TRADE SHOWROOMS

I had a chance this week to visit the newly combined and renovated Lee Jofa, Kravet, and Brunschwig & Fils. The space is huge, and colorful and beautiful. I encourage everyone to pop in to see the beautiful textiles and furniture!

WHAT'S YOUR STYLE?

As a designer, I spend a lot of time helping clients reign-in and define their personal style. But hard as it is to find another person's style, it can be even more difficult for a designer herself to define. Being aware of the trends that come and go as well as the new products and applications a designer is privy to, no wonder a designer's home is never finished. As the saying goes "the cobbler's son has no shoes."

When my special Celebrity Edition of Architectural digest found itself in my mailbox, I tore through the pages like a box of mixed variety chocolates stopping to taste the delectable New York home of Brook Shields. This apartment reflects my style almost perfectly.

Beautiful gray-blue walls with Louis XVI style side chairs with a pop of green on this perfectly neutral palette.
Image: Architectural Digest

 Traditional furniture pieces accented with quirky art by Hunt Slonem and pops of coral on pillows and a single side-bench.

 Image: Architectural Digest

 

Traditional French, made modern again with a bold chandelier and Zuber’s Les Lointains wallpaper.  

Image: Architectural Digest

 

I love reclaimed details including this dining table with a marble top and a set of white-lacquered antique-style chairs. 

Image: Architectural Digest

 

This master suite is so light and luxurious with light greys and fresh blues, and who can resist marble!

Image: Architectural Digest

A cozy home office with green accents and vintage motifs.
Image: Architectural Digest

One can never go wrong with a Louis Vuitton trunk and a zebra hide rug to complete a space. 
 Image: Architectural Digest

A design  style does not have to fit into one category, it can combine a few or incorporate many. Just be sure to make it your own and your home will undoubtedly be a comfortable place that you love.

Still not sure? Take this quiz from HGTV 

Here's what HGTV says about my Personal Design Style.

Sophisticated

Your design style is mixed. Call it traditional elegance meets modern lines. In your home, sophisticated looks contrast perfectly with updated twists. For example, "You might find the classic lines of a Louis XV chair in a dining room set with a modern textured fabric," suggests Julie Rackley, an interior designer in Bellevue, Washington.
The best color palettes for your look include dark browns and soothing neutrals. Rich accent colors complete the mixed antique modern look: tapestry blues, muted blue-greens, champagne and warm peachy tones. Your style includes a range of fabrics from silk to mohair to linen to velvet.
Your style isn't the only thing with a combination approach: your space is perfect for anything from entertaining friends and family to intimate gatherings around the kitchen table.

Design Tips for Sophisticated
To add a touch of elegance to your home décor by investing in just one luxurious item to contrast against a more modern backdrop – a crystal lamp in your bedroom, a Persian run in the front entry, an antique cherry desk in your office or perhaps a deep red velvet chair with carved wood armrests and feet by the living room fireplace.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

 Happy Valentines Day! I hope you all have a wonderfully enchanted day. XOXO 

BRIGHT IDEAS

It's a new year, what better time to spruce up your home decor with the bright, fresh colors of the season. This doesn't mean you have to break the bank painting the whole house from top to bottom, there are easier and more cost effective ways to add fresh color, less commitment too.

If you like to garage sale as much as I do, hunt for inexpensive side chairs to place in an empty corner or a full set to replace your out of date dining set. Try repainting them with Sherwin WIlliams, Lakeshore, for a pop of turquoise.

Bring new life to those forgotten objects in your donate box. Spray paint a pair of old candlesticks or an old vase glossy white and fill with yellow roses, or turn an old Ikea dresser into a campaign chest with Sherwin Williams, Exuberant Pink, adding gold brackets and pulls.

Brighten up your bedroom with a brightly colored wool throw at the end of the bed or a new glossy, coral colored lamp on your nightstand with coordinating ikat toss pillows. My sure-fire accessory shops, Homegoods-Park Lane, Marshalls-Preston Center, Z Galleria-Alpha Road, World Market-Old Towne.

Lastly, the most classic and convenient way to add color, fresh floral. My favorites, blue or green hydrangeas on the dining table or orange tulips in the kitchen. Don't try to get overly complicated with mixed floral arrangements, keep it simple, most bunches can be purchased for under $10.

Adding color to your space is easy, be fearless and remember that nothing is permanent

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.