How Our Winner Used Her Bounty!

We recently held a giveaway of two beautiful framed etchings from Wendover Art.  Our winner was reader Marilee Dennis, who was very excited to win and e-mailed me after the drawing was announced that she had the perfect place reserved hoping she would win.  She has sent me photos and I thought you would enjoy seeing where the prints went to live.

I think she did a beautiful job displaying the etchings!  I love her dining room, with the pretty curtains, crystal chandelier, and of course the out of this world silver collection.  A girl after my own heart!

I hope you enjoyed seeing Marilee's dining room and her use of her prize.  Stay tuned, we will be giving away more fabulous things soon!

Congrats to our Winner!!!

We have heard from our winner!  Marilee Dennis!!  She is super excited to be the winner.  Here is what she has to say:
"Dear Carol,
Thank you so much!!! I am so excited . . . you have no idea! This is totally unexpected. I already have a prominent place for the Framed Etchings in my home.
I also have been telling my friends about your website. All of them love decorating! Wait till I tell them what I won!
Thank you again!"


Huge congrats to Marilee and to all who signed up.  Don't forget to visit our shop.  We will post here when it is up and running very soon.

Thanks to all of our friends and readers for celebrating our new look and new exciting happenings at Southern Chateau and Carol Raley Interiors!

We Have a Winner!!!

We have great news – our Framed Etchings Giveaway Winner has been selected! We have notified the selected winner by email and are waiting for an acceptance reply.

Unfortunately, we’ve also got some not-so-good news; due to some technical difficulties, we are not opening our online store today. While we sincerely regret the inconvenience, we decided that postponing the opening is in the best interest of you, our customers, as we want to make sure that your shopping experience with us is the best it can be.
However, we will still be sending out a 10% discount code to all of you by email when send our official winner’s announcement.
Again – we regret we can’t open today, but we’ll keep you posted on developments as we know them.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Time is Running Out!! Our Giveaway Deadline is Near!!



City Engraving I



City Engraving II

To celebrate our upcoming grand opening of our new online store, shop.carolraley.com, we are giving away two beautiful framed etchings from Wendover Art to a lucky reader. These etchings are exclusives and work beautifully in any decor.  They measure 15"x17" each, and have beautiful linen mats and black patina frames. They have a retail value of $250 for the pair.

To be entered for this fabulous drawing, just go to our website, www.carolraley.com and sign up for our Sales and Specials e-mail list between now and midnight (Eastern time) on Thursday, May 5. And to show our appreciation for signing up, you'll will receive a 10% discount on your first purchase through our online store!


On Friday morning May 6, we will announce the winner of the etchings and will send out the 10% discount code to all members of our Sales and Specials mailing list.


Thanks for celebrating with us as we begin anew at Southern Chateau and Carol Raley Interiors!

Trend Alert: The Year of the Peacock (and a Giveaway!!)

Trends are good.  Trends are bad. 
Trends are fun in small doses and a very bad investment in large doses because when they are over, they fall with a very large thud.

BUT, back to the good part of trends.  They bring fun, fashion, and color to your decor when used wisely.
Some of the best ways to incorporate decorating trends is in your accessories and soft goods.  This way the hot new motif or color can visit for a while but leave without fanfare when it becomes a guest that has worn out its welcome.

A really hot trend I am seeing in the design marketplace right now is the peacock motif as well as a color I call Peacock which is a deep, green-tinged, inky blue.  I have brought a few examples to show you.

This rug features a stylized peacock feather design with that beautiful "Peacock" color.  I think this would be great in a dining room under a traditional style table or in a living room with a Lucite coffee table on it.

I particularly love this vase that hints at the peacock motif and colorway.  Another good way to add the trend without investing too heavily into it.

Fashion gets into the act, too. 

Greeting cards with a nod to the peacock trend would make a wonderful, stylish gift or look great sitting on your desk.  So chic!

Again, pillows are an easy way to bring a touch of a hot trend into a room without major commitment.

Beautiful, large-scale peacock perfect for a shelf or a console table in an entryway.

Pretty blue and white interpretation of the peacock.

How about a peacock tonic cocktail? 

I am in love with this large scale peacock motif fabric from JF Fabrics.

Look around closely and I believe you will be seeing the peacock being interpreted in many fresh and exciting ways.

Reminder!!
Be sure to enter our Giveaway celebrating our updated website and online shop!
(see link above)

 credits: Peacock cocktail Martha Stewart (photo Simon Watson)
cards ParadoXx Art
blue/white pillow  Cottage Cupboard
all others through Carol Raley Interiors

And The Winner Is....

Thanks so much to all of you who came and commented on the blogoversary post!  And now for the winner....drumroll please.....

The winner of the beautiful  Charleston candle from Low Country Luxe is......

Pat from Fort Worth, Texas!

Congratulations, Pat!

(Pat commented on January 17,2010 at 12:12 p.m.)

My First Blogoversary and a Giveaway for Readers

I started blogging January 13, 2009.  I had no idea how rewarding it would be.  Blogging has brought me to a place where design junkies like me congregate every day and bring their views and ideas to the table.  It is a place to get inspired and get your creative batteries charged.  There are so many talented bloggers out there who spend so much time writing and researching for their blogs for no money, just the love of design.  I have a day job in the design world and sometimes that cuts into my blogging time, but I appreciate each and every person that comes and takes a moment out of their day to read what's on my mind.  To celebrate and show my appreciation, I am doing a little give-away to someone randomly chosen from all the commenters on this post.  Just drop me a comment and you are automatically entered to win a beautiful Low Country Luxe candle in the Charleston scent.  These candles are heavenly!   (Make sure  there is a way to contact you!  I will leave the post up until Tuesday the 19th. I will announce at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday.)

Thanks and here's to another year of blogging!