Monday's Bold Statement - Decorative Tile

This yellow tile at the Viceroy hotel in Palm Springs makes a bold statement in both color and design. The effect is almost like an optical illusion, making the wall look like it is rotating.  Not sure I could actually live with this wall without getting vertigo but I still give kudos to the bold designer, Kelly Wearstler!

Rachel Hazelton

Color Block Thursdays - Orange.....duh!

Orange is in right now.  You may have noticed.

Apartment Therapy

Veranda

Savvy Home

Coco & Kelly

House Beautiful

House Beautiful

George....still in vogue after all these years....

Bright Bazaar

Happy birthday, George!!

Monday's Bold Statement - Bold Striped Wallpaper in the Entry Hall

People often ignore the entry hallway but it is one of my favorite spaces in a house because you can pack big impact in a small space and give people a taste of what is to come in the rest of the house!  I recently did another post on entries but this photo didn't make it in. 

These stripes might blend in a little more in a bigger space but in a small entry hall paired with some dramatic lighting and mirrors, they make Monday's Bold Statement.

Color Block Thursdays - Pink!

This week is pink week because Valentine's Day is pink and because pink is fantastic.  The thing about pink is, it almost never looks bad in the home or in your outfit, but somehow you always look really daring and trend-setting when you use it.  Apparently the editors of House Beautiful love pink, too, because almost all of my pictures are from their website, although all from different issues!

House Beautiful

House Beautiful

Bazaar of Serendipity

The Zhush

House Beautiful

House Beautiful

Coco + Kelly

Oh, and look - a reflective surface!

Monday's Bold Statement - Halographic Ceiling

I'm a day late on Monday's Bold Statement!  Here's a good one though: reflective decor.  Not all of us have the ability to put reflective silver on our ceilings but mirrors and mirrored furniture make a bold statement, too.  Or even just things painted silver!

New York Social Diary

Why It Works - Layering Nick Nacks

It's easy to look at the results from talented decorators and know it's done right but I always find myself wondering if I could have put something like that together myself.  Since I thought there might be other people out there like me, I decided to add a weekly blog post called "Why It Works" or "Why it Doesn't Work", breaking down decorating successes into simple rules we all can follow.

Today's success:  Mary McDonald's beautiful table vignette -

What really seems to work about this vignette is that the nick nacks are grouped and layered.  Instead of setting everything apart by itself, all the items are overlapped, some sitting further back on the table and some sitting further forward. 

Sometimes it's easier for me to see these things when designs are broken down into their basic shapes and lines.  Compare the outline of desk with the layered nick nacks and with the separated nick nacks - the layered one looks better, right?  The layered table is a vignette while the separated table just looks like a collection of items.

There's a lot else about this vignette that works, but layering is one rule I can pick out and learn to help me get the look!

Color Block Thursdays - Black and Yellow

Color inspiration of the week: Black and Yellow.  They may not be winners on the football field, but they are always winners in your house!

Bright Bazaar

Flourish Design & Style

Fric and Frac

 

Apartment Therapy

My Weekend Craft - DIY Picture Frames

I've been working on redoing my desk since I moved into my current house....almost a year ago.  Last summer I succeeded in repainting it silver (see the post here).  My next idea is to put photos of both of my grandmothers just as a little reminder every day of where I came from.  My two grandmothers were as different as they could be - one was a stylish world traveler who let me borrow her lipstick and one was a sweet apple pie-maker who taught me how to play boggle - but both were beautiful and I wanted to make special picture frames for them!

  These aren't the pictures I plan on using - I'm still deciding on that!

Black, high gloss paint, wooden frames, a sponge brush and silver grosgrain!  (extremely necessary hot glue gun not pictured)

Applying the paint with the sponge brush.  I also did a layer of high-gloss black spray paint, but forgot to take pictures!

Hot glue is to craft projects as duct tape is to appliance repair (vital)

I tried cutting the ribbon at every corner, but it frayed too much so went with folding instead and liked the results much better!

Finished product!

Monday's Bold Statement - Red Damask and Ice Blue Walls

It's Monday, so get ready to do something outstanding this week!  Here is something outstanding you could do.....mix a little vibrant red and icy blue...

Bellissimo Decor

Color Block Thursdays - Robin's Egg Blue

The first edition of a Thursday tradition to showcase one outstanding color or color combination.  First up....robin's egg blue because I've seen so much of it lately and because I wish I could look outside and see a Robin instead of snow!


First up, might technically be a little brighter than robin's egg, but I've always loved that Van Gogh and I'm sure he used some robin's egg blue in there somewhere....

Elaine Griffin via  Shelter Pop

 

 

Full House

The Decorista

Bright Bazaar

via Lonny Magazine

Apartment Therapy

Ralph Lauren's Tropical Home

It's cold and miserable outside so I'm really wishing Ralph and Ricky Lauren would invite me to their tropical paradise in Jamaica.  What is taking them so long, already??

All images via The Enchanted Home