Friday Crush

Required Friday reading - One Kings Lane's feature on the NYC home of designer Alex Papachristidis...it's blow-your-mind bananas. And this cobalt + violet moment above is owning me right now. It's all just so good in an over-the-top way. And I must say that the warm, rich jewel tones are totally prepping me for fall that is now mere WEEKS away. I'm so very ready.

Hope you have a delightful weekend...see you next week!

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Lavender Living Room

Did you catch this image in your inbox via Joss & Main last night? It was the cover photo for their current Pastels & Metallics sale.

What is it about a lavender room that makes me fall all over myself? Use lavender to its full potential in a space and I'm hooked. Like the room above - LOVE the (grasscloth?) lavender ceiling, the modern velvet chairs and the fun metallic ottoman. Combined with soft-colored walls and touches of green and seafoam, I like what I'm seeing.

I don't really exalt lavender (read: purple) otherwise, but I'm continuously drawn to it in interiors. And maybe eyeshadow. What are your feelings on the hue?

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Friday Crush

File this under "If I Was a Millionaire"...these would be my dining chairs. Complete with custom Leontine monogram. That Jane Scott is a stylish woman. How awesome would a set of these be for your Easter table? Or, I guess I could settle for just one as a desk chair. I absolutely love how the splendid monogram pops on the purple.

Pretty low-key weekend around here. Hope you're up to something fun. Enjoy it and see you next week!

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New from Megan Young

I love checking a favorite designer's website and finding new photos in their portfolio. Just did a little sweep of Megan Young's (such a talent!) and found some pretty images where she is really working the jewel tones:

All photos via meganyoungdesigns.com

Love the tones of berry aubergine with chartreuse. It takes a very trusting client to say yes to a "purple" couch but I think the result in that second picture is stunning. Feels incredibly fresh, yet traditional so the colors are not overpowering. A great balance.

Check out more of Megan Young's work here...

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Finally

Finally.

My go-to accent color of lavender/plum/orchid, lovingly dubbed lavumchid (how does one pronounce it? I have no idea), is the darling of the color scene. Per Pantone.

I've been yammering on about shades of purple for a while like here (2011!) and all the posts here. Not that I'm a soothsayer. I'm just happy a color I love has been dubbed uber-hip so I'll see it hit the marketplace with force in the coming year. I already spotted a gorgeous lumbar pillow at Target that might need to come home with me.

This room showcasing John Robshaw fabrics is from 2012 but it nails the trend IMO.

Lavender, plum and orchid do not solely belong to the tween crowd.

And you KNOW I love this shade paired with green, as seen in my dining room. In fact, all this hubbub about orchid has me wanting to tackle some new curtains for my dining room - I've had some orchid velvet sitting in a box for YEARS waiting to become curtains...and I want to move my chintz to the chair seats as I'm growing a bit tired of the large hem look. I'll let you know if that happens.

See more of this awesome bedroom here...

So what say you on the color of the year? Have you been an orchid lover all along? Or is the hue new for you?

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Tangerine + Lavender

I know y'all have seen this image from Lilly Bunn Interiors. How can you forget lavender grasscloth with a tangerine couch? But I recently saw it anew and am just so into the color palette. Perhaps it's Carter's complete devotion to Clemson* as college football starts to take over OUR LIFE in this house that has me focused on this palette?

I think lavender has been having a moment for a long time (read three blog posts about it here). It's such a great secondary color to a bold primary. And just last week I pulled the trigger on a lavender area rug to sit below some vintage wicker chairs with orange cushions and it's going to be great.

How do you feel about this bold color combo? Yes? No?

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*Let the record show we went to the University of Virginia. But as a South Carolinian, Carter has a Clemson allegiance hailing from childhood. The man always bleeds orange - he just pairs it with blue or purple depending on who is playing.

Lavender Dream Living Room

While on the subject of Eileen Kathryn Boyd and pastels this week, let's discuss this bananas lavender adventure of a living room designed by EKB for, what I think, is a Traditional Home Holiday showhouse (can someone verify this?):

All images via ekbinteriors.com

Where do you start with a space like this? The emerald green is the perfect touch to Eileen's use of various shades of lilac, lavender and orchid. And I love just a peek of aqua in the chair and how the room is grounded with taupe.

Note the painted panels, or is it framed wallpaper? Either way, what a genius way to decorate the walls that adds both color and texture and could really be a crazy wonderful DIY project that would be a lot easier then painting every inch of your wall in a watercolor pattern or wallpapering a whole room.

I also like the ottoman and parsons coffee table combo - perfectly versatile to move both pieces around.

What a breathtaking space...my word!

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Lavumchid in Katie Ridder Rooms

I was thrilled to be sent a copy of Katie Ridder Rooms by Heather Smith MacIsaac for review. After spending some quality time flipping through its pages over Thanksgiving, it has earned the title of My Favorite Design Book for 2011 (Celerie Kemble's To Your Taste held the title for 2010).

I know a book should technically be judged by what's inside, but I can't overlook the fact that its cover is reason enough to own it. It looks killer sitting on this table in my house.

All images from Katie Ridder Rooms

The room on the cover is probably our favorite room by KR.

And since all shades of lavender, lavumchid, are having a moment in my own heart and the hearts of design enthusiasts worldwide, I quickly zeroed in on all the lovely shades of lavumchid that KR uses in her interiors.

I need to live in this room. The lamps and sofa are painfully beautiful.

Love how the gorgeous fabric is used as the piping on the plum chair!

Of course the book is chock full of color, pattern and KR's signature eclectic style - tons and tons of incredible inspiration. Like the floor of this kitchen that has me thinking perhaps we need to do this in our basement reno:

You won't regret getting this one (or asking Santa to bring you one). 

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Dreamy Lilac Bedroom

Lest I allow a full week to go by without mentioning the current it color lilac/violet/purple/plum/lavender, I give you this completely dreamy bedroom from Phoebe Howard:

Image via phoebehoward.net

This gorgeous bedroom is actually one of the jaw-dropping vignettes at Phoebe's store, Mrs. Howard, in Atlanta. Not sure if they still have it set up, but I saw it in person when I visited two years ago and the space does not disappoint.

Some points:

1) Although the right shade of lavender can be hard to find in coordinating tones for bedding or accessories, you can always paint your walls your favorite shade and then keep the rest of the room white and neutral. 

2) My favorite piece is the wood chest. It creates a beautiful contrast against the pastel lilac and whites of the room.

3) As a piggy-back to yesterday's topic, Phoebe has the bed in the center of the bedroom here. I remember thinking that is was quite a striking arrangement and really liked it in person. What do you think?

Can you tell I really like Phoebe Howard? And lilac/lavender/plum/violet? Recurring themes on this blog...

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Captain Obvious

Remember when I said that all shades of lavumchid (lavender/plum/orchid) are having a moment?

I just wanted to be real obvious about it and show you the October covers of House Beautiful, Elle Decor and Veranda.

I died at the cover of HB when it hit my mailbox last week - a green and plum Chinoiserie dining room! And I noted the hip use of lavender on the cover, which prompted me to write that post last week. And then Elle D came. And then Veranda. And then I realized that all is right with the world.

I have not always been a lavumchid lover...until I realized it was the perfect color to use against the green in my dining room. That began my love affair two years ago. I tend to adore it as an accent color more than the main event. But damn it's chic.

I haven't dived into these issues yet, but I'm so looking forward to it.

 

Valentine Crush

Design by Angie Hranowsky

A sultry space for you to ponder this Valentine's Day. Angie Hranowsky makes color work. And in the sea of pink and red you'll see today, I hope you don't forget the romantic power of lavender/lilac/plum - a hue that has quickly turned into a favorite for me.

I hope you have some amazing plans with the cheese to your macaroni this evening. 

XOXO

Friday Crush

WOW. This room designed by Katie Ridder floored me this week - I always love rooms that utilize a beautiful lavender paint color. Everything about this space is spot on for me. I found it via Little Green Notebook, and I must say Jenny's post on big art was my favorite collection of images this week - every single one was crush-worthy...I had a hard time picking. Make sure you read it here if you haven't already.

I have a LONG list of house to do items this week - hopefully I'll tackle them all! Have a great weekend...see you Monday!

Charleston Dream

Reasons why I love this room:

1) It's in Charleston. That's enough, actually. I'll take anything in Charleston.

2) It has totally stunning amazing drool-worthy hand-painted green walls...and it's St. Patrick's Day - all hail the color green (my personal choice for my own home).

3) It's a beautiful implementation of the color scheme I chose for my dining room - green, gold and purple...executed here to perfection.

4) The mix. Traditional wallpaper and a modern rug. A lucite side table and a gilded mirror. Silk drapery and a funky chandelier. This room looks young and old at the same time.

5) The coffee tables. I want them.

Hmmm....what do I not like about this room? Nothing. This is perfection for me - exactly what I love about design. I could go on and on and on and on.

Southern Living has been knocking my socks off with some pretty wonderful design features as of late. This room was featured in this month's issue and was designed by Charleston designer Jenny Keenan (clearly a genius). 

More images to make you swoon:

All images via southernliving.com, Photography by Laurey W. Glenn

Friday Crush

Design by Phoebe Howard, image via phoebehoward.net

Dear, dear Phoebe Howard. This room is from my favorite project in her current online portfolio. I thought it was the perfect end to my week devoted to lavender inspiration. You know I majorly heart the stripes in this room. The two upstairs bedrooms in our house have slanted ceilings just like this, so I may need to recreate these stripes at some point.

Thanks for indulging my week all about the dining room. I'm excited to start putting all the pieces together just in time to host our families for Thanksgiving.

What are you up to this weekend? I have come down with a bit of a cold, and the weather here is quite dreary, so I think I'll be laying low. I have a date with the holiday issue of Elle Decor.

See you Monday!

Purple Rain

I am positively giddy over my weekend fabric find. Giddy.

But, I'm going to wait and share it with you tomorrow.

Today, I wanted to share some photos that inspired my fabric score. As I posted last week, my thoughts are currently consumed by fabric choices for our living room and dining room. You've heard about the living room...this weekend was devoted to the dining room.

One challenge has been deciding which colors to incorporate into the dining room. When we moved in, I knew I wanted to paint the walls a green stripe - so I did. And I love it.  You can see a peek of the stripes in this image below...

Once the walls were painted, I started my search for a patterned drapery fabric that would guide me in selecting other colors for the room. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) that search did not yield any results so I ended up buying some inexpensive ivory fabric for drapes. As soon as I hung them I knew they were snooze-ville (Carter agreed). So, my hunt began anew.

This time, I focused on color as opposed to fabric. Perhaps if I selected a color first, finding the fabric would be an easier task. Naturally, I consulted my beloved dining room by John Loecke. John used the tiniest little pops of lavender in the drapes and the chandelier...and I love the result. So my thoughts turned to purple...

Purple?! I even shocked myself. I am not a purple gal. It screams tween. But for some reason, I loved the idea of finding a pretty lavender/lilac/plum (anything but purple) shade for the dining room.

So, I jumped on the Web and did a search for some inspiring lavendar/lilac/plum interiors to get me started...and boy did I find some. It reinforced that "purple" can truly be chic. And now that I've opened my mind to the color, I feel like I'm seeing it everywhere (hence, the Purple Rain title of this post...Prince will not be making an appearance).

Lavender loveliness:

(A note: Many images are from other blogs, so I do not always have the photographer/source information -my apologies)

Home of former fashion editor Jane Hess from April 2008 Canadian House & Home via Alkemie blog

Home of former fashion editor Jane Hess from April 2008 Canadian House & Home via Alkemie blog

Design by Amanda Nisbet via Alkemie blog

DC Home of Ali Wentworth  & George Stephanopoulos, photo by Simon Upton via Elle Decor

photo by Eric Piasecki, via Roseland Greene blog

image via domino

photo by Tom Scheerer via Patricia Gray Interior Design blog

image from Elle Decor March 2007 via Patricia Gray Interior Design blog

image from EKB Interiors via Patricia Gray Interior Design blog

image via Roxxn blog

I know, right? Purple! Who knew? Armed with this new found love/confidence in the color purple, I ventured out for some fabric shopping on Saturday and found the perfect fabric for my drapes...

[to be continued...]

UPDATE: Run over to blog decor8 - today's installment by Leslie of Color Me Pretty is about lavender paired with greens/chartreuse!