Anikat Fabric

Anikat: An animal print with an ikat quality. See below.

Do you love this print like me? Not quite animal. Not quite ikat. But a whole lot of awesome. This particular shade of chartreuse is very popular in my house...I find that it works great with virtually any color I put next to it. Would p.m.p. if I saw a chair upholstered with this. Buy it here...

 

Charleston Dream

Reasons why I love this room:

1) It's in Charleston. That's enough, actually. I'll take anything in Charleston.

2) It has totally stunning amazing drool-worthy hand-painted green walls...and it's St. Patrick's Day - all hail the color green (my personal choice for my own home).

3) It's a beautiful implementation of the color scheme I chose for my dining room - green, gold and purple...executed here to perfection.

4) The mix. Traditional wallpaper and a modern rug. A lucite side table and a gilded mirror. Silk drapery and a funky chandelier. This room looks young and old at the same time.

5) The coffee tables. I want them.

Hmmm....what do I not like about this room? Nothing. This is perfection for me - exactly what I love about design. I could go on and on and on and on.

Southern Living has been knocking my socks off with some pretty wonderful design features as of late. This room was featured in this month's issue and was designed by Charleston designer Jenny Keenan (clearly a genius). 

More images to make you swoon:

All images via southernliving.com, Photography by Laurey W. Glenn

Holiday Inspiration

Sooooo...much to Carter's dismay, I chunked last year's Christmas decorating scheme and started anew for 2009. The red/burgundy/gold scheme did not play nicely with the look of our new home. Carter had a little trouble with that...on the other hand, my mother-in-law grasped it immediately. Over Thanksgiving she said, "D, are you doing a green and white Christmas tree this year?" Yes, dear M-I-L, yes I am.

So, I've been on the hunt for some inspirational photos to get me in the green mood...and unfortunately was not finding anything. Until I came across a post on The Glam Lamb blog chock full of fabulous green holiday decor.

TGL referenced Good Housekeeping, so I went straight to the source and checked them out. Here are the images (again if you caught them on TGL) to show you some inspiration for AO Christmas 2009 TM:

all images via goodhousekeeping.com, photos by Michael Partenio

 

 

 

 

Love! I don't have all of these props to get so beautifully monochromatic in our living room, but I am definitely keying off that beautiful tree for our own - love those bows!

The plan for the dining room is to use my set of  jewel-toned ornaments - they will look great with the room's lavender tones. And the kitchen will pay Christmas homage to El Salvador (where I was born and where most of my extended family resides) - Carter and I visited in May and we bought some Christmas items to bring back - can't wait to use them!

I of course will be posting when all is complete - we're almost done...

Are you doing a fun color scheme in your home? Leave me a comment and tell me about it...

The John Loecke Post

Pages 40-46 of my March 2008 issue of Cottage Living are well loved. I have turned those pages time and time again...looking...pondering...loving.

As you know from my blog, I love lots of rooms, lots of pictures, lots of designers. I'm equal opportunity.

But, there are a select number of rooms that I actually try to emulate. That I forever tape to my forehead and walk around thinking about. That I have memorized. This is one of those rooms.

 

 

 

All images by Tria Giovan via Cottage Living

Over the top, right? Craaaazy? GREEN? Magic.

Some things I love about this space designed by John Loecke:

1. The wallpaper. Obvi. I love wallpaper, and it's green, and it's trellis-y, which is one of my favorite motifs.
2. The color green.
3. The black furniture.
4. The fact that each dining chair is covered in a different fabric. And that each fabric brings in different colors. And that the chairs don't exactly match.
5. The Chinoiserie elements - the bench, the arm chair, the pagoda chandelier.
6. The chair rail trim - inspiration for my fireplace.
7. The fearless mix of pattern.
8. The window valance.
   

I will be the first to admit that this room is a little "much". But that is what made me fall head over heels in love with it. It was so full of personality, energy, vida. I wanted to stand right in the middle of it and look up at that grosgrain-trimmed chandelier.

This room is definitely inspiration for my own dining room. Key word being "inspiration" - if I actually created this room, Carter would pass out each time he walked into it. And I do have to be sensitive to that.

So my goal in our dining room is to create a similar feeling in my own way. I've painted the walls with a green stripe. We have an old, claw-footed, round dining table (from Carter's great-grandmother) that we've painted black contrasted with dining room chairs (a Craigslist find) that I've painted ivory. You've also seen my chandelier that will be getting a makeover and the beginning of my bar.

I'm taking my time with this room (and probably stressing over it a wee bit too much) but I know how I want it to feel in the end, so I'm having fun getting there. I'll keep you posted...

Now when I constantly refer to John Loecke's dining room, you'll get the picture.


p.s. John Loecke's current portfolio via www.jloeckeinc.com shows what I imagine are current pictures of the space with some lovely updates:

What a Kitchen

Can we just stop and admire this kitchen today?

image via hgtv.com - design by Shelly Riehl David

Because I love it. A lot. 

I would be very happy walking into this kitchen every day - all that counter space! The light fixtures! And the ceiiiiiiling. Oh my.

I'm usually not a huge kitchen gal when it comes to design. I appreciate a nice kitchen, but I don't dream about them. But this one got me. The color scheme is near and dear to my heart. I love the bar stools and the paint color and the wine rack and the countertops. I can see myself standing around that center island with the girls y un buen vino.

Filing this one away...