decorating

Design with Heart

As I have mentioned before I love the beginning of the month when the latest issue of my home magazines arrive. The latest Pantone color Marsala, which has gotten flack, but I love it. Marsala is wine color with a hint of gray. That will be another blog posting.

This month the stand out for me is the editor’s page of Architectural Digest. Margaret Russell states “buy what you love.” YES, thank you Margaret. The most memorable homes are the ones that reflect the homeowners life, memories and inividuality. It’s okay to mix it up, modern and traditional, brass and silver, creams and grays, new and old. Ignore the trends and buy what you love. That is my design philosophy. I have a client that has a great style an loves to mix it up. That is makes designing a home fun and exciting, but also creates a unique home.

I recently read an article in the New York Times about the auction of Bunny Mellon’s estate. The writer was stating many of the furnishing were out of fashion. I have a previous posting about Bunny Mellon’s classic style. Her home was beautiful and elegant.

This year I will be encouraging my clients to really think about what they love and go for it.

Have a blessed and Happy New year!!

 

Let the Sun shine!

Since attending the workshop on branding and color imaging I have applying the theories to interiors. I love color so the philosophy of color adds another level. I have so many clients ask about what is trending in color. Color is a personal choice, just like your interiors. It’s not about what is the hottest trend it’s about how the hottest trend fits into your home or office. Just because a warm gray is the newest trend for wall color it may not be right for your home. One size does not fit all.

The color I have been thinking about today is yellow. I love yellow. It’s warm, friendly and can be uplifting.  I live in Texas so we have 352 days of sunshine. However I have yellow walls in my kitchen and it drives me crazy. They came with the house.

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Yellow is the first color the eye sees. Yellow and gray are a favorite color combination. Gray provides the neutral to the intense yellow of this room. I love the bright golden yellow on the walls in contrast to the acid yellow lacquer on the table.

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I love this softness of this kitchen. The soft creamy yellow of the tile and cabinets, accented with blue and white. This is a classic use of yellow, blue and white. Yellow increases concentration.

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Yellow represents happiness and high energy. I think I would be happy if I had this bathroom. Sophisticated and playful.

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How cool is this color combo? Soft lemony yellow accented with a vivid magenta. Yellow is exciting and magenta, which is part of the pink family brings a joyful and youthful edge to a traditional design.

Color can transform amy interior whether – traditional, modern, french country, formal or casual.

Do not use yellow if you are feeling nervous or don’t want to be noticed.

My Blue Obsession

I recently was reading a stack of older magazines and I noticed a cover of House Beautiful 2010 featured the color blue. The entire magazine is dedicated to various shades of blue – indigo, navy, robin’s egg, green blue etc. I was surprised the blue decorating trend is celebrating fourth year of popularity. I can’t really think of anything or anyone that has universal appeal, okay maybe the Royal family.

So I have been wondering about this trend for some a while. Believe it or not, I do have other things to think about, besides the color blue.  Trend of blue fascinates me, or the longevity of the trend. While I was at a lunch event on branding. The presenter, Catherine Hatcher, President of Personas Image Dynamics, demonstrated the power of color in presentations, brands etc.  and how the color you wear to meeting can influence the tone. The color blue in the only color the has world wide appeal, 85% of people like the color blue.

This is why the color blue is a mainstay in interiors and continues to be a color focus.  Blue is like a good friend, comforting, appealing easy to be around.

Here is a close up of the tile and the light fixtures. the inside of the light fixture is painted blue.

Here is a close up of the tile and the light fixtures. the inside of the light fixture is painted blue.

The color navy blue conveys trust, responsibility, credibility and truthfulness. White signals refinement and purity. White is also the color of genuineness, innocence and youthfulness.

The color navy blue conveys trust, responsibility, credibility and truthfulness.
White signals refinement and purity. White is also the color of genuineness, innocence and youthfulness.

 

I think this one of the most beautiful kitchens published. Look closely and many shades of blue appear. the cabinets a blue gray, back splash tile a subtle blue-green and the it of brass make it shimmer. Blue green mixtures have different meanings. A blue with more green like aqua conveys prestige, high ideals and attracts attention. Turquoise, which has more blue than green suggests high powered and youthfulness.

I think this one of the most beautiful kitchens published. Look closely and many shades of blue appear. the cabinets a blue gray, back splash tile a subtle blue-green and the it of brass make it shimmer. Blue green mixtures have different meanings. A blue with more green like aqua conveys prestige, high ideals and attracts attention. Turquoise, which has more blue than green suggests high powered and youthfulness.

 

A bright true blue signifies sincerity and truth, also friendly and approachable. This room mixes a playful palm pattern. I love palm patterned fabric and wallcoverings. The color green adds a pleasant and refreshing element. The color green denotes peacefulness, balance friendly and candid. A dark green implies wealth and tradition. The pop of red adds energy to the space. Red is passionate, angry, provocative and memorable.

A bright true blue signifies sincerity and truth, also friendly and approachable. This room mixes a playful palm pattern. I love palm patterned fabric and wallcoverings. The color green adds a pleasant and refreshing element. The color green denotes peacefulness, balance friendly and candid. A dark green implies wealth and tradition. The pop of red adds energy to the space. Red is passionate, angry, provocative and memorable.

 

The images are from House Beautiful’s website and the color descriptions are from Catherine Hatcher’s color guide.

 

Pillow Talk

Okay, I am obsessed with old romantic comedies from the 1960’s, mainly Doris Day’s movies. Doris Day epitomizes glamour and classical style. The interior design and clothing design for her movies are timeless. The movies and TV shows I watched as a kid have shaped my interior design love and style.

Doris Day 1960’s romantic comedy movies are my version of a Dylan’s Candy Bar, the candy store in New York City. I love them – they are colorful, uplifting and visually stimulating. if watch to many of them you will get a sugar hangover. It is worth the indulgence, of course in moderation.

Pillow Talk is one of my favorite movies. Love Doris' apartment.

Pillow Talk is one of my favorite movies. Love Doris’ apartment. The movie is about Doris Day and Rock Hudson sharing a telephone line called a party line. Arguments arise when Rock Hudson hogs the party line to woo his girl friends.

In this scene Doris is talking with her housekeeper in the living room. I would wear her pajamas. love the pink walls and white furniture. I envisioned my grown up apartment to look like this, but as you know I love blue and white.

In this scene Doris is talking with her housekeeper in the living room. I would wear her pajamas. love the pink walls and white furniture. I envisioned my grown up apartment to look like this, but as you know I love blue and white. Doris and her maid Alma are discussing Rock Hudson conversations.

The two images above are the

The image above is a photo of the set, the image below is also a photo of the set.

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Check out more movie homes at one of my favorite blogs hookedonhouses.net

 

 

Thinking Small

The August edition of House Beautiful arrived a while ago, I am behind on my reading. The cover story is about living in small spaces. Obviously I am not the only one thinking about living in reduced square footages. The articles prove you don’t have to give up style and function .

Customize - Bespoke built-ins, storage nooks, and furniture tailored to your exact needs can utilize every available sliver of space. Design by Brockschmidt & Coleman

Customize – Bespoke built-ins, storage nooks, and furniture tailored to your exact needs can utilize every available sliver of space.
Design by Brockschmidt & Coleman

Use bigger - fewer things. It may seem counterintuitive, but outfitting a small space with just a few large-scale pieces (rather than a mishmash of pint-size furniture) can actually make it feel grander. That said, don't be afraid of filling up the space. When a room is populated with furniture, it actually appears larger. Designed by Mona Hajj

Use bigger – fewer things.
It may seem counterintuitive, but outfitting a small space with just a few large-scale pieces (rather than a mishmash of pint-size furniture) can actually make it feel grander. That said, don’t be afraid of filling up the space. When a room is populated with furniture, it actually appears larger.
Designed by Mona Hajj

 

Choose furnishings and decorative elements that offer maximum functionality in minimal square footage. "Use two small round tables instead of one big coffee table," designer Ken Fulk says. "They're better for traffic flow than one of those huge knee knockers, and easier to move." Designed by Ken Fulk

Choose furnishings and decorative elements that offer maximum functionality in minimal square footage. “Use two small round tables instead of one big coffee table,” designer Ken Fulk says. “They’re better for traffic flow than one of those huge knee knockers, and easier to move.”
Designed by Ken Fulk

 

Think Vertically - Exploit the often under-utilized space between the tops of furniture and a room's ceiling with hanging or high-mounted elements. They'll draw the eye upward. Take bookcases and cabinets all the way up. Designed by Summer Thorton

Think Vertically – Exploit the often under-utilized space between the tops of furniture and a room’s ceiling with hanging or high-mounted elements. They’ll draw the eye upward. Take bookcases and cabinets all the way up.
Designed by Summer Thorton

 

 

The articles demonstrate how to live large in small spaces. Some where apartments and others where diminutive homes. I am posting some great ideas from House Beautiful’s website.

Classic Design?

Bunny Mellon - NYC Socialite and garden contributor.

Bunny Mellon, at Oak Spring Farms, her 4,000-acre estate in Upperville, Virginia, in the 1980s.
The heiress, who died on March 17th at age 103, was known for her design acumen. She gave so much attention to what she wore, how she lived, and what she planted; she even had her gardening apparel custom made by two favorite couturiers: Cristóbal Balenciaga and, after his death, Hubert de Givenchy.
Photo: Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times/Redux

Bunny Mellon’s bedroom at her 26-acre estate in Osterville, Massachusetts, which is now owned by businessman William I. Koch. The enameled-metal bed with a ruffled canopy was a model that she specified often for her homes; several were kept in storage for future use. Regional expressions were frequent in her interior decoration, including the seascapes, swan figure, and boat models shown here.

Bunny Mellon’s bedroom at her 26-acre estate in Osterville, Massachusetts, which is now owned by businessman William I. Koch. The enameled-metal bed with a ruffled canopy was a model that she specified often for her homes; several were kept in storage for future use. Regional expressions were frequent in her interior decoration, including the seascapes, swan figure, and boat models shown here.

The Oak Spring Garden Library at the Mellons’ Virginia stud farm was designed in 1980 by modernist architect Edward Larrabee Barnes to hold Bunny Mellon’s thousands of rare garden books and horticulture manuals. In this corner, a flowered rug is laid on the diamond-pattern painted floor, and a library ladder stands at the ready. The library is open to scholars by appointment.

The Oak Spring Garden Library at the Mellons’ Virginia stud farm was designed in 1980 by modernist architect Edward Larrabee Barnes to hold Bunny Mellon’s thousands of rare garden books and horticulture manuals. In this corner, a flowered rug is laid on the diamond-pattern painted floor, and a library ladder stands at the ready. The library is open to scholars by appointment.

French artist Fernand Renard painted trompe l’oeil scenes on the storage cabinets that line a room at the Mellons’ greenhouse complex in Virginia. One cabinet door includes an image of a ring hung on a ribbon. Once the door was opened, there was a hook with a ribbon, onto which Bunny Mellon safely threaded her wedding band before gardening.

French artist Fernand Renard painted trompe l’oeil scenes on the storage cabinets that line a room at the Mellons’ greenhouse complex in Virginia. One cabinet door includes an image of a ring hung on a ribbon. Once the door was opened, there was a hook with a ribbon, onto which Bunny Mellon safely threaded her wedding band before gardening.

 

I was flipping through Architectural Digest and came across this article about Bunny Mellon. Her fashion sense, gardens and interiors are always in style.  A classically tailored interior can always be fresh by updating the accessories and tweaking the paint color.  One of the reasons for starting this blog is discuss the idea of a “Collected Home”. A home reflects the lives of the homeowners. I think Bunny Mellon’s home reflects her style and life.

2 of 11 Paul Mellon’s study at the couple’s townhouse in New York City, decorated with the help of several interior designers, including John Fowler, Paul Leonard, Billy Baldwin, and Bruce Budd. Gilt-framed antique landscapes fill the walls, which have been painted a rich coral.

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Paul Mellon’s study at the couple’s townhouse in New York City, decorated with the help of several interior designers, including John Fowler, Paul Leonard, Billy Baldwin, and Bruce Budd. Gilt-framed antique landscapes fill the walls, which have been painted a rich coral.

 

A classically designed interior transcends the trends. Trends can be applied to the interior but not dictate the feeling of the room. I have clients who are so concerned about what’s the style or color of the season. It doesn’t matter if the color of season is radiant orchid, if you are not of fan of radiant orchid just because it’s the color of the year you are not going to like it any better in 2014 than you did in 2013. However if you want to add it your home do it by adding the color in small doses – a few throw pillows, a glass vase or a real orchid.

Any hoo – here are a few images of Bunny Mellon’s home which was designed and furnished in the 1980’s which items from her previous home.  I hope you enjoy looking at these photos as much as me.

 

photo credit: Architectural Digest

A DIY Project

Here's the $2.49 frame before.

Here’s the $2.49 frame before.

I picked up Martha Stewart gold metallic paint and started by multiple layers of thin gold paint.

I picked up Martha Stewart gold metallic paint and started by multiple layers of thin gold paint.

The final piece. The artwork is illustrations of fabric designs from Maharam.

The final piece. The artwork is illustrations of fabric designs from Maharam.

First I want to thank my followers. When I started this I didn’t think anyone would read my blog. So thanks again.

I really don’t have a lot of time for DIY, but I love doing creative projects for my home. Lately I have been determined to frame all the bit and pieces of art I have been collecting for many years. Our local frame shop is having their buy one frame get one for a penny sale.

However the frames I am highlighting in this blog are from Michaels. I picked these up for $2.49 each! I love a bargain and didn’t care about color, because paint can transform almost anything.