Sneak Peeks From a Holiday House Tours

I'm a huge fan of designers Betsy Berner and Tara Sutphin of Berner Sutphin Designs and was so pleased when they sent me photos of their decorations from a recent holiday house tour. Hope you find these images as inspiring as I do. Don't know about you, but I'm not quite done decorating for Christmas yet...

Love the branch adorned with ornaments.

I'm noticing varying height on this tablescape and an abundance of accessories that share common elements. Note to self - more is more during this time of year.

Some images from last year's holiday house tour. Love the the pineapple..!!

To see a past post about a beautiful yellow and gray bedroom they designed, go here.

Hope you have a great weekend.

My 2011 Color Prediction - Close But No Cigar

You may remember back in July when I predicted red would be the color of 2011. Well, I was close but not close enough. Pantone predicts Honeysuckle as the Color of the Year for 2011.

Per Pantone, "Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life.

“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.”

As the saying goes, "Close but no cigar!"

glassybaby - the perfect gift

I had never heard of glassybaby until recently when a friend, originally from the Seattle area, gave me one as a hostess gift. Instant love. Mine is called Hudson and it's beautiful to hold and to look at. Don't you often find that beautiful, well made things often have a wonderful story behind them?
"When the first glassybaby was created in 1998, Lee Rhodes, glassybaby creator and founder, was raising her three small children and fighting what would become a 7-year battle with a rare form of lung cancer. She had endured surgery, countless rounds of chemotherapy, and was searching for a few moments of serenity to escape the fear that encompassed her life. Inspired by the beauty of these elegant vessels, Lee filled them with tea lights and scattered them throughout her home.

A favorite description of glassybaby was written by Lee's 12-year-old son, Mericos, and given to her in the early morning one Christmas. "A glassybaby is physically a small, colored glass cup, candleholder, or vase. But the light of a candle coming through a glassybaby generates more: it gives warmth to a cold day, a calm token of peace in the busy world."It takes four glassblowers from glassbaby's team of 70 to create just one unique, handmade glassybaby.

Isn't this photo brilliant! To see more glassybabIES, go here.

*If you noticed the lion statue from the first picture, it's one of a pair from Flat Earth Designs.

(please note this is my personal opinion and I receive no form of compensation of any kind.)

Charleston Eye Candy

As I'm prone to do on occasion, I spent just a little bit of time yesterday searching for beautiful Charleston homes. Here's my find this go around - hope you enjoy it. The period marble fireplace certainly catches my eye but I'm also drawn to the silhouettes surrounding it. Images via Carriage Properties here.



Back stairs have to be one of my favorite features in an older home. Check out the light fixture - isn't it amazing? It looks like it could have been made by repurposing something - does anyone have any ideas on what it is or is it a light fixture available for purchase?

Sneak Preview: Georgetown Jingle 2010

This past Thursday evening I had a chance to preview the beautiful trees and vignettes that are the hallmark of the Georgetown Jingle, which marks it fifth anniversary as a family-friendly holiday event benefiting the pediatric programs at Georgetown's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Jingle takes place this coming Sunday December 12th from 5pm - 8 pm at the Four Seasons Hotel, a gorgeous backdrop for this wonderful event. Above is a mantel vignette, "Handmade by the Bay," designed by David Iatesta and Matthew Quinn of Iatesta & Company, Inc. Each designer is paired with a Patient Ambassador and David and Matthew were inspired by toddler Sean N. and the beauty of nature in creating this striking vignette.
This creative tree, "A Few of my Favorite Things" was designed by Suzanne Price of Suzanne Price Design LLC and inspired by Patient Ambassador Rhiann R. The tree is comprised of shelves as branches and displays some of Rhiann's favorite things, including her own artwork.
Beautiful!
Nestor Santa Cruz , who was paired with Patient Ambassador Jackie P., created "A Modern Holiday" and was inspired by the aesthetics of Scandinavian celebrations with a touch of White Christmas. Love the simplicity of this vignette.
Susan Donelson and Sharon Bubenhofer of Cleveland Hall Design had Patient Amabassador Noah E. and the therapuetic benefit of dogs in mind when they created, "Bark, The Herald Angels Sing." The stuffed dog, seated next to this gorgeous tree, will be replaced by a real life therapy dog on the day of the Jingle. (above image by Kevin Allen Photography)
Designer Sandra Meyers' tree, "Spirit of the Holidays" is on display at Georgetown Jingle partner Banana Republic. Partnered with Patient Ambassadors Allison C. and Chris S., Sandra's tree complemented Banana Republic's holiday theme, "Love the Present" and comes to life with a combination of vintage ornaments, crystal butterflies and over 2400 lights. (above photo by Kevin Allen Photography)

I've only shown just a bit of the 12 beautiful designs this year. A huge thank you to Catherine Funkhouser for inviting me to the preview! For more detailed information on the Georgetown Jingle 2010, sponsored by the Four Seasons Hotel, JDS Designs and The Washington Design Center, go here.

Christmas Mantel: A Favorite

This beautiful image graced the cover of Canadian House & Home in November 2006. The blue and green Christmas decor is inspired by the patterned fabric on the stuffed chairs. This is one of my all-time favorite images and I always thought it was a living room. It wasn't until this post that I realized this is the entrance hall of the home! (Design by homeowners Dale and James Egan, photography by Mark Bursty)

Interviewed over at DC Metro Mommy

Check out DC Metro Mommy for an interview I did with Claudine! DC Metro Mommy is a blog for DC- area moms full of great ideas and resources. Thanks so much to Claudine for the interview! You can read it here.

Wreath Repeat

After Christmas last year (2009)I thought I would be smart and head to Georgetown and take a whole slew of pictures of Christmas wreaths and decorations to use in Dec 2010. Well I did - and carefully edited and "stored" them on my hard drive. Maybe I should say "lost" instead as 5+ hours of searching on this computer and the other computer I thought I may have used yielded nothing... So here's a reprise of my Beacon Hill decorations taken in '08 and posted in '09. Yes, the missing - awesome Georgetown photos are driving me nuts...This would be easy to do - spray paint branches red and place in containers w/moss.

Love this creative peace sign wreath!






More branches - simple and doable.






**EVENT: If you live in the DC area, Tudor Place is holding it annual Holiday Wreath making workshop with fresh boxwood, greens and magnolia cut that morning on their property. I've gone for 4 years and it's really great fun. More info here.

Eye Candy with a Touch of Red

Can't go wrong with a round table, books and chic french chairs in a soft red velvet. Design by Luce Gayrard, House and Home Nov 2009, photography by Monic Richard.

Haute Fabrics Now in Georgetown & books ON a wall

I mentioned this briefly in another post but this news warrants more coverage than that. Haute Fabrics (Marshall, VA) has opened a location in Georgetown at 2603 P Street NW Washington, DC, sharing space with Jean Pierre Antiques. The selection of fabrics has grown since my first visit two weeks ago and the ones I had my eye on were in the range of $16 - $26 a yard.



Haute Fabrics, 2603 P St. NW, Washington, DC, 202.965.1123 (*they're closed the day after Thanksgiving but I will update this post w/their hours tomorrow)

Earlier in the month, I posted on the amazing concrete books created by Richard Taylor of Flat Earth Designs. Check out the creative way Debra Phillips of Scentimental Gardens and SG Grand displays the ones she has for sale. Ask you would expect, customers are first surprised to see them on the wall and then to discover they're concrete to boot.