Polychrome Throne

2017 IFDA Take A Seat

The Peacock Chair Treasure

Turning dated decor into treasures is a great design idea. It is a great way to reuse old and worn artifacts that you have in your home!

For the last few weeks I had been working on a chair creation. I up-cycled an old plain linen chair into a new creation. It was part of IFDA's (International Furnishings and Design Association) Take A Seat event - an auction to benefit Project Home which helps fight poverty and homelessness.

The concept of up-cycling is great for anyone and everyone; professionals as well as DIYers. If you have an old chair, wardrobe or sofa that you adore, why throw it out if the bones are great or if it's a family heirloom? Grandma might not have had the best fabric taste, but her furniture may still be worth something.

Renew it into something fun and different. I was able to do that with my chair! My finished product can be seen below...

The fabric I used for the top portion of the chair was Beacon Hill - Provocation Emerald and the seat fabric was Robert Allen - Royal Comfort Lemongrass.

I used gem stones from a local fabric store along with paint to create the effect on the legs. 

The original chair had good bones, but needed some sprucing up....see below...

My chair was chosen to be showcased in Philadelphia's Center City Macy's display window before being auctioned at The Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. See below...

I hope this sparks you and some of your friends to start working on a fun weekend DIY project on this lovely Saturday!

Happy Up-cycling!  

Green With Fabric Envy

After the recent rise in temperature; you would think it was already summer, but hold on; it's still spring. And after the long cold winter, I'm glad to see the nice weather surrounding us.

This warm weather brings lush gardens, and parks that our open again for plenty to enjoy. Trees, flowers and lawns begin to grow and blossom. Experiencing the great outdoors is much more enjoyable for me, and many others, during the spring than during the bitter, cold weather that winter brings us.

When I think of spring; I think of green; like nature; not money (but money never hurts) and how all of the barren branches become fresh with new life.

I might even admit that a particular green might be my favorite color; but that's for another time. Right now, I'd like to share with you some of my favorite green, nature-inspired fabrics to spark your minds with ideas for spring design!

You can use the textiles below to create a new pillow, sew some new drapery panels or even reupholster a beloved chair. You will be bringing spring into your home.

Enjoy!

Green Colored Nature Inspired Fabrics - Part I

Fabrics clockwise from top left...

Hidden Temple/Emerald

Fenway Garden/Billiard Green

Fleur Raffia/Mint

Island Flower/Marine

Green Colored Nature Inspired Fabrics - Part II

Fabrics clockwise from top left...

Enchanted Vine/Emerald

Bloom City/Billiard Green

Elizas Garden/Blossom

Moon Blossom/Orchid

photos and fabrics from Robert Allen

The Homey Effect...Model-see, Model-do

Last weekend I had the pleasure of touring a new construction neighborhood in South Jersey. Seeing new and pristine houses without the effects of day-to-day wear and tear is fabulous!

The house that I walked through was not necessarily my taste but I could definitely appreciate the vibe that it was trying to obtain. And by seeing a model house instead of just a blank slab; potential new homeowners are able to be more at ease before they end up purchasing a new home.

But no one ever calls that home; that's a model.

Settling into a new home is always hard. Whether it be to downsize to a condo, upgrade to a mansion; relocate to a new neighborhood or even just a spur of the moment pick up and move someplace on your bucket list; it's going to be a journey. But by choosing a wonderful layout that is in tune to your style of living; you can easily be on your way to an exciting new space.

That's also where design comes into play. Using design as a way to express yourself is wonderful. It allows you to turn a brand new home into your own. Chances are the new place has a brand new roof; amazing stainless steel appliances and a wonderfully manicured front lawn; but it also needs to include memorabilia and furnishings from your old home to make it your own lovely retreat.

Great pieces to add to your new home include artwork from a favorite painter, accessories from cherished travels, fabric from a local artisan and most importantly sacred family heirlooms. These items are what turn a slab into your new and approved abode. It's a scary and exciting adventure that I know you will enjoy!

And for some visual stigma here are some photos from the community I visited...

Pinpoint Your Pad - From An English Basement To A Penthouse Retreat

As many of you may know; I have recently moved approximately 130+/- miles from our nation's capital (DC) to the lovely city of brotherly love (Philly).


It wasn't an easy decision for me, but one that would allow me to start a great new experience in a city near my childhood home. Moving is hard. You have to pack everything you own, somehow transport it to your new location; and then settle all over again. But in the end, it's always worth it.


When I decided to move to Philly, I gave myself some time before I found a place. Luckily I had the luxury to stay with family in the nearby burbs. But where did I want to live? What mattered to me most? How was I going to find the perfect place?


I started with familiar websites...Zillow, HotPads, and the infamous Craigslist (it's how I found my last DC home) but how did I know these sites would find my future abode?  In the end they did. But persistence and the ability to put together a "Want/Need" list really helped my search.


I knew how many bedrooms and how many bathrooms I preferred. Yet these requirements were not in my price range in my desired location. I had to look a few blocks outside of the area, and found more options at affordable places. (Also, forcing me to walk and exercise more!)


I eventually ended up finding my dream apartment by accident. I was checking the portal of a building I wanted to live in and found the prized corner unit available. I reserved it and was good to go. I kept on top of the search; and after visiting over a dozen places in the span of six weeks, I knew this was the place for me. Not perfect, but definitely a place to call home in Philadelphia.


Just remember that when you plan your search; don't get frustrated. Go see places that might not fit your wish list. You might see them and actually have your wish list altered by the experience. I know mine did during the search. It also never hurts to meet realtors or brokers along the way. They are definitely in the game to help you. And I was fortunate enough to meet some that recommended other comparable places if I wasn't pleased by the apartment I had just seen. The more you see, the more you know what you like and what you don't like.


Now it's time to get ready to move in; and make sure to design my future abode the way that makes it a...Home.


Happy Hunting!

Ring In The Turquoise!

It's been quite an interesting couple of months; well more like I moved and my decisions on decor have taken me much longer than expected. So here we are!

When moving into my new home, I wanted to use an existing chair, but the color did not go with my bright ideas for my new pad. The red chair was great for my old space, but it needed some refreshing, and that's how my use of turquoise began...

Reupholstered Turquoise Chair & Pillow

Chair Fabric = Robert Allen - Sinton Turquoise

Pillow Fabric = Robert Allen - Maze Avenue Turquoise

The reason for turquoise all sparked from a ring that I had when I was a child. Well...I still have it. It just no longer fits me. But the bright turquoise stones in it always inspired me and since it was my time to redesign, the use of turquoise added special meaning to my new home. 

Childhood Turquoise Ring

Turquoise Fabric Bolts

Chair Before Reupholstering

The color turquoise inspires me. What inspires you? 

Don't be afraid to use tone on tone with bright colors to enhance your space. It is your room; color it as you please.

Embrace Bold Colors!

Kitchen Blues

Growing up, my most favored room in my house was the kitchen. It's where I ate many meals, shared many fun times with friends, and attempted to make elaborate dinners for my folks every once in a while. The results were sometimes very far from edible, but isn't it the effort that counts?

Nowadays many people spend lots of time in the kitchen, even incorporating it with the living space of the home. And for a place where you spend so much time, shouldn't you be happy while occupying it? I believe so.

Some people say that the color blue is a bad color to use for the kitchen, that it is not an appetizing color since not many foods are actually the color blue. Yet, if your favorite color is blue, why wouldn't you want to incorporate it into your own kitchen design?

Yes everything is good in regulated doses, so no need to make everything blue, but key pops of blue could make your kitchen the new sanctuary of your home.

See below for some of my favorite blue accents to some stylish kitchens, that will still make you hungry and enjoy cooking...if they don't, my apologies.

See below for some of my favorite blue accented kitchens...

Blue Zigzag Backsplash

photo from COCOCOZY

Blue and Chrome Kitchen

photo from Indulgy

Blue Chair Kitchen

photo from thekitchendahab

Blue Mosaic Kitchen

photo from nestegg

Blue Island Kitchen

photo from sekitchens

Turquoise Subway Tile Kitchen

photo from Elite Craft Homes

Blue Walled Kitchen

photo from weheartit

Blue Subway Tile/Island Kitchen

photo from idoidontdesign

Don't be blue.

Design blue.

New Year/New Striped Vision

With the New Year upon us, new dreams, new visions and new opportunities can grow. And during the new year, tons of people make resolutions... to lose weight, stop eating junk food, work out more, break bad habits, etc. And along with most people, I too did the same thing. Losing weight is my resolution.

And since the weight loss can't just happen right away, maybe there's a way to cover up those extra winter pounds? "Wear black, it's slimming!" "Avoid wearing horizontal stripes, you'll look wide!" But what about vertical stripes?

Well, I know I won't be wearing horizontal stripes any time soon, but I will be incorporating stripes into design. Stripes can be applied in more ways than you can imagine. Whether it be through fabric applications, wall treatments, decorative pieces, artwork, furniture, etc. Stripes are a way to introduce variation to a blank wall, as well as incorporate a myriad of colors in just one look.

Stripes do not have to be just plain vertical or horizontal designs, they can have more attitude and pizzazz, it just depends on how you apply them.

See below for some of my favorite examples of striped design...

Striped Fabrics

photos from Robert Allen

Striped Living Room Chairs

photo from COCOCOZY

Striped Wall Treatment

photo from Skonahem

Striped Ottoman

photo from windywithachanceof

Striped Wood Wall

photo from Pinterest

Striped Home

photo from Daily Home Designs

Embrace the Stripes!

It's Hip...To Be A Stylish Square

Squares, Checkers, Boxes, whatever you want to call them, they exist and we know what they are. But the idea of being a "square" has always had a negative connotation. Huey Lewis and The News on the other hand embraced the "square" lifestyle in their "It's Hip to Be Square" single.

So if we're not a square, what should we be? A triangle? A circle? A pentagon? Maybe even a do-decahedron if we're feeling fancy. My philosophy is to embrace what you know, as long as it doesn't hurt you, or your design.

The square, (or we can even stretch it to rectangle) shape has been more than prominent in many designs throughout history. Things like floor plans of homes, started off with cookie-cutter boxes...plain, but it had four walls, a floor, a roof, and multiple rooms inside, which completed the family home, and the edges to the six-sided square, known as a cube. Yes, plenty of strange homes exist, and they are definitely amazing to see, but when it comes down to it, the basic square has flourished in design through many different eras of creativity and designers.

Why not make your art exist around squares? Or even a wall, maybe a floor, be daring and go for a piece of furniture while you're at it. We shouldn't be afraid of the geometric shape, yes it's not some gorgeous silk floral design, or bright whimsical toile piece...but no one said it had to be boring.

The luxury about geometric design, is the mathematics of it. You can't change the design of a square, it's four sides with distinct 90 degree angles. You can turn it and move it all you want, but it's still going to be a square. So make it a sexy square design to be adored by all.

Below I have some examples of square designs that should be more than pleasurable to the eye:

turot collection high rust artwork

photo from dwellstudio

checkered sofa

photo from casasugar

checkered floor library

photo from haynesroberts

neutral checkered wall treatment

photo from azstylez

brown and white checkered wall

photo from windemereinteriors

checker board wall decal

photo from accentwallcustoms

And going along with the sexy square...earlier last month at Paris Fashion Week, the lovely square/checkered design strutted out on the runway as if it had time-traveled right back from the 1960's, and is still fabulous and chic as could be. Many models were wearing Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton's 2013 Spring/Summer collection, which consisted of checkered outfits in a myriad of lavish and bright colors.

Pictures from Paris Fashion Week seen below...

fashion week photos

Whether it be design, fashion or a combination of the two, nothing that existed in history has to necessarily stay in history, the ability to bring back old looks and make them new is what makes great design. Yes updates to adapt to the times are always necessary, but if it works, let it work!


Happy Square Styling!

Designing Through The Times

Today is October 11, 2012, also referred to as 10/11/12. A numerical sequence in fact. The last time such an event happened was on September 10, 2011 (09/10/11) and after today it will happen again on November 12, 2013 (11/12/13) and then on December 13, 2014 (12/13/14). But after 2014, it will not happen again until the year 2103.

Is this very significant to daily life? Not necessarily, but it definitely peaks the interests of a decent amount of people around the world. It's a day to look forward to for some, especially if your birthday happens to fall on one of these days. It's also a way for people to notice how time goes by, and what time in general can mean to an individual.

Time always relates to design...there are so many different styles of design that have occurred throughout the years. Plenty of differentiation exists between various decades of design influences. And the design practices of today still use influences from previous years of design expression. So today I decided to celebrate 10/11/12 by taking the change of time quite literally.

Check out my list of 12 clocks below for some inspirational pieces that can help spark a design concept for your space!

1. starburst clock (etsy)

2. wheel clock (stardust)

3. flock of butterflies clock (stardust)

4. palette clock (momentoitalia)

5. ultra flat wall clock (allmodern)

6. metal design clock (archiexpo)

7. thru-block wood clock (etsy)

8. streets clock (fluid forms)

9. blank wall clock (allmodern)

10. silk acrylic clock (contemporary heaven)

11. modern wall clock (cafepress)

12. fan clock (momeld)

Happy 10/11/12!

What Kind Of Junk Do You Have in Your Trunk?

Yes, the juvenile yet comical saying (in this blog's title) usually takes many people off guard, but it does get their attention!

Trunks have been around for ages in terms of storage for a plethora of items, whether it be clothes, shoes, housewares, etc. They all open, and they all store something, but does the trunk itself have to be plain? No, there are plenty of fun options for trunks to spruce up any area of your special space. Instead of storing children's toys in a toy chest, try a vintage trunk, and spruce it up with a fun color. Your kids will love it, and you still might look like a civilized adult during cocktail parties, and not like Elmo's gatekeeper.

See below for trunks in fun colors and some with vintage written charm!

military trunk

photo from krrb

turquoise trunk (overstock.com)

photo from overstock

Trunks can also be used as replacements for "typical" case goods throughout the home. You could use a decent sized trunk as an end table or even a coffee table, potentially even by stacking a couple of smaller trunks on top of each other.

See below a few examples from Pottery Barn on how trunks are used as end tables and coffee tables...

trunk end table (pottery barn)

photo from pottery barn

trunk coffee table (pottery barn)

photo from pottery barn

And for the high rollers see some of the fancier appointed trunks below, and see which ones are appealing to you...

faux croc trunks

photo from kaboodle

vintage louis vuitton steamer trunk luggage (ebay)

photo from ebay

goyard trunk

photo from luxist

Everyone needs storage, and as neat and clean as you want to make your space, you're always going to have clutter, so why not stash it in style?



Happy Trunk Hunting!