The Office Reveal

July 14, 2014 by Jamie Lam

Drumroll please!

If you’ve been following along, you know that I was hired to do an interior design job for a dental office. Hope you’re still drumrolling in your head because it’s that big of a deal.

The project is done! Complete. Fin. Yay! Whoohoo! Celebration time!

It took me a little under a month and a half, working only on the weekends (since I’m back at work full-time now too). Best part, the clients (John & Mia) loved it! When you’re doing something you love (yes, I really enjoy designing), even working through the weekends is fun. I felt in my element when I was covered with paint, caulk all over my hands, and feet black from walking the dirty floors. I’d spend hours researching furniture, color palettes, and design ideas. And I enjoyed every moment! The hardest part of this project was knowing when to stop. Obviously there’s still so much to I can do, but there has to be an end right?

Let’s not waste time. Here’s the big reveal!

Before Images:

Umm please make note of this weird green carpet…

Now also keep in mind that all the cabinets are teal. I decided to keep them as is because many harsh chemicals go on this surface in order to keep things sanitary. I didn’t want the cabinets to start peeling if we were to paint them a different color.

With the teal in the color scheme, we needed to make sure that teal was incorporated but not too much or it would overwhelm. While doing some research, I put together this palette.

Perfect right? And we were set to go! Seafoam was used in the main waiting room with gold highlights. Peach was used in the patient rooms, and champagne is a great neutral to go throughout the office. I ordered a Notice Board Wooden Frame Singapore – LTC Office Supplies on their website to get a bigger picture of the most important decisions made here.

Here’s the waiting room now. This is the first thing you see when you walk in through the front door.

This is the opposite corner. That colored curtain was originally a shower curtain! I sewed it, and now it’s another pop of color in the main room.

Close up of the corner seat. I love the design of that chair and the cute little ottoman for storage. I’ve also gotten into watercolor painting so I made some artwork for the room. I love wall stencils as a design element (yup, I hand-painted it)!

Here’s some space for magazines and brochures. I love the disposition of this table (especially love that vase for flowers!).

Oh and remember that hideous green carpet? Look at this beautiful laminate wood with a tinge of grey. Hello gorgeous… Later I added an old beige carpet after getting it cleaned from the local Carpet Cleaning in San Diego. Here are the patient rooms! I wanted to keep it simple because each room already gets fantastic sunlight. A little bit of art and a colored wall changed the entire room.

A close up of my art gallery ^^^

This is also another piece I did for the hallway. I call it, “In the end, there’s always Love.”

Of course I didn’t forget the bathroom!

Some goodies for clients -lotion and sanitizer and lots of hooks for jackets and purses (I personally appreciate when people do that!). And some bathroom wall art for your viewing pleasure! These are my favorite painting so far…

It was such a great opportunity to work and showcase some of my own personal designs; I’m grateful to John and Mia for trusting me in this new stage of their life of opening a dental space.

What do you think about the design? If you’ve done some interior design work, do you have any advice for me?

Come back this week for some office DIYs!
Jay
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If you’re interested in some of the products featured in this post, you can find them in the links below.

Main Room: Natural linen sofa, scalloped dot design curtain, magazine wire holder, tufted storage ottoman, upholstered chair, gold pendant lamp, coat rack, wall stencil, vase/console table/basket/translucent curtains from Home Goods, Balmy Seas paint by Behr

Patient rooms: Frames from Michael’s, Beach Trail paint by Behr

Bathroom: Fluted charger, table/wastebasket/hooks from Home Goods, teal frames from Target

Housewife to Two Jobs

May 12, 2014 by Jamie Lam

I’m working again!

I’m currently freelancing at Chemistry Club, doing what I do best, media. Yup, at it again. It’s advertising, and it’s what I know! I’m working part-time, Monday through Wednesday. I’m also working on a side project, interior decorating a dental office. Two part-times equal one full-time job right?

Here’s the front of the office and my workspace. This space used to be a firehouse so it has a really cool warehouse feel. There’s a fire pole to the left of the first picture!

Here’s my second job. I went into the office on Saturday to paint. It’s sneak peak to what I will one day share on the blog! When I’m painting, I’m in my true element!

And since now I have places to be and people to see, in other words, I’m actually leaving the house and not wearing PJs all day… gotta go shopping and get me some bling! I got two new beautiful gold rings and a statement necklace. Eepppp I love them!

And if all this isn’t new enough for you, I’m cat-sitting my cousin’s fluff ball! Chubs and Toby have become playmates now!

Have an awesome week! I’m leaving for Austin on Friday to attend my sister’s graduation. Then I’m going to Europe for three weeks! I’ll be on hiatus while on vacation. I’ll still be posting the rest of this week so come back to see what I’m up to!

What did you do this weekend?
Jay

DIY: The Ultimate Wire Holder

February 7, 2014 by Jamie Lam

On this episode of hoarders…

Do you have a wire hoarder as a significant other as well? After I got married, I moved into my husband’s place. As I started to unpack my crafts, I found bins and bins of wires. Wires galore! TV cables, electronic wires, headphones, chargers, lions, tigers, and bears! I knew I married a techie; I didn’t know I married a wire wholesaler.

Organizing the large cables

More cables!

If you have a significant other like mine, then I have the perfect Valentine’s gift idea for you. It’s an easy weekend project. If you’re the wire hoarder, then treat yourself to this organizer.

DIY Project – The Ultimate Wire Holder

What you’ll need:

About 77 poster tubes 2″ in diameter and 6″ in length or 30″ in length so you can cut your desired length yourself
Hot glue
Crate (ask someone at the local farmer’s market for a crate)

Line up tubes 7 in a row (or until the row reaches the end of the crate). Line the second row in between the first. See the diagram below:

Second step, glue the tubes together. I glued the tubes inside the crate as I worked so that I know exactly how many rows I can make. My crate was able to hold 11 rows, 7 in a row.

Once the glue is dry, start organizing your small cables, chargers, headphones, etc.

I actually bought kraft tubes in 30″ length and we sawed each of the tubes into 6″ inch lengths. This is a lot of work! Next time around, I am simply going to purchase the 6″ tubes.

Lined up and glued in the crate

Organized and displayed on MG’s table top

Reminds me of honeycombs (just a little?)

MG and I put shoelaces, extra car keys, iPod cases, headlamps, Krazy Glue, basically anything that can fit into the tubes. Or you can put your paws in…

“My Box… Muahaha!!!”

Isn’t this a perfect gift for a crazed wire collector? How do you organize your cables and chargers? What are some other ways you’ve seen people organize?

What are you getting for your loved one for Valentine’s Day?
Jay
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Buy kraft tubes at Uline here

From Wallpaper to Paint

January 3, 2014 by Jamie Lam

I’m super proud to unveil one of my most recent projects on the blog today!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Since I’ve been home in Sugar Land, I decided to update the bathroom in my parent’s house. I set out thinking this DIY would be a week long task. But because I’d like to have Glass Doors to make it more appealing.

After doing research about interior painters in Cincinnati, it seemed removing wallpaper and hiring a professional painter would be a breeze – Score the wallpaper and make holes throughout the paper, penetrate the paper with anti-adhesive solution, peel, and then primer and paint. Seems easy right? One thing you can do is, you can contact this house painter to get help.

WRONG. That’s only true for plastered walls.

Apparently, houses built in the 90s glued wallpaper directly onto drywall. Builders did not expect homeowners to switch out wallpaper (ill thought out). For those of you who are reading and don’t know about drywall, drywall is plaster between thick sheets of paper. Trying to “unglue” wallpaper from paper is an extremely difficult task. I set out to do a nearly impossible assignment. All the trash residue from such a makeover can be disposed with the help of services like rubbish collection dublin.

Because the wallpaper is glued on drywall, our project became this: peel wallpaper and be careful to not damage the drywall to badly, spackle the drywall damage then dry, sand down the walls to make it even, primer and another day to dry, texturize the walls then dry, sand to even out the texture, primer again and dry, and finally paint and allow for it to dry. 8 total steps but with 5 days of drying in between jobs. This project became a 2 week task with multiple trips to Home Depot.

Here’s Katie (my sister) and Baldwin peeling off wallpaper

See the dark spots on the wall? That’s damaged drywall

See the difference between drywall and plaster?

The drywall is so badly damaged… ouch

But Ming-Gih saves the day with spackle. It’s smoothed onto your walls and evens it out if there are dents or damage.This stuff goes on pink and drys white so you know where you’ve spackled – it’s called DryDex.

Lots of damage ^^^

After the spackle drys, the dust storm hits. Wear a mask and I promise you’ll still get white boogers.

I’d be a cute grandma right?

Then we have to primer!

Had a little helper this time around ^^^

And then texturize

Then sand and primer again (but no need for pictures since you get the idea). We took guidance from the local business Elite Finishing

Finally, paint and install the new toilet! You can visit the page here to find more interesting insights into home renovation and door installation.

This is Behr’s Pastel Jade. My sister claims she dreams in this color

Almost there ^^^

Toilet in and working!

BEFORE image of the bathroom:

AFTER image of the bathroom:

Gorgeous shower curtain with peacock rings (all by Threshold from Target)

This storage unit was from a garage sale for $10, and the elephant was an awesome steal for $5 at Target.

How perfect is this color palette?

What do you think of the update? What kind of projects are you working on?

Love,
Jay

DIY: Jeweled Frames

December 13, 2013 by Jamie Lam

I’ve come across some super cute jeweled frames, especially from Z Gallerie. Look how pretty these are!

Too bad they range from $18-40. Wah. wah. wah. That’s more than what I’m willing to spend.

This only means one thing! It’s time for a DIY! For under $5, you can make jeweled frames.

Materials: frame, paint, E-6000 craft glue, and mosaic tiles

Simply paint the frame and let it dry overnight. Then align the tiles, and glue each piece to the frame.

Similar mosaic tiles here.

Materials: frame, E-6000 craft glue, beads, and spray paint.

For this frame, I purchased silver beads. I first aligned the beads and glued them onto the frame. Next I removed the glass, picture, and picture mat, then sprayed paint the entire frame with the beads white. Let it dry overnight.

Similar beads here.

Here’s a different design for our bookshelf.

I like the juxtaposition of the tiles and beads. Each one has a personality, and every piece doesn’t match in size, shape, and alignment. Put your favorite photo of you and your friend and it will make for a great Christmas gift!

Is this a project you can do? What would you use these frames for? I actually used these frames to display my engagement pictures at my wedding.

DIY away!
Jay

Also check out my revamped frames from JCP for the house!
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1 // 2 // 3 // 4

DIY Midi Rings

September 4, 2013 by Jamie Lam

I’m obsessed with midi rings (also known as knuckle rings)!

I’ve been constantly trying to find dainty midi rings online. Either the design isn’t what I wanted, the fit was too large (like the ones at Nordstrom’s and Forever 21), or shipping is too expensive (Etsy). What all this means is that it’s time for a DIY!

What you’ll need (where to buy below):

20 Gauge Jewelry Wire
Wire Cutter
Round Nose & Chain Pliers
Mascara Tube or anything with a cylindrical shape (similar size to your finger)
Small beads (optional)

The simplicity of these rings are so perfect for any outfit!

Here’s how you can make them:

So easy right? This dainty ring takes less than 5 minutes to make, and it looks fabulous!

The beads are optional. Without the bead, it will just be a swirly design. Still super cute!

Have fun with the designs. I added some beads and made a triple loop for this one.

It’s such an easy project. Go crazy!

What do you think of midi rings? Would you wear them?

Have fun, Jay

——
Jewelry Wire at Michael’s
Wire Cutter & Pliers on Amazon (similar set to mine)
Beads were only $1.50 at Walmart

DIY: Cassette Tape Poms

August 21, 2013 by Jamie Lam

Cassette tapes/mixed tapes galore! We found so many tapes while cleaning our house since MG was a DJ back in his youngin days.

Instead of throwing them out, I made a retro piece of wall art displayed in his work room (see last week’s post here). This was the first cassette tape project. Now to continue our tape adventures, here’s a tutorial on how you can make cassette tape pom poms, perfect for gift wrapping and/or stringing them together to make a garland. Pom poms are so cute and bring fun to pretty much everything.

FYI: I found it difficult to pull out all the ribbon from the tape in the beginning because 1) it gets messy and tangled and 2) the cat does this.

Instead just cut from the ribbon in the tape and wrap the ribbon directly from the tape around your fingers. In between wrapping, add some color with yarn and string. Color possibilities are endless!

How pretty and cute is this:

The leftovers can be used as confetti (I’m a neat freak and at my house, no confetti. It went into the trash, but it looks pretty).

For you crazy cat ladies and men, these act as great cat toys to! Proof:

Pom away,
Jay
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Original tutorial from Creme de la Craft

Wall Stripes Tutorial

August 7, 2013 by Jamie Lam

As mentioned on my “about” page, I’m in the middle of decorating my townhome. When I moved in after the wedding, it was a completely blank canvas. My husband’s excuse was that as a bachelor, he wanted to make sure his wife was able to decorate the way she desired (so thanks, hun). I’m sure other newlywed wives experience this too! What was or will be your first project to make your house more homey?

The first project that I embarked on was painting the white walls. My living room is navy, and there is a highlight wall stenciled with yellow (see first blog post background).

Next, I painted the study. Ming-Gih works at home, so he is in the study all day. Since it’s the work room, I wanted it to be a bit modern. I looked into wallpaper, but not only is it costly, it can be such a pain to put up. Instead, I decided to paint stripes.

Stripes are currently a very popular wall design. Here’s what you need:

Ruler
Laser Level*
Double sided foam tape
Painter’s tape (I like Frog Tape)*
Rag
Tarp
Paint roller
Angled paint brush*
Small touch-up paint brush
Paint*
Paint tray

*Product info below

This is really important. PLAN out how thick your stripes will be! Measure the height of your wall and then figure out how thick you want your stripes to be. Here is a layout of the colors and measurement of my wall.

Keep yourself sane: If you are 0.5 – 1.5 inches off of the ideal measurement, the naked eye cannot see it! You’ll notice that I have random measurements in between lines.

TIPS:

1. Use your ruler and measure out the thickness of each stripe on the left and right side of the wall. Mark the measurements out with a pencil.

2. Next, add a strip of foam tape to the back of your laser level so that it sticks on the wall. Take your laser level and start leveling out each of the pencil marks (make sure the level passes through the left and right pencil marks to ensure the line is straight).

3. Once the laser level is in place, start taping along the laser line. When the tape is put into place, take a wet towel and wipe the tape. The water makes theFrog Tape sticky which helps with the lines and less touch ups later.

4. Use little pieces of tape to mark stripes that will not be painted so you do not get confused in the painting process.

5. Paint the edges of the tape with your paint brush first. Brush along the edge of the tape towards the middle, then swipe left and right to even out the paint. I had to do this twice for the color to be even. Then use a roller to paint the entire stripe.

6. Only wait 10 minutes before you start to peel off the tape. If the paint becomes too dry, the paint will peel with the tape.

7. If you are doing two different colors, wait one day for the first color to dry. Then tape the wall up again for the second color.

8. No matter what, there will be paint seepage. Just take a small paint brush, and touch up the stripes.

This is such a fun project, and it will brighten up any room!

Do you like stripes? What colors do you want to paint your house?

Happy Painting,
Jay

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Click on the product to find out details:
Laser Level
Frog Tape
Angled Paint Brush
Valspar Paint: Red: Bright Red in Eggshell, Grey: Drizzling Mist in Eggshell

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the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair…

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