A little blue and white... and gold.... and green....

Around the house

I was thinking the other day that I really haven't posted many pictures of the places I've lived. I've moved around several times since I started this blog, but, this past summer, I made my biggest move so far. I'm a Southerner, born and raised, and had never truly lived outside of Alabama. Well, I fell in love and followed my heart.... and ended up in Detroit, Michigan.

Antique pier table and dictionary, urn lamp from an estate sale

I'm not gonna lie; it's been a bit of a culture shock. But one thing I love about moving is getting to settle in and nest in a new place. I love the design challenges that a new space brings.

Living room wall with a large map of my home town - still working on sofa pillows

Yes, there were the challenges of combining two people's belongings. But we've got that pretty much sorted now (aka, my stuff wins) and now I'm getting to focus on the details and the palette.

Painting by my Dad, driftwood found at my great-Grandad's lake

Chaise from the house where I grew up

Can you guess what colors I'm favoring these days?

Vases from my aunt, bottles I collected in high school, my ridiculous shelter magazine hoard

I usually tend to have about ten colors to a room, but I'm trying to reign that in a bit to make a more calm atmosphere. I will always tend towards a "more is more" way of decorating, but I try to keep things looking pretty classic and a thread of blue and white throughout a house is one great way to do that.

Bedroom gallery wall - yes, I need two dressers

Can you tell I love collecting? I love this wall in our bedroom because each piece represents a memory or someone I love.... the photograph of Alys Beach at sunset by my very talented sister, a miniature oil painting that my Mom bought me when we were at an auction together, another painting by my Dad, mementos from my travels. That, to me, is what home is all about: representing you and the life you've lived and the ones you love.

There was a little girl who had a little burl

Hamptons home office by Carrier and Company

Hello, all! I hope everyone is having a good week so far! I got sidetracked recently, brainstorming room ideas after I saw the picture below. It is such an interesting color scheme and it made me think of the burl table I just marked down over on Chairish. That got me thinking about other ways to style it and here we are!

Living room by Barbara Barry

I like how there is not much color here, but the room has such depth. It manages a balance of warm and cool tones that makes for such an elegant room. I know y'all are going to get sick of me posting stuff about the items I have for sale but I chose them because I thought they were beautiful: in form, in color, in style. This table in particular:

Its smooth curves and combination of olive burl and macassar ebony woods caught my attention immediately. The colors on it are so lovely and it somehow manages to ride the line between modern and classic.

Pretty book matched burl tabletop

I could go on and on. Ha!

Michael Smith's Palm Springs home via Architectural Digest

I saw a similar table in the Architectural Digest article about the completely renovated Palm Springs home of Michael Smith and James Costos. (It's hiding there in the back of the picture above.)

You guys have got to check out that article. The house is so neat!

Vignette with burl wood console by Lilly Bunn

Palm Beach living room by Cullman & Kravis

I really think this table could fit in many different settings, but I kept coming back to the idea of it in a room with similar warm tones.

Phoebe Howard from her book Mrs Howard Room by Room

Then I started thinking how neat it would be contrasted against darker walls, but still in a more casual, comfortable color.

Room by CeCe Thompson Green (a Bunny Williams protege) via DiCorcia Design

And, coincidentally, an olive green room by Ms. Bunny Williams herself

So using these images and the nascent autumn as inspiration , I came up with a room of my own:

Foliage / Lamp / Table / Bird Prints / Sofa / Pillow / Pillow / Curtains / Chair / Chair Fabric / Paint Color

Unless you want a moody, enveloping room (which is fun too), it's good to keep the curtains and larger upholstery in the space light. I love these Anthropologie curtains; they really do make me think of falling leaves! I love hints of a theme in a space, so that's why I did birds on the pillows and the framed prints. You gotta have fun with it!

I hope this gives you some ideas for your own home! Have a great day!

In the Style of Saarinen

Nantucket beach house dining via Elle Decor

I love to see a mix of modern and traditional pieces in a home. That tension, as some decorators call it, helps give balance to a room the same way pairings like warm and cool tones, and smooth and rough textures do.

Living room by Jesse Carrier of Carrier and Company

The Saarinen, or Saarinen-style, chair was really one of the first mid-century modern items that I was interested in. The undulating lines of the chair are a perfect foil for the straight legs and sharp edges of dark metal bookcases (like those above) or wood tables (like the one below). The smooth lacquer finish contrasts perfectly with nubby linen or wool boucle.

Via Nuevo Estilo

I could see that the chair was a piece that could not only fit in myriad settings, but give that setting a twist, a fresh slant to the design.

Via Apartment Therapy

Kitchen design by Ashley Putman via Lonny

The pictures above and below touch upon how I would style these chairs in a room. I love the sleekness of the chairs mixed with the rough-hewn wood of oak tables.

Via Fashionably Living

This is a gorgeous version of an oak table I saw in a local Birmingham, Alabama shop called At Home (not the junky big-box one).

Zurich dining room by Steven Gambrel

This combination of pale wood with black tile is fantastic! And adding some greenery and plants is always a good idea. It brings life to a room.

Via Elle Decoration UK

I am not a minimalist by any stretch of the imagination, so I would have to go a bit further with furnishings: adding things like paintings and candlesticks, pretty cushions and rugs.

Chairs / Dinnerware / Artwork / Curtain Fabric / Foyer / Table / Succulent Arrangement/ Rug / Flooring

The Saarinen-style chairs shown above are part of my collection for Chairish. The cushions that come with them are actually the original red-orange corduroy, so I would update them in an interesting new fabric like this faux shagreen:

Faux Stingray Vinyl in Quartz

From all white minimalism to French flair, there are so many decorating approaches you can use to combine pieces of different styles and eras. How do you all handle mid-century in your mix?

I hope you enjoyed the post and will visit back soon!

Elementary, my dear blogophiles

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the 2011 Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville. My aunt and several of my friends live in that lively city, and it was so nice to be able to combine a visit with such a grand event!

Making the show even more exciting was the fact that one of their guest speakers was the lovely and talented Charlotte Moss. Some bad weather threatened us, but my Mom and I braved the icy roads north and, along with my vivacious Aunt Kathi, made it to Moss' Friday morning lecture... And, let me tell you, it was worth it!


Charlotte Moss, being a good sport, having her picture taken with me


Moss' passion for what she does was clearly evident throughout her speech. I loved her description of her upbringing by a mother whose passion for interior design inspired hers, saying that her mother has been her role model and was even where she learned to decorate. (A sentiment to which I can certainly relate!)

"I grew up with a mother who spent her life making things better... I'm still trying to be my mother", said Moss. She also discussed how, sometimes, men don't "get" the decorating process, and may have to be circumvented in order to get things done: "I thought decorating was something that happened when your father went out of town... My mother always had a project lined up". She said this taught her that, in decorating, you "had to have a plan, had to be organized, and had to be fast."

Moss further discussed her personal style (crediting her Southern heritage as its most significant contributor), and beauty (which she records in all its forms on her C'est Inspire' blog). Moss takes a camera with her everywhere in order to record the diverse sources of her inspiration (which include travel, house museums, gardens, and architectural details, to name a few), saying her staff is generally left with the daunting task of cataloging and organizing the thousands of pictures she takes.

So, Moss asks, "How do we create the beauty that leads us to the decorating?" She says that, in order to translate the beauty found in the things that inspire each person, you must have an open mind and be fearless.

Moss says she looks to women of the past, such as Fleur Cowles, Leslie Blanche, Pauline de Rothschild, and Elsie de Wolfe, for empowerment. The room above represents a "convergence of chics": watercolors on the wall belonged to Katharine Hepburn, the anemone flowers were a favorite of Fleur Cowles, the chair by the desk belonged to Doris Duke, and the pattern on the D. Porthault sheets on the daybed was a favorite of Jackie Kennedy.

For this Kips Bay Showhouse bedroom, Moss placed a beautiful canopy bed in the center of the room.... much to the distaste of one of the attendees. Apparently this woman approached Moss (looking her up and down and making a back-handed comment about Moss' apparel) and asked Moss what possessed her to put a bed in the middle of a room. Moss, fed up with the woman's attitude, said, "Why the hell not?!", turned on her heels, and walked away! Ha!

"Why not" was a sort of mantra for the lecture (even appearing on the back of the note cards left on our seats). She encouraged everyone to experiment in their own home, saying "your house is your laboratory". Moss says that she doesn't follow any strict rules when layering patterns and objects, using a sort of trial-and-error approach and combining things "hickeldy-pickeldy", instead. (Moss' sense of humor penetrated every aspect of the lecture.)

Overall, it seems that Moss feels that if you spend time truly absorbing the beauty around you, the things and ideas [for your home or projects] will "find you". So, this is exactly what I did for the next several hours on the main floor of the antiques show!....

The intricate gardens and endless booths melded together into one, huge, beautiful space.

There were rugs....

Lamps and light fixtures of every kind....

Beautiful flowers....

And strange, yet intriguing, objects....

A couple of my favorite booths were those by Margaret Doyle Antiques (from Cumberland Foreside, Maine)...

And Bob Withington Antiques, also from Maine...

I am a huge fan of spiral staircases, and this one definitely stole my heart! They had it affixed to the wall so you could actually walk up it, putting you two stories in the air!

Another favorite of mine was Laval Antiques out of nearby Atlanta. They had the most beautiful collection of antique textiles and tapestries. I was like a kid in a candy store!

Mid-century modern pieces were a new addition to the show this year, such as those at Ronald Wells antiques and gallery.

In one of the gardens, layered up for the 20 degree weather outside that day!





My Mom (left) and Aunt Kathi (right) next to a collection of blue-and-white pottery

But, what it all really came down to was a magical day with the people I love!

Here's to a great week ahead!