Leaving on a jet plane...

By the time you are reading this, I will be in NYC for Blogfest 2011. I'm SO excited to meet a lot of my favorite bloggers and to also learn TONS from the very best in the business. You better know I'll be the one with my notebook feverishly taking notes and snapping pictures of everything. Oh wait, this is an interior design blog conference, I'm pretty sure everyone will be doing the same ;)

There is so much to be excited for, but I am most excited about seeing Newell Turner, Margaret Russel, Barbara Barry (I've seen her speak before... she is SO down to earth and honest) and the Elle Decor Concept House. The Elle Decor House features some of my ALL TIME FAVORITE designers. No Joke.

I blogged about Nickey Kehoe here and here, and Carrier and Company here. Many of the others I have saved under my "designers" tab in my browser.

[ carrier and company ]

[ carrier and company ]

[ carrier and company ]

[ nickey kehoe ]

[ carrier and company ]


[ grant k. gibson ]

Let's hope if I see them I get enough courage to say hello!

Blogfest 2011 - Day 1 (I'm Back!)

Phew. What a whirlwind couple of days. I can't express in writing how FULL I am after Blogfest. Full of knowledge, love, friendships, inspiration, happiness, junk food (haha).

It was such an amazing trip... I know I won't be able to recap it very well (One of my worst qualities is my memory), but I'm going to try a day by day recap.

Monday, May 16th

I woke up super early (5 am) to two voicemails on my cell phone telling me my flight was canceled and my new flight would arrive in NY at 6 pm. I yelled a couple sleepy expletives and asked my husband if there were any other flights going out (side note - my husband is the best. I should really put him on payroll as my office/life manager. He is my rock and I don't know what I would do without him). He found a flight going out via another airline and we purchased it - I HAD to be there (and I got a refund for the other one). Long story short, due to weather and delays, I BARELY made it to the Hearst building.. went straight from the airport to the cab to the luncheon.

Breakfast in the Hearst building. Yes, that is Tobi Fairley across from me. I was reading her story in Traditional Home on the plane just hours before.

I thought this room had really cool milk-glass like windows. Turned out it was fog (we were on the 44th floor.. I think?) LOOK at those peonies!

After lunch we were graced with the presence of Editors in Chief of some of the top shelter mags.



It was interesting to hear their point of view and get an inside look into shelter pubs. You could tell some editors didn't particularly love blogs (which sort of made us go hmmm.. this is blogfest after all) and some loved blogs.

I loved this imagery story from Veranda. The explanation behind these images is that although the two images are very similar, Veranda strives to be the image on the right. Softer, more elegant, pretty yet casual. I want to be the image on the right, too (nothing against Drew).

Pardon my language, but Newell Turner is the shit. There is no better way to describe him. I have to admit House Beautiful is my favorite magazine. It's beautiful without being too out of reach. And that's exactly how Newell is - sophisticated, educated but funny and down to earth.

(he didn't actually mention MFAMB directly but definitely alluded to it)

I wish I could have met Newell but he was more popular than Britney Spears circa 2002.

I love these girls! From left to right: Amanda, Chassity, me, Amanda (click on each name to see their amazing blogs)

After the fun at the Hearst building Amanda and I headed over to check out the Elle Decor Modern Life Concept House. It was gorgeous!!! I was in visual overload, which happened a lot during this trip. I was so happy to see spaces designed by some of my favorite designers (although I didn't get to meet any). I took a ton of pictures..

My favorite room in the two concept apts, designed by Carrier and Company. Love the citron green.

I'm taking note of the pleating on the drapes. Classic but still modern. And that art!

Do you see Amanda? :)

Chinese take out menus as the backsplash.

If I could have raised the bed up a couple feet off the floor, this would be a dream bedroom for me.

There will be pictures of all the rooms in Elle Decor soon and they will be much better than mine.

We ended the night at the Design TV/ Joss & Main party. It was so fun hanging with a lot of my favorite bloggers. I just adore them all!!!!!

Chanee, Janell, Amanda, me

Chanee, Amanda, Amanda, Chassity, Janelle, Me. We had a great time!!

Joss & Main was gracious enough to provide fabulous gifts for a raffle that night. Well, I couldn't believe it, but I won the grand prize!!! It was the day before my birthday and I have to say it was a wonderful birthday surprise! I won these two chairs (below), the peacock blue Robert Abbey lamp (below), some candle sticks and a book. Wow!!!

Horrible iPhone picture, but me in one of my new chairs. :)

Phew! What a great first day. I have two more days to cover.. although I have less pictures of those days.

*** If you were at Blogfest and have pictures of me/related to me can you please send them my way so I can include them in my recaps? Thanks girls!! ***

Last night was pretty dreadful at JFK airport. The weather held up dozens of planes and I didn't get home until 1:30 am. I'm pretty tired this morning and am working from bed.

Apparently, while half awake this morning, I dropped my splenda packet in my coffee and didn't realize until I was finished. lol!



Man it is good to be back home with my husband and to have this sweet girl work in bed with me (who after a round of steriods is back to normal! YAY!!)


Isn't it funny how dogs talk with their expressions? Her face says it all: "I had to ride along to the airport last night at midnight to pick your ass up so I'm just as tired as you. I really don't want to be taking pictures right now. K Thanks."

Two is (sometimes) better than one

Digging deeper into last night's post, there were so many things to love about Emily's room. One thing I'd like to discuss is her use of "two" coffee tables. One being the awesome brass vintage piece, and the other being the pair of trunks (Yes, I realize that is three.. but the two trunks acts as one vignette.) I love this because it breaks rules. Sometimes people get so caught up in rules when decorating their house, and I think working with a decorator helps break these rules. For example, I'm working with a client who didn't think she could put a rug in her living room because the fireplace surround jutted out into the living space. Well, I told her it's an easy fix - cut and bind the rug around the fireplace. She asked - we can do that? Of course!

Back to coffee tables. When space allows, sometimes two different coffee table options are perfect. Emily's is a great example - she has the space and went for it. And it works perfectly:



Here are some other examples:

[ katie ridder ]


[ Virginia MacDonald ]



[ carrier and company ]




[ zoldan ]


[ heather garrett ]

Some no fail pieces to create this look are....

Lucite Coffee Tables

Garden Stools



Ottomans


Sleek & Metal

Interior Love

In honor of yesterday's day of love, I want to share some designers and their rooms that I love and adore. Sure, I share pretty pictures all the time, but these designers are my very favorites; my main squeeze(s).

One of my all time favorites is the design duo at Nickey Kehoe, which I've shared before










Another favorite of mine is Windsor Smith. I've had this image saved in my favorites for a while, at least a couple years:



She creates such simple yet intriguing interiors.







And last but not least is Carrier and Company. I love this room so much (the one with the tulip chair):



You'll see a trend in all of these designers and spaces I love - simple yet interesting at the same time.. which I also strive for in my own designs.





I'm curious - which designers would you make YOUR Valentine?