Year of the Dragon 2012

Sorry for the radio silence yesterday.  We had a whirl wind of a weekend!  Like everybody else, sometimes life gets in the way.  We ran the entire time between kids sports, yard work (hard to believe it's already time for that), laundry, celebrating my husband's birthday, a 6th grade dance (yikes!), finishing up all the AV programing for our new media area and getting my den put back together (for a full explanation of the media area click here).  Yes!  The media area is finally finished, and I'm thrilled with it.  I promise to take some pictures to show you later this week.  Sorry for the tease, I just have not had time to photograph it.  

What I wanted to share with you today is a recent find.  A couple of weeks ago I was sourcing accessories for a design job I've been working on and ran across these very cool dragon plates.  

The price was great (around $40 for a set of six), and I loved the shape of the dragons along with the gold/brassy tones.  Also, I don't have a single dragon in my house.  So, I snagged them - (thinking at a minimum they would be a fun addition to my dining room for a dinner party).

Then, last week I took a look at the February/March issue of Traditional Home.  To my delight, there was an entire five page spread on all things dragon!  I did not realize 2012 is the year of the dragon (not sure where I've been?).  

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I do think it can be a bit intimidating to incorporate dragons into your interiors.  So, I thought it would be fun to give you a little inspiration.  Here are just a few fun ways to celebrate the year.

Schumacher Chiang Mai Dragon in Mocha (one of my favorites)

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A sweet photograph of a newborn.

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Green Jade Pendant

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Wallpaper for a child's room  - great as an accent wall; or, for a smaller punch, add it to the backs of a bookshelf or hutch.

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Wallpaper for a grown up space.

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Plates for either display on the wall or worked in with your current china pattern.

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Graphic Long Dragon Print (another great piece for a child's room).

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For the man in your life.

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Boxes are such wonderful accessories for any space.

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These are a statement.  I could see a pair of these in a kitchen for open shelving.

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Still not sure about having a dragon in your house?  Well, maybe the solution is to paint your doors Ben Moore Dragon's Breath!  

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Hope your week is off to a great start.
I am working on a redesign all this week, so posting will be light!  M.

Yearning for Cozy

We've had lots of stormy, rainy weather this week, and it's really spurred my need for a cozy spot.  I'm so looking forward to curling up and relaxing a bit this weekend.  Hope you carve out some time to do the same!

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Happy Weekend.  See you Monday.  M.

Design Perspective - m. elle design

These amazing images are the work of the mother-daughter trio, Mary Lynn Turner and daughters, Maria and Emily.  I will let the pictures do the talking today. 

all images via m. elle design

Enjoy your day! M.

On my mind - Groin Vaulted Ceilings

Lately, I've had these ceiling on the brain.  They're called "groin vaulted ceilings"(try working that term in at a dinner party!), and the term relates to the intersection of two barrel vaults.  

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Not sure why I've been noticing them as of late; but when I see one, they always stop me in my tracks.

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Look what goes into creating one from a construction standpoint.  Wow.

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Such a lovely architectural feature. 

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I love the repeating effect on this terrace.

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What are your thoughts on this type of ceiling?  Do you like it or would you pass on it? M.

Quick Way to Freshen Up Your Space

I mentioned in a recent post that my new artwork by artist Ashley Terrell was not going to be able to live above our fireplace any longer (click here for an explanation) - a little bittersweet.

So, I did a little musical chairs with my artwork.   It was a bit of a domino effect, but well worth the effort when I realized what the changes did for my spaces.  Here are the flip flops.

Dining Room Before . . . 

I found this painting in a junk shop in Asheville, N.C. for $75 (already framed).

 Now, understand, I was not unhappy with it in the dining room - I just needed a spot for my newest piece.  I say this because I find clients will often say, "I really like that piece there."  When in fact, they would love it in other spots too, if they would just give it a try.

 Here's the dining room after . . . (I also flip flopped the lamps from my guest bedroom).  Sorry for the poor lighting, really should have left the lamps off - remember, I'm not a photographer.

So where did the junk shop piece land?  It landed in the master bedroom above the bed.  Here is a before picture of the bedroom.

Here's the after . . .  (notice I moved the orange pillow to my guest bedroom since the painting was speaking more blues, and I switched out the bench (it's now in my dining room) with a settee I got from a sweet client.  There was no spot for it in her home (I promise I tried) so we bartered for it.  I gave her some consult time, and I got the settee.

When this artwork was in the dining room, I didn't notice all the blues in it.  But now that it's in the bedroom with all the greens and creams, the blue is really standing out.  Makes me think I need some new accent pillows in here with some blue.  The draperies came with the house.  Although they are not what I would choose, I think I can give them a more modern vibe with accent fabrics.  Looks like another project for 2012 - stay tuned!!

So, where did the small landscapes from above the bed end up? (see what I mean about the musical artwork!) They ended up on this small wall in the bedroom.

Here's a close up.

So, if you are looking for a free freshen up.  I would encourage you to take all your artwork off the walls and move it around a bit.  Remember it's not married to the wall it's currently on!! You may be surprised by how such a small change gives you big results in your spaces!  M. 

Project - Before and Afters

Sometimes it's hard to get motivated this time of year - with the holidays over and several cold months still ahead of us.  The great news is this is the perfect time of year to restyle your rooms.  Just to give you a little inspiration, I thought I would share a project I've been working on over the last few months.  

I've shared a few pictures of this project with you here earlier, but this week we worked on finishing up. And just in time since the couple is hosting an engagement party this weekend! 

I have restyled almost every room in this house and it has been a ton of fun for me.  But what I wanted to show you today is their family room/den.  I did not take pictures of where this room began (sorry), but here is the initial "After" of the space (btw, the walls were red, so we picked this warm vanilla color to lightened up the space). 

Here is a view of the opposite direction.  These are all items the couple already had in their home - just moved from other rooms for a fresh look.  

Once we finished the restyle, I sourced some additional items should she choose to enhance the space in the future. 

So, a couple of weeks ago, my client called to tell me her husband was taking the leather chair to his office (yeah!!) and that she wanted to purchase the new pieces for the space. 

So, here's the Second After . . .  new chairs.  The slipper chairs moved to the basement/media room; and with the large leather recliner out of the picture, we were able to select a pair of larger scale chairs to fill this space.

And this is the wall with the leather chair.

So what's new you ask?  The console table (found at a consignment shop for a deal) here in town.  I love that this piece visually fills this large wall while it's narrow profile keeps the path to the door clear.  The chairs are from Bernhardt and are a very high quality chair for the money.    Lastly, we purchased the crackle finished plates.  These are a clever way to give you an entire wall of artwork without breaking the bank.  All the rest - lamps, mirror, wall brackets, etc. were pulled from other areas of the home. 

Notice the coffee table is different, we traded the coffee tables with the living room for a change.  I think the glass top makes the space feel bigger.  So, by purchasing a few key pieces, the space has been completely transformed.  

Hopefully, this will encourage you to move some furniture this weekend?!  Have a great one.  M.

Color Stories Brand New at Benjamin Moore

Have any of you used the brand new color palette from Benjamin Moore called Color Stories?

click here for info on Ben's best selling colors

  I saw it recently when I went in to buy paint for my media wall project.  I'm told the line was created to compete with Farrow and Ball (which is not available locally).  So, I'm dying to get my paws on a fan deck!  If any of you have tried the new colors,  I would love to hear your thoughts and favorites. 

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Also, I learned something else during my visit - Do you know how to tell whether you have oil or latex paint on a surface without having to lug it into the paint store with you?

  

The test: simply rub denatured alcohol (aka finger polish remover) on the painted surface.  If the paint comes off on the cotton ball it's latex, if not it's oil based.  It's that easy! M.

PS: We are very close to finishing our media room project, so stayed tuned.  I promise to show you pictures as soon as I'm finished.