Saturday, December 31, 2011

Hot in 2011

Gray wall colours.
In all undertones.

 Here are a few of the interior trends that seemed to be popular this past year. I wonder what will take their place in 2012?
Some other things not pictured: subway tile, white kitchen cabinetry (or has this been popular for a while?), crystal lamps, grasscloth wall coverings, oversized lantern pendants, steamer trunks and black front doors (which I love!).

Seagrass/woven furniture.

Weathered/Salvaged wood furniture.

Seagrass/sisal rugs and the
layered look.


Chevrons/Zigzags


Suzani Print.
All photos via decorpad.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Zesty Tropical

Burnt Orange Office

Happy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all in one... what a crazy month! Who knew that working 40 plus a week would leave no time for blogging and such....! I hope anyone reading had a wonderful Holiday season. I ate, drank and skyped my way through the holidays and enjoyed every minute.

I am super excited that all my favorite stores now have new "Spring Collections," (I know I'm not the only one to get excited when Pottery Barn let out a new catalogue!!) I was inspired enough to find a few minutes to post. I am in love with the stunning mirror above from Zinc Door. Just listen to the description:  "A tonal geometric and floral pattern in faux leather embellishes the rectangular frame of this faux bamboo mirror. With cane-inspired jointed borders, this wall accent brings natural sophistication to a bedroom, living room or entry." I know it's a bit late for this year, but I hope Santa is listening for Christmas 2012, I promise to be a good girl! 

Enjoy! 

My New Years resolution is to find more time to blog!

Cheers to a Happy, Healthy and Fulfilling 2012. 

Serena & Lily - Mombasa

via decorpad

via decorpad

via decorpad


Mary MacDonald - Love the shell arrangement!!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Veterans, Poppy and Armistice Day

Our family reunited.
What a special day to give thanks and remember all our Veterans - 11/11/11.

I am so proud of my husband and the thirteen years he served in the Navy, and now he continues to serve in the Navy Reserves.
Thank you to all Veterans and the sacrifices you make.

Our First hug in 7 months.

What a proud day! - Love you hubby. x

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Tides Style - Miami

The Tides - Kelly Wearstler Interior Design

I would love to be a fly on the wall at Interior Designer Kelly Wearstlers studio. To me, she is today's most daring and exciting trend setter. She mixes all kinds of patterns, textures and decades to create some jaw dropping rooms. One of my latest favorites is the lobby area of The Tides Hotel in Miami. The walls maybe the only plain thing in this room, from the sculptural chairs to the tufted sofa.. everything has a Wonderland type feel to it. Altogether the look feels both contemporary and traditional. I love how she plays with a multitude of materials within her room and then keeps the floor plan symmetrical for a cohesive and dramatic lobby area. Here's my attempt below..... it looks better up close! If your looking for a Wearstler style selection of furniture and accessories, check out Zinc Door for their amazing selection.

Click to Enlarge

Zinc Door - Costello End Table

Zinc Door - Dorchester Bar Table

Zinc Door - Waldo Floor Lamp

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Belated Birthday Wishlist!

Americas Cup - Model Boat

Happy Belated Birthday to me!! I'm still clinging on to my twenties for a little longer. I had a great day, and over indulged as usual. I am now promising myself, at least two weeks off, from eating out... let's just say I will have to if I ever want to squeeze into my jeans again...

I do feel completely terrible that my little blog has been neglected.. I promise to try harder to keep up with postings. This post is just going to be a little expression of things I would love to decorate my home with if money weren't an issue!

I saw a beautiful Model Boat at Bassett Furniture in Austin last week and that is now top of my wish list. India Hicks shows how elegant and West Indies this Colonial accent is in her beach house.

Courtesy of India Hicks

 A giant clam shell filled with succulents to adorn my coffee table....

Giant Clam Shell - Pottery Barn

And some pretty bird, butterfly or moth prints to decorate the walls (I quite like the tropical plant too but I don't need any more plant murders on my hands.......)



Crackle Moths - WSHome

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Great Decor Sites - Part II

My Home Ideas
I'm back! What a crazy week.... I won't bore you with the details, lol!! Here are some more Great Decor Sites as promised. There are so many out there, if I haven't listed one of your favorites please let me know what I'm missing out on.


  •  A collection of fantastic inspiration photos from some great magazines, including; Southern Living, Coastal Living and Sunset.
  • Decorating videos with step by steps.
  • Plenty of before and afters
  • How to's and weekend projects.

Pintrest
Pintrest
  • A ton of photos to collect, share and categorize.
  • Connect with other "Pintresters" through facebook
  • Browse other members galleries and gain a ton of inspiration.

Basset Furniture
Furniture Companies and Stores Online

  • Check out some amazing rooms and ideas for accessorizing at your favorite furniture stores. You can often find an incredible amount of inspiration from photos online and store catalogues. Some of my favorite are; Basset Furniture, Lexington Furniture, Pottery Barn, Frontgate, Grandin Road, Horchow and Wisteria.

Southern Living
Online Magazines

  • Gather inspiration, shopping tips and more online at your magazines web page.
  • Find Online Communities, Room galleries, tips and more.
  • I am addicted to Southern and Coastal Living.. two of my monthly indulgences!!


Thursday, October 6, 2011

Hollywood Glamor and a design formula

Olioboard - Click to Enlarge

I've had a couple of lovely emails asking me how to put together a mood board. Thank you so much for asking, I am completely flattered and more than happy to post my thoughts on the subject! So here goes...

First of, I always start with one item that I completely love, in the instance above it was the amazing horse giclee from Zgallerie. From the first piece I try and envision a direction I want to go in, whether it be modern, contemporary, traditional.. etc.. I decided with this strong piece as my "jumping off point" (as Sarah Richardson says) that a glam Hollywood vibe would be the way to go.

Finding inspiration for a room and collecting photos is a great way to figure out the style of room you are working towards. One of my favorite places for room inspiration is Decorpad. Which is where I found the three images below. I searched 'Hollywood', 'Champagne' and 'Gold' and this is what I came up with. I loved the mix of metallic tones in the first room and wanted to come up with a room similar in feel.

Pulling colours from the art and mixing textures like the velvet tufted bed, dupioni silk drapes and wool rug add a lot to the overall room and give that luxurious Hollywood feel. Mixing fabrics and textures prevents a room from feeling flat and gives a lot of visual interest ( I know, I know... I watch far too much HGTV, lol).

Also, I think that all rooms need some sparkle, and that's why I added the pretty sunburst mirror, diamond photo frames and amazing "Elixir" chandelier from Layla Grayce.

One last important addition to any room design is contrast. My starting piece (Mr. Horse) will make a dramatic statement against a light coloured wall, and the medium/dark wood floor will be a great contrast to the light furniture and fabrics.





Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The Blue and White Scheme

Olioboard - Click to Enlarge

I always love a good blue and white room design. Whilst browsing one of my favourite blogs the other day, (by Phoebe Howard, see photo at end of article) I saw a fantastic dining room that inspired me to have a go at designing my own blue and white bedroom! This colour scheme evokes that British Colonial Coastal feel that I love so much. When you pair the dark inky indigo blue with the warm tones of mahogany and accents of fresh white you can achieve this great look for yourself.

I found the pretty sleigh bed from Bassett Furniture, it's called Coral Key, which seems appropriate for this type of design scheme! I added this antique style chandelier by Currey and Company for some sparkle and detail. Then the fantastic blue and white ginger jars that seem to be forever timeless. The one shown above is from Lampsplus and is hand painted porcelain. I think this look can work anywhere.. but it would be best with  a slight sea breeze for authenticity. :-)


Currey and Company - Sophia Chandelier

Ralph Lauren  - Indigo Modern Bedding


Courtesy of Phobe Howard

Sunday, September 25, 2011

West Indies Porch


Olioboard

I received a lovely message from a fellow West Indies design enthusiast concerning a substantial sized porch. The design included furniture from the Faraday Collection, from Pottery Barn, breezy white outdoor drapes made from drop cloths and blue painted ceilings... I can only imagine how beautiful it will look! So of course, I headed off to Olioboard to get the feel for this pretty porch and here's what I came up with.... all I can say is wow, what a great plan for a porch... (even with or without the pool) I think it will be a stunning place to drink a cold beer and unwind after a hard days work.

Compass Pillow - Frontgate

Riveted Drum Table - Grandin Road

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Black and Yellow Bathroom

http://olioboard.com/users/sallyjl

What a fun, fresh colour palette for a bathroom! Who woulda thought?? Sorry no blog lately - I started my new job (yippee) and time slipped by without me knowing!! Here's to the weekends!


images via decorpad

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Contemporary twist on a twin nursery

http://olioboard.com/users/sallyjl

Happy Weekend fellow bloggers!! I have been way too addicted to Olioboard lately... darn it! Here's another entry for one of their awesome challenges. "Design a nursery for two beautiful twin babys. One boy and one girl. Create a space the two of them can enjoy and grow into." That's my entry above. I started out with the contemporary looking cribs. I wanted to do a fresh, clean colour palette that could be enjoyed by a boy and a girl. I found the brightly, printed fabric and used it as a rug (shh, don't tell) and then bought in more items that pulled out colours from the fabric! I am super happy with it! If you'd like to know where any of the items come from, just click on the link above and it will take you straight to my Olioboard page. Here's some more nursery inspiration for any mothers to be (all images courtesy of Decorpad!):

Love the striped ceiling!
Plus, what a great book display to add a ton of colour!!

Great fresh colour palette with a vintage looking crib.

Love the rug and colours....

Fun pom poms!!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Olioboard Fun


I'm not usually a big Modern/Contemporary fan, but two new challenges from Olioboard caught my attention! Here's the first - "A new restaurant in town asked you to design a retro inspired interior to liven the place up and draw in the crowd. While they love the retro vibe they don't want it to be overboard and feel like a tacky diner. Find a way to design the space that balances retro with class."

That's my interpretation above! I'm pretty happy with it. I thought the wavy retro fabric would be fun on some booths and then the other chairs are for the bar (red), lounging (yellow) and around the ends of the booths (black). And just look at those cool napkin rings - Dachshunds! So cool - never thought I'd say that about a napkin ring!

Here's the second challenge - "The top advertising agency of the year has asked you to bring your design expertise to their office space. This agency is known for their outside of the box thinking and want their office space to reflect just that. Make your design as creative and wild as you want. In this job, anything goes." And my crazy idea board below. Head over to Olioboard to get creative.