Monthly Archives: June 2008

Collage Frames

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 15, 2008 – 10:35 am
Filed under Look What I Found!

Collages look better when every slot is not filled. Too many empty here, but imagine the gray spaces with more black and white photos and the orange as is.

In this morning’s Target circular, Gallery Collection Collage Frames are featured.  This is not interesting in its own right, the price at $20 is average.  What IS interesting is the composition IN the frames.  It is typical to see these frames filled with model shots, often in black and white. 

Today’s image shows some of the slots filled with orange colored paper.  This is an idea I have been advocating.  Filling every slot in frames like this with photos makes the composition impossible to view, especially when the frames have room for more than five photos.  The composition is simply registered by the eye as clutter. Try instead to aim for 20% of the collage to be “Visual Break”.  (Imagine in the above photo that the gray slots are filled with photos as well.)

With so many options available in scrapbook paper, compositions of family photo collages can look aesthetically pleasing and coordinate with the design plan. 

Orange

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 13, 2008 – 9:57 am
Filed under Friday Collage
Orange--fresh for summer
Icon Embroidered Outdoor Pillows from William Sonoma Home, Vostok Lamps from Meteor Lights.com, Amenity, Willow in Sunset and Cream Stretched Canvas from Velocity.com, Thick & Thin Persimmon/Cherry Carpet Tiles from Flor, Pescado Pillow from Z Gallerie, Scoop-back Chairs from WestElm, Nicole Chair from Thomasville,Kolo Photo Albums, Utopia Salt and Pepper from Jonathan Adler

Style Selection

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 12, 2008 – 4:03 pm
Filed under Design Styles

Traditional withstands the test of time.

What’s your Design Style? 

Here are a few to choose from, but there are plenty more!

Traditional styles are rich in scale, texture and visual weight.  Furniture has rounded corners, but clean edges.  Patterns are aplenty: toile, damask, floral and stripe.  Dark cherry tones as well as mahogany on cabinetry and floors. Think brocades and tapestries and Persian rugs, oil paintings and porcelain.  Southern Living is in the mailbox because this is the most common Washington DC design. Go to Ethan Allen for a double shot of Traditional. 

Country styles are casual.  Furniture is slip-covered or soft and loose in cotton canvas.  Patterns are light, with stripes and petite florals.  Wood is grained and natural or painted.  Think quilts and jelly jars and braided rugs.  Read about it in Better Homes and Gardens and buy the style at Pottery Barn.

Contemporary is clean and restrained.  Straight lines dominate and not much is left to whimsy.  Fabrics are tight, in bold colors as well as neutrals.  Texture is emphasised over pattern. Think modern art and statuary, graphic boldness and light woods.   Contemporary is selling, so everyone seems to be offering it.  See it on TV, and read about it in Metropolitan Home. Crate and Barrel makes it accessible to middle America.

There are more styles…which are you?

Now in Woodbridge…Wegmans

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 11, 2008 – 3:17 pm
Filed under Digging Others' Digs

My picture came out blurry so I grabbed this off their site. I think it is a store in PA.

My daughter finished her first year of high school at noon today.  We decided to celebrate by going to lunch…AT WEGMANS!

That’s right, if you haven’t heard, a new store opened Sunday just a few miles away.  And WOW.  Nothing else around is close to this grocer, in size, variety or design.  (You have to know I was getting around to THAT, right?)

The deli.

The tile dominates and its earth tones are beautiful. The overall feel is dark and Euro.  My daughter’s first impression was it reminded her of the market in London she visited over spring break. 

Upstairs in the dining area, deep toned purples and oranges are placed on lots of patterns and textures, in step with the current fashion.  I HATED all the fake plants and topiary.  I can think of only one thing…these things are going to be so dusty soon!  My daughter was annoyed with my fake plant disdain. She argued that real ones would be too hard to care for and fake looks better than dead.  But I disagree.  That’s what plant services are for!  To be TRULY upscale….  Anyway, they didn’t ask me, did they?  (The arrangement in the bathroom KILLED me.  HELLO!! BLUE PLASTIC DAISIES?!?!?  What a tragedy to ruin an otherwise perfect space!) 

My lovely daughter in the mirror. SHE can eat the carbs! Check out the cheesy arrangement and the gorgeous sink shape.

The upper dining area.

M's lunch. So pretty.

 My lunch. One spot empty.

 

We spent $44 on stuff and $21 on lunch. A very wonderful woman who was stocking shelves saw me with my hands full and got me a cart.  I was disappointed that they didn’t have my new obsession Canella Processo and they had no sugar free ice cream.  But I didn’t ask for help, so maybe I just missed them both.  It was very crowded.  The cheese section made the trip worth while so I am sure I will shop there regularly.  My plan is to go to Aldi for the staples and splurge there on the good stuff.

Visit Wegmans in Woodbridge at 14801 Dining Way.  Check out the interesting website and meet the employees.   

TVs and Fireplaces

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 10, 2008 – 3:38 pm
Filed under Living Rooms, Rooms

CroppMetcalfe was kind enough to tell my client that a piece of furniture was a better option than the desired wall mount. What? Honesty?

I spent some time today trying to convince my client that the TV should not be put over the fireplace.  My reasoning is simple: I just don’t think it looks good.  Unbelievably, that was not a good enough reason for her.

So I thought I would drum up some statistics to prove my point.  But I couldn’t find any, other than anecdotal Internet stuff.  Perhaps it hasn’t been long enough for the TVs that are being placed above fireplaces to show early wear.  I mean, who actually has a flat panel plasma or HD older than a few years? 

I have read in a few places that temperatures over 90 degrees are not good for televisions.  That’s not very hot.  If the AC wasn’t running, my wall would definitely be warmer than that right now.  My ARM is at 98 degrees.  And are people really using fireplaces anymore? 

Wall mounted televisions also have the issue of the cords.  Where do they go?  I know that around here in the DC suburbs, Cropp Metcalfe has a keen home theater installation business, and hiring professionals is necessary for a dedicated media room.  But the rest of us may be better off purchasing a  TV stand from a furniture store. 

One Bed, Two Very Different Ways

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 9, 2008 – 2:44 pm
Filed under Bedrooms, Digging Others' Digs, Rooms

The Coconut Bed from cb2

An ad from cb2 appeared in my inbox today showcasing the Coconut Bed.  Fully upholstered in plain white canvas, I imagine shoppers need a little encouragement to accept the $1,000 purchase price.

The photographs are convincing, that’s for sure.  Both images are show stoppers, and as different as the country (top) from the city (bottom).  The bed is dressed in all white, a perfect foil for the grainy bleached wood in the top image.  The bottom photo, too, is bi-chromatic, but with clean and crisp black and white.  Notice the loopy graphic bedding and how perfectly it contrasts with the chandelier wallpaper.  The laptop, of course an Apple, is a lifestyle clue.  In this room, the owner is so important, work never stops, even at night.  But in the other room, we have a glass of water and an alarm clock.  The lifestyle here is relaxed.  We are on vacation in a cabin in the country.

The ad makes it easy to accept that this bed would be appropriate in many settings.  But in reality, it would be much harder to pull off. 

Caribbean 5-Piece Dining Room

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 8, 2008 – 8:29 pm
Filed under Look What I Found!
from vcf.com

I no longer poo-poo Value City Furniture.  The market has narrowed and competitors in the lower price bracket like Ashley have forced this Ohio giant to sell to the America that watches HGTV and flips through the Pottery Barn catalogue.  They still have that fluffy blue sofa with the built in cup holder, but they have this as well.  From the circular:

Set includes a 54″ Oval Pedestal Table which extends to 72″ with an 18″ Leaf and four spindle Side Chairs. $799 (not $1199) through June 14.
ALL-WOOD CONSTRUCTION

Decorating Dilemma #7

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 8, 2008 – 7:59 pm
Filed under One Dozen Decorating Dilemmas and How to Solve Them

A rug can pull the entire color story together

A-Mazed

Area rugs contribute handsomely to a design plan.

An area rug can serve to define a space. Placed within a seating arrangement, a rug creates a little island floating in the sea of the rest of the room. A well placed rug should beckon. “Come on over. This is where you are supposed to be.”

Because rugs define an area so well, they can also become a large maze when used too frequently in a space. “Scatter Rugs” or tiny carpets all over the floor were once used to protect hardwood floors from dirt and abrasion. This look is confusing to the eye and impedes proper flow. More than two rugs in one line of vision are enough, and sometimes even that is too much. If the floor under all those rugs needs that much protection, perhaps it should be replaced with something more suitable.

It’s HOT Outside!

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 6, 2008 – 7:06 am
Filed under Friday Collage

 Heat up with these Sunburst Mirrors

Solaris Gold 42″ Mirror from TheMirrorLady.com $579,  Devon Mirror from Z Gallerie $149, Starburst Mirror from Horchow $725, Sunburst Mirror from Horchow $375, Cyclone from Uttermost, Monaco Mirror from Mitchell Gold+Bob Williams, Black Starburst Mirror from Shades of Light, $165, Starburst Mirror from Crate and Barrel $199, Sunburst Large Mirror from Kenneth WIngard $460 

Introducing…Esty!

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Posted by Denise Smith on June 5, 2008 – 12:00 pm
Filed under Look What I Found!

Cherry Blossom/Bird Decal $14.00

Yesterday I was talking to my daughter’s best friend about Esty.  Her taste is very natural and a little retro and I thought she would like some of the items for sale there.  What surprised me was that neither of the teenagers had even heard of Etsy.  Is this true of my blog audience as well?

Etsy is huge right now.  Poised to be the next Ebay, Esty was created in 2005 to give crafters and artists a classy space to sell quality wares. From the site:

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade.

Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.

Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice:

Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.

An interesting-and I believe unexpected-outcome from the site’s success is a gradual but very real shift in my market away from the three or four giant fabric distributers toward the artisan hand dyed fabrics, notions and even wall coverings now available to everyone, not just designers. 

Elephannie’s Esty shop is wonderful! This is a great way to add some interest to the house for pennies.

Basically, Elephannie’s works are giant vinyl stickers that can be placed on any solid surface.  They are removable, but not reusable, but with prices this low, who cares?  Decals are customizeable!  And you have your choice of 15 colors!

Egret $15.00 Needs to go in the Beach house I am starting.

 Scalloped Monogram $14.00 So cute in a teenage room!

 Cherry Blossom Tree Decal $20.00 Doesn't this look great?

For a little fun, Sylvia is from Planetmonkey.  *Hey, that’s my moms name!*  Even her write up is funny:

Sylvia is the queen bee of the Monkey House. She’s quite the busybody.

With her fab beehive hairdo and retro glasses, Sylvia is always the fashionista. Classic pearls and fire-engine red lipstick finish off her glam look.

19″ tall ( 22″ if you include the beehive… )

I’d LOVE to try decorating a room around her!!

Sylvia,You Are my hero with your RED beehive. From Planetmonkey at Esty.com