Selecting Wall Art

One of the most challenging parts of pulling together a room is selecting artwork. It is such a personal decision, I always rely on client involvement so I don't include pieces that might not resonate with them.


While on my art hunts, I was contacted by an amazing Australian company, Entanglements. They specialize in metal wall hangings that are truly quite beautiful!

 Bamboo Single

Here is their take on selecting artwork for your home:

"Find a piece of wall art that will become part of your life. Wall art is the perfect way to turn a room in your home from generic to intimate. The decoration of a blank wall means the transformation of the space. Your walls really can talk if you give them the opportunity. The only hard part is find the perfect piece that will fit perfectly into your home, because with a wall hanging, the possibility for expression and detail is infinite, so you need to follow your instincts and trust your intuitions when deciding on what you want. After all, you will be living with it for a long time, so you need to really be in love with it."

Chrysler Building

"Color is a good way to begin, as it's one of the first sensory perceptions of a room or space. The color you choose in your art work should enhance and reflect the color of your room as a complement. There is nothing wrong with unexpected colors in your artwork either. A large canvas or piece will make a bold, determined statement whereas pieces of a smaller scale will give a delicate and compartmentalized air. If you want smaller pieces, consider a series of matching pieces that can be hung side by side or in different parts of a space linking the room through a common thread."

Flutter- picture is fuzzy but it is stunning when you look close-up!

"Shape is an important recurrent theme too. If you have many hard edges or right angles in your space a round shape could potentially look out of place, or it could provide a welcome break for the eye. Whatever you choose, just make sure you love it. Browse wall art and commissions at Entanglements."

Dive Set of 4

Besides the beautiful metal wall hangings- I loved the privacy screens they have! Thank you, Entaglements for your contributions and for sponsoring this post!

 Privacy Screen Door

Favorite Fabric...thank you Kravet!

I have a boatload of fabric samples in my design library. I source some when I go to the D&D building in NYC and others while I scope out the fabric houses on my computer. These samples are on loan but sometimes a fabric is just soo good that it seeps into multiple design plans....here is one I'm digging right now:

Kravet's DotKat....in six different colorways and one is better than the next!

 I first spied this pattern in Silversage for accent pillows in a den. I love pillows with small pattern repeat to offset a larger scale pattern or solid pillow.

Then I spotted Dotkat in Mineral and I'm working it into my monochromatic gray master bedroom, also as an accent pillow- three euros across the king bed...divine!

Since this pattern was working out so well for me thus far, I even proposed it to a client for a seat cushion on an entryway bench in this yummy color Straw. I think it's going to get a yes!

I am totally dying for this color- Peony for my daughter's room- it is young and fun but can grow up with her to be quite sophisticated!

And the remaining colors of DotKat are River and Glade....I'm sure they'll be sneaking into my projects soon!

Then low and behold- one of my all time favorite designers, Sarah Richardson, used Dotkat Mineral in a kitchen design! (Thank you, Pinterest...just type in any fabric or paint and you can see how it has been used!) Look at those kitchen stools- so pretty!

Source: decorpad.com via Joanne on Pinterest

Source: hookedonhouses.net via Joanne on Pinterest

DotKat is by Kravet- one of my favorite fabric houses. It is part of their Echo Home collection and is sold through the trade. If you are interested in working DotKat into your design- contact us at homestyling101@yahoo.com for more info!

Mood Board Link-Up at Design Your Dwelling!

Today I am linking up at the Mood Board Link Party at Design Your Dwelling. I decided to link up a mood board that was done as an inspiration board for my office.

Sadly, my office looks nothing like this because I share it with my darling husband who is also based out of our home office. There is some Yankee memorabilia and golf prints in there not shown in this mood board:)

One day, when I have my own office...it will look a little more like this! Check out the other designers, their mood boards and link one up yourself over at Design Your Dwelling! Also, be sure to visit Design Your Dwelling for more great design
 dirt!

For design details, check out my Mood Board on Olioboard to shop specific items!

Designer-Like Colored Lamps

So LampsPlus is killing it in an almost custom way! 

Has anyone seen their line of Color + Plus lamps? I love a colored gourd lamp in just about any room or on any console and now you can achieve that at a fraction of the price!



At LampsPlus you choose the perfect color to work with your decor and BAM! a custom-like lamp for less than $150 (depending on what you choose)!

I know you are saying to yourself "How great are these colors I get to pick from?" Well, there are about 70+ colors and they are popular paint colors from Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams or Pantone colors so you really can get a pretty accurate idea of what you are getting!

Here are some examples from their extensive color chart:

         


            

Once you have selected your color, then you can choose the shape you want for the base and the style and color of the shade and VOILA! Custom lamps shipped to your door!

I picked the Sherwin Williams Majolica Green color for a project I am working on...here are just a few of the different shapes and shades available:

 



These lamps run from $99 to $249 for the floor lamps. I am so excited to use this line of lamps in my upcoming projects...I wonder if I'll ever use a color twice!

And this post was not sponsored by Lamps Plus- I just wanted to share my excitement about this new product with my peeps! Happy Shopping!

Romantic Rooms

Hello lovelies...

Happy Valentine's Day!

As I shared before, I am working on a master bedroom.....one of my favorite rooms because it has one primary function....SLEEP....ok...get your minds back to design people....

Anyway, I have always felt very strongly that when you walk into your bedroom it should feel like a sanctuary...peaceful, relaxing, sumptuous and just down-right, old-fashioned beautiful. I understand the need for a TV in the bedroom...I enjoy watching TV in bed, too- I just think it needs to be contained in a piece of furniture that can be closed so the telly is covered. 

So, in honor of Valentine's Day, I am going to share some of my favorite bedrooms compliments of the talented designers over at Houzz.com.

This chandelier just screams romance....and the chocolate brown walls keeps it from going too feminine...LOVE!

Traditional Bedroom design by Chicago Architect Rugo/ Raff Ltd. Architects

Soft, soothing colors here. I love how the over-sized panel above the bed gives the bed a feeling of grandeur without swallowing the room up! Pretty, pretty!

Traditional Bedroom design by Atlanta Interior Designer Janie K. Hirsch, ASID

This is just brilliant! Look how gorgeous these muted neutrals are...plus the design on the ceiling is beyond genius....in what other room do you spend most of your time looking up at the ceiling? Brillz

Traditional Bedroom design by Toronto Interior Designer Regina Sturrock Design Inc.

Currently, in the bedroom I am working on- we are doing a monochromatic theme and this rooms looks quite a bit like what we are working towards....so pretty!

Contemporary Bedroom design by Chicago Interior Designer Michael Abrams Limited

My Valentine's Day wish for you is that you turn the TV off, put the bills away, close the laptop, pick the clothes up off the floor and turn your bedroom into a sanctuary...even if it is just for one day...or just for yourself...you deserve a room for reprieve!

Ivy & Piper Shoppable mag....GENIUS!

So we survived blizzard Nemo or whatever they named this most recent attack from Mother Nature on the bewildered East Coast. Where I live we got about 12" of snow. The winds never progressed as they thought they would and thankfully we didn't lose power. I sort of could have predicted that we wouldn't lose power because we got our generator delivered this past Tuesday (just a side note...we bought it after losing power for over a week after Sandy in November 2012 and it just arrived...)


As the delivery guy was lowering it into our shed I whispered to my husband..."this will pretty much insure that we won't lose power for another 5 years!" You know how those things work......

Source: mashable.com via Mark on Pinterest

Anyway, no school/work on Friday due to the storm so I was busy mommy-ing and on my computer this weekend with client work. Much to my surprise, Sunday evening I received this little Aussie pretty in my inbox:

They had me at "Summer".....and Navy....I am totally dying to do a navy room! But seriously, I do always enjoy when Ivy & Piper comes into my email.  And it looks like they stepped it up again- their newest issue is a SHOPPABLE LOOKBOOK! So clever! So sneaky...I can actually get into trouble this way!

I think my favorite spread is on page 30 where Ivy & Piper features a gallery wall and you can actually shop for almost all the art! I am high on the hunt for artwork for a client so I was clicking my heart out!




If you haven't wandered over to Ivy & Piper- get yourself over there! And you can subscribe so you are lucky enough to get this little pretty in your inbox!

Roman shades of the sort...

Things have been nutty but great! In the last two weeks I signed two new clients and I am getting uber-busy! Sorry I neglect the blog a bit but my customers get my full attention and sometimes I have trouble getting all wordy for you guys.

Anyway, a main sore spot for clients lately seems to be window treatments. They seem to get very overwhelmed and simply stick to the paper shades until they bring me in for some support. For two clients I am currently recommending some beautiful roman shades.

So, as inspiration I spent some time over at Houzz collecting some beautiful images. Here are the main things I consider when designing roman shades. Choose a fabric- one that will look good when the shades are pulled all the way up or down...usually a fabric without a very large pattern or repeat. You also have to think about the liner and choose the appropriate liner for light control. Another decision to contend with is the placement of the roman shade.And that is where photos come in handy!

Here we are with a wall mounted roman shade hung high up outside the window frame...closer to the ceiling....this designer knocked it out of the park over the picture window by using one large valance covering three smaller shades. Shows continuity but functions well because each window can be adjusted individually. Gorg!

Traditional Kitchen design by Other Metro Interior Designer Anna Baskin Lattimore Design

Now these little beauties are hung within the window frame. This technique shows off the beautiful molding but does keep some of the window covered at all times...depends on your needs and wants for the room. I love the bold pattern against the white trim!

Traditional Hall design by Boston Window Coverings Fabrika Drapery Workroom

I love this little pair because these roman shades are hung with a coordinating cornice box. Very neat...very tailored...great detail!

Eclectic Bedroom design by Atlanta Interior Designer Liz Williams Interiors

And then there are these puppies that are hung all the way up at the ceiling! Talk about drama!

Eclectic Bedroom design by Los Angeles Interior Designer Hillary Thomas Designs

Needless to say when addressing roman shades there are OPTIONS! I always have them custom made...in the world of roman shades, you get what you pay for so some of the retail options that are more affordable seem to malfunction or break rather easily. Window treatments are ALWAYS an investment in a room but, if done right, well worth the visual impact! Off to put together mood boards on the very same idea...