Thank you Washingtonian magazine & a great furniture find

Thank you to Emily Leaman of Washingtonian magazine for featuring my blog this week on Blogger Beat. It was great fun! Emily asked me some interesting questions and you can check out my answers here.

My favorite question was "What are three landlord friendly ways to decorate an apartment?" I gave my suggestions but the question brought back some memories & some "don'ts" when you're renting - back in 1987 in our Cambridge, MA rental apartment my husband and I sanded and refinished the floors and tiled the kitchen backsplash! Let's just say landlords don't always appreciate "improvements"
In the interview I also mentioned Random Harvest as one of my favorite local design stores. Interestingly enough today I ran across this Craigslist ad for a Random Harvest settee for $625. The ad notes it was purchased for $1,100.
I've seen this settee in the store and it's a very nice piece.

Canadian House & Home is Blogging!

One of my all time favorite magazines, Canadian House and Home, is now blogging! They've just started so there's only a few posts up per blogger. However, if the quality of the magazine is any indication, we should be in for some insightful posts and good sources. A post by Michael Penney on DIY lighting caught my attention as it's been on my to-do list for a long time! The inspiration is a lamp from a Tom Scheerer design (first image) Michael recommends the Medina Glass jar by West Elm and it turns out it's now on sale. Also consider checking out Michael's plans for converting thrift store side tables into DIY Stools here.

First image via Tom Scheerer, photography by William Waldron. Second image West Elm.

Click here for a link for a U.S. source for bottle lamp kits.

A Dreamy Child's Bedroom & Smart Family Office

More from the Washington Design Center's Spring Design House - Shazalyn Cavin-Winfrey of SCW Interiors created this dreamy child's bedroom. This space in the design house is fairly narrow and the built-in-bed with storage cabinets on either side was a great use of space. A pull out trundle bed offers an additional sleeping area. The interior's padded walls are upholstered with a really fun fabric from Cowtan & Tout. This room left me wondering if every house shouldn't have one of these nooks you can crawl into for respite and retreat, curled up with a good book or a few design magazines...


The painted custom cabinetry had a nice patina to it - which neither of these photos does justice to. The fabric was placed behind the cut out screens. The red cowboy hat is too cute!

Another very succesful room was the Family Office designed by Sandra Meyers of Sandra Meyers Design Studio, LLC. There were three separate functional areas incorporated into this room: a custom work space for four people to use at once, a sitting area and a desk space for the parents. This unique light fixture was a real hit. The work space is laminated with a wood grain stria.
Custom built-in shelving surrounds either side of the fireplace. Love the mixed red glass mosaic tile.





The glass desk is from McGuire by Baker Knapp & Tubbs. I am in love with the carpeting from Stark Carpet - beautiful.

Back to a post on book covers from last week - this one is fabulous!

Annie Elliott's Sumptuous Showhouse Foyer

There are some people who just know their way with color and Annie Elliott of Bossy Color is one of those people! Annie designed the foyer of the Washington Design Center's Spring Design House and more than lived up to this year's theme, Urban Elegance. The walls are upholstered with a gorgeous fabric that ties in sections that are painted Farrow & Ball's Babouche - the color radiates with warmth and makes you forget this space is void of any natural light. So often the entry foyers at this show have been after thoughts but this color pulls you in and creates an uplifting transition space into the rest of the showhouse.
A stunning chandelier centered over a round entry table. Photographing last night was a challenge as there were a few hundred people milling around! Really, my photos don't do this room justice so be sure to visit Bossy Color Blog in the next few days to see some professional shots.
Annie was very selective in her accent pieces and each one was unique. This metal sculptural piece was my favorite. Notice that it's perched on Private Washington - the first book that Darryl Carter's work appeared in. The feather box below is terrific. These were on a large scale open shelving piece that was positioned in a corner near an upholstered bench.

Before you entered into the foyer proper, you are greeted by this focal wall upholstered in a gorgeous silk fabric. The Baker Rill Hall Table from the Bill Sofield Collection is a stunner. It hints at the golden yellow to follow in the foyer.
Every piece on this table is perfect. Loved, loved, loved this bowl.

The 2009 Spring Design House is open free to the public until June 27. I'll post more rooms in the upcoming week. It is one of their best ones in years and definitely worth the visit. Congrats Annie!

Book cover love

During spring break I needed a good book for the beach so I bought The Southern Cosmopolitan by Susan Sully. It has a gorgeous book cover (below) but I'm favoring it sans cover with a little gold seahorse resting upon it. Right now it's on a table in my family room serving as eye candy.
The Way We Live - to be released in a few days - also has a cover that really draws me in. The photography is by the late Gilles de Chabaneix.
Here's another Rizzoli publication that won't be out until the fall. Beautiful cover!
Came across this book and thought this was also a succesful image for the cover. Love the bleached wood panelled walls, modern couch and the french furniture.
Interiors by Design first came out in hardback in 2003. The room featured in the 2008 paperback release cover is different. I like the 2008 cover best. I've read this book and at its current price of $19.95 recommend it. The author, Ros Byam Shaw, is a former features editor of World of Interiors.
Here's the 2003 Hardcover edition.
I've recently ordered another one of her books, Old House New Home. In this case, I like the old hardcover a bit more.

Above is the hardcover edition. Below is the paperback version with a different cover.
Now the only problem with the paperback version is you can't peel off the cover and enjoy the color underneath. What's a favorite book cover of yours? Do you sometimes like the color under the cover better?

Design in Unexpected Places

You never know when you'll be surprised by unexpected design. In this case it was, in all places, the unisex bathroom at Taco Boy in Folly Beach! The two side by side cement sinks look hand made & well done. I like how they painted the sink interior white and the black stones lining the bottom worked as they were clean and fresh looking. Love the industrial lighting fixture against the light blue walls.
Whose the face in the background? -- my husband, with his sunglasses pushed up after he's just asked me, "Can we please leave now?" I should also mention that this was not an icky unisex bathroom but rather well designed. Each bathroom had a completely closed in door (not a stall)and there were two entrance doors into the bathroom, on either side of the sinks, that were half glass.

Just one more post - Charleston Interiors

Gazing at all the wonderful exteriors in Charleston left me in search for something a bit more than just curbside appeal. I noticed that one of the properties for sale was listed by Historic Charleston Properties and checked out their site. I couldn't resist one more post devoted to Charleston - here are interior shots of some of the homes currently for sale. Love this bold blue kitchen - so cheery. That is one serious expresso machine on the counter. (all photos are from Historic Charleston Properties)
Really like the dark, deep colored walls in this bedroom contrasted with the crisp white accents. Looks like a sweetgrass basket between the two windows.

This home has some very stylish features - love the animal print on the black cane chairs and of course the light fixture.
A sweet pink headboard. Really like the exposed brick in both these bedrooms.

Stately french doors and beautiful floors - are they painted or are they marble?

Symmetry plays a big part in the room featured above. In the next few pictures it's all about the panelling.







Love the choice they made in the treatment of the wallpaper/mural over the fireplace.
Sometimes grey is just so pretty. Selecting a grey skirt for the sink, instead of a predictable white one, creates a more cohesive look in this room.
Imagining this lap pool is quite a welcome feature in the summer - love the small, stylish cabana with the black shutters.