Today we’re sitting down with, Summer Hogan, Simply Stylings, and talking about interior design from the DIY maven!
My passion for design and DIY has drawn me to people like Beth and Summer. While attending the fall High Point Furniture Market I took a seminar, led by Robert Leleux, Editor of Domino Magazine, on the evolving interior design industry. The panel was made up of traditional interior designers and ones that have entered the industry through their own self-taught methods and blogging. Summer, falls into the later, with her non traditional path into design as a home design blogger and stylist who creates simple style for home and life.
Like Beth, I met Summer through One Room Challenge, and instantly connected with her love for coastal design and décor! Summer will be joining Beth on Saturday for Style Session Live, a way to connect more locally in Charlotte and to provide FREE design advice. You can get all the details here and catch up with Beth, designPOST interiors.
If you only have a semi-creative mind {like Summer} you can still create simple style for your home and life.
Contact Simply Stylings: Website/Blog
Since spring is right around the corner, many of us start getting the itch to spruce up our home. Today I am having coffee talk with Charlotte interior designer Beth Barden, designPost interiors, to get us inspired.
I met Beth through One Room Challenge and love her eye for design! She is always designing spaces that are fresh, fun and functional. Since we both share the love for a good DIY project and entertaining Beth was a natural fit to be a guest on Sarah Sofia Productions.
If you’re local in Charlotte you must check out Style Session Live!
Q: What is Style Session Live?
A: Style Session Live is a way to connect more locally in Charlotte and to provide FREE design advice. We don’t want decorating to be intimidating and taking 30 minutes to chat with you about your design dilemmas might just be the first step in helping you finally create a home you love!
Q: How did you start designPost interiors and find your style?
A: designPOST interiors grew from a hobby to a blog to doing work for friends and family and now fills my days with small to full-scale decorating projects! I have always loved design, even as a child I used to rearrange my room on a weekly basis so I am so excited that I get to do it as a legitimate job now! My style is influenced by everything from my love of the beach to my quest to find the best deals to my desire to make my home feel comfortable and welcoming. When working with clients I love the challenge of trying to find the right balance of their style, my style, and a few unique pieces for each space.
As an event and party planner and designer I’m always planning the next event or party months, even a year in advance. This Turning 2 Tutu and Bow Tie Tea Party is no exception!
Put on your tutus & bow ties and come for tea, while we dance and twirl with the birthday girl!
I’ve been planning my daughter Charlotte’s Turning 2 Tutu and Bow Tie Tea Party before she even turned 1.
I had initially planned on just a tutu & tea party, but the party evolved to include boys. These sweet bow tie and pearl tutu invitations by The Polka Dotted Room are the perfect fit for the party!
I’m going a little glam with the gold and pink and love this cake bunting by Confetti Creations.
I’ve been eyeing tepees for sometime for her big girl room makeover. Her room is coral and robin’s egg blue, but adding this coral and gold polka dot teepee adds dimension with the different colors and some glam!
I’m looking forward to showing you all the fun details in a few weeks!
Get the full source list below.
As a party, event, and wedding planning pro, Sarah Sofia Productions is dishing out party planning tips and tricks that will make your party stand out and run smoothly.
1. Determine your budget and get organized with a party planning check list. These two items will be the most important element to keeping you on track and looking like a pro.
2. Choose a color scheme and or theme. Whether your throwing a cocktail party, holiday party or kids birthday party the colors and theme set the tone of the party, like the colors of the Sip and See/Housewarming party.
3. Food selection and preparation. Determine if you will be hiring a caterer or making the food yourself. The menu selection will be determined by the type of party your throwing i.e. brunch, wine party, dinner party and the date i.e. time of year. Scallops are a perfect appetizer to serve for spring and summer parties. See Surprise 50th Birthday Party for details.
Who doesn’t love Pinterest? However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the delicious and beautiful recipes. Plan on making a few items well and buying the rest. Food bars are a hot trend, so why not take the work off your plate and set up a bake potato bar or taco bar for your guests.
4. Use fun and special occasion serving pieces. There’s no better time to use all those 3 tier food platters, china, or fun serving dishes you received as wedding gifts! Varying the height and size of your food display is one of the tricks the pros use to make the food table look beautiful, like in the photo below from a Summer Cocktail Party. Don’t have a punch bowl, cupcake stand or enough place settings? Ask a friend if you could borrow it for your party or rent them for your local party rental company.
5. Décor and flower arrangements. Once you’ve decided on your color scheme and or theme, it should be woven into your party through the invitations, table linens, food, serving dishes, flower arrangements and decorations.
Pictured above are some of our favorite flower arrangements from Tying the Knot Bridal Shower, Easter Celebrations, Valentine’s Day Sneak Peek, and Summer Wine Tasting! Flowers don’t have to be expensive or look like you just bought them at your local grocery store. Shop farmers markets or Trader Joe’s. Arrange flowers in various heights and colors, use fruit as your vase, and use festive elements like candy.
Don’t have tons of money for flower arrangements or decorations? Use fruit in glass containers and home décor items such as candles and lanterns to set the mood.
6. Signature Drink. No matter what party your hosting, make it stand out with a specialty drink like the Moscow Mule pictured above from the Queen City Gala: Black Tie For Charity.
7. Entertainment. Don’t have a budget for a DJ or band, then make a party mix on your IPod or download your favorite party mix on your.
8. Be a guest at your own party. As a host of any party or event your busy greeting guests and making sure things run smoothly. However, make sure you take the time to enjoy it all. If you don’t have the time to get all the party planning tasks complete or don’t want to the extra stress, hire a party or an event planner and be a guest at your own party!
Credits
Style and design – Sarah Sofia Productions
Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions
Floral Arrangements – Sarah Sofia Productions
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I’ve been working on a few fun DIY things this January, and two of them happen to collide for my Valentine’s Day Party Sneak Peek!
Here’s a sneak peek at the three drawer campaign piece I painted in Sherwin Williams Youthful Coral and finished in high gloss lacquer. I have styled it with some of my favorite party pieces for an upcoming Wine Tasting Girls Night Out Valentine’s Day party!
A lot of DIY is going into this party prep from items I’ve used in past events. DIY spray painted gold vintage stand I found at HomeGoods to display the sea urchin form Hobby Lobby. Easy DIY glittered Champaign bottle and added a little more sparkle to the gold tray with gold ribbon. Not to mention make shift photo booth with spray painted picture frame I used for this Coral, Robin’s Egg Blue & Elephant themed 1st Birthday Party.
Don’t have tons of party décor lying around your house to decorate for Valentine’s Day? Don’t fret, decorating can be as easy as adding some fun floral arrangements, garland, and signs.
I love using heart garland around the house, especially in the front entryway, in our family room, and in the bedrooms. It’s an inexpensive yet festive way to get in the Valentine’s Day spirit!
The garland in the front entryway is from Target’s collection last year and the one pictured above is from Crate & Barrel. You could easily make these yourself with felt or colored cardboard paper.
Did you catch our Valentine’s Day Inspiration Round Up post last week of fun and creative ideas from years past?
Make sure you stop by next week and get all the fun details of our Valentine’s Day Wine Tasting Party!
Credits
Styling & Design – Sarah Sofia Productions
Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions
Mini cake stand, blue cake stand and gold votive candle holders – Home Goods
Be Mine wooden sign, gold sea urchin, and gold tray – Hobby Lobby
Felt red and pink heart garland – Target
Red and pink heart garland – Crate & Barrel
Coral lacquer three drawer campaign piece – Sarah Sofia Productions
Welcome To The First “Oh My Heartsie Girls Wordless Wednesday” of 2015!!!
We all wish you a Happy New Year For You and your families!
I hope you show a warm welcome to our Co-Hosts for January WW, they all have fun and unique webites, with craft ideas, DIY, home decor, recipes and family fun!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
We now have 11 excited bloggers that are hosting this event, that means your blog will be seen on 11 blogs. Plus you have an opportunity to win a Great Prize!!!
{or} Join Us as a Co-Host For February Signup Now!!
♥⇒Details Here⇐♥
Alyssa share her recipe for Banana Bread Oatmeal Bake
Happy and healthy 2015 my friends! I wanted to share my top 12 blog posts of 2015 with you today!
Sarah Sofia Productions had a successful year in event design and styling! You will notice 9 of the 12 top blog posts are events or parties that were big trends in 2014 and continue to trend in 2015. The other 3 of 12 top blog posts are interior design and home décor trends that spill over into this year.
12. Wine Tasting and champagne tasting parties were hot in 2014 and continue to be in 2015. Tastings are one of my faves to plan because it’s an intimate affair with food and wine/champagne pairings. Get inspired with our Wine Tasting Party!
11. Easter Celebrations and Easter Celebration Part II have some great décor elements and fun colors.
10. Pink + Gold GLAM Bridal Shower was a fan fav and still is one of mine! Pink + Gold were hot trends in 2014 and continue to be in 2015. The elements of this GLAM bridal shower can be used for any party that needs a little sparkle! We were featured in two publications for this photo shoot: My Tru Blu and The Bride Link
9. Coral, Robin Eggs Blue & Elephants themed 1st Birthday Party is whimsical and had hot trends like dessert and candy bar, coral and blue colors, and of course smash cake.
This party is a good example of interior design and home décor trends that are making their way into party trends. The theme of this party was based on the coral, blue & elephant themed nursery.
Kasey Loftin Photography
8. Thrill of the Hunt Series was a hit with treasures from thrifting from my guests Dwell by Cheryl and Jennifer, Pure & Simple Organizing, along with my treasures!
7. Black Tie Weddings and Events are classic and will always be in style! There’s something fun and glamorous about getting dressed up in formal attire that makes the night special. The Queen City Gala: Black Tie for Charity was no exception!
6. Brunch with the girls: Summer Entertaining continues to be one of our top archive searches for 2014! Despite the rain, there are fun punches of color and easy party décor elements.
5. Surprise 50th Birthday Party isn’t your typical backyard celebration! The attention to detail from the food to the simple and masculine décor made this party an instant classic. Burlap and navy were hot trends in 2014 and continue to be in 2015.
4. One Room Challenge Spring 2014 Master Bedroom and Fall 2014 Big Girl Room drove a lot of new traffic to our blog and demonstrated that trends in interior design continue to overlap with weddings, events & parties.
Many of the home décor items in both ORC rooms came from our wedding, or my daughter’s birthday party décor.
3. Fall Décor and entertaining along with our Thanksgiving Tablescape were both hits with readers and the interior design industry! We were featured in Southern Girl Blog Community’s Fall Round up, Festive Fall Crafts and Décor.
2. Sofia The First Birthday Party not only had a lot of views when it was first published in September 2014 but continues to be our second most popular search into 2015! 
Sofia The First and Disney character themed parties were hot trends in 2014 and continue to be in 2015! This Sofia The First party incorporated boys by having them dress up like Princes and adding special touches in crafts and food labels.
1. Our biggest month to date was December 2014 with all our holiday and Christmas posts such as Santa Claus is Coming to Town Party, Trimming the Tree and Christmas Décor, Family Traditions with Recipes and Cookie Decorating Party, Cozy Survival Guide for Winter Months, and Christmas Tablescape.
We collaborated with wedding and event industry pros such as Classic Party Rentals, for Christmas Tablescape and were recognized nationally by Classic Party Rentals and in Southern Girl Blog Community’s Holiday Tradition Roundup, A Southern Girls Guide to Christmas Traditions.
However our most viewed post of December and of 2014 was New Year’s Eve Bash and Recipes!
Can’t wait to share more 2015 top trends in weddings, events, and parties in the coming months!
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We’re talking all things warm and cozy as we enter the winter months!
Step one, get your self a blanket. Once the weather starts getting colder all I want to do is curl up with a warm blanket and get cozy! We have a basket full of blankets in our family room and I put out several around the house. However, I’m crushing over the striped cashmere throws from Parachute Home!
Find yourself a cozy spot in your home. One of my favorite warm and cozy spots is this vintage arm chair in my living room! Yes, my living room. I’m a firm believer that your living room should be used everyday and can be warm and cozy.
The blanket is from my trip to the Highlands in Scotland and has warm hues that brings out the tones in the yellow striped vintage arm chair. The vintage chair belonged to my grandparents and has special meaning to me.
Get comfortable with your favorite hot drink, book or magazine and curl up! Who wouldn’t want to get warm and cozy in this chair while reading their favorite book and sipping coffee?
I’ve been dying to read Lookway, Lookway,a novel by Wilton Barnhardt, which is a wonderful satire on the South and Charlotte, with characters that could have grown up with my mother.
Put on some mood lighting and get cozy by the fire!
Christmas isn’t over yet and now is a good time as any to cozy up on the sofa with your favorite blanket, put on a fire, and take in the lights on the season. Oh and your favorite drink of choice!
Cheers to the holiday season and warm and cozy nights!
Being comfortable is a must in my book if you want to be cozy. Sometimes it’s OK to stay in your PJ’s and have “cuddle time” or “sleepy time” with the ones love!
Wishing you a warm and cozy holiday and winter season!
Credits
Styling, Design and Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions
Striped cashmere throws – Parachute Home
