Swank Lighting

I arrived back from my Dallas Market trip to find an email in my stuffed Inbox informing me that I was the winner of the Swank Lighting contest. Unbeknownst to me they had the drawing while I was in Dallas. These beautiful Vintage Barovier & Toso Murano glass lamps are more beautiful in person than the picture shows. They are mounted on a wood base that is gold leafed and there are sprinkles of gold dust in the glass. They even have a numbered authentication sticker on them. Thanks Swank Lighting!!!!


To see the post that Swank Lighting did on the contest click here.
To view the post Swank Light did on me winning these beauties click here.
Stay tuned: Tomorrow I will tell you about the samples in the foreground of the above picture, which are for a current project I am working on.

New Baby

I received wonderful news yesterday: my client Elizabeth is expecting her second child. Congratulations Elizabeth, I am so happy for you. Maybe these beautiful prints from Posh Tots can find a place in the new baby's Nursery. Posh Tots

Color Inspiration-Faye Toogood.

I am very inspired by this dreamy set of photos from stylist Faye Toogood... (what a great name). Every photo could be the basis for a great room design.

Besides, the great color, I love the unusual manner of displaying all the varying objects. My favorite arrangement is the grouping of tiny animals above the chair rail.

I found Toogood's work via a very lovely blog called Scout Holiday. Be sure to check it out.

Design at a Bargain-Butterfly Prints

When it comes to finding accessories for a home, I can be a bit of a snob. I don't necessarily think that a house has to be filled with very costly items or rare antiques, but I don't like poorly made items that are sold by the thousands. Occasionaly, I find a chain store item that I love anyway, so I decided to share them. The first items I want to share are these beautiful butterfly prints from Pottery Barn. The prints have a wonderful array of colors, and the simple black frames, can work in almost any room. The small 8"x10" frames start at only $39.00, and my personal favorite, the "Quad scape" is only $299.00 for the set of four. I really love these prints, but if I start seeing them all over the place, I reserve the right to change my mind. I know, I know, so snobby.

Modern Cookware

I am not much of a cook, but I might spend more time in the kitchen if I had these pots. Check them out at Polka.

{ Calling Card Chic }

I was having some fun on this stationery web-site I found called Iomoi and fell in love with their designs for calling cards and I started to match up their designs for these cards to the personalities of the people I thought might live in these rooms. Check them out and have some fun coordinating your calling card & address labels to match your home. And let me know if you find a favourite for yourself.

Victoria Hagan

Victoria Hagan



Kate Spade as seen in World of Interiors

Michael Taylor headquarters designed by Jeffrey Weisman of Fisher Weisman
Stick Art by David Ward

Click here to see other posts on Color

Luxurious and Modern Home-David Jimenez

O.K. before I go on, I must admit, I swiped this article from House and Life blog.(Can you hear the sound?.., SWIPE). Alison, did a wonderful interview with designer David Jimenez. I couldn't resist posting photos of his amazing Kansas City home. I connected with everything about it, immediately. The palette, bold scale, and juxtaposition of styles, too wonderful.

I am currently obsessed with the framing and placing of photos and art. Jimenez is very creative with his artwork. This is a great example of how smart placement of frames can make a room.

The all white bath is still so interesting because of the varying textures in the room. Below, is Jimenez' bedroom. The dark color is brightened with the white window treatments and accents. I love this room because its not too girly and not to masculine, its a great compromise.

To learn more about David Jimenez, and his inspiration, go to House and Life, to read a great interview with him. Thanks Alison!

{ Happy Monday }

You may notice a new wider format for my Blog and a few other tricks that I picked up this weekend from reading the Blogging "How To" posts hosted by Felicity at All Things Bright and Beautiful. Jo from Desire to Inspire provided the Html for making a table so that you can get pictures side by side. I had to change my Blog template to accomodate the wider format to Minimia stretch. I also learnt how to make a picture or link open in a new window by pasting a neat little macro in the Html code. This was all a little confusing for me (I am far from being a techie) but I am sure that it will soon become second nature.

So please let me know how you like the wider page format and the pictures side by side....if you can even remember what the old one was like.....Hmmm Happy Monday

Photo Credit Morgane Le Fay

A Few More Mid-Century Houses

Here are few more Mid-Century homes I love.

This beautiful home is for sale! If you have plans to move to the Hollywood Hills, here is the place for you.

Below is the Ostel Hotel in Berlin. It was built in East Germany during the Communist regime. The lively color palette and patterns, defy what most would think of as Communist living quarters.





Of course, I love a house that keeps it simple. In this house, the strong architecture doesn't need too much decoration.



Another home up for sale. This house is located in Palm Springs, a real hot bed for Mid-century design. I'm picturing The Parker Hotel, with fabulous Jonathan Adler decor.


One last thing. Check out the "Viewers Choice" winner at Domino magazine.

{ Campaign Beds }

What is the history of campaign furniture? The invention of campaign furniture – meaning furniture made for travel –was designed for military and naval use. It grew in tandem with the growth of the British Empire and its colonies in the second half of the eighteenth century. The Napoleonic era is probably the best know for examples of campaign furniture which were designed to be dismantled for travel and assembled at the end of the journey.

Ever wonder why these beds are so dreamy, maybe it is because they have their origins in travel to foreign and exotic destinations. I am imagining that the canopy held fabrics that helped to keep out all sort of bugs and protect somewhat against the elements.


Happy Weekend.....Happy dreaming

Reference Books:
The first English pattern book references to the subject occur in Ince and Mayhew’s book The Universal System of Household Furniture (1759–1762), with two designs for folding sofa-beds and a field bed. Chippendale’s The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director (1762) illustrates six designs for field beds with folding hinged slats, and Thomas Sheraton illustrates a design for a ‘sofa bed’ in The Cabinet Dictionary (1803).

Postscript Jan 30/08
An Aesthete's Lament has left a comment that I thought was so good I wanted to include it in the main post: "Some of the beds featured seem to be versions of the iron beds that were used in 18th-century France and moved from house to house by the nobility (obviously they could have been used in campaign or expeditionary situations as well). Such beds were considered less prone to insect infestation, et cetera. Typically, the light iron framework would be covered with curtains and fabric and folderol, rather in the manner of a lit à la polonaise; these could be moved and packed away should the owner decide to relocate from his city house to his country house, et cetera. The first time I ever saw one of these iron beds without its draperies was in the apartment of the French decorator Jacques Grange, where I once visited. In his bedroom, the lit à la polonaise just stood there, utterly stark, its ironwork frame like calligraphy written in the air. The company Oly makes a lovely version of these, called the Walker bed.

{ The Art of Chic Flower Arranging }

These are some images of flower arrangements that caught my eye on my latest trip to LA and Dallas. I was attracted to these because of their simplicity and freshness. I always prefer flower arrangements to be showcased as a single variety and of the same color. And of course you can never go wrong with an all white flower arrangement. I keep an assortment of different sizes and shapes of clear glass containers in my pantry ready to put any length of fresh stems in. Make sure to cut the bottoms 1/2" off the stems before you put them in water. It will help to keep them fresher longer.

A simple bunch of lilies in a clear footed vase sitting on a bathroom countertop at Country Floors showroom on Melrose in LA.

Another arrangement at Bunches of Stocks in the Lobby of our Hotel in Dallas, simply tied and put in a vase on a base of charcoal.

Roses beside the elevator in our Hotel in Dallas. The bottom of the vase is filled with charcoal. The vases are stacked on top of each other with nothing holding them together other than their weight.

Roses floating in vases at the Global Views Showroom in Dallas.

This is a close up of the Sun Ray Wall Sconce in the above Photo show here in Nickel.