Material Girls | Interior Design Blogs | Decorating & Home Décor

Abstract art seems to be the "it" thing these days and it's hard to stay focused on just one artist when there are so many amazing talents out there like Reagan Geschardt.   Reagan and her husband Danny (who is also an artist) recently moved back to the NYC area from Naples, FL where they ran a very successful decorative arts business.  Reagan was trained in trompl l'oiel  murals and fine art  but has now started to focus on creating and selling her abstract works which are interpretations of her daily experiences.  Some of her current paintings study the interplay of color and light using water and landscapes and things that surround her.  The colors are magnificent and might be just what your room is missing.  For more information visit Reagan's website here and find out about upcoming events so you can see her work in person!  Art is beautiful no matter how you look at it, but let's be honest, it's best in living color!  

Water Lilies

Abstract Barn

Barn

Danny Geschardt (Reagan's husband) also sells his abstract paintings and these two seem to work well as a team!  See Danny's work below:

Between the two of them I'd say there's something here for everyone.  The colors are enough to make me forget about all the rain we've been getting lately.  So don't let your home get too gloomy - it's time to add some abstract color!

It's been such an incredible week here in Los Angeles, celebrating "Legends of La Cienega" these past few days with fellow designers and bloggers. It was a week full of events and parties, and the highlighted "Windows to the World" event, featuring highly selected designers from all over the world, to create window displays in the showrooms that line La Cienega Boulevard.

The two day event started with a kick off party at the Rose Tarlow Melrose House showoom.

Designers Ron Woodson of Woodson & Rummerfield and Christian May of Maison21 at the Rose Tarlow kick off party.

Fellow blogger Typhanie of Shoebox Decor with her sister Khadine at the Rose Tarlow party.

The packed showroom at the Rose Tarlow Melrose House party.

Friends & bloggers: Typhanie from Shoebox Decor, Morgan of ML Designs, Khadine, and Richard of BluePRint Brands.

Yummy champagne, by Veuve Clicquot, a sponsor of the evening's party.

Leaving the Rose Tarlow party, the elegant courtyard at night.

The next day, before heading to events, I walked La Cienega Boulevard to check out the window displays and eagerly made a beeline to see my blogger BBF and design partner in crime, Christian May of Maison21's window at the Morrell Showroom.

Seeing the window in person was so stunning! The colors, the custom made screen from Grace Home Furnishings, the custom wallcovering applied to the screen from Black Crow Studios, the gilt coffee table from Gray Morrell, the chic yellow chairs from Gina Berschneider, and more (see here for a full list of credits!). Christian did such a remarkable job! So proud! For more pics of his window display for Legends of La Cienega, click here.

After checking out the windows, I headed over to the Compas Showroom for a luncheon hosted by Elle Decor magazine.

Inside the Compas Showroom on La Cienega Boulevard.

Enjoying the Elle Decor luncheon: Christian of Maison21, me of Material Girls, Jami of Imagine Design Blog, and Sara from Decorative Carpets.

The elegant courtyard at Compas Architectural Stone on La Cienega, the setting for the Elle Decor luncheon.

Later that evening, I attended the very packed and happening Traditional Home magazine party at Lee Stanton Antiques.

At the Traditional Home / Lee Stanton party: Kevin of Fuse Lighting, Shane of Gray Morrell, and Christian of Maison21.

Christian and I at the Traditional Home / Lee Stanton party.

{All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design}

This week, I was so honored to be included in iVillage's article, "What My Mom Taught me: Celebrity Home Designers" in celebration of Mother's Day. It got me thinking about how much my mom has influenced my career path and how much she means to me.

My mom has been interested in interior design as long as I can remember. Growing up, things were always changing around our house.  Whether she was re-painting a room or a piece of furniture, putting up wallpaper, or making drapes, she was the woman who did it all (and all by hand).  Most of my friends assumed she was a decorator and did that for a living.  My husband loves to tell the story of how when he first met my parents and came to their house, he sat down on the couch and realized he was sitting on mounds of fabric swatches.  Little did he know, the same thing would continuing happening a few years later at our own house :)

 {My childhood home, in which my parents still live in today}

I have such fond memories of my mom and decorating.  I think it was at some point during highschool, when I caught the design bug from her.  My bedroom's color scheme went from pink to purple to blue to turquoise.  The artwork in my bedroom (AKA, the Mark Paul Gosselar poster) was strategically placed at eye level and the Laura Ashley bedding was always fully coordinated to a matching valance. My mom has always been there for me through every move- dorm, apartment, rental house, office and now, our new house.  These moves always bring a fun new decorating adventure for us.

 {My oh so stylish college apartment}

Most weekends we spend at the consignment stores hunting for treasures for one of our houses and telling eachother "you so need that!" (when we clearly don't)...like this bar cart I got last weekend for $45!

My phone usually rings within hours of receiving the newest House Beautiful in the mail with my mom asking, "did you see that gorgeous spread?" or "did you read the blog post today on Colour Me Happy or Cote de Texas?"  We pour over magazines and blogs together, analyzing each and every room.

 

 {House Beautiful}

We've also recently started going to Roundtop to further feed our obsession with antiques.  We also hit up all the warehouse sales in the design district, go on local home tours, and stalk our favorite streets in Dallas (hello, Tokalon).

 {Some of our china from Roundtop}

We can't help it- Interior design is just what we do! (and it always has been)  We couldn't care less about shopping for clothes- in fact, that's usually considered a nightmare to us.  We will take Riverfront Boulevard over Northpark any day of the week!

So in honor of my mom on this Mother's Day, I thought I would share with you her thirty year transformation of the house she has lived in since the 80's (and boy could you tell it was the 80's when she first moved in!)

Entry in the 80's-

We are SO excited to announce that we are partnering with the very luxurious Vero Linens for this month's giveaway!! Vero's luxury cotton bedding has been produced for over 150 years by a family of craftsmen in Northern Italy - so they know how to make some quality bedding! Vero Linens utilizes old-world finishing techniques including the classic hem-stitch finish on their sheets, pillowcases, shams, and duvet colors. Vero Linens uses only the finest grades of Egyptian cotton produced to make some of the finest cotton goods in the world. PLUS, they sell their linens directly to the consumer so there is never a retail mark-up! How great is that?! This means that Vero Linens doesn't sell their linens through retailers and there is no retail mark-up, and with luxury linens this typically means a mark-up of 225% to 250%! So you really can't beat a deal like that!

Enter here now!!

Now one lucky MG reader has the chance to win a complete set of 100% Egyptian cotton sheets in the color, pattern and size of your choice! Vero Linens' sheet sets are available in two patterns, solid and tone-on-tone stripes, in three neutral colors:

Diamante Pillowcases

Righetta Pillowcases

A set like this would normally retail for well over $1000, so enter HERE now for your chance to win fabulous sheets (and a great night's sleep) for free!!  This giveaway will end May 27th and the winner will be announced on MG Monday, May 28th! 

 I recently had the pleasure of attending a book launch event at Los Angeles based interior designer & showroom owner, Kishani Perera's chic shop, Rummage.

The event was hosted by model/actress Molly Sims (along with a surprise appearance by actor Gary Oldman!) For proof, just check out this pic of Erika from Small Shop Studio with actor Gary Oldman!

An interior view of Kishani's cute and chic shop, Rummage, from the upstairs mezzanine (where she also has her very cool studio space!).

Kishani's book, Vintage Remix, is a must have!

I managed to get a copy of the book - and when I sat down to flip through it, I was awe inspired! Page after page of inspiring interiors, including Kishani's projects and design philosophy. I really enjoyed seeing her own work space which is feautured in the book as well.

Kishani with Christian of Maison21 at her book launch event.

Another interior pic of Rummage, from near the front entrance.

Stylish vignettes and yummy desserts at the party!

If you're in LA, defintely go visit Rummage!

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design

And a very special Happy Birthday to Kishani - as today is her birthday!

Things have been very busy around BID headquarters!  We have several fab additions to our team, Jessica-previous assistant to the hugely talented artist Francine Turk, Brenna-mostly recently from the Bradley Hughes Showroom (one of my favorite resources) at the Mart, and Caroline-newly handling the BID Showroom and our 1stdibs foray. We also have our hands full with a variety of amazing new projects both here and around the country. I am secretly loving the travel until tonight-as am stranded at the New Orleans Airport indefinitely. The upside is that I scored some one of a kind treasures from this town of special haunts and secret antique venues.

 One of my most recently completed projects is a North Shore home for a family transplanted to Chicago from Michigan-outside of Detroit.  This lovely family of 6 wanted to completely change the look and feel of this old home to reflect their sophisticated, chic- yet comfortable and family friendly aesthetic.  We did a complete overhaul throughout the entire house, including new paint colors both inside and outside, all new light fixtures, modifying the kitchen finishes and providing furnishings throughout the whole house with custom pieces and spectacular fabrics and materials-for both furniture, wall coverings and window treatments. Special art for each room, accessories,rugs and spectacular artifacts add  to the finishing touches.

We are in the process of finishing up and photographing many more projects, so stay tuned for upcoming info and photos from all things B I+D! There is nothing like the feeling of sharing a new project.....Thanks go out all the way around for those people who have helped me create some design magic.

All photography courtesy of Buckingham Interiors + Design and shot by Eric Hausman.  All floral design by Julia Buckingham Edelmann.

 

While attending High Point Market last month, I also had the opportunity to visit both the Drexel Heritage and Thomasville Showrooms located in the International Home Furnishings Center (IHFC).  If you happen to be in High Point - be sure to check out the IHFC and visit both showrooms which are located directly across from each other. Until then - here's a preview of what you might see!

The entrance to the Drexel Heritage showroom.

Cassandra from Coco + Kelley tests out a fun chair in a bright yellow fabric.

One of my favorites, this tie-dyed nail-head console.

Another spectacular piece, this statement headboard upholstered in a fun bug fabric!

The fabric room at Drexel Heritage - so well stocked and organized, with an inventory of just about anything you could possibly be looking for!

There's also an abundance of finish assortments to choose from, including many options in wood tones and paint colors.

An entire section is dedicated to dining room furnishings, including bar stools, counter stools, and a counter stool banquette - as modeled by Cassie.

For the more traditional, an upholstered headboard and foot bench make for great classics.

Among the room vignettes are lots of great accent pieces, such as this Moroccan inspired nail-head upsholstered side table.

(Be sure to check out the Drexel Heritage blog - which features us on our tour during High Point Market!)

The entrance to the two story Thomasville showroom at IHFC.

There are some fabulous headboards in their collection, like this tufted scalloped version.

All shapes & sizes, and can be customized in many fabric options.

Cute little chair, in equally cute fabric! (I saw a picture of this chair go by on Twitter as the perfect chair for "tweeting" - true!)

My infamous "Chair model Cassie" testing out a glam chair she eyed.

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design

Thank you to Drexel Heritage and Thomasville for the extensive tours and inviting us to come visit the showrooms during High Point Market! Thank you to Lisa Hanly for coordinating our showroom tours for High Point Market!

  Mark your calendars for the mad rush to Target stores on October 21 -- Nate Berkus has recently announced his new line specifically made for Target which means it will be affordable and ultra chic.  The assortment will include stylish and relatable pieces that feel like they were collected over time and can be easily layered into existing decor.  

Nate  Berkus

In his own words: "I created this collection for Target with my philosophy that homes should evoke a feeling, not a theme.  There is something for everyone in this line so I'm thrilled to offer Target guests' patterns, colors and objects that represent what I love most for the home"  Visit the following link to view his interview: Dine and Design: Nate Berkus Reveals His New Home Collection at Target

Some of the pillows and throws in his new line

Adorable faux snake skin box

I can't wait to get a hold of a few things for my own home ;-)

"Why put off buying today, what you can sell tomorrow?" (is my new personal slogan).  It's a revolving door over here at casa de Larkin.  It's not uncommon for me to buy something and then the next week it shows up on Craig's List.  I just can't stop myself- I have furniture and accessory A.D.D.  I will buy something vintage and then get sick of it before I even have an opportunity to recover it.  With the new house, the addiction has only gotten worse.   I'm constantly lurking on Craig's List, Ebay, estate sales, thrift stores, vintage shops, 1st Monday at the WTC, warehouse and sample sales for that unique find.  It's gotten so bad that I just realized my whole house is filled with faux bamboo and I'm starting to look like the crazy "bamboo" lady. If you are interested in taking any of these off my hands, please email for pricing, availability and condition (I may have more photos too)!  (I'll also post them on a link on the Dallas page)

 {Abstract giclee art from Dallas design district.  Framed in brushed nickel frame. 49.5"W x 73"H}

 

 {PAIR of vintage  butterfly back chairs- approximately 30"w x 25"d}

 

{Vintage white faux bamboo dresser with gold hardware- 54"w x 20"d}

{Abstract giclee art from Dallas design district- framed in black frame- 31.5" square}

{Global Views faux malachite magazine holder from Dallas design district- never been used- 20"L x 14"W x 20"H)

{Pair of 24" square pillows with Duralee artichoke print- green and gray; One rectangular gray/white greek key pillow in Duralee fabric}

{Vintage desk/vanity chair- needs to be re upholstered and legs re painted}

{Amazing octagonal mirror upholstered in light creamy taupe fabric with gold nailheads- 42" x 42".  Antiquing on mirror}

Close up below-

{Global Views drum shades- set of TWO white shades with gray trim- will sell separately- 25"dia x 12"h}

Can easily make them into gorgeous chandeliers! (this is what it looks like made into a light fixture)

{Gorgeous beveled Horchow mirror- fell off my wall so has two cracks on front and one on each side- but should be repairable.  Selling it for super cheap!- 32"w x 47"h}

{Pair of mercury glass lamps with white shade- 15x10L- shade size x 24"H}

{Wood pedestal table-  22"dia x 26.5" h}

{Highland Court/Duralee fabric- blue and white ikat- 1.5 yards}

{Curvy/glossy black vase- 12"w x 14"h}

{White armoire with acrylic Anthropologie hardware- probably needs to be re-painted- 82"h x 41"w x 23"d}

{Dark wood floor length mirror- 18"d x 26"w x 70"h}

{Set of three tall jewel tone vases- will sell separately- Green- 19"h; teal- 22"h}

{Fairly new CB2 Acrylic Counter Stool- 16"L x 16"W x 33.5"H- Seat height- 23"H}

{Craft desk- dark espresso- very similar to the craft desk they sell at Pottery Barn- 48"L x 30"W x 36.5"H; Accomodates one counter stool}

{Small sunburst mirror- 14"dia}

{5 yards of Pindler and Pindler gray-blue linen fabric- from the Dallas design district- 54" wide- still in its original packaging!}

{Global Views- turquoise oblong shaped bowl- 24.5"L x 7.5"W x 8"H}

{Vintage plates from Roundtop- a PAIR}

Also selling- two Pottery Barn natural rugs.  One is a 5x8 seagrass rug with neutral border and the other one is a 5x8 sisal rug with a black border, black iron patio dining set, tv stand, TV, white outdoor rocking chairs, wood table desk and more fabrics!

There's a lot more where this came from...email if you need something specific. You never know, it may be collecting dust in my garage!

Last week while attending High Point Spring Market, I had the opportunity to tour the Hickory Chair showroom in North Carolina. Hickory recently celebrated their 100 year anniversary - quite an impression, and a lasting one - so happy to know the longevity of a company, with it's furnishings made right in our country, hand made, and built to last. I could not be more supportive of that! Here's a glimpse into the Hickory Chair showroom - only a fraction of what is to be seen as the rooms are packed full of amazing goods. I highly recommend a visit if you happen to be in High Point, NC - but here's a start!

Off the main entry are steps that lead to room vignette after room vignette, including spaces dedicated to Hickory Chair's exclusive designers, including: Alexa Hampton, Mariette Himes Gomez, Suzanne Kasler, Thomas O'Brien, & more!

One of my favorite rooms was the inspiration room by Hable Construction, featuring the latest Hable Textiles. Loved how creative the display was, inspiring indeed - and really loved all the textiles!

Just something really different - textiles from Hable Construction.

And in blue too!

More from the Hable Construction inspiration room!

Another highlight of our showroom tour was meeting some of the interior designer's in their actual spaces at Hickory Chair! Here is my friend Sheena with interior designer Alexa Hampton. (The introductions went something like this, "Hi, I'm Sheena, your summer intern.") Alexa is also very humourous by the way, I think we all had a good laugh talking with her.

Just part of Alexa Hampton's room vignette - the wall color is an amazing, dramatic glossy navy blue.

In the next room over, we met interior designer Mariette Himes Gomez and her daughter Brooke. It was neat to engage with them and hear their stories. Nevermind meeting them in person!

An upholstered bed designed by Mariette Himes Gomez. I like that it's not too feminine, yet not too masculine either.

A fun, girly room designed by Suzanne Kasler. (Of course, Cassandra from Coco + Kelley immediately declared this was Ashlina from The Decorista's future girl's bedroom - and had to text her to tell her!)

And then ALL the girls wanted their picture taken in the room (they fit in so well!). Here's Ashlina of The Decorista, Crystal of Rue Magazine, & Cassie from Coco + Kelley.

Another fun surprise was seeing fellow blogger and designer Tobi Fairley's furnishings at Hickory Chair. I really think they greatly reflect Tobi's design aesthetics!

Love this chair by Tobi too!

Also saw some interesting pieces of furniture, and lots of pretty colors too - like with this chest!

And this fun, colorul zig zag print fabric!

Pretty colors on this ottoman bench and sofa fabric and pillows, as seen at Hickory Chair.

Perfectly pretty side table as seen in a bedroom vignette.

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design

A special thank you to Hickory Chair for inviting me to tour the showroom and experience High Point. Many thanks to Laura Holland at Hickory Chair for her expertise and knowledgeable showroom tour.