I think the left side of my brain must look like this inside right now…it’s neatly organized into compartments – Everything looks lovely! But inside the right side…all my plans, ideas, the logistics of the actions required, the supplies etc are all stuffed to overflowing inside those neat little compartments…it must be a mess of chaos!
I am bursting at the seams with excitement about all the things that have to happen to get this new store open – the trick is to keep things on a neat schedule….i cant get ahead of myself. Chaos is good right?
Ok its true that almost every day i have a new favorite color….but right now i am totally in love with Adagio – here’s a brownstone just completed using this beautiful & soothing color and I cant get it out of my mind!
Adagio was perfect – kind of a bluish/gray smokey color! I am going to use it in the new paris boudoir along with harbor haze, pink lace and paper white. Definitely getting the itch to start painting. And, of course there will be lots of 14K gold and warm silver.
The little hancock & moore slipper chair in the foreground is amazing. They came up with this process of metallizing leather and then lazer cutting it. It you run your finger over the leather it shimmers!
Every design project starts with some kind of a floorplan. It’s like GPS – a guide to your final destination. I find drawing floorplans and elevations to be a relaxing and rewarding pastime and always enjoy the beginning of each new project.
You can draw your own with a few simple tools…a good tape measure (so you can measure your room and draw to scale), a couple of soft-leaded pencils, an eraser and some quarter inch block paper (each block equals 1 foot). Voila! You are ready to have some fun.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon drawing floorplans for the new shop. The one below is a combination floor/elevation plan. Convenient for seeing everything all in one place…sort of informal but succinct and to scale with a laundry list of items needed to complete the project.
Paris Studio Apartment
If you like to paint its fun to paint these in the colors you will be using. Off to work now! The sun is out so it will be a busy day! Have fun.
Boiseries make my heart beat…I love looking at beautiful rooms with boiserie panels and intricate appliques and moldings.
from Villas on The Italian Lakes, Elizabeth Helman Minchilli
These doors are amazing!
I can see that my cabinet maker is going to be busy making me some moldings for our Paris Boudoir….he does beautiful work – you can check it out by clicking the Facebook link on the sidebar. The album has about 30 pictures of work we’ve done. And soon it will contain pictures of the work he is doing for the Paris Boudoir!
Meanwhile more amazing fabrics showed up today in the mail….here’s my faves.
this last fabric is a sheer and is going to make some amazing shades!
I think that sometimes adversity sharpens our creativity. Surprisingly this long, cold winter has actually been an inspiration for me. Maybe my present surroundings had something to do with it too….here’s a few rooms I love and that may have inspired me to take the steps I have planned…
This is a our “tea party” room in my shop – The Whistling Elk. I love the soft colors, the flowers and the pretty little tufted settee. Here’ s a few more of my favorites.
These beautiful silk drapes were made for the Old Lafayette Designer Showhouse.The hanging wall cabinet in the background here is made to order by my cabinetmaker - we've adapted it to fit in many different situations.Love this warm sitting area featuring a comfy down filled Hancock & Moore sofa.This room was decorated soon after my return from the last Paris trip.One of my favorite cozy vignettes!
This fall I will be opening a new little shop…The long, cold winter was a kind of gift that provided me with the time to plan all the details for this vintage style furnishings shop.
It’s all on paper…so now the fun begins…selecting the actual colors, fabrics and trims, furniture and little trinkets to make it a reality. Yesterday I spent the day in New York selecting fabrics and trims! It’s all very exciting and makes the winter just a memory…
The Whistling Elk 
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