The Company Store

I was leafing through Southern Living and came across an ad for The Company Store. I love The Company Store. They have lovely merchandise at reasonable prices. What I use them a lot for is children's bedding. They have a nice selection particularly for the toddler to 10 years old group. What appeals to me are the colors they have and the fact that many of the bedspreads are machine washable. Gotta love that! My daughter is currently going though a 'play make-up' phase. This usually means some make-up ends up on her bed especially during a play date. I just pre-spot it and throw it in the wash. It comes out looking like new. No muss, no fuss. They are currently offering 15% off your entire purchase. Not too shabby ~ I used it when I purchased my daughter's bed set (shown above) ~ they run this promotion every so often. You may use the link or if you prefer to call, their number is 1-800-799-1399. Use offer code south509. It ends 7/25/09 so if you are in the market for children's bedding (or other home items), check it out.

Inspired by a Car?

Yes, inspired by a car & what surrounds it. (I couldn't wait until tomorrow). This room was designed and built by the incredible R. Douglas Mansfield Architect, Inc. Why are they incredible? Just look at their website, project by project, space by space. You'll see why. I saw this room on HGTV's Top 10 Game Rooms. This room is literally built under water. So what do they do, they design a room that makes you feel like you are surrounded by water. From the reflections around the room from the magnificent chandelier to the aquarium with a live coral reef. Can you see the car in the window? The walls of the room are painted in automotive paint ~ the same paint as the car. The car is parked underground with museum quality lights that illuminate it as a piece of art carefully framed. The car IS art to the owner. It is one of his favorites. The picture I have is lame, I know, but please take a look at their website. It will blow you away. This game room is in the Lido Island Project. Another HGTV Top 10 is in the Crystal Cove project. Gorgeous!

I can relate to being inspired by a car. Clearly the car the room is based on is a fast car. Love that speed! I actually do not drive very fast but I sure do love a quick ride.

We rode Splash Mountain in Disney several times. It's Lauren's favorite ride. For these pictures, we rode it in the morning and again at night. My daughter likes the day picture on the right because she is screaming just like her mother. My husband likes the night picture because he is more animated. I, of course, look the same in both ~ screaming at the top of my lungs. Lauren does it too. We agree that screaming makes the ride more fun.

It sure does!

Coco Chanel Inspired

Nicolette inquired about spaces inspired by unrelated objects when I did my Snapple / lipstick blog. I told her about an indoor pool room inspired by Coco Chanel. The room as actully inspired by one of her designs ~ a beautiful pink dress. They had the dress in the room when I visited the National Symphony's Showhouse in 2004. I will never forget that outing. My daughter was ~18 months old. No children were allowed in the house but I did not have a sitter so I brought her with me. I went with my lovely friend, Andie Smarrelli. I will write more about Andie in a later blog. Naturally we had to take turns going in the house. After my turn in the house, I found my daughter giggling in Andie's arms. They kept repeating "cheers" and clinking their hands together. While I was inside, Andie taught her to do a traditional Cheers! with a drinking glass. To this day my daughter Cheers! my husband and I at dinner every evening. Thank you Andie, we love it! Back to the pool room ~ I found it. It was a room designed by Barbara Hawthorn, a Washington, DC interior design icon. I believe the dress was this one - worn by Jackie O.

Here is a snipet from an article written about the Showhouse in the Capital Annapolis:

"The Women's Committee for the National Symphony Orchestra has selected Chateau Peyrenc de Moras as the site for the 32nd NSO Decorators' Show House....

The interior, which covers an area of 13,000 square feet, features 25 rooms including a grand foyer, formal and informal dining rooms, two libraries, numerous balconies, seven bedrooms and eight full bathrooms. Marble and hardwood floors, intricately carved plaster moldings and 10 fireplaces lend to the elegance, while indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a grass tennis court add to the homeowners' pleasure.

Our talented designers have certainly worked their magic at the chateau," says 2004 Show House Chairman Bonnie Curry Brose.....

Once through this space, room after room will be discovered before coming upon designer Barbara Hawthorn's brilliant interpretation of the indoor pool room - a tribute to Coco Chanel."

The room is at the top. Here are additional photos!

I will try to locate one room I have in mind that was inspired by a car for tomorrow's blog. I will also show you some inspiration photos from Disney. What I would like to do is take some of the Disney pictures and design a room or two based on them. That will be a fun exercise for me.

Here is one photo from Disney. I saw so many Disney tee shirts while I was there. Some were traditional Disney tee shirts; others, wild and crazy. I came upon a family that had the most tasteful and beautiful Disney tee shirts on so I asked the mom if I could take a picture. She said, "Sure!" Meet the Cathey Family ~

Dad was there too but he did not have on a cool tee shirt :) That is him drinking his soda. The mom's had pretty muted tones of pink, yellow, teal, and gray and a tasteful design. The beautiful little girl had on a unique vibrant pink shirt with a wonderful butterfly, flowers and curlicue embellishments. The adorable little boy ~ well, he just wanted to be in the picture and who could resist that face?! Certainly not me & it was his birthday!

Disney is such a happy place. I'll leave you with a few thoughts and pictures. I was in smitten by the many, many languages I heard while there. So many families from all over the world. Even though the languages were different, I could understand the joy, excitement, occassional fear, but mostly awe on each child's face. Multi-generational families were plentiful ~ I enjoyed that never having met my grandparents. One of the images that has stuck in my mind was a very large, muscular gentleman ~ seriously, his arms were as big as my husband's legs ~ every time I saw him, he was carrying a tiny baby girl dressed in a pink and white baby doll. His hand was large enough to support her etire body and yet, he was so gentle, so loving, it made me smile. I saw them several times and every time, it was the same ~ holding her close, giving her little kisses. It was so sweet. While in line for food, a very long line, another large man with broad shoulders. Laying across them was a toddler no more than 16 months sound asleep. Dad was holding him there with one arm. The toddler looked so content; the dad looked hot. Not hot as in oo la la, but temperature wise. It is amazing what parents will do for their kids. I found myself contorting my body to be the most comfortable piece of furniture I could be so my daughter could sleep on the way back to our hotel. All worth it. Here is my daughter at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique becoming a princess (as if she wasn't one already!).


I thought it fitting to start and end the blog with pink.

Margaret Horton Edsall. "Away We Go: Unique spaces fill NSO show house." Capital (Annapolis). Annapolis Capital. 2004. HighBeam Research. 23 Jun. 2009 <http://www.highbeam.com/>.

Global Views

Hello! I am back from Disney World and just getting organized. We had so much fun! I will show you snipets and inspiration pieces I found all week.

When I started wading through my emails, I came upon this video. Jenny Heinzen York, Editor in Chief of Home Accents Magazine, interviews David Gebhart. Mr. Gebhart is a co-owner of Global Views. Global Views is one of my favorite accounts. They are a to-the-trade only company (and so is their website or I would have you take a look). They are cutting edge! They have beautiful acccessories, lighting, furniture, barware...... Their showroom at markets are always on my list to attend and the video really does explain why. The designers that put their showrooms together are very, very good. Even though they have many objects to display, they are always in a manner that makes it easy to see each piece. That is true art. The window display that is shown in the video, I actualy took a picture of. I love the Dorothy Draper inspired piece and will likely use it in one of my future designs. I also love the chair that accompanies it. It comes in black, as you see in the video, and off white. They are the perfect size for a small seating area or to use several for a larger one. They are pictured above. The beautiful kelly green color is the perfect backdrop in their showroom for their many silver pieces. I enjoy them at markets every time! Here are a few of their lovely pieces for you to enjoy.

Inspired by Snapple???

Yesterday I was at the mall with my daughter. We ate in the food court and we drank our favorite drink - Snapple Peach Ice Tea (full strength, not diet). Every time we have it, my daughter says to me, "Daddy doesn't let me drink this." I always smile and say, "I know." She always smiles back and yesterday was no different. A little mother~daughter secret. You likely know that inside each Snapple cap is "Real Fact." I found yesterday's fact interesting....

Really??!! Wow!!
Well in that case, we'd better make it worth while.....

Unfortunately, I am unable to use YSL's luscious lipsticks as I have never found a color that suits me. I have to mix. Plus I really like the long-lasting ones. I use Revlon Color Stay Overtime. I mix Always Sienna with Timeless Nude. During the day, I use less Always Sienna, more Timeless Nude; at night visa versa ~ especially if I am going out on the town - more pop. I thought the Snapple fact was interesting and stuck the cap in my pocket. Next I went to my Clinique Counter to by my various lotions and potions that I was running low on. At another counter, they had a beautiful display of lipsticks. Given my Snapple cap, I ventured over to look. Wow, do they ever have some interesting colors out there. Being who I am, I almost immediately started thinking of color palettes and pops. I took note of the lipsticks that caught my eye (not that I would actually wear them but they certainly caught my eye) and searched for examples on the Internet. Found them! Next I looked for examples of the colors in designs - as the foundation of the palette or as pops. Found them too! I had a lot of fun with this. Inspiration comes in many forms and from many places - always be open - it simply is more fun that way! The images are from Traditional Home, a favorite publication of mine ~ except for the last one ~ that image is from Sarah Klassen's blog ~ Haute Design ~ who I read daily ~ I just think she is a huge talent. Enjoy!
FYI - I am signing off for a stretch. Today my daughter graduates from kindergarten and then we are off to Disney World. If I see any design inspiration there - and you know that I will - I'll fill you in when I return.