Hey everyone, Ruthie here!

I am so excited to give you a glimpse into one of the things I’ve been up to for the last few months!

As one of the designers chosen to work with the 2019 Showcase Home with Fort Worth Magazine, I have been using my creative energy to design a teen girl “chill out” room in the 2019 Showcase Home. With a beautiful and spacious layout, this modern farmhouse style home in Colleyville, TX will be offering tours in June and July to benefit “Wish with Wings”. You can read more about this home, as well as get tickets for the open tour here!

#2019FortWorthMagazineShowhouse

There are about 13 designers who were chosen by Donna Moss (former HGTV star) and Fort Worth Magazine to design a room in the home. All the designers will be filmed showcasing the design process for a new show on HDTV coming out this summer. Stay tuned for details coming soon!

#HomeDesignTelevision

(Picture Credit: Fort Worth Magazine)

When I first stepped into the room that was assigned to me, I had an instant feeling that it needed to have some bright and cheery colors in the space. The room has lots of light and the sunshine was beaming in. I decided to use yellow as one of my man colors for this reason. I included emerald green and pink as well. The design process for this space started with a design board which had to get approved before I was able to order anything for the space. After my design’s approval, I began ordering items! Soon enough, it was my favorite day, install day!

One of my favorite parts of any install day is watching the trucks roll up! I watched through the window as all of the furniture I ordered began unloading. There is something so exciting about seeing the things I’ve selected and dreamed up come to life! Some items came from the receiver and some items we carefully packed in our cars. There is definitely a lot of schlepping stuff that takes place in my world.

With the help of my assistants, we began the process of sorting through bags, rolling bins, and boxes. This is probably one of the most time-consuming parts of the design process, but we still manage to have fun here!

(Pictured: Lesley and Cory, my wonderful assistants! Installs wouldn’t be the same without them!)

After unloading all of our supplies, it was time to start deciding where all the pieces should go! I wanted to create a gallery wall in the room with “collected” items. My spaces don’t look like a showroom; I like to make them feel lived-in, relaxed, and comfortable. I like to lay out the collections to see where they should be placed on the gallery wall before we start nailing things up. I definitely had a plan, but on install day we get to be creative once we are in the space and see how things look once they are all together. I usually bring way more items than needed so we have choices.

#ColleyvilleHomesForSale

My gallery wall consisted of vintage pieces I had been collecting for quite a while. I thought the floral art was gorgeous mixed with the new items. One of my favorite finds was the cool antique eye mirror.

I always have to remind myself that things often times get messy before they get better. This is true in the design process, as well as in life!

Once the larger pieces started to arrive, things got extra crazy! With other designers in the house also installing large pieces of furniture, the buzz was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced!

Another thing I have to remember during installs is that things will not always go as planned! The bed that I had custom made almost didn’t fit through the door! Talk about thinking on your feet! (Pictured is my thinking face :-) )

They ended up taking off the door to get the bed through, but my installers were so patient as the huffed and puffed to get it done. They are the kind of guys that make anything possible. It finally fit through the doorway! Phewf! Let me just say that the team you choose to work with is crucial in this business. I work with problem solvers and positive thinkers. There is no time for people that are naysayers of the world.

Thank you to Brentwoodtextiles.com for their generous donation of the velvet emerald green fabric for my daybed--it looks so fab!. Thanks to Kingstonfabric.com for creating the bed from my design, even with the revisions in the middle of the upholstery process. Wait til’ you see it all styled, it’s going to be so much fun!

Also, how fun are these peacock chairs?? They are going to add so much texture to the room. The wallpaper is from Yorkwallcoverings.com and they were so generous to donate it to us. I wanted a touch of “global” added to my design and this is it! What teen doesn’t want to travel the world?

#ColleyvilleHomes

With the larger pieces installed, it was finally time to make everything come together and add details!

Artwork by Mary Howe - Divine Inspirations

There are always so many decisions to make when it comes to styling the finishing touches. I’m usually running on adrenaline, but by the time the end of the day comes, I usually get a migraine from all the decisions that get made.

Thanks to Feizy Rugs for the use of this gorgeous colorful rug! The one I originally proposed on my design plan was backordered (seems to happen a lot these days) so I had to rework my plan. The rug is everything and if it is changes, lots of other items have to be tweaked as well. Often times a client will say, “I’ve found a different rug I’d like to use” and sometimes that can be done. However, we think of every little detail and how it is going to come together. If one things changes in the plan, there is lots of reworking that has to be done.

I truly could not have pulled off this install without the help of my amazing installers, who always work tirelessly to make sure everything looks quality!

Here they are prepping for my cool barn doors that will be my window treatments over the window.

Wait until you see these barn doors installed! I did a happy dance when they went up! The builder was hesitant when I told him what I wanted to do, however when he saw them up he was amazed!

The best part of doing a showhouse is that we get to be the client. We get to do whatever we want to do in the space. That means that it usually looks amazing when we are finished because we totally trust ourselves. Often times, the client questions things we do and then the ideas get cut from the plan. When we get to do what we feel is best, the design turns out to be WOW!!

I’m so excited that I get to work with my youngest daughter this summer. She is helping me out while she is out of college for the summer. What a joy she is, and so creative is so many ways.

Hope you enjoyed the little behind the scenes of our showhouse install; there will be more to come. We do our photoshoot tomorrow and I will make sure and post photos as soon as I can.

Feeling inspired? Tour the showhouse to see the finished room, as well as see the beautiful work of other designers in the DFW area! You can get tickets by visiting this website.

#Showhouses