LAUREN LOUISE DESIGN

HONORING THE PAST, BUILDING YOUR FUTURE

FRONT DOOR COLORS

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Curb appeal makes a difference y'all. I talk a lot on this blog about the inside of houses and who doesn't love seeing a room transform, but whether you're in an apartment or a house, the outside is the first thing people see - and sometimes the only thing people see, you want strangers to think you're classy too right? Apartments can be easy - a nice door mat and a pretty wreath go a long way) but houses are a bit harder. Theres paint colors, mailboxes, landscaping, fences, house numbers, porches, pavers, sidewalks, railings, and most important of all - the front door. We already did a ton of work on the exterior at Wrightwood (you can check that massive transformation out here), what we don't have is a consensus on the front door. I've poured over pinterest and spent nearly every Sunday walk for the past month looking at one thing. Front doors. I've found that they really fall into three categories: Naturally Classic, Classically Colorful, and Colorfully Crazy. Does the category matter? Not at all. What really matters is that when you walk up to your front (or side or back) door you should already be falling in love with being home. So as long as the home association doesn't care (or doesn't exist) paint your door a color that makes your heart sing. I've rounded up some of my favorite doors from each category for you perusal and pinning pleasure...and then I'll let you in on what color(s) I'm leaning towards at Wrightwood.

Naturally Classic
Think: Elegant and simple. Black, White, Grey or natural wood. 

Classically Colorful
Navy, red, or colors toned way down into nuetral territory: lightest of light mauve-y pinks or almost-black amethyst.

Colorfully Crazy
These colored doors bring to mind eclectic coastal towns and wildly painted victorian gingerbreads. The more daring the better - but modern homes have been known to get in on the color play too!

Alright, so my personal desire in my heart of hearts? A purple door. Specifically a Texas sage purple door, like lavender. I want it to stand out, I want it to be different, and fun, I want people to remember it. I want people walking through the neighborhood to want to creepily take a picture of it because it's just so pretty all while hoping the homeowner isn't looking out their front windows at just that very moment. Because who hasn't done that right? And you just want to convey that no you're not taking pictures of them just their really pretty house and please don't be weirded out. I can't be the only one with this problem. I digress. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm pretty solidly in the Colorfully Crazy category - I'll admit I find those Natural Neutrals pretty sexy too though. Check it out, I did some crude photoshop on a pretty photo of our door (in all it's roughly sanded, but natural wood glory - top left) so you (and I) can see a little better what some of these options might look like over here...

Not pictured is the fact that we're going to be painting the deck dark grey....these images are also easier to picture if you cover up all but the one you are looking at...

Not pictured is the fact that we're going to be painting the deck dark grey....these images are also easier to picture if you cover up all but the one you are looking at...

Heres where I would love for you to weigh in! Truthfully a lot of these colors (looking at you bottom row) aren't even in the running but it was fun to give them a shot. I actually kind of like them all. Something I couldn't fully recreate in photoshop was a lacquered black door. Which I would be in love with and would be a totally different look. But so pretty! What do you think? Are you colorfully crazy too? What if we sanded it really well and went natural wood? How about that modern orange? Have you painted your front door a fun color? Tell me! Tell me!

WELCOME BACK AND WELCOME TO 2016

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Happy New Year everyone! Seeing as it's the first Monday of the New Year (and the day I truly believe our resolutions should begin...I'm all about easing into new habits) the blog is back with a vengeance. I would say that my last post of 2015 was rather fortuitous - ending my first Football Rooms series with a big winner - GO COOGS! After that post though the holidays really took over and between finishing up freelance projects, getting Wrightwood into hosting condition for a Christmas Day family fete, and generally spending time with loved ones, I learned the importance of making (and sticking to) an editorial calendar.  One of my intentions for 2016 is to up my consistency on the blog. What does that mean for you? That means that Wrightwood is starting to really look like a home! You're going to see all sorts of updates on the progress there - over the holidays big things happened: all the plumbing was installed, the beautiful marble countertops were put in place, I finished painting a bunch of rooms, and I feel like we're about a week away from having not only the guest room up and running but I will finally have an office to work out of. Phase one of my second yoga studio project just finished up in time for the new year so you'll get to see pictures and I'll finally be sharing a beautifully bohemian living room I finished up in November. On top of all that I'm hoping 2016 is full of travel and trends I can share with all of you, helping you find the best places online and in real life to shop, eat, and relax with a hot cup of jo (or something a little boozier) as well as more personal projects and renovation tips and tricks. But before we get too far into 2016 lets take a look back at my personal top five of 2015!

1. OK, so this is actually two posts, but it's where everything started - the upstairs and downstairs tours of Wrightwood. Definitely worth looking at before I start posting all the shiny and new renovated pictures. Truly amazing to see the transformation over the last year!

2. Big Power Yoga was my biggest freelance project of the year and I couldn't be more honored to have gotten to help Laura and Nancy realize their dream for their newest studio. This tour took forever to edit and put together but I'm so proud of it! I can't wait to share more projects with you in 2016!

3. I posted my very first Football Room back in mid-September and it was such a fun challenge to take my alma mater (GO HORNS!) and translate it into a room sports fanatics and design lovers alike could relax in. I hope next fall I can continue this series with a whole new set of teams! (TCU? Syracuse? Auburn?)

4. This post on how to bring life back into your original trim work was my first attempt at an all-inclusive How-To post. It includes so many awesome tips and products that have been so helpful during our renovation. I know a lot of you in the Houston area have older homes inside the loop and with this post I hope you feel comfortable taking on some woodwork of your own!

5. This was one of the most festive posts to write - looking at all of the beautiful pieces in the new Kate Spade Home Collection and picking my favorites; thinking about how each could be used in the home.

I really cannot wait to write more this year and I hope everyone reading will come along for the ride! 2016 is going to be such a fabulous adventure-filled year! 

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

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Hey H-town, you've got a not-so-secret in your midst. The University of Houston is an incredible institution of higher learning and now, under the guidance of one (much more wealthy) head coach, they're also undefeated in football. To celebrate yawl heading into these last few weeks, you've got your own spot on this football series.

This living room is steeped in Houston - picture these pieces in one of the many beautiful, industrial loft spaces cropping up in renovated warehouses all over town. Soaring ceilings, expose beams and ducts, huge, steel, industrial windows. Modern and comfortable, much like our much-loved city.

1 ] Starting with this amazing buffalo-check chair from Anthropologie - hint hint buffalo bayou anyone? its been a while since I've had a bad pun - would make the perfect book-nook chair from which to gaze out over our bustling and incredible city.

2 ] Did you know that Houston is home to the fifth most significant museum district in the country (the world?) from the MFAH, to the Menil, the CAMH to all the galleries and smaller museums that sprinkle through our city. Grab a part of that spirit for yourself - visit one of the many art shows or if you don't have the time head on over to Minted - a website full of artists and makers creating beautiful art like these abstracts from Christina Flowers.

3 ] That powerful Cougar Red. Again I'll admit the difficulty I have using red. That difficulty stems from the exact same reasons red makes such a fantastic color for a school. Red is bold, powerful, exciting, and strong. Everything a university could want to be known for - and traits the University of Houston definitely embraces. West Elm made my job a little easier when they started making the Martini Side Table in all sorts of beautiful lacquered shades.

4 ] What Houston tailgate is complete without some of our stellar Houston brews? Buffalo Bayou Brew Co has been pushing the boundaries of beer in the bayou city. And with the Cougs practically setting the city on fire with their string of wins I thought a little Smoke of the Bayou was in order.

5 ] You know me and pillows. They add complexity and comfort; layering color and pattern to liven up an otherwise simple couch. This selection is a mix from West Elm and CB2 - both great sources for modern patterns and colors that easily compliment city living.

6 ] Another stellar choice from Bryght, the Sven Sectional in gray leather is a sleek addition to any city dwellers home-sweet-home. Plenty of room for all your friends who want to come over to watch the games. 

7 ] A simple, modern geometric rug keeps with the theme while softening and warming those polish concrete floors any loft around here is bound to have.

8 ] This coffee table brings the whole room together. A sophisticated marble top and a bright and bold laquered red base carry the UH spirit into the heart of the room. Have I ever mentioned that Anthro makes the best, most interesting coffee tables I've ever seen?