.
We took a latex based paint that was not totally opaque and gave these chairs a metallic finish. Normally, you would use an oil based paint on wood chairs, however, we wanted to have an antique looking finish with the yellow base slightly showing through where we sanded some edges in keeping with the architectural style of the chairs.
These will fit in beautifully to the breakfast nook. It has a reddish/orange walls, some beautiful antique doors, an architectural table and a satin nickel drum pendant. We will post some photos of the space with the chairs in it when it is complete.
Not to harp on the "green" thing, but finds like these are not only unique, but saved these chairs from heading to the landfill.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Favorite Product! Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets

I LOVE these blankets!!! These cotton swaddle blankets from Aden and Anais are the most versatile, soft and amazing blankets!
They come in the most adorable patterns and colors. Not to mention sleep sacks and other products.
The more you wash them, the softer they get. They are sold at retailers including target across the country and are my absolute favorite baby gift!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Flipping project

Here is a little project that my husband and I have been working on for the past month:

It is a flip! We bought a little investment house and have been fixing it up to sell. This has not only been a good design exercise, but a good one for our marriage too :). My husband's background is in construction management, and mine is obviously design, so we have been working together to come up with the most cost effective, aesthetically pleasing solutions for this home.

This house was not in horrible shape, but in need of a total face lift.

Here is a list of what we are doing:

1. Gut entire kitchen and tear out a wall

2. Re-do most of bathroom

3. Tear out carpet

4. Add/re-finish hardwood floors

5. Replace some windows (most have been replaced)

6. New roof

7. New tile and water heater in laundry room

8. Add canned lights

9. Update electrical

10. Update all lighting

11. Replace all doors

12. Replace garage door

13. Replace posts outside

14. Fix siding and paint exterior

15. Repair cracked driveway



While this seems like a huge list, it is really not that bad once you get into it.

Here are some before and in progress photos:

We replaced the iron poles with some nice cedar ones along the garage which houses an overhang in the backyard.

This is an easy and inexpensive way to add a little warmth and character to the home.

This is the wall in the bathroom. As you will see later, the white 4x4 tile was in good shape, so to save ourselves from replacing all of it, we are adding some decorative glass tile and replacing a few white tiles that were damaged.



We took out the existing sink, vanity, mirror, lighting, commode, shower doors, grab bars, and smelly linoleum floor. We will be replacing all of the above and adding some decorative tiles.


Here is the exterior of the house. As you can see, the windows have been replaced, however, the what should be picture window on the right is kind of interesting. We will be replacing that with a new picture window and adding new trim around all windows and doors.



Here is the old kitchen halfway ripped out. It was very small and outdated, so we have torn out the wall to the right in order to create a peninsula with a breakfast bar that leads into the living/dining room. We had to put up a header to support the roof, but it makes a huge difference! The kitchen is getting all new cabinets, appliances, counter tops, lighting and hardwood floors, the works!!!




The other side of the kitchen looking into the laundry room. The hardwoods from the living room will be continued into the kitchen.



The bathroom before we tore it out.


The wall is down! This is the view from the living/dining room into the new kitchen!



Here is the opposite view from the kitchen into the living/dining. This beautiful hardwood was under some nasty carpet. We are so glad that we could save it! People often think that refinishing is too expensive, but if you find the right company, you can save yourself money and save the environment by refinishing floors rather than replacing them.


There are always surprises when you start ripping into stuff taking things out. If you are going to be doing a big project like this one, be sure to build in a percentage of your budget for these unexpected costs.


A note on budgets. In order to sell this house quickly, we are upgrading slightly above what the price point and neighborhood calls for. For example, this neighborhood does not call for crown molding and stainless steel appliances. While this is an added expense, we hope that the little bit of extra money we spend now will help us sell the home quickly and for close to our asking price.

We hope to be done in the next two weeks, so we will keep you updated on our progress.