Request for Lavender . . . Part One.

Happy Lavender

I have not always loved purple.  At one point in time I had a tone on tone cream filled house, why I don't know.  But my style changes and the things I love change.  I finished re-designing the showroom to fill it with saturated reds, purples and golds.  So I never say never to a certain color anymore.  But when it comes to this year's "color of the year"  I feel a little goes a long way.  They call it Radiant Orchid which is a clean, vibrant pinkish - lavender.  Not one of my favorites, but I will say, I am loving deep purple and soft lavender these days.  In my pinterest files I find inspiration just like the rest of you and recently when I was looking at "all things purple" I came across these images by well known designers who know how to use lavender - in my opinion.  A small dose is all it take to get the feel without overdoing it. 

Take a look on the perfect way to drop lavender in your space !

 design by beth webb

 design by Suzanne Kasler

Frank Babb Randolph's Georgetown home featured in Veranda here

I have had the lavender request and like the others, I believe a little goes a long way !
In this space, the back of the chairs and edge of the rug were as far as I went.

But just recently I was asked to incorporate lavender in a home without any, in a room not far away from a living space filled with blue and yellow.  Took a lot of pondering and more time than usual because to find a way to visually make it work and logistically to get it to the West Coast without costing a bloody fortune.  Stay tuned for the design I put together using lavender !

Install of the Day !

Hey!

Morgan is the oldest of all the sisters I installed last week.   Her request, blue.   It was time for a larger bed and a more sophisticated look.  I love this paper and have used all but this color way.  It was my starting point. Maggie jumped in and helped with pulling fabrics for pillows and windows and together we finished off the look with a chaise, desk, rug and accessories.  

This room looks so clean, fresh and pulled together.  Love the finished product !

It feels like a trip to the shore, yet all the pieces are (believe it or not) kid friendly.  The bedding - washable, the side tables, easy to clean off.

Amazing fabric by Matthew Williamson, absolutely love.

I often splurge on a fab fabric (the Williamson) as a good focal point, this fabric, much more affordable was the perfect choice for the amount of yardage we needed to cover these windows.  I did a sway back this time, something I don't often do, but did so for easy mobility to let down and darken this big window.

A fun chaise and inexpensive Crate and Barrel floor lamp (available in other colors) finish off this cozy reading spot.

Big new desk, art (I snapped up on One Kings Lane) to fill an empty wall and my favorite lamp at the moment.  (I ordered several of these as they were heading down the discontinued road - boo !)

all photos by mekenzie france

It was a crazy, crazy week, but fun.  I cannot wait to hear how the girls liked their spaces.  Many thanks to Maggie for pulling off another big install in Hickory this week while I was working on this one.  Bree, you too - running between jobs.  I could do any of this without you guys !

We will head up to Hickory with Mekenzie to shoot those spaces soon while we are wrapping up a pretty cool living space for an additional client.

For now - this rainy Saturday - I think I will stay in my pjs on the sofa.

Happy Weekend !!!

Install of the Day !

Hi !

The second room in this crazy week was Liza's, twin number 2.  This is the perfect example of the eclectic mix which I love.  We used a mult-color palette in this space, but all in the same tone.  I worked around two side tables, Bungalow 5 that I happen to love, so no problem.  Take a look at Liza's room.

This rug is my favorite element in the room.  It's give all the new and sleek things a little age and definitely a worn, lived in, cozy feel.  I love this rug.... and also available in several colors, just give me a call and I'll hook you up!

Again this new burlap lamp shade and burlap with silver pouf toned down the "new" and gave it all more texture and interest.

My client loved this wall paper.  Unfortunately it's discontinued by Designers Guild, but I saved 1 roll and we used it as an accent up the wall behind the tables, perfect !

Stray Dog - the perfect fixture

all photos by mekenzie france

It's funny, this room wasn't as planned out when I showed up to install it, and it look a bit empty.  One day shopping at my various favorites and it turned out adorable (as if I had orchestrated the whole thing ahead on time . . not really - got lucky !!)

One more to go !!

Install of the Day !

Howdy !

What a week.   I was in Charlotte with 4 installs and Maggie was in Hickory for another 2 and the start of 3 more rooms, and Bree was jumping between the both of us.  It was crazy!!  But I knew it was coming.  I have three clients with a total of five kids who are away at camp, returning today.  While gone, we installed all of their spaces.   (Sorry Kate, you are coming home to your bed made up, that's it)

Room number one, a twin named Alex.  One of three sisters who will be moving into her new digs in Myers Park.  An amazing house with so many gorgeous details I can hardly stand it.  When I walked inside last week to check on things I new instantly that Lisa Sherry had a hand in it. Her signature look was evident.  One quick text to her and my thoughts were confirmed.  I have always admired her work and understand she is having it shot it in early September.  It's gorgeous - I'll do a little spotlight on that for sure, stay tuned !

So back to the girls.  Alex has a thing for lavender, fine by me, love it.  I have been dying to use this paper and got the ok on this job as well as an completely different type of space up in Hickory that Maggie is installing at the same time, be sure and check out how one paper can be used in two different ways.

So having a completely blank slate . . here's where I started . . .

With the paper chosen, I started working on all the elements to coordinate with it.  In that paper you'll also find mint, hot pink, navy and grey.  Check out some of the details we pulled.  I filtered in mint side tables and a splash rug.  We decided to do simple West Elm curtains, but jazzed them up with this beautiful Schumacher trim.  I found a pretty side chair at Slate Interiors for another dose of purple.

Now check out the finished product and all these gorgeous pictures Mekenzie shot just the other day.  She really captured the details and the feel, thanks girl.

The multiple patterns totally work together and give this room a fun feel yet is sophisticated enough to take this little girl into her teens !

I got lucky again at Slate the other day and found this great shelf.  With a new, quick coat of paint it went from 70's rattan ho-hum to something just a little retro and funky and perfect to stash all her books and things.

Stray Dog made an appearance in all three rooms in table lamps and overheads.

And here is the trim detail I was talking about.  Just a little something-something for simple West Elm curtains.

all photos by mekenzie france

One down, two to go !  Love this room.