Exciting Things in the Works!

Of course you know that my passion is the thrill of the hunt. Whether it be antiques, vintage items, or all the wonderful to-the-trade items that I am able to procure, it's all wonderful!

Please stay tuned for an exciting announcement here soon. Our treasures can be yours!

Be Happy Being You

Set Your New Year Intention

It's a brand new year. Although I'm not a big resolution maker, I do believe that a fresh new calendar laid out before us can have a liberating and inspiring effect. 

This year feels good to me. I feel hopeful and optimistic. I feel creativity flowing. As an artist and designer for many years now, I know that inspiration and creativity are not always something that can be forced. So with that in mind, let's put these creative ideas to work and strike while the iron is hot. 

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. 

Crush du Jour

Just wanted to share this scheme coming together at the studio today. Chinoiserie, animal print, luscious trims, all come together in a fabulous tone-on-tone combo.

Then I would add in this great charcoal grasscloth for the walls for drop dead drama.  Stay tuned, because I will be expanding on this design in the coming days.

In the Shop

These beautiful needlepoint pillows are available!   

They have gorgeous shades of coral, green, saffron, French blue. Needlepoint fronts, velvet backs. 16x20. 

 

$180 each. 

 

Have a fabulous weekend!!

In the Shop

Original oil painting for sale. 34Wx46H

Beautiful landscape painting. I love the colors used. 

$800 plus shipping. 

E-mail for more info.

Carol's Spicy Chipotle Chicken Chili

 

 

 

I realize this is not a food blog, but I have had several requests for my recipe for my chicken chili so I decided to put it here so that it would reach more people who might enjoy it.

Ingredient List:
3 cooked chicken breasts, chopped
3 15oz. cans Northern white beans
1 can mild Ro-tel
2 15oz. Cans chicken broth
3 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
Garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper to taste
1/2 small can chopped green chiles

Cooking Directions:
Place all ingredients in large pot and bring to gentle boil. Reduce heat to low or medium low and simmer at least 30 minutes. Serve with chopped cilantro, sour cream, grated sharp cheddar, chopped onions, or any garnish of your choice.

(This chili is fairly spicy. You could probably substitute regular diced tomatoes for the Ro-tel and cool it down some. A little less chipotle pepper would also bring less heat, but that is where the great flavor in this chili comes from.)

Enjoy!

Never Chase After Anyone

This is good advice.  In all aspects of life.  Including online.  Do you chase after people online that never give you the time of day in return?  Never read your tweets, posts, updates when you constantly high-five them?

Then stop!! 

Stop feeding the egos of narcissistic people who feed off the joy of ignoring the people who admire them.  If the person is someone in your field that you like to follow, then admire them from afar, but stop giving them more fodder to make themselves feel more superior and you feel worse.

 

A narcissist is a narcissist is a narcissist.  They ain't ever gonna change.  So move on and give your attention to people who deserve it and care about you back.

There.  I feel better already.  Don't you?

New Year and Time For a Life-Cleanse

January 2 is for me like it is most people, I think.  After the holiday festivities, real life appears.  The New Year spread before us feels fresh and new. 
This morning I was thinking about the usual first-of-the-year diet I need to start, and it got me thinking about all the other areas of life that also need a good detox.  So I made a list;

First, my head.  Without a clearing of the mind, no other cleansing can take place.  Letting go of negative, self-defeating thoughts has to come first in order to make progress in all the other areas of life.

Second, my heart.  Old hurts and resentments, perceived slights by others, anger, it all has to swept out of the spirit.  New happiness cannot come in while these are in the way.

Next, my body. Fill it with things that are good for me only. And get up and move!

My home and office need a detox, as well.  Out with old samples and inventory.  Out with clothes we don't wear and, well.....just stuff.
                                            

 

 

 

Clearing out the old makes space for the new and the good.  So today I will take a deep breath and take the first step toward cleansing my life.

all images via pinterest

In the shop.....

Check out this great nailhead chair and French pillow we have on display. 2 chairs in stock.

My New Difficult Client... Me!

There has been an unspoken problem around here for a while.  A sort of white elephant in the middle of the proverbial room. This place needs my attention.  You've heard the saying that the shoemakers children have no shoes.  Well, that is often true for those of us who work in the decorating and design field.  We are often so busy with the homes of our clients, that our homes are last on the list.  Plus, it's not as much fun when you are spending money instead of making it.  So.  It is time.  Time to bite the bullet, be hard on myself, and get busy.  The first thing I have done is have a consultation with myself, and I was brutal with me.  I told myself things I didn't want to hear.  I did not sugarcoat the facts at all.  I walked the house with clipboard in hand and this is what I came back with.

Consultation with Myself

1. I need to seriously de-clutter!!  When did all this crap creep into my rooms, onto my countertops, into my closets?  Where was I when this was happening?
2. I have too much brown going on in here.  Brown wood floors, brown wood furniture, brown wood cabinets, muddy colors abounding.  Brown is doing nothing for me lately.
3. I need to mix it up.  I tend to think more is more if I'm not careful.  Then I acquire too much of a look that I love.  Definitely need to mix some cleaner lines with my more traditional pieces.
4. Electronics.  Got to get a handle on this one.  I have allowed the husband to run amok with these big TVs.  That is going to have to change.
5. I hate my palette.  Six years ago I was not in touch my own true color-self.  I have realized that I love soft, quiet, pastel colors.  Now I just feel suffocated by the ochre scheme that I live with.  I need to breathe.
6. New living room furniture will need to happen.  Like I tell my clients, if you're not using a room, more than likely it has the wrong furniture.  Mine is frankly not comfortable.
7. Artwork and accessories need attention.  Some of it will stay, much of it will go.  Nice stuff, just needs editing and refreshing.
8. There is a floorcovering conundrum in the master bedroom.  It is carpeted.  I wish in hindsight we had run the hardwood into there when we built the house, but we didn't.  Now the wood is no longer available.  Must decide whether to leave the carpet or replace with a different flooring.  If so, what?
9. The kitchen is driving me crazy.  Again, stained cabinets.  Now I realize that every kitchen on my Pinterest board is white or off-white.  This will be a huge DIY project, as a new kitchen it most definitely not in the budget.
10. The dining room furniture will also be on the chopping block.  It's too matchy and too.....yes, too brown!!

Now that the problems have been identified in a general way, my next step will be to take the advice I give all my clients.  Prioritize the problems in order of importance and what the budget will allow, then move into the design phase.  Hang with me on this. I'm rolling up my sleeves.  I'll share the journey with you.

Our Homes, Our Legacies

My Dad passed away a few weeks ago.  Since then my Mother has been facing the fact that in the near future she will probably be selling their home and moving somewhere smaller.  In the process, she has told me to "take what you would like to have".  One day recently I was looking through her chest of drawers full of mine and my brother's baby things.  It was like looking through a faded lens into my mother's life, her days as a young mom and making a home for her family.  There I found this set of baby bedding which belonged to me.  A little handmade baby quilt, a sweet pillowcase embroidered in her own hand, a faded pink receiving blanket, and a still crisply pressed crib sheet. I could just feel the love that she felt for me just by holding these old textiles in my hands.  The way she had lovingly stored them all these years and treasured them.
It made me stop and think how our homes and the things we hold onto through the years connect us in such a real way to the people we love. It made me think about what I will leave behind for my children.  What will they see through that faded lens that distills my life down to what I treasured and what meant the most to me? 

Friday Fabric Pick!

Just had to share this gorgeous fabric I just got in.

 

 

Love!!!

Finding Your True Colors Through Journaling

After I wrote the post the other day on embracing your personal favorite colors, I got to thinking.  How do we get back in touch with ourselves as related to decorating and design?  I mean, it's not like the deafening noise from blogs, catalogs, magazines, our mothers-in-law, and everybody else who feels entitled to opine on our design style has anything to do with our paralysis in choosing colors for our homes, right?

Soooo, I've been thinking on some good ways to help you arrive at colors that reflect your true and authentic self.  In your home, car, office, any place you are.

Like I talked about in my previous post, forget about what EVERYONE says and preaches to you about color. Wipe it right out of your head.  Now, get out a nice new journal, (or grab an old envelope if you're like me), and think back over your whole life.  Think about some of your favorite memories; places to which you have traveled, clothes that you wore, jewelry you owned, anything that you viewed as beautiful and that brought feelings of happiness to you.  Write it down.  In as much detail as possible. Nobody but you has to know it was the color of an old boyfriends eyes or the color of your 1968 Mustang.  (Oh wait. That's me.  But I digress.) 

After you get a pretty good list going, start looking for images to underpin your written ideas.  Look everywhere; not just on Pinterest or design blogs.  Take your phone or camera, get out, and look.  Capture images of the colors you love.  Now, print them out, stick them in your journal, or to an inspiration board.  Like this.

  Then marinate on the whole thing for a while.  This is not an overnight thing.  Color work is just like any other therapy.  It takes a while to get to the bottom but it's worth it. I promise you will enjoy this exercise!  And you will become more confident in your own style and ability to choose color.

If you do choose to consult a designer, (hopefully me!), you will then be prepared to discuss your favorite colors and you will have your wonderful color journal to assist you in communicating about them.

Now, go forth.  Dream, reminisce, wander about, photograph, and find your true colors!

I Tried Being a Normal Design Blogger

I am sure that my handful of faithful readers has noticed that I disappeared from the blog landscape over the last few months.  It wasn't because I didn't think about you guys or my little blog that I do love, it's just that I felt kind of hopeless about blogging.  Life threw me some big curves over the last few months; so big that they rocked my world.  My Dad, my sweet Daddy, became very ill with Alzheimers last fall.  It was aggressive and cruel.  We lost him just a few weeks ago.  I struggled to work while focusing so hard to do everything I could to help him.  But the worst happened anyway. 

During this time, I would feel like writing and I would open up my blog and sit and stare at the screen.  I knew that I should post some pretty pictures of furnishings, lighting, accessories, all the things all of us design enthusiasts love to look at every day.  The problem was, I didn't feel like talking about any of that.  Those things seemed pretty insignificant to me at that point.  So, I didn't write.  I felt very much not like a design blogger.  Normal design bloggers are always happy, have perfect homes and perfect lives, right?  At least that's how it appears on so many of the blogs.  And maybe my readers don't want to hear about serious, real life.  I don't know.  But that is what will be discussed here.  Life.  And yes, how our homes, our workplaces, and our design dreams all fit into our very real lives. 

They say the truth always comes out.  The truth is I guess I not a normal design blogger.  But I am a designer and I love it and I am passionate about it.  So hopefully we can all hang together, be real, and talk about all the beauty the world has to offer those of us living in the real world.


"And I'm glad to say I've enjoyed every day of the full catastrophe of life"
John Mellencamp

Embrace Your Personal Colors

This morning as I was having my morning cup of joe and was surfing around all my favorite haunts, one of which is Etsy, I ran across this beautiful custom necklace.  Several things about it caught my attention; it's unique, it's chunky, it's handmade, and it's purple.  I love purple.  I always have.  When I was in eighth grade, I went through what I call my Purple Period.  I painted my room Lilac, my favorite outfit was a purple crushed-velvet miniskirt with matching vest, and all my cheap costume jewelry had something amethyst on it somewhere.  This got me thinking.  Since I dearly love purple and all the shades and tones it owns, why do I not have a dang speck of it anywhere in my house?  This is really just wrong I think.  Is it because somewhere I was told it was "out", or that I wasn't seeing it displayed in any of my friends homes, or in my favorites blogs and magazines?  It was like a personal awakening.  Why would I forsake a color that I obviously loved freely back in the day before I was initiated into the world of Dictated Taste.  Hmmmm, now I feel like some kind of color sheep; someone who may be thinking too much about taste, or fashion, and not enough about what moves me as far as decoration and design are concerned.  I realize that purple, aubergine, whatever name or shade you like to call it, is somewhat, for some tastemakers, now back in vogue.  So I should jump on the bandwagon, right?  Well, yes and no.  I think I will posthaste get me something beautiful and purple-ish and put it somewhere in my home where it can bring me happiness every day.  But when the Color Police say it should be banished in a few months or a year, I think I will be brave enough now to keep it in my life anyway.  I'm on the hunt now for that beautiful thing which is purple to adopt and love forever.  I'll keep you posted.
 

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
William Morris

(Here is the link to the lovely necklace.)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/96981506/pale-amethyst-georgian-style-statement?ref=usr_faveitems

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our friends, followers, and customers!  May 2012 be the best year ever!

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!

Happy Thanksgiving!!