Inspired Forever & a Day: Pink Ribbon House 2010

The Pink Ribbon House® project is a unique and collaborative philanthropic experience dedicated to raising funds and awareness for breast cancer research and patient care at the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

My boss/owner of the spectacular showroom that I manage has taken part in this event for many years now. It’s a very big deal and a huge honor to be a part of it. She is responsible for designing the workhorse areas of the house; family room/kitchen, veranda, pantry, office, utility room, and mudroom. She sought to prove that you can have functional spaces without sacrificing beauty, even in high traffic areas.

Her inspiration for the French Country family room/kitchen was a 19th century shop counter she found on one of her buying trips for Maison Maison. In keeping with the French Country theme she designed a spectacular tile with smoky gray and buttery yellow hues to evoke the warmth of that classic look.

The veranda was meant to be an extension of the family space… a living room al fresco.

For the office, she created a feminine sanctuary, a respite from the chaos if you will. Within that private space she designed a niche that housed an area for hobbies from sewing to scrap booking.
Her addition of bead board paneling in the pantry had a two fold function; one for aesthetics and one for durability.

I am fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to take part in some of the design process, from fabric and paint selections to actually being able to stage the custom built-ins, place art, and accesorize! Over a year ago I was flipping through a magazine while I was waiting to get a manicure and I saw this bizarre bookcase display, it intrigued me so that I snapped a picture of it with my phone because I knew someday I would make use of this fantastic idea. Sure enough, it is my inspiration for the show house bookshelves that flank either side of the fireplace/concealed flat screen paneling. This house is truly fantastic and I cannot wait to see the finished project.

Below are some snapshots of the work in progress. Stay tuned.

Above are the bookshelves that I will be staging. They are very shallow in depth and there will be only five on each side. I taking a more minimalistic approach and going for a more sparse effect for the shelves, they won't be as heavy as my original inspiration.