Thanksgiving when you don’t “Do” orange.

 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.

Technorati Tags: Thanksgiving decor,Thanksgiving tables,interior design,Sally J. Designs,white pumpkins,using neutrals,Thanksgiving color

Return to Love….uh…I mean….Color

I was catching up on Facebook this morning, and my friend and fellow designer, Wanda Horton, posted an article that caught my eye.

The title “Neutrals are Out….Bold Colors are In” was like the angles descending and the heavens opening up!

I’ve been waiting for this day!!  (Not that I’ve ever hitched my train to the neutral bandwagon).

Restoration Hardware catalog

How do you stay awake in this room??

My theory is that these mass marketers (who make all their furniture and accessories overseas somewhere), have discovered that if they don’t give you any options and keep everything neutral, then they make more money!

I have nothing against making money, but just don’t try to convince me it’s good design!

While this room, and many others in a neutral theme, do incorporate the elements and principles of good design otherwise, leaving out color is like eliminating salt from frenchfries or eating oatmeal for every meal !

So I was elated to read that “They” have decided that color is back…..like it ever really left!

Isn’t this just more fun?

House and Home – Simon Kenny, Photographer

Doesn’t this stir the senses a little more?

Martha Stewart

Even when color is subdued, it can be interesting.

Photo – Tracy Shumate

Doesn’t this just make you happy?

I

Elaine Griffin for Home Goods

In reality, there aren’t bad colors….neutrals aren’t bad either. 
They are necessary to ground a space, but I’m  just grateful to see a little more life in my color palette.

What say you?  Team neutral or Team color?

Sally J. Designs helps you to LOVE your home!
Contact the team at Sally J. Designs for personal and on-line consultations.

Divine Tablescapes

It was pumpkins in October, so for November, I'll be showcasing ideas for creating a beautiful tablescape for your Thanksgiving table. 

I love the idea of a formal table for the holidays....doing the little things that we just don't ordinarily do everyday.

Menu cards are certainly not found on my everyday table, but how pretty they look for a special occasion.

Country Living  - photo credit - Gridley and Graves

Traditional china paired with silver and milk glass on a gray tablecloth...not so traditional!

Love the pheasant feathers for accent.

Are you encouraged to take your holiday table up a notch! 

Sally J. Designs can help you LOVE your home! 

Contact the SJD team for personal and online consultations

as well as "to the trade" fabrics and furnishings.

The View Through the Door

 When we are designing and decorating a room, we are usually visualizing the space from inside the room. 
But what does the room “say” in the approach….walking up and looking in?
I think the view from the doorway has the potential to take your breath away….to set the tone for the room and bridge one space to the other.
It is my design philosophy that we need to have some mystery in the space.  Don’t show it all at once!  Give the viewer the opportunity to experience bits and pieces of a space in small, carefully orchestrated moments.
Do you pay attention to the view through the door?
Did your jaws drop the first time you saw this ad from Schumacher?  Mine did.

 Schumacher

What is it about doorways that is so dramatic?  I love the way the stylist draws the eye from one scene to the other….the curved moldings, the pillows, the gold sofas, pulling the eye further into the scene…..such a calculated journey!!

Cat Kidston seen in Lonny Magazine

Color, color, color…..can you imagine what lies around the corner in the other part of this room?  Certainly that bold painting and the antique chinoiserie chest are only a taste of what’s to come…..Delicious!

Gerard Butler’s loft as seen in Architectural Digest

Look beyond.   What a chair!  Perfect height…great contrast to the textured wall, and a beautiful compliment to the glow of the stately lamp.  Are you drawn in? 

  House Beautiful

Love this vignette!  I’m almost sure that the ocean is right outside that window!

Melanie Elston Interiors

Check out the walk-up to this library!  Just try to take your eyes away from the mural.  Talk about setting the mood!  But check out the white chair… it is a focal point too. Contrasted against the dark, rich paneled walls, it’s calling you to come and sit a spell.

Joseph Minton – Riverhills Showhouse for Southern Accents

I walked up to this kitchen in person at the Riverhills Showhouse.  My heart skipped a beat!

What draws you in?  Is it the thick walls of the arched doorway, the deep color and sheen of the metallic backsplash or the shape and patina of the amazing light fixture?

   Tria Giovan

I’ve shown this pic before, but the first time I saw it, It knocked me over!  I’m not even a big fan of that shade of green, but I was compelled to stop and 
 take it all in. 

Melanie Elston Interiors

This hallway has to be the epitome of planned drama.  I wonder how long it took to find exactly the right chair and sconce for the end.  I want to check out each space on the way down the hall….teases of zebra on the floor and tone on tone wallpaper, great black and white photographs….Lots of eye candy here!

Miles Redd

As if the green leather, nail-head studded doors aren’t enough, Miles Redd hides this amazing chevron rug amid a caramel and white color scheme.  I don’t even care that I don’t know the function of this room!  Is it a powder room?  an office ? or a foyer to another space?  Who knows?

  But I want to go in, and that’s the important part!

  It’s a Zig Zag from wall to wall.   An open room divider crosses over to the stacked stone wall.  Then you’re hit in the face by the bold orange and huge mirror before you turn into the drama of black and white damask wallpaper.  How gutsy is that?  But the designer has totally led me to see exactly what she wants me to see. 

Tory Burch seen in Vogue Magazine

Who’s got the nerve to imitate Tory Burch’s apartment?  Green velveteen walls leading into a burnt orange dining space.  The chandelier,centered on the fireplace, matching sconces on either side, twin mirrors and benches underneath, set a formal tone and direct the eye all the way through the space to the mirror on the back wall. 

Ok….you have an assignment if you’ve read this far. 

Walk from room to room in your home, and see it with new eyes.  Study the first viewing you have of a space and then decide if you’ve created something memorable.  Have your enticed someone to walk in with interest and curiosity?  Is there drama, beauty or even whimsy?

I’d love for you to email pics of your space where you’ve improved the view.  I’ll post them if you send them.

Let me hear from you !  sally@sallyjdesigns.com

Sally J. Designs helps you to LOVE your home! 

Contact the team at Sally J. Designs for personal and on-line consultations.

Happy Halloween !

It’s a beautiful day in Texas for Halloween and trick-or-treaters….cool, crisp fall weather with just enough chill to make it festive, but not so much that you’d need a coat for chasing goblins tonight.



After today, we'll move on to thoughts of Thanksgiving...pumpkins will remain, but they won't show their eerie faces any longer, and we'll spend more time thinking about what we're buying for Christmas than what our Halloween costume will look like.



I know that Halloween is about the ghouls and the scary faces, and that a Jack-o-lantern is all about being scary….



But I’ve always liked Jacks who were of a friendlier persuasion.

 
As a designer, I prefer them to be decorated with pretty patterns and unexpected, non-Halloween-y designs.



But I am in awe of those carving masters who do amazing things with their medium of choice.

Ray Villafane (Winner of the Outrageous Pumpkin contest on Food Network)

But my favorite carver is also my favorite son. 

 

But he kind of blew me away with his latest one this weekend…..(forgive the unabashed parental pride going on here!….)

OK….you can applaud now!  How cool is that!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!!

Duralee is Dura-Divine!

Tomorrow is an exciting day at Sally J. Designs.
Duralee, one of my favorite fabric companies, will be showcased at my studio! 

Duralee has been my “go-to” fabric source since going into design 12 years ago, and they never disappoint in their comprehensive collection of fabrics.
They probably have the largest print collection of any fabric house working today.  You’ve seen them all over blogland if you’ve been looking (and I have!)

                                                       

Duralee – Lassen

 

 Thomas Paul for Duralee

I’ve used Duralee and Highland Court so many times over the years.

At HighPoint market last week, Duralee introduced two new lines that I’ve not seen in person yet.

The Mateo collection

The Walton Collection

 

I understand that there are new color-ways in the Wainwright Collection as well.

Can’t wait to see them in person, feel them and imagine projects with them!

Dean is brining them tomorrow!  Yippee!

This year, Duralee became the US representatives for the English fabric house,

Clarke and Clarke.

This new line has a different vibe, and has been a great addition to the Duralee fabric family.

I’m excited to show what’s new from Clarke and Clarke.

Clarke and Clarke also has wallpaper, and that’s new for Duralee. 
Duralee isn’t just all about fabric.  They manufacturer over 1200 different pieces of upholstered furniture and case goods here in the USA.  All of the finest quality, their craftsmanship delivers heirloom quality goods that complement their outstanding array of fabrics.




Duralee has teamed up with world-famous designers to bring exclusive collections to the markeplace.
You’ve seen Thomas Paul everywhere!

    
His new collection is nature inspired and available in great patterns and colorways.

Duralee has hopped on the sustainable train with “Green” fabrics from Clodagh, an Irish industrial designer who is a leader in the manufacturing of sustainable products.  Her  “Global Passages” line of fabrics for Duralee are not only “green” but lovely.


Duralee is clearly a leader in the interior design industry.  Family owned and operated, Duralee is always providing something new and exciting to make our homes more beautiful.  
If you’re in the Dallas area, I hope you’ll stop by and meet Dean, have a bit of refreshment and take a look at all the new pretties that Duralee brings to us.  We’ll be here 11-6, so I hope you can come.
Just divine!!