Flutter By

Have you noticed the new trend in decor?  It's the butterfly, she's everywhere!  As a strong motif or part of a more varied print, for the most part, the butterfly reads as a floral and therefore could be used in any room in your home.
Here are just a few of the fabrics and wallcoverings we have come across:

Benson, Natural from RM Coco

The embroidery on this is gorgeous.  The background is a linen look fabric.

Flight of Fancy, Lapis from RM Coco

Another embroidery and some of the butterflies are metallic. Cotton sateen ground fabric.

Flight of Fancy, Charcoal from RM Coco

A Lulu DK fabric from Duralee. This is a print, not an embroidery, but it also has some metallic accents

Another colorway of the Lulu DK fabric from Duralee.

Butterfly Garden from Osborne & Little. This photo is from their website.

Deya wall panel from Matthew Williamson. Available through Osborne & Little.  Talk about transforming a wall!

Fabric from Studio G, available through Clarke and Clarke

Formentera sheer fabric from the Deya collection by Matthew Williamson.

We have this fabric in the studio in 2 colorways.  It is so soft and sheer.  The butterflies will surely look like they are fluttering when the wind blows.

Photo from the Osborne & Little website.

Winter Musings

All this winter weather has us thinking about getting away. . .  

Do these palm trees 🌴🌴make you want to take off for the Caribbean or Hawaii?  

Or perhaps a jaunt to their place of inspiration,  New York City? 🍎  

Vervain does it again with a fabulous collection with fabrics inspired by 

The New York Botanical Garden

 Our tropical Austrian Linen above is called Musa Paradis 

and is shown in Aqua Citrine.  

To see the whole collection: 

  https://www.vervain.com/search?413455aeb5104b7d9bd1547a6431ff44

We can imagine sophisticated sunroom draperies or office or 

fabulous and restful bedding in a bedroom. . . what would you create? 

Click this link to see the New York Botanical Garden website:  https://www.nybg.org

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

Leopards and Giraffes and Zebras, oh, my?

                            

We are seeing so many wonderful animal

prints in the design AND the apparel

world this season. . . it makes us 

want to go on a  photographic safari! 

         

courtesy of Nat Geo 

Caracole in Purr-fect

Or perhaps a daydream in this chair?  

And You Don't Have to Wave at Every Golfer!

Last week's installation in Williamsburg was interesting because it was the first time I'd every designed something "blind".  I was sent the measurements by the homeowner and she chose her fabric from memo samples I sent her.
This is the room I walked into:

 

That trash on the chair is mine! 

 

What a light, bright room with lovely views of the golf course! Which is OK if you are sitting out on the deck, but there was no privacy when you were inside.
The fabric we used was an embroidered linen-look from Duralee.

The sheers were chosen to coordinate with one of the embroidery colors, and were also based on the following phone conversation:
"Are your walls more grey-ish or more yellow-ish?"  "More yellowish."  Talk about your leaps of faith!  I have to say, those sheers were such the perfect color against the walls, I wanted to do back flips.
We used a napped lining which gave the pleats a beautiful roundness:

 The hardware had a bronze finish and we used very simple finials:

And here is the finished design of stationary panels over sheers:

 Isn't that chair in the foreground to die for?  We recovered it at their previous residence.  Feels like I've been working on this room for 10 years.

 And now there is no need to wave to every golfer or neighbor who passes by!
Sheers are from Kasmir.
Decorative drapery rods from Select Hardware.  Traverse rods from Kirsch.
 
 
 

Peacock

There is an incredible swatch floating around the studio with peacocks on it.  It has one of the largest pattern repeats I have ever seen (40" vertical, and 54" horizontal!!)

That's the one from the RM Coco website.
Here's the picture of the swatch in the studio:

So you see, you get two peacocks for the price of one!!
(Wouldn't this be amazing upholstered to the back of a chair!)

Designer Luncheon

What a great day yesterday! I attended an event for designers at The Sweetwood Collection and Valerianne, where we had lunch and caught up with friends. 

This is a beautiful spot for shopping.  The girls, Stephanie and Denise, from The Sweetwood Collection, are the ones to see if you are looking for unique finds, accessories, art and repurposed antiques.

Aimee, from Valerianne, carries gorgeous high-end bedding and other textiles. 

When I got home, I removed the bow from my little giveaway, and it landed right on a paint swatch on my desk.  It looked so pretty there.  It made me smile. Sort of life imitating art.

Then I noticed that it looked good with a citrine stone that my son had given me for Christmas and told me to keep on the corner of my desk to attract prosperity!

 Valerianne and The Sweetwood Collection
295 Sunset Park Dr.  Herndon, VA 20170
703-437-3500

Water or Wine? 

Toni said,  "Look at this multipurpose fabric from RM COCO that is water repellent!" 

       Called Piper--this luxurious matte multipurpose retails for less than $50/yard.

Ruth replies,  "Does that mean it's wine repellent too?"

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.

Pantone 2016 Color of the Year

This just in from Kravet:

I'm so used to having those little squares filled with color that at first I thought both of the "new" colors were very similar.  But now I'm thinking that Rose Quartz must be the pink color.  I don't have a Pantone color deck to verify this.
At the recent High Point home furnishings show I did see so much blue - this shade and much darker. There were many pinks, also, including a blush color like the pillow in the bottom center of the photo.
Are you thinking what I'm thinking?  That this combination looks a LOT like the 80's??
These colors look a little fresher than the ones I am remembering - let's see how it plays out.
I will say that many of my clients are asking for blues - and I just finished a pink living room - so perhaps I work with all the cool kids who are ahead of the curve, trendwise!

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!