It's the Most Crazy Time of the Year

This time of year is over the top for a designer. We want to get our clients' projects and homes ready for their guests and get togethers. In my own case, I even do holiday decorating for a few select clients. We love being able to weave our design aesthetic into interiors we have completed, always trying to keep things new and fresh. Here is one of the several trees we did this season. We wanted a bit of "Winter Wonderland" kind of feel, so we added blue and aqua and flocked greenery to the tree. It turned out very nicely.

This is one of two 12 foot trees we do each year as well. 

While all this holiday cheer was happening, we also have a nice master bath redesign/remodel project happening. We are taking it from brown and drab to clean and classic. 

This is a peek at the shower niches in herringbone marble set into white subway tile. It's a look that I love!

We are also adding paneled moldings on the walls and curved pediments at the sink and shower areas. We are also adding feet to the cabinets. We are doing this work in-house, which is a special thing that sets us apart. 

And excited is not the word about the Brizo polished nickel faucets and fixtures going in here. 

May I just say, I love this finish ridiculously much!

Meanwhile, with all this happening design-wise, I must admit I am a little challenged with my own holiday decorating at home. 

A look at one of my own trees, standing lit but bare of ornaments. As they say, the shoemaker's children have no shoes!

Oh well, I'll get it all done. I always do. 

Christmas with a Silver Lining

As I designed this display today for our shop window, it reminded me how much I love using silver, not only during the holidays, but throughout the year. 

I love doing simple, yet elegant displays like this design, using a silver container, garland, a few inexpensive silver ornaments, and a pretty candle.

Mercury glass is another favorite.  It is relatively inexpensive and looks gorgeous lit with candles.

Silver ornaments look beautiful among the green boughs on a Christmas tree. Paired with faux silver berries, it is stunning and classic.

This is another example of using a year-round silver container to hold shiny ornaments for a quick but classic decoration for a table or sideboard.

This is a table setting I did using red transferware, creamware, and silver baby cups from my collection. Using your collections in combination with ornaments or other holiday decor makes the design much more meaningful and personal.

 

Silver containers such as mint julep cups look so pretty containing amaryllis or paperwhites at Christmas time.  I also love the look of this green wreath against the silver-finish mirror.

This is just a beautiful idea using a silver tray, a crystal cloche, faux snow, some pretty ornaments, and pearls.  Easy but so elegant.

Remember to think outside the box with your holiday decorating and don't forget the silver!

Chandelier Trends and Tips

Lighting  falls into the category of house jewelry.  It says so much about a house and its owner.  Nothing is worse than outdated light fixtures.  It is what I will notice first when walking into a home.  And nothing is a quicker update than changing out lighting.  Let's look at some new trends that are in the marketplace.  The chandelier above is from Currey and Co. and is a lovely mix of traditional styling interpreted in a modern, more natural way.  I love the shape and the natural, aged finish.  This look could work with so many styles of decorating, from rustic farmhouse, french country, swedish luxe, to updated traditional.  Just love.

Here we see again the natural, aged finish and the pared-down elegance of another Currey design.  This is reminiscent to me of the grand chandeliers hanging in chateaus and grand homes like Biltmore House.  Simple yet so elegant.

Lantern style chandeliers are a hot trend right now and it is one of which I am a big fan.  It's just a classic look and there are so many great interpretations of the design out there currently.  This particular one is from Vagabond Vintage.  I see it being equally at home in a dressed-up setting as well as putting some bling into a more casual or rustic decor.

How's this for rough-luxe elegance?  This burlap chandelier from Zentique is the epitome of pared-down, artsy style.  I can visualize this paired with dressy Louis chairs with modern fabrics and a farmhouse table.

Tara Shaw always brings it.  Style that is.  This fresh interpretation of Empire style is clean, airy, but elegant.

This type of chandelier will always be among my favorites.

Another Tara Shaw beauty is shown here.  An aged-finish wood lantern chandelier which to me is so Italian looking.  I think maybe this is my favorite du jour!

Currey again here with a nod to the lantern style.  This feels elegant and simple at the same time.  It could work in so many different styles of decor as well.

This dressy lantern/pendant style fixture from Currey in a distressed pewter finish is one of my favorites.  I used one recently in a clients office. 

Gorgeous!

Choosing the right chandelier is the first task, followed by knowing how to hang it when you get it home.  It is suggested by many lighting companies and designers that a chandelier be hung anywhere from 30-34 inches above a dining table in a room with 8 foot ceilings.  If your ceiling is higher than that, the fixture should be hung 3 inches higher for each foot of ceiling.  Truthfully, I often just eyeball where I think the chandelier looks best.  As far as size and scale goes, it is suggested that the chandelier be 12 inches narrower than the table over which it hangs.

I realize these chain covers were in vogue for a while, but it is time for them to go away now.  This is too fussy and just calls even more attention to the chain and away from a beautiful chandelier.  Can you imagine this thing on one of the Tara Shaw beauties above?  Sacrilege!

Another issue is cleaning and care.  If your chandelier has crystals or glass, it needs to be kept dust and smudge-free in order to shine to its full beauty.

I will leave you with one more gorgeous Tara Shaw chandelier.  This look is popular now and is one of my favorites.

When it comes to choosing lighting for your home, think outside the big-box store and your house will have "jewelry" that you won't see in every one of your neighbors houses.

Pillows! An Easy Spring Update

 Spring is here and I think we all want a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to update our rooms.  One good way is to add new pillows or change out the ones we have.  I'll show you some of my favorites right now.

I prefer a clean look now, especially for the warmer months.  I have two of these on my sofa at home and they are perfect.

Get rid of the heavily trimmed and tasseled look like two above.  I still love a nice needlepoint pillow like this one, but not for spring and summer decorating.

Turquoise and spa-blues are still on my love list and they look great on cream or white-slipcovered furniture. Large-scale center motifs are very current and fresh looking.

Two hot trends combined in one pillow; suzani motif and purple.

I love this look.  Light upholstery and bleached wood finish punched up with a killer pillow.

How about this for a spring look?  Such a cute little pillow appliqued with a dragonfly.

I used the dragonfly pillow in this teen girl's bedroom.  She loved it!

Or maybe this sweet little bee pillow.

I love this cute little French scooter pillow.

So go forth!  Get yourself some stylish new pillows and inject some fresh air into your home!

Carol Raley Interiors in At Home Tennessee!

Check us out in the November issue of At Home Tennessee magazine where we give tips for creating inviting holiday tablescapes.  Here is the link to the digital version of the magazine.  We are on page 59.

http://issuu.com/athometennessee/docs/november-2010

Some Updates Around the House

I've been absent for a little while around blogland, occasionally checking in on some of my favorite blogs, but in general just taking a little break to regroup.  Since finishing the large project we worked on for close to a year, I have turned my attention back to tweaking a few things around my own house.  We also have been invited by a regional magazine to share a holiday tablescape, and I am sharing a few of our own photos of that little project as well. 

Here is a shot of the dining room dressed for the holiday tablescape shoot.  I just had to build the design around this huge silver tray and meat dome I recently acquired!

A close-up of a place setting using red and white transferware from my collection, as well as vintage silver baby cups and tiny hand-blown glass ornaments.

Here is another shot of the table.  I love this little vintage cup with the key!

Another close-up of the table.

This is a Lucite console I placed in the dining room because it takes up so little visual space.  Here I placed a few transferware berry dishes on a distressed gray pedestal, along with my 1950's vintage coffee urn and (yes another!) darling little dome.  A tiny vintage coffee creamer looks sweet in this vignette I think.  The large crystal drink decanter gets a lot of use during family get-togethers year round.

I had the headboard recovered in a pale tiger-stripe fabric I had languishing in storage and added a french stool and needlepoint pillow at the foot of the bed.  Silk curtains were also fabricated out of more fabric from my "going-to-use-this-someday"  inventory.  The walls have been this color for a few years and I would really like to change them, but I guess I'll hold off a little longer.

I paired this sweet little French ladie's desk with a modern leather and nailhead stool that I think has a sort of Morrocan flavor.  An original antique etching hangs above it.  I didn't want anything too big there that would take away from the desk.

I also had this bedspread made out of some really inexpensive linen and I like the way it looks with the headboard.

I updated the living room a little bit with some large Bliss Studio pillows on the sofa and a tall mirrored tea table.

I brought this gilt Louis chair down from its previous home upstairs to brighten the room up a bit and added a grain sack rug under the tea table.

Here is a tighter shot of the chair.  I have the matching sofa, also, which will have to continue living upstairs!

The little antique secretary is a piece that we bought years ago when we were first married.  

The other side of the living room which includes a tall skirted console, sepia-tone landscape prints, and family photos.

I'm not big on a lot of accessories in my kitchen because I really cook and I need the counter space, so I leave out my food processor and stand mixer all the time.  I did add a recent find of a sweet little flow-blue platter.

This burled wood trough planter is pretty as well as useful.  I like to place little ferns, herbs, fruits, and vegetables in it.

There is nothing prettier in the kitchen, in my opinion, than real fruit displayed in a pretty container.

These little white linen slipcovers are great on the counter stools!  Just throw them in the washer and hang to dry!

I hope I still have a few readers out there!  If so, thanks for coming back and reading!