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

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.

My Home Ideas

•  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!!

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.

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