What is Old is New Again!!

Have you all noticed how much gold metal is being shown in magazines and throughout blog land?

So many are claiming it as a new love. To them it probably is a new love because we were so inundated with silver and nickel metals in home decor in the recent past. Even silver jewelry was claimed as a new favorite of many.  I think we are looking for something different, so we naturally turn to gold metal as a new/old look.

I am enjoying the new/old look of gold in home accessories. I find that they have emerged in a sophisticated manner and also sometimes in a whimsical manner.

All white with gold, and then grounded with the black floor and night stands, is stunning.

So many have painted gold frames in all sorts of colors, but you can see if a classic simple frame is grouped with other frames it makes for a wonderful vignette.  Will there be regrets by those that held a can of spray paint?

Sarah Richardson used this darling gold bamboo table to give this room a sophisticated look.

This is a vintage lamp and yet it looks fresh and new. Why is that?

I personally think it is because of the great drum shade that was used, but mostly because of the stunning and current looking backdrop of wallpaper.

Just look at this amazing light fixture! Now that would give any room a new fresh look.

Simple gold frames above a lovely antique side table. Using brass nail heads is another way to add a touch of gold to a room and look chic.

These lamps look vintage to me as well as the bamboo stools. Both are made to look new and current. The stools are painted in a current pop of yellow.

Using brass lamps on a mirrored parsons table and sitting it in front of a grid patterned wallpaper make for a very current look.  By adding a starburst mirror in a silver finish makes for a nice contrast.

It is becoming very obvious to me, in order for gold metals to look current and not like a throw-back of the 80's, one must be careful with what they pair it with.

 

Simple and elegantly done by Jan Showers.

Phoebe Howard has done an amazing job using such a wonderful mix of styles and eras of furniture here. The mirror with its pediment and shell motif is so classically beautiful. It appears to be paired with a Danish modern coffee table with a few gold accessories on top. Not everyone could pull this look off and do it so well. Leave it to the amazing Phoebe Howard.

Gold frames, brass light fixture, and the feet of the table are covered with golden caps. Again classically beautiful, truly a timeless look.

Gorgeous!!!!

I love the small gold metal bench that can slip easily under the black lacquered hall table. To repeat the gold metal look it is used on the brass door knob and back plate. Just a touch here and there keeps it new and fresh. So un-like the 80’s where brass was everywhere you would look in a room.



Have you taken on  any gold in your home decor? Is it a new love or one that is just revisiting you in a new way?

“Enjoy the Process” Of:

Adding a little luxury and elegance to your home with a touch of gold!

Kathysue

What Is Your Design Spring Board?

Since Spring is in the air and many of us will be starting some new projects in our homes I thought I would bring back one of my post that gives a few guidelines on where to begin.

 I  hope you enjoy reading it again! For those of you who missed it, I hope you get some new food for thought. KS



In my years of consulting there was one question that was asked by most, if not by all. Where do I begin? Which should I choose first? The sofa, rug,curtains etc? 

 I wish there was one pat answer but it truly will vary from project to project. I did offer a guideline that seemed to apply in the cases where the homeowner was doing an entire room with new purchases.

I would tell them to choose the least available element first. In other words, a rug or sofa will be much more limited on choices that you will like than maybe curtains or accessories.

 Paint is a bottomless pit, paint can always be customed mixed, so I never start with a paint unless the walls are going to be the statement and all other furniture pieces are going to be neutral.

In bedrooms I would have the bedding chosen before we would move onto other choices. 

 In living areas, such as living rooms or family rooms. it would be the sofa or an area rug.

There were the occasions where there was a fabric or an accessory that the homeowner absolutely loved and we would use that as a jumping off point, or what I like to call a spring board.

 On many blogs you see design boards and I love looking at those. Do you ever wonder which element they started with first, what was their spring board?

 In this post I thought it would be fun to look at some rooms that are well done and think about which of the elements the designer or homeowner would possibly have chosen first.

Here is a perfect example of a room with a lovely rug. I would venture to say the client wanted neutrals and some blue in her room so the shade of blue for the fabric was the first choice.

  The reason I think that is because there can be a multitude of different shades of blue in the rug and it will still work. The color of blue on the sofa and day bed are a very specific shade of blue and they are the statement piece in the room. What a gorgeous room done by none other than Candace Olsen.

This room is done in all neutrals with a pop of black and the only lively colors are in the artwork.

 I would imagine that the rug with its interesting border was chosen first for this room.

The right hue of neutrals could be taken out of the background of the rug. The fabrics on the sofa and chair were obviously chosen for their texture and for the fact that they match the rug quite nicely.

 What keeps this room so interesting is the colorful artwork and the use of black in all the right spots. What a warm and inviting room.

Here we have a very handsome bedroom. The back wall is covered in a unique patterned wallpaper. This would be my first choice. In this room I think the spring board is the wallpaper.

 There will not be that many wallpapers that will be pleasing to you so I would find the perfect paper and work off of that.  They kept all other pieces dark and sophisticated and then added this great pop of bright yellow to liven it up.

This keeps the room from not becoming  too serious and dark. The yellow also brings out the gold tones in the wallpaper back.

This room is a good example of one that could have started with several pieces such as the fabric on both chairs or the wonderful armoire.

 Since the armoire is a statement piece with an unusual color I will guess the armoire is the room's spring board or jumping off point.

 Because this room has a country feel and also looks like a home that is on the water, all the other choices were probably pretty easy to make according to color and theme.

I find this picture interesting. Since this is such a large statement piece of art I think the room started here.

 I am not one that matches art to a room, because that can look contrived and I find art to be such a personal statement.

  You will notice just washes of the green overlaying the beautiful lavender color. Using green in this room is fresh and a natural with this piece of art.

The room is kept interesting with the use of texture and pattern in the fabrics. I like these fabrics. These are what I call non-commital fabrics. They are fabrics that will go with just about anything.

I hope this gives you a few options of how to get a jumping off point or Spring board for your next room project.

 I gave you guidelines, but never be afraid to use an accessory that you love as your starting point.  If it inspires you, you can plan a room around it and you will love the process of planning and the end result of a room you love to live in.

For a great example of how a designer started a design plan for a room go over to Design Indulgence.  Sherry has a mood board of a room design. She tells her readers exactly which element she chose first, second and so on until the board was complete!!

"Enjoy the Process" Of:

 Finding your own Design Springboard for your next project.

Kathysue

“The Call Of The Computer!”

You can probably tell by a few of my post I have been in a thinking and analyzing  mode. One of the things I was thinking about is, Why is blogging so addictive  fun!!
I think it fulfills a few needs we as human beings on the creative curve seem to crave.

Change:

No matter what time of the day you sit down at your computer there will be someone out in blog land that has just made a change. Now why would this fulfill a need?

Well, if we don’t have the time or the resources or the ability to make the change in our lives or our homes we don’t mind one bit living vicariously through someone else’s achievements for the day.

Inspiration:
Oh My!! I  hardly need to say why there is so much inspiration out in blog land. There are so many amazing bloggers that inspire me with their creativity.
All you have to do is go blog hopping for a short period before you will find a blog post that will make you take pause and think and you will be inspired.


Knowledge:
By reading some blogs we can get a wealth of free information on just about any subject. I of course am referring to design blogs, because that is where my interest lies.


Possibilitly:
This sort of goes along with inspiration, but at the same time it feels a little separate to me. I see some blogs and what they are presenting and I think to myself, Wow! I think I can do that!!!


Motivation:
I have days where I am totally un-motivated and I will read a post and all of the sudden I feel like getting up or out to do something.
Now, I do not know about you all, but this sounds like a wonderful prescription medication to me and a pretty harmless, addiction, fun thing to do.

Excitement:
I  don't know about you all, but I get soooo excited when someone get's something new for their home. I also get equally excited if they just move things around and make a change. I love for others to make their homes look and feel just like they want.

I have told you before I get excited easily, I just am that kind of girl, I love life and all it has to offer.


So if it  is alright with all of you I am going to continue with my addiction, reading of blogs!!

How about you all, do you feel the, ”Call of the Computer!?” What do you do when you hear it calling your name???

Enjoy the Process of:

Choosing the blogs you want to read, and reading however many and whenever you would like.

Kathysue