On Design: Likey or No-Likey? Trends in detail

Thank you again for joining us! In this week's design chat, we talk about design trend elements - what we like, hate or even nearly gag over. From Buddha to Zebra - hang on for a wide ranging, and yes, opinionated chat. Comments welcome!

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image courtesy of Williams-Sonoma

Should Gail Go Green?

I am renovating the kitchen of my Manhattan apartment and cannot decide what color to paint the walls. Really, it is one long wall (across from the windows, so it gets a lot of light) and a bit of wall between the two windows, as well as the window frames and the windowsills. All the rest of the walls (under the cabinets) will be covered with the tile you see in one of the photos on the sample card. The day that I took the photos was very overcast so the light is very blue. On sunny days, it is more golden, especially in the early morning, but the windows face north, so most of the day it is a cool light. The kitchen is usually very bright because there is open sky in front of the windows, as you can see from the photo. I thought of going with a very light green, and someone told me that that would look like a hospital. So I tried darker greens but I am afraid to have an enormous green wall. I am afraid it will reflect and make people look sickly. I haven’t tried a really grayed green yet. But it also occurs to me that possibly green is not the only color to try. The tile has green highlights and a greenish cast, and since I also have a black granite countertop and chestnut brown cabinets, I thought I should avoid introducing yet another color. The appliances will be stainless steel. The flooring throughout my apartment is red oak with a clear, satin finish. The adjacent living room is painted white. Lighting for the evening is a mix of dimmable incandescent overhead and 3100k fluorescent tubes under the cabinets above the counter. Of course there is also the ceiling, which I thought I should leave white. And I wondered whether I should paint white or a lighter version of the wall color on the window frames and sills. Finally, I won’t be able to afford a very high end paint job, so the many bumps and imperfections on the walls and door frames from years of bad paint jobs will remain for the most part. I thought that possibly a less dramatic color would minimize the imperfections more than a dramatic (dark green) one. Please help!
-Gail Burk, New York City

Dear Gail,
I must say, you win the "incredible amount of information for picking one color" award. First, judging from your pictures, you are being a little (make that a lot) heavy handed with the depth and intensity of color for the space. Remember that the wall color is a back drop for the room and it's contents and since the cabinets and the counters are strong, lets lighten up. I do think green is a fresh breath of color to soothe the red wood tones and the black counters. Try finding the palest green shade in your tile back-splash and go a shade lighter and grayer/more neutral - this will also work with the white living room better. It is hard to judge exact shade when not in the space but choose a level in depth and neutrality like Benjamin Moore's Vapor Trails #1556. Once this is accomplished take a chip and tape it to the wall and see if it looks good in all the various light situations - remember color can reflect the color around it so adhere it to a neutral area. In a space like this I would paint the trim and the walls the same color. Paint the trim in a semi-gloss and the walls in an eggshell. The eggshell finish won't be as wipe-able as a semi-gloss finish (usually recommended for a kitchen), but will hide the wall imperfections a bit better. Good luck going green Gail and Bon Appetite!

Echito’s Bridal Shower – a very pink celebration!

Echito is getting married – and Meade Design Group wanted to send her into married life with a fabulous bridal shower party! After all, she does deserve it, she always leaves comments on my blog (lol)

The theme (of course,) was pinks and corals presented in an elegant manner with napkins, floral arrangements and yummy yummy desserts.

We enjoyed good company, tasty cocktails, some silly and naughty games (such as pin the junk on the hunk, a toilet paper wedding dress contest and Toilet Paper and Stick – don’t ask) and of course a traditional Mexican meal lovingly prepared by moi .

The menu was:

• Avocado cream soup with Tequila and Watermelon.
• Mandarin and Blackberry on Spring Greens with Mango and Cilantro Dressing and Caramelized Pecans.
• Agnolotti in Chiplote and Gouda Sauce.
• Saltspring Island Goat Cheese & Port Salut Cheese Platter.
• OOh La La Cupcakes and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.
• A delicious Naughty Cake specially made for the occasion.

Please enjoy the pictures below of the safe-for-blog festivities that went into the wee hours!

Coral floral arrangements with a mix of gerberas and roses by local talent Tara McHugh perfectly adorned our table set for 12.

Delicious cupcakes from OOh La La in “Just Vanilla” with pink sprinkles and “Pink Ballerina” with pink icing to fit our theme.

The glamorous finished table ready for guests and a yummy meal.

Another one of Tara’s beautiful arrangements complimented our Asian cabinet and Fornasetti plates.

The re-vamped entrance with a plum blossom branch right from Tara’s own front yard.

Each guest was welcomed with a freesia corsage on their place setting to wear for the event.

I bugged innocent Echito for weeks that I will get her a real bubble butt stripper for the event. Even after going to the most dark places in Victoria and was almost successful, I was unable to obtain one. So, we presented her with this stripper themed cake from Passion for Cakes - Yum! and of course we had to brand the cake (lol) Echito was relieved and enjoyed the cake more than she thought she would have enjoyed the stripper!

Echito serving up the naughty cake – raspberry with vanilla frosting, yum! (Of course she had to eat the bubble-bum piece all to herself!) You can also see another special decoration in the shot - the horse mural in the background was given a pink unicorn horn for the occasion to promote fertility and good will in the couples futures.

Here I am as the bartender extraordinaire – mixing yummy pink drinks for the event such as the “Silk Stocking” and Raspberry Champagne Cocktails which the ladies (including Jeff and myself ) enjoyed. Love is in the details I even wore a pink shirt for Echito.

New sexy mama Sarita had to leave early to feed Sadie, but it was great she was able to come and celebrate with us.

The self-proclaimed “Team Experience” (Bobbie, Tanis, and Echo’s mom Sharon) working on their dress design for the toilet paper bride contest. Their final design? “The Reverse Mullet”; a mini-dress “party in the front” and elegant train for “business in the back”.

The final designs modelled by (from left to right) LindsO, Courtney and Tanis.

The final event of the evening was the passing of the “Bride-to-Be” tiara from Echito to Christina, who will be getting married in September.

Overall, a fabulous evening was had by all – best of luck to Echo and Nic on their wedding on May 16th!

Tara McHugh Flora - tara@taramchughflora.com

250-880-1006

Passion for Cakes

Blogging: Content Is Key

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

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Join us tomorrow for Design: Trends in detail; can there be too much of a good thing?

The Treehouse: Living Room Plans & Ideas

INSPIRATION: (Above Chaffee Braithwaite's living room AGAIN ;) I'm using it as inspiration... I'll be going with a bit more warmth & a little washed/ muted pattern. My goal is for the room to feel light airy, natural, raw, fresh with a classic modern feel and a hint of old-fashioned pretty. I want a fairly neutral backdrop for ever-changing accessories & shots of color. (In the image above, I love the jolts of green from the wheatgrass and views for Springtime!)

Below, here's what our living room looks like now: (Since the living space is on the second floor, you're way high up in the trees, hence the name "treehouse.") For now, I'm keeping it this shade of white & will get the perfect white on the walls once we're more settled. (we've got bigger fish to fry for starters!!)

For now I'm putting the sofa on the right wall facing into the room. Opposite it will be two chairs with a table in between and under the window i'd like to have a couple of chairs or possibly a settee. (My computer & scanner are still down so I'm not able to get you the floorplan) We're hanging drapes from the ceiling on simple iron rods. I'm going with simple white linen for an airy feel & a fresh, clean backdrop for changing up accessories, slicovers, pillows, etc: For the sofa, I knew exactly what I wanted: English arms with turned legs on casters. (Because- #1- I like to rearrange often & usually do it by myself while my husband's gone & the sofa is always the toughest thing to move, so casters = problem solved!! #2- I want the space to feel large, open & airy, and of course legs will help with this, and #3- I love the classic with a hint of old-fashioned lines of this sofa. It'll work perfectly with both traditional & modern pieces. So, below is what I was looking for ( I was hoping for 1 or 2 cusions instead of 3)

And the sofa below is the one we just bought on Craiglist!!! (Since we're on a budget & the similar sofas I was finding were all around the $2500- $3000 range, I decided the search on craiglist. After searching through listing after listing & saving a few possible options that were close to my dream sofa, I came across this one!!)

I couldn't believe my (exhausted) eyes!! it was exactly what I wanted!! It's a Lee Industries sofa that retails for around $3000! We picked the sofa up in our new (to us) pick-up truck (it's actually old- 250,000 miles) in Capitol Hill and the family couldn't have been nicer!! The owner of the sofa worked for the Kellog Collection for many years & was so sweet & her son arranged the whole deal & helped my husband load the sofa. (I'm sure I sounded like my usual nutcase-self, because I just couldn't stop telling them how excited I was to have "THE" sofa I was looking for!! haha) So, we're reupholstering it in this cotton velvet below:

As I mentioned in my previous post, this image doesn't do the fabric justice. It changes witht he angle and it looks creamy, golden or whitey-beige. It should look something like this chair (from Oly Studio) below when reupholstered:

I'm planning on pulling in some grays & whites in the pillows for "base" time (when the room's not decorated seasonally with other colors) with lots of different textures including this super-nubby linen (below) *** You can find a very similar fabric to this one at Calico Corners called "Slubby linen" ***

Now, here's where things become less settled-upon. I'm using the fabric below on the reverse to give the piece a more time-worn, muted look. (Darryl Carter's trick!!)

Now I'd like whichever piece the fabric goes on to be situated under the windows & facing into the room. So, this could possibly be couple of chairs or a settee (I was condsidering a gilding settee with a shirt, how fun would that be?! I don't love the shape of this one but did come across a pretty one & have now forgotten the source!)

The only thing is, I just came accross this driftwood chair from Oly Studios & I'm sort of in love... I really like balance & don't feel that a piece like this should have a matching partner & don't so much have a spot for a lone chair... (I might be able to squeeze it on somewhere though)

Now, across from the sofa will be two chairs with my fun metal vintage table in between:

I'm having so many different thoughts on the chairs. (In reality, I'll most likely thrift store/ flea market or craiglist them but here are some of my loves now. Also, any of the chairs pictured could possibly under the window as a pair or combined with the reversed toile or driftwood chair)

A pair of (washable!!) slipcovered wing chairs like the chair below would work really nicely because the shirts to the floor would stop the eye and that's sort of what I want because the dining area/ work area is on the other end & I like the separation. This is pretty budget-friendly because old wingchairs are really easy to find via thrift stores & craiglist and they could be easilty reupholstered!

I also can't help loving this modern wingchair from Oly Studio (below). It comes in other leathers but I really love this one... A pair of these with the silver table between would be amazing... I love the modern jolt in the room (I'd like to have at least 1 in each room becasue the house is so contemporary).. These could go across from the sofa or under the window. (Oh, and quick reality check here--- these would not be arriving for a VERY long time because of the unfortunate existence of a low budget.)

And here are some other chairs I like:

I like the thought of this one (below, Martha Stewart) upholsered in the toile... The only problem is the legs are a bit red for me & don't come in other colors... I'd hate to buy a new chair that I'd need to change...We love to entertain & of course kick up our feet so I love the idea of one of these 2 leather 0upholstered benches from Oly Studio:

I picture them moving around wherever needed & think they would look really pretty accross from the windows when you first walk in, so as to clsoe off the conversation area but not block the view. Here's the other:

I also have a cool camel saddle that looks similar to this one (image from here) but isn't in cow hide. (It's in a terrible brown vinyl right now & I'd reupholster it in a prettier one.)

I actually would love a cowhide rug... Here's the view of the dining area/ work area... Since we'll have an eat-in kitchen & island with stools I don't envision nightly meals in the dining area. We'll primarily use it for projects, reading, and entertaining. It'll be nice not to have to put projects away every night!

I love the idea of a trestle table piled high with books & 2 comfy chairs on one side and a bench on the other ... I'm having so many thoughts about tables, but it will have to be something rectangular & fairly narrow... (However, my square folding table will have to do for a while!)

But I love some of these options, like this zinc sawhorse table from Bobo Intriguing Objects: (I wonder if we could try to make something like this??--- I did look up some zinc countertop places & they seemed INSANELY expensive... does anyone have a cheap source for zinc sheets?)

I'd also love a trestle table similar to the one in Kirsten Hollister's (of Boho Belgian) dining room: (And look, she has the bench I want too!!! - I know Ikea used to make a bench like this, does anyone know if they still do? -- I couldn't find it online.)

I picture the table with wingchairs & I could possibly go with the white slipcovered ones if I don't go with them in the Living room: (Again, they'd be nice on casters so I could always have options)The wingchair below is one of my favorite wingchairs, by Martha Stewart. It's got nailhead detailing & is of a really manageable size for smaller spaces. (Some are so huge!!) Now, for the chandelier... Here are some I love from Bobo Intriguing Objects: The wine barrel chandelier:

And also the "planet" wine barrel: (I think this would be kind of cool with all the books!)

And this one I'm CRAZY over, but it's way too big for my house!!! (Over 4 feet high!! JEESH) The drfitwood chandelier: (I really wanted it in my entryway & it would still be too big!! arg)

And here's a chandelier I really love that's so much more in my price range. I saw it at On a Whim & need to go and see if they have anything like it or if it could still be there: (Please don't go buy this!!! heehee ;) Part of me thinks I need to stay natural & rough & quirly like the others but it's just so hard to resist this pretty vintage crystal!!!

And for the back wall behind the table, I want some type of storage. It's really important to me that I have surfaces that I can change up accessories on & also some hidden storage for my son's toys. (I like to keep toys in all the living areas as long as they can be hidden away so that every room's kid-friendly.) I'd use big baskets for toys on the bottom shelves & put pretty things & books on the upper shelves of this pharmacy rack from Bobo Intriguing Objects:

(It's highly unlikely we'll buy that exact piece but we'll be looking for similar items.) I'd also like some type of dresser or cabinet in the living room for more toy storage.

Well, we move tomorrow & over the weekend & I am having a bit of blogging withdrawal from not having my computer!! Also, I just did another post right before this one as a follow up on my kitchen decisions(2 posts in 1 day, I know! haha) so check it out below.

miss you guys,

lauren