Dark and Moody

Hi.

There has been a black cloud over Charlotte the past few days with Flo's winds blowing by and until the power went out I spent some time working on a new project and updating my Pinterest boards.  I am a bit obsessed with that.   I saw these images on both Pinterest and on Flickr and fell in love with their simplicity, beauty and .. well fruit moodiness.   I love, love, love a good dose of black and if done right, purples tied in can be strong color combination !  My one piece of advise -  just do it in one room not everywhere for that drama.. in my opinion but hey, that's just how I would do it.

photo by girl in the kitchen - sara ghedina (here)

photo by girl in the kitchen - sara ghedina (here)

This color combo is so gorgeous - has me thinking all about blackberries . .

FOR THE CAKE BASE

10 stone Medjool dates

1 cup almonds

1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

3 Tbsp virgin coconut oil

1/4 tsp sea salt

FOR THE TOPPING

2 cups blackberries

2 cups blueberries

3 stems basil

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 Tbsp starch

1 tsp agar-agar

1 cup  blueberries to garnish

For the cake base coarsely chop dates.  In a pan without oil, roast almonds, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds until they begin to crack.  Chop cooled nuts and kernels in a blender.  They should not be too coarse, so that the mass will keep well but is not ground to flour.  Add dates, coconut oil, and salt, and continue mixing until you get a sticky mass.  Fill mass into greased springform (26 cm dia), and with a large spoon, press firmly into the form.  It should create a rim of approximately 2 cm in height.  Place cake base in refrigerator.

For the filling, pick off basil leaves from stems and finely puree berries with basil leaves.  Then pass through a sieve.  Add coconut milk to fruit puree and season to taste with maple syrup and lime juice.   Then stir in starch and agar-agar with a wire whisk.  In a saucepan, while stirring continuously, bring berry puree to a brief boil.  Then pour into a bowl and let cool until lukewarm, stirring occasionally.  Spread filing on a cooled cake case and place tart in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.  Then garnish with remaining berries.  

But on the subject of black and plum - let's talk design and that combination. 

This is one of my favorite pieces at Shain Gallery by artist Yvonne Mendez.  How brilliant is the lighting and colors in his piece.  Love it and find it inspiring.  Inspiration for interiors can come from anywhere - art included.

artist - Yvonne Mendez

Or even a floral combination can inspire me as well for a design look !

In looking at all my Pinterest saves, I've pulled the combo I am talking about, take a look !

First place to start BEFORE you pick your paint - fabric.  Purples can come in so many different hues, here are a few of my faves we offer at Lucy and Company.

Another moody and fabulous piece just in from Saliha Staib (at Shain Gallery) .  In an earlier post I showed you a more Spring like green version, but I am loving this as well.  So dramatic and perfect in my plum and black combo.

I would love this in a library . . . and clearly I love this sofa !

Happy Inspiration . . . 

Install of the Day !

Hi There !

The week after Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year.  Time off !  Vendors are closed, and clients for the most part are MIA as well.  Today especially is one of my favorites.  Kids and husband are in a food coma and sleeping late, it's quite and just the best of the laid back days.  I'm playing catch up on the blog which is always fun to write a post or two of some of our installs !  Not work, more reflection on the finished product.  Designing the job, ordering, receiving and installing have so many moving parts, just sitting back with a collective sigh and pat on the back is too quick and we don't really get to enjoy.  Take this job Maggie designed and installed not too long ago.  I barely got to take a look at it and this am I am really enjoying Mekenzie's images and all the details Maggie put in the space.

She has been working with this client in the Longview neighborhood for about a year now and after finishing their family room (then taking a breather) it was on to the dining room.  This client loves purple and while we both do as well, small doses are really the way we like to go with this strong color in this particular space.  This dining room, just off the foyer turned out so beautiful with it's tone on tone pattern and small pops of color creating an elegant and striking space !  Maggie loves the softness of whites and touches of blue.  Finding this art piece at Shain Gallery by artist Casey Matthews really jump started the design, it's gorgeous.  Another pieces that deserves an applause is the lighting by one of our favorites, Ashley Childers.  Amazing !  Take a look at my favorite images from this dining room install.

What I do love is the flow into the family room Maggie designed last year, the colors transition so beautifully.  The cohesion is perfect.

all photos by mekenzie loli


Beautiful - great job Maggie !

Install of the Day !

Hey Ho . . 

One of our least complicated installs this month was the teen room of Emma Malak.  Sweetest girl ever.  Emma needed an update.  We all wanted purple, but not an abundance of it, just touches here and there.   With the exception of a few things to keep:  the side chests and framed sentimental baby clothes,  we had a clean slate to work with.  Maggie and I working together on this creating a few different directions for Emma to choose from.  Take a look . . . it was all about narrowing down the wall paper and rug.

Option One.

Option Two.

Option Three.

Option Three was our winner.  The rug gave us a fit being back ordered forever, so we changed that and it actually was a happy problem.  Love our other option.  Take a look at the finished product.

We chose this grey on grey graphic accent paper, painting the two side walls a pale grey.  The added purple stripe behind the desk accented the big mirror and Emma's framed baby clothes.  A new upholstered bed and cornices have lasting power in pale grey as well.  New, easy to function blinds in a warmer color keep the room from being too light.

Love this paper !

Also found the perfect art piece to compliment the rug.

A new tufted lavender chair and pouf and chandelier add a bit of elegance.

One of my favorite last minute ideas was adding cork to the back of all the doors.  We then painted it the deep lavender.  Emma can not only hang her favorite magazine pics, but also her jewelery.

The baby clothes could seem too sweet for this more grown up space, but we all felt they worked perfectly when paired with the strong graphic stripe.

A big two day hustle to paint, paper and deliver all the furniture, while Emma was away for a few days was so worth it when I saw her surprised face coming in the room !!!!

all photos by mekenzie loli

I love a big surprise !!!