Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Wreath Repeat

After Christmas last year (2009)I thought I would be smart and head to Georgetown and take a whole slew of pictures of Christmas wreaths and decorations to use in Dec 2010. Well I did - and carefully edited and "stored" them on my hard drive. Maybe I should say "lost" instead as 5+ hours of searching on this computer and the other computer I thought I may have used yielded nothing... So here's a reprise of my Beacon Hill decorations taken in '08 and posted in '09. Yes, the missing - awesome Georgetown photos are driving me nuts...This would be easy to do - spray paint branches red and place in containers w/moss.

Love this creative peace sign wreath!






More branches - simple and doable.






**EVENT: If you live in the DC area, Tudor Place is holding it annual Holiday Wreath making workshop with fresh boxwood, greens and magnolia cut that morning on their property. I've gone for 4 years and it's really great fun. More info here.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Eye Candy with a Touch of Red

Can't go wrong with a round table, books and chic french chairs in a soft red velvet. Design by Luce Gayrard, House and Home Nov 2009, photography by Monic Richard.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Haute Fabrics Now in Georgetown & books ON a wall

***Haute Fabrics is now located in Arlington (see update here), not Georgetown.  The main location remains in Marshall VA.

I mentioned this briefly in another post but this news warrants more coverage than that. Haute Fabrics (Marshall, VA) has opened a location in Georgetown at 2603 P Street NW Washington, DC, sharing space with Jean Pierre Antiques. The selection of fabrics has grown since my first visit two weeks ago and the ones I had my eye on were in the range of $16 - $26 a yard.



Haute Fabrics, 2603 P St. NW, Washington, DC, 202.965.1123 (*they're closed the day after Thanksgiving but I will update this post w/their hours tomorrow)

Earlier in the month, I posted on the amazing concrete books created by Richard Taylor of Flat Earth Designs. Check out the creative way Debra Phillips of Scentimental Gardens and SG Grand displays the ones she has for sale. Ask you would expect, customers are first surprised to see them on the wall and then to discover they're concrete to boot.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!


For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Happy Thanksgiving!









The painting is by Anna Mary Robertson Moses, "Over the River to Grandma's house", 1947

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Chalkboard Wall in the Master Bedroom!

We're using to seeing chalkboard walls in kids' bedrooms, play rooms and kitchens but I have to say I absolutely love it here in the master bedroom of Wayne McGill and Chad Farquharson.
Beautiful pairing of colors in the bedding too.

Image via Style at Home, January 2010, photography by Kim Christie.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Alexa Hampton: Talent & Personality!

Alexa Hampton is personality and talent all-in one. Funny, down-to-earth, genuine, and relaxed, here she is demonstrating how uber comfortable her sofa design for Hickory Chair is! I mean really, how fun is that! A huge thank you to Suzette Delay, Showroom Manager of Henredon, for hosting a tea and giving us a chance to meet Alexa in an informal setting and learn more about her work and approach to design and...have so much fun at the same time.
Alexa with some of my favorite DC Designers - Sally Steponkus, Laura Stifel and Heather Safferstone of Sally Steponkus Interiors.
Her furniture collection for Hickory Chair is impeccable. Above is the Susannah side table.
Love the Perlini mirror.
Chris Set of Four Trays - each tray can be moved to where needed.
Jennifer Sergent, Marketing Director of the Washington Design Center, enjoying the comfort of the Breck Chair.
I couldn't resist posting this pic of Suzette's personal collection of tea pots.
If you haven't had a chance to pick-up Alexa's book yet, definitely put it on your list. Here's just a few images of her designs to enjoy.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Thanksgiving a Week Early

Next Thursday I'll have the joy of sharing the Thanksgiving table with family I love and who love me back. The day after starts the holiday season. Crazy as it may be, the whole month is full of kind gestures and gifts - a constant reminder of being loved and cherished.

A recent email from Meg of Pigtown Design reminded me that this experience is not shared by everyone. Blogger and treasure finder extraordinaire in her free time, by day Meg is the Director of Development for Woodbourne, a private non-profit dedicated to the treatment and education of children who are in great need. While the staff at Woodbourne provide so many things for the children in their care, they do not have the budget to purchase any birthday or holiday presents. They depend on us for that.

Here's an excerpt from Meg's email:

"The boys really want hoodie jackets, especially in sizes XL and XXL – the bigger the better – and anything with a sports team logo, especially Ravens gear! The kids while away the hours between school and activities with hand-held electronic games. They spend time watching videos and DVDs, but they should be suitable for kids, like box sets of TV shows. Wrist-watches are a big thing with the kids here, since they can’t have cell phones to tell the time. Also, basketballs, footballs and Nerf-type balls are always popular.

Think back to your childhood and remember how you anticipated the holidays. Unfortunately, most of the children in our care have not had this experience. They come from families in desperate poverty and from abusive homes. Please open your heart and help Woodbourne make this a happy holiday for our children."

Donations can be sent to or dropped off at: 1301 Woodbourne Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21239

Cash donations can be made at the Woodbourne site HERE.

Please consider joining me in donating to Woodbourne and Giving Thanks a week early. I know that Meg, one of best value shoppers out there, will make the most out of any and all donations.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Red, Purple & Orange All at Once

I'm sure there are more accurate names for the reds, purples and oranges appearing here but the combination of these three dominate colors caught my eye. By the way, what would you call the color of the velvet chair?
Images from the home of Laura Ponte via Nuevo Estilo here.

Monday, November 15, 2010

My Kelly Wearstler Sofa & Style-Rite Upholstery!

Solid sofas with patterned pillows make alot of sense but how could I pass up the opportunity to reupholster my $25 yellow vinyl church sale sofa in Kelly Wearstler's Fern Tree? You may remember at the end of September I posted about my purchase of Fern Tree from Haute for only $28 a yard and asked for advice for which direction to run the fabric. I went with a vertical placement and couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out!
The upholsterer I've always used is Mel Stokols of Style-Rite Upholstery. This was not an easy pattern to work with and I think the placement of it is perfection. Love how the fern trails up the front of the arm; it's identical on both of them.

The pattern rolls over both arms and matches perfectly down each side (forgot to take a picture of that but you can see a bit of it in the photo below.)
The sofa was delivered Friday night, as promised, just in time for a dinner party Saturday. Here's Mel on the left and fellow master upholsterer David on the right. I've had 2 other chairs and another sofa upholstered by Style-Rite and it's been perfection in my book every time.
The cost to reupholster this sofa was $1,110 - which included repairs to the springs and 13 yards of another fabric** I had bought from Mel. (**I found the Wearstler fabric weeks after choosing the original fabric.) I can highly recommend Mel to anyone in the metro DC area who is interested in reupholstering a piece. Style-Rite Upholstery, Annandale,VA, 703.256.1114. Please note this is my personal recommendation and I receive no form of compensation for my endorsement.

Two other notes - with the addition of this sofa my family room is finally starting to come together. Hope to post more about it soon.

The amazing fabric store Haute of Marshall, VA now has a second location in Georgetown at 2601 P Street NW in a space next to Jean Pierre Antiques. There are many beautiful fabrics in this location and it's definitely worth checking out.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Nicky Haslam: EXTRAordinary

Nicky Haslam - taking it past design into the realm of creation. Be sure to visit his site - each next image will be your new favorite. These images are just from 1 of the 19 homes featured.




Hope you have a great weekend!

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