Hood-winked...

I am loving how hoods in Kitchens are the new focus. And I adore these metal hoods with straps. They seem to be popping up in all the right places.

They can have such an antique, distressed feel.

And come in a variety of metals from pewter to stainless and copper.

They can be hammered looking....

Or clean and elegant.

This contrasting white with stainless straps in stunning.

And the black is fabulous.

If you are doing a new Kitchen or renovating an old one and are interested in these hoods check out http://www.rangecraft.com/ or http://www.the-metal-peddler.com/ . I believe both have custom and standard opportunities.

Happy Cooking!

Cheers,

BBS

images from Elle Decor, Google Image, Traditional Home, Domino,and House Beautiful and feature work by Michael S. Smith and Windsor Smith among others.

etsy, etsy, etsy

Image above from Annechovie's shop on Etsy and can be found at www.annechovie.etsy.com



Even though I feel I am constantly carrying on about http://www.etsy.com/, I guess there are still many of you out there that are not familiar with this wonderful site. It is a wonderful site where you can buy or sell handmade and vintage goods.

I recently snagged the dog bed cover pictured above at Murphy & Gert's shop. She makes these covers so that you can stuff them with old pillow or duvets. Pretty smart. Because Oliver(my sweet grey dog) is a beast, I got the largest size which is made to fit the dog beds at Costco. Genius! Stop by their shop at www.murphyandgert.etsy.com

This wonderful whimsical cow painting is from RozArt and she has a great assortment of light hearted paintings. Check out her shop at www.RozArt.etsy.com

I am always on the hunt for unusual mirrors for my client's homes and I recently stumbled upon this source who makes mirrors and such out of seashells and beach glass. This mirror can be found at www.beachgrasscottage.etsy.com

One of the most fun ways to make a bathroom or bedroom kid central is by changing out the hardware. I just love these hand painted knobs from DaRosa. So sweet and charming. Check out their shop at www.DaRosa.etsy.com

There is so much to see and find on Etsy. I can spend hours searching through the categories. I have purchased several items and have found each experience to be pleasant and easy. I have always used PayPal in my transactions and have been pleased with how quickly the goods have been sent out.

Cheers,

BBS

all images from Etsy and belong to Annechovie, Murphy and Gert, RozArt, and DaRosa.

Floors and More....

I am really in a Summery mood these days and nothing looks more beachy and cottage like to me than a painted floor.

I believe that the floor of a home is often an over looked surface for detail.

It is such an opportunity to make a statement or set the tone of the space.

You can pull in design aspects from other areas like this bathroom above.

Or go completely neutral as this fresh, white bedroom.

This geometric painted floor really sets a modern tone to the room.

Or it can feel more traditional as this Kitchen does with the tile pattern.

I love the whimsy of this colorful floor and island.

Or the whimsical feel of this Beach Retreat.

I think this painted runner is beyond spectacular. That pattern and those colors off of the glossy black woodwork. Fantastic.

This Kitchen's floor really sets a Nautical tone.

And this Herringbone design is soft and elegant, yet modern.

Even staining the wood in different colors creates a wonderful interest.




So next time you are bored with a space in your home consider the floors. You can paint almost any floor surface, excluding carpet of course, and really change the feeling of a room.

Cheers,

BBS




all images form Google Image.

GaGa

Spoiler Alert!!!!! If you are going to see Lady GaGa's Monsters Ball tour and want to be surprised(Kristi I am talking to you) stop here..... I, along with 20,000 other crazy Clevelanders, went to see Lady GaGa on Wed night. It was blow your mind amazing.

I had read months ago that she had designed her concert to be more of a theatrical performance and it did not disappoint. It was like a funky, Avant-guard musical on Broadway.

There were sets, costumes, and a loose story line. GaGa and her friends are on their way to the "Best Party Ever", The Monster's Ball, and they run into all sorts of characters on the way.

While the costumes, dancing, and performance beyond fabulous, I was totally taken with the sets. Such a creative use of the stage and lighting. In reading more about Lady GaGa after the concert, I have learned that she has her own creative production company, Haus of GaGa, that designs all of her tour and video back drops and stages. Very impressive.

Her touch is on all of the details of her tour. And yes, that is a flaming piano.

It was so great. It blazed the entire song.

The concert was divided into five productions and this act was fantastic. Her costuming here was incredible, but I loved how the stage lifted her about 15 feet in the air.

Her dress had a 10 foot train and all of the filament in her head dress mechanically moved. Genius.

The use of this moving sphere was just great. Very robotic.

This was my favorite act of the show. GaGa and her friends have reached Central Park in their search for the Ball. It was very Wizard of Oz feeling and had a wonderful use of backdrops and lighting.

The monster was fantastic.

I pulled a close-up picture off of the web, so you could better see how wonderful he was in scale and detail.

Here is my group at the After Party. Me, Candi, Brooker(My photographer for the concert), and Maggie. Sadly we had lost half of our crew by the point this picture was snapped, but it was a great night with the ladies.



Cheers,

BBS

all images belong Brooke Haynes Gallucci except the close image of the monster which was taken from Google Image.

Floral Fancy

I am feeling a little girly today....

A little floraly....

A bit silly and gay....

It is a true summery day....

So I thought you might enjoy seeing some girly, floraly, silly, and summery spaces....

I am off with the ladies for some drinks(very needed after the week I have had), dinner, and a concert downtown.

Lady Gaga, watch out, we are ready for a show!!!!

Cheers,

BBS

images from Lennox.com, House & Home, UK, Google Image, China Seas

Cleveland Furniture and Millwork Fair

The first Cleveland Furniture and Millwork Fair opens this Wed. at the Halle Building at 1212 Huron Road. This is part of the District of Design and is an exciting opportunity for trades and designers in and around North East Ohio.

I am proud to say I will be speaking to the exhibitors during one of the educational seminars.

My topic is "Doing Business with Interior Designers", which got me thinking about all the different ways I use trades for my clients. I often bring a craftsman in to create a custom piece of furniture to meet the special needs of my clients. Or a carpenter to do an intricate crown molding design. Or a cabinet designer to help facilitate a custom Kitchen which have included crazy things like a wide, shallow drawer to hide jigsaw puzzles in process. It is my job to come up with the crazy and unique ideas. It is their job to say, "Yes, Of course, I can make that work."

I am curious to know how you have used these special trades to do things at your home? Or if you are a designer, on your projects?

What is important to you when you are hiring them?


You will all be part of my research for my presentation! I am presenting on Thursday July 15th from 1:00-2:00pm if you are around The Halle Building and want to stop in to see me babble.

Cheers,

BBS

image from Cleveland.com

Herbs A'Plenty

I hope everyone had a delightful and fun holiday weekend. I, myself, am exhausted. I had a dear friend come in from Chicago for the weekend, so it was busy, busy, busy. Lots of cocktails, sun, and fun.

After I picked up Mel B (her nickname for the weekend) at the airport, we headed to my house to relax before a busy night. I had just trimmed back my already bountiful herbs, so I had lots of lemon basil and mint on hand. Into the cocktails it went and they were yummy. I thought I would share the "recipe"


Vodka of choice
ice
3-4 lemon basil leaves; torn by hand
5-6 mint leaves; torn by hand
2-3 wedge of lemon
Club Soda

Fill tall glass with ice. Pour in desired amount of vodka. Put in basil and mint. Stir around. Squeeze in lemon and place wedges in glass. Pour in Club Soda to fill the glass. Give one last stir and enjoy on a patio in the sun.

For a little more color add fresh or frozen berries. (Thanks Ally)

They were a great kick off to a weekend full of great friends, cookouts, parties, boat rides, good laughs, and lots of fun.


Cheers,

BBS

Imperial Love

You all know by now my love of Imperial Trellis(here on known as IT) from Schumacher. Kelly Wearstler is a genius. I thought you might want to take a peek at a recent installation using IT in the raspberry and cream color way. Below are some before and afters for your pleasure....

Before of the Entry, Foyer, and into the Family Room. The space was perfectly fine, yet the clients had grown tired of how busy the floral paper was and wanted to freshen up the space.

I pulled the raspberry color out of their gorgeous rug and minimized the accessories.

Before of the settee wall.

I hung the original black painted mirror in another space and we replaced it with this antiques and clear glass mirror with nail heads. The brackets were simple and great, so I re-hung those with new bright turquoise jardinieres. (The settee cushions on its way and we have fab. pillows in the works, but I couldn't wait to post the pictures.)

Before: I knew the raspberry IT would go perfectly with the wool runner on the stairs!

Ta-Dah........

I will post more Before and Afters from this project next week. This shows that with minor changes you can make huge differences in your look.

Cheers,

BBS


all images belong to me!