Lighting – When Fab Meets Function

“I just I need a pair of lamps” . . . said the client to the designer.  At first thought, and rightly so, addressing the functional need is the client’s request and the designer’s charge, but when you lay your eyes on this bejeweled, rock crystal duet . . . it less about need and all about desire. 

Oh, they had me at “hello!”

1950’s Carol Stupell Rock Crystal Lamps (From:  Galere as shown on 1st Dibs $9,900 – pair) 

Come a little closer for the love of crystal.

The original shades are still intact.  Just look at the pleating.  So feminine.

Getting back to reality . . .

Not everyone might decide to delve into as deep of a lighting investment in order to add some luminosity to end tables.  In fact, there might have been a simultaneous gasp at the beauty of these pieces, as well as the price tag! 

The point I’m making is that lamps can be beautifully structured additions to your interior space, while offering great functionality.  The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive of one another.  I’m always amazed when an investment has been made in a gorgeous rug or a stupendous sofa and then some languid lamps are expected to live up to the expectations set by the afore mentioned.  Just think of some times where extra accessories had to be brought in order to jazz up the room.  Great lamps can eliminate some of the excess clutter.

Did I mention these were from the 1950’s?  It just goes to show, good taste remains!

Have a brilliant day! ~ Wanda

Haters....Survey....Winner

So I got my first really nasty blog comment today. It was a fantastic way to start my Monday so thank you Ashlee36! I know that is par for the course when you have a blog and put yourself out there like this, there are bound to be people who don't like what you say or do. Totally understandable. Now I must admit that by nature I am a total smartass so I am bound to upset some folks and if I do, I apologize. Anything I say is just in jest people! I'm just trying to give you a lil' chuckle during a day full of obligations and responsibilities. And if you know me at all, you know that I make fun of myself WAY more than I do anyone/anything else! So chillax. It is just a silly little design blog. And if you don't like it, then you don't have to read it.

So with all that being said...and as I am about to debut my new blog and online shop I thought it was good time to send out a survey of sorts to those of you that read my blog so going forward, I can give you more or less of what you want.

1) How did you hear about this blog?

2) How often do you read this blog and when (day of the week, time of day, etc)?

3) Are there any segments (Decorganizing, Designer Peeves, This Week I...,Before&After, etc.) that you would like to see more or less of?

4) What has been your favorite post so far?

5) Is there anything that you would like me to talk about/showcase that I have yet to talk about?

Feel free to add any additional comments (but please only polite or constructive ones)!

I will choose a winner (at random) out of all that participate in this survey. All you have to do is leave a comment with your answers like so...

1) answer

2) answer

3) answer

4) answer

5) answer

Blah, blah, blah....

And you can win this book...

I will select a winner next Monday, February 7th.

I really appreciate your participation!!!

Is It A Pigeon Basket or A Coffee Table?

A basket for carrying pigeons.

A coffee table made out of a basket used for carrying pigeons.

Why not?

HGTV Dreamhome 2008

Coastal Living

Better Homes & Gardens

A Paris Market in Savannah

They are pretty much one-of-a-kind, as they are made from actual pigeon baskets with casters added on the bottom and a glass top to make it functional. But never fear, wait long enough and Pottery Barn will knock-it off and you can buy a mass produced one straight from their catalog. And so can your neighbor. And their neighbor. And so on and so on....

Do you remember the Friends episode where Rachel bought the Apothecary table at Pottery Barn but lied and told Phoebe that she got it at a flea market because Phoebe hates Pottery Barn? I actually saw that episode being filmed when I was in L.A. Still cracks me up....

"No no no, but I am mad! I am mad! Because this stuff is everything that is wrong with the world! And it's all sitting up in my living room and all I can think about is how I don't have that lamp!" - Phoebe Bouffay

Interior Trends 2011 – Eco-Decorating and Technology

Neither of these are particularly new trends but both are rumoured to continue to play a large part of interior design throughout 2011. The main changes will continue to be the choice of materials used to construct homes as well as the materials chosen for interior designs from flooring to lighting and everything in-between. The use of sunlight and natural light is going to be emphasised with reflective surfaces and the clever use of glass to bring an abundance of natural light into all rooms of our homes. You should also expect to see elements that reflect nature come to the forefront of interiors, but to be really cutting edge and keep abreast of all the current and emerging trends this year keeps your eyes looking towards the environmental movement and the ways you can adopt their approaches and interior design ideas into your living space.

Technological advances are happening so fast that they are not only a trend they are fast becoming a way of life. The technological revolution has already encroached and affected most of our lives and its thought that it going to hit even harder this year. Unless you chose to 'opt out' completely of this technological way of living we'll soon be seeing home theatres and entertainment rooms as part of everyday living. Computer game exercise systems will undoubtedly be included into every home gym within a few years.

Image: Pure Contemporay Blog

Photo Shoot for my new Website (including the bloopers)

This week I completely re-arranged my living room for a photo shoot.  My Web Designer/Brand Manager recommended that I get more ‘lifestyle’ feeling photos that say more about me than just a ‘head shot’ for my new website. So since my dining room is not yet finished, I couldn’t be photographed sitting on my sofa in the middle of the room (where it is now), so I pushed it up against the wall. . . and left the right side blank for copy since these photos will be on my new website.

 Sofa is custom made, Fabric: Poly/cotton velvet from Pace Fabrics

I didn’t know if he would want me sitting on the Barcelona, so I moved it into the dining room too. Here it is set up with lights from another angle.

Wall Colour; BM Natural Linen 983/CC-90

Here is my awesome team, Marvin Magallanes at Cielo Brand Associates, Jennifer Houghton, my photographer and my friend Jill McDonald from Reflections Interior Designs who came to spend the day with me to help out!

Above photos by Maria Killam

You can see I left my raspberry wreath up on the mantle, until I do something spring like with it, I like the hit of colour. Can you believe just one photo took 3 hours?  This is a sneak peek of the process.  My idea, and it was bad (but that’s why I have a stylist now) was to do something casual like this photo of Sarah Richardson:

source

So I got into my favourite jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt just like she was wearing. . .

She took one photo and it was back to the drawing board (my closet). . . eeeeeeek! As you can see by this shot, the lighting hadn’t yet been adjusted.

This dress looked really awful as well because your eye goes straight to the big pattern on my chest. Definitely NO.


Here are two of the final photos. Marvin ended up picking the outfit that worked the best in the end.  An excellent art director as well as web designer!

Photography by Jennifer Houghton

Which one do you like?  

If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me.

Related posts:

Who else wants an Inspired Website?

What every Designer should know about Photography

Does your Blog Header Reflect your Personal Brand?

New to this Blog? Click here ; Follow me on Facebook and Twitter; Become a True Colour Expert

How to Choose Paint Colours

When I was asked to join a few of my other talented blogger friends to answer some question on selecting paint colours I started thinking I don’t do that a lot on my blog.  You know the endless lists in magazines where designers say what their favourite colours are and why? When I was a new designer I would faithfully write down designers ‘favourites’ thinking it would help me in some way—it really didn’t.

  source

Each situation is still unique and the quickest way to become knowledgeable in choosing colours for you or anyone else for that matter is: 1. Having a selection of colours in all the different undertones painted on larger samples, 2. Seeing a lot of colour.  If you are committed to getting comfortable with colour (fast), I would travel everywhere with a fan deck and match the colour on the walls. In restaurants, at your friends homes, in public spaces.  Then you can say ‘That’s what Kendall Charcoal looks like’ and so on. 


However, we can’t resist reading ‘the favourites’ anyway can we?  PK on Room Remix spread out the questions over four days of posts, Question #1; What are the top 3 things everyone should do/consider when choosing a paint color? Question #2; What are Three of your Favourite Neutrals?

Can you guess which one this is?

Question #3 and #4
3. Do you have a favorite “statement” paint color, and what are some of your other go-to colors that aren’t necessarily neutral?

4. Any tips for choosing paint if your trim is natural/stained wood (oak, cherry, maple)versus enamel?
Question # 5 hat is one paint color that you’ve never tried, but really would love to (either in your home or someone else’s)?

Lonny Magazine via Pure Style Home

Thanks PK, it was fun to be included!

Then the Stylish blogger Award was going around blogland this week. Thank you to Trell at Polka Dots, Paint and Cake Batter for including me on your stylish list as well as Carol from Sofas & Sage and Kelly from Arte Styling!

Okay so 7 Things you don’t know about me:

1. I fall asleep at concerts and theatre productions.  If the dialogue or the music doesn’t grab me, I’m gone. . .

   (source)

2. I am not a cook. If it was up to me, I would eat a power bar.

3. I have a secret sweet tooth (so I make sure not to keep any sweets in the house—it’s the only way I don’t eat it).

Sweetapolita

4. I can’t see one foot in front of me without my glasses.

5. I love a good debate, is that evident from reading my blog? It’s why I participated in so many Landmark courses over the years.  If you want to have a loooong tongue and you want to learn how to communicate in a way that brings out the best in other people, this is the course for you.

6. I prefer white wine over red.  Much to the chagrin of the planet.  I’m usually the only one at the dinner table with a glass of white wine. I know some people say that’s like kissing your sister, but I don’t care.

source

7. The only do-it-yourself kinds of things I do well is painting (cause I know how to cut in) and installing a light fixture.  That’s as handy as I get.

Have a wonderful weekend my lovelies!

If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me.

Related posts:

Should you pay for a room to be Re-painted if you Chose the Colour?
The 80/20 Rule also Applies to the Most Popular Paint Colours (and how to paint up your large colour samples)
The Colour of Wood vs. Wall Colour; How Important is it Really?

New to this Blog? Click here ; Follow me on Facebook and Twitter; Become a True Colour Expert

Love Hue

Rosebud Red and Passionate Purple.  Both are dramatic hues and can be a perfect match for those who love color.  When you have two strong color “personalities”, you have to be sure one doesn’t overpower the other.  It always helps if they are complementary in nature.  A beautiful waltz also never works without one partner guiding the other. 

A gorgeous banquet setting, from David Kahoi, featured in “House Beautiful”, provides the perfect illustration of balancing the relationship of color.  While the room is saturated in purple, the red really captures your attention. 

Because purple is a marriage between blue and red, it depends on the combination as to whether it leans more towards the cool, (blue), family or the warm, (red), family.  Red, being a warm hue, will always advance.  If you look closely, a few touches of it are popped around the space . . . in the banding of the table skirt, in the napkin, and the wall art.  With such a rich surrounding of purple, it was the perfect solution to match the trim and shutters as they would have provided too much of a contrast in a traditional white or neutral.  Placing the white on the ceiling allows for a wash of light and plays nicely off the French Bergere chair, to the left.

It takes a leap of faith to move towards a dramatic color scheme.  It also helps if someone, (little shameless plug here), is there to hold your hand and guide you along the way.  It can be a true, color love match!

Love the home you’re in! ~ Wanda

Before & After: Tole Chandelier

Via blog.livelikeyou.com

Interior Trends 2011 – Transforming Perspectives

Interior design and ultimately designers are always being questioned – which is why we have so many different perspectives on how our homes should look each year, let's be honest it would be pretty boring if we didn't! This year's trend of transforming perspectives is more about defining the boundaries between the real world and the virtual world – question the boundaries between art and design to enable them to create innovative radical new designs which are characterised by glass and metal and complemented with hard and soft plastics that combine to form a changeable surfaces.

Another slant on transforming perspectives which will be seen this year is the move away from people looking to live in the biggest and 'best' homes, rather they will be content to live in smaller, beautifully designed homes which have ecc-friendly stamped all over them inside and out.

So how can we, the consumer equate this into our humble abodes? We can of course look to out interiors and embrace the new trends by looking at the materials we choose – we can incorporate the use of glass, metal and plastics, if they're recycled all the better. As DIY will be part of the new trend we can also start looking for curtain material online from fabric wholesalers UK, look for user friendly patterns and guides such as Roman blinds how to make online and have a go at making our own soft furnishings for our homes.

Image: An Indian Summer

Sunflower Yellow; Where are yoooooooooou?

The reason you have not seen the corner bookshelves in my living room yet is because I had lights installed on two sets of shelves going across all 5 of them and in between is a glass shelf. This means I can’t stick books on these shelves (except on the bottom shelf) or the light won’t come through the glass.  And I have been looking and looking for yellow decorative objects in vain.  I am way ahead of the curve decorating with this colour. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

At least I can find Begonias in the exact colour of my sofa, and they last for a month in my house which is a long time for an indoor potted plant I think.

When I was in High Point last fall, I found these two plates in a little shop and then this yellow candle somewhere else, so I put it on my pewter candleholder with the happy, instrument playing mice.
This pineapple I picked up on sale and then when I got it home I realized that the reason why it was on sale was because one of the leaves was broken, but I turned it so it’s in the back.

photos by Maria Killam

I even found some National Geographics at a thrift store for $1 each but it was when I bought this silly yellow bike home that I realized I’ve lost it.  Seriously?  A vintage bike ornament when no-one in this relationship remotely rides?  It’s desperately reaching and I’m taking it back because it’s just not right. I don’t want every single thing on my bookshelf to be yellow, but this is all I have and it’s a big bookshelf!

So the quest for my ‘finished-enough-to-be-photographed’ bookshelf continues. . . ideas anyone?

If you would like your home to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact me

Related posts:                                                                                                               Tweet

Does your Hair Colour Influence the Colours you Love?
Here’s a Way to make your Bookshelf Beautiful
Why is it so hard to Choose Yellow?

New to this Blog? Click here ; Follow me on Facebook and Twitter; Become a True Colour Expert

Designer Peeve: "Curtains"

I cannot stand drapes that stop at the window sill! I call them "curtains" instead of "drapes." You will never hear me use the term "curtains" unless it is in a mocking tone. They remind me of capri pants and I cannot stand them either! (Sorry if this offends you) But no one and I repeat, no one looks good in capri pants. They stop at such an awkward place on your leg that it makes you look wider than you are and then people wear socks and shoes with them. Ugh.

Case in point...

(Note: I exclude work-out pants from this argument.)

See how awkward this looks?

Did they run out of fabric?

It feels like a Highlights Magazine puzzle to me...what is missing in this photo?

The exception is if the window is above a sink, desk, etc. and therefore cannot go to the floor. Like so...

via Urban Grace Blog

Southern Living

And the fashion exception are Bermuda shorts...

In my opinion, drapes should go to the floor. Why? Because they elongate the room much like pants at the proper length elongate your legs. (Instead of chopping up the room with curtains or your legs with capri pants.) Make sense?

Now drapes can be slightly off the floor like 1/4" or 1/2"...

Elle Decor

Or they can puddle...

However, I don't recommend puddling drapes if you have kids, pet or allergies as they are a magnet for dust and pet hair and well, kids will just mess with them!

And if you move from one house to another and want to use the same drapes but they are too short, try adding a large section at the bottom in a coordinating color to make them the correct length. Like so...

Designer Suzanne Kasler

Disclaimer: The thoughts expressed in this post are solely of Eclectic Interior Design Group. I realize that someday, "curtains" might make a comeback and I might regret having put this in print. However, that is a chance I am willing to take .