South of the Border

One of the outings my children and I took over the holiday weekend was to our local Barnes & Noble (about the only brick and mortar bookstore left in Nashville, seriously). They each got to pick out a book and mama got to pick out a foreign design magazine - my favorite part of hitting the bookstore. What me, buy an actual book? No, I must feed my design obsession. So, this time I picked out Elle Decoration, UK edition.  One of the homes that spoke to me the most was the moody and mysterious home of cult jewelry designer Caledonio Lohidoy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Behold:

Yummy velvet.

The floors, my God, the floors!

Okay, a carved dragon sculpture might even be a bit much for me (and that's saying a lot), but you gotta admit it's unique.

Might need to use this trick in my house.

 

 

 

Compared to the other rooms, this room seemed almost monastic in its simplicity. But I doubt monks have much abstract art on their walls. 

When we arrived home, what should I find in my mailbox but the American version of Elle Decor. What a treat. I'm sure a lot of you have already seen some of the eye candy in this issue. Ashley Stark's amazing apartment has already made the rounds in the blogosphere. But for some reason, I was really drawn to another South American lair . . . that of Brazilian editor Fabrizio Rollo. I just loved all the layers, colors and textures.

Yes, there is a lot going on here, and yes, it's a bit cluttered for my taste, but I was still bowled over by it. 

Have you seen any interiors lately that have wowed you?

Sources: Elle Decoration UK Edition and Elle Decor (American)

Georgetown Wreath Inspiration

December 2009 I took pics of some of the decorations in Georgetown and proceeded to misplace them on my hard drive for 2 years. They've been found!
This simple, wide chartreuse ribbon accents a classic boxwood wreath. Magnolia leaves accent the evergreen swag.
Love the gesture of this diminutive wreath balancing the brass knocker on the other door, and wow, those door knobs!
Two matching swags are perfect for this double door. Adore the X motif in the window.

Long blue ribbons and matching bulbs are elegant and pretty.

Our tree Christmas Eve 2009. The only thing pictured here, that is still in this room, is the seagrass rug. My favorite part; the tinfoil star my husband and I made for our first Christmas together in 1986. It's a bit small in scale as our apartment tree was only 3 ft high then.

From the Stacks: A London Flat

New series - From the Stacks: We'll be taking down the Christmas decorations from our crawl space attic after my daughter's birthday party this coming Saturday. I'm very excited as right now they're blocking a whole box of older magazines. Luckily I could reach this issue of British Homes & Gardens, Oct 2003, featuring Jasper Conran's London flat. The story title read, "A Modern Classic." I wholeheartedly agree. (Design by Ann Boyd, photography by Andreas Von Einsiedel)

Have a Malachite Thanksgiving . . .

Oops, I meant to say, "have a Happy Thanksgiving" but I've had malachite on the brain (and on my hands) for the past couple of days. Unfortunately, I don't have any great recipes to share, and we're cheating by eating out for Thanksgiving with my in-laws so I don't have any great table settings to share. So, I thought I might as well celebrate the holiday by sharing my latest little project. Behold, the faux malachite box . . .

Sorry about the poor lighting. I just finished it tonight so I broke the cardinal rule and took a photo at night. Here's how it looked earlier in the day when I took a photo with my iPhone:

I darkened the color a little after this, added a gold detail around the edge of the lid, and affixed a gold-painted rock on the front as a little handle.

I really like it and think it adds a little something to my coffee table. Also, my remote control fits nicely in there. I'm sorry I didn't photograph the process very well, but I basically just bought one of those little hinged balsa wood boxes from Michael's then followed the faux malachite directions from Gorgeous Shiny Things. I had to improvise on the paint colors a bit as I used what I had or what I could find at Home Depot, but otherwise, pretty much did what she did.

I am so thankful for all my friends and family this Thanksgiving, but also for all my blog friends and readers out there. You really make it all worthwhile. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Rainy Days

I know we all have to deal with rain, but here in Nashville we're on day two of nasty weather. More expected tomorrow. Hurray. And my children are already out of school for Thanksgiving. So, we're doing a lot of this . . .

And, we'll be leaving soon to go see this . . . 

I know you're jealous. But, I've actually heard it's good. I'm sure I'll be seeing the Muppets soon too.

So, I'll just leave you with some things that have inspired me lately. These color combinations by J. Crew are insane (in a good way) . . .

A very talented person is working on something for me, and I gave her these two pics (among other things) for inspiration. Can't wait to see what she comes up with!

And this little malachite box on eBay has my wheels turning. 

Isn't it pretty? Don't let the photo fool you. This is a trinket box - tiny. Like two and half inches long tiny. Fits in the palm of your hand tiny. And it's about $50. Yeah, I'm wanting something to hold my remote control. Real malachite in that size would cost hundreds. Necessity is the mother of invention, so I'm working on something right now. I was inspired by Danika of Gorgeous Shiny Things and her faux malachite lamp:

Hopefully, I'll come up with something that slightly resembles malachite anyway. We shall see. If it turns out the least bit decently, I promise to share photos. Wish me luck. Have a great week!

Now That's a Vanity

I came across this image on DC designer Darryl Carter's facebook page. I don't remember seeing this bathroom included in the Elle Decor Nov 2009 spread on his townhouse.

Besides the vanity making a gorgeous statement, check out the bridge faucet!

I Need These

Technically this is "From the Stacks" - a tear sheet from Real Simple Nov 2003.

I love these eyeglass holders & I really need them as evidenced by the last 1/2 hour spent searching for my reading glasses. These are from LaLoop.

Where the Antelope Play

Antelope carpet has been all over blogs and the internet for a few years now, and some have labeled it as trendy. However, when does something rise above just being popular or having trendy status to that of being a classic? We often refer to other exotic animal prints such as leopard, zebra and tiger as classic, why not antelope too?

Source: thepeakofchic.blogspot.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Source: housebeautiful.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Personally, I love it. Of course, there's the Stark Antelope that everyone is familiar with (featured in the photos above), but there are other options out there at different price points as well. Karastan actually has an antelope pattern (which the Karastan rep at High Point Market had no clue about, I might add), which has got a lot more taupe in it I believe.

Karastan's antelope.

Couristan has its own version . . .

Source: carpet.net via Kathy on Pinterest

which looks a lot like the Stark version, I think.

Then, there's a company called Glen Eden which has its own version of Antelope as well.

Source: carpet.net via Kathy on Pinterest

Source: glen-eden.com via Kathy on Pinterest

This photo above is from Glen Eden's site. After doing some more digging, it looks like the antelope carpet in Sally Wheat's home may be from Glen Eden too (this is what was divulged in Cote de Texas' lengthy comment section) . . .

Source: cotedetexas.blogspot.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Source: cotedetexas.blogspot.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Pretty snazzy, huh? I have not seen any of these in person, just going by what I've seen online. But I think there might be some more affordable antelope options than Stark out there. That gives a girl hope. I won't be buying any new rugs or carpets anytime soon with a new puppy in the house, but when the time comes these would be some great options.

What do you think? Could the antelope play in your house?

Celerie Gets Me

Have you checked out the new Lonny? I must admit it wasn't my all-time favorite issue, but it did contain an article featuring one of my favorite interior designers - Celerie Kemble. I'm not sure what it is about her style that I love - usually it's pretty much everything. She's not afraid of color and texture and taking a risk here and there. Here are some shots from the apartment featured in the newest Lonny:

Source: lonnymag.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Now, granted this is not the most saturated or colorful room she's ever designed, but I still love it. She's definitely going with the black and white and neutral thing a bit more lately. And here's the bedroom . . .

Source: lonnymag.com via Kathy on Pinterest

I think this look is very much in keeping with her new book which just came out November 1st. Have you picked it up yet? It's on my Christmas list for sure. And the title? You guessed it . . .

http://kembleinteriors.com/

Does anyone else see the similarities here? Is the apartment in Lonny the same one in the book just re-painted and re-styled? Or did the same people just move somewhere else and this is their furniture re-arranged? It doesn't really matter, but it's sort of like playing a fun little design game of Eye Spy. Just goes to show different furniture pieces can work in different rooms with different accessories. I love it. I'll have to actually get the book to investigate further.

And why do I say in the title that Celerie "gets" me? Of course, it's her use of dolphin tables in her designs.

Celerie's dolphin looks a bit more menacing than mine with the teeth and all.

Source: lonnymag.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Here's my dolphin table when it resided in our antique booth.

I'm happy to report that my dolphin table will be coming back home soon from its temporary stay at my husband's office (where I know the ladies who work there will be so glad to see it go). Look, I know the dolphin table is not for everyone and doesn't suit everyone's taste, but that's exactly what I love about it. Isn't that what makes the world go round? Anyway, I like that Celerie enjoys a little bit of the funky stuff too. Is there something that you love that raises eyebrows among your friends and family?

From the Stacks: New Series

My husband was skeptical. "No, really, I still look at these old magazines and tear sheets."

"Even the ones in the attic?"

Yes.

And, now I blog about them too. This new series might last a while. I haven't even opened the box of British Home & Garden from the 90's.
These images are the front and back of a tear sheet. Source, designer and photographer not known. The magazine paper was impressively heavy though.

(*I always try to give credit to images. If anyone knows who this might be, let me know if you have a chance.)

Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles: Thanks for the Mention!

Thank you to Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles for mentioning my post about Atlanta and their August '11 issue in this month's From the Blogs column, pg. 10. Hands down one of the best shelter magazines out there!