The Changing Winds of Home Decor

The Changing Winds of Home Decor

There is really nothing more beautiful to me than the elegance of a room design incorporating  glorious colour and the changing winds of home decor are bringing colour back! 

Warm. Cozy. Timeless

I can’t imagine anything better than that.

home decor, home goods, colour, design
Lovely Florida home by G.P. Schafer featured in Luxe Magazine.

Designers who create rooms incorporating traditional looks with a few clean  contemporary accents or some wonderful vintage or antique pieces take my breath away and make my heart beat.  Beautiful design can always do that to me.

Obviously colour is a major factor in the design of all beautiful rooms.  Although I enjoyed the grey/whites and accompanying pale palette that was trending...it is cold…Brrrh!  I think that everyone staying home during the covid pandemic spent a lot of time looking around and deciding to make some changes in their homes especially related to reintoducing colour…putting the colour revolution on the fast track!

What do you think?  Are you ready to move on to some great color and tradition?  or will you holding on to the cooler palettes?

Change on the wholesale level is already in full swing so you are going to find less of the outgoing trends and colours.  

Have you ever looked for home decor and accents in colors that have recently passed out of favor?  Then you know how hard it can be to find them.  When the market starts to transition it is always wise to finish a room before home accents become  scarce.

 Personally, I am wholeheartedly embracing the return of color!

home decor, home goods, colour
Magnificent beach house foyer by interior designer Jack Philips. Photo by Brantley Photo

I love the way Janelle of Janelle’s Designs made this vanity stand out by incorporating Gold!

home decor, colour,  design
A touch of gold on gray makes this vanity stand out! Photographed and Painted by Janells Designs.  You can find Janell on instagram @janellsdesigns

2020 Retail Stars Home Accents Today

I am so excited and honored to have received this award for 2020

and for the 2nd time no less!

Read about the 2020 Retail Stars chosen by Home Accents Today 

 

The article gives some background on the list of  50 finalists and some brief descriptions of each business. 

 

The finalists come from across the United States…

although the only one from New Jersey is The Whistling Elk!

 

I am on cloud nine right now! 

 

The Whistling Elk – A 2020 Retail Star!

The Whistling Elk – A 2020 Retail Star!

Home Accents Today

The Whistling Elk has been named one of the 50 best

home furnishings retailers in the country for 2020!!! 

This is such a wonderful honor especially in the current business environment!

Find a Way to Enjoy The Moment (Staying Home)

Find a Way to Enjoy The Moment (Staying Home)

Right now I m sitting in the sun which is streaming in through my slider…I have never done this before shockingly !!

The Corona Virus, horrible and beastly as it is, has forced me to stop working 24/7 and slow down and take a little downtime.

I have worked my whole life.  Even when switching jobs I didn’t take time in between.  Since opening my own shop 30 years ago I have worked  the whole time between 6 and 7 days a week.  Sure, I took some amazing ski vacations over the years (at Vail my favorite) but even then I fretted about being away from my business.

Now don’t get me wrong, this virus is a terrible, terrible, terrible thing and I am distressed that people are sick and dying.  They are in my thoughts and prayers every day.

But this “stay at home” order is in some ways a gift that I never asked for and never would ask for.  However, now that I’ve got it I am wholeheartedly enjoying it for  the gift that it is and for what it is worth.  I would never have taken time for myself.

For the first time in my life I have no income stream…none in the forseeable future and can’t even imagine how this will all end…but right now the sun is warm, I have nowhere to go, nothing pressing me, and I feel as though God has given me time to rejuvenate, to plan, to rest, to rethink everything, to enjoy the moment!  I will  trust that he has plan and meanwhile I will not allow this gift to go to waste.

Plus and Minus

Plus and Minus

I put together a list this morning of projects that need doing.

I filled an entire sheet.

I posted it and every time I walk by it I think of something else to add.  There are some plusses to being stuck at home. 

Some of the things on the list have been on the back burner for months and perhaps years!

I have decided to make sure that I pick something on that list to complete every day…with that in mind I literally could stay home for a quite a while.

Well, that will take care of some of the time I have on my hands…

I have already discovered this morning that my mind is still creative and fertile…teeming with ideas…mostly how to improve and take my business to the next level…new things I want to do, plans I want to put into action.

It’s almost scary.  Maybe, just maybe, that is why when this is over our economy is going to go nuts….we will all have this pent up creativity and desire to go full steam ahead.

Some things with regard to my business I have already implemented in this new free time I have found myself blessed with.

Minuses, of course, we all know.  We miss each other, we’re a little scared and we can’t wait for it to be behind us.  And, it’s hard stop from eating! 😉

Stay safe, my friends.

Barbara Collins, The Whistling Elk

Barbara

In Times of Stress It’s Good to Have Something You Enjoy Doing

It’s a stressful world right now.

I am always glad that there are certain activities that

keep me busy when stress is in the air…

Wall painting
Faux Painted Wall at The Whistling Elk

pretty black table
Little Black Table at The Whistling Elk

Painting is one such enjoyable and therapeutic activity.

What is Yours?

2020 Retail Stars Home Accents Today

I am so excited and honored to have received this award for 2020

and for the 2nd time no less!

Read about the 2020 Retail Stars chosen by Home Accents Today 

 

The article gives some background on the list of  50 finalists and some brief descriptions of each business. 

 

The finalists come from across the United States…

although the only one from New Jersey is The Whistling Elk!

 

I am on cloud nine right now! 

 

Mark Robert’s 2019 Santas, Fairies and Elves at The Whistling Elk

Enjoy our little Mark Roberts Video!!

Mark Roberts 2019 Collection of Santas, Fairies and Elves are adorable and available now at The Whistling Elk.

They are a top gift on our 2019 Holiday Gift Guide…Get Yours Today!!

THE WHISTLING ELK 2019 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

THE WHISTLING ELK 2019 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Our 2019 Holiday Gift Guide

Throw Blankets

Beautiful, soft, cozy, colorful, elegant and a fashion statement for your home.  You must have at least one!  Ours come in almost every color imaginable.  Wrap yourself up in one!  And give one to all your friends and family!  You will be a hero.

Maison Berger (Lampe Berger)

A big favorite.  An air purifier that perfumes the air you live in!  Beautiful and a real workhorse too!  You will love it…no open flame…and scent all thru your home.

Made in France with that special oohlala elegant scents that only the French can do!  There are also candles, reed diffusers and mist diffusers–you can have it all!!

Sorrelli Jewelry

A family owned company that is all about sparkle!  An extensive collection is available at the shop and we constantly run specials…come see what the latest deal is!  And a hint to all you men out there…this is a winner!

La Vie Parisenne Jewelry

Gorgeous jewelry by French Designer Catherine Popesco.  Antique molds are used to create this line of 14k gold plated and swarovski studded collection!  A must have or a must give!

Mark Roberts 2019 Christmas Fairies and Elves

If you don’t have one you will want one.  The 2019 Collection is beautiful as usual and well appointed as ever.  They will make you smile (or else).  For 26 years a special Christmas offering from The Whistling Elk.

Sloane Fine Tea Merchants

Did you know there was something known as a Tea Sommelier?  Well there is and this line of fine teas was created in Toronto by a Tea Sommelier who is also a trained Perfumist (is that a word?)  Delicious and amazing to both your scent and taste!  You need to try the Heavenly Cream…it’s divine!!! (hahaha really)

A Girl With A Pearl

These are the real thing.  Need a really special Gift…this is it.  Baroque Cultured Freshwater Pearls…beautiful.  Different styles and price points.  A must have for the woman in your life!  Hint, Hint.

Club Bags

The best little bags ever.  They hold your phone (quite comfortably) and have a zippered pocket for your valuable stuff….like lipstick, money $$$, etc.  And did i mention that they are good looking?  Well they are quite fashionable!

Michel Designworks

Going Somewhere?  This company makes Great Hostess Gifts…beautiful, festive and beautifully packaged.  Great price points.  Foaming handsoaps are the best!  But there is more…so much more.

The Whistling Elk is loaded with great gift ideas and decorations for your home.  Your Go-To  shopping  place…Stop and See for Yourself! This little list is just the tip of the iceberg 😉  Trust Me.

 

New Introductions at The Whistling Elk This Summer

It’s August!  Oh No!

I need to squeeze every bit of summer left out of August!!!

It’s been a good summer though with lots of things happening at The Whistling Elk.

Beautiful Twos Company lanterns
Colorful Lanterns at The Whistling Elk in Chester NJ

We have brought in a lot of new products and there are more coming this Fall.

New and in stock right now…

MICHEL DESIGN WORKS

A beautifully packaged line of everyday fragranced products that are  fabulous for hostess gifts!  The Foaming Hand Soaps are probably my favorite but there are quite a few other items to choose from.

Michel Design Works

The bar soaps are large and the packaging tempts you want to keep them wrapped.  The Soy Candles come in beautiful boxes that you will want to save for keepsakes and everything smells amazing...there are many many scents!

The Hand and Body Lotion contains, of course, Shea Butter and there is also luxurious Shower Gel.

These products are all priced from $11 to $17 so they are perfect for small token gifts or  dare i say…stocking stuffers.

But that is not where Design Works stops….they also have gorgeous kitchen aprons, potholders and tea towels…pillows and scatter rugs!  And, a complete line of melamine platters, plates, bowls and other serving pieces that are colorful, lightweight and,of course, unbreakable!

You will love this line and we are stocked now with more coming for the holidays!

MAISON BERGER

Maison Berger
Maison Berger…new lampes and Diffusers!

Maison Berger is introducing about 80 new products this Fall.   They are expanding the AROMA Collection and introducing new Diffusers and Soy Candles.

Maison Berger Lampes new for the fall
Maison Berger USA at The Whistling Elk in Chester NJ

I LOVE the Aroma Collection…

the scents are complex yet pure – so nice!

There are New Scents and New Lampes and Gift Sets just in time for the holidays.  We are the largest retailer of Maison Berger in New Jersey so you will always find a huge selection of fragrances and lampes every day.  Maison Berger makes such a great gift for everyone, the gift sets are so reasonably priced and now Maison Berger has included a new larger free sample of scent with each gift set….We love Maison Berger!

Of course  we still have all the beautiful, classic home furnishings and accessories that you expect from us!  Come see us soon!

The Changing Winds of Design

There is really nothing like a beautiful Traditional

room design.

 Warm. Cozy. Timeless.

I can’t imagine anything better than that.

Amazing family room by Alexa Hampton Inc. Love the use of Color!!

Designers who create rooms incorporating Traditional looks with a few clean modern accents or maybe some wonderful vintage or antique pieces take my breath away and make my heart beat.  Beautiful design can always do that to me.

Obviously color is a major factor in the design of the warm, cozy Traditional room.  Although I enjoyed the greys and accompanying pale palette that has been trending...it is cold…Brrrh!  So I am not so sad to see it trending down and away.

What do you think?  Are you ready to move on to some great color and tradition?  or will you be trying to hold on to the cooler palettes?

Once change starts on the wholesale level you will start finding less and less of the outgoing trends and colors.  It takes a little time to transition and longer still for the retail customer to embrace the next trend.

Often customers will look for decorative accessories and accents in colors that have recently passed  out of favor and they become extremely hard to find…sadly I’m sure that on occasion you have experienced this.

When the market starts to transition it is always wise to finish a room before accents become more scarce.

Taken from designer Michael Smith’s book “The Curated House: Creating Style, Beauty and Balance”.

 Personally, I am wholeheartedly embracing the return of color!

 

Maison Berger New Introductions at TheWhistling Elk

One of our favorite products at The Whistling Elk is Maison Berger.  Did you know that we have been selling this fabulous line for almost 20 years and that we have the largest selection of Maison Berger products in New Jersey?

home decor
Lampe Berger Paris

Maison Berger is an air purifier and it works!  It will eliminate bacteria in the air and perfume your home like no other product.  It’s easy to use and the results will impress you!

Maison Berger has many new lampes this year and many new scents.  One of my favorites is the new Pure White Tea.  It’s delicious!

The Whistling Elk Chester NJ
Maison Berger “Pure White Tea” one of the newest scents!

The new “Eclipse” lampe comes in 2 colors and both are packed as gift sets so you get a 180 ml of free scent with the lampe!

air purifier
Maison Berger at The Whistling Elk in Chester NJ

Maison Berger has also introduced Car Diffusers!  They are sleek and attractive, fit to the vents in your car and purify the air!

Many scents are available!

Scent diffuser for the car
Maison Berger for your Car!

You will find these at The Whistling Elk also!

2018 Mark Roberts Fairies

Well, last week the Mark Roberts Fairies arrived on the scene!  As always they are adorable.  We have a selection out now for your viewing pleasure!

The Whistling Elk Chester NJ
Mark Roberts Collection 2018

This year Mark has introduced some new elves and they are beautiful!  They have weighted feet so they can stand alone anywhere which makes them even more fun.  Lots of great detail!

The Whistling Elk
Mark Roberts Fairies 2018

There are a couple of girl fairies again this year…this is Joyous Christmas and she has the most amazing skirt!

Chester NJ
Mark Roberts 2018 Fairy Collection

They are out now!  Come and see and choose yours!

 

LAMPE BERGER BECOMES MAISON BERGER

Lampe Berger has a new name!

M A I S O N   B E R G E R

and is going to be introducing a lot of new products!

The Whistling Elk Chester NJ
Maison Berger celebrating 120 years with a new fragrance Elegant Parisienne!

When I go to the Home Accessories and Gift Show in July

I will be visiting Maison Berger and will see all their new products!

I am excited and actually can’t wait.

Maison Berger is also celebrating it’s

120th birthday! 

Chester NJ
The Whistling Elk in Chester NJ carries a full selection of Maison Berger (Lampe Berger)

 

The Whistling Elk 28th Anniversary

20180209_163641Wow, another year has come and gone at The Whistling Elk.

We have just entered our 29th year in business!!

So very soon now we will be celebrating our 28th Anniversary.   Watch for our posts letting you know what our special plans are…coming soon!

I still love what I do after all these years!

 

 

 

2017 is Fast Drawing to a Close!

As 2017 draws to a close, I would just like to say how grateful I am for all the wonderful customers who frequent my shop!

It has been another wonderful year!  And I am enthusiastically awaiting the beginning of my 28th year here in beautiful Chester NJ…in another couple of weeks I will be heading to Atlanta to shop for  merchandise for 2018!

I will be forever grateful that I chose Chester to be the home for my collection of casually elegant home furnishings and accessories….

home furnishings

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season!

 

 

 

 

Sometimes You Just Need a Flying Pig…

I have been awaiting this particular art shipment for over two weeks.  It was on the road for almost a month….which is very scary…But it is all perfect! 

So very happy it’s here!

Right now it is leaning just about everywhere in the shop!

home decorThere is so much beauty here…landscapes, geometrics, bath prints, amazing fleur de lis wall sculptures, florals, still lifes and more.

home decor at the whistling elk in chester nj
florals and damask patterned prints

home decor
gorgeous chandelier print

chester nj
art at the whistling elk

home decor
stilllife/landscape

home decor
fleur de lis

A Flying Pig even came along with this order….he has an amazing Swarovski crystal crown too!

He is nestled in behind the embellished candlestick below…

so cute!

home decor
Flying Pig

The Whistling Elk is Sponsoring a Lampe Berger Special for Mother’s Day

It’s a perfect time to try a Lampe Berger at The Whistling Elk!

We have lots of beautiful lampes to choose from and when you purchase one you can get a tripack of 3 fragrances for 50% off!

The Whistling Elk
Lampe Berger Tripack – Warm Scents

There are two different tripacks to choose from … one has fresh scents:  Fresh Linen, Lemonflower and the international best selling fragrance Ocean Breeze!

The other tripack  includes New Orleans (one of our best sellers), Orange Cinnamon and Vanilla Gourmet!

Get yours while supplies last.

Chester NJ
Lampe Berger at The Whistling Elk

 

The Whistling Elk 2017 Another Year Another Fresh Start!

Wow, I guess moving really did affect me!  I just realized that I have not posted to the blog in over 5 months!  Oh My!  But life at The Whistling Elk continues…

The Fall and Christmas season has passed…I made my annual January trip to Atlanta to buy goods for 2017…and have already received several shipments from those orders placed in January…

As always it is so exciting to receive new goods.  Always a fresh start and a new perspective!  And this year will not disappoint.  So, come and visit The Whistling Elk soon because we are already showing new pretty stuff!!

Here’s a little preview:

chester nj shopping
Leather Chairs and an ottoman! Really handsome!

shopping in chester nj
Just plain pretty Mirrors…we have about 4 different styles…all beautifully finished and distressed!

lollia at the whistling elk
Lollia for your sweetheart…some new scents too!

the whistling elk, chester nj
Beautiful spring flowers – just in case you get spring fever!

Moving Can Put You in a Funk

Well, I sold my home and moved to a new one.  That is a pretty short sentence but it says a lot and the whole process put me in a funk….so much work!  I feel like I fell asleep in March and woke up in August…sigh…

But I am done with that…The Moving Funk is over NOW!

I love my new home, it’s relatively “put together”…at least as much as I plan to do until I live there a little and see what is what.  Meanwhile the shop waits for no man….and fall is coming!  That means that lots of trucks are rolling in with all kinds of  great merchandise and the shop is brimming with wonderful pieces.

Art arrived yesterday, lots of it!  Here’s a little sneak peak…

the whistling elk

chester nj

the whistling elk

chester nj

the whistling elk
lots of great bath pieces!

Last week my fall clothing line arrived and it is spectacular! Lots of great fabrics and styles and lots more leggings this year!

the whistling elk chester nj
Lots of fabrics! Scarves, ponchos, sweaters, vests, tunics, and lots and lots of leggings!

Our Lampe Berger is STOCKED…and there are many new gift sets at great values and some beautiful new lampes!

home decor
Lampe Berger Paris