Putting the Blue in Bluemercury

Let's stay on a blue theme this week.

Loving this Bethesda, MD sunroom designed by my girl Sally Steponkus Roche and home to Bluemercury founders Marla and Berry Beck.

Photo by Gora Kosanovic for The Washington Post

The particular shade of saturated blue on the walls is the perfect anchor for all that wonderful natural light. And the chippendale chair + table combo is right up my own alley. Also loving those oversized lamps.

I know I say this every time I write about her, but Sally is so charming and delightful. Really. And her work is always tailored, elegant, and refined. She's a great DC area talent.

Sidenote: You should check out the full Washington Post article here because they have one of those awesome 3D tours of the house - you can literally use your mouse to walk through the various spaces. If you don't know what I mean, you should really try it - such a great use of technology.

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An Alexandria Home

I was thrilled to see this home featured in The Washington Post because it's in Alexandria, Va. (where I live), it's gorgeous, and it uses lots of green! The article has it just right - this is definitely a traditional home with a refreshing youthful twist thanks to the work of designer Kelley Proxmire.

Photos by John McDonnell for The Washington Post

Green has been tapped the "it" color for the season thanks to the latest issue of House Beautiful (which is fantastic - go buy it if you don't get it) and the living room and dining room of this home use the color to absolute perfection. This exact shade of green is what we use in our own living room and dining room and I think it looks grand in all scenarios - it makes a room feel classic but young simultaneously.

And one of my favorite pairings with this apple green as of late is french blue - like the fantastic bathroom of this home. A flush-mount ceiling fixture can look amazing! Who knew?

Check out more of this delightful home over at The Washington Post.

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Target Chairs

The chairs in this entry are from Target.

Photo by Werner Straube via Traditional Home

Tar. Get.

These to be exact. 

This entry hall is designed by and in the home of designer Skip Sroka, who is a Washington DC-area talent. 

The fabulous chest of drawers probably costs oodles, as it should. My goal in this post is not to point out cheap chairs. It's to point out the mix. "Cheap" and expensive can work together side-by-side in harmony, with unique and stellar results.

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Obama White House Christmas

If you caught my tweet on Saturday, you know that I was at the White House enjoying the 2010 holiday decorations! Carter got us tickets through his office, so we were able to visit the White House decked out in all of its holiday glory.

The 2010 theme is "Simple Gifts", so decorations included fruit, recycled paper and common objects, but the holiday glamour was not lost. Every room was gorgeous.

I'll quit yapping so you can get to the pictures, and you'll have to excuse the quality. These were taken on my phone* and I sprinkled them with a little Photoshop magic since many turned out kind of dark/blurry.

Lobby and Corridor:

East Room:

Green Room:

Blue Room:

Red Room:

State Dining Room:

Entrance Hall Foyer:

Seeing all of these lovely decorations definitely got me in the Christmas spirit. The Blue Room tree was my favorite - it was huge!

I finished our tree and decorating our living room this weekend - will share pictures this week.

*If you're asking yourself why on earth I didn't bring a real camera to take pictures....well, that's a good question. I definitely planned to, until Carter was misinformed that cameras were not allowed, so he told me to leave mine at home. Well, lo and behold, cameras were totally allowed. Luckily, I had my cell phone. But, it's battery was on its way out when we walked in...like, blinking red light on its way out. Somehow, it lasted through all of my picture taking...it was a Christmas miracle.

Friday Crush

image via washingtonpost.com; photo by Marvin Joseph

The Obama White House has unveiled its Christmas finery. I love this room - I'm sure it is beautiful year-round, but it's stunning at Christmas. Click here to view the photo gallery from the Washington Post and click here for a very in-depth view of the White House Christmas posted on the Washington Spaces blog.

Some announcements for your weekend's consideration:

1) My fellow blogging friend Beth from Chinoiserie Chic (one of my favorite blogs...it's amazing...and do you like her blog's design? I did it!) was interviewed on a new blog called The DC Ladies - great interview with fun tidbits for DC-goers. Read it here...

2) The Matters of Style girls are having a great giveaway for a cool geode lamp...not sure what a geode lamp is? Check it out here...

3) Chartreuse and Co. in Frederick, MD is having its Christmas Open House this weekend. They open up the main house dressed up for Christmas. I'm trying to make it on Saturday.

4) Michele over at My Notting Hill let me know about the Logan Circle Holiday House Tour...check it out on Sunday if you'd like to see some DC homes decked out for the holidays.

Carter and I will be decorating our tree, attending a fun holiday party and having dinner with family this weekend...and I'm going to try to get in a visit to C and Co., do some Christmas shopping, send out our Christmas cards and run some neglected errands. I'm exhausted already...

See you Monday!

Sally Steponkus

The December/January issue of House Beautiful naturally looks to the year ahead in design. One section in the issue is thus devoted to 20 up-and-coming young designers worthy of your attention in 2010 - the "Next Wave," says HB.

As I perused the list I was happy to see a couple of DC names in the bunch, and one that caught my eye was Sally Steponkus.

Designer Sally Steponkus
image via housebeautiful.com

Sally, owner of Sally Steponkus Interiors, was born and raised in Washington DC and a quick tour of her portfolio shows she's my kind of gal. Her portfolio features many a traditional interior (which is kind of a must in a town like DC), each with its own identity that keeps it from feeling stuffy or stale.

In her HB interview she cites her enthusiasm as her differentiator - thoughts of curtains, wallpaper and fabrics keep her up at night (me too, Sally!) She also names Kelly Wearstler as her favorite designer (agreed that KW is amazing...although her designs get a little kooky for me sometimes) and mentions that her latest inspiration has come from design blogs! She reads about 30 of them a day...dear Sally, have you heard of a little blog called Aesthetic Oiseau?

As you can see, I really enjoyed her interview and skipped right over to her portfolio and have found a new designer to follow and enjoy. And the fact that she is local is icing on the cake- I'm always up for some DC design love.

Enjoy these images from Sally's portfolio. All can be found on www.steponkus.com (please note the fab Greek key background on her web site - this is a story for another day, but I see many unattractive web sites for interior designers, which I don't understand. Sally's site is very nice...another reason to like her):

All images via steponkus.com, Photography by Angie Seckinger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georgetown Dazzler

The design blogosphere is constantly atwitter about new design books. Lately, I've seen many posts about Alessandra Branca's upcoming release, New Classic Interiors, due out in November (side note: purchasing the book through her firm gets you a signed copy and she is donating proceeds to inner-city kids' programs, including ones in DC).

The interiors I've seen by Chicago-based Ms. Branca are stunning - she uses bold color in a timeless way. And she knows how to rock some Chinoiserie - rich, sophisticated, traditional Chinoiserie.

So, today we shall take a tour of a dazzling little number located in Georgetown, designed by Ms. Branca, and featured in Southern Accents, which is where I first spotted it some time ago.

all images by Thibault Jeanson via Southern Accents

Doesn't that little coral bench just welcome you in? I love that color combined with the yellow lamps and the graphic pattern on the staircase.

 

Another view of the inviting staircase with frames hung askew (yet look so put together).

 

The entrance to the house eases you into this amazing color scheme. The yellow is so captivating - don't you just want to sit in this room? Just sit. And look. And sit some more. And maybe have a cocktail. 

 

 I have mentioned my affection for wallpaper. This prime example of a gorgeous Chinoiserie wall treatment was actually designed by Ms. Branca and made for the room. This little nook is magic.

 

A more neutral room, but breathtaking in its quiet color scheme...and you know I'm loving the white furniture. Who needs color when you have that window? Dear me. And note the cherry blossom print...a little nod to DC. Hmmm....that white garden stool looks familiar...

 

Pops of pink in a neutral bedroom. Sweet and Cozy.

And, of course, I saved the best for last. This room was definitely in the running for a Friday Crush, but I'll throw it in today's post. This is what my heaven looks like...hot pink Chinoiserie.

 

There are no words. More of an unattractive choking/gasping sound that comes with sheer delight.

I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of some DC digs...and if you'd like to see more of Ms. Branca, her book is a good place to go - the design blogs are raving about it. It will most likely make an appearance on my Christmas list.