A Happy Surprise

Thanks for all your “release me early from jury duty” vibes, because it worked! I got out around noon! Woo hoo.

 

I was able to go to my seamstress and pick up a slipcover and do some client shopping. While walking around the mall I stopped in my tracks at the sight of Chiang Mai Dragon all around me!

 

I walked right in and had no clue what store I had stepped foot in. While I have samples of the print in fabric and wallpaper I had never seen so much of it. Turn out I was in the new Vera Bradley shop.

 

About 8 years ago I thought Vera Bradley was…farty! There I said it! Then about 5 years ago it slowly started making it’s way into my heart and I went nutty with it. All of my gifts to people ended up being Vera Bradley and I have quite a few of min. My obsession has died down these couple of years, but I still enjoy peeking at all of their pretty patterns and now store.

 

Normally I wouldn’t match Chiang Mai Dragon with country style, but it really looks great in the store.

 

Here is a peek that shows off their ceiling painted in a punchy green apple.

They had botanical prints sprinkled all throughout.

 

Walking further into the store I was met with another old friend. Do you spy what I spy?

 

The rest of the store was a bit more country, but still really enjoyable for me.

Has anyone else stepped into one of their shops?

 

* Sorry for the weird angles on some of the pictures. I was trying to be discreet with my iphone!

 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!!!!!

Design Crush: Trina Turk

Good morning all!

 

While you are all sitting down at your desks with a warm cup of coffee or tea in hand  getting ready to settle in and make some damage on your google reader I’m at JURY DUTY!

 

I had my fingers crossed all week that my number wouldn’t be called, but it happened and as of 8:30 am I will be sitting and waiting to find out my fate.

 

Ok now that your all up to date on my whereabouts for today I can continue with my post.

 

I heart Trina Turk ! Truly I do it’s been a love affair that has lasted a couple of years now and I don’t see my love fading anytime soon.

 

Here is the lovely Ms. Turk. Isn’t ottoman amazing? It’s covered in one of prints for Schumacher.

 

Here is another nook of her LA store. I love the morrocan tile on the floor and that groovy sofa with the pillow that has become quite popular with bloggers. I’ve had one in my bedroom for months!

 

My initial love with Ms. Turk started with fashion. I love her bold use of color and they outfits tend to make their way into my closet rarely frequently! (Don’t hunny I always buy them at the rack!)

 

Do you that she also has a store just dedicated to pillows?

 

Check it out:

 

I love, love, love that the hanging white globes give the effect of polka dots on the ceiling.

Not sure what store houses this dressing room, but I would like to move in. Bright happy colors …check, elephant…check…stylish frocks…check, ballerina flats….check and swoon worthy wallpaper that Jon will never let me have in my own house…double check!

 

Here is a peek into the NY store!

Plus when I’m off summering in the Hamptons I’ll still be able to get my design fix at this location.

Have you seen her latest store in Bar Harbour? Love, love and love. She just has such happy places to sell her wares.

 

I hope you all enjoyed the pretty eye candy!

 

Who are your favorite fashion designers that have an amazing shop to boot? Share!

A perfect pair..

A couple of weeks ago I walked away from this chair. I loved the lines of it, the wood/frame was in really good condition and there were 2 of them!

 

Of course new fabric was needed. Along with the need for a trip to the upholster.

 

 

As I was flipping through my inspiration files the other day this image popped up and be still my heart! Look at those chairs! Don’t they look like they could be related to my thrift store version?

So now with that image in my head and my knowledge from this morning I’m going to head out there this weekend and see if they are still there!

 

Image via Annsley Interiors

 

Fingers crossed!

Meet me at Sing Sing

 

I don’t know what it is, but I think every girl wants a little bit of Audrey Hepburn in her. Breakfast at Tiffany is one of Audrey’s most well known movies and of course one of my favorites.

 

One of my favorite parts of the movie is Holly getting ready to go visit mob boss Sally at Sing Sing prison. I never thought I would want to step foot in a prison, but doesn’t Holly make it look so chic?

 

Another reason why I’m now vying for a visit to a prison is all the buzz around the blog world over prisons that have upholstery shops!

 

Michelle mentioned that Arizona has a facility with this service.

You can read about the Arizona facility here.

 

Then last week the lovely Stephanie let us all know that they offer the same service in Boston as well.

 

I was frantic to try and find something in my state. I searched and searched, but was coming up empty handed. I even called Jon at work and asked him if jails have websites…they don’t! :)

 

Finally I figured out how to find out if the services are available in your state.

 

You need to find your state’s website dedicated to  The Department of Correctional Services.

 

Once you are there you can click on their  program services link. Did you know that they  offer upholstery, furniture manufacturing and garment manufacturing among other things.

 

On each page they tell you the prisons that offer the services and if you click on find faculty you can find the prisons address and telephone number.

 

All of my links above are just for NY state, but if you do a quick search on Google with my key words and your state I’m assuming  you’ll find the same information.

 

I’m now itching to try this out and turn my thrift store finds to beauties like this:

 

 

 

All of the stylish chairs are available from The Divine Chair Company !

 

So, have you ever tried upholstery services from a prison? Would you?

 

I'm still toying with the idea, because all of the ones in NY a couple hours drive away from me.

Chinoiserie Chic at KMART!

While out shopping yesterday for a client I made a quick stop at Kmart to see what they had in their frame department.

 

Of course after peeking at the frames I continued making my way through all the home decor aisles.

 

I stopped in my tracks when I spotted this baby:

Ah totally in love. I wasn’t crazy about the shimmer in the lamp shade, but that could easily be replaced. I even thought of giving the little elephant a fun coat of paint. I quickly put it in my cart and then came to terms that I have way too many elephants in my living room and that this one might put me in that crazy zone where people will call me the elephant lady.

 

It was $40 at the store, but only $26.24 online. So even with shipping it’s still better to order it online.

 

Right next to it was another beauty:

At the store the price was $40, but online a lower price of $29.99.

 

Again I wasn’t crazy about the shade, but loved the caned base. I of course also envisioned attacking this was a can of spray paint!

 

The lamps are on the small side. Only about 17” high, but would look great on a small entry table, desk or vanity.

Striped floors…

My latest DIY project that I want to tackle in the house is my kitchen floor.

 

I’ve been dreaming of round penny tile, but my dream comes with a rather large price tag so for the time being I’ve been trying to think of an inexpensive fix.

 

My mind has been wandering to stripes.

 

In this tiny kitchen it looks like a simple rug was used to get the desired effect. My kitchen is a bit larger so I don’t think this would work for me.

 

Totally in love with these black and wood stripes and that coat of high gloss on top of it, but in my space black would be too severe.

 

These stripes were done with linoleum tiles. Now I was okay with this idea, but Jon’s not too happy of having to apply tiles to only remove them in a couple of months when we do tile.

I love the white wash stripes in this kitchen.

 

Ah the picture that started my obsession! This kitchen belongs to Nora Fleming. Her wood floor was beat up so she decided to cover some of the damage up with white painted stripes.

Now since I know tile floors are in the near future I really don’t want to make a huge mess in my kitchen with sanding, etc. But all of these pictures from above really have me wanting to try it out. Perhaps I’ll love it so much that I won’t want tile!

 

I think I have thought of a solution to my sanding problem. I’m going to test out a small area and see how it goes and then I’ll report back to you!

 

What do you have in your kitchen? Is it tile, wood, linoleum? Have you ever painted the floor? Any tips?

 

Images via 1.Simply Seleta, 2. AT, 3. Design Sponge, 4. It's Great to be Home, 5. Design Sponge

Katie Ridder Tips

The lovely Ms. Ridder gave some fab tips in her Town & Country piece on how to escape the sea of beige!

 

Tip 1: Candy-hued Venetian-glass chandeliers. According to her colored glass helps add a vibe of casualness to a room.

 

Now the one she recommends is over $14,000! You know I’m a budget girl so I searched high and low and found a chic one in clear (ok so it’s not colored, but still glass) for $449.

 

There is also a red version available for $844.

 

Tip #2: Brighten up a living room or library with pillows and ottomans in vintage fabrics.

 

Searching for vintage fabrics on ebay is one of my favorite  things to do!

 

Here are some recent favorites of mine:

 

I’m loving floral on blacks so this number fits that bill:

So does this one:

 

And this one:

Tip 3: Grass cloth wallpaper. Because the grass cloth wallpaper has variation in the color intensity people are more open to using it in a bold shade then painting a wall in a bold shade.

Loving this green (Only $38 per single roll) ! Available at my go to source for wallpaper… Steves Blinds and Wallpaper they always have the cheapest price!

 

Tip 4: Moroccan tiles. They come in a variety of amazing shades and due to the colors and patterns add a great touch of interest to a space. Use them as a kitchen backsplash or around a fireplace.

 

A quick search on Overstock and you already have many opinions to pick from.

Hope you enjoyed all of Katie’s tips. I know I will be using them in my decorating. I’m now itching to get my hands of the great green grass cloth.

Cool Ridder

It must have gotten out that I go around calling people darling and sit in the back seat of the car so that I can scream Home, James to Jon, because for some reason I now receive Town and Country magazine. Yup I’m fancy like that.

 

I’m not going to lie I never really pick up an issue of T&C, but when it arrives at my doorstop I will of course cherish it like all my other paper goodies that arrive every month with a thump that has me running towards my front door.

 

I was happy to go through it and see that one of my all time favorite designers was in it. One of favorites would be the one and only Katie Ridder. Katie has this great ability to balance a little bit of global, a little bit of boho chic and a little bit of traditional that just makes for perfection! Her work reminds me of what Anthropologie would look like all grown up!

 

Her work was featured in the magazine, because she recently finished decorating one of her parents homes.

 

Check it out:

 

In love with the taupe/grey shade she used for the walls, the tiled floor, the artwork, the light! Love it all.

 

Oh you know I love a good foo dog plus green grass cloth ah heaven! I love all the pops of green that she uses all throughout the space. I love her personal style as well! She could totally fit in with these girls.

 

Love have brave she is with color. She matches blue, with green, with pink, with  orange! Nothing matches, but everything goes perfectly.

 

I totally have library envy. I always wanted a library in my home and this one would fit quite nicely with in my dream home.

 

I will back this afternoon with some of Katie’s tips to get her look!

 

Have you seen and loved Katie’s work before or is she new to you?

Kravet + Me: May 6th

Ah I love social media. Due to a connect on twitter I was asked to be part of the NYDC table at NY’s DIFFA event.

 

When I was tweeting live at that event I spent my hour with the director of marketing, Alix .

 

Well a couple of weeks ago Kravet was looking for panelists to come speak about social media at their Long Island showroom and the sweet Alix recommended me.

 

So if you want to learn more about social media or know of any people in the NY area that work in design and would like to hear more about it. Tell them about this event!

 

I will of course post an update of the event afterwards on my blog, but if you are in the area and would like to hear yours truly blab on and on then RSVP to events@kravet.com

Weekend Recap: Brooklyn Flea

Hi All,

 

So sorry for the late post today. I had an early meeting with my seamstress at a clients home and just got back a couple of minutes ago. I’m already in love with the chair she is slip covering and I can’t wait to share! This client project was a quick one. We only had 3 weeks to get everything done. Fingers crossed everything arrives, because it needs to be finished by Friday!

 

Back to the weekend though.  Here in NY we had one super sunny and amazing day (Saturday) and then another full of gray clouds and rain, rain and more rain (Sunday).

 

In order to enjoy every bit of the sun I headed to Brooklyn Flea!

 

One of my first stops at Brooklyn Flea is always City Owl Vintage. 

 

I fell in love with those hanging globes! Jon spotted them first and new I would be begging to take them home. The $325 price tag for each one slowly bought me back to planet earth!

 

Of course before I continued getting my interior design fix I needed to get my food fix. I made it over right away to Lindsay's cousins booth:

Salvatore Bklyn to get my favorite sandwich!

 

It was featured in Martha's magazine.

I am a totally chicken and because they were super busy I just paid for my sandwich and ran. Even though I was all talk in the car about how I was going to introduce myself to Linds cousin. Ah next time I’ll get the nerve. She was even the one that helped me and I stayed quiet as a mouse!

 

Of course I needed more food so when my sister Daniela arrived we headed for some Mexican food !

 

Check out the crazy lines at all the food booths. It was instantly. I would have eaten much more if I didn’t have to wait on those lines.

 

There was vintage furniture as far as the  eye could see!

 

This booth was filled with industrial stools:

 

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Plus industrial medical carts:

I swear I spotted this chair at one of my local haunts for $20. The sides are made of metal and form a Z. I wanted to grab then when I saw them, but I didn’t have a use for them at the moment so they stayed put. I guess a vendor must go to the same haunt as me.

 

Feel in love with those Bamboo chairs, but one had a small hole in the cane seat so I walked away. They were going for $75 for the pair. Kinda mad that I didn’t pick them up, but what can I do.

 

These letters were a huge hit. You kept bumping into people walking around with them.

 

More vintage finds. I loved these old milk bottles.

 

Old cabinets being used as planters.

A lovely set of eight chairs!

 

Tons of tables filled with vintage glassware.

 

This booth had pretty stuff, but again way too expensive. That ottoman was $400 bucks!

 

I did love the rick-racking they used on their tents plus that bed full of toss pillows! 

 

While I find the flea to be a bit pricey. Everything is “vintage” which just equates to expensive. It is fun to walk around and check everything out. Plus there are tons of baked goods booth so you can satisfy your sweet tooth as you shop.

 

Sunday was spent indoors working on a Photoshop class I’m taking and I’m not going to lie a nap or two was taken.

 

What did you guys do? I can’t believe I didn’t work on any home projects, but sometimes it’s nice to take a little break!

 

xoxo,

Camila