Friday Crush

The temps in Virginia are finally descending. Took all of October, but I feel like my favorite season has finally begun. And this mystery image - I know nothing about it, do you? - is a depiction of my desired state. Cozy, warm, colorful, rich...all the things I love about this season.

Halloween costumes make their debut this weekend and my kids could not be more excited...fingers crossed the costumes stay intact through Tuesday. Hope you have a fun weekend ahead. See you next week!

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Friday Crush

image source

Full-on autumnalness in maybe my favorite color combination available - green and lavender. The sofa is jaw-dropping. Olive green is having a moment on my radar and this sofa is pretty much fulfilling ever desire I have for the color. That wallpaper might give me a headache on the daily, but for this shot, it's killer. And that set of orchid pillows...👌

This fall is already starting out pretty hectic. Lots going on in my world. And baby is less than 3 months away 😳 Enjoy your weekend respite...see you next week!

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Friday Crush

Let's kick off the holiday weekend with this feast for your eyeballs. Designed by Society Social and found on Quadrille's Insta, this vignette is pastel perfection. Why does lavender have such an effect on me? But it always does. This is bringing more of a Spring feel than a Fall one, but I'll take it.

We are going to enjoy one last beach hurrah and then it will be time to welcome FALL. Thank the heavens. I'm not of the summer variety so I'm ready to move on. Hope you have a great holiday weekend - see you next week!

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Friday Crush

Photo by Victor Harshbarger, Design by Hernandez Greene

Restrained sophistication. Love the twinning of the painting and side table. And THAT LAMP. It's by Kelly Wearstler for Circa Lighting if you are interested. What I always admire about truly neutral spaces are their command of texture and dimension. The sofa, blanket, and rug all have varying textures...the lamp has dimension as does the wallpaper...and then the swirls of the table and painting take it to another level. So well done. Check out the full project here...

We are kicking off a true summer weekend...hope you have some fun plans. See you next week!  

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Friday Crush

Perfectly lovely. Design by Collins Interiors. Wallpaper by Schumacher. Gray with pastels doesn't often occur to me, but it's now on my radar. And the warm wood of that chair coupled with the lucite table and soft lavender shades is divine.

The perfect way to ease into the weekend. Hope it's a good one for you. See you next week!

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Friday Crush

A friend/co-worker turned me onto the Instagram account of pmqfortwo 👀 - it's bananas. Holy moly, I can't stop looking at it - especially all of her Christmas posts. She love Nutcrackers just like I do. And everything is pink and sparkly and just beautiful. Do yourself a favor and peep her account or, better yet, follow it.

Busy week. Ana Claire turned FOUR. As in four YEARS. I just can't. But she did - and we celebrated it. I'm going to slow down and savor this season that is too soon coming to a close. Have a great weekend - see you next week!

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Friday Crush

image source (photo/designer info welcome...)

Oh hey, moody autumnal blues. This is modern colonial style...and I'm into it, especially with a touch of Chinoiserie in the blue/white porcelain. The tone on tone paint scheme is phenomenal and that peek of yellow keeps it fresh. I also have strong, strong feelings for windsor chairs exactly like that one. Also note the sweet striped rug. Just lovely.

Here's to a great, relaxing, fun weekend...see you next week!

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Friday Crush

I have been on a kick recently with the work of Suellen Gregory and colleagues out of Richmond, VA - my hometown. I LOVE her use of color and pattern (you may have seen her fab work in the latest House Beautiful) and this image feels like the perfect embodiment of late summer style. Still crisp and bright, but the warmer tones are inviting fall. I'm crazy for those skirted chairs and Mac would lose his mind over that puppy. And a striped painted floor always wins in my book.

FALL. Halle. Lujah. But it's still not quite here...I have to trudge through several more weeks of heat before I get to fully pull out my leggings and boots. We have one more beach hurrah and then life starts back up, with every minute scheduled. Good in a way. Horrible in a way. But boots. And leggings.

Enjoy your Labor Day. See you next week!

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Friday Crush

Photo by Megan Weaver

I have never gotten over this vignette from the recent One Room Challenge from Mimosa Lane.  Yesterday's post - with it's vibrant face art and patterns - reminded me of it and it perfectly encompasses my Friday Summer Feels. The standout art is by Hayley Mitchell and the good news is you can snag very affordable prints of similar works from her Etsy shop.

Who's ready for the Olympics? Ana Claire and I have been gearing up watching 2012 coverage of gymnastics on You Tube...always followed by a solid 10 minutes of AC attempting flips and jumps in our living room. You'll catch us between Olympics-watching and pool-swimming this weekend. Hope yours is great - see you next week!

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Friday Crush

Design by Massucco Warner Miller via House of Turquoise

Summer vibes. Citrusy, cerulean loveliness combined with deft pattern usage from the genius ladies at MWM. The elements here are simple, friends...fabulous color and pattern can go a long way.

Hoping to have a nice summer weekend filled with family and friends...hope you are as well. Have a great break...see you next week!

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Tiny Sconce

Rebecca de Ravenel via Chinoiserie Chic

Did y'all catch this image on Chinoiserie Chic last week? If so, excuse the recycle, but I just had to point out one element. One tee-tiny element. That wee sconce.

Let's also note the imbalance of how the art and sconce are hung. I pretty much never measure when I hang things on walls and I feel good about that corner-cutting when I see arrangements like this. It might hurt your eyeballs, but it works just fine for me.

But back to that that petite pink sconce. It makes the vignette for me. It's diminutive size actually calls attention to it...and that pink shade is brilliant. I love using wall lighting - even if it's more for aesthetics than actual lighting...but you know that little thing casts a lovely soft glow when left on at night.

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Aqua Walls

I typically don't take my blues this cool, but my jaw dropped at this ensemble by designer Cortney Bishop. That aqua grasscloth on the walls is 100% good. Paired with the painting by Lynne Hamontree of the Charleston Artist Collective, that waterfall console, the lilac bench and those floors...it's all a watery blue dream come true.

Where do you land on pastels? I LOVE them. I could use them all day long...and I love what Cortney did here with that gray leather chair - she anchored it all so it didn't get too cute. Same with the curtain rod - simple, slightly industrial...if that had been a gold scrolly situation, this room would start to feel splenda sweet.

Balance, y'all.

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Friday Crush

Photo by Eric Piasecki, Design by Gideon Mendelson, via House Beautiful

Now this is a gem. Those walls and that baseboard! Would you ever be so bold as to do something like this in your home? It's a risk but it certainly pays off. I'm also loving the painting (by Vittorio Masoni) and how it looks hanging against a colored, tactile backdrop. Also note the height of that baseboard...I'm a fan of hefty baseboard, even if your ceilings are low. Gives the room dimension.

This has been a whirlwind of a week...I'm ready for some downtime. Hope you have a restful 48 hours planned. See you next week!

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Friday Crush

Design by Kathy Abbott

Love the juxtaposition of these bright chairs sporting Quadrille's Jacaranda with the natural-toned elements in the room. I think when you fearlessly mix in whimsy like this, it ups the luxury factor of your space. 

Have been fighting the onset of a cold all week...I'm ready for a break. Hope you have a fabulous weekend...see you next week!

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Friday Crush

Photo by Rustic White for Waiting on Martha

Are your buns actually intended to go in those hands? Or is it sculptural in the look-don't-sit kind of way? That is a real question.

Regardless, I am enjoying this entry vignette. My tastes usually don't skew this modern but I'm liking those hands. IRL, I would probably have some upholstered bench situation under that console and nix the gold objet for some blue and white porcelain but let's be clear that this 100% works for me as-is.

Arrangement is art, folks. And this would be a killer entry to your home.

My social calendar is busy this weekend with my gal pals and I'm excited for some girl time. Hope you have a great weekend. See you next week!

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Design Tension

Years ago, I dragged Carter to a talk by designer Michael Smith at the Corcoran Gallery.
Michael had many gems of wisdom to share but the key take-away that stuck with Carter Shuffler (and me) was his thought on "tension".

Michael preached that every space should have some sort of tension - something that isn't quite right to, in a way, throw the room off and engage the eye.

Image via Quadrille, design by Charlotte Barnes

Like this lamp. I think in the land of "perfect" design, a gold or white gourd lamp would be great, yes? But taking this black/gold/gray vignette and adding a blue and white porcelain lamp with a boho lavender pleated shade make the space come to life. A lamp. That's all it took to take this space from lovely to spectacular.

This though has stuck with me (and Carter) for years now and I think it's such a great little piece of advice...just as you wrap up a space, ask yourself what your tension is. If everything feels perfectly placed and in harmony maybe you need to edit something to give it some gusto.

p.s. That is Quadrille's Zebra Embroider fabric on the chair and it is a new favorite! I'm such a huge fan of black and white. I think this pattern on a chair would work in almost any room as a neutral. And the wallpaper is Quadrille's Persia Wallpaper.

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Friday Crush

Required Friday reading - One Kings Lane's feature on the NYC home of designer Alex Papachristidis...it's blow-your-mind bananas. And this cobalt + violet moment above is owning me right now. It's all just so good in an over-the-top way. And I must say that the warm, rich jewel tones are totally prepping me for fall that is now mere WEEKS away. I'm so very ready.

Hope you have a delightful weekend...see you next week!

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Friday Crush

Stairs and rugs. Apparently that was the theme this week. In other news, I think I could eventually get down with a really modern house. Like, when we retire to the woods. The clean lines are appealing. And modern elements always make the traditional feel interesting - like in this scenario where a modern railing really makes an otherwise simple vignette special.

Hope you have some bang-up summer plans for this weekend. Have a great one and see you next week!

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Colorful Stairs

image source anyone?

In reality, I could never live with this much white. But boy does it make a statement, especially with that piano. Two thumbs up.

I'm determined to do something on the gloomy basement stairs that head down into Shuffler Playland (i.e. playroom). The vibe down there is so happy but you have to take scary, steep, dark steps to get there. This is part of the expanded basement renovation that has yet to happen. Can you tell I'm kind of focused on griping about our lack of progress on this project? 

THERE IS NO TIME FOR ALL OF THE THINGS.

But I'm filing this idea away - I'm digging the white steps with a bold contrast runner.

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Friday Crush

via Eddie Ross' Instagram account

Eddie Ross and his hot pink peonies, for the win. What a delicious vignette that just screams summer. I love, love pairing hot pink with blue and white porcelain - a classic color combination that will always be chic. And add in some hosta to blend with the amazing palm wallpaper...100% winning.

June weekends are pretty sleepy around here...but I'm not complaining. Hope you have some exciting plans to enjoy the break. Have a great weekend and see you next week!

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