Not just another pretty place...

So, yes, interior design is my latest and greatest but there have been so many years leading up to this decision of spending what little free time I have on going back to college! I am the proud mom of three beautiful and delightful young ladies (yes I said delightful..and yes having girls can be the most amazing experience if are up for a bit of a challenge! I wouldn't trade it for the world) I've been married for 13 years and have been with him for 14. It seems like my life life was never without him...he makes me smile and laugh almost every day of these last 14 years of my life. When asked what most attracted me to him first I always say hands down his sense of humor! God knows I've needed some of that...we've needed some of that in our lives in the last couple of years! Our girls are 8, 9 and 11 1/2. When my 8 year old was born I had more serious complications than I can really remember but what took place for a couple of years after that was far worse...I began to really think about how fragile life was and how it could be taken in a moment! It kinda freaked me out so after struggling for a couple of years with irrational fears I remember sitting across the table from my husbands friend who also struggled at times with somewhat irrational fears too and he said Amy you're creative and your mind is finding things to be creative about (my fears) and so he said just give your mind something else to be creative about...bingo! That was it...I new I had always loved design and it was creative and I could just let myself go and think up big ideas and it wasn't going to leave me freaking out about irrational fears...but instead I knew I would be getting a feeling of accomplishment with every step I got closer to my degree and then every room or home or business I could leave my handprint on! It has been an crazy amazing journey through school these last four years during which my husband decided to jump and free fall into starting his own business in the worst economy EVER, while raising 3 little girls who themselves are school age with tons of projects, my dads untimely and quite unexpected death and then all the mess that goes along with that! But somehow I've managed to stay the course and pour myself into something creative, something that let's my mind wander to someplace good and not extreme and irrational, something that will eventually pay for all our little girls college and weddings. So I continue to walk out this journey and see where it takes me. I'm praying that it will one day be even more than a career I want to not only make just another pretty place but I want to be able to use it to give back to other people. I'm not sure how that will all work out but I have lots of thoughts whirling through my mind as to the possibilities...like I said earlier...I'm creative so a million thoughts at once is not impossible for my mind! That's it for now...goodnight

Take Five

These chairs were a great find at a garage sale my sister and I made a quick stop to. I spotted them way in the corner of the garage and they were $5 a piece! I thought that's an easy gamble! One of my clients needed a set of chairs for their commercial space restroom but were on a fixed budget. So, I thought I would take a chance and refinish them to see how they turn out....

Take Five...

I took a dark brown spray

spray paint and sprayed the arms and legs. *Designer note before painting any old wood furniture take a

lightly textured sand paper and lightly sand it so that the paint will adhere to the wood. After I lightly

sanded it and painted it I took some leather softner/cleaner and buffed the worn leather and brought it

back to it's original shine. Any hardware store or furniture store carries this kind of cleaner. I used some

from Art Van. After that I had some furniture tacks and lined the arms and back of the chair by

simply eyeing where they went and hammered them in. I found cute little accent pillow at a dollar store for

$1 and voila! Good as new! I find that any piece of furniture can be spruced up with a small accent pillow.

I love that something so small and inexpensive can change the look or color scheme of a room. It's

a perfect little touch for a splash of color or different style. In addition to that, you won't feel guilt

if in one year you become bored with the color or style like I do and feel the need to run to the store and buy

a different color pillow!

So, that's my take on a garage sale chair for $5! Until we shop again....Amy Elizabeth

Introducing my brand. My name. My definition of sorts. Amy Elizatbeth Designs. I am an Interior Designer married to an artsy ad guy so our combination isn't really balanced when it comes to big picture. We both look at life as a very large canvas that we can design however our minds lead us. However, this is the beginning of my journey as an Interior Designer. I will complete my degree in the next couple of semesters after four long years of studying. There have been a few hiccups along the way and lots of lessons learned but now I will begin the next part of my journey....sharing my love of art with the world by helping to make living spaces more livable...but more than that I will set out to make living spaces places where people come to relax, unwind, build relationships, get away to quiet oasis' or enjoy a party or two in a beautiful space. One color. One texture. One piece of furniture at a time. Stay tuned! I will attempt to every few days give pointers, tips from the pros and how to's as I navigate through my new career. Tomorrow I will be taking two old beat up chairs and transform them to elegant focal pieces to a room.....pictures to come... Bye for now! Amy Elizabeth

Well, this is my first post onto a blog. I've always laughed at people who post on blogs because I thought really, who cares about my life and what's going on here other than my immediate family...but then I decided it's been one year almost to date of the death of my father...I have more balls up in the air than I can count at the moment and more stress than I'd like to think about! So, this is going to be my outlet...don't really mind if nobody reads this...it can be just for me or if something in it helps somebody else walk through this crazy life than bonus!

That's all for now!