At Home with Kourtney Kardashian

It's a SNOW DAY here in Georgia. The last 24 hours have been insane. 12+ hours commutes home from work, abandoned cars, grid-locked interstates and children stuck at their schools. What a mess!  I think we could all use some pretty to look at on this snow day so I thought I'd share a fun celebrity home tour I came across.

The Kardashians. Love em' or hate em' God knows they have some moolah to spend on their homes. The January issue of InStyle Magazine is featuring my favorite Kardashian's home - Kourtney! I watch the Kardashians from time to time and I've always admired Kourtney's interior style. Of course we only get small glimpses of the space on the show so I was very excited to check out this article.

Kourtney shares her home with Scott Disick and their kids Mason and Penelope. The family worked with designer, Jeff Andrews to decorate, style and furnish their Calabasses, California home.

Living Room:

Photo from Jeff Andrews' website. 

Ummm….how bold and beautiful is this space? The black and white striped walls and black and white chevron floor add an element of funk to the room in addition to the bright colored furnishings and art. But my favorite part of this room is the lighting. OH. MY. GOSH….like little whimsical bubbles floating over the room. So pretty and fun!

The Music Room:

Photo from Jeff Andrews' website. 

The hot pink chaise. The black and white striped tee-pee. The mini pink piano….so cute/chic/pretty. There's a lot going on in this space: dark painted walls, striped wallpaper on the walls AND the ceiling and a patterned floor, but somehow the space leaves me feeling happy and calm. 

The Kitchen:

Add Photo from Jeff Andrews' website.

If you watch the show the kitchen is probably the room you get to see the most because, like everyone else in the world, the Kardashians spend a lot of time hanging out in the kitchen!  Considering my specific occupation, I was uber excited to see the kitchen in it's entirety and read about the details. In the article Kourtney says "I was really uninspired to decorate a kitchen until I saw this one photo of taupe cabinets with gold hardware and then I became obsessed." The cabinets are coming across more white in the photography but if you've ever noticed her kitchen on the show you know she did end up going with a beautiful taupe cabinet. I'm with Kourt, I love the taupe/brass combo and really like the funky chevron wall paper. The large mirror over the hood is also pretty cool in that it adds depth to room.

Dining Room:

Photo from Jeff Andrews' website.

I really enjoyed reading about how Kourtney incorporated hand-me-down pieces and sentimental items and art to her home. The chairs in her dining room above were her Father's and the art work hanging on the wall between the dining room and the living room were done by her son Mason.

Family Room:

Photo from Jeff Andrews' website. 

Kourtney says the Living Room is her second favorite room in the house (daughter Penelope's room is her favorite). The room is the hub of their home.  She says they spend a lot of time in this space watching movies and hanging out. This room has a lot of texture and wow moments - the wallpaper, the cool lighting, the curved fireplace but still comes across as a warm and cozy place you could relax. 

The Foyer:

Photo from Jeff Andrews' website. 

Well, looky there - Kourtney K has her very own blue version of Brenta the horse head. Love the black and white with pops of color - so fun!

The Master Bedroom:

Photo from Jeff Andrews' website. 

The neon sign is so random but fun. It definitely brings some unexpected funk!

Photo from Jeff Andrews' website. 

We are seven rooms into this house tour and there is one thing I know for sure….Kourtney Kardashian and designer Jeff Andrews are big fans of the chevron pattern - it's everywhere! Speaking of everywhere, look - another horse head! 

The Master Bath:

Photo from Jeff Andrews' website. 

The Office:

Another room full of hand-me-downs. The desk belonged to Kourtney's father and all of the books were from her parents house. I love the dark gray paint on the walls and trim against the pops of color in the accessories and fabric on the chairs. I could work here! 

Penelope's Room:

As I mentioned above this is Kourtney's favorite room in the house. Interestingly she designed this room all by herself with little help from her designer. I love the wallpaper on the ceiling and the big, bright turquoise beaded chandelier. What a lucky little lady Penelope is….and no, not just because her name isn't North West. :)

The Playroom:

Kourtney wanted a space that was a "fun mess" where her kids could feel free to do whatever they wanted. But we all know no room in this house is complete without a cool factor. Enter the surf boards on the ceiling. These are the Kardashian sister's Teen Choice Awards - how fun is that?  As you can see the walls were painted with chalkboard paint and magnetic paint so they can hang their art and scribble away. Another interesting fact…the rug is from Ikea - fun and affordable!

This house makes me happy. Every room is fun and full of personality. Bold choices were made, textures were played up and unexpected coolness is around every corner. It may not be your cup of tea design wise but isn't it fun to look at? 

Unless otherwise noted all photos are from google search. 

Roswell Women's Club Homes of Distinction Tour

It's raining show houses

Hallelujah

It's raining show houses

No, but really….I feel like my middle name should be Show House. Courtney Show House Foster Shearer…CSHFS….that would be a beast to get on an LLBean book bag…  

In all seriousness, it's been a busy last few months. 2013 ended with the Holiday House and as I mentioned a few weeks ago we have the Luxury Living Show coming up in March. But to kick off 2014, a fun project we started last year is coming to fruition. Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios Designer, Katy Bell and I worked with Thrive Homes to design all cabinetry for two show houses included in the Roswell Women's Club Homes of Distinction Tour. 

Both homes are located in the Manor Golf & Country Club in Alpharetta and were built by Thrive Homes. We met these homes when they were only architectural drawings. Katy took one house and I took the other and we began working on designs, drawings and layouts for the various spaces within our respective homes. For my house we have Bell Custom Cabinetry in the kitchen, master bath and powder room and Wellborn cabinetry in the secondary bathrooms, office and laundry room. 

You may remember this little sneak peak I posted on Instagram a few months ago:

This is the side of the island in my house, fancy-fancy right? It later got painted a lovely shade of Gray - Benjamin Moore's Indian River, 985. 

As is the case with most show houses, each room will be furnished and decorated by a different designer or design company. The crews are busy finishing final touches now so the designers can begin moving their decor into the houses in the next few days. 

Both homes will have Cambria counter tops throughout while one kitchen will feature Thermador appliances and the other - Wolf Sub-Zero. For a complete list of all participants and designers click here. 

Show houses are always a great way to get new ideas and inspiration, but this particular event is two houses for the price of one! While the houses sit side by side, they each have their own unique characteristics and design style that will leave you with double the inspiration.

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in checking it out:

When: The houses open on February 6th, 2014 through February 23rd, 2014.  

Where: Manor Golf & Country Club

Hours: Thursday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

                       Sunday: Noon - 5:00 p.m.

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased on-line here or at the door - $20.00

Proceeds from this event benefit the Roswell Women's Club. This group is an all-volunteer, non-profit service organization dedicated to supporting the community through educational scholarships and grants, human services, cultural arts, historical preservation and urban improvement. 

Katy and I are pleased with how the cabinetry turned out and can't wait to see everything come together once the rooms are decorated and furnished. We will be hanging out at the homes each weekend during the tour so if you are in or around the area make plans to pop by and check it out and say hi to me, your favorite little Kitchen & Bath show house designing freak friend!

Unless otherwise noted all photos are from www.showcasehometour.org. 

Christmas Couch

Does anyone else have a room and or roomS in your house that are kind of TBD (to be determined)? For us,  these spaces are either half furnished, completely empty or the catch all for everything in the house without a permanent home. Lucky for us, one Christmas present took one of our TBD rooms from zero to hero in a snap!

You all may remember our upstairs sitting area:

The above image is from Zillow and is what the room looked like when we first toured the house. After buying the house we made a few updates including painting the walls and ceiling, adding a cow hide and jazzing up the built-ins. We will talk more about the built-ins in the coming weeks as I'm working on styling them now. 

For close to one year the room looked like this. Naturally, Luke thought the cow hide was his father (Luke, I am your father...Star Wars style...)

Photo from Instagram.

During that year we often considered the possibilities for this space. We tossed around several ideas including an office,  an upstairs den and a massive walk in closet for me and my shoe collection. While I held up two hands for the closet, those thoughts were not exactly mutual so we ultimately decided on an upstairs den.

This room sits right off the master and is the perfect space for a cozy retreat, but no retreat is complete, at least not here at the Shearer casa without a comfy landing pad, aka…the perfect couch. For us said couch came in the form of the Wyatt sectional from World Market. We'd been eyeing this piece for some time and when it went on sale the day after Christmas we were able to pounce thanks to the Christmas money my Grandmother & PapaJack gave us. 

Photo from Instagram. 

In a flash the couch was purchased and installed in our upstairs den. The couch was in it's new home a hot minute when we found ourselves compelled to hang some curtains. My sister gave us some beautiful curtains as one of our wedding gifts. And for nearly a year they've been sitting in one of our other TBD rooms as we contemplated where to hang them. As soon as the couch became a part of this space, it's as if the stars aligned and we knew the curtains belonged here. So, up they went…

We were on a roll, so while we had our tools out we decided to go ahead and mount our Nate Berkus turtle shell as well. Brent feels about as much love for this shell as he does for Brenta the horse head. Strange really, considering he's a pretty big Ninja Turtles fan. And they say girls are confusing? The shell is almost the same color as the detail in the curtains and just made sense, it needed to hang in this room and I knew Brent would come around when he saw him mounted in all of his glory. To add some dimension to the space we decided to mount the turtle on the curtain rod. Brent, drilled some holes in the back of the shell….

and up he went….

Pretty snazzy right?

This space still has a ways to go. We need pillows, accessories, a coffee table, a lamp, some art and maybe a new ceiling fixture. But man O' man has it come a long way in a flash. The finishing touches for this space will come in time, but it felt good  to pick up the pace, even for just a few days all because of one addition. One couch brought this space from empty and TBD to one of the more completed rooms in our house. BOOM - thank you Grandmother & PapaJack!

Photography by me - Courtney Foster Shearer. 

Out with the tub... In with the Storage.

What is it about a new year that tends to bring about the urge to organize and de-clutter? As soon as the holiday dust settles it's as if an organizational cloud comes over us all, insisting we get our lives in order. I don't know about you but I feel better, literally happier, when everything is in it's place. In homes with limited "extra space" up for grabs (like mine!) it seems being organized is that much more crucial.

So, in the spirit of organizing and really working with the space you've got, I thought I'd share a fun before and after project that I completed before the holidays.

The story starts with a client who had a bath tub against her will.  I'm sure a lot of you can relate to this. Basically there was a bath tub that was never used but removing it was discouraged because of resale. This couple had recently moved into a high-rise in Atlanta. While the views from their new home were amazing the storage space, not so much. The Misses jumped right on having her closet done, but like so many of us ladies, she had an abundance of purses and shoes and needed additional storage.  One day the light-bulb went off and this savvy lady had a genius idea - why not cover the bathtub with cabinetry?

I was skeptical at first but after seeing the space and talking over the details it became apparent this was a really good idea.

Below are a few before shots of the space:

The plan was to cover the bath tub with plywood. This plywood would serve several functions. First it would protect the tub from damage as cabinets were installed and second it would give the cabinetry a good base to sit atop. 

All plumbing trim was removed, but rough-ins (plumbing guts) remain intact. The overall goal was to modify the tub niche' by covering up the tub so the current homeowners could enjoy additional storage. The key to this project was to ensure the next owners could utilize the tub if they wanted to.  To do this we fashioned the cabinets so that they could be removed and the tub, tile and plumbing would remain unharmed and ready for use. 

When it came to the design of the cabinets, storage was the name of the game. Well, actually the design had a hyphenated name storage-pretty. As important as additional storage was, I knew these cabinets brought with them the opportunity to have some creative fun and make the bathroom feel bigger and wow. 

Speaking of wow....take a look at these afters shots:

Hard to believe there's a tub under there, eh? The cabinets are Bell Custom Cabinets from Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios.  The custom mullions were designed for each door by me and engineered by my mullion-making partner in crime, Richard. I really love how the mullions add an elegant vibe to the space, while the mirror adds depth. Plus the mirror gives you a place to check out your whole ensemble when walking by! 

The drawers you see at the bottom are false. Because we wanted to keep the tub intact we didn't want to attach any cabinetry directly onto the tub, so these false drawers act as a sort of skirt for the tub front. 

The space was divided into three cabinets with fixed roll outs at the bottom of each cabinet and adjustable shelving above. This set up offers flexibility which is important when it comes to storage. Sometimes we don't know the height of our next pair of boots we haven't even purchased yet. Having adjustable shelving allows you to move the shelves to create the desired height of the moment. 

      

And this is what genius looks like. Is it weird that this project makes me equal parts proud and happy? This bathroom modification is a testament to making your space work for you and your needs. Doesn't organization just make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? Yeah, me too...

Photography by me - Courtney Foster Shearer. The space is so yummy the pictures practically took themselves, but I pushed the button. 

Ta Ta Santa, Hello...

We are only 14 hours into the new year and I'm already busting with exciting news to share!

Remember a few years ago, when The Cow Spot was but a wee babe, and was nominated for "Best New Design Blog" for the Design Bloggers Hall of Fame? I didn't end up taking home the prize back in 2012, but I did become aware of the Design Blogger community which is a win in and of itself. Each year the Design Blogger Conference brings bloggers from across the country together for two days full of speakers, workshops and networking. And this year......The Design Blogger Conference will be held right here in Atlanta!

Photo from google search. 

As thrilling as it is to live in the host city for the conference, the super exciting part of this story is that this year's Design Blogger Conference will be kicked off by the Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Luxury Living Show at Phipps. The Luxury Living Show Kitchen I WILL BE DESIGNING!!

You may remember I worked on the Luxury Living Show last year with Mike Bell & Joel Kelly. Same show, different kitchen! In fact this will be the fifth Luxury Living Kitchen for Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios!

This year the Luxury Living show will be held in a new location at Phipps Plaza - the kitchen will sit in the same court yard as Santa!

Mike Bell and I have been brainstorming and designing for weeks, getting our overall vision together. We are super pumped about the direction this design is going and can't wait to start narrowing down the finishes. This year will differ from earlier years in that we will be designing the space as well as picking all elements - countertops, flooring, back splash, lighting and hardware. We are very excited for the challenge and can't wait to debut our design on March 2nd! 

Stay tuned, I will be back with more information regarding dates, times and speakers. In the meantime keep an eye on my Instagram as I'm sure I will be posting progress shots!

Happy New Year Everyone, 2014 is already off to a great start! 

Photo via Pinterest. 

Unless noted all photos are my own.