Welcome Raina Cox to The Shiny Pebble Designer Challenge

Raina Cox, If The Lampshade Fits

Hello everyone! Today is an exciting day here at The Shiny Pebble as we welcome our very first guest to The Shiny Pebble Designer Challenge, or: Please, make this pebble shine again! If this is the first time you hear of this challenge, it was created in order to showcase the work of some fantastic designer- bloggers as they share their take on what my dining room should look like. This is purely a virtual makeover, which affords these talented folks to express their design ideas without so much of the limitations cast upon them when doing a real world project. This exercise is intended to celebrate their creativity and design aesthetics, not my own. I think it is a fabulous way to see the artist at their best, trying to please none other than themselves. If you would like to read all about this, please read here. Below is a picture of my dining room, as it stands now, to be used as a point of reference.

linking to tablescape thursday and show and tell friday

Joining us today is the enormously creative, multi-talented and witty, Raina Cox, from If The Lampshade Fits. She was asked to share a little bit of her background here and answer a few questions. And now, in her own words... Please, enjoy it:


"In the early 1990s, I graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Interior Design and a B.A. in History of Art. I worked [as]a junior designer in a residential firm and then as a showroom associate in a high-end stone and tile showroom.

In 1996, I opened a home furnishings store/interior design studio. Working with a broad range of clients, I designed interiors for projects from warehouse loft conversions to 10,000 square foot mansions. When space became available next door in 2000, I tried my hand at contemporary women's fashion. After several years of managing two stores, I was burned out. My darling husband appeared on the scene, and I decided to leave small business ownership and concentrate on starting a family.

We moved to New Zealand in 2007, where I worked as the visual merchandising manager for the Kiwi version of Crate & Barrel. Last year, we returned to the States and I have been hard at work renovating our house which hasn't been touched since it was built in the early 1970s.

The blogging bug bit two years ago. You can find me at "If the Lamp Shade Fits" with daily ramblings on the boho contempo side of interior design."


The Shiny Pebble: How do you define your style?
Raina Cox: A mix of bohemian elements and contemporary design.

TSP: What inspires you?
RC: Global cultures, contemporary European design, and 1970s Italian furnishings.

TSP: Do you have a designer or life experience that has influenced your design aesthetics?
RC: Some of my favorite interior designers are Jaime Hayon, Steven Gambrel, Sheila Bridges, and Joel Mozersky.

TSP: What is your go-to resource?
RC: CB2, Crate and Barrel's younger hipper chain, has a fantastic selection of well-priced contemporary home furnishings.

TSP: What was your inspiration while making over this room?
RC: The architecture and interiors of colonial French Indochina, modern day Vietnam and Laos. The fanciful koi wallpaper drove the color scheme - deep inky blues and rich warm wood tones.

Thank you Raina for your fabulous interpretation of this room.  I can't get over how rich the color and textures are and how sophisticated the whole look is.   I can even hear some mellow Brazilian music in the background as I entertain my guests, drinking a sweet and icy caipirinha...

Thank you Splenderosa for sending me the outfit and your gorgeous jewelry to celebrate the occasion!

If you are enjoying this adventure and wish to delve into further, I would love to share links to previous works related to the Challenge that you might be interested in looking at:

The Shiny Pebble Designer Challenge, or:  Please, Make This Pebble Shine Again!

Amanda Burdge's Creating a Hip Space from a Traditional Place

Check back here next Wednesday, where I will unveil a completely diffent style designed by none other than Christina Fluegge, from the acclaimed blog Greige. 

I want to send a special thank you to The Daily Basics, who has partenered with us in spreading the word about this challenge.  Thank you, Cynthia, so much for your generosity.  A great big hug of appreciation to all of the designers participating in this challenge.  All of which have spent considerable time not only on their designs, but also helping me through this process.


Thanks for visiting, and see you next Wednesday!

Catherine Hopkins
The Shiny Pebble

P.S.:  I am guest posting today over at the hillariously troubled Struggling to be Stylish. Go check it out.