A Tale of Two Rooms

 

I’ve been working from home for the past few years and I truly love it.  I am much more productive and less distracted so I can get more done from home.  I am the type of person who works all day, every day,  so having my “stuff”  around me here is a great benefit.  Up until the last year I had my office and my studio in the same room and it tended to get cramped and very messy at times.  The office is right off my master bedroom and you can see it from there so I like to have it neat and tidy if I can.  So, after my daughter was gone at college for three years I decided to bite the bullet and take over her bedroom as my new art studio. 

Now I have plenty of room for my sewing machines, fabric, art supplies and everything else.  It is still very much a work in progress.  I am looking forward to putting up some Jackie Von Tobel drapery hardware from Helser Brothers soon so keep tuned. 

 

I did this room on a serious budget of $100.  I used all existing furniture that I had.  ( Yes, I can be a pack rat and had a lot of stuff in my garage including some old furniture I had made for my husbands office that he outgrew)   The only thing I bought was a few gallons of white paint and a couple of unfinished doors to serve as tabletops.  I slapped a coat of white paint on everything, including the floor, and called it a day! 

 

My favorite piece in the studio is a rolling cart that my sister Trudi gave to me.  I can roll it out into the center of the room and walk around it 360’ or I can tuck it neatly under my larger table so it’s out of the way.  I am also filling the walls with my kids art that they did as little ones.  I would much rather look at that than anything else.

 

I have tons of storage plus a huge closet that is far to messy to show you.  I’m sure I will fill it up in no time.  My office helpers above are hard at work fighting with each other!   Just like the real thing…..

 

This is what they can usually be found doing.

 

I love working in the new room.  It is so bright and sun filled and most of all it’s a constant reminder of my beautiful girl.  I left her yellow paint just as it was, warts and all.  It makes me smile every time I walk in there. 

 

You would think with all this new studio space that my old office would be perfectly organized and never messy but here is my desk today.  It’s just as crazy as ever but that’s how I like it.

Philippe Starck, Shine Home, & The S Bar

Shine Home has been everywhere since coming on the design scene in 2005. Their clean fresh take on classic design motifs adds a crisp, fun edge to any interior.


So it's no wonder they caught the ever talented eye of uber-desinger and trendsetter Philippe Starck. It seems he was so inspired with their lighting that he chose to feature it as the focal point of his new watering hole and chic celeb hang out, The S Bar, in Los Angeles.



Shine Home table lamps are hung dramatically, upside down from theatrical wire over the bar and tables creating an almost Alice in Wonderland sense of confusion. What's up is down, what's down is up......


My favorite element of the space is the fabulous canvases that are hung against all the walls depicting antique french wall paneling, wallpaper and a dramatic faux portrait gallery.




I think it is a very fun, eclectic cocktail of modern and classic styles thrown together in an irreverent and somewhat imbalanced mix that works in that special way that only Starck can pull off.

My only question - What kind of cocktail would you order in a bar like this?

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It's Personal

pottery barn

Nothing makes a statement like a personal signature on your soft treatments. Monograms, flourishes, and symbols create a uniquely individual space. Now more than ever these elements are being used in fun and innovative ways by designers and homeowners who want to leave their mark.



Monogrammed draperies have been popping up lately and I love the look.

Here is a bed drapery treatment that is embellished with a flourish. It gives the look of a monogram but without the specific letter reference.

via la dolce vita

A monogrammed bed cover with an embroidered flying friend as a companion.

via cottage living

Hand printed monograms with elaborate borders are just as effective as the traditional embroidered style.

via pink wallpaper

Appliqued monograms allow the design to be beefed up for a very bold statement.

via cottage living

I love this treatment with the monogram on the back of the chair.

via cottage living

Here's another version numbering each chair - brilliantly different!!!


Even a small flourish or emblem can make a big impact.



Love this flourish at the back of this slipper chair.

via cozy cottage

The bold initial on the back of this parsons chair fits in well with the wide border and contrasting welt.

via better homes & gardens

Slipcovers are a perfect place to show off your family crest or monogram.


Headboards emblazoned with your moniker are becoming commonplace.


This bed corona shows a supersized intial as the focal point.

This fun bed is from JC Penney. I'd love to see it used in a bunk room lined up in rows with the kids names embroidered in different colors.
Another jumbo sized monogram serves as the focus of design on this upholstered bed.

I'm gonna get out my embroidery thread and go to work.

Wood is the New Black

Living in the desert you have to incorporate organic materials in your decor in unusual ways. I have a black thumb that compounded with the uncooperative atmosphere here in Las Vegas has killed quite a few living plants. As a result, over the many years of my career I have used many a dried, preserved, and - dare I say - artificial plant. Gasp!!

My absolute favorite is the dead Manzanita tree. This fine example above has seen 10 long years of abuse in my family room and desperately needs to be replaced. His branches have gone bald and he's too fragile to clean so the remaining leaves are coated with dust and other yuck! Alas, I have a sentimental attachment to old Woody and I hate to see him go. But just as I was considering replacing him with something less combustible I see that dead wood is everywhere; drift wood, preserved wood, sandblasted wood, even faux wood!

dried wood candelabra via Wisteria


Stick chandelier via Terramia

Fabulous branches canopy bed


Branches spray painted to look like coral in a window display at Tiffany & Co
via style court


Dead tree as decor


Fab sandblasted branches lamp via pottery barn



Trunk lamp via neiman marcus


Spooky iron branches candelabra via eco home furniture


Another dead tree as decor via brown design





Woody bottles via crate & barrel

So, in closing, if you live by the beach, a lake, or a forest get out there and collect some interesting wood. You'll save a mint on new home accessories.

P.S. If anyone has a line on some great looking, dried, leafy manzanita let me know. We seem to be fresh out here in Vegas and it's now illegal to cut your own in Utah.

I'm Loving - Bell Jars

Recently I have developed an obsession with bell jars. Although I only own a few of my own I seem to be spotting them everywhere.
These three classic cloche jars are from Barreveld International and DK Living , one of my favorite sources. They are a, "to the trade only", source for glass, garden, and tabletop accessories as well as a myriad of other yummy do-dads. They offer a large variety of shapes and sizes.



Glass artist extraordinaire, Andy Paiko, produces fantastical creations under glass that redefine the lowly bell jar.

Artist Katherine Gray takes a whimsical approach to this classic element using shape and color to great effect.




On a more practical ( or should I say affordable) note, even West Elm has stepped it up a notch with these interestingly shaped cloche jars.



While these beauties are not truly bell jars but cheese or dessert plates they are still in the same vein. (Neiman Marcus)

Doesn't everything look better under glass? (Neiman Marcus)

Even the long reigning queen of chunky wrought iron, Jan Barboglio throws her hat in the glass topped ring with her line of serving dished avaialble at Neimen Marcus.