...and the livin' is easy....

Spring weather has me thinking about outdoor living...grabbing a good book, cheese and bread, a little wine...

Color Bloom 2011

The Color Bloom Designer Event was a tremendous success despite a continuing down pour and a closed road (because of the downpour.)  The event was to celebrate the colors of the year. Sherwin Williams Paints was a co sponsor of Color Bloom. The colors used were 6855 Dragon Fruit and 6531 Indigo, beautiful colors to work and create with.

Design Speak was a local sponsor and creator of the event. Colt Industries provided a wonderful space. Other contributors were Pottery Barn, Paper Dolls Boutique, Design & Detail, Traveling Tea by Kateri Meyer and Stimulus Baking Company. Beautiful photography is from J Pollack Photography.

One of Color Bloom's elements was creating a Royal Wedding table featuring the colors of the year.

 The background for the table was made from showroom length fabric samples. Fabric companies represented are Osborne & Little, Designers Guild, Scalamandre, Zoffany, and Harlequin. The samples were borrowed from Design & Detail.

 As a team member of Design Speak my roll in the event included floral arrangements, gift box designs (with  the help of Tricia Heliker) and general whatever.

 The colors, Dragon Fruit and Indigo were used throughout the space. Gift boxes were made using designer wallcovering samples.

 Even the cupcakes were made in the colors of the year.

 More of the gorgeous fabrics that were the background for the event.

 A fashion show was provided by Paper Dolls Boutique. The colors of the year were stunning on the models.

Color Bloom was a visually beautiful event full of friends, food and fashion.  What I found impressive was the way companies and people came together to create this happening. Congratulations to all involved.  I am looking forward to the next Color Bloom.

Designer Day Part 2

This week there was a another wonderful Designer Day at Design & Detail. What I like most about these events is the combination of local artisans with the larger national companies.

Laura Bergmann is a local artisan with a great concept and an amazing talent. Laura believes fabric doesn't have to be flat.

"THE IDEA is simple: Fabric doesn’t have to be flat. In fact, it’s more interesting when it’s not - when it has dimensionality & shape, form & movement. Fashion designers know this. They take great freedoms sewing cloth. They texturize, embellish, inflate, pucker, fold, wave, tuck, puff and reconstruct a flat, supple piece of cloth into something with an entirely different disposition. And the highest forms become masterpieces, haute couture, rarely worn works of art."   Laura Bergmann

 These colorful pieces are made from soft, smooth leather.

 The embellished fabrics can be used for accent pillows, headboards, folding screens, lamp shades or room dividers.

 Pleats add dimension and texture.

 Simple fabrics are transformed into sculptural elements.

 One of Laura's lamp shade creations.

 One of the larger companies presenting was Kravet Fabrics, a long time favorite of mine. One of their most intriguing collections was the Modern Group from Kravet Couture. They have cleverly taken traditional designs and modernize them with updated colorways. I liked what I saw.

 The colorways take the fabrics in a new direction.

 A paisley with a very modern style.

The vibrant colors on this embroidered piece are stunning.

Hickory Chair was also showing new product.  This gorgeous piece is the Monroe Sofa. I love the French Moderne influence.  Look for this soon in a client's living room. Nice linen fabric, colorful pillows....

Rhinestone Gypsy

Presenting Rhinestone Gypsy - a mother/daughter team that I discovered on Etsy.  They make these fantastic mixed-media "spirit dolls".  Colorful and full of life, I just love their work!  Check them out at their Etsy shop .

Scalamandre At Designer Day

Spring and fall bring new introductions to fabric and furniture lines. The designer showroom, Design &Detail  holds Designer Days in the spring and  fall to give designers the opportunity to see the latest from these lines.

This vignette is in the entry of the showroom. Scalamandre's zebra wallcovering in black is a wonderful background for this chic, eclectic setting. 

Scalmandre was one of the companies showing their product at Designer Day. Peter Julian, the St Louis area rep and Louis Renzo the CEO of Scalamandre were there to meet with designers and present new additions to the line.

The zebra wallcovering has become an iconic symbol for  Scalamandre.

New fabrics were introduced. They include embroideries on both linen and cotton.

Showrooms give a designer the opportunity to see large samples of patterns in all the available colorways.

This large scale plaid fabric is woven in to a silk taffeta. It would make a stunning window treatment.

This beautiful blue linen is printed with a series of detailed sea shells. The colorway gives the traditional motif an updated look.

A classic lampas weave with a soft pink background is an elegant traditional design.

I love a classic, sophisticated silk stripe. This fabric has the look and feel of a ballgown.

One of the colors of the year for 2011,deep blue, is found in this traditional Chinese Dragon print on cotton. This is a wonderful design that goes beyond trends.

There were many other wonderful lines shown at Designer Day. I will share those in the next post. Stay tuned.

Cat Nap

Today is a gorgeous, sunny day, and I've been doing a little spring cleaning...but I think my cats have a better idea!  Here they are taking over my bed...

Guess Luna likes my novel, too.

I wish I could curl up like Bella!

New Rug * Beautiful Living Room

The rug arrived today at my client's home. It is a custom design of hand knotted wool with silk highlights. It is beautiful, if I say so myself. Getting the opportunity to design a rug for a client is such a joy. When the end result is this wonderful it is a dream come true. Thank you Prajol. Your work is amazing.

 The rug is 9 X 12. The overall design is a combination of wide stripes with a damask pattern on top. The damask is outlined in silk.

 The living room includes this beautiful buffet from Hickory Chair. I love the metal detail on the doors. They give this traditional piece a very current look.

 The wide stripes of the rug are tan and silver grey. The damask is a soft shade of blue with a khaki green outline.

 The window treatments are a soft strie silk from Kravet.

 A Kravet Couture fabric covers this updated wing chair from Hickory Chair.

A French bergere chair, already owned by my client is covered in a Isaac Mizrahi fabric from Fabricut.

 
 The new rug works beautifully with the Custom Kravet sofa covered in a ribbed, grey fabric.

A mix of Designer Guild fabrics cover the dining chairs and sofa pillows. The color palette of the living room flows easily into the dining room. The blue chandelier and red lamps continue the palette through the space.