Thibaut New Collections for Spring 2014 - High Point Market

I just received the new "Enchantment" wallpaper book by Thibaut and can't wait to see their beautiful showroom

at High Point Market.  I honestly loved every paper in the book.  Here is a sneak peek of a few favorites, make sure to visit the Thibaut website for the full collection.....

{click here to see more of the collection...}

Loloi Rugs - Sneak Peek of " Dann Foley's Palm Springs Collection"

I want to introduce you to one of my recent find, Loloi Rugs, one of the industry's most trusted and preferred sources!  I can't wait to tell you more about this amazing company but before I do, let me share their newest "Palm Springs" Collection with world renowned Interior Designer, Dann Foley to get your attention!

Have you ever seen so many great rug patterns in one collection?  Dann and Loloi Rugs( pronounced just as it is spelled Lo-Loi) hit it out of the park with this collection.  

{Click Here is you would like to see more...}

Currey & Co at April High Point Market 2014

Shown are the Forum Chandelier, Dasia Rug and Stillwood Table by Currey & Co

 Here is a sneak peek of a few of my favorites from Currey & Company's new collection for April High Point Market 2014.  I can't wait to see more! Currey & Co is always one of my favorite showrooms to visit during High Point Market.  Why?  They always delight with fabulous new products beautifully displayed and delicious food and drinks, while being entertained with lively music.  There is always a party of fun people at Currey! Their "Pr Maven" Bethanne Matari rolls out the red carpet and greets everyone with a smile!  At Currey & Co everyone gets the royal treatment.  I love southern hospitality don't you?

Ok, ok…I'll show a couple more pieces!

(click here to continue reading and see more…)

Last market, Currey & Co introduced The Shannon Koszyk's  collection and it was so well received!  Here's a new piece of Shannon's for this market.  It's called the Prophecy Chandelier and it's dripping with deconstructed glamour.  Shannon is a jewelry designer ,who happens to also design lighting for Currey & Co.  Her lighting designs are definitely jewelry for the room.  I really enjoyed getting to know Shannon last market.  She is such a nice as well as very talented lady.  I fell in love with her designs in Currey & Co, as well as her jewelry designs, which she had as part of her display.  I hope she brings more jewelry this market, I might buy a piece this time!

I know you are dying to see more from Currey's new collection, so I decided to share a few more pieces...

The "Frock" Chandelier has a decidedly feminine silhouette.

I love the organic shape of the "Zephyr" Table lamp and that green color is yummy.  

Ok, so I saved a fabulous piece for last….

Isn't this a beautiful chandelier?  What a statement this piece would make over a dining table or a kitchen island.  Wow!  Just think, this is a tiny peek at the new collection.  I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see the rest.  If you are attending High Point Market, make sure to put Currey & Co on your market schedule of "must sees".   I promise you won't be disappointed!  

Barclay Buterra for Highland House

 Why hello there sexy emerald leather chair!  If I could pick you up and take you home with me I would!  I have just the place for you!  

Isn't this a fabulous looking chair?  I almost flipped when I saw it!  It's part of Barclay Butera's new licensed collection of upholstery, case goods and occasional accents for Highland House.  The new collection consists of 83 pieces of furniture for living, dining, family room and bedroom. I am dying to see the rest of the collection, which will be unveiled at April's High Point Market.  If you are attending market, make sure you put this on your must see list.  (P.S. Style Spotters take note!!!)

I know there will be lots of drool worthy goodness to

 be seen here!!!

(Click here to see a couple more sneak peeks of the collection....)

Happy Birthday to My Blog and to Me!

Via

Today is my birthday and also the 3rd anniversary of my blog.  I have never celebrated my blog anniversary so "here's to my first blogiversary" celebration.  You've been so good to me dear blog!  You have introduced me to amazing people who have become great friends, taken me on fabulous trips and generally bought me much happiness each day since I began writing you.   Even though your birth was born out of tragedy, it is proof that good things can come from bad things.  

{Click here to continue reading….}

Last Day of Spring Break

Spring Break officially ends today.  We had a fabulous trip to Florida.  These pictures are a few of the images I shared on instagram while we were away.  Our internet coverage was spotty, as I knew it would be but I thought I fixed the potential problem by I buying a hotspot prior to leaving.  Of course we used up all the GB for our plan and then some, so we are now on limited use only.  My husband cringes everytime we get a text that we have used up yet another GB of data.  I'm not sure when it is going to end! 

It was nice to be in Florida where it was warm and sunny everyday but one.  It was relaxing to be away and carefree.

We had great food and family time.  We learned about the red  and black mangrove trees on our kayak tour, ate at Bern Steakhouse and Oxford Exchange of Tampa, Roy's in Orlando and the Bubble Room in Captiva to name a few.  We made new friends who have Chapel Hill connections.  We enjoyed the pool at Tween Waters and the beach.  We especially enjoyed the sunsets each afternoon.  Tomorrow will come early!  It's back to the grind.  Can't wait to see what has been going on at Studio 202 while I've been away.  I hear it's coming right along!  So, it's back to work and school we go. 

But first, we have a Carolina game to watch and a ton of laundry to do!  Enjoy your Sunday with family and friends!

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A STYLE SPOTTER AT HIGH POINT MARKET

   

Have you ever wanted to be a Style Spotter at High Point Market?   I have been a Style Spotter for the past three High Point Markets so I can attest to the hard work it takes to be a good style spotter.  It might look easy when we are pinning products to the Pinterest boards ,but I can promise you, a lot of hard work went into curating those important trends.

Current High Point Style Spotter Panel April 2014

So what exactly does a style spotter do and who are these style spotters?  Each year the High Point Market choses a panel of industry professionals to shop the market and pin their favorite picks of top trends found at market on the High Point Style Spotter Pinterest board.  Typically, the members of the High Point Style Spotter panel are designers, design bloggers, magazine editors and celebrity designers who have a strong social media presence and a finger on the pulse of what's happening in the furniture industry.   They look for emerging trends and spotlight what will be hot for the year in home decor as far as color, product and trends go.

I was the only designer ever chosen to receive a coveted spot on the panel through a contest sponsored by Olioboard.  Luckily, I won a spot on the next market's panel through the votes my pins received thanks to all of you.  

This year the Style Spotters are not competing in a contest.  They will simply work together to curate a wonderful selection of  the newest trends and hottest products shown at the April Market.  If you want to try your hand at Style Spotting you must do your homework, it isn't as simple as it seems.

Here are some pointers for preparing for style spotting:

1) Print Materials - Prior to market start looking through magazines, newspapers and online for new colors, products and possible trends.  Editors usually get new products, trends pitched to them so they see the new things first.

2) The Fashion Runway, is typically a great indication of what might be happening next in Home Decor when it comes to fabrics, patterns and popular color palettes.

3) Pantone Color of the Year - Check out the Pantone colors of the season, these will always give clues to popular emerging color palettes

4) European Markets - If you have the opportunity to shop the European markets they are often ahead of the trend curve so what you see there is often seen in our markets a little later.

5) Large Industry Companies - Reach out to your favorite companies, and ask them what they are projecting for the  season's latest trends.  The larger companies have specialist who do market research to discover the upcoming trends, so they aren't investing millions of dollars into something that isn't going to be the latest and greatest.

6) Intuition - Often, if I see a color palette in wallpaper or fabrics I like, it's because it is something new that is coming.  I always trust my instincts when it comes to my reaction to new products, colors and fabrics.

7) Follow the High Point Style Spotters -  Make sure you sign up to follow the High Point Market's Style Spotters this April Market.  This is one of the best panels yet! They will take all the work out of the process for you!

Do you have any other ways to discover clues 

to emerging trends?

Click Here to See The List of Fabulous

April 2014 High Point Market Style Spotters!

If you are a Design Industry Professional who would like to be considered as a style spotter Here's the link to apply but wait til next fall since the current style spotters serve for 2014!

If you are interested in Style Spotting on your own for April Market look for my upcoming post next week on how to spot trends while Shopping as High Point April 2014 Market.

Make sure to follow the High Point Style Spotters on instagram and Pinterest.  Of course I also want you to follow Lisa Mende Design, as I will be posting trends I spot while shopping for clients.  If you don't currently follow High Point Market on instagram click here to stay up on trends and event happenings during the market in real time.

Click Here to Follow my High Point Market April 2014 Pinterest Board to see my favorite trends, products and fun finds during the High Point April 2014 Market week.  It's going to be fun, fun, fun!!  If you are a design professional, don't miss market, it's a must!!! Don't miss out!!!  

A Must Read for Designers by Steve Noble & Bill Wittland

{click to continue reading….}

Do You Know About D&L Candles?

Recently, I had the good fortune of winning a beautiful D&L Candle on twitter.  I wasn't familiar with this candle line so I was pleasantly surprised and delighted when a beautifully designed box arrived at my door.  As you can see the packaging is exquisite.  The candle I won was "Turkish Delight".  I must say it is a wonderful scent.  
{click to keep reading.....}

Lucy Williams - Welcome to Studio 202!

Introducing Lucy Addison Williams

Lucy is was born and raised in Richmond, Virgina.  She earned her degree from the University of Georgia in art education and then continued her studies at Lorenzo De'Medici Art Institute in Florence, Italy.  Her art education was further enhanced by employment at Sotheby's in New York City for two years before prior to working as an Interior Designer in Charleston, Sc and with Lee Jofa at the Denver Design Center.  An accomplished Interior Designer, Lucy began painting for projects in her own home and once clients saw her work, commissioned her to paint for them.  She is a prime example of "do what you love and the rest will follow"

Lucy currently write a blog called Lucy Williams Interior Design where she chronicles life as a designer and gives readers a peek into her projects.  

We are thrilled to have Lucy in Studio 202!!!

 Lucy Williams, is one of the five artist, we will be featuring in Studio 202, the new design home of  Traci Zeller and myself opening in April 2014. 

I first found Lucy on Pinterest and fell in love with her beautiful abstract paintings.  The colors she uses in her paintings are so bright and cheerful.  I immediately went on a google search to find out who this talented person was and how I could connect with her.  When I discovered that Lucy was not only an artist, but also an accomplished interior designer, I was really intrigued.  Hmm.. Talented, southern, designer...win, win, win or as my friend Jason Oliver Nixon would say "wink", which means she was given the "golden nod of approval". I showed Lucy's art to Traci and she agreed we simply had to have Lucy in our studio.  

 Traci and I want to feature a few selectively chosen artists, that speak to our design aesthetic in the studio, in an effort to offer works that appeals to our clients, who want original art. We still love local galleries, and will continue to promote them as well, but wanted to feature a few artists, that aren't otherwise represented in Charlotte.

 When Lucy arrived last week with her art, we instantly fell in love with Lucy the person.  She is beautiful...hmm I might be a little jealous she were't so dang nice.  If Lucy lived in Charlotte, we would insist she become a studio partner with us in more ways than art.  

Visit her blog to check out her amazing interior design. 

Lucy has Charlotte connections too. She is cousin to Lee Addison Lesley of Addison Weeks jewelry line.  Obviously talent runs in the family!   Traci and I are both big fans of Addison Weeks as well.  Traci has one particular necklace that gets rave reviews every time she wears it.  

Check out some of Lucy's paintings..... 

This is a small sampling of Lucy's work.  She has a wide range and can paint bright and bold or soft and dreamy.

  If you have interest in procuring a Lucy Williams painting for your home please contact us!  Lucy is also available for commission work.  Make sure to follow Lucy's blog to see more of the world of Lucy Williams!

Follow Lucy on her social channels:

Pinterest

Facebook

P.S. Happy St Paddy's Day, May the luck of the Irish be yours today and always!

Studio 202 Update!

As most of you know by now, if you read our blogs,  Traci Zeller Designs and I have decided to share studio space.  Our new studio is suite 202 in Providence Plaza in Charlotte, NC, henceforth, we shall be referring the the studio as Studio 202.

Since everyone loves a good before and after,

  I thought it would be fun to chronicle the journey of our studio renovation each week on the blog, but until yesterday, there really wasn't much to share.  Now that we are actually making progress, I plan to give a Studio 202 update each Friday until we finish, if you would like to follow along. 

It took time to get our lease negotiated, renovation approvals and insurance documents in place, but we are now ready to roll.  Things will happen fast.  Traci and I are ready for the transformation to happen!  

Before 

As much as we wanted to tear out the entire dropped ceiling, it really wasn't in the budget. We decided to remove the textured tiles and replace them with smooth tiles.  The verdict is still out on whether we will leave them white or paint them. Once the tiles were out this morning, it was really a lot colder in the studio, so I think we will be glad in the long run that we have a nine foot ceiling instead of a 14 foot one. 

During...

I know you think this is lovely and we should leave it, right?  Not!  This room will be getting a major facelift.  Pretty  wallpaper will line these walls, as well as new bath fixtures and hardware.  We must keep things ADA compliant, so we can't  do everything we wanted to do, but we have compromised to meet code and will achieve a look we will enjoy daily in the studio.

There is so much left to do, but we have a game plan, which is most important.  Everyday we check something else off the list.  Today, Traci and I are meeting to make final selections on chairs for our vintage conference table(the table is Henredon and it's fabulous!).  Hopefully, we will have more to share next week.  

On another note....

We have retained several artists who are partnering with us to line our walls with original art.  One of the artist, dropped off the beautiful piece of art below, along with four other gorgeous pieces on Friday.  Look for a blog post about this amazing lady here on the blog on Monday!  How lucky are we to have such talent in our studio!

Come back on Monday to find out about our first artist featured for the studio!  Until then, have a fabulous Saturday doing things you enjoy, with people you love! 

KITCHEN DESIGN NETWORK "RENOVATION WORKSHOP" GIVEAWAY!!!!

Have you ever dreamed of what it would be like if a seasoned kitchen designer shared her renovation knowledge with you?  What if she were to open her bag of tricks and offer to train you for a day, give you tips and share her knowledge of years of doing kitchen renovation?  What if she shared was willing to share  resources,  teach you how to work with clients, present design boards and give you guidelines to make renovating kitchens so much easier and more efficient?

 Now You Can Do Just That!

Rebecca Reynolds and Lori Gilder, 

Award Winning Kitchen Designers have

created The Kitchen Design Network's 
Renovation Workshop

To Share Their Kitchen Renovation
 Knowledge with You!

 EXPAND YOUR SKILL SET!

INCREASE YOUR REVENUE!

GROW YOUR BUSINESS

PLAN AND PREPARE FOR GROWTH

 IN YOUR 2014 DESIGN BUSINESS.

What does this awesome workshop cost???

{Click Here To Continue Reading to Find Out the Price....}

Dana Gibson for Stroheim

Via

Designer Dana Gibson was first introduced to the public through Henri Bendel, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.  I remember spying the toile painted lamp above in the window of a shop and racing home to the computer to madly search for its origin.  After a few failed attempts, I discovered it was Dana Gibson creation. I also found a website full of delightful home accessories, in bright, bold patterns rooted in traditional design.  Upon further search, I discovered Dana's southern roots(kindred southerner), as well as gift of artistic talent, inherited from generations of artists in her family.  Her mother is a painter, her grandmother was a sculptor and her great grandfather was Charles Dana Gibson, a noted painted and sculptor from the turn of the century.  I quickly became a fan of Dana's work.   She has been creating artistic work for over 15 years, but I must say her latest collection with Stroheim is the best one yet!  Imagine my delight to stumble upon her new line with Stroheim while at the Design Bloggers Conference last week.  I was so excited I immediately instagrammed a picture to designer friends at DBC and told them to check it out! 

{click here to see the collection...}

Wood-Mode Cabinetry - The Ultimate In Kitchen Cabinetry

Via

If the kitchen is the heart of the home don't we all want to create the best kitchen possible in our own homes?  When we have guests over, somehow, no matter how hard I try, we almost always end up in the kitchen.  My comfy living room sofa sits empty while we all perch around the kitchen.  It's where my children prefer to do their homework and where we prepare all of our family meals.  Doesn't it stand to reason that our kitchens should be as pretty and well made as possible? 

{Click here to continue reading....} 

HOUSE BEAUTIFUL ANNUAL CHAIR CHASE

IT'S TIME FOR THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL ANNUAL

 CHAIR CHASE!

This year's annual chair giveaway will take place in New York City Friday, March 14th with a new,green twist, thanks to help from the Sustainable Furnishings Council. Follow #hbchairs on House Beautiful's Twitter account for clues to specific locations all around NYC.

{click here to continue reading the post & find out how to win...}