Dwell Studio for Robert Allen

image from Robert Allen

I have loved Dwell Studio for quite some time now. Their patterns have a freshness to them. The fabrics have a wonderful nod to the past, but they are cleverly up to date and affordable.

Dwell Studio has partnered with fabric house Robert Allen this fall and I got a chance to see the fabrics in person last week. Impressed! Great patterns, great color combos, and once again, really well priced.

Check out the entire collection at http://www.robertallendesign.com/. It is sold to the trade only, so I would be happy to get you a price if you are interested.

Dwell Studio has a great blog I have followed for a bit called The Studio Blog. You can connect to it through their website http://www.dwellstudio.com/

Enjoy. They have lots of adorable and fun bedding for adults (and kiddies) on their site.

Cheers,

BBS

Why Hire A Designer????

I have been a little consumed this week with work, so I have been a neglectful blogger.

On top of my normal work load, I have been prepping to give a presentation on Friday. Asleigh, another designer at Lee Meier Interiors, and I will be giving a lecture at The Ohio Design Centre on the topic of "Why Hire An Interior Designer When Building or Remodeling Your Home" this Friday, Spet. 10th at noon.

We sort of inherited the topic, so we were tossing around ideas of how to keep our talk light hearted and fun. It is a pretty heavy title, so we decided it would be fun to create a "Client" and we would walk through how we would help said "Client" build her new home. That way we could involve lots of images and details.

Our client's name is Holly.

Holly Golightly, if you must know, and she is leaving her pad in the city and headed to the 'burbs. She has many special quirks we must accommodate like tiara storage and a place for a nameless cat, but we guide her easily through her building process. Come see how Holly's new house turns out....

If you are in the Cleveland area and would like to come see our presentation on Friday, please go to www.ohiodesigncentre.com and click on events or you may call Angela at 216-831-3767 to purchase your $10.00 ticket.

If you are interested in the topic and are not able to make the presentation on Friday, send me a message in the comment section. We will be doing it again in February at the Home and Flower Show at the IX Center. I will also be doing my lecture on Color: Be Not Afraid, so I will keep you posted once I get our dates and times.

Cheers,

BBS

image from Paramount Pictures

Live Like a Rock Star

You often hear the saying, "live like a rock star" and I thought it would be fun to take a peek into what that means in honor of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 15th Anniversary which is this weekend.



I am on the host committee for their big anniversary bash, The Rock Hall Ball, which is being held this Friday, Sept. 3rd, so I am all about Rock and Roll this week.

No photo credit given

What do you think of when you imagine a rock star's home? Crazy colors? Black leather furniture? Zebra carpeting? Naked women everywhere????

Well try to visualize the Material Girl singing away in the pedestal tub above, because this was Madonna's apartment in NYC designed by her brother before their infamous falling out.

interior design: Dilger Gibson photo:Scott Francis

This isn't exactly a "Little Pink House", but it is the home of John Mellencamp and his wife in Indiana. I love that grand window.

Kravitz Design

Now this is what I think of when I think of where a Rock Star lives. This is the epitome of Rock. Because this is the ultimate Rock Star, Lenny Kravitz's New Orleans home that he designed himself. When not writing, singing, touring, or acting, Lenny likes to dabble in interior design. He even started a firm called Kravitz Design.

photo:mhpbooks

Keith Richards fancies himself more of a librarian than a rocker, so this picture is perfect. Not what I imagined for a man who is famous for once joking that he, "snorted his deceased father's ashes", and most everyone took him literally.

interiors:David Dalton, ASID photo:Christopher Dow

You may never guess to whom this stunning home belongs, but it is none other than Meatloaf. I was blown away when I first saw it published in Architectural Digest.

interiors: Alain Mertens photo: Christopher Simon Sykes for Architectural Digest

Any guesses??? "An Englishman in NY"??? This is Sting's abode in England. What an amazing place to rock out and write new songs.

image taken from real estate agents photos on swamplot.com

How about ZZ Top band member Dusty Hill's home in Texas? Pretty subtle and elegant for a long bearded musician with a passion for exotic paint jobs on his cars.

So did these stars live like you thought they would???? Surprised???

image from picoday, no name given

Here is the ultimate house that Rock built. Above is a view from inside the beautiful Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum that was designed by the architect, I.M. Pei.

They party is going to be a blast. I hope to see you there!

If you would like to join me at the party there are still tickets left and it is going to be a fun night. Foxy Shazam, Eli "Paperboy" Reed and DJ Tommie Sunshine are playing and the museum is open for wandering. Go to www.rockhall.com/event/rock-hall-ball/ for more info and to purchase tickets. Use code AMVIP to get a discount off of the $ 65.00 ticket price and come "Rock" with us.

Cheers,

BBS




all images found on google image. Photo credits were given when they were provided.

Oval Office Redux

And here it is.... President Obama's Oval Office....Ta Da......(Yawn), Zzzzzz......

I would like to start by saying this is not, and will never be, a political forum or post. My opinions, take them for what they are worth, are not politically driven and I am not inviting a political battle.

I am underwhelmed and disappointed with the unveiling of the Obama Oval Office. While I respect and appreciate Michael S. Smith's, the Obama's White House designer, talents, I am unimpressed with his redesign of the President's office.

Bark colored solid sofas, leather occasional chairs, tone on tone neutral striped walls, an understated, plain rug....Did Pottery Barn do the Oval Office?????

This is the President of the United State's office. This is where he meets with International Diplomats, Presidents, Kings, and the Pope. This is where he runs our country. It should not look like a Family Room in any suburban town in the Midwest. It should not look like it came from the pages of a catalog.

As W. and Clinton are the other Presidents in recent history who did renovations to their office it seems natural to compare the spaces. ( Again, this is not a political comment....)

Now that is an Oval Office. Stunning. Perfection. I need a little pomp and circumstance. A dash of understated glitz. I expect it to look nicer than anything I might have in my own home.

Look at those lamps, that rug. It should feel sophisticated and grand with a nod to the past. (Please note that in this image President Bush is meeting with the Pope) This is a museum after all.

Here is President Clinton's office as pictured in Life magazine. I love the strength of the colors in his Oval Office and that powerful navy rug. It is regal. This feels like the office of a President.

What do you think of the redecoration of the Obama's Oval Office????

Cheers,

BBS

all images borrowed from Google image and belong to Life Magazine, The White House Museum, and others.

Dreaming of Pink and Green

Suzanne Kasler is the designer and photo from House Beautiful

I attended a friend's wedding this weekend and the color scheme was Pink and Green. It is now my current obsession.



It was a beautiful wedding at a Beach Club at the shores of Lake Erie on a lovely Summer night. There were giant fuchsia paper lanterns strung about and the maid of honor was in apple green. The children in the wedding were done up in pink and green dresses for the girls and green and white checked shirts on the boys. There was even a candy bar with all pink and green candy. It was fresh, adorable, and perfect for the setting

found on google image; no credit found

I have not been able to get the combo out of my head since Saturday night. I am pretty preppy. Always have been. So I am not afraid of the combo. I think it can actually be a pretty sophisticated combination.

When I think Pink & Green interiors I immediately think of the original interior designer, Mrs. Dorthy Draper. Which then makes me think of Carleton Varney, her protege. I then remembered that my friend Brooke had just sent me this shot of her trip to Upper Michigan which included a stop to The Grand Hotel on Mackinaw.

Photo by Brooke Haynes Gallucci

Stay with me....Isn't that carpet fabulous????? Look at the scale of those geraniums. The Grand Hotel has been famously decorated by Carleton Varney over the years. Just beautiful.

I have used this image from Palmer Weiss Interior Design before, but I just love the feeling of this room. Bright, exciting, and comfortable.

photo by Ashley Green for Lucy and company

I love the over sized scale of this painted wall and the pop of the pink artichoke lamp and pillow shams.

photo from House Beautiful

This is a wonderfully elegant and very grown up use of pink and green by Carleton Varney which was featured in House Beautiful. Mr. Varney learned his wonderful use of P&G while working under Dorothy Draper until her death. He has run her company ever since.

It takes talent to make the combination look this beautiful.

photo from Homebug.com

Here is a fun and modern wallcovering that gives a real zip to the space.

I have been considering an addition of a deep pink to my lime green Living Room for years. This just may have given me the push to do it.

Remember Pink and Green is not just for little girl's rooms anymore....

Cheers,

BBS

Black Beauty

My dear friends Ally and her husband, Kelly, recently bought a home in my neighborhood (You will hear and see much more on this house as I will be blogging about the upcoming transformation) and I couldn't be more excited. They are making the big move out of downtown and into the 'burbs.

On Sunday afternoon, Ally and I were chatting on the phone about some possibilities for their fireplace wall in their new Living Room. They have not had access to their house as the previous homeowner rented the home back from them for a few months and Ally is getting anxious to get started. We were discussing the idea of painting the paneling on the fireplace wall black and like every person in 2010's we were both in front of our computers. We were talking through their options while both pulling up images on websites, when I stumbled upon the picture from Cote de Texas that is above.

Now I have done painted trim before. I have even done black trim before. I have specified black furniture, black cabinets, even a room of glossy black trim. But I have never considered it as the main trim color. So, I started to really think about it as a great option and I couldn't get it out of my head.

I have always drooled over Gwyneth's (she only needs a first name) kitchen that is in the Hamptons and was featured in House & Garden. It is amazing. I love they way she didn't shy away from doing the entire area in black, even the island and windows. It is inviting,fresh, and exciting.

This is a Music Room I did several years ago in the Ohio City area of Cleveland. My client had a baby grand piano and an extra room in his home, so naturally it became the music room. I found that gorgeous B&F fabric and matched the wall color to the canary yellow background of the fabric. And then I was struggling with the trim....White just wasn't going to be right. Yellow would be too much. It took a little convincing, but I got the client on board with high gloss black woodwork which matched the piano perfectly. The room turned out dramatic and warm.

Some people have the misconception that black trim is only contemporary, but it can be anything but that. Above it feels regal and old world like.

It also can feel modern like this home does with white walls and clean line furnishings. I really like the unexpected pop of red in the light fixture and the cow hide rug below the table.

Black trim can be very masculine as in this Master Bedroom paired with black walls.

Or feminine as in this bedroom which feels light and airy.

I love, love, love how the black woodwork modernizes the feel of the home. You have very traditional features in the carpentry with the coiffured ceiling in the Dining Room and the bookcase and fireplace wall in the Living Room. By painting the walls white and the trim black, you end up with a very mod look.

And I really love how fresh this space looks with the black windows and ivory paneling.

So, could you go for it? Could you paint all of your trim black????? How about starting in one room?

Cheers,

BBS


images from apartment therapy, shelter pop, cote de texas, Jessica Helgeison for design sponge, saragilbertinteriors.com, stumblehouse.com, House & Garden, and Barrie Spang

Good Time Gatherings

Friday night I enjoyed a wonderful evening at Gatherings Kitchen's Supper Club. It was a wonderful time spent with friends, old and new, preparing, cooking, and enjoying a wonderful meal.

Gatherings invites guests(paying, but still very much treated like guests in their home) into their commercial Kitchen every Friday to prepare a meal. When you arrive there are stations set up with the freshest ingredients and a recipe.

This week some of the veggies were even from Doug's(one of the owners) community garden.

Once you have settled in on what you want to prepare, you begin to dice, chop, and slice the ingredients.

It is such a fun and relaxed Kitchen. Lots of time to be social, learn some new techniques, and prepare an exciting meal which consists of two appetizers, soup, salad, entree, and dessert.

Even the "garbage tins" look amazing.

My friend and I chose to take on the salad course which involved grilling zucchini (the star ingredient of the evening), eggplant, and peppers on a HOT grill. We first marinated the sliced veggies in a mixture of olive oil and freshly chopped rosemary, thyme, parsley, and garlic with lots of salt and pepper. Yum.

The salad was served with french baguette slices that we also grilled topped with diced olives and roasted ricotta salata slices. It was such a nice combination of flavors.

Here is the main course, veal chops, getting ready for the grill and a peak at our grilled bread slices for the salad.

Here is one of the two appetizers we prepared. This was so yummy and unusual. Ruth, one of the owners, actually said this is the most complex app Supper Club has made. It is was a great combination of fingerling potatoes, guacamole, zucchini, shrimp, and a chive tie. So delicious. And beautiful too.

Here are my friends Maggie and Brooke sitting down to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I can't determine which I enjoy more about the evening. While I so enjoy the learning and cooking in the Kitchen, nothing beats the laughs, stories, and good times of sharing the meal with everyone.

The table after the long and delicious meal still looks beautiful!

Consider Gatherings Kitchen for a fun evening of cooking. The menu changes each month and it is always so interesting. Ruth and Doug do an outstanding job of making everyone feel at ease and comfortable in their Kitchen.

Supper Club is every Friday night. Reservations are a must and it is $ 55.00 per person which includes the meal. You may bring along your own spirits to enjoy while cooking and at dinner.

Go to http://www.gatheringskitchen.com/ or their Facebook page for more info.

Cheers,

BBS

all images belong to Barrie