Tuesday, November 29, 2011

South of the Border

One of the outings my children and I took over the holiday weekend was to our local Barnes & Noble (about the only brick and mortar bookstore left in Nashville, seriously). They each got to pick out a book and mama got to pick out a foreign design magazine - my favorite part of hitting the bookstore. What me, buy an actual book? No, I must feed my design obsession. So, this time I picked out Elle Decoration, UK edition.  One of the homes that spoke to me the most was the moody and mysterious home of cult jewelry designer Caledonio Lohidoy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Behold:
Yummy velvet.
The floors, my God, the floors!
Okay, a carved dragon sculpture might even be a bit much for me (and that's saying a lot), but you gotta admit it's unique.
Might need to use this trick in my house.    
Compared to the other rooms, this room seemed almost monastic in its simplicity. But I doubt monks have much abstract art on their walls. 

When we arrived home, what should I find in my mailbox but the American version of Elle Decor. What a treat. I'm sure a lot of you have already seen some of the eye candy in this issue. Ashley Stark's amazing apartment has already made the rounds in the blogosphere. But for some reason, I was really drawn to another South American lair . . . that of Brazilian editor Fabrizio Rollo. I just loved all the layers, colors and textures.
Yes, there is a lot going on here, and yes, it's a bit cluttered for my taste, but I was still bowled over by it. 

Have you seen any interiors lately that have wowed you?

Sources: Elle Decoration UK Edition and Elle Decor (American)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Have a Malachite Thanksgiving . . .

Oops, I meant to say, "have a Happy Thanksgiving" but I've had malachite on the brain (and on my hands) for the past couple of days. Unfortunately, I don't have any great recipes to share, and we're cheating by eating out for Thanksgiving with my in-laws so I don't have any great table settings to share. So, I thought I might as well celebrate the holiday by sharing my latest little project. Behold, the faux malachite box . . .
Sorry about the poor lighting. I just finished it tonight so I broke the cardinal rule and took a photo at night. Here's how it looked earlier in the day when I took a photo with my iPhone:
I darkened the color a little after this, added a gold detail around the edge of the lid, and affixed a gold-painted rock on the front as a little handle.

I really like it and think it adds a little something to my coffee table. Also, my remote control fits nicely in there. I'm sorry I didn't photograph the process very well, but I basically just bought one of those little hinged balsa wood boxes from Michael's then followed the faux malachite directions from Gorgeous Shiny Things. I had to improvise on the paint colors a bit as I used what I had or what I could find at Home Depot, but otherwise, pretty much did what she did.

I am so thankful for all my friends and family this Thanksgiving, but also for all my blog friends and readers out there. You really make it all worthwhile. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!





Monday, November 21, 2011

Rainy Days

I know we all have to deal with rain, but here in Nashville we're on day two of nasty weather. More expected tomorrow. Hurray. And my children are already out of school for Thanksgiving. So, we're doing a lot of this . . .

And, we'll be leaving soon to go see this . . . 
I know you're jealous. But, I've actually heard it's good. I'm sure I'll be seeing the Muppets soon too.

So, I'll just leave you with some things that have inspired me lately. These color combinations by J. Crew are insane (in a good way) . . .

A very talented person is working on something for me, and I gave her these two pics (among other things) for inspiration. Can't wait to see what she comes up with!

And this little malachite box on eBay has my wheels turning. 
Isn't it pretty? Don't let the photo fool you. This is a trinket box - tiny. Like two and half inches long tiny. Fits in the palm of your hand tiny. And it's about $50. Yeah, I'm wanting something to hold my remote control. Real malachite in that size would cost hundreds. Necessity is the mother of invention, so I'm working on something right now. I was inspired by Danika of Gorgeous Shiny Things and her faux malachite lamp:
Hopefully, I'll come up with something that slightly resembles malachite anyway. We shall see. If it turns out the least bit decently, I promise to share photos. Wish me luck. Have a great week!


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Where the Antelope Play

Antelope carpet has been all over blogs and the internet for a few years now, and some have labeled it as trendy. However, when does something rise above just being popular or having trendy status to that of being a classic? We often refer to other exotic animal prints such as leopard, zebra and tiger as classic, why not antelope too?


Personally, I love it. Of course, there's the Stark Antelope that everyone is familiar with (featured in the photos above), but there are other options out there at different price points as well. Karastan actually has an antelope pattern (which the Karastan rep at High Point Market had no clue about, I might add), which has got a lot more taupe in it I believe.
Karastan's antelope.
Couristan has its own version . . .
Source: carpet.net via Kathy on Pinterest

which looks a lot like the Stark version, I think.

Then, there's a company called Glen Eden which has its own version of Antelope as well.
Source: carpet.net via Kathy on Pinterest


This photo above is from Glen Eden's site. After doing some more digging, it looks like the antelope carpet in Sally Wheat's home may be from Glen Eden too (this is what was divulged in Cote de Texas' lengthy comment section) . . .


Pretty snazzy, huh? I have not seen any of these in person, just going by what I've seen online. But I think there might be some more affordable antelope options than Stark out there. That gives a girl hope. I won't be buying any new rugs or carpets anytime soon with a new puppy in the house, but when the time comes these would be some great options.

What do you think? Could the antelope play in your house?

Monday, November 14, 2011

Celerie Gets Me

Have you checked out the new Lonny? I must admit it wasn't my all-time favorite issue, but it did contain an article featuring one of my favorite interior designers - Celerie Kemble. I'm not sure what it is about her style that I love - usually it's pretty much everything. She's not afraid of color and texture and taking a risk here and there. Here are some shots from the apartment featured in the newest Lonny:

Now, granted this is not the most saturated or colorful room she's ever designed, but I still love it. She's definitely going with the black and white and neutral thing a bit more lately. And here's the bedroom . . .

I think this look is very much in keeping with her new book which just came out November 1st. Have you picked it up yet? It's on my Christmas list for sure. And the title? You guessed it . . .
Does anyone else see the similarities here? Is the apartment in Lonny the same one in the book just re-painted and re-styled? Or did the same people just move somewhere else and this is their furniture re-arranged? It doesn't really matter, but it's sort of like playing a fun little design game of Eye Spy. Just goes to show different furniture pieces can work in different rooms with different accessories. I love it. I'll have to actually get the book to investigate further.

And why do I say in the title that Celerie "gets" me? Of course, it's her use of dolphin tables in her designs.
Celerie's dolphin looks a bit more menacing than mine with the teeth and all.

Here's my dolphin table when it resided in our antique booth.
I'm happy to report that my dolphin table will be coming back home soon from its temporary stay at my husband's office (where I know the ladies who work there will be so glad to see it go). Look, I know the dolphin table is not for everyone and doesn't suit everyone's taste, but that's exactly what I love about it. Isn't that what makes the world go round? Anyway, I like that Celerie enjoys a little bit of the funky stuff too. Is there something that you love that raises eyebrows among your friends and family?

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Color Story

For some time now, I've had this rug in my living/family room. I believe it's been both a blessing and a curse.
Don't get me wrong. I love the colors in it, but they change from one end to the other, as all Persians do. It can be a bit tricky. 
Plus, the colors look different in different light. So, I've basically come to peace with the fact that it's got a lot of pink and green it it. Sometimes the pink looks coral, sometimes it looks rosy. Sometimes the green looks emerald, sometimes it looks teal.

So, where am I going with this? Well, I've been looking for fabrics for my Milo Baughman-esque Craigslist chair for some time now, and when dear Emily from Recently suggested pink - a lightbulb went off. Yes, pink. Well, coral or raspberry or azalea or punch, if you're my husband. We can't actually call it pink. So the search was on. Here are some of the fabrics I found . . . 
And then these . . .

Did you get a good look at that last Duralee fabric? Oh, yeah, one of my dogs nibbled on it last night while I wasn't looking. 
Nice. Guess I'll be paying for that sample. 

I actually liked this fabric the best, but it's on backorder for 6 weeks. Uggh. I hate waiting. So, I'm still looking. Or maybe I should just order it and wait patiently. Decisions.
In the meantime, I found a pretty mallard green velvet lumbar pillow at World Market that might look nice either in the chair (once it's recovered) or on my slipper chairs or sofa. Just thought the color was pretty good.
I also recently ordered one of those marbled handmade papers from Paper Mojo. It has a lot of the same pretty pinks and greens running through it. Thinking of either framing it or using it behind the shelves in my grandmother's china cabinet.
Here it is tacked on top of my emperor just to see what it might look like on the wall . . .
Call it pink and green or punch and mallard, I don't care. I'm just loving this updated take on the classic, often characterized as preppy color combo.

Here are some sophisticated pink and green or simply pink inspirations that are on my Pinterest page . . .
Source: flickr.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Kathy on Pinterest






The lines of these pink chairs are not unlike my chair, and I have that same brass garden seat.


So, what do you think? Does pink have to prissy and delicate or can it be sophisticated and rich? I'm leaning toward the latter.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

And the Bad Blogger Award Goes To . . .

Yes, me. I'm the worst blogger in the land right now. My apologies. I really have no excuse except just life and stuff. You know how it is. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. Which is sad because I really enjoy blogging. This past week I've been doing a lot of stuff for other people and creatures including this fluffball . . .
and these two adorable rascals . . .

I even managed to finish one more small project for my daughter's room. Don't get too excited, it's a bulletin board that I just changed out the ribbon on . . . 
Ta-da! Yeah, I warned you. Hope you didn't die of excitement.
Okay, that's about all I got for today. Have to wade back in slowly. Blogging is like riding a bike - you never forget - but you should take it easy on your first ride. Happy Tuesday!