Wow, it's been a long time

Where have I been since April 19th? I have been a bit MIA, but seriously, saying things have been a bit crazy wouldn't even start to explain what has been happening on my end.  I guess it all started when we moved at the end of April. Sold the house, packed up everything into storage, and moved to temporary housing for a month. We closed on the new house at the end of May and then the fun really started! We emptied all the storage into the basement, and started by clearing lots of tall trees that were on top of the house. Then we had to replace the roof and the second story windows. We moved some closets, battled some mice, replaced all the walls, insulation, and ceilings, re-plastered (that's messy), ripped out some bathrooms, had the inside painted, moved a few walls, replaced some doors, and moved our stuff around a lot! Now we are getting to the fun part of the actual decoration, and I can't wait to share! Stay tuned and sorry for the absence.

Orange Love

Orange has been in and out for years now.  I remember the Spring 2005 Collection when I was at Armani and we received a beautiful tangerine leather satchel, that may have been one of those seasons when "orange is the new pink" was declared. I don't know as if orange will ever be the new pink, but it does seem to hang in a try. When we moved in to this house orange seemed to be having a bit of a peak (fall 2008)  and I was looking for a great rug for the green guestroom. My wishes were answered at IKEA where fell in love with a great rust-orange and white rug. Some great deep orange throw pillows from Madura finished off the room, along with a small orange lacquer tray from Pottery Barn. It's interesting that orange can be such a season-less color, I generally think of pinks in springtime, but orange brings up fall leaves, winter fires, spring flowers, and summer heat!

My Favorite Orange Rug

 

Lately, I have been seeing a lot more orange. It started with the introduction of Farrow & Ball's new colors, or more specifically their color No. 268 Charlotte's Locks. I really love this rich vibrant color, and want to use it as an accent in my sons next bedroom with greens, blues and whites.

These amazing new fabrics in orange are from Trina Turk's new outdoor collection for Schumacher. The bold graphics and amazing colors are a great way to welcome summer.

 

From left to right: Soleil LA Print in Sunset, Santorini Print in Persimmon, Amazing Maze in Coral, and Sunglasses in Orange

 For a great orange pop of color, try this beautiful throw from Serena & Lily:

Or the Capri Teardrop Lamp in Orange from Jonathan Adler:

If your looking for a orange trial throw these orange cocktail napkins out at your next party and wait for the compliments!

 

A Beautiful Orange Bench on a forbo linolium orange, blue, red and yellow striped floor. Designed by Ghislaine Vinas and photographed for Elle Decor by Elizabeth Felicella 

So don't be afraid to add a little orange to your home, it could be just what you need!

Floral and Geometric

As of late I have been drawn to pictures of rooms with bold fresh florals mixed with clean modern geometric patterns.

 

I love the clean crisp pattern in the carpet and on the hounds tooth pillow with the traditional bold floral damask drape and the crewel made new chair in this living room by Jonathan Adler and photographed for Elle Decor.

This more traditional room has a beautifully soft display of floral in the silver leafed niche and a subtle geometric on the console and in the drapery. It's a soft and formal room by Anne Tarasoff and Gail Tarasoff-Sutton.

I love these two together for a sophisticated bedroom or a fun family room.

Schumacher Betwixt in colorway Spark/Ivory

Kravet Jetty

In an eclectic bedroom I can see the geometric on the bedding or on a chair and the floral in the window treatments. For a fun family room I can imagine the floral on a set of funky chairs and the geometric on oversized throw pillows on a solid green couch.

moving along in maine

Yes, I have been MIA this year and one of the reasons is that I have gotten the amazing opportunity to work on a beautiful property in Maine.  It has been wonderful and crazy busy, but I have had so much fun working with my clients the architect and the builders. Groundbreaking was in September and the project will be finished (knock on wood) in mid-June.  While most of the winter was structural, electric, plumbing, planning and gathering materials with the spring the house has started to transform back into a home with walls that you cannot walk through!  As most of the walls in the house are pine either painted or shellacked they are all going up primed and first coat painted, which makes for a very quick changing look in the house from studs to almost finished looking in a day. So while it is not yet finished, here are some photos from my last visit...

 High Gloss Ceiling Boards going up in the Dining Room

Roofer installing my newest obsession a standing seam tin roof (it really is amazing how these are installed)

One of a set of 5 salvage windows in Master Bedroom we found at Old House Parts in Kennebunk, ME (Great Salvage if your in the area)

Beautiful ceiling in Master Bedroom

Meeting in the Living Room

I'm headed up again next week so check back for updates!

Heath Ceramics

Dwell Patterns for Heath Ceramics

I am really loving what Heath Ceramics is doing with Dwell. The new collection of tile designs is fun, beautiful and available made to order or stock. The patterns can all be customized with a huge range of color and finishes. I can imagine an amazing bathroom floor, shower wall, or kitchen backsplash!

I also cannot wait until their house numbers become available. They will be available in two styles, Eames and Neutra. 

Eames House Numbers

Neutra House Numbers