If you see a piece of furniture, a carpet and you immediately can see a million homes for it; buy it. You will probably never fall out of love with it.     

How many times have we all been enamored by a deal only to throw that thing away a year later. Good design is done by skilled hands. Let’s not let machinery take over so that we forget the beauty that can be created with hands.    

I spend about 80% of my day staring at items on a computer screen but getting Elle Décor in the mail and tearing out pages stirs up inspiration better than right clicking…           

 A dim room is nice if you are having a romantic dinner for two but not if you are doing your taxes or writing the next great novel.              

 Whether it is a comfortable chair by the window or a chaise in the garden. Create a place that is calming to you and go there every day.             

A room is made even more successful when attention is paid to detail. A brilliant polished nickel table lamp with a antique rubbed brass detail a trim along the edge of a dining chair, a leather band on a sisal carpet always bring a room to a new level.       

Cashmere, Wool, Lambs wool, Vicuna… a blanket in any of these is so functional and pretty thrown over the arm or back of a chair.              

  The key to many successful rooms lies in the paint on the walls. Paint is so crucial. Take your time selecting it.  Put lots of samples up on the wall and view them at varying times of the day. You’ll get the right one with a patient eye.              

       At first thought white is white, right? But then you see that there are so many whites! Grey whites, green whites, whites with traces of blue… the list goes on. Here in a kitchen designed by Victoria Hagan, she got this white just right.      

 Houses are meant to be lived in! It won’t be long before your dog schlepps in dirt over your new sisal rug or a dinner guest spills pasta sauce on the newly slip covered dining room chair. Those pictures you see in shelter magazines are beyond gorgeous but they are staged to look pretty. Come back in a year and that room will have a few less perfect pleats or nicely pressed drapes.             

Especially when they are a spontaneous gift from your husband. A big bundle of gorgeous peonies on a coffee table or foyer table will brighten up any room.              

A couple more love’s…              

 Grasscloth Wall Coverings   

  A room by Palmer Weiss       

      Personalized Stationary

       

 Revamped Vintage Chairs                      

       

    Statement Making Lighting         

                

   Linen wrapped coffee tables, side tables anything linen wrapped…          

      

Shagreen Side Table             

Antique Mirror