Pro or Con: Banquettes

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Designer Celerie Kemble

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Designer Suzanne Kasler

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Designer Suzanne Kasler

Country Living

I love, love, love them! Especially when it is preplanned prior to construction. It makes for more intimate and comfortable seating in a kitchen or breakfast nook.

Poser!

My friend/client/marketing expert (who is super talented if you need someone call her Eskimo Advertising) asked me for a picture of me in a room I have designed. I don't have one. But I use to work for this designer who I think has a photo of her in every room she has ever been in. (You know the type.) Well, I saw this photo in House Beautiful last night and just loved it. You go Thomas! Way to be cute, charming AND natural.

[Love the non-fussy, perfectly put together room!]

So what type of "poser" are you?

Here are some photos I have collected over the years of my design role models to help you decide.

Are you a diva who matches your outfit to the room?

[I kinda want to be this person. Is that wrong?]

Or are you classic and timeless?

This photo could have been taken 50 years ago and will probably look current in another 50 years.

[Love that!]

Or are you relaxed and casual?

[Love animals in the photos! Shows a lived in home.]

Or are you a little bit witty?

[Eddie cracks me up...I am dying to know what is going through his head!]

I think Celerie does an excellent job of achieving all three: she is classic, she shows her personality, she is relaxed and she matches her interiors!

[Well played Celerie, well played.]

J. Crew, Celerie Kemble and My Funny Father

Celerie Kemble for J. Crew

So this might be the first issue of J. Crew where I didn't want to purchase one thing! Maybe it is because we are in-between seasons and I am pasty white so the thought of wearing anythings other than leggins, a cardigan and some Uggs (i.e. full coverage) makes me cringe but I didn't LOVE anything in the catalog.

"Thank you."

[That was from my wallet.]

However, I was excited to see one of my design idols featured in this issue (She looks great!). I wonder if people like Celerie Kemble know that they are living my fantasy life? Probably. I at least hope they are enjoying their ride!

And on an unrelated note...while I was spending time at my parents, I was telling them about the oyster stick accessories that I spoke about in this post. My dad didn't get it. I said "Well if you read my blog then you would." [Sidebar: My dad hates computers and reading. So he has never seen my blog.] His response: "Well if I had a blogging machine then I would! I mean, we just got a fax machine like two years ago!" LOL! Yes, he was kidding but it is still damn funny.

Hope you have a great weekend!

And please take a second and vote for me in the Blog Award contest...I get a cash prize! Which would make all the hours I spend writing this blog seem a little more worth it. Voting ends at midnight on March 15th. Many thanks!!!

Inspiring Offices

Designer, Kelly Wearstler's Office

Designer, Mary McDonald's Office

Designer, Celerie Kemble's Office

Designer, Laurie Smith's Office

Bare with me...I have been going non-stop since the beginning of December. I am behind in every aspect of my life right now-work, blog, gym, mail, laundry, grocery shopping, catching up with good friends, you name it! I am excited for the cold weather and impending rain this weekend so I can nest and get myself back on track. After seeing two of my organizing clients today, I am motivated to get myself all neat and tidy too. So one of the items on my massive to-do list is to clean out and re-organize my office. I do this every January and it feels...well, as Monica (from Friends) would say....orgasmic! Anyhoo, here are some photos to inspire me (and hopefully you!).

~Images: 1) via decorpad 2 and 3) Kelly Wearstler 4) Domino 5) Pottery Barn 6) Celerie Kemble 7) book Discovering Home With Laurie Smith 8) Unknown

Orange Crush

As I was decorating my house for supper club last night, I got to thinking about my love for the color orange. I grew up a Georgia Bulldog and therefore was forbade to wear the color orange because it represented all of our SEC rivals-Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, Clemson, etc. And personally, I am a cool colored type of gal but I really do love to color orange! It reminds me of some happy times-carving pumpkins with my brother as a kid, picking oranges off the trees at my grandparents place in Florida, sunsets on the beach, watching Real Housewives of Orange County...

Need help picking out a good shade of orange to paint your walls? Check out this article from House Beautiful's October issue in which top designers gab about their favorite orange paint colors. Have a go-to orange paint color that you have used before? Let me know!

~Images: 1) Designer Tobi Fairley 2) Designer Mary McDonald 3) Designer Palmer Weiss 4) Designer Celerie Kemble 5) Designer Ashley Whittaker 6) Designer Sara Story

Headboards

I am loving that anything goes in upholstered headboards these days! You can get as custom as you want with the shapes, fabrics and decorative details. What a great way to break up a room full of straight angles and all wood furniture. Hallelujah!

Try a Custom Shape...

Or a Bold Pattern...

Or with Nailheads...

Try Adding Tufting...

Or Try Thinking "Outside the Box"....

~Images: 1) Nate Berkus 2) House Beautiful Oct 2009 Designer Alessandra Branca 3) Everything Leb 4) Domino May 2006 5) Celerie Kemble 6) Tom Scheerer 7) Elle Decor 8) Southern Accents July/Aug 2007 9) Unknown 10) Unknown 11) Lee Kleinhelter 12) Tom Scheerer 13) Unknown

Red or White?

I have a young couple as clients right now that are HUGE wine connoisseurs. They moved into a new house and we are trying to come up with a smart and practical solution for storing their massive wine collection. [P.S. Living in the Lowcountry (named "low" because of its elevation) we don't have basements or cellars so this is not an option.] So I have been studying up on my wine knowledge because although I appreciate a good bottle, I am a $15 from The Piggly Wiggly kind of girl.

The key to storing wine is controlling some factors that could potentially ruin a good bottle like air, temperature, light, vibration and humidity. There are many possible ways to store wine in your home but it is best to pre-plan for this if you are building or remodeling. You can often find hidden storage in dead space in kitchens and pantries as shown in some of the images above. For more tips on building a custom wine cellar read here.

It might not be the most appropriate storage solution but my favorite is using antique French champagne riddling racks hung on the wall as designer Celerie Kemble did below. Beautiful! And I think it would make my Two Buck Chuck look mighty fancy! You can find many on ebay but they are $200 plus and shipping would be a bear. Best to keep an eye out for them in local antique shops. Happy Hunting!

If you have any good storage solutions for wine or products that work well for wine storage, please let me know!

~Images: 1) Cottage Living Sept 2007 2) Designer Sara Richardson at sararichardsondesign.com 3) Family Circle Aug 2009 4) Elle Decor 5) Cottage Living Oct 2008 6) Celerie Kemble's book To Your Taste