One Pillow - Two Colors

Color can effectively change the entire look of something.
Here, the embroidery is in two different colors.

The background fabric is the same on each pillow, but you'd never think they were the same design.

Pillows available from Surya.  Burnt Orange and Mint shown.  Also available in Lime, Magenta, Navy and Olive.

Nature's Color Combination

As soon as a new client asked me to conjure up a new color scheme for their bedroom, I passed this piece of inspiration while on a walk near my house.
The new growth on the spruce, which was quite blue, the earthy green underneath, the brighter grasses nearby and the brown/ taupe of the mulch were a stunning combination, and would be perfect for a relaxing sanctuary.

Help me choose!

It is our own projects that get away from us. Long days and sometimes even longer nights leave little time for creating our own homes when we are busy making a client's dreams come true.
Here is my dining room prior to moving in three years ago:

We had the floors cleaned up and since I was ok with the stripes on the wall, we moved our furniture in and that was that.  The constant repairs took up a large portion of our time and our money.  I had bought some lovely silk velvet at a seconds store at least 4 years ago and want to use it here for draperies, although it isn't enough.
I think pairing the velvet with a print on the same drapery panel could be really interesting, not to mention dramatic. Both of the prints I have in mind are devilishly expensive, so it really comes down to color and style.
Here are my two choices:

Since there is so much orange in the rest of the house, the fabric on the right, with the orange paisley makes sense.  It is so much fun and the pinks are a good match to the velvet.
The fabric on the left, however, makes my heart sing! What you can't see or feel from this photo is that the green and white printed section is actually an embroidered velvet applique. Now that you don't see every day!
Here are the choices from a different direction, which really shows the color of the velvet.

So which would you choose?

Fabric with orange paisley is from GP&J Baker, available through Duralee.

Fabric with green appliqued white velvet is from Lorca, available through Osborne and Little.

 

Window Wednesday

I realize that technically it is Thursday, but it has been such a whirlwind week so far and I have lots of things to share.
On Tuesday we spent 7 hours installing window treatments. You can only imagine how many rooms that was in 2 different homes.
This photo was taken with my iPad, and I thought I'd share it, unprofessional as it is.

The simple valance and stationary panels were chosen because the fabric had so much personality. We couldn't iron or steam the treatments and I thought it might be a nightmare but it wasn't. We took it out of the package it was shipped in and hung it up and it looked fabulous.

The fabric was a sort of beaded tucked silk, that was sooo gorgeous. I can't imagine how the workroom managed to sew around the beads.

We joked that the workroom will be hesitant to open any more packages from me!  I still haven't figured out how they managed to sew this with a machine, but I did note that the side hems were hand sewn. These treatments really were a work of art!
Fabric by RM Coco

An anniversary in New York

Just returned from a weekend in New York City where we celebrated our wedding anniversary. We stayed at the Andaz Hotel which was a total delight. The staff, the location on Fifth Avenue, the amenities -- all were perfect.
I know you shouldn't choose a restaurant based on the way it looks, but on a previous trip to NYC, as soon as I spotted the unique architecture of the arches or awnings made of tree branches, I knew I wanted to try this place.

Fabio Cucina Italiana was as interesting inside as it was outside. The meal we had was fantastic. The service was wonderful and the décor was intimate and romantic.  We will return.

The Seduction of Brown

Well I will have to warn you, right off the bat, that these photos are a little hard to see.  Photographing a window in the daytime is the most difficult thing. So I will start with a close up of the gorgeous brown faux silk fabric.

There were actually 2 layers of fabric - one layer was very sheer - held together by the embroidered swirls.  You can see that the wall color was a neutral tan  and the Finial Co. hardware was in Rose Gold.
Here's the before:

Such a pretty living room, but a little bare.
We added stationary side panels to soften it a bit.

The after picture is so hard to see, so I took a second shot:

Now we are anxious for the newly reupholstered chairs to arrive. The chair fabric is a tweed of red, green and brown and will be the finishing touch for this very clubby living room.

A Little Lesson in Color

No, this isn't a color theory post! It's just a little something I thought of to guide you in your next decorating project.
I was in High Point a couple of weeks ago and soon I will write a post about the trends I saw there. For now I will share a picture of a vignette I saw that sparked a conversation between some other designers and myself.

Now the good news is that there was color everywhere in High Point.  The sofas above are from a new collection from Tobi Fairley for CR Laine.  It was a gorgeous, cheerful collection and we all loved it! These orange sofas were fabulous with their nailhead detail and those Lucite legs!
The question came up whether we would actually use that strong of a color on a piece of furniture (no less TWO!).
My answer was no.  While I love orange and have used it a lot in my own home, this is so striking and vibrant and I think it might be too much in the room of a regular sized home.  Look at the volume of "air" around it! And this was in a very large showroom with huge ceilings. The pale grey wall color helped tone it down a little, also.
Think about that the next time you are in a furniture store.