Hook 'Em Horns

Call me crazy, but I think a high gloss set of horns is a dramatic and chic way to add that certain unexpected 'something' to a room.   When I ran across the double set of horns from this home office, I HAD to research to see where I could get me a set.  Turns out, Jayson Home & Garden is the place to ease your horn needs!  Here are my top picks:

Ok, so the last set of horns are from Arteriors, but they are still so chic, no? 

Design Crush: Ron Marvin

This home made my jaw drop. I am a HUGE contrast nut and I have not seen a designer master the art of contrast quite like Ron Marvin did for this home.  From the layered art and accessories to the mix of traditional and modern pieces, Mr. Marvin's work is perfection.

Do you think this room was inspired by the moody Ralph Lauren bedroom, as seen in this post?

Le Corbusier's Pony Chaise could possibly by the sexiest chair that has ever existed. Grrr....

You too can achieve this chic and masculine look.  Mr. Marvin used more budget-friendly sources like Restoration Hardware and Ralph Lauren Home.  Check out my best picks to get add a little contrast to your home...

(items listed clockwise from top left)

1. Hickory Chair's Hallings Secretary

2. Restoration Hardware's Solid Ribbed Tibetan Rug

3. Ralph Lauren's Limited Edition Photography (Paul Newman, Audrey Hepburn, Louis Armstrong)

4. Arterior's Silver Tray

5. Circa Lighting's Caged Lantern

6. Le Corbusier's Pony Chaise

7. Z Gallerie's Faux Coral

8. Chinchilla Faux Fur Throw

9. Arterior's Ice Bucket

10. Eduardo Garza's Stone and Lucite Box

11. Benjamin Moore Paint Classic Brown #2109-10 and Edgecomb Gray #HC-173

12. Quadrille Fabric's Aga Reverse in Brown on Tint

13. Circa Lighting's Stacked 3 Ball Lamp in Quartz

Check out more of this fabulous home in the premiere issue of TradHome!

Can This Be Made Into A Room? Gucci Pre-Fall 2011

Gucci's Pre-Fall 2011 collection combined my current two loves- shades of grey and updated 1970's silhouettes.  The collection made me think 'can I make a room that's entirely void of color and still make it seem warm and interesting?'  It's a challenge I took on so let's see how it turned out.

{images via FRG}

The trick to designing monochrome (one color) or achromatic (no color, which grey is technically a neutral so it's not a color) rooms is varying shades and textures.  I started my room by finding the perfect modern sectional in a charcoal grey wool flannel (Room and Board).  To ground the room, I would add a large and luxe flokati rug in a lighter shade of grey (Teak, Wicker, and More).  On top of this, I'd place a sleek and streamlined cocktail table in chrome with a grey quartz top (Room and Board).  The polished look of the cocktail juxtaposes nicely against the heavy pile of the area rug.  Mixing opposite textures like this is what gives the room interest.

Now for the finishing touches.  I'd place multiples styles of pillows on the sectional for more added visual interest.   I wouldn't worry that some of the fabrics are warm (Etsy) while others are cool (West Elm) as mixing the diverse tones adds the variety an achromatic room so desperately needs!  I would dress any window in dove grey velvet curtains that puddle elegantly on the floor (Pottery Barn) and add a shiny starburst mirror (Arteriors) for some dashes of glamour.  The crowning moment in the room?  Jonathan Adler's Meurice chandelier (I new I'd find a room to use it in!).

So what do you think?  Could you live in a room completely void of color?

Crazy for Coral

Dreaming of far away beaches and tropical breezes...  also, chic accessories!

 

{images via Z Gallerie, Ballard Design, Arteriors 1st Dibs & WS Home}

House Crush: Jennifer Lopez

I hope all you had a most wonderful Christmas!  Mine was quite good.  I'm currently compiling a post about my favorite gift, white custom frames my hubbie made to go over our nightstands!  Sigh... now back to normal life...

My jaw dropped when I came across these images from the Jan./Feb. issue of Veranda Magazine.  They are of Jeniffer Lopez's Southern California home and I seriously think her designer, Michelle Workman, is my design twin separated at birth!  Does anything in these photos look familiar?

How about this table:

from this post,

and this chandelier:

from this post.  The chairs are very similar, too.  Great minds think a like, I guess!

Check out how fabulous the rest of JLo's home turned out:

The palette of soft taupe, gray and blue was based off vintage black and white movies from the 1940's.  Again, SO my personal style.  True love...

Lucite legged bench from Suzanne Kasler's collection.  Love me some lucite!

{images via Curbed}

Can This Be Made Into A Room? Victoria Bojarskaja

I love this girl. The Lithuanian model, Victoria Bojarskaja, is just so gosh-darn beautiful!  You know me, I had to turn my favorite pic of her into a room!
 

{via FGR}

I started this room by finding the sofa equivalent of Victoria's top. The Celia sofa from MG+BW is the prefect match.  Then for that fabulous necklace- it's such a gorgeous piece!  I interpreted the long antiqued bronze chains as a heavily antiqued mirror and a statement chandelier made entirely of antiqued bronze chains (both from Arteriors).  So fabulous, if I do say so myself!

I was going to turn this room into a living room, but then I thought, why not go crazy and make it a dining room?  I have always wanted to use a full-length sofa in a dining space and where better to test it out than here?  I would add a stunning Art Deco table circa 1940 (1stDibs).  I know I say every style is my favorite style, but Art Deco is my first and foremost love, especially French Art Deco.  It's the perfect transition between traditional and contemporary.  Adore.  For the other seating around the table I would add some upholstered chairs in a linen (Overstock). If you need dining chairs I HIGHLY recommend these.  Amazing quality, amazing price! They are what I have around my own dining table, actually.  Add a sideboard  (Baker) in a parchment finish under the mirror, accessorize with some vintage Dorothy Thorpe glassware (Etsy) and a funky bronze sculpture (Arteriors), and you have a completed statement formal dining room.  Tre Chic!

Can This Be Made Into A Room? Hermes Birkin

I have had this image on file for quite awhile now and every time I see it I fall in love all over again.  From the hint of a leopard pencil skirt, the gold chain bracelets, the gold nail polish, let alone the fabulous Birkin bag, I'm enamored with it all!  Sigh... how I adore Birkins.  I was tempted to ask my husband for a Birkin instead of a wedding ring, but once I tried on a few diamond rings I was hooked.  But a Birkin was a close second.  Let's see if we can't turn this into a room, shall we?

via weheartit

Nothing in the inspiration outfit really 'matches' but what makes it work is the play on different tones and shades of camel. I would wear this as my work uniform if I could, so let's make our room home office.  I would paint the room a shade of camel (I have to say camel because I can't bring myself to say... *cough* beige.) and install leopard print broadloom in a pattern similar to this one from Horchow.  The subtle leopard adds a hit of panache without being over-the-top.  I would then float a gorgeous Hollywood Regency style desk (Barbara Barry) in the center of the room and pair it with a Palladian chair in a caramel finish (Baker).  This is the chair equivalent of a Birkin bag.  Just like the bag, you can pair a Palladian chair with anything and it automatically adds a little je ne sais quoi and will never date.  Absolutely gorgeous.

 

Behind the desk, I would make a focal wall with a console chest (Hickory Chair) in the center, for office supplies, files, etc.  Above the chest I would add a over-sized mirror (Baker) and flank the chest/mirror combo with antiqued brass etageres, similar to the one above, by Phoebe Howard.  Fill the desk with accessories like a brass magnifying glass (Arteriors), cream leather storage boxes (Barbara Barry for Global Views), and add a cashmere throw or two (William Sonoma Home, I can't work unless I'm wrapped up in a blanket).  Top the room off with a mid-century inspired chandelier (Arteriors), and you have a polished home office!  Best part?  All of the elements in this room could be used in other areas of your home.  Move the mirror to the fireplace mantel, the etageres to the living room, or the desk to the master suite to use as a vanity!  It's always smart to think where else you could use an item down the road when you want to relocate or just switch things up a bit.

Can This Be Made Into A Room? NYTimes Winter 2010

One of the only good things about Winter is that it's an excuse to really dress fashionably.  It's a time to cover up and layer, which is something you just can't do when it's 80 degrees out.  To celebrate this change for the more fashionable, I'm designing a room inspired by this photo from the Winter edition of NYTimes Style Magazine.   Isn't it just ethereal? 

Winter Photo Shoot  for The New York Times Style Magazine.



I would use this look in a large living room with vaulted ceilings, two story windows and a large cast stone fireplace with a herringbone firebox.  I would flank the fireplace with two natural linen chesterfields (RestorationHardware) to add a clean fresh base for the room.  Chesterfields are definitely THE classiest sofas in history and will never date (good tip if you are looking to invest in a new sofa!).  Under the chesterfields, I would add a large and luxe sheepskin rug (Flokati.com) in tones of grey.  You know I'm a fan of fur!  Remember when I mentioned in this post about my Grandma being one of the most chic women I have ever known?  Well, she had a small sheep skin rug by the side of her bed and when I would go and visit, I remember laying on it after a long soak in her large garden tub.  It's one of my favorite memories of that home.  Anyway, I digress...

I interpret the rustic fence in the inspiration photo as naturally weathered woods.  I would add a vintage Indian cart (RestorationHardware) as a cocktail table and a x-based console (Arteriors) that reminds me of an old hitching post.  Include some cool wood pieces like a chunky log end table, a gnarly driftwood floor lamp, and some whimsical candlesticks (all from Arteriors) for rustic-ness. For the girly-ness of the chiffon dress, I would load the chesterfields full of delicate dusty pink pillows, all in different textures, all extremely feminine (and all from Eastern Accents) and add shimmering accents like the mercury glass hurricanes and a brass lotus flower (Arteriors).  The polished metals juxtaposed with the hearty woods will incorporate so much interest and personality in the space!  What vaulted-ceiling room would be complete without a chandelier?  The Durango 12 Light Chandelier from Arteriors tops off our feminine-rustic-winter-inspired room beautifully!