Showing posts with label orange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orange. Show all posts

Thursday, December 1, 2011

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.

Monday, May 2, 2011

What's Old is New Again!

I got married in 1974.  (Divorced in 1989, but that's another story!)


Back then, there were some unalterable traditions that any young southern woman just had to incorporate into the whole engagement scene.  The local newspaper covered the wedding showers with full descriptions of the decor, the food and the attendees.  Proud mothers set up display tables in their dining rooms to show all the pretty wedding gifts as they arrived, and it was customary for friends to come and ooh and ahh over all the pretties that the bride and groom received.  

Our bridesmaids wore big brimmed hats in those days....mine were peach...my favorite color at the time.  I guess I've always loved shades of orange!!   I even wore a hat that I designed and made instead of a veil.  


circa 1974
( Isn't this a hoot!....can't wait for my sister to see this!)
...and yes....I was a blond back then!!




We also registered for sterling silver and "everyday" china in addition to our "good" china.  And we got most of it too!  


My everyday china was "Just Flowers" by Mikasa.



Isn't it pretty?  

It was very contemporary at the time.  The shape was modern and the watercolor - look of the design was unusual.  I loved it !  And so did my mother!  She bought an entire 12 pc. placesetting for herself.  We could feed 24 people with the same dishes.  It was wonderful.



Then I went through my "red period'....somewhere in the 90's... and I put away my pretty peach and blue dishes.


They came in these beautiful boxes too.  They even looked pretty put away!

Tuscany was alive an well in my home with red plates, green and gold salad plates and cobalt blue bowls.  I also have a 12pc set of buttery gold, scalloped edge stoneware that I used for the last 5 years or so.  

This weekend, I made the switch.  I've "de-redded" my home over the last several months....Tuscany is only a place in Italy, and I've adopted a more modern and stream-lined transitional look in my home.  And guess what colors I'm using??  Orange, turquoise with the neutrals black, white and khaki.  





So my beautiful dishes from 1974 are back in my kitchen.  I can't wait to feed friends and family once again with "Just Flowers".

What dishes are gracing your kitchen?  

Sally J. Designs helps you to LOVE your home!
Contact us for in-home and on-line design services and turn-key projects.









Wednesday, July 28, 2010

My Orange Crush



I'm not sure when my crush for all things orange began.


It wasn't my favorite color growing up.
That was pink!


But I love it now! 

I love it's warmth.

House and Home Magazine

I love it's energy.

roxnn blog


I love it's playfulness.


Sara Bengur Interiors


I like that it can be sophisticated too.

Palmer Weiss Interior Designer,  Matthew Millman, Photographer


I love the way it complements other colors.


Elle Decor


Stephen Gambrill, Interior Designer

I love how it can range from hot, hot, hot.... to not.


Donna Rosen Interiors


roxnn blog

I love how crisp and clean it looks when paired with white.


And when it's mixed with pumpkins and gold and takes on a burnt look.......? 
Yeah I love that!

PCB Interiors

(Yes, Texans love burnt orange!)

I know there are people on both sides of the orange fencing...


So which side are you on????
(Don't answer that Kathysue!)


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Today's lovely things.

OK, I'm new to blogging. It reminds me a bit of teaching school (which I did for 17 years). I'm reading, researching, planning and collecting like a crazy person because I'm so interested in all the wonderful things I'm seeing on line. I've already got an idea file that will take me into the next millieum with post ideas.


How, oh, How do I decide what to write about!


So, I'm going to post some things that I am loving today. 

There's so much I like about this room.  I love the idea of a dining room that is large, yet intimate.  The soft color palette is repeated in textural patterns throughout the room, but because it's soft and blended, it doesn't feel busy.  I LOVE the high, weathered, beamed ceilings, the fireplace, and the crystal chandelier that looks like it came out of a 19th century French chateau.  I love the impressive moldings, the glass hurricanes and the curtains over the doors.  Sigh.......



I love pink.  I've always loved pink, and I am fairly certain that I will grow old (or older!) loving pink.  I'm so grateful that it is back in vogue....although for me, it always will be.  I think the chair is most intriguing, and I love its sleek shape.  I think Alice in Wonderland or the queen of England should sit in it.



It's a great idea to have seating at the end of the bed, and I really think these chairs are are very cool.  They are a little unexpected, and that makes them fun.  The juxtaposition of the contemporary shape on the chairs and the very primitive distressed furniture really speaks to eclectic design.  The soft color palette with the pops of coral and pumpkin makes this a very refined, yet casual space.


Gotta love a porch!  We're seeing new neighborhoods springing up in our area that have front porches and sidewalks around a central greenbelt area.  Maybe neighbors will get to know one another again.  It's a blast from the past that I think I could appreciate.
 
 
These next three rooms are the work of Interior Designer J. Hircsh from Atlanta.  I spent a great deal of time perusing his website, and I found so much richness to his room design.  Yummy.
 



I think ceilings should be interesting....coffers, beams, moldings, trays and beautiful lighting, and painted, of course.


I'd expect a gold leaf ceiling in a room with more of a formal setting, but I think it looks great anywhere.  Take a risk, people!


This room speaks to my love of casual and personal spaces. The saturated hues against bright white and the unexpected pale blue bedding tell me that the person who lives here is fun, sassy and free spirited....Just like me!!   The seagrass rug is great for this relaxed space.  Everything in this room works for me.  Did I mention that orange is my color?


This room has many of the same elements of the one above.  The addition of the soft taupe repeated in the zebra and the furniture color softens the boldness of the orange.  The graphic elements....the stripes in the drapes, the zebra patterns and the diamond patten on the pillow shams....all work together to create style and panache in this bedroom.  Gotta love the splash of turquoise, the color of the year.  Just what the room needs.

Loving this oversized mirror!  It does what mirrors are supposed to do, which is to enhance and reflect the beautiful space around it, but it does it in a unique way with the arch and mullions.  I think it makes this space. 


I usually gravitate toward spaces that have more color than this, but I was so drawn to the inviting chaise in front of the fireplace.   I  know that my blood pressure would immediately go down reclining in this wonderful space....good book, glass of wine, Chopin playing in the background....I can dream can't I ??

These are just a few of my favorite things for today.  I'm sure it will be something else for tomorrow.

Are you living with things that you love?  You should be, you know!