For most people, the master bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the house. It’s where we retreat at the end of the day: to relax and rejuvenate from all the day’s stressors and responsibilities. And that’s exactly why it’s essential that the room’s decor reflects the needs and personalities of those who reside in it.
We recently featured a grand living room we designed for clients desiring an elegant and family-friendly home. We were also fortunate enough to design their master retreat and, once again, luxury and practicality were the ultimate goals.
Read on for all the exciting changes we made! [Read more…]
Can luxury and practicality coexist in the same house? Absolutely!
Just because you’re at a stage in life when kids and pets rule the roost, doesn’t mean you have to live without style. Advances in technology have made many of today’s luxurious fabrics also washable and durable. And glamorous accents have always had the power to transform an ordinary space.
We recently worked with a wonderful family to create an elegant living room and master bedroom where cuddling with the kids and family dogs was paramount, but style was also important.
The Grand Living Room
Our goal was to create an elegant living room where family and friends could gather and be comfortable, while keeping the look transitional and fresh. Our clients’ existing sofa was in excellent condition, so naturally, they wished to use it in the room’s new design. They also owned a gorgeous grand piano that would be included in the room. Both pieces set the stage for the design plan and we selected a color palette to work beautifully with both.
This view of the grand piano shows the beautiful tones of the wood and the dramatic impact it gives to the space. We carefully blended the wood tones of the furniture we added to the room to create continuity, and added custom drapery and a hand-tufted wool rug in shades of cream and gold.
Custom, wood-trimmed armchairs were crafted with an elegant grey and beige pattern on the sides and backs only. And we created a photo gallery of their children that would be seen by all upon entering the house, telling visitors that this is a stylish, but never stuffy home. Our clients tell us this is their favorite room in their house!
We chose a beautiful console table in cream with a rich walnut burl inlay and graphic arc-motif to add interest and an unexpected element to the space. Stacked artwork by artist Blakely Bering were custom made to bring the perfect shades of color into the room.
Finally, just the right amount of accessories were added to make the decor fresh and inviting. A leather tray with bowling pin vases adorns the cocktail table, while a cream-colored textured lamp and multi-hued vase add interest to the side table. Fresh flowers add life to the room.
What about you? What would you like in your dream living room? Post your reply below – we’d love to hear from you!
Check back soon for Part 2 of A Luxurious Family Home – The Master Retreat!
Sometimes it’s impossible to leave work behind. And honestly, who wants to when work involves inspiring design?!
Julie, our Project Manager at BGI, recently vacationed in Vail, Colorado with her family and couldn’t resist taking pictures of the town’s picturesque architecture and design. It was her first time skiing in almost 20 years and she said it was the perfect setting for tumbling down a mountain! She and her family had a great time, and we’re just glad she didn’t break anything!
Here are some interesting moments from Julie’s trip to Vail.
The Vail Marriot Mountain Resort, where opulent textures and rich colors mixed effortlessly with wrought iron and stone to create a rustic elegant interior. I loved the grand scale artwork and chandeliers.
Clock towers were everywhere! But instead of keeping you on schedule, they seemed to transport you back to another time.
The ice rink at the center of Vail Village was nothing short of magical. And outdoor fireplaces and fire pits were around every corner.
Art sculpture? Arguably yes, but it’s actually a playground modeled after birds’ nests! Artist and architect Mike Moore, of Tres Birds Workshop in Denver, created a jungle gym of three pods perched on boulders and connected by slides, rope bridges and nets.
But nothing could compare to the landscape itself! As always, God is the ultimate creator.
And for those of us with no time for vacations, there are always other ways to relax!
How about you? Where would you like to go on your next vacation? Comment below with your ideas – we’d love to hear them!
Images via: 1) Vail.com, 2) - 5) Julie Whitworth.
We are honored and thrilled to announce Barbara Gilbert Interiors has received a Designer of the Year Award from the national Interior Design Society!
We received the first place award for Bath Designs under $30,000 for a glamorous master bathroom remodel. The design of the room was based on our client’s desire for a fresh, updated space with a subtle and feminine palette to reflect her personal style. She was beginning a new phase in her life and wanted her home to reflect her fresh start and new outlook.
We couldn’t be happier with the final result and the fact the design has won not one, but two awards is icing on the cake! The room’s design also won first place in the 2013 American Society of Interior Designers (AISD) Legacy of Design Awards for Bathroom Design last year. Here are all the details of the design and the room’s transformation! [Read more…]
We’ve been feeling a little like Christmas elves lately – dashing around to get things done. And that’s because we’ve moved!
We have relocated our offices to a larger design space directly off the Dallas North Tollway to better serve you. Our new offices are located at 4950 Westgrove Drive, Suite 120, in Dallas and house extensive product samples for your design or renovation project. Everything we need to design fabulous rooms and furniture for you is right at our fingertips! [Read more…]
When does furniture go beyond form and function to become a piece of history? When the material used in its construction is part of history itself.
At the Armored Frog, each one-of-kind piece is steeped in history, crafted exclusively from old growth woods recovered from rivers and historical structures throughout the southeast United States. Wood for an Armored Frog original may come from a deadhead cypress log discovered in a local river, planks pulled from an old sawmill or beams salvaged from a turn-of-the-century home; and this makes their furniture the perfect fit for the Village Park Eco Home! [Read more…]
When desiring a fresh or updated look, few people can afford to purchase all new furnishings and decor. And even if you could, why would you when so many pieces can be repurposed to work with the new design?
Favorite pieces or those with sentimental value are part of what makes a house a home. Plus, repurposing is good for the environment, not to mention your wallet!
We recently worked with some amazing clients that had relocated to Texas from Colorado. Although they had settled in, the family still didn’t feel at home in their new house. The home didn’t reflect their style and taste, nor did it fully meet their needs. They wanted an updated family room and a formal living room that could serve as a library, yet be warm and family-friendly. As always, we began the design process by taking inventory of which items they wanted to reuse and developed a plan to integrate them into the new design.
Two armchairs from the family room were moved to the new library and repurposed as cozy, comfortable reading chairs. Two table lamps from the family room were also moved to the library, where we traded out the existing shades with new ones that offered a cleaner, more contemporary look. Various accessories were reused in the room as well. [Read more…]
It’s not hard to imagine how the name for Wow! PlaySpaces was decided. One look at any of their jaw-dropping projects and the word “wow” is involuntarily uttered! And we are so excited to be working with them to design the innovative Village Park Eco Home, a home being built to answer the question, “What’s next in high-performance home construction?”
Together and in partnership with Make-A-Wish North Texas, we will be designing and installing a custom play area in the home based on one very deserving child’s dreams. If you’re unfamiliar with Wow! PlaySpaces, they design, fabricate and install custom themed play attractions and outlandish décor, both indoors and out. And they are generously donating their time, talents and materials to this exciting project to make one child’s wish come true.
From pirates, castles and barnyards, to sport courts, climbing walls and life-size games, Wow! PlaySpaces does it all. And with a catch phrase like “we create ridiculously cool, fun play spaces,” we’re in for a quite a ride! We can’t wait to start brainstorming and designing with them.
We’ll keep you posted on the design progress, but in the meantime, here are a few of the amazing play spaces they’ve already created. Oh, and you’ll be able to see the home in person once it’s completed in March/April 2014 and opened for tours!
All aboard! A train station-themed room puts a smile on anyone’s face. [Read more…]
Green building, or sustainable construction, is more than environmentally responsible. It’s fiscally smart. Simply put, eco-friendly designed buildings cost less to operate.
That’s why we’re so excited to be on the design team for the Village Park Eco Home, a contemporary hill country home about to be constructed in Highland Village, Texas. The home is being built to answer the question, “What’s next in high-performance home construction?” And the answers are cutting edge!
It’s an exciting project in green construction, being built with renewable energy resources and eco-friendly materials to achieve a high-performance home with minimal impact on the environment. Features will include advanced framing techniques, a central dehumidification system, LED lighting, a rainwater collection system and content made from recycled materials, just to name a few!
As members of the design team, we’ll be selecting all the finishes for the home and outfitting the interior. We’ve already begun selecting cabinetry and planning finishes, like Eco from CosentinoECO™. Eco is a durable surface made of 75% recycled content composed of post-industrial or post-consumer materials and is bound by an environmentally friendly resin which comes in part from corn oil.
We can’t wait for the project to be completed in March/April 2014 when the home will open for tours and educational events. We’ll keep you posted on the design and construction progress and post more pictures soon! In the meantime, you can visit the following social media sites as we will be posting pictures and videos on a regular basis. If you are so inclined, please “like” our Facebook page.
Facebook: http://facebook/villageparkecohome
Image sources: 1) & 2) Village Park Eco Home, 3) Google Images.
What’s even more distinctive than custom furniture? Custom artwork!
Once only attainable by royals, rulers and the elite, commissioned art can now be a reality for any art lover. And creating a one-of-kind work of art, inspired by your imagination and made exclusively for you, is an amazing experience that continues every time you view the piece.
We recently worked with clients that desired unique works of art for their home and introduced them to one of our favorite galleries – La Montage Fine Art. La Montage, a to the trade gallery, houses an extensive collection of hand painted and custom art in every genre. Their eclectic selection also includes painted tapestries, hand blown glass, custom mirror and wood assemblages. Basically, any item you could want to adorn your walls!
Our clients were taken by the works of artist Blakely Bering, a noted colorist that intricately layers oil on canvas and uses powdered pigments and crushed metals to achieve frozen movement. We commissioned a collection of hand painted oils from Ms. Bering to be displayed in our clients’ powder bath. [Read more…]