happy halloween stripes...

so i don't know about y'all but i have a hoard of magazines that i live by, reference to, stock pile, trip over, drool over, etc. this week my hubbie had a breakdown about my beloved magazines. they are taking over the house (literally). when they do this, i go through them and put them in piles: "keep" for decorating, "keep" for hoping to make me skinny, "keep" to see what fashion is in style, "keep" for current catalog shopping, "keep" b/c its our town's lovely magazine, "keep" so i can cook that one day... than there is the "give to the neighbor" pile (she doesn't get mags, can you imagine life w/out such pleasures??), "give to my mom" pile (she is a closet celebrity gossip fan), and lastly, there is the "throw away" but rip out all of the pages that i might possibly want to see again in the future....which brings me to this picture....

i have a notebook of my ripped out "fav" pages of inspiration from all of the leading design magazines. i love my notebook, i look at it often and wish that i had these spectacular clients that would lead me to design such impressionable rooms (if any of my clients are reading, i do love my great clients). so it was this notebook, where i stumbled over this halloween striped wall. It's from Elle Decor (can you believe i ripped the pages out of that magazine). i think it was a combination of this picture and domino's email newsletter, that gave me the courage to do my own stripes in my daughter's nursery. anyway, that could be a blog in itself....but i thought this would be fun to share this halloween inspired paint palette and confess my obsession w/ magazines. sorry, for my randomness in writing...if you have any solutions to magazine pile-up's, saving me from future argument w/ my hubbie about my beloved magazines, or just want to tell me to not write run-on sentences, feel free to comment....otherwise, i want to wish you a very spooky happy halloween!!

i am not martha...

so i totally hesitated in showing y'all this but i said that i would so here it is. our 2nd annual pumpkin carving happened on sunday night and here are the results. as you can see everyone else used a pumpkin stencil and then there is mine (top one, in case you couldn't tell). i wanted to be martha stewart and try something creative and original...well, unfortunately my pumpkin is awful. you know, i am an interior designer and so i thought i would just be gifted at this whole pumpkin carving thing...not so much. for those of you that are confused (believe me, my husband and neighbors got a huge laugh out of mine) i was going for cute "dots"....i started out great (i thought) by scalloping the top edge of the pumpkin. then i got out the drill (real funny, me w/ a power drill) and things were still going okay. i did a little four dot design in the scalloped edge part. the next step is when my neighbor sabotaged me and told me to use a drill attachment to make the big holes (it was the attachment you use to make a hole in the back of your armoire for the tv cables)....and that's when everything went terribly wrong. poor, poor pumpkin. i disgraced it and martha! next year i'm going back to the pumpkin stencil....

*side note- using a drill on a pumpkin causes mad chaos in the kitchen...pumpkin guts go everywhere!

super white

so i went on an exploration for granite yesterday at A & S (a local distributor for all of the granite and marble in the c'town area). it is insane how many varieties of granite there is out there. the client i was scouting for prefers granite, so i walked up and down this huge warehouse accessing the situation. i wanted to find something that would work well for her but may not be your "typical" granite. that's when i stumbled upon super white (of course, i have no idea its real name; companies tweak the stones names so you can't shop around). i love this granite b/c it has gossamer veining like a marble. it doesn't have the flakes or "fish scale" appearance that you see in the a lot of the granites. i was so happy to find this, it gives you the durability of a granite (stain, scratch, and heat resistant) but the beauty of a marble.

O & L delivered

well i met with the grizzel and mann rep yesterday and as always, osborne and little gave me some good staples for the upcoming season. i will have to say that i saw a ton of black....there was a lot of it in the backgrounds of the fabrics and in the wallpaper collection. and i am not going to lie- i like it!! for a girl who was sold on the robin's egg blue/chocolate brown color combo three years ago, i was relieved to see the new color palettes. there is still a ton of that blue color out there though. i loved the vintage II wallpaper by O & L, the pic above is one selection from it (i love the acid yellow and plum color combo). apparently, vintage I came along while i was on bed rest, so i will have to backtrack and take a look at it. liberty (a division of o&l) had some good cut velvets. i love the art deco one featured above. if you are in the market for some fun fabs and wallpaper, check out O & L with your local interior designer.

i also got to see raoul....i love this company (even more than O & L, which i sometimes get tired of). they offer gorgeous linen prints that are very subtle, organic, and earthy. they had a lot of ikats and of course, unique botanicals. if you have the cash, this is a great company to splurge on! well, that's if for the rep meetings this season. i am excited about my new samples. when they come in, i'll share a few that are my favs! have a great thursday, i'm off to battle the rain and look at some granite. until tomorrow.....

disappointing rep meeting....

i was so excited about getting back out there and seeing reps again since i have been gone for so long. unfortunately, there wasn't much to get excited about with earnie gaspard. i felt like there wasn't a lot of change. ralph lauren's collection was completely blah, but they have never been one of my favorites. b. berger yuck and yuck again. quadrille's linen prints were cute....some ikat patterns and some remininsent to china sea (they actually overlapped in their appearances). one of my all time fav's, china sea had some good ones (two are featured above). but they weren't screaming "new" at all. the color palette's are the same...i saw a lot of navy and orange in china's collection. chocolate brown is still a very prominent color in all of the manufactures. romo had some fun fabrics and wallpapers but do you ever notice that their collections are always very similar to the ones previous....its like they take a flower and tweak it slightly and than there's the fall collection. kind of strange. i did like their wallpaper book this season. it had a lot of the geometric patterns featured in it...a two color flame stitch pattern that is done in a metallic could be fun in a powder room....anyways, that's about all there was to report from that meeting. i go see osborne and little today so hopefully that will be a lot more exciting! i'll let y'all know.

vintage baker chairs

does it get any cooler than these circa 1950's Baker chairs? The arms just kill me. gosh, they are just gorgeous....i am envious of the home that they will one day belong to.

simon pearce

i love this light from simon pearce. it's so simple but elegant and could work in numerous spaces, traditional or contemporary. for those of you that aren't married yet, than you may not be familiar with this company. i was introduced to it three years ago when my husband and i got married. they offer beautiful hand blown glass products and pottery. our "everyday china" is simon pearce's belmont dinnerware. after viewing the website, i saw that they also offer a beautiful restaurant, glassblower cafe, that reminded me of the one in "Sweet Home Alabama"....you know, the one that the hottie owned....might be a great place to visit if you are ever in vermont.

Thanks Melissa for the following comment!

Hello Shannon,Thank you for a great post! The reason our restaurant reminds you of the one in Sweet Home Alabama is because the "Deep South Glass" store/cafe in that movie was based on our Quechee, Vermont, facility. We actually created many of the glass pieces in the movie, including the lightning sculpture that resembles a tree.We're glad that you appreciate our product as much as we do. Thanks again!

Warm Regards,Melissa Dickerson

Webmaster, Simon Pearce

how cute is this??

can you say christmas? how great is this little diddy? what a fantastic clutch from kate! the color is awesome! happy saturday! its beautiful here and the weather is perfect...a jeans and t-shirt kind of day.

timeless art....

silhouettes are classic and timeless. the black and white is so chic. i love these plates done by rabbit toes. i love when you mix silhouettes together in a wall arrangement....i love antique ones of men you have no idea who they are, thrown in with a childhood one of yourself (mine is above). my in-laws have beautiful ones of my father-in-law and his sister done and they are just priceless. silhouettes don't have to be limited to black and white. just last year, i had one done of our dog (yes, this was before we had a child)! it's great....the background is robin's egg blue and his silhouette is chocolate brown. i gave it to my husband for christmas. he must have loved it b/c its still in the tube that it came in....

is this what my life is suppose to be like....

give me more jay jeffers...

he describes his design as "sophisticated fun" and that is exactly what this picture is. i love it when designers don't take themselves too serious. jay does amazing interiors and its easy to see why he was named one of HB's Top 100 Interior Designers. His interiors are fresh, vibrant, and have an element of surprise in them....that is why i heart JDG; not to mention the fantastic wallpaper featured in the room above! Bored, check out his inspiring website!

take me to Hudson....

while web surfing i stumbled across this gorgeous store Hudson. i love this store...well from what i have seen of it online. its like the perfect mix of old and new, stylish yet sophisticated...right up my alley. the owner, jill goldberg started out as a struggling actress in LA and left to become an interior designer. don't you just love the kelly weastler's trellis fabric upholstered on the armchair...and those pillows are vintage feed sacks...so chic!

stools anyone?

i love these mid-century stools from 1st dibs. i think they would look great with a kitchen table. instead of your typical chairs with backs, i think it would be fun to use these. to add some comfort you could always do circular pillows on the seats. i can see the pillows in maybe this fun mod green pod fabric adelaide, piped and backed in a mustard yellow velvet. i think this DWR pedestal table would complete the look for my "new found" kitchen eating area....

recreate that dining room on a budget

love the dining room featured below but can't afford the designer look....
here are some budget finds that can help you recreate this designer room: add the look of these asian doors, with the elegance of this table, the starkness of these chairs, the touch of this light (minus the shades), and lastly the essence of an "osborne and little" look-a-like wallpaper and VOILA....a fantastic dining room at a faction of the cost! enjoy :)

if only...

my dining room was this beautiful. i love this room. the wallpaper by osborne and little just totally captivates this space and makes you want to linger over your last sip of wine. while this room is formal- it's hip, hollywood, and totally inviting in its appearance. i love the starkness of the white chairs with the simplistic nail head (literally, they look like tiny nails just tapped into the delicate fabric)...i love the slight arch of the chair's back and legs...they are just gorgeous. and i love the doors leading into the space...very asian meets sleek nyc penthouse.

which highchair?

so i am having a hard time deciding which highchair i want to get the baby. we went to her 4 month check-up (the one i waited for an hour and a half for) and they handed us a pamphlet stating that it was time to start introducing solid foods....who goes and spends all that time at the pediatrician to be handed a pamphlet on how to introduce solid foods? i think that i need to switch doctors if that is the way she communicates with her patients. so i finally took the time to "read" our pamphlet b/c i have no idea how to feed a kid. needless to say, they strongly recommend a highchair for this venture and so i am trying to decide which one is the most decorator friendly, yet functional...any opinions?

the top is the totally cool tripp trapp chair and its great looking in my humble opinion. i love the design, the color choices, and the fact that it doesn't scream highchair. the problem i have with this is that the food goes onto your table vs. having a tray attached. therefore, anything the baby eats is getting smashed into my antique dining room table and on my rug. the plus, is that she can use this chair until the she is 6 yrs old....

now, the pink nano is for the hip, urban parents who live in small spaces. i would say we have a "smaller kitchen" b/c it has an island in the middle and a bar table w/ two barstools on the side. so there isn't a vast amount of space for this lovely object to hang out. and i will say that warren and i are much more "eat at the kitchen or in the family room vs. the dining room table" kind of people. i feel like this isn't a totally heinous highchair; it comes in rather cool colors, its leather, and it folds up and can be put away. lastly, there will be no smashed peas on the floor or antique table b/c it comes w/ a lovely tray....

so i am left with the decision....cool, trendy chair that grows the the child or "standard, yet stylish highchair, that functions like its original purpose"...thoughts?

**for those of you who don't have kids, i am so sorry to bore you with this blog. since y'all are the lucky ones w/out kids at home, have a blast bar hopping tonight...man, i miss those days...

chicken man

if you are from columbia, sc than you have no doubt heard of "chicken man", also known as ernest lee. he is a wonderful pop artist who has made his mark throughout SC. he began painting at the age of 12. he once described his folk art as something "done from the heart, not from a picture". his subjects are usually painted on particle board and range in prices (my mother-in-law has discovered that if you buy in bulk you get a better bargain). He travels throughout the south w/ his mobile open air art gallery. if you are interested in his work, you can usually find him on the corner of harden and gervais street in columbia...or just let me know, my mother-in-law has his cellphone number b/c she loves giving his art as wedding gifts.

needless to say, i was so excited when my mother-in-law showed up w/ this "chicken man" on monday. she has had her hanging in the garage for years and i have always wondered why. she claims its b/c she's a little frayed around the edges and some of the paint is chipping. but i love "chicken woman" with her big butt and endowed knockers! i cannot wait to hang her on my "want-to-be" cottage porch. i think i am going to put her above my yardsale church pew so everyone can see her from inside the house. she puts a huge smile on my face! thanks gayle for my giftie, she adds total attitude to my porch!

happy october

can you believe that its october??!! that's insanity. i feel like this summer flew by but maybe that's because i had a baby....i spent my summer learning how to change diapers, calm a screaming kid, and sing silly songs (something that i am personally not good at...my latest is "let me ride that donkey, donkey"...which is in turn a rap song...but she knows no difference).

now that i am a new mother, i feel like i have to fully get into halloween...does that mean that i now have to decorate my house w/ cobwebs and spooky ghost and witches? i mean, i am totally into christmas decor but i haven't ever been into halloween. well, besides the pumpkin that me and warren carve. we use to be awful at doing these...we would enjoy a 12-pack of beer and get out our best tj-maxx knife and some random soup spoon and go at the poor pumpkin. and let me tell you, what came out of that combo was quite hilarious.

however last year, we had a pumpkin party with our neighbors. my mom (who loves shopping the 75% off rack) had given up a "pumpkin carving kit" and the creation we made was definitely prize worthy. but this year, i want to create something beyond the jack-o-lantern face, or the spider, or the ghost...something a little "prettier" and more martha stewart. i love this idea of the house numbers (only my house has a lot of numbers so i am not sure it would look this cute)...i'll be sure to take a picture at this year's "2nd annual" pumpkin carving contest!

monogramming makes it better...

i have loved these chairs since i saw them in cottage living (one of my all time fav mags) a year or so ago. i love the numbers on the backs of the chairs. can't you see yourself at a dinner party and the hostess tells you to "go sit in chair #3"! i think its so innovative.

so why does monogramming things make me happy? it's not like i have a ton of stuff in my own house monogrammed...a shower curtain in my guest bath, bar glasses, a llbean handbag, and of course the wedding towels that everyone gets when they get married. i think it just makes it personal. a couple of years ago at the charleston symphony showhouse, one of the designers put a huge monogram on a slipcovered wingchair and i loved it. i guess i am in love with the unique monogram...the ones that are done in a different script, or in a funky pattern, or on an unexpected item.