Suzani

When I saw this photo of an antique suzani hanging in Lindsay Reid's home featured in House Beautiful's June issue, I thought, 'That's it.  Love."

{Lindsay Reid's house featured in House Beautiful Magazine's June issue}

First of all, I'm crazy about layering large pieces of artwork/ textiles behind other pieces of furniture.  I love the layering, the overlap, the defiance of rules... 

And second, I've been collecting pictures of crewel work & suzani for a while now, and I have to admit that they've grown on me in the strangest way.  They were definitely a huge trend and it wasn't love at first sight for me, but definitely intrigue.  The pattens themselves didn't completely float my boat right away, but I did love the handmade nature & detail & colors.   Once I saw this suzani used such a practical & perfect situation, it became love.  (I'm really not very good at paying attention to whether trends are in or out, I end up just liking what I like, not knowing/ wanting to know if it's in or out.)

"Suzani is a type of embroidered decorative tribal textile made in certain Central Asian countries.  Suzani comes from the Persian word "suzan" which means needle.  Popular design motifs include sun and moon disks, flowers, leaves and vines, fruits (especially pomegranates), and occasional fish and birds.  The oldest surviving suzanis are from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but it seems likely that they were in use long before that. " (info via wikipedia)  It entails stitching one fabric on top of another groundcloth.

I've always been a bit foggy about the difference between suzanis and crewelwork designs so I looked into it.

Here's a close-up of a crewelwork pillow used by Peter Dunham:

... In this dining area I mentioned last week:

{Design by Peter Dunham featured in House Beautiful}

Crewelwork is an embroidery technique that is at least a thousand years old and suzanis are just type of textile that are created using crewelwork.  (Other crewelwork textiles include Jacobean embroidery & Quaker Tapestry and the list goes on & on.)

Crwelwork runs gamut from Traditional English textiles to Eastern Tribal textiles.

Anyway, one of the most common suzani themes is the medallions/ discs...

Here's another of my favorite spaces using a suzani layered over a settee paired with a (gorgeous!!) framed antique ikat.  (Again, I love the layering of the piece behind the settee.)  This was the first photo I saw (in March of 2009) that really piqued my interest in suzanis.

{Anne Becker's apartment featured in Elle Decor}

Here are some rooms featuring suzanis in unique ways.  Here it's used as a room divider:

{From Domino via Style-files.com}

I love the fresh pink & aqua scheme & it's used as a rug:

{Elle Decor}

They are particularly gorgeous framed:

{IMage via In Every Corner}

And I love them layered on beds:

{Domino via Little Green Notebook}

..And one last picture of a suzani as a hanging tapestry:

{Image via Laura U}

Hope you're having a great week!  (This is my husband's last week of school- yay!!!)  Also, thanks so much for all of the sweet comments about the Home & Design feature.  I really apreciate it!!

For some more posts on suzanis, check out:

Cote de Texas- Written in '07 with serious detail & sources

Little Green Notebook - has some great framing ideas & sources for purchasing

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Home & Design Magazine: Designers to Watch

Home & Design Magazine recently came out with an article on four "Designers to Watch" in the DC area.  Thanks so much to Home & Design Magazine for including me in this group!!    Here's a cell phone picture I took of the article:

{Clockwide from left:  Marika Meyer, H.Alex Sanchez, me, and Jason Hodges}

We had a GREAT time at the photo shoot for this article last month.  Sharon Dan of Home & Design had champagne & lunch for us and it was honestly hysterical.  I loved meeting these new friends!  Jason & I worked together at the DC Design House and got along really well and Marika & Alex were so much fun too!  (We've since hung out and it's been really great getting to know them!!)   I wish I had some of the outtake photos where we're all just cracking up, but for now, the serious one will have to do.   

If you're in the area, check out the July/ August issue to read the full article, which features work from all of us.  Here's another cell phone shot of my page:

The photos on this page were by Helen Norman.

I thought I'd share the clear photos & some other photos of the project with you that Helen took.  (I've shared photos of this project before but Helen's photos are so much better.)

This belongs to the Hart family and I loooooved working with them on home.  The family uses their formal living room as more of a hangout where they can do homework, pay bills, play music and relax:

The botanicals in the background are images of leaves that the kids & I found outside in their yard.  I had them blown up onto canvas.

I also took photos of the Harts playing outside in the Fall & framed them for a large gallery wall: 

Here's a shot of the whole room:

I lvoe this close-up Helen took of the wheat grass on the coffee table:

The dining room is relaxed and natural:

I borrowed my grandmother's samovar for the shoot:

Anyway, I'm off to work again but have a great weekend!!

Thanks again to Home & Design Magazine!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Washington Post House Calls

Thanks so much to the team at Washington Post House Calls for inviting me to do a bedroom design for their column this week!  I thought I'd share  it with you. 

Here's a photo of the bedroom I was given.  It belongs to Emily & David:

Parameters:
Budget: $4000 and all of the sources needed to be retail

Client needs: keep existing cream carpet, fairly traditional style , like reds, yellows, greens, not really blues, want to wake up the room, fresh it up, warm it up...

To start, I suggested that Emily & David paint their fireplace & ceiling beam in a creamy white and paint the walls & ceiling in a warm wheaty cream to lighten & warm up the room. 

The thing that's toughest about bedrooms with low slanted ceilings is that the ceiling is too close to where you lay your head, so I went with a bookshalf bed that would extend the place where you lay your head a foot further into the room.  I based the color scheme around a blockprinted quilt that I'd seen (and loved!!) at Pottery Barn, that is full of yellow-greens, yellows & reds with a dark green background.  I spec'd yellow curtains from Ikea and recommended Restoration Hardware's yellow belgian linen as  "splurge" option.   For nightstands, I decided to keep an existing dresser for side and do a skirted burlap table on the other side.

So, here's a quick rundown of the plan:

"Splurge" Bed:

{PB Teen...  they actually have some good-looking beds if you're on a tight budget for an adult room}

Blockprinted Bedding:

{top one, from Pottery Barn}

Burlap Bedskirt:

{Ballard Designs}

Chaise in cream linen next to the fireplace:

{Ballard Designs}

Tripod Lamp next to chaise:

{Ballard Designs by Suzanne Kasler}

Ikat Pillow on Chase:

{Etsy}

Wooden Sunburst above fireplace:

{Anthropologie}

Gourd Lamps on Nightstands:

{Lampsplus.com}

Set of 6 freamed reproduction botanicals similar to this:  (Vintage would be my first choice) to the left of the fireplace:

Pair of garden stools below the prints that can be moved around the room as needed (ie drink table for chaise, etc.):

I wasn't able to copy & paste the rendering from the Post, but you can view the link to the article here.  ( I think coloring might be a little off because it's on newsprint so it looks a bit darker/ less warm/ less colorful,  but from the photos above you should get the idea.)  I hope Emily & David are happy with it!

Have a great day!! :)
 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Casual-Cool "Love" Rooms

This house stopped my in my tracks when I saw it in Elle Decor.  (Back in March of '09!)  It's a 1927 redone Hollywood house that was once owned by Ingrid Bergman that now belongs to director & producer Brett Ratner. (To read the full article, go here.)

{Brett Ratner's House in Hollywood, featured in Elle Decor.  Designed by the renowned Waldo Fernandez}

The laid-back house hosts great parties & is masculine and natural.  I love its collected feel (this is almost a characteristic in my favorite spaces) and the mix of vintage & traditional pieces.  The house has such a palpable sense of place and some serious vibes.  I'd love to live somewhere like this one day.

And I must think about this window at least once a month:

{Perfection }

I'm working on a project right now & I was thrilled when my client sent over this apartment as inspiration:

{Design by Brad Ford I.D. featured in Lonny}

There's nothing better when a client pulls inspiration photos from some of your favorite magazine articles.  The ones you've poured over.

This kitchen by Peter Dunham fits right in:

{by Peter Dunham featured in House Beautiful}

I love this shot of the bowl of clementines:

{Peter Dunham}

And here's another favorite.  I want this:

It's such a practical set up with there being two tables and a little space to slide in between so no one has to scoot a mile to get to the center of the other side.  (The eating areas in my home are fairly small and I imagine I'll do something similar to this in our dining room one day to accomodate us a bit better.)

I'm so excited about the design I've been working on for this client.  It's a casual-feeling mix of modern & vintage pieces with a scultptural vibe.  The space itself is light & airy & interesting.  I can't wait to see it through!!

I'm off to work but have a great day!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Magnolia

'Tis the season for magnolias and I'm loving it. 

{Every once in a while my husband surprises me with one}

There's something about magnolia trees that is just completely Southern & romantic.  They transport you somewhere wlse.   (Unless that is, if you're already at a gorgeous Southern antebellum estate.}

(image from arborday.org}

According to wikipedia and the University of Florida's website, Magnolia trees are one of the most ancient trees we have today, with fossils dating back to 36-58 million years ago.  They were originally native to the Asias & the Americas (particularly the East Coast) and Europe, but the Ice Age destroyed the ancient European forests.  The American Southern Magnolia was  reintroduced in Europe in 1731 when it was discovered.  They became extremely popular and are now the most commonly planted shrub/ tree around the world.  

I wish I had a magnolia tree.  One day. 

{photo via landscapeplantsbycliff.com}

{Steel Magnolias: Shelby "got" magnolias...  she planned to float them in her pool at her "blush and bashful" themed wedding, although I don't quite remember ever seeing the pool at the wedding in the movie.}

When I have my hands on a magnolia bloom, I'm weird with it.  I literally just put my face in it & breathe it in.  For a long time.  It's "Heaven" as my 3 (almost 4!) year-old says because he's heard me say it so much. 

{I even have my husband take pictures of me holding them}

 I sleep with it mext to my bed and I can smell it all night long when I'm drifting in & out of sleep. 

They make me so happy and their smell just sort of makes stress melt away.  This past week was INSANITY.  Work has been really busy for both me & my husband, and we had to take Justin (our 18-month old) to the ER because his fever got so high & he was having mini seizures & vomitting.  (I didn't know that's what was going on, I thought he was having odd twitches as he was trying to sleep in my arms, and although that was scary, I'm so glad I didn't know they were seizures at the time.)  His fever has been up & down all weekend and my parents watched our 3 year-old for us.  During one of the down points Saturday evening when Justin was aleep & we thought he was all better, my husband surprised me with a magnolia bloom.  It hung out with us pretty much all night.  I literally fell asleep smelling it, and I woke up to a completely brown & crunched magnolia underneath of me in bed.   ah vell!  You only get them for a little while.

It was for all of these reasons that I wanted to create a magnolia - patterned textile.  The vibe of magnolias is such a free, casual & relaxed elegance and I wanted to make a fabric with that feeling.  It really fits with the setting around here.  (Virginia & DC are filled with magnolia trees.)  I worked with my super-talented my friend,  Kat Wright, who painted this beautiful painting in oil from my very junky sketches:

{Isn't she amazing!!?)}

It then became this on linen:

I played with the colors and created 4 other colorways, including china blue:   

I'm working out the final kinks in pricing, fabrics, etc. and am hoping to have the fabrics available to sell in my online store July 15th.  Like I've mentioned before, creating high-quality textiles on linen in small runs is much more expensive than I'd originally guessed it would be.  Prices will be around $90- $115/ yard for linen and I'm looking into cotton options. 

Here's a peek at the banner for the new online store:

I hope you had a great weekend & if you have a chance, find a magnolia:

My husband's taking Justin to the doctor today so fingers crossed for my little Tootaline.

Also, my friend Jill Sorensen of Marmalade Interiors and creator of Live Like You is offering Pure Style Home Readers 10% off of her newest design personality, Earthy Modern:

Enter discount code: EARTHY10 for 10% off until June 20th!

 Jill has launched an online store where she has created room designs for different personalities & styles.  You can view the designs for free and purchase everything in the plans right at Live Like You.   Congratulations to Jill & her new venture & thanks so much for the discount!!

 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Thank yous!

I just wanted to send a little shout-out (oh wow, did I really just say "shout-out??" ) to my mom & my grandmother.  They ("Gramma Donna" and "Gramma Cracker") come over once a week every week to watch our boys.  They bring all sorts of toys & games & activities with them and the kids loooove their grammas.  I work in the office while they play & unfortunately, I don't really get a chance to be with them at all.  But today, when they left, I found this pretty little surprise on the table:

{Hydrangea from the garden; ignore the kid dinner in background}

I'm not sure which of them did it, but I love it.  Especially they way the leaves were wrapped around the stems.  Go Grandmother! (I think it was you who did the leaf thing.)

I know I don't get nearly enough time with either of you or get to say it much, but if you're reading this, thank you for all that you do and I love you.

Summer is almost really here and we've been crazy-busy with some exciting new projects at work.  Meghan, my design assistant, has been amazing & just turned 23 yesterday!!  (Happy Birthday Megs!!)  And my best friend, Frammy, just turned 29 this week too!!  (Happy birthday Cheese if you're reading!! I love you!!)

Also, thanks so much to Linda Merrill for the mention in her online magazine, which you can read here:

Surroundings

And finally, thank YOU so much for reading. 

I truly appreciate it and I look forward coming here because of you.

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.