Totally Changing it Up !

Hi There . . .

Happy January 1st !!!!   Ok so I guess I should have put a sign in the window to stop the realtors from emailing me about my vacated building, lol.   It's time for a re-design, a different look and mainly a different use of space, hence the current, empty, white box that is my studio.

We have always had a huge showroom in the front of the building.  Tons of furniture, tons of stuff. A place clients can get inspired, but not a retail store.  It has gone through several different looks and has always been fun redesigning and pulling in different styles and colors.  Every year or so I re-design it to freshen it up and fill it with what inspires me at that time.

We are changing it up though.  Moving our resources - fabrics and wall papers, desks and meeting areas to the front, gutting the back for much needed storage.  We cannot wait and over the holiday we got it rolling !  Sold everything off and painted all the floors and walls  a clean, calm white.

We are so excited to be creating a space we can all enjoy with more natural light and more room to spread out.  Everything is out in the open and we'll have a much nicer space to meet and coordinate all the many, many details in pulling off these big installs !


So yeah, we painted the dark, engineered wood floor I installed when I bought the building.. yes it can be done with a good good primer and painters that know what they are doing.  All the walls are Ben Moore Decorator White with black trimmed windows.  We are adding new, custom barn doors to the back of the building.  I saved the giant "living" (faux really) succulent walls that Maggie and I made for Mekenzie's wedding reception to hang over a really pretty, large black console cabinet to house the primer and other office stuff.  We are mixing in three different style "desks" which aren't desks at all.  All three are dining table, one rectangular, one round, one square for the girls.  Behind all the desks, a tall, cain armoire, perfect for personal stuff as well as paper and such.

Take a look.

Now of course, we all need it pretty, so mixing in plenty of art.  These feather pieces I still love and have had newly framed.

Adding in a few light bulb sketches for all the brilliant ideas we hope to have.....

A little something organic and lo cal to remind me to replace the bag of chips I want for lunch to a salad for 2016.

And a little "serious" art.  Keith is working on and I love these resin pieces.  Each one is different and when framed in a floating frame or Lucite box they are looking gorgeous.

Another corner of the big room will have a sectional (clients still need to touch and feel and this particular vendor is my go to for custom sofas), new tone on tone patchwork hide rug (my current obsession), and a but bunch of accessories, mainly art.  Having all new cabinets made to house all those fabrics and big fabric books as wells as other clever storage ideas.

Should really be clean, functional and a whole new feel and function for 2016.

It's a large space, so have an additional 140" dining table on the way for big presentations and 4 gorgeous new chandeliers similar to these .. but so much better . . .

Here they are . . . 

So stay tuned and you clients I have meetings scheduled for the New Year.. can't wait to show off !

Finally, Finally . . . The Day Has Come...

Hey there. . .

When your job is to provide inspiration, it's vital to be surrounded by color, pattern and images of great works of art and design.  I am a huge coffee table book collector.   After 15 years in the business, I finally have an office.. with a door.  I am so excited.  Having purchased my building a while back and renovating all 4,000 square feet of it .. not once, but about 3 times, the time is finally here -  now that I am surround by the best help I have ever had -  to retreat back to my office for quite, focused design work.  While my team has filled the main space and is so on top of it . . .  I love having a retreat all to my own, away from the ongoing day-to-day business of calls, deliveries, tracking, and general hubbub !  

I wanted to fill the space with everything I love... to excess... why not, right !  It's full of pattern on pattern, color on color, fabrics, wall papers, art, books and an obnoxious amount of furniture crammed in one small space !  

I did an inspiration board for myself... and yep I did change my mind once or twice on the overall colors.  But here's the finished product . . 

What once was a back storage room, now a back retreat.  I chose two papers to begin with.  A Harlequin graphic, yet organic, metallic on one side of the room - with a Phillip Jeffries grasscloth on the other.  I wanted to mix the silvers and golds in an elegant, yet fun way.  The windows were short, small and lacked any molding.  I decided  to add floor to ceiling trim to elongate the look and give them some weight.  I painted all the trim, including the window  a darker grey.  There is nothing I dislike more that long drapes on a short window or drapes that don't hit the floor.  You can mix window styles as well - blinds on the side of the room, drapes on the other.

Take a look at my re-purposed sofa.  This piece lacked all that deep tufting, thanks to my great upholster, it now looks more elegant and rich.  We had the frame painted a cream as well.  I found this soft, yet heavy textured hemp rug . . as apparently there are no grey cows in the world and I couldn't get the hide I wanted . . . funny - huh!  

The didn't stop with an abundance of furniture, a large hand painted coffee table, an old cream rattan chair, an asian inspired chest in a blue/grey, upholstered side chairs and tree stump - painted gold - side table.

Keith painted a Rothko inspired piece for me with touches of gold leaf and kelly green and peach, a combination I have always loved.

A little mid-century inspired bookcase and lamp and plenty of books to inspire.

Plenty of texture and color in the pillows and accessories.

I have been wanting to use Rose Cumming's banana leaf fabric.  I love it so, I filled the windows with large, to the ceiling, panels!

all photos by Mekenzie France

One of my favorite art pieces, and gift from Rebecca Brooks, a Chas Walker combine all my favorite colors and hangs low near more of my favorite things, a Christian Lacroix pop up notebook.

Take a closer look at the amazing pillows.  Thanks Kevin O'Brien, the soft cut velvet in a vibrant green snake skin pattern was hard to resist !

Love the retreat.  Don't forget your work space - you are more apt to be creative and productive in a space that makes you happy !