A Thanksgiving Table Setting!

Today's Agenda:  A busy week but lots of fun stuff...that I'll let you know about next week!  

This week I'm FINALLY getting into the Thanksgiving planning mode.  Figured the week before was as good as time as any to start thinking about it :)  And, what is better to help me get started than a 'Mood Board Monday' party hosted by Sarah at Pewter and Sage -- thanks, Sarah!

I am in a decluttering mode these days in my own home and am really liking a couple bold colors standing out against a neutral palette with layers of interesting textures and patterns.  What's the best bold color to stand out for Thanksgiving?  The food!! 

So, against a beautiful turkey, luscious stuffing, an amazing squash soup and crisp green beans, I created a backdrop that compliments and is a bit whimsical. Starting with the David Stark plates, I layered in whites, creams, beige, blacks, other metallics, some woods for warmth and, literally, a splash of color with those great placemats.  And, with plenty of room for lots of personalities and storytelling at the table!

 

 1.  David Stark dinner plate
 2.  David Stark salad plate
 3.  Organic shaped, metallic rimmed bowls
 4.  Crate and Barrel Olivier Flatware
 5.  White wine glass
 6.  'Cheers' ice bucket
 7.  Opaque white water glass (an Ikea classic)
 8.  Splatter recycled placemat
 9.  Classic white napkins (use Oxiclean to whiten!)
10. Vintage napkin rings (lots of fun ones on Etsy and one more Sunday at more local antiques market -- and fun to mix and match!)
11. Scuplted platter
12. White drum chandelier (classic, great light!)
13. Bridge Extension Table, Walnut (perfect for lots of family and friends!)
14. Benjamin Moore, Cloud White (just enough pigment to balance the stark whites and off white colors in this color palette)
15. Frames wallpaper (fun for everyone to bring a photo of their favorite memory from the past year)
16. Paul Loebach dining chair
17. Ikea Stockholm Rand rug
18. Linen, metallic curtains (love the detail at the top!)


And, lots of stores are offering free shipping and other deals on dinnerware as we get into the holiday season!  Crate and Barrel right now has free shipping on purchases totalling $99 or more through Dec. 21. 

Mood Board Monday

Today's Agenda:  One thing DEFINITELY on the agenda...flipping through this month's House Beautiful!  A highlight of the month!

Also on the agenda is coming up with a design for the Mood Board Monday party over at the awesome blog Pewter + Sage!  Basically, there's a theme/mood, a few photos to choose as your inspiration and...well, that's all!  Just a chance to see a lot of great designs.  No budget too which is fun :)  Although, I'm sort of obsessed with finding awesome deals...which I'm realizing is addictive...

Here are the three inspiration photos we could choose from:

 

 

I am working on a couple projects that involve a theme/mood similar to the first inspiration image so I decided to try something a little different...and it felt in line with the Thanksgiving mood and cold weather upon us...the third photo! 

I first fixated on the blanket and the chair in the photo.  I designed the mood of the room from those two pieces -- an arts and crafts inspired dining/sitting room.  I wanted this room to be able to do double duty.  Arts and crafts homes are usually on the smaller side so this room could be a reading room where by day you can cozy up with a good book and cup of coffee and a scone for hours or a dining room where by night you can have a fun dinner party with a lovely stew and a glass of bourbon. 

For the colors I wanted to incorporate a couple of brighter colors like in the picture -- maybe some red, some green, a little blue -- but really focus on neutral colors and different textures.  I just finished a design for a client's sitting room where we have lots of textures and neutral patterns layered and evenly spaced throughout around the room and I am having a lot of fun playing with neutrals.  (It really is playing...too much fun!) 

For a structural element in the room, I incorporated this wallpaper.  I would paint the room a neutral color -- something like Benjamin Moore's China White depending on the light in the room and the color of the wood floors -- and use panels of wallpaper with molding framing the panels that is painted the same color as the walls.  In between the panels would be a large bookcase filled with books of all sizes and colors (the photo in the picture is actually taken from the inspiration photo!).  This would add some more texture and life to the room. 

The other elements in the room would be layered neutrals -- ivory leather chairs, a woven bench, a light colored wood farm table, dark side chairs, leafy wreath, glass vase, pewter and glass lighting. 

Together this would create a cohesive design -- comfortable, stylish, functional!   Take a look!

Here's a summary of the design elements in the room!

Theme:  Arts and Crafts
Space:  Dining/Sitting Room
Colors:  Neutrals (ivory, white, beige, brown, green, orange, red)
Table:  Design Within Reach Farm Table
Wingback Chairs:  Mitchell Gold Gustave Leather Chair
Side Chairs: Design Within Reach Nakashima Straight-Backed Chair
Bench: Design Within Reach Moller Bench 
Rug: Custom Rug 
Accent Rug: Ikea Rens
Lighting: Pottery Barn Rustic Glass Pendant
Wallpaper: Morris & Co.
Wreath: Pottery Barn Live Magnolia Wreath
Vase: Pottery Barn Fleur de Lys Vase

Thanks to Sarah @ Pewter + Sage for giving me a reason to play a little bit today! 

Mood Board Monday - Hosted by Pewter and Sage

Today's Agenda:  It's Mood Board Monday over at Pewter + Sage! 

These are fun -- a chance to do a room from scratch!  No budget.  No oddly-placed window.  No existing furniture.  And it's always fun to see how different people do different rooms with the same items!

For today's Mood Board Monday (click here for the last one I did), there were three choices of bed linens.  I chose the brightly colored linens.  It seemed a little bit more difficult to work with simply because it wouldn't be something I would choose for my bedroom but I thought where's the fun in doing only what you would do for your room??!

But who would have such brightly colored linens??  Most likely, not an adult.  Maybe if they lived in a tropical location.  A little too old of a pattern for a teenager and would look too cluttered with all of their stuff.  How about a beach house???

Done.  I'm designing for a guestroom in a beach house (I think a New England beach house!).

Here is the board!

And sources + thoughts below.  To start off with, I hope this beach house has a whitewashed brick wall and white painted floors...and, we go from there...

Bedding - I like how they styled the bedding -- so would keep the shams and sheets as shown in the stock picture.  I then tried to pull my favorite colors out of the linens and into the room.  Especially the cooler ones, if it's a hot summer day.
Chandelier - I have always loved this chandelier.  And, amazingly it seems to have all of the colors that are in the bed linens.  I thought why not really play on all of the colors in the bed linens.
Table lamps - I like to add some sort of graphic element or whimsical element to a room.  These are another layer of interest, are fun and whimsical but still blend in nicely with the room.
Side Tables - Space for lamps, magazines and an empty drawer for guests to put their jewelry, glasses, etc.  I like that these aren't white but still a neutral, metal look.
Rug -  An easy rug with bright colors.  I couldn't use any other pattern but was hoping for something a little more interesting than a white shag carpet.  And for a beach house, I'm not going to invest too much in a rug.  Would likely buy two or three to change out each year.
Accent wall - Accent walls can be controversial.  But in a guest room, and in this kelly green color, who wouldn't like it?? And if you don't, you don't have to see it every day :)  Just fun.
Decoration - Since it's a guest house, I didn't want the art to be too personal.  I love how these look with clear strings hanging from the ceiling and tealights inside.  A little bit boutique hotel, but not too much.  Use battery-operated tealights for no worries lighting them.
Dresser - Easy, affordable piece.  Can store linens and extra guest towels in here.  I'm keeping the top of the dresser clean so guests can place their stuff on top.
Curtains - I can't get enough of the Merete.  All I have to say. They are perfect.
Floor Mirror - Was thinking what else do guests need??  A full length mirror!  Always great especially if there is a shared bath and guest get dressed in the room. 

All I need is to add a pretty vase and some lovely wildflowers and I'm all ready for my guests...

Mood Board Monday - Hosted by Pewter and Sage & West Elm - Brunch in Paris

Over the weekend I noticed a fun Facebook post from West Elm about a Mood Board Monday contest involving these amazing, fun designs from Patch NYC.  I am a huge fan of FB pages since I think it's a great way to get exposed to ideas, places, events that you might not run into otherwise {I'm almost ready to launch one too...}.  In this case, I was exposed to two great sites -- Patch NYC's website {so fun!} and the blog Pewterandsage.blogspot.com {so lovely!}.

I enjoy thinking about items and designs in the context of a room so thought I would just play around and have fun creating a room around a couple of these designs and participate in Mood Board Monday...and, here is what I came up with!

And my thinking behind my design --

I thought the bold, whimsical designs of the Patch NYC plates and pillows should stand out so I didn't want any other large, competing graphics.  At home, I love using plates that might really be for serving or sushi for meals so I am using the medium size butterfly plate for a meal plate.  I love brunch because I feel like brunch is asking for you to be more creative in your food, display, music, etc.  So this is a brunch in the dining room in my {imaginary} Parisian flat.  I've just found this French Kitchen Table from Crate and Barrel that I'm obsessed with which was perfect for this occassion.  If I was lucky to have a large eat in kitchen/dining area this would be in there with the linen couch for a relaxed atmosphere and a place for guests to linger with a glass of champagne {I also like using other non-wine/champagne glasses for wine/champagne} as the French doors are open to hear the hustle and bustle along the street.  To balance out the grays and the linen and marble, I found the rust color leather dining chairs -- they look modern and comfortable.  I really want to see the chandelier hung over the table with the jute rug and placesettings in a room -- it's just so stunning -- and the French doors with the pink hue in the glass really play nicely off of the chandelier.  There is a little bit for everyone - whimsy, antique, leather, comfort, surprise, light, subtlety. 

{Color Palette:  Soft white walls in Benjamin Moore Cloud White with some painted wood paneling + black and gray to ground the room + textures of glass, wood, linen, jute, marble + purple and greens in the chandelier and napkins for a bolder look + accents of white in the linen placemats, marble table top and curtains to keep the room light and the rust color in the chairs for luxury and surprise}

1.   {West Elm} Patch NYC Ceramic Entertaining - Butterfly - $14/each
2.   {Anthropologie} Hobnail Tumbler - Clear - $10/each
3.   {Anthropologie} Jempiring Napkin - $8/each
4.   {Williams-Sonoma} Hemstitched Linen Placemat - White - $60/set of 4
5.   {Horchow} "Retro Glamour" Chandelier - $2,050
6.   {Crate and Barrel} French Kitchen Table - $1,299
7.   {Design Within Reach} Antica Side Chair - Rust - $550/each
8.   {West Elm} Jute Boucle Rug - Clay - 5x8 - $129
9.   {Etsy - disegno Karina Gentinetta} Antique French Sofa in Linen - $8,995
10. {Wisteria} Wooden Tripod Lamp - $249
11. {Ikea} Stockholm Figur Curtains - $29.99/pair
12. {Oneofakindantiques.com} Pair of French Blown Glass Doors - $2,500
{BTW...for silverware I would use these from DWR -- the image looked a little out of place in the board so I didn't include it...}