diaNoche Thank you & Giveaway Winner

I'm sorry I've been a bit MIA this week.  The little guys brought home a stomach virus from school so it's been a bit messy around here.  We're feeling good now though!

Veronica's back visiting from dia Noche with a thank you to all of you who made comments & popped over to visit:

 "I’m happy to announce Patricia from PVE Design as diaNoche’s giveaway winner!!!  I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated and for all of their kind words.   I can’t fully express how much it has meant."

{The gorgeous Patricia Van Essche from PVE Design}

I've spoken with Veronica a few times in the past couple of days & she's overwhelmed by the sweet comments & notes people sent her way.  She's poured her heart and soul into her new line and is thrilled with the response she's gotten. 

And I also wanted to thank you for the nice comments about the pics we took.  I've decided that having your best friend come over, dress you in her beautiful clothes, do your hair & makeup like a superstar, take a million photos of you and throw out all the bad ones, keeping only the good ones, is a great thing to do after you have kids.  As silly as it is -and the many of you that have kids probably know this- but after you have a baby, even when you get back to "you," you're not quite sure if you look the same as you used to and you worry a little that you never will...  (At least I do.) But seeing the pics made me feel better about myself. 

Love you Veronica.  Thank you.  

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Snow-Quiet

I love waking up to fresh snow.  We got a little bit here and my husband, a high school English teacher, has a two-hour delay so we were able to chill for a bit before starting the day.  My favorite part of our bedroom is our view of the back yard.  On mornings like this I like to open the shades, lay in bed, and watch it get light.  (ok, honestly I'd probably rather be sleeping but today wasn't one of those days.)

{"Fariy dust" on everything}

It's still quiet out.  Snow-quiet. 

It's that time right after it snows when it's so quiet you can almost hear it. 

I love that.

If I drank coffee, now would be a good time to do it. 

Have a beautiful one!

ps- don't forget to enter the DiaNoche giveaway here!


If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Recipe for a Good Fashion Shoot

Today, one of my closest friends, Veronica, is visiting and sharing with us her recipe for a good photo shoot.  She recently launched her own line of clothing, dianoche .  She came over this Fall and we had an amazing time, although the hardest part was trying not to laugh as she directed me into various poses:

{me, trying not to crack up}

{me, totally cracking up}

Here's Veronica's recipe for a good shoot.....
The Recipe calls for:
-very patient family members and friends

-hair curlers and makeup
-an extremely patient and loving husband
- a few cold ciders

- random props

- countless hours of hard work and laughing (a couple spent crying ... most from laughing so hard)
- an amazing friend who you used to daydream with

- and one large pizza

These were the key ingredients that went into creating dnstyle.com and I'm indescribably thrilled that we've launched! For now the site is carrying unique yet classic t-shirts that go perfect with your favorite pair of jeans (to stay home or go out) or a 40s-inspired pencil skirt to wear for work. The fashion industry has changed drastically these past 10 years and it's satisfying to see the client calling the shots for a change. People want easy to wear, care and match clothing while looking effortlessly flawless and diaNoche was up for the challenge. We can't wait to add accessories and home decor to complete the look.
-Veronica El-Showk

Veronica has started the line with a collection of classic versatile t-shirts that can be used both day & night (hence, "dianoche.")  I am SO excited for her and she's offered to do a giveaway for one of our readers.  To enter for a chance to win the giveaway, all you have to do is visit diaNoche to view the available designs and leave a comment in my comments section saying which t-shirt design you want.  (Make sure we have a way to contact you.)   We'll pick a winner by random on Friday!

To view the real images that made the cut onto diaNoche (clearly not the ones of me cracking up ;)  you can click on the "Lookbook" section of diaNoche.

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

The Mad Hatter

I'm home from whirlwind trip to Hickory and very productive meeting at our factory.  To put it simply, the people at the factory are A-mazing:  Quick, intelligent, fun, and seriously "with it."  And...  the Pure Style upholstery collection is on its way!!  I am so excited. 

It's a mix of very basic, classic pieces (for example, English arm sofas) that work in a variety of settings and some new pieces that I've done.  They will be sold on my online store this coming Spring  (The online store is set to open before then...  I'll be honest and tell you that the only hold up is me taking photos of the items and loading them onto the beautiful website Emily created.)  and in the Loudon Design Center, which is to-the-trade.  It's been a crazy few months with a lot of plates spinning (isn't it always though?!! ;) and I am thrilled to have an end date in sight!!!!

I thought I'd share one of my designs...  You might remember this Victorian wing chair I found a while back.  I mentioned I had plans for it:

...Well, it was a piece that I wanted to try to rework.  It's really difficult when you have trouble drawing...  I  took the photo above and played around with it on the computer to convey what I wanted to do with it, which was arc the top a bit more, remove the wood frame around the edges, straighten the legs and front, removing the carving, and recline it a bit further. 

I love classic pieces and nice proportions but there are times when I like to inject a little something else into a room.  Something a bit playful and confident.  And it would be with a chair or 2 like this.  This chair reminds me the something you'd see at the Mad Hatter's tea party:

{Alice sitting in the Mad Hatter's Chair}

Here's one of the original illustrations and you see Alice in a beautiful tufted chair...  loooooove:

I knew right away that the chair we're creating would be the "Mad Hatter" Wing Chair.  The images & memories from my childhood are so ingrained in me that I figured, why fight it? and why not just go with it?  So, every piece in the collection is named for what strikes me when I think of it.  (And not all make sense, which is why I'll be sure to explain ;)   Here's a sideview sketch I did of the Mad Hatter:

I'll be sharing sketches and pics of the pieces as the Spring nears.  All of our pieces will be available online in a selection of standard linen and velvets (in a large variety of colors) and if you are working with a designer or if you are a designer, we offer COM.  I honestly have no idea how the line will do or what the future will bring, but I'm excited to see where this goes.  In this industry, there are so many interesting off-shoots, options and ways to expand your philosophies.  I see this as hopefully one of the many ways I'll get to explore design.  Have a great rest-of-the-weekend!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Blogworld happenings

I dont' spend as much time reading blogs as I used to before the world of 2 children.  BUT, I do get on whenever I can and woke up extra early today and have been perusing some of my favorites...  And I was kind of blown away by all of the exciting stuff everyone has going on!!!  I thought I'd share some congratulations...

Jenny of My Favorite & my Best is trying out to be in the next Design Star:

And Newell Turner wants her in it!!  (Jenny, will they have beeps on when  you talk?? ;) ;)

...Brooke & Steve Giannetti's pink bathroom was in the NY Times....

{so exciting and would love to take a bath in there (if it were mine of course!!!) ha}

Eddie & Jaithan have had so many good things happen to them that I will simply say, read this if you haven't already.

{this is one of my favorite redos.. DANCE}

Seleta's house was photographed for next year's Southern Living Magazine Christmas issue!!!  (And she got my favorite photographer & friend, Helen Norman!!)

{i want our families to be friends}

And, the most special of all, Jennifer of The Newlywed Diaries had a beautiful baby girl!!

{Baby Elliot Claire}

Congratulations to mommy & daddy!!!

I'm sure I missed out on lots of great happenings but just wanted to share these few.  Love you all and am so excited and happy for you!!!

I'm out for the weekend...  Headed to Hickory, NC for some work on our coming furniture line.  Have a great one!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Before & After: Client's Neutral Living Room

{The one-day deer head...  I'll explain later}

My client Diem & her husband Joe (and their two adorable boys- Charley (3) and baby Harry) were looking to make a few changes in their living room.  They wanted something a bit more sophisticated & grown up, yet still comfortable and kid-friendly.   It's the living room and they have an informal family room off of the kitchen so they were looking for something a bit more formal than what they have in there.  Diem's love of neutrals inspired the design which is a mix of shades of gray and pale yellow-creams.  (Diem & Joe wanted to keep the wall color.)When I first visited, it looked like this:

We're still not completely finished yet, but here's how it looks now:

{That's Charley on the sofa!}

Here's a close-up of some of the fabrics on the velvet sofa:

Here's a close-up of the chairs & colorblocked linen pillows I had done by Paul David Designs:

When we were setting up the living room, Diem told Charley (3) that the figurines below were Indian.  He listened carefully and then proceeded to call them "Aliens" for the rest of the day.  I love 3-year olds.

And here's Mr.Charley himself sinking into one of the new chairs:

{i can't handle him...  he's such a good little guy!!}

We started the process of styling Diem's cabinet using her brother-in-law Derek Larsen's pottery:

{Diem's got a shopping list now for those 2 bottoms shelves!}

Derek will be busy ;)

Here's another view of the room before:

And here it is now:

I had a really tough time shooting because of the light, but you get the idea.  (Straight into the sun)

...And now let's talk about the deer...  the "one day" deer...

I just got word from Diem that Joe came home and hates the deer so he has to go.    He's calling him "RoboDeer" which is actually pretty hysterical. 

{At least we got RoboDeer's pic!}

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Baby's Room Rug

I love change.  Rooms in my own home can start to feel dead to me if I don't freshen things up, rearrange, and/or add items every once in a while.  Justin's carpeting in the nursery hasn't fared very well...

... so I was thrilled when we stopped at Ikea the other day and found this yellow & navy graphic rug for around $150:

It was just the thing to cover up the havoc we've wreaked on the cream carpet. 

{Good luck to you, New Rug!}

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Arcimboldo

{National Gallery of Art}

Last week, Dave & I got the chance to sneak away to the National Gallery of Art for an afternoon.  We don't seem to enjoy the city's museums nearly enough so when we have vacations at home, we try to get in to see one. 

{tourists in our own city}

We didn't have much time - only a couple of hours- so we made sure to hit up the Guiseppe Arcimboldo exhibit - visiting from the Louvre- which leaves this January.  I'd never heard of him and was thrilled with what we saw:

{Bowl of vegetables at first glance}

...When viewed with a mirror under the painting - which is how they had it set up- you can spy the funny face made entirely out of veggies of "the cook:"

There were a few of these & I loved seeing them, many of them fairly grotesque (which for some reason I really love... remember my old men on the Da Vinci wall?) with things like plucked chickens for a noze or cheek.  yuck.

Arcimboldo was born in 1527 and eventually became the court portraitist and festival planner for Emporer Maximilian II (r. 1564- 1576) and his young son Rudolf II(r.1576-1612).   He was known for the incredible imagery and costumes he created at parties and performances.  I imagine crazy bright beautiful shows and tables overflowing with food & drinks & flowers... 

Arcimboldo was not the tradittional court portraitist in that he began creating people's likenesses out of objects such as fruit, flowers, books and plants.  He would often create a person out of objects having to do with his profession, such as this librarian out of books:

The best-known of his work is the Four Seasons, presented to Maximiliam as a gift on New Year's Day 1569: 

Each "season" is created out of things from that season, for example, Autum is full of apples, grapes, and leaves.  It's hard to see on my computer screen, but some of my favorite parts of the paintings were the tight bits of foliage and flowers.  I think they'd make beautiful textiles.  (Especially Spring's chest, top right.)

Below is "Vertumnus, a portrait of Rudolf II re-imagined as the Roman god of metamorphoses in nature and life, with Rudolf’s face composed of fruit and flowers, symbolising the perfect balance and harmony with nature that his reign represented," (jack.rusher.com)

I loved Arcimboldo's cheeky take on people.  His art is not beautiful in the traditional sense but it makes me smile and they are definitely conversation pieces.  I also just love nature and seeing people made out of bits of it is a fun surprise. 

My absolute favorite part of the exhibit, however, were the volumes of botanicals and animal books (there must be a better word, but I can't think of it right now ;) they had under glass around the exhibit.  They were incredibly beautiful.  Seriously I was going crazy.  I want ever single one of those books.  I never really realized how many botanical books must really be out there.  We tend to see the same ones reproduced over & over but there so many more out there.  I wrote every single one of them down and plan to do some research and wee which, if any, have been reproduced.  They were so old (1500s-1600s) yet still so vibrant, many of them done with watercolor & gouache. 

I could see how people want to collect them.  (Ok, I want to collect them ;) 

Anyway, I'm off to start the day.  We had such a realxing vacation & I pretty much finished up plans for my DC Design House proposal.  Now I just need to do the design board.  I also put together a portfolio of my work(using blurb.com) because they want to see a porfolio for any new designers.  I really liked working with the blurb program and am pretty happy with the results, but the photos came out a little yellowy  (All of my funky greens look a little too yellow and are a bit off.) and so if I'd had more time, I'd try to figure out from blurb what was up with that.

Have a great day and happy new year!!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.