Neutrals with Color Accents - BHG Ideas

BHG Neutral Room with Color Accent - from website

I am increasingly impressed with the quality and quantity of ideas emanating from a magazine I never thought much of until recently for decorating ideas - Better Homes and Gardens link.  Their magazine and website is FULL of great decorating photos and suggestions by category, by color, by style.  Unlike so many repetitive commercial emails, I actually look forward to theirs and spent time checking it out - I am never disappointed.  Today's link has some great fall decorating ideas one of which I plan to pursue once the sun comes up - going out to get some fall foliage and placing it in various vases around the house to liven things up.

The pieces I have refurbished in neutral colors seem to be the first to sell - they are easy to work with and customers even want the "white-white" colors that may seem daunting to some.  The following are all sold but I have some more neutral pieces in the works and several traditional style wingbacks in my existing inventory on http://wydevendesigns.com

Sharing - 16 Favorite Chairs from High Point Market

Now this is my kind of topic - check it out!!

16 Favorite Chairs from High Point Market

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/849309?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery4&w=263627

Celebrating Pumpkin Season - Orange in Home Decors

The color orange is a great home decor color and surprisingly versatile.  Just google "orange in home decorating" or a similar phrase and you get a lot of interesting ideas and images.  In honor of pumpkin season/Halloween, I did just that and came up with a wonderful description of the emotional benefits of living in a space that includes orange and lovely images.

The color orange is associated with joy, tropical fruits, and energy.  It represents bliss and can infuse great healing into your life.  The color orange is an attention getting, beautiful color. It stars in all seasons; orange tulips in spring, orange marigolds and zinnias in summer, gorgeous autumn foliage, and even in winter the sunsets are often splashed with vivid streaks of orange.

The Saga Continues - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Project(s)

Previously, I have written about my interest in acquiring and trying Annie Sloan Chalk Paints link.  Some of my refurbishing projects have problems with the woodwork (deep scratches, blotchy finish) that exceed my ability to fix with a good cleaning and touch-up pencils.  For these, I have been finding spray paints that are durable and nicely complement the fabrics chosen for the piece.  The spray has been professionally applied at my upholsterers shop.  I do like, however, the look of a nice flat "French" finish - sometimes with contrasting accents.  Annie Sloan chalk paints seem the ideal solution - here are some examples of completed projects from a website:

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Projects - Color Me French

Last week, I set out with two friends to visit the only active "shoplist" for the paints in the Georgia area - in Senoia - about 50 miles southeast of Atlanta.  We actually happened to be going there because one of the friends lives nearby.

Downtown Senoia, Georgia

We found the shop on main street with a sweet corner called Color Me French link to shop and were duly impressed with the knowledge of the proprietor; the items displayed beautifully done in various shades of chalk paint; and, the description of the process - I think I can do this!!  Ready to buy, we found that most of the country distributors are waiting for one of the required products, wax (clear and dark) to arrive from the UK and the shipment is late.     So, no purchase was made and my experiment has not yet started.  In the meanwhile, as is typical of me, I have acquired at least five pieces to do and MUST stop myself from buying more.  Some of my "pending projects" are shown below.  Obviously, there will be more on this subject!

Pattern Play - Bold Stripes and Plaids

I LOVE getting various decorating magazines and really rely on them for inspiration and even validation.  The November issue of Coastal Living (link didn't work - browse for their website), included a feature called "Pattern Play" showing the use of bold patterns and plaids by designer Libby Cameron in doing a Maine home.  What struck me immediately is the first page which shows a   fabrics I have in my inventory - EXACTLY - one I had been a little afraid to use because of its boldness.  I purchased my fabric - two versions of it - at a liquidation sale held at the design studies of recently retired, international designer Daniel Carithers.  He had used the fabric for a client project - the article said that the fabric was a "Sister Parish" design - talk about decorating royalty!

Magazine Article - Photo of Fabric

The article has encouraged me to take another look at a number of rather bold and bright fabrics in my inventory and to take the plunge using them more frequently.  I hope this works!

The Same Fabric as above - in my Inventory

Designer Cameron, who spent some time at Sister Parish's firm - Parish-Hadley - says "color and pattern are my strong suite" and she proves it in the way she brings lively colors throughout the house.  Saturated colors - blended with neutral backgrounds - keeps the space cheery and bright all year round!  

I'll have to become bolder myself!

More Bright and Crisp Fabrics in my Inventory

Fireplaces and Fireplace Chairs - Thanks to BHG

The most recent issue of Better Homes and Gardens shows some amazing before and after photos of fireplaces.  link to BHG article As the weather gets warmer, the thought of a cozy fireplace becomes magical.  We have two fireplaces in our home - one in the family room and a double one in the master bedroom - both gas-powered.  In the 11 plus years we have lived in this house, we have lit those fireplaces less than half a dozen times.  We seem to have some ventilation or structural problem that causes the smoke alarm to go off each time we  have lit one and we just give up.  For the upcoming winter holidays, we are expecting family visitors from WAY up north (Virginia and Illinois) so I have begged my husband to look into the problem so we can actually sit in front of these lovely spots and sip our apple cider in comfort.

Looking at the transformed fireplaces highlighted in the BHG article made me notice and think of the kind of chairs that look so great in front of a fireplace - a pair of wingbacks.  Here are some that would work particularly well!

Hickory House Wingback Chairs in Mushroom Taupe

Polo Fields Compact Wingback Chairs 

Duralee Ikat Wingback chairs with Custom Finish

Learn with Me - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

On a recent Saturday morning estate and garage sale outing,  I met Lisa Powelson of Encore Decor Atlanta link to her site - she had placed a Craigs List add that included that magic word "fabrics".   Lisa does her own upholstery and wood refinishing and spoke highly of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (costly but wonderful)!  I started doing on-line research of this product and found that a LOT of blogs seem to be dedicated to using this product and the wonderful results.   The Annie Sloan website describes their history:

Annie Sloan developed her now famous Chalk Paint to answer the need she had for a paint which would have many uses from acting like limewash to looking like old painted furniture and that had a good range of colour that could be extended by the user. This paint is very easy to work with and allows people to be creative as one doesn't get involved with the technicalities of preparation and it also allows you to change your mind without hassle. http://www.anniesloan.com/acatalog/paints.html

 I spent some time studying what people were saying about this product and getting over the sticker shock.  It seems to be only available through approved stocklists (only two in the state of Georgia) and the cost appears to be tightly controlled (e.g., $35.00 for about a quart of the paint plus shipping).  Even eBay prices are close to this mark.  The paint also appears to have no competition which is unusual and interesting.  I am fascinated enough to try this and will record how it goes.  I have a chair and ottoman ready to go (French country style - should work well); have decided on starting with two colors - off-white and Paris grey (love the name); and, will be joining two friends for lunch this week in Senoia, Georgia, which just happens to be the location of one of the two state locations for purchasing Annie Sloan chalk paint.  In the meanwhile, I will continue to study the on-line demonstrations of what is being referred to - somewhat patronizingly, I think - as a "girl's paint"!