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