Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Beautiful Paper Source


I have been looking for inexpensive art ideas for the model home and I came across the most beautiful decorative paper from Paper Source. They have such a great selection of patterned and metallic paper. And most of it is big enough to frame as art in your home. 


You can also use paper to cover books as I did in this room


Make sure you check out all the paper options here!

photo by Jessica Kettle Photography

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Mamukanjan Railway Station



Crazy for Sea fans





It seems that every coastal inspired room I love has framed sea fans.  Recently, however,  I saw some sea fan giclees (which are art prints on canvas) at Home Goods and I am not sure that this is a good sign for the trend or if the Home Goods buyers just hit a home run.  Usually if it is at Home Goods, it is everywhere, which means it could nearing the end of its run.  Lets hope that is not the case for sea fans since I love them and hope to use them in some upcoming spaces.  Two of my favorite friends, who happen to have exquisite taste, have sea fans adorning their walls.  Ivy and Jill's favorite sea fan "artist" is Karen Robertson (whose shell pictures appear in an earlier post) and her collection of sea fans is really appealing.

Here are Robertson's sea fans in a 
Mabley and Handler
 Interior Design Hampton House showcase

Karen Robertson arrangement with turtle shell and lime green sea fan.


Robertson's fans come in a variety of cool colors.
Natural Sea Fan by Karen Robertson


Karen Robertson




I really like her shell art, it reminds me of a greco-roman mosaic:


Here is Robertson's display at the Gift Show:



If you like her work, here is the website:  http://karenrobertson.com/.  I have also posted a few framed sea fans and coral prints by Mirror Image at Pinterest.


I am also a big fan of sea life accessories:






Snapped this picture outside a closed shop in Sarasota -- huge shells in glass jars.


Oly



I try and avoid the obvious fakes like the shell above
I like this unique barnacle vase by Tozai Home

Nothing beats real shells

This is a pretty good fake from zgallerie.com
Check out this sea urchin vase, very attractive
claytongrayhome.com

Karen Robertson also has turtle shells (and you see these sprinkled in a lot of designers' rooms) I am not as fond of these as I am of shells, although I love "tortoise shell" accents

Turtle shells are on the wall on the left and right of the window




Karen Robertson tortoise shell inspired accessories



A Little Update on... Me!



Well it's been an interesting couple of months let me tell you. I've spent lots and lots of time lying on the sofa feeling sad and depressed. I literally felt like I had all the energy zapped out of me. It seriously took all I had just to get dressed in the morning. And if I was getting dressed it wasn't really that impressive. I've truly been living in sweats. Morning sickness is killer. 

I think (knock-on-wood) that I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm 12 weeks. yay! I am still throwing up but I finally have some energy back. It's AMAZING!! Now that I am slowly feeling like myself I'm realizing that my to-do list is miles and miles long. I am sooooo sorry to all my very patient clients. I promise I'll try and catch up. My inbox is like a big black hole right now that I'm trying to organize and make sense of. And let's not even go into the current state of my poor office. 


Here's a really crappy picture I took with my phone today and believe it or not this is after I spent an hour cleaning it. I haven't seen the floor in weeks! 

 To all of you great readers thanks for hanging in there with me. I am hoping that once I start working again I'll have lots of fun things to blog about.

Second Trimester here I come!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Etsy iPhone Cover Roundup


Maybe it's dumb but I feel so depressed that I don't  have an iphone. I feel like I'm the only one left in the world that can't use Instagram. I'm crossing my fingers that I might get one for my birthday this summer. Here are some iphone covers I'm coveting. 


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Dining Room Part Deux


As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am helping my friends redo their dining room and they want something pretty, current and  a little trendy.  They have classic pieces in their laid back navy and white beach themed  living room, but want their dining room to be a tad more formal.  They want the space to be current, but the question is how trendy do you get if you don't redecorate that often.   While I love trendy stuff, I say keep it to the chachkies, fabric and lighting fixtures...Furniture (or at least the table) should be timeless: classic and simple.

Since they are doing their dining room over from soup to nuts, here are some of the things they need to make decisions about:


(1) a dining room table and chairs; (2) storage (bar, buffet/server, china cabinet); (3) Wall/ceiling treatments (paint, wallpaper, wainscoting and moldings); (4) rug/floor;
(5) window treatments; (6) lighting (chandelier/sconces)  and 
(7) artwork  (although not necessarily in that order). 
Dining Room Table 


  The  dining room table is the anchor of your room and ties all the pieces together.  I advised my friend to choose a  table made from high quality hardwood and to consider an antique table if she is going to go more traditional. Antique tables  are often made better than new tables and cost less.


chippendale table

Refractory Table

Perfect parsons table for chinoiserie chairs









double pedestal


I love the intimacy of round tables, but you can't really get bigger than 60" (or no one can reach the salt and pepper) and rectangular tables are just more practical, especially for my friends who have a rectangular dining room and a big family.

Chairs


Dining room chairs are another important element that help define your space.  Although a table and chairs often come together in a set, but it is nice to mix it up and  choose different chairs to make the space your own.  I happen to love a fabulous upholstered chair -- of course not all chairs are created equal, we need to find chairs that are plenty comfortable in addition to being good-looking or no one is going to want to stay at the table.   I also love chinoiserie chippendale chairs.  Since we are going for a rectangular table, we might  consider making the hosts' chairs somewhat different.   
Shield back chairs


Chippendale chair --  love the nailheads for an updated look




Tufted chair, lovely












This would look great with that refractory
 table 
This chinoiserie chair in white with the parsons table
Love these chinoiserie chairs








Love this upholostered chair


You just know these scream 1stdibs


Great chair love the simple lines of the legs.


What do you think? Upholstered or Chippendale chairs?