feeling kinda spooky- my favorite 55 downing street product round up yet!

black is back.

NEW at high point market: 214 MODERN VINTAGE! #hpmkt

THE place to be this market- 214 modern vintage!

y'all have no idea how upset i am to be missing out on all the fun of the fall high point market- so many of my favorite peeps gathered to celebrate what's new and what's next in our industry.  i'm especially upset because if you know me, you know i loves my vintage modern, so when 5 of my friends from around the country (and some of the best vintage dealers out there) got together to open a store smack dab in teh middle of high point dedicated the finest in vintage modern furniture, art, lighting and accessories, and i found i couldn't be there to celebrate teh opening, i just done about lost my sh*t. so promise me you'll go in my stead and do some shopping for me? cuz seriously, i want just about everything in these photos!

AMAZING RIGHT?

the 214 modern vintage showroom is located at 214 e. kivett dr. in the heart of the market between IHFC and the hamilton-wrenn district- just around the corner from oly, and halo, and a few doors down from the new julian chichester showroom. they will be open during market 9-6 daily, with extended hours on friday and saturday until 8, when they might just pour you a glass of wine to soothe your aching feet. i really am friends with these fine folk, so if you mention my name, they will be extra nice to you, promise!

and so you can keep in touch with these awesome dealers after market is over and the 214 modern vintage showroom will only be open by appointment, the dealers are: steph schofield vintage home, tandem antiques and design, dinner party antiques, gillian bryce fine art and lewis trimble decorative arts- the best of the best on this list folks!

an interior designer's perspective on blogging and social media, and why it's important (a design camp OC wrap up).

last friday i was honored to join paloma contreras of la dolce vita and julie thigpen of belle maison onstage at design camp orange county, the fab 2 day intensive learning/networking experience put together by lori dennis & kelli ellis.  while paloma and julie taught teh assembled campers how to blog the right way, with dedication, and with professional tools like an editorial calendar and a press kit (neither of which i have), i sort of took the slacker approach, of "hey, it's better to do something rather than nothing", cuz, hey, it's worked for me, so why not?
 here's some highlights from my presentation, already posted on instagram:

this was my opening laugh, cuz if you are doing social media purely for the monetary rewards, boy,  are you barking up the wrong tree!

  the point of this slide is that when i started, i had no clue what i was doing, but i started anyway... because i was desperate to increase exposure for my interior design business. by the time people actually started paying attention to me, i had figured out a lot of the kinks and didn't look so stupid. the same holds true for anyone starting out in social media, when you make your first big fuckups- and you will- nobody is following you anyway, so just go for it and figure the rest out along the way.
this is pretty self-explanatory. no one knew or cared who i was before i started blogging, but now, things are different- i have a platform to tell my story- or any story i choose to- and get it out there, and crazily enough, it reaches a lot of people through my various social media outlets. how many people, i don't know or care, but it reaches the right people, and that's what i care about, so thank you for coming here and being one of them.
and this was my concluding slide with a couple of instagrams from project finished this summer, and again, the point of this slide is pretty self-explanatory: just do it. don't worry about not having the time, or not knowing what your are doing, cuz trust me- if lil ol' backwards me can figure out instagram and blogger and twitter and facebook, so can you. the time thing is always an issue, but isn't that the story of our lives? but we have to make time to be our own cheerleaders, because if we don't value our businesses enough to cheer them on, how can we expect others to?

anyhoo, those are some highlights from my presentation, and i suggest you book early for design camp vegas summer 2014- it's not to be missed!  oh, lori and kelli and my friend lisa mende will also be dropping some knowledge this week at high point, so if you are there, don't miss these dynamite ladies in person!

thomas pheasant- simply serene

one of the fun parts of this blogging business is getting review copies of books by interior designers whose work i sincerely admire, so i was delighted when rizzoli sent me a copy of "thomas pheasant: simply serene".  mr. pheasant's rooms are always just that, serene, and as a furniture designer for baker, he has created numerous pieces i love, including the "arcade" table which i think is a true modern classic (used in the dining room in first picture below). this is a gorgeous book, full of beautiful interiors and photography, so do order one for your own collection- you won't regret it.

see? gorgeousness. on my coffee table for easy access, as i'm a little obsessed right now.

a gallery wall of mirrors, my latest on 55 downing st! (and some lamps plus fun!)

this week's post over at 55 downing st is about creating a gallery style wall of mirrors- something i've been dying to try with a client. i've selected a great roundup of mirrors, all under $300 bucks.

source: lovelivinghomes on instagram 

also, last week, i had the pleasure of meeting 55 downing st.'s chief creative officer (and mrs. lamps plus) manja swanson, at a modenus #blourtourLA event at the lamps plus west LA store. she probably is regretting having mr. decorative but not serious associated with her brand:
(i'm pictured with new friend yvonne blacker, and my home girl, ashlina kaposta aka the decorista) i was too busy mugging for the camera to take showroom photos, but here's a pretty vignette from the showroom to show you what lamps plus has been up to these days- kinda fun, right?

ps-the lamps from teh color+plus collection are available in 300 bajillion colors. no lie.

an interior designer's top picks from westedge design fair in santa monica (note my use of keywords ;-)

tracy hiner of black crow studios was EVERYWHERE, and the "colliezone agata" mural wallpaper she designed with brenda houston was my number one pick of the show. GO TRACY!

the first westedge design fair was a hit in santa monica this weekend, and i'm already looking forward to to next year! as a world capital of design, los angeles needs more design venues to showcase both our unique local products as well as bring design from around the world to LA.

crazily enough, tracy even sold some of our "memphis" wallpaper collection at the show- though we didn't even show it!

more black crow studios/brenda houston goodness. PS_ MADE IN LA!

my second favorite thing at teh show where these pitch perfect brass and glass sconces by zia-priven. a lil bit deco, a lil bit 60's italian and enough classic "right now" to make me anxious to use them in a project soon!

all of zia-priven's new stuff was right on the mark. ps- MADE IN LA!

here are the rest of my picks, though not in any order- loved them all!

it is beyond time to banish stainless steel from teh kitchen and return color and fun to home cooking. home kitchens should feel like a home, not a restaurant or professional catering kitchen! so naturally, we loved this bertazonni oven.

the mixed metals leafed mirror from egg collective caught my eye immediately.

as did these hex tables- prettier when not blurry! ;-)

actually, i liked everything in the egg collective booth- rare that!

this shower head from gessi is a minimalist marvel! wish it came in polished brass though!

loved the sleek and finely crafted pieces from khouri guzman bunce ltd, like this standing mirror. 

check out the details- so beautiful. kgb ltd

this oven by willmotte for la cornue, rocked my world. the freestanding cooktop was amazing too, but the crowds around it didn't allow for a photo op.

detail of the sexy legs on teh willmotte la cornue collaboration

patrick weder's light sculptures and calico's amazing wallpaper are too freakin hot together. this was my favorite vignette of the show.

gold barstools from phase- yes please!

these floorlamps also by phase are too darn hot!

these wood hex tiles in teh thermador booth by jamie beckwith were SO SICK! i might not use them behind an open flame as shown, but as god is mah witness, they will be used in a maison21 project soon!

i went crazy for the knurling detail on michael berman's new line of faucets for rohl. elevating the industrial to an almost jewel-like chicness! glad to see a talented local designer taking it to a national level! go MB!

this pendant by brandon morrison's whyrhymer line is too cool- love the organic modernism feel. PS_ MADE IN LA! 

last, BDDW is always a favorite, but this happy little stool wanted to come home with me so bad. 

great show, westedge- looking forward to next year! and phew- off to the los angeles antiques show tomorrow night for more design show goodness! lovin' LA design in the fall!