Cowtan&Tout's Fall Line and Some Art

When fabric reps come in to show their new lines, it's like Christmas to me, every time.  Yesterday, Stacy Mangia from the Martin Group, out of the Boston Design Center, brought us Cowtan & Tout's fall line.  Can I tell you all I did was gasp?

 

Honestly, my images are totally crappy and do no justice to the fabrics (camera phone and poor lighting).   That aside, the embroidered fabrics like this above are so stunning in person, there are no words (I am a textile FREAK).  The threads are thick and lush, and most of the grounds are linen.

In blogland, so many solids and prints on cotton are shown that it may seem that gorgeous, intricate and beautifully crafted fabrics aren't used any more.  Soooo not true.  Yes, they come with a price tag.  But in small doses, like pillows, luxury design becomes totally affordable.

My frustration with photo quality is extreme, as this in person is so gorgeous I wanted to wear it!  The design is all embroidered and the dots are raised embroidery. 

The one below is a recolorization of an older design.  It is a linen, and the colors are so vibrant and rich in person.  I have to have some of the one that has the cream background at the bottom right of the image. 

This one above is a cotton/jute combination with the softest hand.  Perfect for stunning chair, with pillows on it from some of the other fabrics.  If you ever see a fabric on my blog that you can't live without, let me know.  I can certainly get it for you.

In other news, my girls have been doing some more of what comes naturally...

I'm thinking about adding some of their artwork, from time to time, for sale in my up-coming online  shop.  I'm looking for some feedback -- do you think there is a market for it?  (Reasonably priced, of course, and not necessarily animals). 

And, speaking of my online shop, I hope to be open at the beginning of November.  I can't WAIT to offer my pillows in the some of the most gorgeous fabrics I've been collecting.  Stay tuned.

Have a great weekend,
Carol

Decorating with Tole Trays

One night last week, my girlfriend and I were on line shopping at Hunt and Gather in Raleigh, NC,  a phenomenal consignment store near where she lives.  And there it was, in all its gorgeousness, calling out my name...

Seriously?  A botanical on tole??  I can't stand it, it's so perfect for me.  So my fabulous friend, as a thank you for helping her transform her house with paint, just told me it's on its way to me.  I could die.  I might hug the UPS man when he delivers it.  It is so me.

What do you think of tole?  I love it, except, I must confess, the most popular style with large floral designs.   They're okay, but not my favorite.  Way too romantic for my taste.  I checked out Pinterest to see what images I could find, and holy hannah, this stopped me in my tracks...

Source: google.com via KN on Pinterest

This is beyond glee.  Orange wall? Hello.  Tole with chinoiserie, black harlequin floor?  Died.  Gone to heaven.  Take out a bit of the all-antique look and throw in some unexpected modern somehow, and I'd never come back.

What do you think?  Do you like tole?

Have a great weekend,
Carol

DIY: Mirror with Metallic Rub 'N Buff

This is my new favorite product (and no, there are no endorsement perks), I just used it and I'm sold!

I picked up this sunburst mirror a couple of years ago at a yard sale for a buck.  Ugly, flat, greenish gold finish (of course I remembered the before picture after I'd started taping)...

This gorgeous fall day was perfect for painting outside, so today was makeover day.  I mixed the Rub 'N Buff Gold Leaf color with the Silver Leaf one.  I was going for a dimensional, patina'd look, and I definitely didn't want a cheap shiny gold.  Sooo, after mixing the tubes in a plastic tray to get the color I was after, a silvery-gold, I started brushing it on.

In the picture above, the inside circles hadn't been touched yet, to show you the color difference.  This stuff has a nice transparency to it, if that's how you want to use it.  I let the paint dry for a minute or two, then went back over it with a clean cotton t shirt scrap to rub and buff.  I did this process twice.

Here is it after the second coat...

 I'm crazy about how it turned out.  Just what I wanted.  It's going in the living room above artwork with a vintage, silvery gold frame.    Here's a close up of the dimension I got out of it...

The great thing about this Rub 'N Buff stuff is that when it dries you can buff it to a beautiful sheen just by rubbing with a soft cloth.

Here's a look at before and after (the after looks much more silver than it really is)...

This baby is going in my living room, and you'll see it once my drapes are up (well, once I decide on fabric and then make them, then hang them....it never ends :)

Have a great week and thanks for reading,
Carol

Granite in the Bathroom

My Christmas client from last year has asked me to give her son's bathroom a face lift.   Here's the granite, the roman shade fabric, and the trim for the shade...

 It will be sprucing up this current look...

Stay tuned!

On a personal note, I'm up to my eyeballs in work -- this is the "busy season" in design, and holy smokes, things are cooking.  I'm also in the middle of putting together a shop, with more to come on that down the road.  I'm soooo excited to share it with you.  But please, don't hesitate to jump on my design schedule if you're needing something done!  The countdown is on to the holidays!

Carol

A Dinning Room To Study

While blogging around tonight, I came across a new-to-me blog, Thistlewood Farms.  I nearly died when I took Karrie Anne's house tour, because she had among her images her stop-me-on-my-laptop tracks... dinning room...

Thistlewood Farms

Oh my good glory, this is one of the most beautiful dining rooms I've come across.  Why, you ask?  What moves me?  Everything about it.  Let's start with the bones of the room and then move right into those fantastic, one of a kind window treatments -- the texture, the simplicity, the unexpected smocking of a rough looking fabric.  And houndstooth on the chairs?  Please, I can't take the gorgeousness.  Add in simple-line host chairs in an unassuming, linen looking fabric with the texture of the ornate gold frame in the background.  Oh, and the pretty, pretty, pretty chandelier.  In my decorator's mind, this room is a brilliant example of perfectly mixed textures and pieces that give it a look that is all its own.  No copy-cat look here.  One hundred percent authentic. True.  Love.

I have nothing left to say.
Sigh.

Carol

Designer Francie Hargrove--A Queen of Detail

I discovered Francie Hargrove's work while shopping the Safavieh rug website for a client.  I was so taken by the image they were using of her space with their rug, that I went to her website, FrancieHargrove.com, to see what else she's done.  Can I say I was blown away?

FrancieHargrove.com

So, I emailed Francie to ask if I could share some of her portfolio, and she graciously said yes.  I'm just going to let you enjoy some of her images.  The woman really should be crowned Queen of Detail.  I believe detail is incredibly important, and despite trends, I continue to encourage my clients to incorporate trims in their spaces.  There is nothing like careful, thoughtful, attention to detail.  The texture and warmth they provide can't be matched.

Francie is in Cashiers, North Carolina, by the way.  Thanks, Francie, for allowing me to share your gorgeous work.

Hope you all are enjoying a relaxing weekend.  I'm off to do more yard work...
Carol