12 Great Accent Tables.....

 I thought I would share this board from a past job.  This is not a complete room, but just  additions, to spruce up what the client already owned!  These items were added in several rooms but all pull from colors in a painting the client previously owned which was hanging in her family room.  Linking the colors from room to room gave her home continuity.  

 Do you need to add something to brighten up your home for spring?  It's easy to do with art, accessories, pillows, rugs or a little accent table.

This time of year makes me want to bring brighter colors inside, how bout you?

So let's talk accent tables...

Here are a few of my favorite  accent tables or as I like to call them

"Beverage Tables".  They would be great by a chair, tub, in front of a sofa or 

anywhere you need to find a place to perch something.   

1. Bliss Studio

2. Beeline Home

3. Bottoms Up Table from Beeline Home

4. Tassel Table

5. Diagram Table from Noir

  

6. Lotus Table from Baker

7. Tusk Table

8. Pfeifer Studio

9. Twist Bench

10 Garden stools in turq, white or black

11. Short stag table

11. Tall stag table

One of my all time favorites is the Le Lion by Jacques Garcia for Baker

It creates a dramatic statement in every room.

12. Le Lion by Baker

I have included the links for any of the tables you can buy directly online but the others are available through me.  I give my readers a great discount on to the trade items.  My e-decorating schedule for March is almost full but I could squeeze in a couple more projects if needed.    Email me at Lmende@gmail.com for pricing.

Hope you are having a great Thursday!  

To Use Marble or Not To Use Marble, That is The Question...

Tina Muller Design

Zoe Feldman Design

Fiorella Design

  While it is fun to design for others, it can be quite frustrating designing for myself.   I can think of about a thousand options for one solution.   Working alone, you quickly realize how important the client's opinion is to the design process.  Limits are placed on the design based on the client's needs, likes and dislikes which creates boundaries and narrows down options.  When working on my own project, I don't have those boundaries, so my mind is continually redesigning the space.  Since I don't have a design partner or assistant, there isn't anyone else to ask.  My family isn't any help either.  They don't really care!  "Whatever you like Mom or honey" is all I hear.  This can be good and bad!    

Why am I in a quandary over this decision?  If this was my forever house, it would be a no brainer, I would choose marble but we aren't!  We have been in this house for 17 years and chances are good we will move within the next few years.   


 If we were to sell the house, would marble be less  appealing to potential buyers?  
 This is the ever returning question that is holding up this design process.....

Do I go ahead and use the marble I love for my countertops or do I choose granite, which I know is better for resale, even though I am not really a granite kind of gal? I know I can also use soapstone, concrete, solid surface or Caesarstone, but it still comes down to marble or granite.  I choose marble over all those other options, but the issue is really resale.  

 Please give me your opinions!!!  Marble, love it or hate it?  

What about this option?  Have you seen IdealEdge by Formica?  

Looks pretty good here.  Has anyone used this...

The Formica Group

Bringing Natural Elements Inside....

 Remember the pieces of driftwood I purchased a couple of weeks ago?
If not, here are a couple of pics....


Driftwood was popular in the 60's and 70's and has recently made a come back in home decor.
I bought these pieces to make a wall sculpture for a client's dining room.

This morning, when trying to decide if I was going to part with them
 or go buy more for the client when I had a thought..


My favorite place in the world is the beach, so naturally I should
 have some things to remind me of my favorite place when I cannot be there, right?


  Here are some images that are not only appealing but remind me of my favorite place.  
Do you have reminders of your favorite getaway in your home?

This dining room by Bear Hill Interiors has always been one of my all time favorite dining rooms.  It has a capiz shell chandelier, a driftwood table, blue of the ocean in the art and the objects on the table.  If my eyes are seeing correctly, it looks as though the ceiling is painted blue like the sky.  The lack of a rug in room keeps the space casual and makes me think of nature.  I especially like the driftwood table base painted white for a softer look in this space. The bold punches of color are all colors found in nature. 


This space screams beach to me!...uhmmmm... so that's why I like so much!!!


How about you, do you like this space?

Bear Hill Interiors

Driftwood doesn't necessarily have to beachy connotation.  It could be what a room needs to add surprising element to keep the space from feeling too formal as in this room designed  by Tiffany Eastman Interiors.  The addition of the two driftwood side tables definitely adds an interesting element to this apartment in New York City.

Tiffany Eastman Interiors

This photo of a room designed by Christi Holcombe of Atlanta doesn't scream beach, but does remind me of the nature.  The soft flowing shape of the driftwood lamp is a perfect compliment to hard lines of the chevron and the greek key trim on the pillows.  The natural tone of the wood with this luscious green and the pillow fabric with tree trees and wildlife

 does reminds me of a walk in the forest! 

Christi Holcombe

Bringing the outdoors in is just what this bay window needed.  This table scape is
loaded with a great mix organic items.  The pops of red are dynamite!

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

Driftwood art by Life in the Fun Lane

This leads me to the question...are the most successful interiors, ones that bring in elements of nature?  I think so.  Do you have elements of nature in your home?  Plants, trees, birds, driftwood, wildlife, botanicals, good lighting?  

If you are interested in getting some nature inspired pieces for your home, 

here are some links to some items available online....

Driftwood Lamp from Neena's $369.00

This table from Crate and Barrel is like the one in the photo about in the bay window.

I can think of so many places this would look great.  

Crate and Barrel Table

Love this driftwood floor lamp from Arteriors.  It is available in white or natural.

Arteriors Driftwood Floor Lamp

Here is a table like the one in the first photo available online from All Drift Wood.com

AllDriftWood.com $2500.00

I have this tree stump table from West Elm in my own home and it is perfect beside a chair or grouped as shown below in front of a sofa.

West Elm Natural Tree Stump Table $199 each

Do you like natural elements?  

Would you incorporate it into your own home or that of your clients? 

Could You Get Sued for Pinning on Pinterest?

Dang!  There is always a party pooper!  

via

We all love Pinterest and have gone mad pinning all those coveted photos, but have you stopped to think that you could get sued for doing so?  This is a lot of hub bub going on about the potential lawsuits that could result from putting other people's work on the internet without their permission.  

Personally, I have been using Pinterest as a place to keep information I might want to refer to at a later date.  I don't just pin for the sake of pinning, but when I am reading a blog with info I  want to keep for later, like "how to paint a chest"  I pin it!  It's like a virtual filing cabinet for me.  I never thought about how it could be wrong.  I thought the people who started Pinterest had figured all the legal stuff out but guess what....they did for themselves but not for all of us!

I personally try to give the blog, or person I get my pin from the credit when I can identify where the photo came from but if I can't I just pin it anyway.  I have noticed that some pincers use the comments area  for making comments about the photos but not for giving credit to the owner of the photo.  

Ok to make comments, but please credit the author if you know who it is.  

Here are some links to articles which might make us all think....

Thanks to Elizabeth from The Mustard Ceiling for posting

BloggingwithAmy has great info on her site if you want to read more.

As for me, I am not going to delete my boards just yet but I will be careful to link to the original site and give the author credit.  I am also going to pin from site that have the Pinterest button.  I think I will be pinning less images too.  Also, I think much of this frustration has come from photography sites so I will not be pinning any of that unless I ask permission.  Form your own opinion and do what you feel it the best thing for you.  Please do not take anything I have written as advice just telling you what I am doing.  You make your own decisions...

We are headed to our family cabin this weekend for Karen and Will's (my nephew) engagement party!

I don't think I will get sued for using this engagement photo of the happy couple, since it was taken by my niece, Will's sister, Mary CharlesAnna, who is a professional photographer.  Check out her work here at MarySmiles website! She is very talented!  If you live in North Carolina and need a photographer,

 she's your girl! 

Photography by CharlesAnna Williams

(please don't repin without permission from MarySmiles)

Hopefully, I will have some fun photos of the party to share with you next week.  

Happy Friday!!!

Happy March!

I feel Spring in the air!   

Only 19 more days!  Since Spring is on the way, I thought I would show you this darling children's room which screams bright and cheery!  Designed by Andrika King Design and Nursery Notations.  Andrika is a Los Angeles based interior designer but was educated at The University of Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC.  Prior to becoming a designer of children's rooms, Andrika owned "Sprouts" a children's store located in Manhattan Beach, California. 

You can read more about Andrika King Design here. 

 If you would like to check out her blog click here!