Coordinating Colors & Accessories

Suray is a site with some great area rugs; however, besides their great area rugs they have art, pillows, throws and lamps that coordinate with their rugs. They've even taken the guessing out of what go's with what by putting coordinates together for you.

Glamorous Girl's Bedroom

Here's a really fun girls room I finished last week. This was a fun room to do and eight year old Allison LOVES it. Here's what she had to say...."it's so awesome, like floating on clouds, and I can't wait to come home from school every day just to be in my room."

This room was easy to pull off. The stripes give it a lot of detail with a big bang for a small buck (and one of Allison's favorite things). The bed is Pottery Barn, vintage Barbie prints from Z Gallery, curtains & rod from JC Penny's, and bedding, lamps, shades and flocked artwork from Target.

The first picture is probably the best for natural light and true colors. Enjoy and don't get distracted by my photography skills.

Vintage Wallpaper

Second Hand Wallpaper represent the world's largest collection of vintage wallpaper. This impressive wallpaper collection, spanning the 1860's to 1970, has been featured on Martha Stewart and is a the collections of museums throughout the world. Kitchen, bathroom, geometric, and floral wallpaper prices range from $70 per roll (60'sq) to $1,200 per roll for original Frank Lloyd Wright designs (90'sq.) Check out their vintage linoleum too!

Bookcase of the Day

Need bookcase inspiration or wondering what to do with all those books??? I Suwanne has it covered! Check out this blog for loads of ideas, from colorful to unique to clever.

Art Inspiration at Your Finger Tips

I'm constantly astounded by the creative talent out there! If you are looking for fun art for a room or wanting to give your hand at creating your own check out these resources. Also, think about using items in alternate ways, such as framing wrapping paper or using it as a back drop for a picture. Today I'm highlighting a few places to either buy art or get inspiration.

My Daughter's Wish - an art, paper, studio in Pleasant Hill, CA. This store is kind of tucked away and a bit of a 'best kept secret'. NOT just a scrapbooking store, but rather a very artsy store with lots of creative products, ideas, & classes. Their sight also has has loads of resources, ideas and class info. I just finished up a short summer watercolor class with a great watercolorist, Colleen L Gianatiempo. It was a beginner's class, a small group of 8 and I learned a ton. I also learned painting with watercolors is hard! I had a great time and can't wait to sign up again.

How about family photos? OK, don't get me wrong. I love my kids and love pictures of other kids too, but that doesn't mean you have to display every photo ever taken of your child. As a matter of fact, if you over display the eye no longer knows where to stop and look. Keep it simple by either displaying one or two photos in a vignette or if you plan to do a grouping then simplify by keeping the frames the same or at least the same color. Pick the best of the best and save the rest for the photo albums. I think this subject requires it's own topic of discussion. Laura Cottril is a local Bay Area, award-winning photographer. Her work is stunning, check her out! She's also teaching some basic photography classes at My Daughter's Wish (mentioned above.) I'm going to take both classes! Hey when you have a chance to learn from the best of the best it's a no brainer. I selected a couple of her photos and especially the one on left because it incorporated an interior as well as a child. What a wonderful way to catch MY attention! It made me think in a new and different way...interiors and portraits together as art. This could be a whole new way to bring in the right colors and feel into your decor.

Etsy a sight I've mentioned before and will mention again I'm sure! I love this site because it's an outlet for artist/artisans and consumers to sell and buy all things hand-made. This is an amazing site for ideas, inspiration, and to buy original creative art work at very affordable prices. I've highlighted three examples: Suzanna Anna, RozArt, and BS Art Studios.

Condé Nast’s iconic magazines--from Vogue and Vanity Fair to Gourmet and Golf Digest -- are known not only for the excellence of their editorial content but also for the high quality of their visual images. Reprints are not cheap, but wow a collection of these vintage prints...Fab-U-Lous!!! I like to look at them for color ideas, art inspiration, etc. This particular image is the April 1949 House & Garden, taken by Haanel Cassidy. Who looked at this and thought it could be a magazine cover today??? This image could be a decor today with it's hip & now bright yellow walls and the Asian influences. I'm reminded by this image to mention that we should all remember to include sculptural pieces as art too. Art isn't just what hangs on the wall.

Crafty Synergy is a collection of interviews with inspiring artists by Patricia Zapata a writer, artist & graphic designer. What a nice sight to highlight independent artist and small businesses as well as inspire artists, art lovers, and creative wannabes alike.

Here an interesting concept, short stories...every picture tells your story, original art etchings by Laura Zec.



Wallpaper Menagerie - Chimp #72, $79. Made by Inke Heiland in the Netherlands this chimp will bring any wall to life with a modern twist and retro charm. Hand-cut from vintage and reprinted wallpapers, each animal is available in several different patterns per animal. Mix and match to create your own zoo! Comes with wallpaper paste and brush for easy application!

Trend Watch 2008-2009

Here's what the experts at Las Vegas Furniture Market had to say about upcoming trends.

There will be no one or two hot colors to watch for in the 2008-2009 color forecast. Look for a more varied approach featuring color families. As we embrace more color in everyday lives, we are becoming more adventurous about color combinations and unusual color effects.

A cool, clean, Asian-influenced aesthetic is inherent in the forecast. Watch for blackened hues with a new alternative to black and whites in indigos, deep plums and purples on more fashionable, high-end products mixed with whites, off whites and browns. Yellow has been a rising color in many variations, including mango and wheat hues.

· Far East. Watch for “eastern cool” and aged neutrals from the landscape — stone gray, moss green, deep indigo — accented with lacquer red and sky blue. A continued interest in metallics, particularly with special finishes such as blackened patina or hammering. Also look for natural forms and materials. Consumers love the traditional black and red lacquer, but new, unexpected colors such as white, aqua, coral and lemon are giving the trend a fresh look.

· Indian Market. An earthy, saturated palette is reflected in the emerging Indian market, with vibrant colors related to fresh fruits and vegetables, showing the growing strength of the natural food movement. Look for ethnic prints, modernized either through bright colors or oversized scales.

· African. Rocks, fossils, horns can be high-end with a metallic coat. Leopard and tiger skin patterns are paired with unnatural colors to make them feel new. Moroccan motifs, such as grillwork, stars and paisley, work well in sheer and lustrous tapestries. Tapestries are coming back in a very different way. We’ll see other architectural elements being used on products. Add in exotic grasses and metal and lacquered wood to round out the look, and you have an African trend to reenergize the global mood for the balance of the decade.

· New England Shores. A sophisticated take on preppy, with moody mid-tones suchas classic camel in the luxury market. Look for beachy, dreamy hues out of an Edward Hopper painting. Sandy taupes punctuated by barn red, salmon pink and grass green. This color palette reflects a rustic, worn feel.

· Blues are taking off in new directions - through 2010 we expect many more blues in an upcycle than we have had in years, all of them exciting. Water-based and saturated midvalues of blue have the potential to be best-sellers in everything from bed and bath to upholstery and even Christmas and holiday. Navy blues are being pushed to the red side along with denim-inspired blues.

· Purple. Purple with red casts, pale and midtone purples, and fuscia-inspired purple. Pinks will stay cool, with the exception of a hot coral.

· Browns & Oranges. Will stay the same course for 2008,

· Greens & Yellows. Get ready for a very different green-cast yellow to pop. We will also see neon-flavored yellows in 2009. This is going to be a parallel trend with ready-to-wear. It also looks great with gray and silver.

· Metallics. Biggest trends are metallics. Gold is the freshest way to tell that metallic story. Gold is showing up in all sorts of thicknesses. Think of those little threads of gold in the fabric and then contrast that with something that is nearly viscous. There is no wrong way to do metallics right now.

· Warm grays. Look for a mixture of warm-temperature grays in 2009.

· Skin-tone neutrals. The transition will be made from shades of pinks and peaches to desert neutrals, such as khakhi browns and gold grays, perhaps accented with white and black.

· Paisley is back. Bohemian or Morrocan themes update this traditional pattern.

· Crowns. This icon can be a little edgy, from the counter-culture point of view.

· Stripes. They’ve been off the trend-radar for several seasons. New combinations of colors and thicknesses energize stripes in a new way.

· Art nouveau. In the coming years, art nouveau will have the potential to be a replacement for glamour looks.

· Fabric & Pattern. intricate weaves, fine and elaborate textures, and lustrous overtones in fabrics. Visual and textural variety are important. Look for patterns in décor and tableware. New interpretations of fine point illustrations are decidedly decorative. Patterns such as Greek keys, camphor leaves, medallions, iron work patterns, scallops and architectural elements are making their way onto tableware and accessories.

· Wood. Remains the leader in materials, which is great for the eco-chic trend. Expect all newness of the green movement to become the new normal. There is also going to be shift to lighter finishes that is really going to keep this category going. Look for gray wood. Dark is not done, but we’re evolving.

· Glass. Glass also fits into the eco-chic trend. Be on the lookout for bumpy textures, or textures that are reminiscent of water or ice. There is a shift away from plain, smooth glass toward glass with facets, scoring, and hand carvings.

Original Art - Blend the New & Old

I wanted to share a couple shots from a client's house where we very successfully incorporated some contemporary, original art pieces with her charming California ranch house.

We wanted to give this entry way the "wow" factor with a pop of color by pairing a vibrant painting by a local artist with some more traditional pieces from an inherited entry console to a thrift store chair. What initially lacked any "umph" now greeted guests with a powerful welcome.



The Bay Area has a great art community and loads of wonderful artists. It's impossible for me to stay on top of all of this which is why I'm fortunate to have my very own art consultant Shelley Barry of Artful Solutions. She was able to recommend talented and affordable local artists including everything from paintings, mixed media to photography.

From the entry way to the living room we go to the main focal point the fireplace; however, the fireplace it somewhat non-descriptive. We weren't ready to invest in a new mantel or overhaul the fireplace, so the next best thing was to enhance the space around the fireplace. We did this by installing custom window treatments and again by adding unique original art work. These three pieces are very sculptural and clearly not something you would find at a local departments store. Of course the picture doesn't do any of these pieces justice, but clearly you can see how they pull your eye from the fireplace and command their own presences.