COFFEE TABLE TREE

To write about Christmas trees this late in the game is a bit pointless, but to be fair, I drove home last night behind an SUV with their freshly cut tree tied to the roof. This is for those late-comers and under-the-wire holiday decorators like myself.

334 days of the year your coffee table is the focal point in the entertainment areas of the home, and in December why should it be any different? If you're living in a small home like we are, or if you just don't want to rearrange the whole living room for a sticky hunk of pine, try what I've coined the "table tree."

A five foot six inch pine will fit nicely atop an eighteen inch table top leaving enough room for a sparking star beneath standard eight foot ceilings. Try this clever watering tip: Attach a funnel to 18-24 inches of flexible tubing from the hardware store. Hide the funnel within the branches and guide the tubing to the reservoir. This trick saves you from digging around in the tree skirt every few days and keeps gifts from Santa dry!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope you all enjoy your friends, family, and food. We've packed up the car full of dogs, off to Austin, see you next week.

ART EVENT

This weekend Annalee Aston, Co-Director of Dallas's Gremillion & Co Fine Art Inc., and myself, visited a great art event at the amazing Gary Riggs Home. They featured over 150 pieces for sale from a Florida Contemporary Art Gallery, and altered the entire space for the event with coordinating colorful vignettes.

The event is now over but if you're in the neighborhood you can still take a tour through this amazing 45,000+ SF interior design space, GRH always leaves me feeling inspired.

 

TOUCH OF TURQUOISE

I thought it was time to give a little update on a few of the not-so-secret projects I've been devoting most of my nights to. My client has great taste but she wanted help reining it all in, she claimed to be very Pottery Barn and wanted to stay that way. After a few sessions with me, she found herself  moving away from the traditional and more toward the eclectic. Here is a preview of her newly styled living room style. 

DARE TO DREAM

With Bryan being away for five days, I've had a lot of time to play design catch-up and brainstorm new ideas. A late night phone call came from Bryan from the GSA Annual Convention letting me know that graduate advisers had informed him that UT Galveston would offer all of the graduate programs he would be interested in.

Now, I love my house in Dallas, it's our first home, and we've completely renovated it to our specific liking, but one can't help dream of what it must be like to live in and remodel a Historic home, à la Frank Lloyd Wright, near the beach, even if it is in Galveston, Texas. The beach is still the beach.

 If only this house were right on the beach.

 Light, airy feeling with beam details and mini craftsman pendants.

 Beautiful Prairie windows that open up to the ocean air.

Coastal seating Arts & Crafts detail in the mantle, mirror resembles a port-hole.

 Shower off outside after a morning of surfing, if there were any.

... I'm only dreaming. CHEERS

HOLIDAY DECORATING

Halloween is almost here and it will be but a ghostly memory just as quickly, soon after it will be time to think about decorating for the holidays.

Pottery Barn

No clue how or where to start, consider stopping in for a decorating class at your local Anthropologie or Pottery Barn Store for tips on trimming the tree and setting the table.

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

You'll be happy you did, bonus, stores like Pottery Barn give up to 20% off if you shop that day in the store. Let me know if you know of any other stores offering design classes this holiday season.

 

HAUTE HIPPIE

Hey all, it feels like forever since I've had a moment to breathe, let alone sit down to write a new post. Since my last installment, Enlightened Entry, my White Rock client's remodels has gone FULL FORCE.

 

 I also have a new client in the neighborhood and a blast from the past e-design client. On top of all that, all I can think about is the impending Austin City Limits Music Festival. We all know music fests mean one thing, Hippie Festival Fashion...time to pull out the flame stitch and fringe.

These patterns, brought back to life by names like Missoni, have been turning my head so much that I've got whiplash. It manifests itself in many different ways, herringbone, chevron, flame stitch... Whatever you want to call it, you've got to have it. Here are some great accessories that you can add to any room in your home, and don't forget Poochie!

 Lamp.  Duvet Set.  Vessels Missoni for Target.  Lamp.  Curtain.  Throw Jonathan Adler.  Chairs.  Art.  Rugs.  Collar.

ELIGHTENED ENTRY

I have become recently obsessed with my entry space, obviously because this is the first area you see when entering a home. I have been combing through images to find the most realistic and doable entry ways I can find, PLUS a few items you can add to yours this weekend. Cheers!

1. Chandelier | 2. Mirror | 3. Hippies Sign  |  4. Vases  |  5.  Pillar Holder  

 6.Console Table  |  7. Laquered Tray  |  8. Zebra Pillow  |  9. Faceted Table

CLEANING THE COFFEE TABLE

I wanted to talk about this thorn in my side, the coffee table. It's unavoidably in the middle of the room in everyone's home and it becomes the catch-all spot for everyone's cell phones, empty cans, keys, wallets and remote controls, just to name a few. We would all love if our coffee could look like perfection at all times...

Robin Pellisier

But in the real world, they don't! Lets take a look at a 3 quick ways to fashionably dress up and hide the most common culprits.

 Clear off your magazines, mail, remote controls and all of the other things that don't belong, and store them in a tray, basket or a chest underneath.

 

images: A Beach Cottage, Crate & Barrel, Munger Interiors, Greige/Fluegge

Add beautiful books and place inside of trays along with decorative coasters.

images: Abbe Fenimore Studio Ten 25, Design House, the Old Painted Cottage

Add a natural touch such as coral or floral arrangements along with a unique objet.

 

images: Tiffany Eastman Interiors, Cristi Holcombe, A Jaffe

LIVING IN 300 SQARE FEET

It's no secret that I love IKEA, the mere thought of this place exhausts mortal shoppers. Every time I visit, I go through the showroom and revel at what they've done with the teeny-tiny "Living in 300 SF" spaces. Somehow, they manage to make me feel like abandoning my spacious home for a more simple flat in fabulous Paris or London. Who wouldn't? Below are some amazing spaces that might make you feel the same longing for a Littler-Life.

Always make sure each piece is multiuse.

 Use larger patterns and graphics on fabrics, furniture or walls. Think Grand. 

 A generously scaled sofa, mirror, chair, rug, or piece of furniture will trick the eye.

 

 Add a wall of mirrors. Immediately the space will seem exponentially larger 

 

Paint it a dark glossy color or cover the walls in a deep, sumptuous velvet, felt, or wool makings sure to add many different sources of light to create a soft atmosphere.

 

 

 

DARE TO POLKA DOT

Polka dots are high fashion this season, here's how you can you incorporate these dotted duds into your home decor in a mature, chic way. 

Stick to neutral, monochromatic accents on bedding, pillows, upholstery, and wall coverings.
Cheers!

CEILING BLING

Is your dining room yearning for something new? Here is an inexpensive update for your tired chandelier or pendant. Add a $20 medallion from your local hardware store and spice it up with a little metallic paint.

FALL TABLE CHALLENGE

I posted last weekend some great metallic tablescapes from a few stores around town, I now challenge you to an easy DIY this weekend!

 

I have a few examples that I was able to pull off in less than an hour and less than $10.00 with a some squashes that I got at the grocery store for around $2.00 each, leftover floral pics from last year, and metallic spray paint that I already had lying around... Hello, I'm crafty, my drawers are pouring with this stuff. I did this really fast so I expect more outta' you! I can't wait to see what you all can do in a whole weekend.

1. 2. 3. Wipe those squashes clean, spray 'em with paint, then set them out on your table with whatever trays, candles, floral and curious you've got around the house.

Cheers!!
Sam

ANTIQUE CONTEMPORARY DINING

Another exciting day in design for Samantha Kate Interiors as I finished up this e-Design dining room for an out of town client who comes from a family that has collected antique furniture for generations. They obviously wanted to keep the antiques and incorporate them into their new home, but didn't know how. With glamorous accents, bold colors, a crystal chandelier, and glittering gold highlights, we came up with this glittering-emerald creation.

If you’d like Samantha Kate Design to design for you, email me at SamanthaKateDesign@gmail.com

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS

Amazing desk accessory! World Market's got nothin on Iomi. This is the cutest thing I've ever seen, I can see it now in my eclecticly-global home office. $158.00, 3 LB, hand-poured.

FRESH FALL DECORATING

Happy Monday all, I hope you had a great weekend! I spent mine shopping at the Dallas Market with my Mum, you won't believe the amazing things we found. I now want to open my own home decor store, garden shop and bridal salon. I dont know how that can all work together, but if any of you figure it out, please fill me in.

The recurring theme of the weekend was FALL, but not the usual burnt oranges and browns. Neutrals are a thing of the past, think silver, gold, and mercury glass people!

Have a look at these great table-scapes from various shops an try your hand at this fresh Fall look.