Amy Butler Wallpaper

Back in May, we showed you a sneak peek of Amy Butler wallpaper and guess what?  It's now available at Graham & Brown!

Lovely, don't you think?  Check out all of Amy Butler's wallpapers over at Graham & Brown.  And not only would this be great wallpaper, I'm thinking it would make some really excellent drawer liners, or accents for the back of cabinets.

New Amy Butler Wallpaper

Have you heard the news?  Amy Butler is launching her wallpaper line with Graham & Brown later this month at ICFF.  And thanks to Apartment Therapy, we all get a sneak peek.

As we all know, I love Amy Butler and her incredible designs so I couldn't be more excited about this!  Check out this Q & A we did with Amy a few months ago.  She is so charming!

I hope you all have a great weekend and I would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all you hard working mothers out there.  I sure hope you get the chance to kick back and ponder on what a great blessing it is to be a mom.  I was in tears when I saw this incredible and touching video earlier this week.  {Thank you NieNie for your gentle guidance and always putting things in perspective}.  I feel like sometimes I let the day to day tasks get the better of me.  When really, life is so much more than that.  It is such a great honor to be a mom.  So let's celebrate! 

Wendy's Living/Dining Room Redesign

Wendy's main goal with her space was to make sure everything was in the best place possible.  She wanted to ensure that all their space was being utilized properly.  I've made some minor changes and updated a few things while adding more flexible seating to update her space without spending lots of money.  Many times, in homes of this size there are a limited number of ways that furniture can be laid out.  There's lots of space needed for circulation and maybe only one wall that has cable limiting where the TV is placed.  The key in these spaces is to make sure that furniture, if possible, serves a dual purpose.

1. Remove the doors from this cabinet.  Make simple fabric panels to cover the bottom.  By doing this you'll be able to utalize more space in this corner because it's not needed for opening the doors to access the bottom of the built-ins.  Use Amy Butler Fabric August Fields Graceful Vines Orange.  Paint the inside of the upper cabinets a coordinating orange, SW 6889 Stirring Orange.  Add a circular rug to help define the space.  This round 6' rug from Rugs Direct would work well.

2. Use the same Amy Butler Fabric Graceful Vines, to make some drapery panels for these windows.  This will bring in some of the accent orange as well.

3. Let's paint this TV stand.  The furniture that you have thus far work well together as they are all a similar style and finish, except for the TV stand.  By darkening this piece (Use Sherwin Williams Color SW 6070 Turkish Coffee) you will tie this in as well.  I think you'll find that you won't feel like your furniture is a modge podge anymore!

4. Replace this coffee table with 3 of these ottomans from Overstock.com and use as a base to make your own covers with the Amy Butler Fabric-Lotus Wall Flower Green.  (Yes the colors don't match at all on the originals, but for $24 a piece you can't go wrong!  If you build these from scratch they would be more expensive.)  Don't forget to use Scotchguard on these and they'll last for quite a while and stand up to your children using them!  These will provide flexible seating for you.  They can be used as a coffee table for now, then when more seating is needed, just pull them out for seating!  Instead of a large area rug here, buy 3 carpet tiles from FLOR and use these to place the ottomans on.  You're essentially making a small runner for the ottomans.  I'd go with All Square-Orange.  (When you're using the ottomans as seating, just slide the carpet under the sofa!)

5. Many designers will tell you to hang all artwork at eye level but there are times (many times in fact!) that this is not always the case.  Right now it seems like they are floating above the rest of the items in the room, if you move them down about 12" they will then be seen as part of the furniture arrangement that includes the ottomans and sofa!  This will provide more continuity in the space, which is needed in a smaller space.

Here is the design board with the items from above:

Color Palette

1. New Wall Color: Sherwin Williams SW 6711 Parakeet

2. New TV Stand Color: Sherwin Williams SW  6070 Turkish Coffee

3. Accessory Color (You already have this covered!)

4. Cabinet Color for inside the built in cabinets in your dining space: Sherwin Williams SW 6889 Stirring Orange

I love your guitar arrangement!  Thanks so much Wendy for letting us help you with your space!!



Do you need help redesigning your space?  Click here to get started!

Q & A with Amy Butler

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Amy Butler here on Fresh Nest!  We love her sense of style and love the way she carries herself and conducts business.  I fell in love with her fabric designs the minute I laid eyes upon them and have kept an eye on her work ever since.  I know I'm not the only one.  And now for the Q & A with Amy Butler.

What is your favorite room in your home and why?

I love spending time at home; it is hard for me to pick just one place! I love my living room. My friends have nicknamed our house “The tree house” because we are up on a hill surrounded by trees. Our living room is full of windows so even when it is cold or rainy out I can still bring a bit of the outside in with me.

What tips do you have for our readers that like to DIY home design?

Have fun with your design! Don’t be afraid to try new things and experiment a little bit. Your home is your space to do whatever you want, design for yourself and what makes you happy and comfortable. My favorite DIY design project is new pillows – they are quick, easy and affordable. They can change the entire look and feel of a room in just an afternoon.

Do you find that you've always liked the same color palettes, or do they change over time?  What's your current favorite color palette?

My color palettes are always shifting. You can see the evolution through my different fabric collections; over the years there have been many changes. My new collection, LOVE, will be released this fall and it is different from anything I have done before. It is full of rich and vibrant colors inspired from my recent travels to Indonesia, England and India. I am so excited for its release; I would have to say that it is my favorite palette at the moment!

We love your fabrics and designs.  Can you tell us more about where you get your inspiration from?

My inspiration comes from many different places but I pull most of my designs from nature. I love to garden and spend time outside so it is only natural that my designs reflect this passion! I also love to travel and spend time learning about plants and environments in different countries – over the last two years I have been to England, Australia, Bali, India and Mexico. I have explored gardens and wild plants in each of these countries, my designs look like an international travelogue filled with luscious florals and ancient, ethnic graphics.

We noticed that you have started a new bedding line available at Bed Bath & Beyond. (LOVE it!!!) Are you working on any other home products that we can look forward to?

Thanks! I am so excited about my organic bedding line, seeing it in the stores and online is a dream come true. I am already working on the future lines and I can’t wait to see how it continues to grow. I am releasing my new line of handcrafted rugs this summer too! They are all 100% New Zealand wool, hand made in India. I absolutely love how they have turned out! I had the opportunity to visit where my rugs are made and had the most amazing experience, meeting the people who are involved in the development and see the process take place before my eyes was truly remarkable.

What is the most important business pointer you can give our readers?

One of my most important business standards to live by is a strong focus on customer service. My customers always come first and I try to ensure satisfaction in every aspect of my business. Keeping customers happy and giving them an enjoyable experience when they visit will keep them coming back again and again.

Where is your favorite place to visit?

England, I love the gardens, the architecture and the entire lifestyle.

What is your favorite dessert?

I am a savory person so I’ll always take chips and dip over sweets!

This was so much fun, Amy!  We loved doing this interview and absolutely love your new bedding line.  And look at a preview of her amazing handcrafted rugs - they will be available for purchase very soon.

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images from Amy Butler and poppytalk