One fabric, Two rooms

If you want to unify two spaces, especially if they are side by side, try using one fabric for both, like we did here: 

fabric by Kasmir

Here is the Dining Room, before:

And after:

And a different view: 

                  

And here is the Living Room before:

And after:

Another view:

And finally, a close up of one of the drapery panels and the hardware:

O.K. You can spot it-- I mean Stop it, now

Stop seeing spots, you say?  We can't help ourselves . . .

J. Crew 

CPK Floral Designs 

CPK Floral Designs

Cindy provided gorgeous floral centerpieces for a recent Wine-Tasting Event at Eddie Merlot's in One Loudoun.   Spot the ribbon...

 J. Crew calf hair boot 

             Duralee spotted-yumminess ready for us to fashion into something for you. . .

This pillow!   

These ottomans?   

Okay,  we really will try to stop now. . .    

More Zebras?

We just can't get enough of animal prints, 

 as you know from our recent post.   

So how about this find in the retail jungle?   

    

A comfortable and gorgeous zebra sofa for the movie theater room and matching animal prints for the walls. . .   

located in the same consignment shop at the same time in one of our favorite local haunts, but in two separate rooms.  We were so thrilled at the spoils of our "hunt"! 

Detail from zebra sectional sofa

Miss Mix-a-Lot

Mixing it up in the studio today

fabrics by Kravet and Kasmir

Now I Have Shoes!

The cobblers children have no shoes!

I'm sure you have heard this saying, and it most certainly applies to most designers I know.

We never take the time to finish our own projects.

I have a sofa in my bedroom that has needed to be reupholstered for, oh, about 2 years. (Really longer than than, I have just owned it for 2 years.)

And today I saw this:

This is it!! This is the fabric I didn't know I was looking for!!

It's from the Torca collection by William Yeoward for Designers Guild. 

 

It is mostly blue with some green in it. The pattern is Luisa.

Check it out in the Rose colorway.

 

Luisa comes in 7 colors.  See them all at Designers Guild.

Photos are from their website. 

Small project - Big impact

Watch what happens when you choose gorgeous fabrics.

This was a very small project that we finished yesterday.  My client needed a finishing touch for her newly renovated basement.  It turns out all she needed were some pillows to tie two seating areas together.
She was befuddled by this mishmash of pillows on her leather sofa. (There, I said it: befuddled.)

An adjoining seating area of four chairs circling a round table looked stark.

We had one blue and brown pillow made from a graphic chenille from Clarke & Clarke and four pillows were created with a chic metallic printed velvet from Kravet. We tied them together using the same Kravet metallic beaded trim in a copper color.We chose copper to coordinate with the trim detail underneath the bar. (see the bar behind the sofa in the first photo) We used down pillow inserts.

 Kravet trim: T30638 - color 66

For the leather sofa we removed all the pillows and simply put two slate blue velvet pillows the client owned back on, topped by the blue/brown pillow. There was already so much symmetry going on in the space so we only used that one extra pillow.
We placed the four lumbar pillows on the white chairs. Voila!  Much more inviting!

Check out the hide rug under the coffee table.  Beautiful!

High Point Highlights

Yes, I am really late with this post and you have already forgotten that I even went to the High Point Furniture Market in April and saw lots of cool things.
This year I did a little more shopping for clients than I usually do, but as in years past, I also went to see trends in interior design, see what's new with my favorite vendors and get inspired.
Here are a few of the photos I took:

I think everyone took this picture.  It was a display for a bedding company.  Don't you love the real tree branch hung on the wall with the fake birds perched on top?

More bedding. In crisp red and white.

One more bed in red, white and blue.  The tennis racquets give it a fun touch.

The barn door is such a trend, here it is used as a wall treatment to hide the TV.

When you slide the door in front of the TV, the storage shelves are revealed! Who doesn't need more storage?

In keeping with the rustic wood theme, here is a console from Dovetail that would be perfect for a project we are currently working on.

Detail of the console front.

If you are a fan of Chip and Joanna Gaines and their show, Fixer Upper, (and who isn't?) you will recognize the name Magnolia Home as being the other brand they own.  They have licensed their name to a furniture line, accessories, rugs and now PAINT!

I simply MUST HAVE this antique chandelier.  I've been looking for this style for awhile and don't really want a reproduction.  The amethyst crystals are a bonus.

Another antique chandelier - this one for a client - that features glass grapes.  Stunning!

As you can see, I took very few pictures this time.  I was too busy looking and walking and talking. I will say that we are about to see a lot more color in our interiors.
One of my favorite new finds was Lexington Home Brands.  I had to take a bus to their off-site showroom.  It was a total WOW, so much so that I forgot to take any photos. And as luck would have it, one of my favorite clients works for Lexington and he happened to be standing in the lobby when I arrived. 

Love Affair with a Chair

A friend once joked that I should open a Chair Store. It seems that when I am looking at fabrics, sooner or later I am going to say, "That would make a great chair!"  I do have a love affair with chairs.  The more the merrier! And what an opportunity to introduce a beautiful color or pattern to a room.
Recovering a chair is also a great way to update a space. Or in the case of a dining or desk chair, if the fabric is pricey you really don't need much.
For this kitchen we had fun with the desk chair.  First we had the chair painted white and distressed a little to match the cabinets which were also getting painted.
Then we added a little PINK ZEBRA! Does it get any better than pink zebra?  I don't think so!

The walls had been painted a soft blue grey.  The pink and blue echoed the colors we had used in the adjoining living and dining room. More on that later!

It's hard to believe that two months ago this kitchen had dark cherry cabinets and Tuscan brick-red walls!

Chair seat fabric by Duralee.

Pillow Invasion!

Returned from High Point last week and still getting my photos organized. 
One thing is certain - one of the quickest and easiest ways to update a room is with new pillows! Everywhere I looked there were options - and not just from the usual vendors who have always included pillows. Here are a few to inspire you:

This collection is from Emdee.  Note the trend to pile a lot of pillows onto a sofa or loveseat.  It gives you that chance to add more color or texture. Love this velvet settee, by the way.

Global Views had not one, but two of these round ottomans - what do you call them? Conversation ottomans?  Roundabouts?  In any case I have been wanting one for several years. I love how this furniture piece can be upholstered in a neutral and then splash color all over it with pillows.

While the pillows on this sofa from Bliss Studio don't add any extra color, they are beautiful and add a touch of decadence.

More decadence!

Here is another photo of pillows that don't add any extra color but look so luxurious and inviting. These from Reborn Relics.

These pillows at Vanguard that matched the headboards were playful and fun.

Talk about high contrast! This youthful, feminine vignette shows part of the new Kate Spade collection from EJ Victor. I was lucky enough to hear the design director for Kate Spade Home at breakfast that morning and learn of the inspiration for this collection.

And while we are on the topic of Kate Spade, I travelled over to Jaipur to see the rugs they were offering as part of the new Kate Spade Home collection. While I was there I posed with my favorite cocktail from High Point in front of a collection of some colorful pillows they offer. Yummy!

Field Trip Friday

Well it's too wet outside for Field Trip Friday so we will pretend my trip this past Wednesday to the Washington Design Center happened today.

Check out this gorgeous chair I saw in the Holly Hunt showroom, upholstered in antique Fortuny fabric.  I knew something was up when I saw that the fabric had been seamed on the top of the chair near the back.  Home decorating fabrics made today are almost always 54" wide, making it unnecessary to have a seam on a chair like this. This seam became part of the charm.While we are on the subject of chairs (for the second time this week!) there is a special auction going on at the Robert Allen showroom.

The three chairs you see here are the same style and size, but different designers covered them in different Robert Allen fabrics.  Can you believe the difference? Ah the power of fabric and pattern!
Chair on the left by Lauren Liess,  center by Skip Sroka and right by Mary Douglas Drysdale.

Crochet (??!) Chairs

I saw this recently at design-confidential.com.
Pictures of crocheted chairs or "swivel thrones" by Olek as presented by Todd Merrill Studio.

Proving again that it's ALL art!

How do you create YOUR work of art?

100 Windows - #83

Ready for Spring? Let's pretend!
This room came about because of the homeowner's desire for something happy, fun and somewhat beachy.  You may be surprised to learn that the client was a single man! His space needed a complete makeover. Once I convinced him to get rid of his worn out recliner, he was open to a totally different look.
The new nautically inspired furniture - most of which was custom made - was complemented by the yellow plaid draperies.

These were simple stationary pinch pleat panels.

In the adjoining room, I used the exact same window treatment to unify the two spaces.

Matching pillows in both spaces also married the two rooms and made it easy for him to move things around.  He didn't want it to feel too "designer-y".