Andalusian/Moroccan Fantasy -

I just came across this board we did many years ago. It was the mood board for a custom Mediterranean home we designed. I wish I'd had the chance to photograph it before the clients relocated to the East Coast. Thought I'd share nonetheless.

The overall vibe for the house was 'Ralph Lauren in Morocco' with an obvious Michael S. Smith influence. Many of the items pictured here were actually installed, like the brass Vaughan lamps from @Jaspershowroom, the black and gilt empire chairs from @Ebanista. Also from Ebanista, a gorgeous pair of Louis XVI chairs in an olive green leather. The pièce de résistance (and budget buster) was a custom chesterfield sofa covered in a #ralphlaurenhome navy, silk velvet. To die for.

All these years later, I am still inspired by this board. 

#ebanista #designinspo #interiordesign #interiordecor #homeinspo #homedesigners #interiordesigners #dreamhome #luxuriousliving #homefurnishings #furniture #luxurylifestyle #interiors #luxury #furnituredesign #houseenvy #homegoals #luxurydesign #beautifulhomes #veranda #traditionalhome #housebeautiful #architecturaldigest #livingroom #designinspiration #archdigest #inspo #grandmillennialstyle

Our New Design Offices

I finally found a new space for our offices. It's close to home, the kids' schools, and most importantly, decent lunch spots. It's much smaller than our current space, but we will have actual walls. Now we can all be on the phones without sounding like we're in a call center.

I haven't been able to focus on much else beside the aesthetic of the new space. Green is always my office accent color. But after years with boring gray walls (my mistake!), I want to bump up the drama and paint the walls a rich emerald green.  My cabinet maker is retrofitting our cabinets, including installing these brass library lights with black shades. Of course, because I'm the client, there'll be lots of Empire and Chinoiserie touches, crystal, and gilt. Mercifully, the landlord agreed to let me replace the current 80's fluorescent lights and bad carpet with these crystal fixtures and white wood floors. 

Have a look at the inspiration board. (Unfortunately, we will also have to bring along the less attractive storage stuff.) Stay tuned...

Shop the look...

Empire Chest with Cararre marble top, $3,900

Brushed brass library light with black shade, $255

Lightweight zinc-look Regency planter, $ 175

Everlasting Pink Peonies, $375

Art Deco crystal fixture, $425

Everlasting boxwood topiary, $232

Gilded crystal chandelier, $695

Emerald green storage bench, $300

Scalamandre le tigre velvet pillow, $475

Bamboo desk chair, $375

After Photos – Rustic Bathroom

I just realized tonight that I never posted the after pictures of this Rustic Schoolhouse Bathroom I designed for the Farmhouse. I was so in love with this little space. It seemed so new then, the idea of tile that looked like wood, gray cabinetry...yawn. But I still love the way it turned out. I designed it in 2013, finished up construction in 2014. So at my usual timely pace, I thought I'd share. BTW, Happy 2016!

Remember the board and the sketch:

I was off site when the materials were delivered. The contractors made my supervising designer call me because they were sure there had been a mistake. Actually, many. The very seasoned tile setter got on the phone and tried to talk me out of the "white Caesarstone with that brown tile," especially with the gray cabinets, and "tile up the walls?!" According to my junior designer, the subs had a good laugh about our whole design concept. Mr. Tile Setter later told me it turned out to be his favorite room in the whole 10,000sf house. The only thing I love more than a man who admits he was wrong is a man who admits I was right. And one who can cook.

The final bath with that feel of an old shed.


The rustic (gray and brown!) pebbles in the shower mimic the nearby riverbank. Plus they feel like a great morning foot massage.



This is the kitchen in the Schoolhouse/Guesthouse.


To see more of this whole project check out my site or better yet Houzz. 

Happy New Year and God bless you in 2016! 

My resolutions are to stop swearing, eat organic and blog again. So far I've managed one out of three.

It's coming together

Just taking a five second break before I drown in details and purchase orders. Soon enough the dining porch in Napa will be complete. It's an amazing space surrounded by windows, built to look like a once wrap around porch that has been enclosed. Here are my boards. It's the broad view. Followed by the minutia that no one but a fellow designer can appreciate. Working out little things like this is where the magic really brews.

And the minutia… Putting this document together for my workroom to execute the footstools was arduous but so necessary. The devil is in the details. For anyone who has ever asked their designers, why everything takes so long…

Looking forward to the weekend. 

Happy Easter!

Dining Chairs. Mixed, Not Matched

If you hire me, whether your leanings are modern or traditional, you're on board with my love of all things layered. You sign up because you like my taste and style, even if you don't yet know that means a motley mix of furniture pieces, fabrics and finishes. I won't let clients succumb to fear-based matching, even when they call it coordinating. I've said it over and over, "If you just buy what you love, no matter the style, it will always 'go'!" I totally believe this, whether 'it' is a dainty chair, an abstract painting or the fabric for a pillow. I also try my best to mix the finishes on pieces to avoid that showroom feel. Especially when it comes to dining rooms. 

I'm onto finish number three in a current dining room. We are designing the chairs that will surround an 18th Century farm table. The room is actually more of a dining porch, designed to look like an exterior space that was later enclosed with windows. "Original" exterior shingles cover the walls, tongue and groove lines the ceiling, lantern style sconces light the sitting area, and tumbled stone lays across the floors. Classic, casual and super comfortable. 

I envision a barefoot sort of dining room; one that beckons friends and family to a table set with beers and bratwursts, yet knows how to gussy itself up for the occasional holiday dinner. 

We found our long, amazing antique farm table over a year ago. I knew it would ensure that the space stay true to its casual beginning. I'm cozying up the stone floors with sisal. The long bank of windows will be warmed with draperies in a classic blue French check. A pre-electric, brass chandelier has been wired to accommodate our modern penchant for light.

So onto the chairs. From the beginning I saw antique Swedish something or other. I hadn't quite settled on the style. Maybe an upholstered Louis XVI, or a simplified Hepplewhite, but definitely something with the lightness of a painted finish. I always love this contrast with an antique walnut table. 

I'm definitely throwing some kind of wicker in the sitting area at the end of the long space. 

So many directions to go. So many beautiful choices waiting to be chosen. No matter what, I'll be sure the chairs, like the rest of the house, are comfortable, casual and totally inviting.

Happy Weekend and Happy New Year!

May much of it be spent at your own tables enjoying friends and family!

Sources: Veranda Magazine

Feeling Yellow

I can't believe the surge in popularity of canary Yellow this past year; in fashion, interiors and even graphic design. My personal preference is a more intense, lemon yellow over subtle buttery yellows--(remember this?) 

Whether you "like" the color or not, you'd have to be a total curmudgeon to not feel uplifted by a yellow room .

The ubiquitous combo right now is YELLOW + GREY. We are actually working on, not one, but three yellow and grey spaces. I'm currently finishing up a  buttery yellow and gray project for a happy family in Beverly Hills. They wanted a soft yellow with very light, soothing greys.  Here's our sketch and board with some of our initial finds. I'll be sure to share some of the afters photos and our sources, many of which will be available from the shop.

Next up is a 70's citrusy yellow room with great bright yellow wallpaper and deep charcoals. I'm taking inspiration from her vintage yellow cloisonné ginger jar. I know you'll love it!

Hope you have a sunny weekend!


Sources: Collage, Dilly Dallas; Living Room, Mary MacDonald; bathroom, unknown; Bedroom, Jaime Drake; all others here

My Lunch with Aerin Lauder

Okay, so I didn't actually get to have lunch with her. But, as you all know, Aerin Lauder's much anticipated fabric, carpet and furniture lines for Lee Jofa are now available, through the trade. Everyone has been chomping at the bit for their samples. Gratefully, mine came yesterday, via lunch in my office with my dear friend and Lee Jofa Representative Cheryl Anotti-West. 

Aerin Lauder tabletop

We ate, gossiped and went through some of the most beautiful textiles I've ever seen. (One of my favorite things about having my offices in my home is that I have the perfect excuse to cook up yummy treats to share with my favorite colleagues and clients while we peruse the latest lines, source perfect finds or walk through design plans. What more could you ask for: food, friends and shared passion for pretty things. Though the food was certainly not the star yesterday.)

My fresh prosciutto, provolone and arugula sandwiches. (Bristol Farms deli cuts never disappoints!)

The line is every bit as stunning as I'd expected. Actually, twice as stunning as I'd expected. She has such a brilliant point of view and phenomenal taste. What better partner for a talent like Aerin than Lee Jofa.

Chairs and table, Aerin for Lee Jofa

Hither, Aerin Lee Jofa

Watersedge Velvet, Aerin for Lee Jofa

I love this sofa. The velvet in person is fit for royalty. It has an incredible hand and the color variation, almost an ombré, is exquisite. Love the end table here, too. That's a piece from the line as well. 

I am so excited to carry this entire line! These are the types of quality furniture pieces you buy once in a lifetime. Pieces that, like Aerin, are timelessly stylish. 

If you're interested, contact me or your favorite designer. Have a great weekend. And try that simple sandwich. Even kids love it.

Her Office...Apple and Apricot

Just playing around with palettes for a new client's office. She loves green, like her designer. I've gone round and round. So many gorgeous options. I thought Green + Orange + Blue, Pink + Green, Green + White... But this morning I'm loving 

Apple + Apricot

DIY paper flowers

These giant paper flowers are most definitely this weekend's fun with my girls. Thank you, God, for my craft-loving daughters!

Possible textiles for client's office. Mary MacDonald's Fretwork linen as a banded roman shade or maybe run it vertically down the desk chair. Quadrille's Zeze in Apricot for guest chairs. Scalamandre Hand painted strié paper (but in solid, not the stripe). And the Mary MacDonald's Chinois Palais panels framed on the back wall. Very fresh, very feminine, very much like my office, where I just realized I've got a little Apple + Apricot + Chinoiserie thing going myself.

One of a pair of 18th C cloisonné ginger jars in my office

Family 4th of July

My family has a long-standing tradition of spending every 4th of July back in Wisconsin. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and multiplying second cousins come home from all over the country to celebrate. It's total Americana: the village parade, the big family bbq, swimming, golf and, of course, fireworks. I would have to say it's definitely our most cherished time together. 

However, for reasons too boring to detail here, my son and I had to stay behind in Los Angeles, while my husband took the girls. Today it's hitting me. Hard. I miss them so much. I even tortured myself by clicking through old photos of 4th's past.

I realized, in my maudlin, mopey state, that 4th of July is my favorite holiday. (I might feel differently in December). I love that this holiday not only brings people outdoors, but it brings us all together. Like tailgating fans in a stadium parking lot, there's a sweet spirit of unity. Despite our differences in politics or geography, on this day we are all part of this American family. Like any family, it has its issues. But I wouldn't want to belong to any other. As with my family, I want to consciously appreciate this country each and every day of the year; its diversity in every aspect, its beauty, and its unique spirit of courage and bravery that instills in each member the will to continually fight for liberty and justice for all. So wherever you are in this land of the free, enjoy your 4th, your freedom and most of all your family.  

Happy 4th of July!

My daughter and niece. Can't believe they're celebrating this 4th as teenagers!

My baby and her "twin" cousin. Born the same day with the same spirit.

My amazing son, who is now 6',2" 

A totally vegan menu for the 4th. 

Try this next year.

Atlantic-Pacific

 Ashley Whitaker

Sheryl Salisbury