BOOKSHELF PORN

I came across a really cool blog that is completely devoted to the storage of books called Bookshelf Porn. It's a great site for inspiration; not just in storage design but also in the "Now I want to curl up with a good book" kind of way. I love using books in design, they add color, depth and personality, also you can never have to many of them. My house is full of books: from The Twilight Series to the Romantic Classics, giant art books to my husbands physics books. They are all beautiful and they all deserve a good home. Check out some great storage ideas below from Bookshelf Porn.

all photos via Bookshelf Porn

HER IMAGINARY DREAMY BEDROOM

As a last ditch effort to hold on to sunny summer fashion, I'm loving this fashion girl for her bright summer pallet used in a long sleeve sweater look. The mix between aqua and powder pink is feminine and comfotable. The ankle length jeans with a collared shirt and sweater suggests to me that this girl is out on a crisp September afternoon- people watching and window shopping. Her style is inviting and delicate; she likes to watch the world and learn new things. Her dreamy bedroom is somewhere she can come home to and record the stories and memories of her life. The room is a blend of styles that stem from Mid-century glam that she's incorporated layers of personal objects and comforting textures.

Inspiration Girl

1. Circle Jig Mirror
2. Dandelion in a Jar 
3. Links Printed Roman Shade
4. Vintage Nystrom Globe
5. Worlds Away Phillip Glass Desk
6. Octavia Headboard
7. Large 12 Arm Brass Light
8. SMOK Chair
9. Seeded Glass Table Lamp
10. Georgina Bedding 
11. Zigzag Rug
12. Hans Pedestal Side Table
13. Dresser with Chrome Detail

SUNNY SIDE UP

I'm currently working on a project where I am designing a built-in bench for an office break-room. While looking up construction details and inspiration online, I came across tons of killer breakfast nooks with built-in benches, banquettes and booths. What's the difference? A bench is not upholstered, it may have pillows or a detached cushion but the actual furniture piece is made out of wood or metal and in most cases it's not fixed into place. A banquette is long built-in seating, most commonly against a wall. For dining; tables and chairs are pushed against a banquette. A booth can be U-shaped, double-sided and at the end of a row you can find a one-sided piece. In restaurants you typically see banquettes and booths with a back height similar to a sofa but in night clubs they can reach as high as the ceiling or as low as an arm rest.
I love seeing built-ins like these in residential design! There are endless options in making a built-in breakfast nook custom to your taste; starting with the base (exotic woods, trim work to match the room, built-in storage, completely upholstered) and finishing with the details (tufted, channel back, no back, pillows). It's a great opportunity to save space and show some personality. Check out the range in style in these built-ins below.

1. Palmer Weiss Interior Design  2. Better Home and Gardens  3. Better Home and Gardens

1. Amy Bergman and Linda MacArthur  2. Jill Johnson via Elements of Style  3. Harry Braswell Inc via House of Turquoise

1. Hustler of Culture  2.Marmol Radziner via Remodelista  3. Bloom House by Gregg Lynn

1. Better Home and Gardens  2. Pinterest via Shirly Nudelman  3. Mix and Chic

SMOOTH TO THE TOUCH

I read about Mineheart at one of my favorite blogs, The Designer Pad. This UK based company produces a line of wallpaper that features realistic patterns on high-quality paper. Their wallpaper can be used residentially and commercially- I love the idea of using the tufted Chesterfield pattern in a lounge or a nightclub! The stone fresco and wood paneling patterns are really interesting too because they're such traditional images used in an untraditionally way. It must be a little trippy running your fingers against these images with so much depth and antiquity only to find a smooth (and washable) wall. When I browsed through the Mineheart website I was reminded of a couple other wallpaper companies that have similar collections, check them out below.

photo credit

Wall & Deco is a crazy cool wallpaper company with a lot of unique patterns. They have graphic patterns, large scale artwork, custom paper and photo realistic wallpaper. These beautiful images below are another example of realistic wallpaper; it's such a sexy way to add texture and grit to a room!

photo credit

Concrete Wall is a collection of  wallpaper made by manipulating high-res photographs of concrete, cinder block, brick and wood. All the images are from Norway and no pattern is ever repeated.

photo credit

BUCKHEAD RESIDENCE

Often I work with interior designer Patti Krohngold. One of our clients moved to Atlanta from Miami, and due to his needs he purchased a large traditional home in Buckhead. When we walked thru the house he told Patti and me how much he loved his Ultra-modern home in Miami. A lot of the furniture he brought with him was modern and reminiscent of the Miami flavor. Our challenge would be to find a way to blend it with the style and architectural features of his new house. How do you work with the architecture of your home if it's not your personal style? The most important things to keep in mind are, you can't ignore it and you can't cover it up so do your best to embrace it. The house was many shades of warm and creamy yellows and beige when we started (a great background for oil paintings in gilded frames and antique wood furniture) and as you can still see the iron work and details are very traditional and swirly. The first step was to cool down the palette with shades of grey, black and white - no more butter yellow! The client didn't want to deal with removing the iron or changing many light fixtures so we had to include these traditional form and materials when furnishing the rooms; this keeps things in balance so no feature sticks out like a sore thumb. You need to work with the foundation you have; by mixing eras, styles and artwork you will personalize any home.

One of my favorite things about this project is the silver leaf entry! We were working with very high ceiling and wanting to create a statement upon entry. Because the railing, light fixture and door were not up for negotiation, we decided to customize the walls. Tommy Taylor, a talented Atlanta artist, created a large scale pattern that he painted with adhesive and then silver leafed. It's subtle on the grey wall until it hits the light and shines! The dining room directly off the entry was a great opportunity to spread the traditional and formal elements by selecting furniture with classic curves and antique finishes. The cool color palette and pop of a unique materials (goat-skin end chairs) brought the room back to this century.

In the living room we paired the home-owners modern sofa set with some more eclectic pieces like this hand-painted city landscape and rugged cocktail table. We especially love this table because its a replication of an elephant stand (from the circus), the rubber and leather materials are incredibly durrable - perfect for the two little boys who live here to climb all over! The built-in media storage is simple and modern; a great juxtaposition against the existing cast stone mantle. 

The master suite needed to be black-out ready, so we darkened it and added heavy-weight custom drapery. The clients already started a distinct theme in this room with his previous furniture, it was fun and very easy tying it all together. That included custom bedding for the extra large mega-bed.

I SPY SOMETHING ORANGE

I just finished a custom painting for one of my clients and I thought I would share. This is the second piece I've done in this style, the first one you can see here. I used 4"x4" Cradled Artist Panels in three different profile heights, acrylic paint and a model wood backing. My client wanted orange to be the prominent color and she wanted the painting to tie the room together. I incorporated some inspiration I found in the space; the rug pattern, an inlay on her table, pillow and wood floor colors. Both clients had orange and red as an accent color in their homes, I think I'm going to make another one (for myself) with more cool colors like blue, black and silver. I really liked adding the personal details to this one, next time I would like to take it even farther by adding some photos and quotes. Hope you like it!

COOLEST GLOBES EVER.

I know I'm always going on about Fab.com but this sale takes the cake! I read about ImagineNations in a design blog a long time ago and I completely forgot about them, which is hard to believe because I absolutely love globes. When I got an email for today's sales on Fab I think I squealed a little! Check out these beautiful globes that are decoupaged by hand. They also sell kits so you can embellish your own globe.

 

THE LIGHTING SWITCH-UP

Last week I took a photo from Elle Decor and showed you how switching up one furniture piece would change the whole mood of the room. When I look at a photo of a room I can imaging the particular person or family it was designed for, by switching a focal piece it's like you are switching out the inhabitant of the photograph. The person becomes a little more refined and traditional or they have a wilder sense of humor or a taste for modern art. Each piece of furniture in a photo tells a part of a story, by shaking things up slightly you may alter the ending.
Today's beautiful dining room photograph is from Pintrest.com. Lighting is such a important part of design and the options are endless! Below are a few chandeliers that would impact this dining room greatly if switched.

pinterest.com

I really like the staircase in the background of this photo and I thought by adding some warm bronze to the for-ground it would make the carpet on the staircase pop. The fixture I picked is a crystal globe from Restoration Hardware. I was hunting for something in this color palette and this one was a clear winner because the globe shape plays off of the arched doorway, the drapery pattern and the chair back pulls. Because of the form and finish, it would add formality, antiquity and tradition to the room.

restoration hardware

This funky fixture is called Knotty Bubbles and it could take on a lot of different rolls depending on it's environment. This dining room is transitional and the current fixture reminds me of British Colonial Palms (a popular style in the South). If we switched it with the Knotty Bubbles it would steer away from "Southern Plantation" and straight towards "New England Shoreline".  This nautical inspired fixture would look beautiful against the grey and sea-foam color scheme and would add a slight touch of rustic charm. 

roll & hill

The Josephine Queen Chandelier by Metalarte has become a pretty iconic fixture (that few can afford). It's a really sexy and modern take on a traditional form. The shades also come in acrylic but I like that the linen option brings it back down to Earth a little. The curved lines and traditional form suite the room well, while the material and color transform the room into something young and daring.

metalarte

This fixture is my personal favorite of the bunch! I love mixing traditional and contemporary pieces and this chandelier from Y Lighting is a big jolt of excitement in a very mellow setting. The dark bronze finish would accentuate the dark details in the room, like the rot iron railing and the dark chair legs. Because it is a skinny fixture, it wont add too much weight to the setting.

agnes chandelier

THE VIEW FROM ABOVE

If you haven't discovered Fab.com, today is your lucky day! There are loads of daily deal sites for home goods and fashion; RuLaLa, The Foundry, One King Lane, Jack Threads and so on. In my opinion, Fab.com kicks the competition's toosh! One of the sales going on now is for high quality prints from photographers Brent and Sara of Denver based studio, Patterns from Above. They photograph landscapes from a plane to create really interesting abstract images. I love maps and globes, so this style of aerial photography really gets me! Check out Brent and Sara's work, 18" x 18" prints are for sale now for $70.00 on Fab.com.

Here is some similar aerial photography from artist Matthew Moore. You can find this artist on another badass website 20x200. This site is a really cool online store that features limited and affordable prints from a handful of artists. It's a great middle ground between buying mass produced art (lame) and original art (expensive). The site is broken down by Price, Category, Color or Artist and each artist has a brief bio and link to their personal site so you can get into the idea of collecting art. 

matthew moore

While we are on the subject- I've been dying for the chance to use one of these really unique rugs I first found in Dwell Magazine. Landcarpet is an Australian wool rug collection designed by Florian Pucher. The thick and three-dimentional texture is so well made and the color palettes would suite a lot of different rooms and finishes. 

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