Come Dine with me.....a sneak preview!

Jane McGary's dining room as seen in D Magazine, Kenneth Blasingame, Interior Designer.

Whimsy Wednesday!

"Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on it's way!!!"

As Paula and I were doing a little Easter decorating in the entry way of our studio, we began to talk about the quilted Easter eggs

that I had made over the years.

These are handmade from old quilts.

These were decorated by hand using a batik technique.

This one is a Faberge'.  A whole other level of "handmade" .  Wow.

I thought it would be fun to see some of the designs that have been inspired by this unique form.

The infamous "Egg" chair, by Arne Jacobsen, is a mid-century modern

"must - have".

This one's a bit too literal for me.

How many of you over-40-types owned one of these in your first apartment!

This hanging version would be so much fun on a patio, a child's room, or you could get one for YOUR first apartment....what goes around, comes around !

Gives new meaning to the word "love seat".

The classic egg was given an upgrade in the "Sex in the City" movie.

Easter is also about the beautiful colors.

It's an Easter egg couch!  I know you wish, just once, that you had the nerve to own this sofa!

I love it when a whole section of a city thinks paint is fun.

The Rainbow houses in Charleston, SC.

What a happy day spending time on this patio....margarita's all around!

Put some color into your life this week, and enjoy a blessed Easter with your family and friends.

What a girl wants

I have a bad habit of going to sleep with the TV on, and the other night, I woke up and the movie "What a Girl Wants" with Mel Gibson was on. 


 I began to think about what I want....I'm still a girl after all. 

I like to visualize my ideal house and what I would want it to look like, so for now (because you know it might change later!), these are some must haves for me in my dream home.

Space!.....I want space...inside and out. 

This would do. 

Hey!  I'm dreaming here!

I need trees.  I want to look out my kitchen window and see a rolling hill or two.

or a canopy of beautiful trees.

After all.......

 Henry-Big Dog needs a great yard to run in.

I want a glorious lanai for spending time outdoors with friends and family.  It will have all the amenities of indoors...ceiling fans for the Texas summers and a fireplace for chilly fall evenings. 

Of course, it will be stylish and chic!

Design by Garden Structure

An outdoor kitchen is a must complete with a pizza oven for the grands....

...and the privacy of this saltwater pool and hot tub for me!

Where's my glass of wine??

Are you dreaming with me??

Let's go inside.

I want a great room.....and I mean a GREAT room!

Interior designer, Cathy KIncaid for House Beautiful

I love this room.  The stone work brings the feeling of history to the space...so warm and inviting.  I'm not usually a "blue" person, so I might choose a different decor...like this...

Riverhills showhouse for Southen Accents - Library

or this......

Anchor woman, Jayne McGarry's great room, photographed for D-Magazine.

Ken Blasingame, Interior Designer.

Or even this.

I find this room inviting too.

Image courtesy of Elle Decor

I think this is very eclectic...modern, yet elements of traditional styling.

I like that the sofas are dark because of this....

Like most of the clients I design kitchens for, I want an open concept greatroom/kitchen combination.

The Southern Accents Riverhills Showhouse had the most wonderful kitchen and keeping room.

I might prefer something a little more open to the  family room.

private client, Sally J. Designs

private client, Sally J. Designs

Stay tuned for more dreaming in my next post.  I think I'll dream about dinner parties and dining rooms.  Won't you be my guest?

Sleeping well

I was shopping for beds for a client last week and I found this bed.

This pic doesn't do it justice, so look at it here.

It's silver leaf...pewter finish they say.

I am in deep love.

I have a new facination for spindle beds.  I don't have a room that is big enough to do one of these justice, but I am really intrigued by all the different kinds of spindles I've seen on the beds I've found.......now I'm on a quest!

I love this bed too.

Spindles that look like little flying saucers.....do do doo do, do doo do do..(that's the theme song from Twilight Zone, in case you didn't recognize it)

The basic four-poster has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance since my mother's day.  It's such a stately furniture piece.  It says "I'm important"  "Come lie here....Be Queen for a day".

 

Isn't this a beautiful bed?

Remember those little accordian squeeze toys your kids played with?   That's what these spindles remind me of.

Or Spoolies....OK, I'm dating myself ! 

Any of you young ladies know what spoolies are?

It was such a step up from the pin-curl, and supposedly, they were easy to sleep on. (ha !)

Before the hand held hairdryer, I went to sleep in these and in the morning when I woke up, my hair was still damp.....perhaps a design flaw.

but I digress......geez.....

I really do love the graceful and sculptural quality of the spindle.   So many kinds !

Twisties AND spoolies

I don't know about this one. It's like the planets all lined up on top of each other.

This is a statement piece if I've ever seen one.

The barley twist is classic English design. 

But in PINK it takes on a modern, whimsical feel.

These posts become a beautiful, scalloped frame for the bed.  I love the juxtapositon of the modern bed and color palette against the rustic, reclaimed floors.  What a warm and rich room!

So how do you feel about the bed in front of the windows?   That used to be a no-no, but I'm seeing it every where. 

The straight line, shaker style spindles on this bed are balanced by the vibrant colors and patterns in this bedding. 

Bunny Williams, always the style-setter, uses this antiqued, mirrored four-poster to anchor this beautiful room.   Mirrored spindles.....only Bunny! 

The feet are really pretty but they got cut off in the upload. 

If you'd like to see them , go here.

I think the iron spindles are classically beautiful...sigh...

If you were designing a new bedroom, would you try to use a spindle bed?   Which one of these beds did you fall in love with??