OOOOHHH....Jewelry!

photo courtesy of www.marjorieskourasdesign.com

Last week I dove into my seemingly endless pile of magazines and found some fresh little furniture jewels that I wanted to share with you. Featured as one of "the best" in House Beautiful magazine this month are Marjorie Skouras' beautiful drawer pulls.

Tell me you aren't drooling over these right now. They are made of semiprecious stones, including amethyst and rock crystal and can be set in brass or silver. The small ones are about $40 a piece and the large ones are about $60. Custom gemstones are also available. Delicious!

If you have a spare minute, check out her website to see the other wonderful pieces that she has designed. Like these:

And this:

ooh, and this!

Charles and Ray

In celebration of the recent release of the Eames postage stamp, I thought I'd give all of you a little history lesson regarding this dynamic duo of design.

Charles and Ray Eames were a brilliant husband and wife design team who created some of the most significant and exciting furniture pieces of the 20th century. Without delving into a typical grade school biography-type essay, I would rather show you some pieces of theirs that you will most certainly recognize.

This is the Eames Molded Plastic Side Chair. I may be dating myself, but do you remember these from school? They are still sold in 5 different delicious colors. Check out Design with Reach, they sell many Eames pieces.

How great would this rocker look in a modern nursery? Heather and I are dying to use this piece.

The molded plywood chair. This chair was named the best design of the 20th century by Time magazine. Charles and Ray developed a unique technique of bending plywood when they were experimenting for a furniture contest in New York. This chair was contoured to fit the shape of the human body and is much more comfortable than you would think.

Aaahhhh. The infamous Eames lounge chair. I can only dream, but someday.... Charles Eames said he hoped this chair would have the "warm receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt."
Heather and I both almost threw up simultaneously when my mother nonchalantly told us that she threw my father's Eames chair away because it was ugly and the leather was ripped. AAAGGHGHH!!!!

Their darling walnut stools, so great as an alternative to a traditional cocktail table.

I'm sure that all of you have seen these. Now you know that you have had the honor of sitting in an Eames classic - at the airport!

They also designed products for children:

A sassy coat hook, not just for kids

A house of cards

A pint-sized bent plywood chair






And most recently, the elephant chair. This chair was released in a limited edition in 2007 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Eames - it was designed in 1945 but was never put into production for sale. It is so adorable and really a sculptural piece, but sadly, no longer available.

There is also a line of Eames fabric that Ray created

Their grandson, Eames Demetrios, keeps their spirits as well as their work alive, as is evident by the release of their postage stamp. He has also written a few books on his grandparents and also works on the Eames Foundation.

With the recent popularity of mid-century modern design, the Eames' designs have taken center stage once again. Call you friendly neighborhood Inhabit girls and we can hook you up with an Eames piece in no time!

Oh My Orange

You can’t go anywhere without seeing this fabulous and lively shade of orange. It’s a funky yet sophisticated color that's as energizing as an iced venti latte! Put on your favorite pair of shades because this collection of our favorite orange products is VIBRANT!

Christine Misiak is a fresh new product designer in Durham, England. She racked up a Peter Walker Award at the New Designers Exhibition in London for her rejuvenated “homeless” tea sets. Can we say eco-chic?

sometimes a chair can offer the best advice…

The Foo Dog is known to be the protector of sacred buildings and a defender of law. Foo Dogs can be traced back as early as the Han Dynasty, but you can pick this pair up at Pier One.

If you are looking for unique furniture pieces, check out Pieces Inc for some amazing finds.

We are patiently waiting for the perfect project that is bold enough to handle this playful wallcovering from the Sweet Life by Thibaut.

oh Tory, you never do us wrong

Up, Up and Away

the most famous ceiling of all - The Sistine Chapel

So I met with a client this week who asked me the age-old question : "What do I do with the ceiling...I'm not so sure, so I left it white". O.K., people I am here to tell you - the ceiling is the fifth wall - it needs to be addressed, dressed and fabulous-ed up. When the ceiling is finished, that wow factor, that extra something that I always talk about, the attention to detail, blah blah blah, IT is achieved. It is the designer touch that lets everyone who passes through the room know that you HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER. Let's peruse, shall we?

The most obvious and inexpensive solution is to paint the ceiling, not to leave it white. We here at Inhabit Design usually paint the ceiling two shades lighter than the wall color - with some exceptions. Whenever a dramatic color is used, such as a deep red, or a rich eggplant, then a neutral color is selected for the ceiling (ie: tan or beige) Remember, there are no set rules in design, only guidelines to abide by or totally throw out the window - it's your call.

Observe this painted wall and ceiling. While this is an extreme example, it really shows how our eyes stop at the white, especially when there is a vibrant color on the wall. So how much better would this room have looked had it been painted a tad bit lighter than the walls? It would have been more complete and would have flowed and well, I'm not sure what the intentions were for the room, but it could have been THE COMPLETE PACKAGE, or something close to it.

Let's move on to lifestyles of the ridiculous and budgetless:

A cool home theater with an even cooler painted ceiling

www.wetwalls.com

and while we're on the nursery kick....

I've always wanted to do a tented ceiling, but it doesn't work well with air conditioning vents in the ceiling. A girl can dream, right?

www.hunterhotels.com/marataba

How gorgeous is this porcelain ceiling by David Wiseman?

This is a ceiling of a poolhouse designed by Robin Bell as shown in House Beautiful. Aaahhhhhh

YIKES....

(just checking, are you scrolling, or actually paying attention?)

DELICIOUS!!!!

There are so many options - basically anything you can do with a wall you can do to a ceiling. Paint it, panel it with wood, wallpaper it, hang things from it, coffer it, add moulding pieces to it, glue sticks to it, weave pieces of dried branches together and drop it, tent fabric from it, - let your imagination run wild. Call us, your friendly Las Vegas Interior Designers, we'll be happy to dress your ceiling properly.

How Much Is That Doggy Chaise In The Window?

This weekend, as I was searching for a new dog bed for our precious little devil, Gialla, I came upon some hilarious, wonderful furniture pieces for pets. WHO KNEW? Check these out. These pictures provided me with my entertainment on Saturday night.
Time to get out of the house, I know.

For the dog who loves to lay around, eat bonbons and watch soap operas - the always fabulous chaise lounge. This piece comes with 2 chew/throw pillows - what a bonus!

For the more traditional pooch, a sleigh bed that sleeps two.

What do these pieces have to do with interior design, you ask? These are some great options to add that sumtin-sumtin to your home that you have been searching for.

O.K., not really, but how hilarious are these pieces?

Ooh La La!

For the modern kitty.

For the New Yorker.

For the larger families, a sectional!

For those of you who are spatially challenged, do not fret. There is a murphy bed option out there! (this pic is a little something I like to call the "grand finale")

In all seriousness, most of us have pets and deal with the issue of ugly pet beds, unsightly crates and big plastic catboxes. Have a little fun with your pets and their furniture, these photos illustrate that it IS possible to have something that functions for the little guys without ruining the look of your home.

(Photos courtesy of www.barkslope.com, www.catsplay.com & www.muttropolis.com)

One Sugar or Two?

On Sunday, Heather and I designed a table for a charity event at the lovely Ritz Carlton at

Lake Las Vegas. The charity event was the "Designs of Fantasy High Tea" to benefit the

University of Southern Nevada.

We originally wanted to do a table with a green theme, but weren't sure how to tie in the idea of "fantasy" with that theme. We worked through all of the ideas of fantasy and tea and thought of Alice and Wonderland and the tea party she had with the Mad Hatter. To tie in our green theme, we decided on the concept of "Alice in Ecoland". We wanted to demonstrate to people that it's possible to have a chic party with an eco-friendly theme, and also wanted to throw in some references to a modern day Alice in Wonderland. We used low VOC and non-toxic paints on everything we painted for the table. We rented all of the table linens, as well as the chairs and cushions. The flowers and arrangement were supplied by Enchanted Florist, our homies who are also run a green flower shop. Our color scheme was kelly green, black and white. Here are some of our inspiration photos:

We gave soy candles with cotton wicks as gifts for the people seated at our table. The candles were obviously a hit because as soon as the tea was over, one of the ladies at the table went crazy running around the table scooping up all of the extra candles where people were not seated.

Hilarious.

We found these candles on the adorable website for Sandra Bullock's restaurant Bess Bistro in Austin, TX.

As an added touch, we tucked in a little guide on eco-chic entertaining into the napkins. Check it out: (the picture quality is not so great - it was much more vibrant in person)

This was a great experience for Heather and I and a much needed vacation from all things interior design. Much love goes out to our peeps at Enchanted Florist (pictured below) for donating all of the flowers and working on Sunday! They really are the Best Florist in Las Vegas!