Design Challenge: Designing for A Designer!

Designers have needs too! The time has come for two of our designers to practice the art of design and renovation within their own homes!

Wow, talk about hiring a professional, where’s a good designer when you need one?! The month of January produced opportunities for Sarah and Tammy to rise to the occasion and work for ourselves! (Our poor husbands.)

You know the old saying, the cobblers children are the last to have shoes? Well, a designer’s home (at least ours) is the last to get painted, last to get new flooring, last to get artwork, furniture, accessories, wallpaper, cabinets and oh, window coverings….everything!

design materials

While we eat, sleep and breathe design for our fabulous clients, we can get choked up and deprived of time when it comes to our very own homes. Paint color selection is not easy, even for the professionals.

color samples

Finding the perfect shades of complimentary whites and earth tones has been Sarah’s challenge! Why is it that PPG, Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore cannot make the perfect shade of white Sarah needs?! There are only 3,000 shades of white to choose from – LOL!  It only took Tammy five weeks to select her paint colors (there were only two) and she is still trying to discover what her “look” is. It’s funny how our ADD kicks in gear with the limitless exposure to our design imaginations that we can indulge in.

selecting colors

Project management comes naturally to us as a designer, yet preparing our homes for wall removal, drywall work, sanding and staining hardwood flooring, electrical contracting and new cabinetry has certainly afforded us the opportunity to practice what we preach to our own clients!

Living out of boxes, eating out, purging closets and inhaling dust gives us an appreciation for all we ask of our clients. We’ve found ourselves asking the exact same questions we do of our clients; what is our budget, priority, schedules and where is the best place to spend and save money – you name it, we have experienced it.

Images LL&A Blog 1-20

In the end, we see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have stayed positive, focused, on schedule and on budget. (With only a few surprises, which is always expected.)

Images 2 LL&A Blog 1-20

Thankfully, we know a great team of designers who have guided us through the process, plus our terrific contractors who we cannot do without.

Cheers to supportive husbands who stay out of our way and let us do what we do best. All while moving furniture, packing and unpacking boxes, trips to Goodwill, getting carry-out and writing checks!

We cannot wait to see the end result. Our projects are still a work in progress, but grateful we have our terrific design team to coach us through the process.

Cheers to hiring a professional!!

#upforthechallenge

#welovethehubs

#changeisgood

#lasvegasmarket

Our Year In The End

So here we are… 2019 has come to a close and 2020 is here.

LLA New Year 2020

2019 marks many experiences, changes and accomplishments for our team’s personal and professional lives. Together we finished the year feeling confident, satisfied, accomplished, grateful and blessed. Yes, we work hard to serve our clients and nurture our business, but we also feed and water our personal lives and relationships. Keeping our tanks full is essential for each of us. We all work hard to maintain work and home balance. As challenging as it may be, we are all determined to keep all balls in the air!

2019 had plenty of scene stealing headlines but we cannot let them over shadow our own contributions to story telling!
Granted, history was made when President Trump became our nations 3rd president to be impeached, yes, this is a big deal. We get it… and yes, the college admissions scandal was a pretty big deal, but we made our own newsworthy articles ourselves!

LL&A Headlines, Read All About It!

read all about it

A year of planning…

Did you think Justin and Hailey were the only couple to tie the knot this year? Well, our very own Sarah and Matt put a ring on it and strolled down the aisle in October too!

A year of anticipation…

Duchess Megan and Prince Harry are not the only ones to have had a baby boy, Lauren and Cody are expecting their very own bundle of joy in May of 2020.

A year of change…

Leslie’s “25 year old bundle of joy” son, Murphy landed his dream job in South Florida which has made for several fun trips to the Sunshine State getting him settled in with many more trips to come!

A year for learning something new…

Playing nurse was never a game Tammy was particularly good at as a little girl, but this year proved to be her year to learn. Luckily, she picked it up quickly and helped nurse two parents back to health.

A year of balance…

Dawn continues to balance her life here in Southern Indiana with her world in Fort Wayne where her two daughters, two son-in-laws and six grandchildren live.

A year of growth…

This was a year of growth for Whitley. Julia Roberts certainly has nothing on our adventurous girl. On a solo trip to Cabo to celebrate her 30 years of life, she ate and prayed the whole week long! Cheers to spiritual growth!

Together we each closed the year having planned, anticipated, changed, learned and balanced many aspects of our lives. Some things turned out as planned – others maybe not. Some changes we welcomed – others more unexpected. Lessons we learned were blessings and changes will always be just as the seasons change.

2019 Group Photo in Shop

Faith and love is the key to the LL&A team… time to unlock the door to 2020!!

Your friends at LL&A Interior Design

#indianagirls  #liveloveappreciate

Let the Holidays Begin.

holiday family baking

Wow, can you believe the Holiday Season for 2019 is among us?

The hustle is on and the bustle is bustlin’!

Question:  How do we get through another season of festivities, shopping, feasting, sipping, gift wrapping, decorating, cleaning, spending and memory-making all in one piece?

Answer:  We have absolutely no idea!

We all love to entertain and be entertained, give and receive gifts and cook and feast. Making it all happen and appear to be effortless, on time and stress-free is the challenge. Where do we cut corners with time and money without making it appear that we obviously cut corners with time or money!?

We aren’t Pinterest Maidens but, we do appreciate all of the terrific ideas that can be found on this terrific platform. The problem is – how do you decide what to choose with so many options? It can be so overwhelming…

Do we need to feel guilty if we order our roasted turkey from the market and do not roast in our own kitchens? Is time saved in the kitchen more valuable than a homemade feast?

woman gift wrapping tired.jpg

Which do you prefer, this or that…

  • Homemade pies vs bakery goodies
  • Instant vs real potatoes
  • Bag of bows vs hand tied ribbon
  • Gift bags vs wrapped boxes
  • Silver & glass vs paper & plastic
  • Gifts vs experiences
  • Cash vs gift cards
  • Clear lights vs multi-color

Help a friend out here people! We would love to hear from you. 

What ideas can you share for making new Holiday traditions?

What family traditions do you still carry on from your childhood?

What tips do you have as a host for your Holiday festivities?

What gift giving ideas can you offer for that hard-to-buy-for person who has it all?

holding gifts

You see, we need to help one another through this blissful time of year and make beautiful memories together.

We would love to read your favorite recipes, gift giving ideas, time savers, family traditions, and anything else you would like to share with us.

 

holiday dinner image

Simply add your comments here, tag us on social media or message us to share.

Help us help you, from Christmas lists to Christmas miracles, Frosty to fruitcakes, and elves to eggnog, where do we start and how do we keep it fun & peaceful.

Now, lets rock around the Christmas tree with Frosty the Snowman, playing our silver bells while we watch mommy kiss Santa Claus!

old school hostess holidays

Your friends at LL&A Interior Design.

#indianagirls  #liveloveappreciate