The Designery - LAUNCHED

I have a big life update for you all today – After 11 years working in the Kitchen & Bath Industry, I am starting my own company!

Wow – it’s a "pinch me" moment in and of itself that I just wrote those words and posted the logo. My logo! This whole thing has been in the works for a while and like all good things, it was definitely a labor of love, but today it becomes real and I'm so excited to jump in! OK, so let's get into the details...  The company is called The Designery and is a Kitchen & Bath Design House. I will continue to specialize in all things Kitchen & Bath and will be offering full design services to my clients. For most, the Kitchen & Bath are at the top of the remodeling list and I’ve always believed it was possible to conquer these spaces that can be technical and expensive in a fun and collaborative way.

For years I have been cabinetry focused, and I still will be designing cabinetry, but with this new endeavor I will have the opportunity to go beyond cabinets and bring whole projects together for my clients by leading them with the other selections that finish off a space – lighting, countertops, flooring, paint colors, appliances, hardware, etc.  

As for Bell, words can’t begin to do justice for how thankful I am for that company and all of the technical knowledge and experience I have gained over the past 8 years. I was always given the opportunity to be creative and I got to see so many of my dreams, visions and designs come to life before my eyes. I was lucky enough to work alongside so many great designers, CAD techs, engineers and craftsman that have truly shaped the designer I am today.  I poured so much of myself into Bell over the years and plan to continue to work alongside them going forward.

I’m very excited for this new endeavor and I hope you will follow along with me! I have a new website that you can check out:

www.the-designery.com

along with a new Instagram handle: 

@_thedesignery

And you can also follow me on Facebook here. I’m excited for what lies ahead and thankful for all of you that have been along for the ride over the years. So much more to come!

 Photo by The Designery Photo Lab & Logo by Treebird. 

Gift Wrap Closet

I feel like this next sentence is the most grown up thing I've written in awhile....

I, Courtney Shearer have a gift wrap closet. I mean, how luxurious does that sound? HA! I really do have a closet that is now dedicated to all things gifts - cards, paper, boxes, bags etc....and it was fairly easy to get. I simply cleaned out a closet in our guest bedroom and utilized the space for something specific instead of another place to just shove all the things. Earth shattering I know, but I'm pretty excited about the end results monetarily and organizationally speaking!

So, the closet is in the Guest Bedroom we have been making over. It was actually one of the first things we did in this space before we started selling furniture and trimming out walls. Here is a shot of the before:

As we have slowly fixed up various rooms in the house I feel like our junk piles just get moved from room to room and closet to closet. This particular closet was out of control. You see I had to pull out junk just to get one of the doors to completely open! From clothes to sell, to Lot's jump-a-roo and everything in between this closet was FULL and I prayed for any guest who needed to actually hang something in the closet. Good luck to them.

With the closet cleared out you can see what we were working with. A single wire shelf. 

The space is not deep front to back, but does have some length to it, so we wanted to add more function and actually utilize the space we did have. Now, we could of gone all out here, I mean I do work around some amazing closet designers and we all know Brent can hold his own when it comes to building out some cabinets, but for this space we decided to go the fast, in-expensive route and just stay with the wire shelving. The game plan was to keep the one shelf we had and add 3 more shelves underneath. To maintain some long hang we got the 3 additional shelves in a shorter length to leave 32" open for guests to use.

Brent spaced the shelves 12" apart and he got to work setting the new shelves in place.

It was a relatively quick process and that was with two little people "helping".

Next, I went to work selectively loading the shelves. One of the great things about a project like this is the opportunity to purge. When you have a new cabinet, a new shelf or a new room you don't want to fill it with junk, you find yourself more inclined to thoughtfully go through items and either donate, relocate or throw out. I knew I wanted this closet to house guest room essentials like extra pillows and blankets and beyond that it would house seasonal throw pillows, my giant dressing-making bowl that won't fit anywhere else, and our gift wrapping supplies. 

I have two large containers full of wrapping paper which I pushed all the way in the corner. I also stacked an assortment of boxes back there too.

For the front section I got little baskets to house ribbon, tags, tissue paper, etc...I even found a box to store all of our cards. I labeled each section per card type - birthday, get well, congrats and thank you.

And finally I used 3 hangers to hold all of our gift bags!! It's like organizational heaven. Extreme I know, but it feels so good and fresh and organized and honestly it couldn't come at a better time because with the holidays upon us and gift wrapping about to ensue, knowing where all of my supplies are is going to save me time and money! Hallelujah for that!


All photo are my own. 

Guest Room Progress + A Light Paint Matched to a Skirt

We are rolling right along over in our Guest Bedroom Makeover. This past weekend we finished up the trim + paint, installed the bed AND switched out the ceiling fan for a chandelier. 

I found the chandelier on Facebook Market Place for $40. I drove to get it last week and was excited about the elegant factor it was sure to add to the space. We got it hung Saturday morning and the room instantly felt elevated.

Next, Brent put together the bed we purchased from Wayfair and guys - this bed was $146.75. Such a good price for a king bed and we were really pleased with the look and quality once it was set up. The only negative....the bronze color of the bed was fighting with the brassy/bronze color of the light. While we liked the color of the light we knew from the beginning we may end of painting it so we started tossing around paint color options - white, gray....plum? HA - one of these is not like the other but believe it or not Brent and I almost instantly agreed that a dramatic deep purple/plum color in a semi-gloss sheen could look really great in the space. The inspiration - a faux leather skirt of mine. Brent took the skirt to Home Depot and color matched it. Pretty spot on, right?

Next, Brent set up a make-shift paint booth out by the shed so he could spray the light. 

I have to admit it was a little scary watching the light turn from a pretty brassy color to plum, but we kept reminding ourselves it was just paint and if it was hideous we would just re-paint it. 

It took a few coats and we let it dry for several hours before bringing her back inside to install. 

Photographing this light was a beast. Daylight savings has not been my friend when it comes to capturing the true colors of the space, but the shot above is the best I got to really show off the color. Overall, we think we like it. I especially love how the glossy deep purple hue accentuates the details of the chandelier. We purchased these candelabra sleeves also from Amazon for each light so the electrical wires would be concealed. The color definitely feels good in the space, but I knew I needed to see the whole space come together with bedding, etc...to know for sure. I found these sheets on Amazon, another great deal - $29.70  for a King Sheet Set. There are 62 THOUSAND reviews raving about these sheets so I gave them a whirl. I got the white, and so far, they are super soft and nice. We got the bed all made up last night and things are feeling really good. Next up - nightstands, lamps, art....you know, more pretty. Excited to get this space wrapped up soon, just in time for the holidays! 

All photos are my own. 

Guest Room Makeover - The Before

Wanna hear an embarrassing story about our guest bedroom? Shortly after we moved into this house (4 years ago - crazy!!) we had a house guest. In my mind it was a last minute thing, but honestly, it may of been a planned thing, I can't remember. Regardless he ended up having to go to the store to buy his own soap!! T H E  H O R R OR! I mean honestly, could I be a worst hostess? After that I made an oath to be better. The first step was obviously to stock up on the essentials and the second step was to make a cautious effort to make our guest room has comfortable as possible. Since then we have done our best with what we had to work with, but anyone at the beginning, middle or end of making your house a home knows it is a process and certain rooms/projects just tend to take priority over others for one reason or another, but it is finally time for our Guest Bedroom to get some attention.

The first step in making over this space was to remove some of the furniture. Like a lot of guest rooms this space was outfitted in furniture from times past. From my past specifically, it was from my childhood bedroom. I loved it, but the truth is guest rooms just don't need SO much furniture. We had a dresser, a chest and a nightstand in addition to the obvious bed. Guests just don't need all of that stuff. Regardless of how long a guest stays they never move stuff into the drawers, so most were completely empty or worse stuffed full of stuff we didn't even know we had. Anyone else? What is it with our human need to fill any and all spaces we have!? So, I sold most of the items in a weekend and suddenly the room was feeling a lot more open and inviting.

In a perfect world we really wanted to incorporate a king bed into this space. I know this statement is full on diva, but once you sleep in a king bed, it's so hard to go back to a queen, but sadly a king just wouldn't fit on the wall.  Then, last Friday something amazing happened -  Brent said what if we moved the bed to the window wall, so we flipped it around and....BOOM:

Not only does this orientation just feel better, but now there is plenty of room for a king bed! So I listed the bed on Facebook Marketplace it was gone by the afternoon. Now, with an empty room we were ready to add some details and get the space prepped for new finishes.

The goal was to try to elevate this space to match the adjacent guest bath that we did last year, remember that space? While I know I haven't shared the full reveal of that space yet (coming soon - promise!) it's on the fancy-ish side and I wanted the room to have the same vibe. The game plan was to add trim to each wall. We tossed around adding a chair-rail and wainscoting but ultimately decided to do a fairly simple series of rectangles on each wall using a dainty trim piece.

Like all DIY projects these days it's a family affair, so Brent and Croix got to measuring :)

All of the trim cost a little over $100 and Brent got the pieces cut and installed in a matter of hours. 

We are painting the walls white - White Dove OC-17 (same color as most walls in our house) because A. it's a good color and B. I have a ton of the paint on hand so it just made sense. I got started on painting all of the trim on Sunday but Brent ran out of trim for the last little sliver of wall and of course every Home Depot in the area was out as well, so we are hoping to get our hands on another stick or two today and finish up the painting tonight, but look how pretty it's looking so far....

If you follow me on Instagram stay tuned this weekend because we ordered a bed and I found a light on FB Marketplace all ready to be installed as soon as we can finish up this paint + trim I will be taking you through the whole process on stories!

All photos are my own. 

A Birthday + 2 Goals

Yesterday was my birthday! 

I don't care how old I get a birthday never ceases to thrill. I've always had a false sense of reality and or confidence in regards to my birthday. For years I honestly thought people were so jealous of my birthday because it was only 2 days after Halloween and in the same month as Thanksgiving. I mean, what a gift right? Haha.....I was a weird kid and I have to say some things never change.

We  kicked off my 34th with a fun weekend in Highlands with family. We had a fire, we saw beautiful fall colors and we got to watch the Georgia Bulldogs WIN! A Great day!

Anyways, I thought my birthday week was a good time to let you all in on a few goals Brent and I set for ourselves this summer... Goal #1 - 40 Countries by 40. We both love to travel and we're always up for a good adventure. I went on my first, big across the ocean trip in 2010 and have been hooked ever since. So far, I have been to 16 countries and Brent has been to 24. We definitely have a lot of work to do, but we are excited for the challenge. Brent turns 34 in January so we both have about 6 years to reach our goal.

We have a few trips on the docket for 2020, one of which is Tanzania where we are going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, otherwise known as goal #2! Well, that's the plan anyways. We are currently in training mode for that big adventure, but we're not getting any younger over here so we felt like 34 was as good a year as any to try our hands at conquering that 19,341 ft beast.

Have any of you been to 40 countries?  Climbed Kilimanjaro? Would love any advice or country suggestions you have!


All photos are my own. 

Boo

I don't know about you guys but our front porch has been decked out for Halloween since late September. I think our over eagerness was equal parts an uber excited 3 year old and a mom so desperate for the temperatures to get out of the 90's I thought a pumpkin or 10 could give me good ju ju.

The strategy this year....take every spooky decoration I typically set out around my house and put it all, every last bat, rat and bone on the front porch together.

It's a lot, but it makes me smile every time I see it. And see it I do, just about every night as Croix and I go outside to "look at the stars" with the skeleton. He has been excited about Halloween for months. Literally watching Halloween cartoons on YouTube since Easter. Every other day a new super hero costume arrives at our house. Brent + Croix = T R O U B L E, So at this point I'm honestly not sure if we will see Spider Man, Black Panther, Captain America or Hulk Round 2 this year.

One thing we know for sure.....

The skeleton on the front porch is definitely going as BATMAN!

Over the weekend I added the purple mum and Brent and Croix carved our Jack-O-lantern, so I would say we are all ready for the big night next week. Stay tuned to see which super hero graces us with his presence.

All photos are my own. 

Chair Sale

You guys...I'm a chair-aholic. Wait, maybe I should say....I like chairs with good bones and potential that are relatively in expensive so I can customize them to make them awesome. Yeah, that sounds better. 

Regardless, I have a making-chairs-cool obsession. It all started a few years ago with these chairs - my twin girls, adopted in 2015....

                                                                            

They underwent a BIG makeover (read all about it in this blog post), ahem...check out their BEFORE

                                                                          

Yikes, right? But the bones were good and with a little love they quickly became the pride and joy of our office in our first home.

These chairs were perfect for this space and I wasn't about to leave them behind when we moved, so I took them to my office over at Bell Cabinetry & Design where they have hung out with me day in and day out for over 2 years. Honestly, I would sleep in them each night if it meant I could keep them forever, but they deserve better, they deserve to shine. So I have decided to sell them. Over the years these chairs have gotten a lot of love on social media and I've received numerous inquiries about purchasing, so now is the time. I wanted to write about them here to give you guys first dibs, but they will be going live on Facebook Marketplace & Craigslist later this week.

In a world full of ho hum options in the category of office chairs, this is my gift to the world. Too dramatic....oh well, sorry not sorry! :)

Here are the details:

Office Chairs on casters. 

26 1/2 " high x 25" wide x 24 1/2" deep
Seat height off the floor is 17 3/4" and seat depth of 17"

Floral Fabric + White Vinyl for easy clean-up 

Qty: 2 

Email me @ hicourtneyshearer@gmail.com with serious inquiries about purchasing.  

All photos are my own.