The new Living Lavishly magazine is here! I’m so impressed with how this magazine has grown over the past couple of years. I still remember the conversation over coffee with the publisher on how our town was in need of a fun shelter magazine. The next thing I knew Living Lavishly was born. It’s been a pleasure to write and illustrate for the magazine on what I love, DESIGN! Pick one up today or read it on-line here!
The New Living Lavishly Magazine Is Out!
Happy Friday everyone! Have you seen it yet? The New Living Lavishly magazine is out. I have some fun articles in there to show you how simple it is to design and decorate your home. If your not local, you can read the issue online here.
These are just a few of the fun articles in the latest magazine! Pick one up today! They're FREE. Also, if you like learning these fun decor tips, come see me speak at the Home Expo on Saturday, September 17th at 1:30, Madonna Expo Center! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Shop Ten 25's Fall Lookbook Is Here!
Such a beautiful collection of items from Shop Ten 25, my favorite place to shop for beautiful home accessories! I am thrilled to be interviewed in their "Vendor Spotlight"! Check it out here!!!
Get The Look From Studio Ten 25!
I just had to repost this Gorgeous Mood Board that the incredibly talented Abbe Fenimore (OMG! Watch the video!) put together on her blog today. The colors are so fresh and inviting, I seriously want to "Get The Look" for my own home and I was even more thrilled to see our Ballet TuTu Art Print included!
Make sure you take a minute and pop over to her shop because she has added new categories and beautiful new products! Seriously one of the best places to shop on the web for gorgeous Home Decor! StudioTen25.com
Happy Friday!
It was a little foggy and cold this morning when I snapped this pic. A peek at a little corner in the studio and my obsession with tassels. ha ha Wishing you all a very Happy Friday & Weekend! xo
Happy National Dog Day!
Living with animals adds so much joy to our lives. We have two sister kitties and apparently a little outdoor kitty has recently adopted us. We also used to have the most wonderful black Labnamed Marly but she passed away after a long and happy life. The only reason we don’t have a dog now is because, this one, is just not over her.
I have learned many things living with animals over my life, most importantly their unconditional love. These little creatures make me laugh on a daily basis and are right there next to me when I am sick. They are loyal and loveable so I have always felt that they should be treated with love and respect. xo
Happy Bamboo Friday!
A designer once said to me, “You should always have one piece of Asian furniture in your home.” I never asked her exactly why but I can imagine it’s to show that you are worldly? I thought it was kind of funny actually because I don’t think you should have anything in your home that you don’t find to be useful or that you absolutely love. I happen to love anything chinoiserie so I suppose I would have this designers approval, not that I would even care. Decorate your home with what you Love!
In honor of the fantastic designer Parker Kennedy and his Bamboo Fridays, this one is for you! Happy Friday y'all!
Decor Amour For The Pink Pagoda!
I feel so blessed. Really...
I adore the wonderful people I have met here on the www! Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda is incredibly talented and truly a wonderful human being. I love collaborating with her and our creative brain storming together! It's really wonderful when people can connect on a creative level and working with her has been exceptional. I was just thrilled when I saw this Mood Board she created with "Beatrice" the Zebra. It is so colorful and whimsical! If this is for a little girl then I want to be 10 again! :-) You can get all the details on her blog.
Things Are Getting A Little Wild Around Here!
I love a little animal print! “Little” being the important word here. Animal prints can be very bold so think about just using one type of print and selectively placing it in an area of impact. In other words, be conservative.
I also love animals so please only use the faux versions. I adore the look of a fabulous faux zebra rug angled on the floor. It makes me think this person must be well traveled or at least they are quite adventurous, but I really don’t want it to be a real skin. That just makes me sad. You can easily create the story of the well traveled person without harming anyone! Do not even get me started on elephant tusks! Those only belong to the elephant!
Some places you might consider adding a little “Roar” would be on the seat of a chair, an accent pillow, a rug, or a throw blanket. If you want to add animal print wallpaper, you may want to consider using it on an accent wall or on the back-side of a book case. Just a splash of animal reads sophisticated. Animal prints on all four walls would feel like a safari gift shop.
If you’re just not that person who can see yourself living with a wall covered in zebra stripes, it may suite you better to hang a painting of a zebra but I’m personally a fan of a little animal pattern play in a room. It fits my personality. It’s a design motif you can easily try without a whole lot of commitment or you can just get yourself a fabulous kitty cat, that will do the trick too!
1 Designer Jana Beck's Gorgeous Brush Stroke Lamp Coming Soon! // 2 Cameron Gold Leaf Black Velvet Chair From ShopTen25 prrrrrr // 3 Gold Leaf Square Table also from ShopTen25 //4 "Beatrice" The Zebra Exclusively Painted By Muah For The Pink Pagoda 5 Jonathan Adler Zebra Rug from Zinc Door
A Petite "Beatrice"!
Yesterday I was picking up prints of "Beatrice" to ship out & my wonderfully talented printer included this small 6" x 8" proof! It was such a lovely surprise! Thank you Les at Palette Arts! You are the B-E-S-T! Beatrice is exclusively available at The Pink Pagoda! Happy Hump Day y'all!
Thank You Chinoiserie Chic For The Lovely Feature!
I literally LOVE to see how people style my paintings and my textiles! I almost fell off my chair when I saw how Beth from Chinoiserie Chic put together this beautiful design board on her Fablulous Friday Finds blog post! It is simply stunning & I think I need to have that ceramic zebra in my life! Thank you so much Beth! Make sure you check out her gorgeous blog & while you're at it, head over to The Pink Pagoda where you can purchase Beatrice The Zebra! A special thank you and shout out to Jennifer as well because it was her vision of a whimsical zebra that inspired my painting....AND if it wasn't for the wonderful Linda of Calling It Home we would have never met. It was her One Room Challege that brought us together, so a huge Thank You to you too Linda! Wow! So much goodness & it's Friday! I think it's time to call it quits and have a celebratory glass of champs!
New! Exclusively For The Pink Pagoda!
I'm not sure why this is, but the Nicest People live in Texas! Over the past few years I have had the pleasure to collaborate with some of the most talented designers in that state. Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda is no exception! I was thrilled when we connected on Instagram. I admire her beautiful blog and sense of design, in her own artwork as well as her interior design. When she reached out to me with a few ideas I was honestly quite flattered and excited to work with her! She discribed to me her vision of porcelean elephants with her blue & white pottery on top and whimsical flowers...in pink, of course! This is what I came up with. You can now purchase the 16" x 20" prints exclusively in her shop, which is Loaded with other gorgeous treasures that you must check out!
We also played around with the idea of a zebra and pink flowers. The first go around I came up with "Juliette" (seen on my previous post & now available in my shop) and now you can meet her Shakesperian sister "Beatrice" in The Pink Pagoda's Shop!
Introducing Juliette!
Lately I've had the pleasure to work with a really lovely designer-blogger! Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda & I have been collaborating on a fun little project we will be sharing with you this week! Jennifer had some wonderful ideas that she had asked me to illustrate for her website. It was so much fun that I had to make a sister painting for my own Shop. Meet Juliette! She is part of my new Cabanna Collection. She plays very nicely with my New Zebra Pillows too! Oh So Safari Chic! Make sure to back this week to see what we've come up with tgether!
A Little Safari Chic To Kick Off Your Summer!
So excited about these new designs! I've been dreaming in Pink & Blue! Available in my Shop this week! -AND- Stay tuned for June's Free Wall Paper I designed for the The Pink Pagoda and YOU!!!!
Let's Work Together!
My word for 2014 is "Collaboration" and this year I have worked with so many wonderful shops, designers & bloggers. I love it and realized this is something I would most certainly like to continue to do. My latest project is with the lovely Jennifer, from The Pink Pagoda. Here's a sneak peek of my new watercolors that will be available exclusively on her site! More details to come soon!
If you're interested in having your own exclusive art created for your shopping site or clients, shoot me an email!!
One Room Challenge - Week 5 - My Heart Of Gold!
This week was crazy because my daughter's U15 soccer team Won State Cup!!! Woohoo! It was pretty incredible for this small town, made the local news and all that fun stuff, sooooo of course then we had to throw a HUGE celebratory party for about 60 or so at our house last night which put a little glitch in my plans to finish all my "To Do's" for my studio refresh.
I did however do a little rug shopping this week. I fell in love with a black & white striped rug from World Market but then when I read the care tag I thought, "Na betta not." BECAUSE it read... "We recommend a rug pad since color may blead onto your floor....AND...this rug is NOT flame retardant and does Not pass USA standards." Well, OK then, that was an easy decision! Yikes! So I'm still looking but I think I've found the one!
I did fall in Amour with lots of Desk Accessories I illustrated in my prior post AND I did get the first couple coats of my "Heart Of Gold" up on the wall.
Still a couple coats to go!!!
Please make sure to check out Calling It Home & all the other amazing blogger/designers making beauty in the world!
Abby M Interiors // Because It's Awesome // Bijou & Boheme // Calling It Home // Chez V //
Chinoiserie Chic // Copy Cat Chic // The Decorista // Design Crisis // Design Indulgence //
Design Manifest // The English Room // The Glam Pad // Little Black Door // Momosa Lane //
My Notting Hill // The Pink Pagoda // Simple Details // My Sweet Savannah // Veranda House
Decor <3 Amour - Desk Accessories I Love! Week 5 of the One Room Challenge
Week 5 of The One Room Challenge involved painting my Heart Of Gold for my gallery wall, sourcing a rug (that's a funny story - I'll share tomorrow!) and shopping for desk accessories. I realized when shopping that I was, just a tad, over my budget but just LOVED these items I found. This is my Decor <3 Amour; Desk Accessories I Love & am kind of obsessed with!!!
Some things that are a must for me on my desk are Always fresh flowers, good lighting (I'm obsessed with this lamp!!!!), & a pretty note pad to jot down thoughts on a whim. I keep seeing this Day Designer organizer by Whiney English. Does anyone have it? Would you recommend? It's just lovely to look at so I can only imagine it must be wonderful inside too!
I'm also just in LOVE with everything from Times Two Design & this acrylic business card holder is no exception, it's even PINK People!!! Love, Love, Love! Having that on my desk would make me happy everyday! Of course having a donut on my desk would make me happy too but that wouldn't be very healthy. I do however, Love my coffee! Roar!
And who says function can't be pretty too? A-Dorable Bow paperclips, erasers & clock are all from Kate Spade, who else?
That's pretty much my list of items I would Amour to have on my desk!
Huge celebration dinner party tonight for my Daughter's Team winning State Cup...of course it's at my house! I may be a little late but I will post my One Room Challenges for Week 5 tomorrow!
1 Jana Brass Adjustable Table Lamp from ShopTen25.com 2 Times Two Design Acrylic Card Holder from ShopTen25.com 3 Acrylic Stapler from DesignDarling.com
One Room Challenge - Week 4 - Studio Refresh!
Week 4 of the One Room Challenge started off with a pleasant surprise. My "back ordered" desk arrived on Monday! It was the funniest thing when I saw Emilie of Shell and Chinoiserie post on Instagram that her Same Exact Desk arrived on her porch, at the Same Exact Time mine was delivered in California! C-R-A-Z-Y!
BTW I LOVE the Desk! My husband had it all put together for me when I got home & I couldn't be more pleased with it.
I have to back track just a little though. This One Room Challenge was incredible inspiration for me. I spent a few days, literally, Spring Cleaning like a crazy woman! I cleaned out my closet, my girl's closet, my storage room, my garage, my laundry room AND MY STUDIO! We donated a truck load to Good Will and found all kinds of things that had been missing! So Thank You Calling It Home because I'm not sure if I would have done it without this fun challenge!
This week I also purchased all the frames for my gallery wall and the other supplies I would need to make my "Heart Of Gold" design work. I prepped the wall and made my heart template out of some left over cardboard.
I also found this painting in my storage. I painted her over 20 years ago. The painting is called "Forgiveness". It was part of my first ever "One Woman Art Exhibit" in San Luis Obispo & later, San Francisco. I was right out of college and ready, but terrified, to show my work as an artist. It reminds me of where I came from on this long journey as an artist and a designer. So out she came and up onto the wall again. As an Interior Designer (my day job) I always tell my clients to buy art that makes them happy, or tells a story. I also want them to know about the artist and what the inspiration is for their paintings. I find that so much more meaningful when a home is designed with that kind of attention to detail and support of the arts.
I just posted this picture on my Instagram and... Oh My! it sparked the funniest thread of comments! Jennifer from TheChicPad was absolutely killing me with her comments about what we designers put our pour husbands through all for the sake of making things pretty!! She basically said that her husband thinks the sound of spray paint is one of the most terrifying sounds! LMAO...and it just goes on and on...sigh...still laughing...
The cat I found cleaning my studio and brought back such happy memories of when my girls were little. I just had to give her a coat of Gold!
And other items received the Midas Touch this week as you can see! I was thrilled to find my card holder shelves in my garage! Another Perk of Spring Cleaning! I had these in my boutique years ago and can't wait to use them again to organize my greeting card line.
And the knob update. Yes, I painted the existing ones Gold & No I'm not sure if I'll keep them because I am still on the hunt for ones that I really love. I'm also still hunting for a rug. Today I'm going to purchase a black and white striped one to try out. Next week I hope to finish my gallery wall & find the perfect accessories to finish it off!
Please make sure to check out Calling It Home & all the other amazing blogger/designers making beauty in the world!
Abby M Interiors // Because It's Awesome // Bijou & Boheme // Calling It Home // Chez V //
Chinoiserie Chic // Copy Cat Chic // The Decorista // Design Crisis // Design Indulgence //
Design Manifest // The English Room // The Glam Pad // Little Black Door // Momosa Lane //
My Notting Hill // The Pink Pagoda // Simple Details // My Sweet Savannah // Veranda House
One Room Challenge - Week 3 - Studio Refresh
Week 3 of the One Room Challenge was full of Ups & Downs...literally, lights went Up & old artwork came Down! I spent a good 2 days cleaning out my studio. Talk about some spring cleaning! After everything was rearranged, dusted off, and looking good again, I took down the old art I had on my wall to get ready to prep and paint my "Heart Of Gold".
Grrrr.... bummer #1. I had forgotten about some adhesive stickers that were still stuck to the wall from a former bulletin board. Ugg! So off to the garage to find my Goof Off! I'll be tackling that in the days to come.
The good news is I have light! I had to tackle a wiring issue and it was well worth the wait! Two sparkling sconces! I love them! Check mark that off the list!
This week I also ordered my desk! But, Bummer #2, it's on back order! Hopefully I'll have it in time! The price was reasonable. I looked at quite a few and since it's just going in my home office, this one did the trick. Right size & right color!
My current table has served me well and is now photographed and ready to find a new home on Craigs List.
Next on my list is knobs! Being so darn busy, I never finished putting all the hardware onto my filing cabinet! I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the old hardware but it just may involve a can of Gold Paint. We shall see what inspiration sparks me over the next few days. If that doesn't work out, these are a few I fell in love with this week.
1 Jewel Knob Black & Gold 2 Swirled Geode Knob 3 Pink Ceramic Knob 4 Confetti Knob 5 Brass Pull 6 U Turn Pull 7 Brass Bar
Check out all the other fabulous One Room Challenge Makeovers over at Calling It Home!
You'll want to check out all these talented ladies participating in the One Room Challenge!
Abby M Interiors // Because It's Awesome // Bijou & Boheme // Calling It Home // Chez V //
Chinoiserie Chic // Copy Cat Chic // The Decorista // Design Crisis // Design Indulgence //
Design Manifest // The English Room // The Glam Pad // Little Black Door // Momosa Lane //
My Notting Hill // The Pink Pagoda // Simple Details // My Sweet Savannah // Veranda House
Dahlias & Dots! New Designs...
Although I'm working on my "Studio Refresh" for the One Room Challenge over at Calling It Home, I've also been slowly working on a make over for my Living Room. I just created these designs to "possibly" use. We shall see if they make the cut! Check back Thursday for my Studio Make Over updates and Link Up.
Large Pillow Fabric