Do You Need to Change Your Buffet Today?

I changed up my buffet vignette today after buying some new napkins, rings and candles.  Time for a change.  What do you think?

photo: carol beck

I am a nut for Country French, and when I spotted this buffet (commode as the French would call it), at a thrift store for next to nothing, it was like the clouds parted and the angels sang.  It was mine the second I saw it, and into the back of my girlfriend's van it went!   :)

photo: carol beck

Here's a close up of the last of my summer garden...

photo: carol beck

What small change will you make today to freshen up a room?

Talk to you soon,

Carol

Inspiration and Interpretation

Considering, reading and learning from what others say can be inspiring.  It can take you in a new direction or validate a conviction.  I love discovering quotes for all of these reasons.  I hope you enjoy today's thoughts...

All the necessary elements of a room should not arrive on installation day. Room should always be left for the things we will acquire...the objects we cannot live without.

Charlotte Moss, A Passion for Details 

Designer: Phoebe Howard

Decorators should never insist on throwing out everything the client has. Even when they are far from perfect, loved possessions add personality.

Billy Baldwin 

Designers: Diana Kelly, Richard Smith

 An interior is the natural projection of the soul.

Coco Chanel 

 Designer: Scot Meacham Wood from his website

 ...People's lives are expressed in little details....The soap in the bathroom, the flowers in the garden, the books on the bedside table are all strong symbols of a life in progress. You look at these details and a world unfolds - here are their books, the paintings they cherish, the music that soothes their souls.

Charlotte Moss, A Passion for Details 

Designer: Gerald Pomeroy

Decor must have sentimental value. A house must tell a story.

Mark Hampton, Harper's Bazaar, June 1989 

Ok, this one isn't a famous designer's work -- it's the house of my good friend, whose home so reflects bits of all the thoughts above that it did, in part, inspire this post.  My childhood friends and I gather every summer at her house, and I couldn't resist adding this picture.  Her home reflects her personality, contains sentimental treasures from her past, the perfect and the imperfect.  It makes you feel at home.  And in the end, isn't that what a house is for?

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Will Your Room Look As Good Without A Rug?

Totally debatable.  I get asked this a lot, and while the question, I find, is occasionally posed from a budget or lifestyle perspective (i.e. allergies),  it is a valid question when it comes to achieving a successful space. 

Going without is not wrong.  But the look itself is most often at home in rooms with a European aesthetic.  Sometimes, too, "clean country", as I like to think of it, is a look that can carry off  no-rug appeal, without looking half-dressed.  Both aesthetics lend themselves to a look that says, "I'm a room that's still being collected, and don't I look great while I await more treasures?" And the look works, and it is just that -- a look.

Each of the rooms below were done without a rug because that was the designer's intent.  They make a statement.  Confident.  Anything but ordinary.  Stylish.  If you were designing these rooms, would you have been bold enough not to use a rug?

Designer: Eddie Ross

Designer: Leslie Klots

Designer: Martha Angus

Imagine a rug in either room, above or below.  Yes, they would look fine with one.  But without, they have an intentional, successful edge...

Designer: Martha Angus

Source: House Beautiful.  Chairs: Steven Gambrel

So, what do you think?  I know you're out there reading, because I see the statistics every day!  Please do me the favor of clicking on "comments" in the gray bar below each post, and share your thoughts from time to time.  It's fun for readers to learn what others are thinking.  Many thanks, in advance :).


Talk to you soon,
Carol

Plants as Accessories

I love a home with plants and flowers-- real, silk, anything but dried.  They bring nature and life into a room in a way that other accessories cannot.  Many people are opposed to "fakes", but I say, if your green thumb is tarnished, why not us them?  No maintenance!

Here is a look at how to use plants, large and small, in ways that not only add an organic element to a room, but great texture as well.  And we all know that every room needs great texture.

Designer: Susan Zises Green, Traditional Home

Designer: Dan Carithers

Designer: ? Boszhardt

Designer: Meg Braff

Designer: Nancy Berger

Designer: Dan Carithers

Fill a nook, make a statement, set a mood -- all possible with plants.  Give it a try.  You won't be disappointed (and the satisfaction-to-budget-ratio can't be beat! :).

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Remembering September 11th

My girls were 4 years old on 9/11.  I had dropped them off at pre-school, come home to tidy up the kitchen, and turned on the television that was on top of the fridge. There it was.  The first plane was in the tower.  I remember standing there in utter disbelief, trying to understand what I was seeing.  It wasn't making any sense.  You know what I mean.  That feeling that your brain isn't working, trying consciously to process the images.  I reached for the phone to call my best friend.  Her sister worked at the World Trade Center.  And then I watched as the second plane hit.

Was Maureen there? Was she at work?  The memory of the events of that day are sharp and fuzzy all at once.  You know what I mean.  My friend's sister, as we found out later, had made it out down the stairs of the second tower.  Thank god for that.  But how we all felt, still feel, for the others who didn't is still haunting.  You know what I mean.

It's hard to believe that 9 years have rushed by.  We hope it won't happen again, but we all still wonder.  You know what I mean.  And I say you know what I mean because I believe every American can recall with clarity the feelings of that day, the moments, the images.

The design blog Focal Point has a great post about 9/11 along with some wonderful images of the memorials. Don't miss her pictures and her story.  Really good.  Take a minute and click here to see it.

Talk to you soon, on a lighter note,
Carol

Who's Using Zebra Rugs?

Zebras, it seems, are leading the herd right now when it comes to animal prints.  It's no wonder -- the zebra pattern has incredible graphic impact.  While the leopard print will always remain a favorite of mine, the zebra has undeniable appeal.

First, a look at a hallway that speaks softly of great style...See how subtle it is (and totally unexpected)?

Ralph Lauren

Now, let's go bold with the zebra...

Designer: Jonathan Adler

Don't you just want to follow these stairs and see what eye candy there is?  Such a bold use of color and pattern...

Designer:  Jonathan Berger

Zebra goes rustic....

Designer: Mimi McMakin

Here, the zebra is on a the sofa blanket while another animal friend warms the floor...

Designer: Ned Marshall

This rug is so unexpected in this warm and inviting library/living room, don't you think?

Designer: Susan Jamieson

Are you a zebra fan?

Talk to you soon,

Carol

Pillow Talk

I broke one of my own rules today about blogging -- I was without my camera!  How unfortunate, as I had the opportunity to capture images of some gorgeous custom pillows, designed by my friend Joanna (who lent me her camera!!), for her pillow-novice client.

What's a "pillow-novice" you ask?  Simply put, someone who either doesn't understand the impact pillows can have on the overall design of a room, or, someone who just doesn't know how to pull a pillow look together.   Joanna's mantra "no room should be without fabulous pillows" is so true -- and rarely is there a client of hers that goes without!

What prompted this post, other than having just seen these little works of art, was wanting to show you how to artfully mix fabrics to achieve impact, while creating a somewhat  "unplanned" affect.  Coordinating fabrics for pillows (along with the rest of a space) is a talent, and I am always inspired by Joanna's ability to add the unexpected into her work.

Designer: Joanna Phillips

The inspiration for this fabric combination came in part from the artwork (a series of these more contemporary images), the golden beige of the sofa fabric, and the orange/pumpkin  paint color (a shade which relates to the orange-y color in the one "random" lumbar pillow in the mix.)  Looking at these pillows together, would you have done the one in the front?  My guess is, only a few of you would say you would have thought to add that!  And isn't it fabulous? 

Designer: Joanna Phillips

Overly coordinated fabrics, whether on pillows or in an entire room, usually border on boring.  I don't think any of us strive for a boring room!   So the next time you are looking to freshen things up a bit, take a lesson from Joanna -- look for an inspiring color in a room and pull it out in something unexpected.  A pillow, perhaps?

Talk to you soon,
Carol