HELLO, December 1 !

I'm one of those Thanksgiving holdouts who deliberately waits until December to "do" Christmas.  I want to savor the loveliness of fall...my favorite time of year...so I allow November to breathe it's last breath before I swing into the Christmas flurry and hurry.


But fall is officially over with the arrival of December, so I've gotten the boxes out of the attic, and I'm going to begin to glam things up a bit. 


This year, I've "de-redded" my house, so my traditional Christmas decorations have been handed down to my kids, and I'm looking for new inspiration in shades of copper, orange and turquoise.  I'm going for "festive", not traditional this year.  


I've been collecting images to inspire my new color palette, so I thought I'd share some with you.  Pinterest has also been great for getting the creative juices flowing.  You can follow my boards here.

HGTV

The Inspired Room

HGTV

Martha

Mary McDonald

My Home Ideas

BHG

Jewel Box Home blog

Photo Kim Christie

Studio EMP

Style at Home

Country Living

BHG

Ideas can come from anywhere...any color palette....any style.  I'm expanding my thoughts about what Christmas "looks like" at my home this year.   What inspires your Christmas decor?

Sally J. Designs helps you to LOVE your home!

Contact us for in home and on-line design services.

Thanksgiving When You Don't "Do" Orange

This post, which originally ran last November, has been one of my most highly viewed posts this year, so I thought it might be helpful to run it again as we are all preparing for Thanksgiving.  I hope you enjoy!

 If you’ve been reading my blog this year, even a little bit, you know that I love the colors of fall….orange, gold, rust and reds…throw in a little purple for good measure. 

I’m in my element in the fall…..AHHHHH!
 But what if you don’t love the warm tones of fall?   How do you do a beautiful Thanksgiving table that works with your decor and still symbolizes this special time of year?
Have I got a post for you!

Whoever learned to engineer a white pumpkin opened the doors for fall tablescapes to be so much more than shades of orange and red.  

Pair it with copper or black…
  

photo by Bobby Fabian

Or shades of green and pewter.

 

Martha Stewart

Or even gray.

 

Christine Lemiux of Dwell Studio

Other neutrals work equally as well.  

Go shiny rather than colorful like this setting from event planner extraordinaire, Colin Cowie.

Colin Cowie

Or shades of natural

Good Housekeeping

Or chocolate.

Country Living

  Or just hints of color….nobody does it better than Martha!

 

Martha Stewart

But what if you like more than a hint of color?

Purple is becoming a real player in the world of design, so it’s only natural it would show up in holiday decor.  It complements the fall tones so well, and it seems that everyone is doing it!

Eddie Ross

Martha Stewart

 

Ralph Lauren

Do you need a little more encouragement to decorate out of the box this Thanksgiving?
I think we’ve thrown the rules away!

Shabby Chic does Thanksgiving!

A Cottage Industry

No body goes over the top better than Preston Bailey.

( This is actually his family Thanksgiving table! )

 

Preston Bailey

My favorite tablescape of the season is this one that Eddie Ross did for Lonny magazine!

 

Eddie Ross

Inspired yet?  You can DO IT!

(If you need help, call me!)

Sally J. Designs helps you LOVE your home.

Contact the team at Sally J. Designs for personal or on-line design consultation.

A Big Thank You!

How special is it that our country sets aside one day to say Thank You to all who have served us in the military.  We get to thank them while they are still here, and that's an honored gift for all of us.  

But it's  more really.

From reading my fb friends posts today, it seems like we take today to remember a generation that is gone by....men and women who changed the world....at least OUR world.

Who doesn't have some family member who served in WWII or Vietnam or Iraq.  Lives in every generation  have. been touched by war.  Our grandparents or our parents and for many of us, our children too have braved up to protect and serve .

And we get to say a very public "Thank You" today on Veterans Day.

I'm grateful to all who have served, but especially these who touch my life.

Captain Winn Mallory Jackson, my dad,

who served in the Cavalry during WWII in the Phillipines.

My son, Capt. Matthew H. Hammond, USMC, who served 8 years and spent his honeymoon on the way to Iraq in 2004.

and my Son in Law, Maj. Bradley A. Rueter, USAF

currently serving in Strategic Command at Ft. Jackson, S. C

Here's a shout-out to my service men and to all those who have gone before, are in service now, and who feel the call to serve in the future.

Thank you for your service.  We celebrate you today.

What It's All About

Every once in a while a client comes along that just needs you.   It's not really a good financial decision to take them on, but somehow, you just know you should take it on.


Such is the project we're working on.  Mrs. E is recently widowed and has moved to town to be close to her children.  She left everything behind in No. California (that's another story!), and bought a small house close to her daughter.  She had nothing.....NOTHING!  And her budget was what I usually require for a single room, not a whole house!


But I'd already fallen in love with Ellen, and there was no turning back, so Lynsey and I have been through every thrift store and consignment shop in the metroplex looking for pieces to use within her budget.


I've always said that it's pretty easy to design and decorate with a great big budget.  You just pull beautiful things off the showroom floor, call the workroom and make magic.  But when you are challenged with a very small budget, that's when the creativity comes out.  We have had a blast on this project, but it's been a ton of work to pull things together. 


I'm going to show you Mrs. E's bedroom.  There's still a couple of things we need to complete, but she has been able to move in and start making a home.


Here's what we started with.

Yep....carpet and walls!  There was no budget to paint and she liked the blue, so that was our starting point.  She did tell us that purple was her favorite color and that she'd love to see some in the room.  


Our plan for the house was to create a cottage/modern country feel throughout because that style would lend itself to repurposing furniture pieces.


Our favorite antique/junk-y store, Alston's Antiques, had the French dresser and the Empire table as well as the headboard.  Richard, the owner, had already painted the dresser and the table was in good enough shape, so all we had to do was paint the headboard.

We found the dust ruffle and matching pillow on sale at Home Goods which combined the blue from the room and purple which is Ellen's favorite color.  Just saying....there's not much in the market place that marries blue and purple unless you are under 12.  The Matelesse coverlet and sheets from Tuesday Morning and the deep plum neckroll was scored on sale at Pier One.  


These lamps were also a Home Goods find....but the color was all wrong, so with the magic of spray paint, we had two deep plum lamps for the side tables.  We covered the lampshades  and a bench we found in the garage (and painted black)  with fabric we found in one of our local discount fabric houses for $3 a yard!!

We still lack something over the bed....any ideas out there?  Here's the almost completed bedroom.  

The reveal was a special moment for us all.  We didn't let Ellen see any of the components until they were in place, and there were tears all around when she saw it all together.  It was just like on TV!!

We made a major score of furniture at the local Salvation Army which is undergoing transformation as we speak, so we'll be adding in a black dresser on the other side of the room.  


I must admit, that I've missed this DIY aspect of interior design.  I've always loved being knee-deep in the transformation process, and buying off the showroom floor all the time had made me feel more like a furniture salesman than a designer.  I think my artist-self has missed turning a "sow's ear into a silk purse"!  I've had paint on my hands and the sewing machine and glue gun have had a long overdue workout, and I'm happy again.  


Perhaps taking on this project was more about me than my client.  I don't know, but we're both going to be better for it in the end. 

My door

I thought you might like to see my door decorated for fall.  

I used things that I had.....don't call me a hoarder or anything....(all of my family members can stop laughing now!)

Fall leaves, lots of orange and gold flowers and some sparkley things I use in decorating pumpkins went into the mix.  

I feel very festive when I open my door.

I'm linking up on Southern Hospitality with my door decor.  Check out the blog for lots of fall door inspiration. 

Who "Decorates Dallas"....episode 2

Well, it wasn't a joke after all!
Donna Decorates Dallas aired with another episode Saturday night on HGTV.  Have you picked your chin up off the floor yet!  I'm still working on it!


This episode centered on the Campbell family (he's a pro golfer, and I think she is a "recording artist").  They wanted to redo their living room "Donna-style"!  


What's that you ask?  Here's a pic of a living room vignette in her store, That's Haute! decorated by Donna (found on her store's FB page)

She also used a pair of these peacocks along with a gigantic pair of angel wings (Yes, that's what I said!)

Her craft project for this episode was a blinged out mirror for her granddaughter's bedroom, similar to this one, only in pink!!

What little girl wouldn't love this!!

OK, so you can make up your own mind about Donna's decorating style, but my rebuttal post following each episode of Donna Decorates Dallas, will include the work of some of Dallas Design experts who really do decorate Dallas.

Jan Showers is nationally known for her sophisticated yet livable design style.  This is how you do zebra!

Or this from EJ Interiors, aka Emily Johnson from Material Girls blog.

More beautiful living rooms from Dallas Designers.

Elaine Williamson

Gary Riggs

Laura Lee Clark

DID Interiors

Joanie Wyll 

OK....I'll throw in one of mine!

Sally J. Designs

Tearsheet Thursday!

While rubbing blisters on my feet walking through market last week, I went into a new showroom to see these fabulous pillows they had on display.  They are made by Peking Handicrafts, Inc


They make embroidered and hooked pillows and rugs, and they make them beautifully!
They are also reasonably priced, and I think they will be great for several of my projects.


With designers like Trina Turk, Kaffe Fassett and D.L. Rhein, the looks are current and classic...and gorgeous!!


Take a peek.

I love this line of pillows from D.L. Rheim featuring ocean creatures and shells.  So well done and beautiful.  Generously sized and stuffed with the good stuff, these would look great whether you have a beach house or not.

Graphic designs are really the rage right now, and these embroidered pillows will make quite a statement....great colors and great design!

Kaffe Fasset, the reknowed designer of knit wear, has created this line of hooked rugs and pillows in his colorful signature schemes.  I love the bench (It would make a great coffee table too!)

Don't you love his chevron??

I've got the perfect client for these wonderful crown pillows.  In black and white, they'll fit in anywhere.  

I'd like to get up an order for some of their pieces, so if you're interested in seeing the whole line, drop me an email.   The entire line is available through Sally J. Designs.

Sally J. Designs helps you to LOVE your home!

We would love to visit with you in your home or online about your design and decorating needs.