FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS....

The night before Alfredo and I said "I do".

Celebrating our daughter Alia's 14th birthday with the family.

It is with a humble heart that I introduce myself and my family.  My name is Shannon and I am not by any means a professional designer. Instead first and foremost I am a wife to my amazing ROCK and soul mate Freddy, a mama to 3 inspirational little ladies named Alia, Lyla and Liv, a teacher of literacy, an entrepreneur who started a kids party entertainment company and last but not least a woman that is immensely passionate about creativity and design.  I believe that all people are born with gifts. Some gifts are more obvious than others. My gift is that I am a visionary one who can picture a room and all of its fixings before it is ever created. The other gift is that I am profoundly touched by the feelings of others and always feel the need to help any way I can. I truly believe that the designs you will see and the stories you will read will spark the inner designer in all of you.

Whether it's designing a room in my home or for friends and family, creating a specialty themed cake for one of my daughter's birthdays, organizing a Literacy Night event at my school, painting a tiny smiling face for a party or breathing new life into an old piece of furniture...it all serves as food for my soul.

Lyla and Liv getting ready to play in the snow with dad.

 When people enter my home I always see astonished looks on their faces when they hear that I have painted every wall in every home I have ever lived in. From top to bottom including the foundation of my homes. No wall has gone untouched.  I always get comments like, "I could never do this" or "I'm waiting for my husband to paint" or "I don't have an eye for design." Well I'm here to say YOU CAN DO THIS and I will show you how!

I am a firm believer that nothing good ever comes without hard work and a little creativity goes a long way. I dare push the envelope further  to say that if you take the challenge of designing a room you will be Empowered by Design.

What do I mean you may ask? What I mean is the power of taking something that is boring, plain and overlooked and transforming it with hard work, a little imagination, and some vision WILL transfer over into EMPOWERING your own life.  The feeling that I get after hard agonizing work has been put in and recognized in something as simple as designing a room spills over into all aspects of my life including work, love, and relationships that I hold dearest to my heart.

I am asking every person that may come across this blog and actually takes the time out of their busy day to read this to be open to a new possibility. The possibility that you do not need a lot of money to makeover a room. You do not need to hire a professional designer or painter to do this. What you need is to roll up your sleeves get a paint brush and start painting. Those that do the work reap the rewards.  Don't be afraid to visit garage sales for some old buried treasures or peruse the Internet for secondhand finds. When the hard work is put in and your masterpiece is complete you will know that you alone have done this. You alone have transformed the way you will feel when you enter a room that is all yours. The feeling I get when a room is complete is like no other. It makes me feel like I can do anything I put my mind to and I hope that my words inspire you to give it a try.

 This blog will take you through my journey as a design spirit. If you look carefully at the pictures I post and listen to the words you are about to read, I promise that you will understand how design has empowered me as a woman, wife and mother. If you have an open heart and mind it can do the same for you. My wish is that those that view my blog leave feeling like they can make empowering changes in their lives designing one room at a time.