Best of Houzz 2015!

I am so excited to share this press release with you all. Two days ago, I received an unexpected surprise in my inbox. Honored and grateful to be recognized for my customer service. Not too bad for year one of owning my own business, right?!? I am so lucky to have such great clients, colleagues, friends, and family that are supporting me in this journey. 

Thank you + Much Love, 

___________________________________________________________________________

E4 Interior Design of Cumberland Foreside Receives

Best Of Houzz 2015 Award

Over 25 Million Monthly Unique Users Rated Top-Rated Home Building,

Remodeling and Design Professionals in the United States and Around the World

Cumberland Foreside, Maine January 19, 2015 – E4 Interior Design of Cumberland Foreside has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” for Customer Satisfaction by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The new to the scene interior design firm was chosen by the more than 25 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 500,000 active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best Of Houzz award is given in two categories: Design and Customer Satisfaction. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 25 million monthly users on Houzz, known as “Houzzers.” Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014. Winners will receive a “Best Of Houzz 2015” badge on their profiles, helping Houzz users around the world who discover and love a professional’s work to learn even more about that business’ popularity and satisfaction rating among their peers in the Houzz community. 


“Houzz provides homeowners with a 360 degree view of home building, remodeling and design industry professionals, empowering them to engage the right people and products for their project,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of industry marketing for Houzz. “We’re delighted to recognize E4 Interior Design among our “Best Of” professionals as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

Follow e4 Interior Design on Houzz

About e4 Interior Design

e4 Interior Design is full service, boutique residential interior design firm located on the coast of Maine offering design services including space planning, custom millwork design, project and construction management, architectural drafting, furniture design, procurement, installations, and beyond. We are happy to discuss your specific project needs and cater a design package that is just right for our clients.

Our passion is working with clients to help them create a sense of home; comfortable, practical, and beautiful spaces to create lasting memories in.

About Houzz

Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, buy products and hire the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Houzz also has international offices in London, Berlin and Sydney. For more information, visit www.houzz.com

Jewel Tone Treasuries + Shopping Small

I was inspired to start a bundle of jewel tone treasuries as a result of my recent Emerald Treasury Post, plus I love spending wasting time being creative and with many millions of projects going on at once,...what's the harm in just one more? So, I have been perusing Etsy lately in a calculated and categorized way. Looking back at my favorites on Etsy is like looking at my closet -  color coordinated! Yup, I am "that girl" who has her clothes hung in color order. Admittedly crazy, but it just makes sense to me that way. I digress, so....I have been collecting jewel toned favorites and creating treasuries out of the lovely and talented artists and curators on Etsy. It has been a fun way to explore and hopefully help people get more traffic to their sites. I can justify the time spent as a little public service that I am providing during this holiday season; hopefully it will increase sales for these talented people as we roll into the holiday season. 

So here are a few to start...(If I did all of the jewels out there, I wouldn't be making any money actually working!) 

July's Birthstone: RUBY 
      

(Direct links to the listings of the product images above) 

Septembers Birthstone: SAPPHIRE 
      

(Direct links to the listings of the product images above) 

Novembers Birthstone: TOPAZ 
  

(Direct links to the listings of the product images above) 

I have a check list on my desk with the images of other jewel tones to continue my recent obsession with all things jewel tone, so stay tuned. Enjoy the wonderful creations of these talented artists and curators and remember during this holiday season to shop local and shop small whenever possible. 'Tis the season to spread the love! 

Cheers, 

Emerald on Etsy

There are so many wonderful, time-sucks on the internet these days for us creative types....Etsy, Pinterest, Blogs, Canva (the image above was created in Canva.com , because why not!) PicMonkey, YouTube...the list goes on, and on, and on...as does the time procrastinating. But, it's fun and that's why we do it! 

Last night and today I was admiring some lovely handmade and vintage items on Esty in the wonderful hue of emerald green. Such a rich + bold color. I love it! In fact, I already had a Pinterest board of the same name! Find it here. 

Check out these wonderful vendors on Etsy of both lovely handmade items and curated vintage collections that are all in the lovely, jewel tone of EMERALD GREEN! Click on the link below to see these talented Etsy Shop owners and their offerings. 

 

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTA4ODU2NDN8MjcyNDQ0MjgyOQ/emerald?ref=fp_treas&aref=17612095619

Have a lovely Friday and a fantastic weekend. Do something creative and take a moment to enjoy the beauty around you! 

Cheers, 

Help from Canva

 

As we all know, small business ownership requires wearing a bunch of hats. Recently, while donning my marketing hat, I have been using Canva.com to help with some of my social media. It is proving to be a very helpful tool to allow me to get what I want done, and done quickly, and for free! All wonderful things. 

I can imagine using Canva.com for lots of things outside of social media: 

• Birthday cards 
• Invitations 
• Thank you notes + e-mails 
• Sale banners for your online store 
• Tags for your kid's lunch box
• Electronic love notes for your special peeps
• Facebook banners
• Sorry for being a knucklehead note 
• Garage sale flyers  

The list goes on... and on... 

Above are a few images that I created (in no time at all!), one of which I am going to add to my personal Instagram feed, because I am now using my business Instagram account more frequently than my personal one. Wearing the entrepreneur hat LOTS lately!  If you are reading this, follow @e4interiordesign on Instagram + check out canva.com for creating your own custom images. 

Make time to do something creative today! 

Cheers, 

Being present.

Are you happy here? Wherever "here" may be for you; both the physical location + in the moment in life you are in? I have been reminded of this bunches lately. Learning to appreciating the moment I am in + to be present; be it dealing with a screaming toddler, working with a client, cleaning the house, taking a webinar to learn about entrepreneurship, enjoying a nice glass of red wine, or having dinner (or even a disagreement for that matter!) with my partner. Good or bad, easy or uncomfortable; truly being present and appreciative in any of these moments takes practice, practice, practice! Still practicing... :) 

I took the picture above this summer while on a boat ride around Linekin Bay + Boothbay Harbor. My family and I were with friends enjoying the beautiful sun + blue skies, listening to music, slowly touring the coast of Maine, soaking in the moments. Yesterday I enhanced the image with the help of canva.com. This morning I made this image my screen saver on my laptop as a reminder to stop, take a deep breath, + soak in the moment - even if it sucks, I know the moment is fleeting and around the next turn maybe a moment like the one I recall from the image above. 

Make it a great day! Cheers, 

DOLLAR STORE DYI SUPER HERO

Since we are now less than a week away from Halloween, I figured that I would reveal my creative and affordable costume solution that I have created for Charlie. The best part is it's unique and most of the supplies came from The Dollar Store! 

It all started with the blue cape. When I realized that Superman did not have a blue cape and all he kept talking about was wanting to be Batman. Avoiding a mini-melt down from the 2 year old, my creative mom-mind when into full effect, and together Charlie and I created our own super hero: 

 Super Mattei (our last name) Man!

 Super mom moment for me, it worked! He has been telling everyone about Super Mattei Man. Most people have no idea what he is talking about and probably think his name is Matthew! Oh well, it's our little super hero creation and Charlie is taking his new roll very seriously. We have even had a few dress rehearsals. 

So fast he is almost flying. 

Anyway, here are the supplies and associated costs all at the Dollar Store, except for the Velcro: 

Blue Cape ($1)

Red Duct Tape ($1 each roll)  + Blue Painters Tape ($1) 

 

Large Foam Sheets ($1) + Glittery Foam Sheets ($1)

Packet of Felt ($1) + Sew-On Velcro ($2.99 @ JoAnn's) 

Glue Gun Sticks ($1)

The other items I already had at home; glue gun, scissors, and a white mask left over from last Halloween.  I searched my trusty friend, Pinterest, for some inspiration images, and went to town! 

A few sketches, wine, and hot glue and I created a fun, unique, and special custom for my little super hero’s first real trick-or-treating adventure. No sewing required thanks to duck tape and hot glue. So easy + so cheap =  my kind of DYI. 

 I have bunches of left over supplies, so I have been thinking I may add a shield of some sort by Friday, or who knows, maybe I will make a Super Mattie Mommy costume!?!

Happy Halloween + safe Trick-or-Treating! 

Cheers, 

It's never too late....

We all only have one life to live.

 It's never too late. 

Go get that dream job, education, love, house, goal... whatever YOU hope for. 

You won't regret at the least giving it a try.

Allow yourself to be surprised by the journey. 

Be what you will be! 

HAPPY MONDAY Y'ALL! 

Pick-Me-Up!

Sometimes when I am in need of a little pick-me-up, I grab an old quote book and read a few quotes, on this dreary Thursday, it turns out it is just what the doctor ordered. I have a large collection of quote books both from my teenage angst-y years and some pretty amazing ones from my days of being an Outward Bound instructor. I have a chalk board in my office that I rotate quotes on. Just a quick glance at the chalk board to inspire and set your mind on a positive track. This is a tradition that I am carrying on from my mom, she always has a chalk board with inspirational notes on it in our house. As they say, "the apple doesn't fall far...." (Thanks Mom!) 

Thanks to Pinterest and to having a phone or computer always at the ready,  I do not have to search far to find inspiration or a daily pick-me-up. I have an entire board of dedicated to quotes on my Pinterest page, which you can find here. 

Today I discovered (through my favorite time-suck, Pinterest) a lovely little website called Recitethis.com It is a great way to take one of your favorite quotes and put it a picture form, tweet it, pin it, post it....just share your sun-shiny disposition and inspiring thoughts with the world!  

Here is a quote from my Choices Quote Book from my time instruction courses on Thompson Island Outward Bound. 

Here's to the powerful, little, don't-hold-me-down, bumblebee! Make it a great day! 

Dreams coming true....

A long-term dream of mine has finally come true. When I created this blog, years ago....which now am just returning to...I did so as a place to start creating my brand for sometime in the future. But when...?!?! Well, I am back and have done IT! I have started my own interior design practice. See that pretty little coffee table above? It is the first piece of custom furniture that was designed by me in collaboration with some seriously, talented local craftsmen. That one of a kind piece has my stamp on it and now lives comfortably nestled between a newly upholster sofa and two arm chairs, in a very happy clients living room. (*sigh, warm fuzzies*)

So, I felt it was necessary to take a minute to express my gratitude and pride with the online world, in the fact that I FINALLY found the courage to be self-employed and take on this awesome challenge. Hold on tight! Here we go! 

Stay tuned for more blog posts from me on this journey! 

Inspired by Orange

As promised, a collage of orange accessories that were inspired by an earlier post on International Orange, the awesome color of the Golden Gate Bridge.

If orange walls scare you, perhaps try one of these bold accents in a grey, white, or neutral colored room. So fun, I am thinking of redesigning a room in our place.

The Wonderful World of Etsy

I think one of the best parts of Etsy is that artists can promote each other through creating Treasuries. I have made a few, but mostly they have gone relatively unnoticed, some others get TONS of clicks and comments right away. No matter what their popularity, creating and being part of another Etsians treasury is fun. There are SO many talented, creative people creating amazing things. Here is a rainbow of treasuries that I love!

RED
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4de6ee1cd7268eef7a424bb7/red-accents?index=66

ORANGE
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4deec3c7bdf98eef3ae6d7cf/moon-spoon-loon-etc?index=46

YELLOW
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4de7bb7fab576d91354b4ea7/sun-shining-summer?ref=pr_treasury

GREEN
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ded2f01d4956d91b695a389/secret-garden?index=13

BLUE
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4dee8e93118b6d91fb293677/classic-meets-whimsy?index=6

VIOLET
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ded4711ac736d91d160968d/caribbean-blue-and-purple-peacock?index=237

Enjoy!

International Orange

Photo credit: http://www.jenniesbev.com/2010/02/23/two-homes/golden-gate-3/

While listening to NPR on my way to work recently, I heard an article about the Golden Gate Bridge how special, yet apparently accidental, the color of the bridge is. Here is the link to the article, so that you can hear to learn more about the color and the care for this national landmark for yourself.

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/26/135150942/the-golden-gate-bridges-accidental-color

It was interesting to learn of the origin of the color, as well as to understand the care and pride that goes into maintaining it's special color by a group of dedicated individuals. While the exact color is a secret, I started to notice this wonderful color (or something like it!) around me. I took a walk one evening after work and took a bunch of photos, with the awe inspiring Golden Gate Bridge and international orange in mind. This walk had me thinking further about how wonderful this color would be used in an interior space. What a bold color choice! Here is a great interior space that uses international orange to make a statement.

Photo credit and for some other interesting information on international orange: http://kk.org/ct2/2007/10/golden-gate-bridge-internation.php

See other orange ideas like this at: http://www.gaitainteriors.com/blog/?p=791

Check out this classy bedroom, an image shared on : http://www.bellemaison23.com/2009/10/black-orange-interiors.html

There are a plethora of orange interior accessories that I came across through my searches, my next post maybe a collage of orange accessories!

Thanks for reading!