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Currently on sale:
Now I just have to decide which ones I like best…
These make me happy.
See more in The Guilded Bee shop.
Have you seen Elle Decor’s “top 25”? I’m posting about them on Style Key West every Monday for the rest of the Summer (and possibly longer…). The next three are:
Steven Gambrel
Suzanne Kasler
Stop by and let me know what you think of the list (or of these specific designers)!
*All images procured directly from the designers’ websites.
Remember when I wrote this about trying to find a good neutral/metallic bag? Well – the powder blue bucket bag seems to have been purchased by someone else, so I’m no longer plagued by the decision to opt for that color rather than the silver/pewter I had in mind.
But I’m still bagless!
So I decided to do a more serious Etsy search last night to see if I could find something fabulous.
The bag that comes closest to what I had envisioned is this:
Yeah – that’s the SAME Rennes Chateau bag from the earlier post. So as far as the Etsy indies are concerned – that’s the only game in town. But I did find some others that are pretty super – even though they’re not exactly what I wanted:
Lenwood Leather’s Hobo Purse/Traveler Bag
Feel Handmade Small Clutch
Patkas Silver Gray Leather Hobo Bag
Jenny N. Design Baby Ruche BagSo…what do you think? Should I take a chance on any of these beauties?
Do you remember this Martha Stewart craft idea from last year?
I’m not really into crafts, but this is one that I actually like and think I can do.
But I’d have to buy an infomercial product to do it. Which doesn’t really bother me since I HAVE admitted to being brainwashed by informercials before… But the name really bugs me: the KnitWit.
And how about these old patterns?!
Martha can make anything look good.
We’ll see how it works out. If all goes well, the ladies in my family will be enjoying some fancy KnitWit fashions this holiday season….
I was paging through the recent issue of Elle Decor and saw a picture of these gorgeous pale yellow linen pillows:
Like little pats of butter with spun sugar flowers. The taupe tones down the girliness a bit and makes them just about as close to perfect (for me) as they can get.
And I was shocked to read that they are from Pierre Deux! Nothing against the old school French country decor shop…but when I think of Pierre Deux, I’m hit by a nostalgic wave of quilted handbags and cosmetic cases in their famous Provence prints (a staple for girls in my 1980’s DC past). In fact – the first time I saw quilted Vera Bradley bags, I had to do a double take, as the styles were so reminiscent of the PD styles I remember.
Anyway – I checked out the website, and it seems that PD quilted bags are not quite as prolific as they once were… And these pillows are a collaboration with Ankasa based on an 18th century toile.
I love them.
And while I was there, I checked out the rest of the pillow selection. So if delicate embroidered linen isn’t your thing, here are some bonus images of peacocks I found quite charming:
I don’t think you can ever really go wrong with peacocks – at least not tasteful ones from Pierre Deux.
I’ve always been fascinated by textile design. Specifically fabric – but the more I learn about wallpaper (and how it’s not just another incarnation of the same thing), I’ve had to widen the scope of my obsession at bit.
One designer who would be high on my list of “people I wouldn’t mind being” is designer, LuLu Dekwiatkowski of the fabulous LuLu DK line.
And I base that assessment on her talent, creativity and (at least seemingly) rock star life as a designer, artist, business owner, mother and world traveler (and possibly a few other things – but you get the idea).
Her design process is an art form in and of itself, and all of the images I’ve seen on the LuLu DK website and blog (Trail of Inspiration) make me covet her profession even more.
She often starts with collages (her own inspiration boards so to speak) which are actually fine art pieces that not only show in galleries, but were also compiled in a book, LuLu, a travel journal/art book/autobiography, with accompanying paintings and photos – all of which represent her “travels, life and loves.”
I love how you can see these “inspiration collages” alongside the finished product – as well as in actual decorating projects:
The Trail of Inspiration blog is really wonderful in that LuLu really invites you into her world with bits and pieces of her thoughts and work – all in the most charming images. I was particularly taken with these:
My favorite posts of LuLu’s though are the ones describing her textile design process. There have been three so far. Here are some excerpts:
“First I hand paint my artwork onto cloth (painters drop cloth) with acrylic paint and coffee (coffee with milk makes the perfect beige tone). Once the design is finished the screen printer will send me a rough replica on paper, to see if they have matched my vision properly. Once I approve this, they then carve a screen that will be used to print the fabric (a screen is usually a large metal or wood board that lays on a long table and has carvings of the…design on it.
“In the mean time, I send color swatches (above) of all the different colorways I want the mill to do fabric samples of...“
“As I mentioned in a previous blog posting, the bright yellow fabric [below] is my original artwork which we are in the process of making into a linen/cotton fabric.
“I send the original design to the screen making mill and they mimic the design the best they can on the computer in some cases and by hand in others. They then send me a paper sample showing the fabric reproduction that shows how the fabric will look and how the colors will be divided.
“Once I approve it, they will make a screen. A screen is a large wooden or metal board that will lie on a table and create one color of the design. There is a different screen for each color in the design. Each color of a design is printed individually and then left to dry so that the next screen can be placed on the table for the next color to be printed….and over and over. So the more colors a design has, the more screens a design has, the more runs a fabric goes through and of course the more time-consuming and expensive a fabric is.
“In the design above I asked the screen maker to make this design a little washy and toned…Above is an extreme version showing the depth of variance I am able to achieve, if I desire. The design can be more single toned like the original or double toned like the CAD…depending on how extreme I choose the 2 colorways to be. This design has 2 colorways, so for it to be extreme I would pick a light yellow and a dark yellow. For it to be more single toned (like the original) I would pick 2 similar yellows….Once the CAD is approved the screen printers send the carved screens to the printing mill and they start on all my color ways...”
“The next (and most exciting) stage of fabric making! The colorways arrive!
“Here is a sampling of our Sunburst fabric which I have written about in past post…I always make a ton of color samples…mainly because I don’t want to go back to the mill to have others made and also because I am so particular and in love with color, so I want to see every option. This season it is all about bright pastels for me…We usually pick 3-6 colorways per print and I think the ones that dominate the photo are my general picks from the 20 options that came.”
Hopefully there will be more of these to come. I can’t get enough. And HOPEFULLY, I’ve represented it all accurately – since I pulled everything directly from the blog.
I could write more (I didn’t even touch upon the Matouk bedding, linens and decorative pillows and Elson & Company carpets!) – but I think that’s enough inspiration for me today. Now I’m off to dream about my imaginary life as an artist/textile designer…
I’m back from vacation and I’m starting the week with a BEAST of a design post over at Style Key West today.
Have you seen Elle Decor’s “top 25”? I’m going to post about them on Style Key West every Monday for the rest of the Summer (and possibly longer…). The first five are:
Murial Brandolini
Darryl Carter
Eric Cohler
Robert Couturier
Stop by and let me know what you think of the list (or of these specific designers)!
*All images procured directly from the designers’ websites.
I’m on vacation this week and asked a few friends to fill in for me. Today’s guest is Averill from Odi et Amo. I found Odi et Amo through my good friend Christy of A Lil’ Welsh Rarebit. She had been telling me for months that I needed to check out her Averill’s design blog, and once I did, I couldn’t believe it took me so long. She has such a great eye and everything she writes is so well thought out and researched. Her blog offers far more than just eye candy, and I’m so happy she agreed to fill in for me today!
Welcome Averill!
I’m on vacation this week and asked a few friends to fill in for me. Today’s guest is Karen from I Don’t Think Prada is the Answer They’re Looking For… I’m not sure where I first found her…but I do know that I loved the name of her blog (even if I didn’t immediatly recognize The OC quote). Karen is a “real” interior design professional and she always calls me on my uneducated criticisms of other real designers. Love that – thanks for keepin’ it real, Karen. Plus she’s funny and finds good stuff on YouTube, including clips for great shows I might have missed due to an already full television viewing schedule. I owe my love affair with Modern Family to Karen…don’t know what I’d do without her.
Welcome Karen!
Hello Wishing True readers! My name is Karen and I was thrilled when Kate asked me to fill in on Wishing True while she took a well-deserved break! I racked my brain for what would be a fun topic to discuss with her design-savvy readers — decided to stay away from any discussions of Twilight, the World Cup, or Beiber fever, hope you don’t mind — and really, it comes down to two topics: shopping (especially virtual shopping!) and design.
Have you ever noticed that designers or celebrities will have really great home accessories, like an antique vase or a collection of mercury glass, and they’ll casually mention they got it at a flea market in Paris, or they picked it up during an impromptu trip to Morocco? Who does things like this? I don’t know about you, but the flea markets near my house don’t have 19th century crystal chandeliers for $60. Some of us have to be resourceful in regions with more Costco’s than shops spelled like ‘shoppe’. And while my day job as an Interior Designer gives me access to wonderful high end accessories, my real life attempts to decorate my apartment (plus a friend or two!) has sharpened my shopping skills on a real life budget. So if you’re thinking about freshening up your home on a budget, here’s a list of places to check out first …
1) Home Goods (or Marshall’s or TJ Maxx)
Here’s the thing about Home Goods: you have to be in the mood to sift through alot of junk to find your treasure. But it’s worth it, and many designers and home stagers don’t want the secret to get out. In addition to accessories like vases or bookends, you can also find great linens, mirrors and lamps for less than department stores.
2) 20 x 200
Finding art for an ‘average’ person’s home can be depressing at times … like when that $99 Art Show rolls into your local convention center, shilling oil paintings of fruit baskets. Or those giant black and white posters of a random dock on a lake from Ikea. 20 x 200 is a nice alternative: it features art starting at $20! So whether your thing is kites, big yellow taxis, or a vintage-ish beach scene, they’ve got you covered without dipping into your savings.
3) Etsy
You can find anything under the sun in Etsy’s stores, and support small business, too! Talk about a win-win situation. My favorite Etsy shops include Katie Armour Home – a great place to score milk glass – and littlebrownpen, who’s got adorable photos of Paris.
4) West Elm, CB2 & Z Gallerie
Although it’s a bit of cliched HGTV advice, changing out throw pillows or adding an object to your bookcase really can make a big impact with a small amount of cash. Profiles are both current and classic (although this is also screaming for DIY if you’re crafty!) and this blue vase is the perfect summery accent!
Many thanks to Kate for inviting me to stop by! And if you have a favorite place to shop for inexpensive treasures, share them in the comments!
