Simple and Sophisticated

I happened upon these gorgeous necklaces a while back and fell in love. I have seen several of these delicate custom charm necklaces but none that are this reasonable AND stylish.

I think they make the perfect gift for any woman. They are made by Three Sisters Jewelery and I hope I get one some day. Are you reading honey? Perhaps I should wait until baby #2. I love the thought of have three charms; one with each kid's name and a horseshoe charm. Or maybe the little Budha, he's kind of fun. To see their full line of jewelery click here. Click on the pics to get a detailed view.







Photography credits by Zoe

Navy and Orange Nautical Nursery

Since I’ve been favoring designs for girls lately, I thought I should throw some love to the boys. So here’s a nautical nursery that’s all sophistication and royal regatta with nothing “dingy” about it. Get it? Okay bad pun. Click on the photo to get the full details.

I try to avoid theme decorating at all costs. If it’s not done properly it can look very cheap. It takes a great designer to pull off a room designed with a theme and make it look fabulous. So here I’ve designed a boy’s nursery that isn’t in your face nautical theme, just sophisticated and modern with subtle hints.

I chose a gorgeous Ralph Lauren large navy and white stripe as my starting point. The chair pictured on the inspiration board is obviously not a rocker but you can see how striking the fabric is when laid on the horizontal. Coordinating fabrics are the geometric orange and white and flax linen. I love the organic look of flax linen.

As for the walls I would add a white bead board all the way around the room covering ¾ of the wall height and the rest of the walls painted a soft oatmeal color. The bead board gives the room an east coast Nantucket feel. The paint swatch to the left of the chair is Oatmeal by Serena and Lily.

The crib is from Restoration Hardware and I think it’s safe to say I am head over heels in love with it. It’s sophisticated and the best part is it converts to a full size headboard! The rug is a soft wool but in a very natural color favoring a woven seagrass. If this was a toddler’s room I would have shown a true seagrass rug, but since it’s for a baby I went with the wool.

Instead of a chandelier or hanging fixture I chose a flush mount antique nickel star. It reminds me of how you would see the North Star late at night in the middle of the ocean on a yacht. I wish! A few other design details not pictured would be adding long curtain panels with grommets. The grommets remind me of a boat’s sail or a true sailor’s knot as curtain tiebacks.

Shopping Guide:
Fabrics: www.CalicoCorners.com
Monogram: JacquelynReese.com
Rug: Pottery Barn
Light: Circa Lighting
Crib, Changing Table, Porthole Mirror and Fan: Restoration Hardware and RH Baby and Child
Art: www.NameYourDesign.com
Bead board Toy Box: Land of Nod
Mobile: Gap.com
Hat: RalphLauren.com
Shirt: Janie and Jack
Paint: Serena and Lily
Garden Seat Table and Arrow Sign: Ballard Designs

Pink and Blue Toile

I LOVE this fabric. It's Quadrille's Rose and Navy on Tint. It would be perfect for my daughter's big girl room.

Pink and Green Perfection

Here's a little bit of loveliness from my photog friend Karen. I made this bedding for a client and I was totally smitten with the end result. We used an embroidered taffeta for the skirt, ties and ruffle detail on the bumpers. The end result was truly stunning.

It’s a wrap!

Looking for a way to spruce up your old sconces and chandeliers? Then check out these gorgeous lighting wraps from www.kaarskoker.com. I love how these simple wraps bring a modern update to a traditional element. I just ordered these two for my studio chandelier. I am going to alternate patterns on the 8 arms.




And I am going to order one of these for my daughter’s chandelier. Remember my blue and pink design? See it here.



These were brought to my attention by my friend Rachel, who spotted them on a fabulous blog you should definitely be reading. Christie Chase who pens Christiechase.blogspot.com is an uber-talented writer, artist and do-it-yourselfer who blogs about her trials and triumphs of transforming blah furniture and decorative items into fabulous one-of-a-kind pieces. Christi is a local gal who purchased an old bungalow in a historic neighborhood in Houston. I love visiting her stylish abode and soaking up the details.


Below is just a sampling of the many lighting sleeves Kaarskoker sells. Visit their site to preview them all.

Black and Pink Boutique Chic

Let me start this post by saying this room design was A LOT of fun. I love feminine rooms and this one is all out girly. About a week ago I received an email from a mom who reads this blog and wanted to know if pink, black and damask wallpaper would work for a toddler’s room or would it be too much. Here is her question;

My lil one just turned two on July 3rd and we were already planning on transforming her room. I was thinking something fun, pink, black, damask wall paper, boutiquish (if that's even a word ..lol) for her room. Would that be too much for a lil girls room?

My immediate thought was, “How freaking cute would that be for a girl’s room, I want to design a room with that theme.” So I replied back saying stay tuned I would give her some guidance. Below is the room design, but I have added a few design comments below along with a shopping list. Click on the image to enlarge.





Pink and black is a beautiful combination, but you need to keep certain elements to a minimum or your room will end up looking like a Victoria’s Secret store. I would recommend keeping the wallpaper damask pattern to a soft pale pink. I found a paint swatch at Home Depot to help, Ralph Lauren’s Verona Pink VM45. You don’t have to use Ralph Lauren paint because it can get a little pricey, but it’s a good starting point. The wallpaper in the design I found at www.Lowes.com, but I was recently told they don’t sell wallpaper in the stores anymore. Again a starting point if you can’t get your hands on a sample. If you’re going to wallpaper the entire room keep the pink a powder pink tone. Another option would be to only wallpaper the wall the bed is against and paint the other walls a complimentary pink. That can help save some money if the budget is tight.

The fabrics selected are samples only because there are so many options available, but if you are going with damask wallpaper avoid a damask print fabric. Too many competing patterns. I recommend adding a dove gray color in the fabrics as a complimenting color. The tiny dot fabric swatch in the design is actually a soft gray color.

Black can be a dominating element to any design so select only a couple of key black pieces and the rest are tiny accents. For example the black dresser and dress form are large pieces and the pillow and picture frame are delicate accents.
The dresser and nightstand are from Ikea so don’t worry if the kids beat the crap out of it, it’s okay it was cheap. The art is from one of my all time favorite artist Janet Hill. They are inexpensive prints to help keep the budget in check.

A few side notes; the lighting in this design are serious budget busters, but you get the idea. I am sure you can find some reasonable alternatives with the internet. Also, there are a lot of pink tones in this inspiration board-do not perceive that as a design tip. Stick with two dominating tones max. This board is a sample only. Enjoy!

Shopping Guide:
Fabrics – www.JacquelynReese.com
Custom monogram – www.JacquelynReese.com
Mirror – www.Horchow.com
Dresser and Nightstand – www.Ikea.com
Rug, Beanbag, Dress form, Storage Basket, Vanity Seat – www.Potterybarnkids.com & www.Potterybarnteen.com
Pillow and Flower Knob – www.Anthropologie.com
Headboard – www.BallardDesigns.com
Jacket – www.JanieandJack.com
Shoes – www.jcrew.com (crewcuts)
Wallpaper – www.Lowes.com
Frames – www.PaulaPrass.com
Artwork – Janet Hill Studio http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5535176
Chandelier – Petite Paris Flea Market available at www.CircaLighting.com
Lamp – www.christopherspitzmiller.com

A Tole Tale About A Chandelier

I think I finally found the chandelier for my daughter’s room. This was quite the arduous task since there were so many stipulations. First it had to be the right size and height because we have ridiculously low ceilings on the second floor where her room is, I am talking 8 feet (remember my house is 50 years old). Second, it had to be “reasonably” priced. If you’ve shopped for lighting lately you know what I mean. Light fixtures can get insanely expensive and since this is for my daughter’s room I was not about to drop a pile of cash. And third, it had to be tole style, but not gaudy. I like a balance of traditional and modern in my home and the chandelier needed to be a traditional element.

Whew! I searched high and low and I hope (fingers crossed) I have finally found one. I ordered it today from www.Laylagrace.com. The cheapest place I could find it. It needs to fit and it better fit because if not there’s a 25% restocking fee. Yikes!