KEEPING YOUR OPTIONS OPEN IN DESIGN

My professor in school once said to the class "you will never finish decorating your home." What did she mean? I knew exactly what she was saying---the project will never end. I am constantly finding new things that attract me. As design trends change..colors change.. I will always be trading things out and moving things around in my home to keep it fresh! I want my home to not only be a place I can rest and relax, but also a place that inspires me.

Bunny Williams has a chair in her new line, Beeline Home, that I just love! Her Regale Chair's hand-carved details are beautiful, but it's the upholstered back that speaks to me! The back is held by decorative metal clips that make this piece versitale by allowing you to easily change the upholstery as you wish!

Here is a pic of the back with the decorative clips

The Regale Arm Chair comes in two finishes--antique white (shown above) and stained walnut. Options are great!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

WARMING UP TO GOLD

Gold and brass accents are becoming more and more popular in the design world. It has been interesting seeing the different trends move through our favorite home magazines and decors. When I got married... almost three years ago, everywhere I looked I saw brushed, stainless steel. Popular jewelry was brushed with silver and it seemed as if no one hip even dreamed of putting gold lighting in their home. Well, times have changed.

For me it started with seeing beautiful gold necklaces in magazines and my J. Crew catalogs. Personally, I have always been attracted to touches of gold in a home. Gold adds warmth in a space, while brushed silver can sometimes come across super cold. The trick is going to be how to get the right gold/brass vibe without creating a dated space. Getting that matchy-matchy idea out of our heads, combining silver and gold metals is a great way to go! Personally, I love seeing modern artwork and transitional lighting with touches of silver over an antique chest with gold accents. A great place to go for inspiration is design magazines. Seeing how they mix the different metals brings a cozy and more balanced feel.

I decided to incorporate some hip sources for today's blog:

Restoration Hardware Nora Nesting Tables, 450.

Beeline Home Hourglass Table

Shades of Light Chandelier, 849.

Antropologie Cascara Side Table, 398.

Restoration Hardware Silhoutte Column Lamp, 429.99.

Anthropologie Knob, 14.00.

Beeline Home Eglomise Coffee Table

*Image 1: Suzanne Kasler

Have you warmed up to gold?

ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...TUFTED FURNITURE

One of my favorite things is tufted furniture.

You see it mostly in sofas, chairs, settees, benches and headboards. I love that it has a tailored look! Tufted furniture instantly offers visual interest and style in a space. It adds dimension to upholstery because it highlights the fabric and casts shadows in the tufts. Who can resist a classic leather tufted chair--with that aged, worn look? Not me! Another option is using a different fabric--like the chair above. It transforms the chair and makes it into something soft and feminine.

Is tufting for you?

Image 1: 1st Dibs, Image 1: 1st Dibs, Image 2: 1st Dibs, Image 4: Hickory Chair, Image 5: Beeline Home, Image 5: 1st Dibs, Image 6: 1st Dibs, Image 7: 1st Dibs, Image 8: Mecox Gardens, Image 9: Beeline Home, Image 10: 1st Dibs, Image 11: 1st Dibs, Image 12: 1st Dibs, Image 13: 1st Dibs

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: BUNNY WILLIAMS

Bunny Williams is an amazing New York based interior designer and the author of three books. With a new furniture/accessories line called BeeLine Home, she offers great design and inspiration to many.

Bunny is a southern girl that grew up on a small farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the age of fifteen she began spending the summers in New York with her father. She has an eclectic style and enjoys integrating fabulous antique finds into her spaces. She also has an incredible eye for discovering interesting and unique pieces--new and old! I find her use of space and layering both challenging and inspiring. It's amazing how she puts everything together and somehow pulls off a comfortable and inviting room! One of my first coffee table books, Bunny Williams' Point of View, is a great read with a collection of wonderful interiors from three decades of designing. In this book, Bunny encourages readers to, "take account of your own values and realize your personal vision of how you want to live." I find it inspiring to remember that a home is not just a house. Rather, it is the backdrop of our lives. Along with designing interiors, she has a green thumb...a succesful green thumb I might add! Her books, On Garden Style and An Affair with a House, reveal her expertise in gardening.

Here are some of Bunny Williams' inspiring spaces:

You can find all of these interiors and more on her website, bunnywilliams.com.