Seer joy!!

it's every where, you really can't miss it...that is the Seersucker madness this summer...

while in PA last weekend, doing a little shopping of course, I couldn't pass up this JCrew belted jacket, I mean come on...let's just dive right into this fabric, cause it feels right. What do you think??

and then I almost got this Seersucker Mini Tote while I was there because it just seems ideal for summer...but I just needed to stop myself because I have totes comin' out of every closet!

and how adorable is this Seersucker pump by Christian Louboutin, just love the little bit of red on the heel as well... a perfect touch!!


um, I don't even mind it on men...very sharp and preppy. I saw this one at Brooks Brothers as well, but don't think the Hubby could (or want to, rather) pull it off...


from clothing to home accessories too, I found this lovely shower curtain on India Rose today...so feminine and cute!!

even William Sonoma Home has hopped on the bandwagon, offering Seersucker bedding and coordinates..


and if you didn't already know all the fun you can have with this fabric, Etsy seller: tinarie21 is offering this white pillow with a red and white seersucker flower...

Ficks my habit....

New lines at Ficks Redd caught my attention at HD Show, love all the pieces from the Carleton Varney collection...esp. the Dorothy Draper pieces which you'll have to go online and see more of...

Hemisphere Lounge Chair...

Dorothy Draper Coffee Table...

Dorothy Draper Dining Chair...

Dali Dining Table...

then I saw this beauty, the Galleria chair in red and just had to sit in it...

I did this a lot...stop to try things out! Walking the show in heels can get tiring, so thought I'd try this chair on for size and love it, esp. the red!!

Well, I'm off again on a jet plane, going to see family in PA...be back next week and hopefully with some pictures from my trip...

Allow me to introduce...

the David Qian collection...


I nearly stepped over people when I came across this booth at the HD Expo last week in Vegas...very eye catching to say the least. I was just drawn in my the beautiful work that I had to stop and see about this Shanghai company...


Amazing detail and an array of samples to view from those large scale pieces that made up the booth and about 10 actual books full of examples that I only wished I could have looked through completely...


I immediately went for the Chinosorie scenes and got in real close to view the detail, which is impeccable!!


So many prints and they can be painted on basically any type of paper is my understanding...


The website is still a work in progress, but shows some great installation shots...just thought I'd share with you, and expect more posts from this show through out the week...

Revving up...

Every year I attend the "NeoCon" of the West in Las Vegas, the Hospitality Design Expo. What an event, each year it gets bigger and bigger and a great place to see all the new product releases for the year. Not just for "hospitality designers", there is everything from fabric, tile, wallcovering, accessory lines, rugs etc...


Once just one floor in the Sands Expo, know it's two floors...adding more mileage to cover and another day to the trip. I really can't wait to go and I will be taking as may pictures as my camera holds to share with you...so see you on Monday with lots of exciting images!!

Stair "scapping"...

I've always thought, "scapping" in general takes talent, I'm so fond of a well decked out table and often look to masters like Mary McDonald, Michael S. Smith and Ruthie Sommers for inspiration and techniques to follow...

(House Beautiful)

but what about stair"scapping", that just seems to be a whole other challenge all together. My interest was sparked after revisiting some miscellaneous clippings and now I'm on the hunt for more examples of well dressed stairs...

Reader inquiry...

I've received some really great emails and comments regarding my "Serenity Now" post already, one reader in particular though, mentioned that my shower curtain closely resembles the one featured below in Kate Spade's bathroom, which I adore!!!

(image via Peak of Chic)

...and this is exactly the image I had in mind when I happened upon it at a local Target, I searched online but couldn't find it to include with this post, but if you like the style, might want to pop into a Target next time your near one...

Serenity Now...

Well, we're done with our remodel...sort of done, I mean you're never really done when it comes to your house. But, for now we are putting down our tools and taking the summer off to bring "normalcy" back into our lives (whatever that is). I spent the last two weeks away from blogland to wrap things up, I guess you could say my role was that of the designer/contractor/superintendent/taper and painter in this lovely year long first time homeowner's dream...

(on the left is living room before we moved in, then on the right is at it's worst...)

..lessons learned and then some, out of it we realized that I'm pretty stubborn. I recall one morning in particular, over a cup of coffee, we discussed how to resolve the horrible wall finish through out the house and I said "If we have to have popcorn texture walls, I might just throw up and never stop..." Must have been decaf in that cup...but to clue you in to the work ahead of us, see the above disaster...

So when a girl wants smooth walls, well she just has to pick up the spackling knife and do it herself, and I really did! Any imperfections and that's all me...it looks a lot better, but after just one bedroom I was ready to shoot myself in the foot.

I'm really happy though, with the fireplace, we lucked out when we found a lil old carpenter to do the custom mantel for hardly anything and we used the left over marble from our bathrooms to do the surround...

(on the left is the lovely mirror above our vanity, and the right well uggg!!)

Our guest bath just wasn't very welcoming to say the least. A gem I know, but it all had to go...

Can't wait to finish this one up, I have roman shade and curtain fabric to select and I just can't decide. And then there's the rug and linens too! I rushed out the morning it was done and grabbed what I thought could work from Target (above), not too bad, but explaining to my hubby that it's only temporary was another thing...

(different angles, but the after is on the left showing the white painted wood work and the before is on the right)

We opted for a quick fix in the Kitchen/TV room, so we painted the woodwork white, replaced the counters and appliances, and soon the ugly carpet (yes, carpet in the Kitchen) will become lovely hardwood.

My poor parents came to visit not too long ago to see the progress and they said "What happened to all your furniture???" We got rid of everything from our college days, and we were left with the few pieces, our bed, tv, and two Ikea barstools (above). No kidding, so when I say I'm happy to get going on furniture, I really mean it!!!!!!

Underneath the ugly carpet was the ugly hardwood on the right, which refinished very nicely and I have to say I'm just so excited to have a whole house full of dark hardwood!!!

Okay, that's all for now...I just started purchasing furniture, my first pieces were some vintage chairs off of ebay, that I'll be reupholstering soon. Oh, and I plan to include you in some of my design decisions, cause ya'll have good taste and why not!! But, I'm glad to be back to blogging, it's been two weeks but feels like forever...