at one time advertising brand strategist, kelly of succulent love designs / yes please blog / cuppielove, was turned onto becoming a designer after putting together all the details of her wedding day. now she’s able to fulfill her creative passions through working with succulents, event/paper design and baking. kelly cites all things modern, lovely, whimsical, and thoughtful at the center of her design work and personal style. color is also a key to the equation and helps tell any story. while kelly is clearly the designer of the house, she makes sure her husband’s love of science weaves it’s way into their world, saying, “our style reflects that and adds a feeling of practical whimsy to our home. it’s spirited and grounded at the same time, just like us!” if you’ve checked out all three of of kelly’s sites and still need more, click here for full-sized images of her home. {thanks, kelly!} -anne
[We live in a second story apartment in Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile neighborhood. The french windows in our kitchen and living room look out over avocado trees and make our home feel like a little tree house. We’ve lived here for 6 years – but as renters our freedoms in décor are often bound by our lease agreement. I have a thing for color so we’ve added touches of our favorite hues around the house to liven the place up a bit and make it feel like home.
Our dining room: our apartment has these original 1930’s built ins throughout. I love how the dining room marries their old folksy style with more modern elements. We got the giant yellow letters from an old blockbuster that was closing up the street. We cleaned them up and wired them with lights. The framed piece is a collage piece I made titled “one, four, three.” We used the white vases (from Ikea) as part of our wedding centerpieces (the craspedia is too!) They are now sprinkled throughout the house.]
We bought the Workbench couch on craiglist for just $200 when we moved in 6 years ago! It’s seen better days, but I adore the muted, lived in look contrasted against the vibrant colors of the room. I love working with various textiles and patterns. The mustard yellow pillows are homemade using amy butler fabric. We also framed a favorite orange and grey fabric above our mock fireplace. Our coffee table is my favorite piece in our home. It was made by hand by my very talented husband. From sketch to finished project he created this beautiful piece of furniture that we’ll have for years to come. As an engineer he enjoyed the intense process of building and planning and making something with his hands. The best part – the lid slides back to reveal some (much needed) storage for blankets and pillows and board games for overnight guests.
CLICK HERE for the rest of kelly’s peek (and all the images on one page) after the jump!
This nook displays some of my husband’s passions. He’s an aerospace engineer and collects vintage science books (he actually reads them, thankfully they I like how they look). The airplane model was my grandfather’s – he was a pilot in WWll.
Last year we found this old tanker desk on craigslist for $50 and sanded and painted it. I love the industrial look of the desk set against the floral patterned backdrop and mid century modern desk chair. The Ikat inspired rug was a steal for $40 from Ikea. I’ve since converted this into my workspace – so it’s rarely this tidy and organized anymore!
We got the eames rocker at a modernica sample sale years ago. The headboard was made from pulling a knitted fabric across a large wooden frame.
I love to bake. My kitchen aid mixer is one of my most prized possessions and was integral to helping me start cuppielove a couple years ago. (when I started out I was using a hand mixer!!). The black and white print is a piece I picked up during my first visit to the Getty with my mom. I’ve had it for years and it keeps moving around the house.
