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

One (bargain) Blue and White Fabric--Three Ways

Thought I'd share this great look-for-less find. I found this beautiful (and crazy affordable) Blue and White Chinoiserie toile. It's rather "'inspired" by Quadrille's Lyford Pagoda Petite. But I have to say I like it almost as much as the original. I haven't seen it in person but I'm going to take a chance and order some samples. Not exactly a huge risk; it's $19/yard! I was so excited I put together three different mood boards in three different color schemes. 

The first is a scheme I've really been missing lately: red, white and blue.

I wanted to avoid the expected, so rather than using a Victorian upholstered headboard, regency fixtures and faux bamboo furniture, I went for a more masculine, clean metropolitan feel. And I kinda like it. Okay, so I threw in an orchid.

Here's a board in my favorite new color crush, blush and navy. (And, yes there's faux bamboo and Regency gold.) It's kept fresh with lots of block-printed fabrics and tropical greenery, balancing the delicate, gilded touches. It has sort of a romantic Indo-Chinois feel. I imagine this is how I'd style the French Indochine set for Marguerite Duras' "The Lover." (If I were the type to sit around and imagine that sort of thing...)

Navy blue with burnt orange, is a classic complimentary scheme. Here's a board for a guest bedroom which incorporates very traditional furnishings with the wit of a Billy Baldwin-esque side chair and a graphic rug. Lots of brass, warm woods and leather, like the Hermès Pippa console (pear wood with brass fittings--stunning!) Feels like a perfect place for tired guests to relax after a long day of riding. Or for your mother-in-law to crash after Thanksgiving dinner.

Email me for other sources or if you're interested in our e-decorating services.

Happy Friday!