Trendcasting: Lacquered Walls

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Lacquered walls are a long-standing design tradition, but in recent years, they have been making a resurgence. Designers like Miles Redd, Steven Gambrel, and Markham Roberts have helped reintroduce lacquered walls to the popular landscape. The highly reflective finish of lacquer creates dimensionality, particularly when combined with a deeply saturated color like sapphire blue or emerald green. The liquidlike sheen is sumptuous, dramatic, and opulent. True lacquer, as opposed to high gloss paint, must be applied by skilled professionals. The reflective finish magnifies any imperfections, so expert prep and application is a must. Check out some of my favorite lacquered walls below!  Orange lacquered walls via Atlanta Homes Magazine.  Left: Aerin Lauder’s sophisticated black office via Elle Decor. Right: Blue-grey lacquered walls in Steven Gambrel’s W. 10th Street townhouse.  A peacock blue butler’s pantry from Lee Ann Thornton Interiors.  Emerald green lacquer via ArkPad.  A striking home library designed by Steven Gambrel.  Left: White lacquered walls pop against black herringbone floors, via Westerman Farm. Right: Miles Redd’s navy blue lacquer, via Apartment Therapy. 

Get the Look: Tropical Leaves

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Tropical leaf prints have long been a design classic, thanks in large part to two iconic wallpaper patterns. Martinique wallpaper, designed by Don Loper in 1942 for the Beverly Hills Hotel, features banana leaves in a rich forest green palette. Brazilliance wallpaper was designed by the one-and-only Dorothy Draper for the Greenbrier Hotel. Although similar to Martinique, Brazilliance has more saturated colors and accents of sea grapes amidst the banana leaves.  A side-by-side comparison of the iconic Martinique and Brazilliance wallpapers. L: Bathroom via Apartment Therapy. R: The Greenbrier Hotel via The Glam Pad. Tropical leaf decor lends an air of retro glamour to any room. Banana leaves and palm fronds make for gorgeous wallpaper and upholstery, but you can also incorporate the motif through lighting fixtures, artwork, and accessories. Here is some tropical inspiration for your home!  The Martinique wallpaper pairs beautifully with black and white. Via Sarah Sarna.  Black lacquer doors and Brazilliance wallpaper make for a bold, graphic hallway. Design …

Nepalese Felt Ball Rugs

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One of the best parts of my job is discovering new companies and products that I can share with my clients. My most recent infatuation is Felt Ball Rug, a company which produces beautifully handcrafted rugs from Nepal. When they offered to send me a rug of my own, I jumped at the opportunity!  Felt Ball Rug practices only fair trade and employs a team of talented artisans from Kathmandu, Nepal. The company shares the names of each rug’s maker, so you can see exactly who crafted your piece. My rug was made by Sarita Thapa, whose picture can be seen here! I am so impressed with the craftsmanship and quality of my rug. It is super soft underfoot and incredibly intricate. The rugs are made with 100% New Zealand wool and AZO-free natural dyes, so they are great for nurseries and children’s rooms. They offer round and rectangular rugs in 65 different colors. I chose the 90cm round rug in color 63, but multicolored rugs and even custom …

Color Combo: Olive + Pink

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Olive green and pink is one of my favorite color combinations at the moment. It’s a surprising pairing that you don’t see every day. Olive and pink are essentially complementary colors, depending of course on the exact shades you choose. Take a look at some examples of this color palette in action.  1) via Burnham Design and 2) via Natalie Clayman  1) via Dering Hall and 2) Detroit Institute of Arts  1) via CWB Architects and 2) via Real Simple  1) via Ikea and 2) via Madeline Weinrib

How to Decorate with Animal Prints

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Animal print decor can go one of two ways: chic and timeless or gaudy and garish. If you’re worried about falling into the latter category, here are a few simple tips for taming your wild side: Pick one statement piece. Isolate animal print to one stand-alone accent. It could be a small item, like a throw blanket, pillow, or upholstered stool, or a large item, like an area rug or stair runner. Either way, you can’t go wrong with a single animal print statement. Pair with solids and simple geometrics. Animal prints go best with solid colors or simple geometric patterns. This Scalamandré Tigre pillow, for example, would pop against emerald green walls (Benjamin Moore’s Seaweed). Low contrast color combinations. Unlike the real animals, you are not restricted by the laws of nature! Your animal print accents can come in any color combinations you like. Zebra is one of the trickier patterns because the high contrast black and white is so dramatic. If traditional zebra prints don’t work in your space, try a subtler …

Bookshelves + Etageres

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One of my current clients has a large library of books, and as I redesign her room, I have been thinking about how best to store her collection. Book storage can be tricky. Options range from entirely closed bookcases to open etageres. A closed system hides clutter (and any embarrassing trashy novels you picked up at the airport!); but open shelving allows your library to be a design element in its own right– a highly personal design element. I tend to favor an open shelving system, but I recognize its drawbacks. Disorganized shelves can make a room look cluttered, and books are absolute dust magnets. Etageres often require bookends to keep everything upright. If you want to display your library, but prefer not to deal with the practical inconvenience of an open bookshelf, glass door bookcases are a happy medium. 1) Muller Van Severen Marble Bookshelf via 1stdibs 2) Jefferson Bookcase 3) Jonathan Adler lucite and brass Jacques etagere 4) Metal industrial barrister bookcase via 1stdibs 5) Mission barrister bookcase with leaded glass …

Curl Up by the Fire

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As the nights close in around us and winter settles in, we crave cozier surroundings. The idea of home as shelter and safe haven becomes more and more important. There are very few things as restorative and homey as a bedroom fireplace. Lapping flames, crackling wood, warm flickering light– fires are the perfect remedy to the cold winter season. Here are some cozy bedrooms that will make you want to throw on your PJs and jump into bed. 1) Home My Design 2) Primer Magazine 3) Rela Gleason 4)Home My Design 5) Linen and Lavender 6) My Lovely Things 7) Home My Design 8) House & Home 9) Home My Design 10) Blood and Champagne  

Tilton Fenwick for Target

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Tilton Fenwick is a New York-based interior design firm founded by Anne Maxwell Foster and Suysel dePedro Cunningham. They are best known for layering colorful textiles and giving a modern twist to traditional patterns. I have been secretly lusting after this Tilton Fenwick pattern at Duralee for some time now, so I was super excited to discover that the design firm has put out a line of upholstered furniture at Target. They offer a range of settees, pictured above, as well as skirted chairs, headboards, and ottomans. This is high end style without the high end price tag.

Black, White, and Brass

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There are some tried-and-true combinations that are a guaranteed success, and black, white, and brass is one of them. It’s glamorous, sophisticated, and sexy. And since this look is monochromatic, it’s easy to achieve a coordinated design without fear of colors clashing. Here are a few of my favorite black, white, and brass accessories. 1) Faux bois pillow 2) Brass oval box 3) Vintage Colflesh enameled bowl 4) West Elm Clint task lamp 5) Vintage mid-century lamp 6) Black and white picture frame 7) Feather prints #3 and #1 8) Dessert plate 9) Vintage Henry VIII brass rubbing 10) Wm. H. Jackson wood holder

Berber Chic: The Moroccan Wedding Blanket

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Moroccan wedding blankets have long been one of my most coveted accessories– and they’ve certainly gained a lot of popularity in the design world over the last few years. Moroccan wedding blankets are a Berber invention, traditionally woven for brides to wear on their wedding days. After the ceremony, the blanket served as a token of good luck in the new couple’s home. It’s not difficult to see why these blankets, also known as handira, have become so highly cherished around the world. They are the perfect bohemian chic accessory: handwoven with graphic, tribal patterns, but still glamorous with a hint of sparkle. They are also incredibly versatile; they can be used as wall hangings, throw blankets, rugs, or reconstituted as pillow cases. The texture is complex, but the color is neutral– just the right balance of ornamentation and simplicity. 1) Vintage handira via Muima 2) El Ramla Hamra pillows via Decorator in a Box. A stunning bedroom with dusty rose chinoiserie wallpaper and a wedding blanket at the foot …