Oldie but Goodie Bedroom Stunner

Short post today, but with big impact. Good things come in small packages, right? (As evidenced by my visit with my nephew Charlie...it was pure bliss, btw)

I know these images from Traditional Home (2007, I believe) of a bedroom designed by Kendall Wilkinson are/were darlings of the blogosphere, but allow me to showcase them here yet again as I hold them in high esteem. They were the inspiration for the AO blog color scheme.

The Paradise Background (Quadrille) fabric used on these window treatments gives me heart palpitations on a regular basis...and don't get me started on the fact that it's the orange colorway...and the pagoda pelmet boxes...and the lacquered walls...well, it's just too good.

images via traditionalhome.com; photos by Andrew McKinney

Peacocks and Oranges

There are no words.

 

 

 

 

Seriously. None.

Except that Mary McDonald is a genius. And these pictures are heavenly. And peacocks and oranges are my new favorite combination for Christmas decorating.

Ok, that's it. That's all I've got. These images need nothing else.

Design by Mary McDonald; All images via veranda.com; Photos by Miguel Flores-Vianna

*Thanks to Jenn at Department of the Interior for sharing these...it's where I spotted them...

Via Lonny: Breezy Chinoiserie

The latest issue of Lonny hit virtual newsstands last week. I have not been able to read the voluminous edition cover to cover as of yet, but in my initial skim, this feature totally caught my eye.

The California home of interior designer Vanessa De Vargas is a study in breezy, beachy Chinoiserie. I adore how she uses a backdrop of white and neutrals to showcase punchy colors and patterns - an approach near and dear to my heart.

I found her home totally divine and in line with my aesthetic. And her tips for decorating on a budget were right on point. JC Penney is a great resource for budget-friendly decor finds...and you know I love a good inspiration board...

Enjoy!

all images via lonnymag.com

Designer Vanessa De Vargas

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Crush

Charlie.

My new nephew. Born December 9th.

I'll be in Atlanta this weekend to spend some time with my sister, brother-in-law...and Charlie. I can't wait to meet him.

Hope your weekend is as divine as mine will be.

See you Monday,

Auntie AO

Happy Holiday Color

No one said Christmas decor has to stick to reds and greens.

As I contemplated our holiday home, I came across this interior on Southern Living's web site and fell in love with the idea of a multicolored Christmas. Not to mention that this home is clearly fab year-round...

I missed the publication of this home in the mag...does it look familiar to anyone? Wonder if there was a designer behind this happy genius of a holiday room...or is that woman sitting so relaxed in her gorgeous chair gazing at her adorable offspring the mastermind behind the concept?

Do you love the ribbon tree as much as I do? What a great idea..and SO easy. Just go to the craft store and pick up a bunch of different ribbon and let it hang, hang, hang. Easy peezy.

H-A-P-P-Y Holidays, indeed!

all images via southernliving.com, photography by Robbie Caponetto

 

 

 

 

 

Etsy Find: Vintage Fabric

I have found a GREAT Etsy source...especially if you love chintz...and especially if you love vintage chintz.

In my constant search for fabric, that I promise is never-ending, I came across the most fabulous Etsy shop called Crash and Carry specializing in gorgeous remnants of vintage fabric - each piece is usually just enough to recover the seat of a chair or for the front of a pillow (or an entire pillow depending on size).

I have purchased three remnants and owner Monica is nice, attentive and helpful. She even set aside some additional items for me in case I wanted them - and I did after seeing the one she sent! I'm going to keep my loot under wraps until I show you how I used it...

For now, I'll share some of my favorites currently in the shop to get your design minds thinking of all the cool places you could use this fabric. I love their traditional, feminine appeal - but used in the right way, they can bring a pop of vintage quirk to a room. Oh, and they are easy on the wallet too!

all images via crashandcarry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

p.s. Monica is setting up a second store as well, Monica Shepherd Home with some additional finds...

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...

Some Love from Lee Jofa

Friday evening, I was excited to come across some love for Aesthetic Oiseau on the Lee Jofa web site. Check out the What's New page of the site...those are my pillows at the bottom of the page (made using LJ's Sassari Ikat). You know, next to the picture of Kelly Wearstler.

And a little search found that the social networkers over at LJ also posted about the pillows on Facebook and Twitter (click on the images to see them bigger).

These are the things that excite a blogger (especially a new one), so I wanted to share with you. Thanks for the mention LJ...and any time you'd like to send me samples of your fabric to "test" for pillows and curtains, feel free.

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!

Adventures in Blogland

This post is why I love blogging.

Yesterday, after posting about Sally Steponkus, I decided to shoot her a little email to let her know I had written a post about her HB mention and her work. Lucky for me, this tipped off an email exchange that went a little something like this:

Me: Hi Sally. Love your work. I wrote about it on my blog. Check it out.

Sally: Hi Daniela. Thanks for the mention. Love your blog.

Me (Utterly excited that she wrote me back and likes my blog): Thanks Sally. Hope you'll keep reading it and I look forward to following your work.

Sally: Thanks Daniela. By the way, my friends are throwing me a cocktail party tonight to celebrate my HB mention. Wanna come?

Me (Rubbing my eyes to make sure I read that right): Ummm. YES.

Ok, so I have downplayed the conversation for the sake of length. To my complete delight, Sally is as friendly over email as she is in person. She was warm and complimentary through my computer screen. And I was quite happy for the opportunity to meet her in person.

Once I got to the party and met Sally, I understood why she is where she is. When you combine charm with talent, you have a winning combination. She greeted me like an old friend and I had a ball talking to her and her assistants, Heather and Laura, over the course of the evening.

Sally was also a gracious hostess and introduced me to many interesting people, not the least of which was Michele from the blog My Notting Hill (which I love) who is also a local. I had the best time talking to Michele and her husband Dan. Michele and I swapped design adventure stories and she gave me a couple of tips that I'll be following up on.

Me, Sally and Michele

All in all, it was a fun night. And I love that I started the morning with a little post about Sally and by the end of the day I had met her and Michele and lots of other people as well...the beauty of the blog.

Thanks to Sally and her party throwers for a great evening.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The AO Dining Room

Welcome to our dining room before...

Welcome to our dining room after (so far...)

My designBoard at work.  Our dear Azalea has found her place with some accompanying violet linen and the Greek key trim. This is still the original chandelier - have not replaced it with the larger one yet.

A close up of the window treatments - the drapes I made accompanied by some fabulous bamboo blinds I found on Overstock. We hung the blinds on the outside of the windows (outside mount versus inside mount) so we didn't have to worry about exact measurements and could thus skip having custom blinds made. With the drapes hanging on either end you can't tell that the blinds aren't a perfect match for the window. The little Chinese print I found on eBay hangs on the wall (to be accompanied by other items in the future).

The china cabinet, as I've mentioned, was a Craigslist score. I see some glossy black paint in its future. The bar has now moved beneath the second window to make room for my Christmas loot. I like how the light hits all the shiny objects through the window.

My Chinese Chippendale pagoda chair in its new corner with the mirror that we found in the house when we bought it. The drapes are currently pooling on the floor awaiting some hemming - I think I might add the Greek key trim to the bottom.

The other corner with a fabulous chair I found at Chartreuse and Co. I'm planning to recover its seat and the Chippendale chair's seat using some great vintage fabric I found on Etsy. I think the green stripe fabric will move over to recover the footstool underneath the side table.

The side table is one of my absolute favorite pieces. It belonged to Carter's great-grandmother. I think it is so unique with its curves and details. The vignette atop it was a bit hastily arranged for Thanksgiving - white ceramic, some candlesticks we picked up in Charleston, the Staffordshire dogs, the coral urn I found at HomeGoods and some of my favorite design books. The prints of Charleston are hand-me-downs from Carter's mom - I love, love, love them.

I've mentioned before that the table also belonged to Carter's great-grandmother - we gave it some new life by painting it black and we've been using it as our dining table since we got married. I've also mentioned that the chairs are another Craigslist find - I repainted the set and recovered the seats. I'm thinking the seats need a punchier fabric (can you tell I like punch?). The octagonal rug was a gift from my mom - we found it on HomeDecorators.com.

A before picture of the chairs (and the dining room in progress)...

This room has come a LONG way since we moved in, as you can tell from the before picture. The stripes I painted on the walls were quite a labor of love, but every time I look in the room I'm so happy I plowed through the task. Carter's dad did a great job running the crown molding, and Carter replaced the baseboards and outlets throughout the room to really update it.

I still have some projects to tackle, but it feels close to complete. And we loved using it at Thanksgiving...rooms always feel better once you've had friends and family in them.