Material Girls | Interior Design Blogs | Decorating & Home Décor

My friend, Paloma's post today reminded me that I have been meaning to blog about fitness guru Tracy Anderson's new studio designed by one of my all time favorite designers, Windsor Smith.  Actually, Windsor Smith might just be my #1 favorite.  This gym is perfection.  I am a big fan of Tracy's workout videos and have seen great results from them in the past - need to get back on them!  How motivated would you be to go to the gym if it looked like this???  Lots of white marble and gold?? YES, please!  Sign me up! You can read all about the studio here, on Windsor's blog!  Enjoy the eye candy!

 

 

There's a new collection at Beacon Hill that absolutely stopped me in my tracks the other day while shopping at the D&D building.  It's got a little bit of everything and the name speaks for itself.  Below are the fabrics that caught my eye so I swooped up some samples and will be sure to incorporate them in one of my upcoming projects.  Take a look at a few of the fabulous samples below and let me know where you'd use them if you were given the opportunity!  

Enchanted Vine Emerald

Enchanted Vine Navy

Hidden Temple Emerald

Hidden Temple Indigo

Lioness Indigo

Moon Blossom Midnight

Moon Blossom Orchid

High Point Market - that is!

This past Spring market, the Material Girls (along with other fab bloggers!) were invited to participate in "Suite Spot Tours" at the International Market Centers in High Point, NC. As part of the tour, we were each allowed to select vendors through-out the market suites to feature as part of our intimate guided tour:

To highlight a few of the vendors I included on my tour (& some of my favorite finds!) - here's a re-cap:

Marc Phillips Rugs - always love their collection of area rugs, and especially the new unique artist designed rugs that I also featured here. One in particlaur was on display at High Point Market, the Obey Giant designed piece.

Another collection I enjoy, is the graphic pillows from V Pillows & Rugs, a company based out of Miami, FL.

Los Angeles based designer Kim Salmela is a new favorite - loving, loving, loving everything coming out of her product line - which you can view here. Kim was nice enough to share with our group her background and design collections for Spring!

...and when I wasn't busy with my own tour, I went on over to another High Point building fave: 220 Elm to tour W. Schillig with my bestie: Maison21 (& shout out to him for a big help on my tour...let's just say he helped "keep the pace.") BUT here's the thing: he gets to his tour, finds this super comfy leather sectional sofa to recline back on and tells me, "Now you go take the rest of my tour, I am staying put right here!" See how that works! (If you don't believe me - well, the picture above tells exactly the story!)

Another showroom at 220 Elm I had the opportunity to visit (thanks to a friend of mine who was helping out there!) was Mat Orange. They have a range of rug collections (many graphic, and colorful) - one of which I absolutely love - pictured above.

In addition to showroom tours, I had the opportunity to attend a press tour for the Traditional Home Showhouse located in Greensboro, NC. The Adamsleigh Estate is a magnificent 15,000 square foot mansion that boasts 33 rooms and covers 13.5 acres which includes a lake, tennis courts, pools, gazebo, & five car garage. A handful of amazing designers transformed the home into one amazing room after another. Above is the powder room. For more info on the home and designers included, click here.

Next came the parties. Lots of them! One of the most anticipated was the unveiling of the new Stanley Furniture showroom. The entire two story space is stunning. The most exciting was seeing the work of our friends, Los Angeles based design duo Ron Woodson & Jaime Rummerfield of Woodson & Rummerfield's House of Design and their showroom gallery space for Stanley Furniture. Above is Maison21 and I photographing the gallery wall of mirrors which we loved!

Ron Woodson and Jaime Rummerfield at the Stanley Furniture opening party with fellow blogger / designer Sarah Sarna.

While at the Stanley Furniture party, Christian of Maison 21 took a little time out to be interviewed by Shane Inman.

Next came the Halo party - always a packed house!

Between design events & parties, we stopped to take a few pics - or, in other words - wherever we saw mirrors! Like here in the courtyard at the Baker Furniture Showroom (with Ashlina of The Decorista and Edyta of Edyta & Co Interior Design).

And more mirrors! (Edyta, me, Ashlina)

We had a fun afternoon hanging out at the Younger Furniture showroom (located at 220 Elm) for the launch of designer Traci Zeller's new textile line. Pictured above is Traci with Ashlina.

Last but not least, came the grand finale of High Point parties: the always fun Four Hands party. I had a great time hanging out with my "twin" & Blog Tour London buddy: Raina of A Stylist's Life.

Many thanks to High Point Market Authority for organizing yet another succesful market!

Thank you to IMC (International Market Centers) for inviting the Material Girls to High Point for a great opportunity!

220 Elm & Heinz - thank you for hosting us all for an amazing lunch!

If you haven't yet been to High Point Market - it is defintely worth a trip! For details and planning for Fall Market, visit the website here.

{For additional pictures from High Point Market, check out my Instagrams.}

When I was a senior in high school, one of the items on the required reading list was F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  After chapter 1, I was hooked.  It's a beautiful story, and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it before you see the movie (scheduled to premier May 10th).  The descriptions of the life of the wealthy in the 1920's is mesmerizing.

Original book cover of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

A life full of partying, prosperity, and feeling the need to be free from the constraints of what was deemed socially acceptable at the turn of the 1900th century brought around the Art Deco movement.  A call for new fashion, new architecture, and new furniture and home decor!  Immediately everything went streamline, architecturally as well as decor.  Geometric shapes, and bold colors were all the rage.

A real 1920's beauty bedecked all in dazzling Cartier jewelry.

Baz Luhrmann is by far my favorite movie director and producer.  He can take a old classic story and turn it into something new and over the top like no one else.  You can totally see what I mean if you've ever watched Moulin Rouge, or Romeo and Juliet.  His adaptation of The Great Gatsby has once again totally hit the mark with his impeccable style and lavish ways of transforming something great, into something even greater.  If you ask me, I think he's done a remarkable job defining the 1920's era by putting a modern day spin on it.

The stunning Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby.

Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan

Gatsby's Humble Abode

Now this is the kind of entry hall I'm talkin' about!  This is where Gatsby hosts all of his lavishly epic parties.  It's the perfect atmosphere if you as me!

Welcome to the party!  The outside movie set of the famous swimming pool/fountain party scene.  Looks like a blast!

Take a look at Gatsby's bedroom.  The clean lines and no frills make it the perfect bedroom for such a dashingly dapper bachelor.

Daisy's sitting room exudes femininity with all it's pinks and blushing hues, accented by soft whites and golds.  I'm loving that patterned rug and long fringed throw over that side chair!

Even Tiffany and Co. has gotten into the spirit of the movie.  They've designed an entire collection devoted to Daisy, the leading female role in the movie.  If you visit their flagship store in NYC, you'll find their famous window displays bedazzled with 1920's glamour in  honor of the movie.

Looking for that special outfit to go along with your new diamonds and pearls from Tiffany's? Just stroll on down to the Brooks Brother's flagship store on Madison Ave.  They've transformed their store with a vintage 20's ambiance that's sure to make you want to pop open a bottle of bubbly!

Still can't get enough of that fabulous Art Deco style?  Take a gander at these gorgeous rooms!

I love the soft golden back drop of this room.  The ebony furniture pieces make a dramatic contrast against it.  The marble floor inlay is breath taking, and look at that console on the back wall!  I'm in love with the Greek Key motif in white that borders its edges!

One of my favorite pieces of furniture in a grand home like this one, is an entry table that sits in the center of a foyer.  It's so stately!

Let's face it, deep down, everybody wants a grand sweeping staircase like this to walk down every morning.  I know I sure do!

This Art Deco interior embodies the clean and simple shapes found in many period buildings.  Check out all that silver leafing on the ceiling!

This Parisian apartment designed in in the early 20's is still fashionable today!  Just look at the shape of the cocktail table, and the gilded screen behind the sofa!

I've always been in love with these simple and sophisticated prints from the 1920's.  These wallpapers are still a classic, even after 93 years!

So, if you haven't bought your ticket yet, what are you waiting for?! This is definitely a movie you don't want to miss on the silver screen!

 

{Ro Sham Beaux Lighting}

I had SUCH a great time in High Point, the highlight being to hang out in person with fellow MG's Julia, Jill, Emily, and our Material Boy/Mascot/Biggest Cheerleader, Nathan.  It was a whirlwind trip, but so, so, so much fun and I hope to go back at least once a year!  Here are a few of my favorite things I saw...

A fun new discovery was the Phillips Scott Collection, I ended up ordering this chest above (for me) in the dark stain finish.

Oly Studio didn't disappoint.  Everything is so clean, cool, and perfect.

Visual Comfort was a treat, especially seeing Aerin Lauder's collection in person.  I can't wait until photos are finally released of it.  Let's just say I have my eye on SEVERAL things I must own.  I love this new Thomas O'Brien Chandelier.  I also ran into friend, Paloma working it and she was nice enough to introduce me and my partner in crime, Meg to Aerin Lauder herself.  Major Moment.

Julian Chichester was a visual treat, and wonderful to see some things I've specified in person.  A client ended up ordering that gold buffet - SWOON.

  I loved seeing a great mix at Tara Shaw Maison.  Really, really great stuff! I think all the MG's enjoyed giving their tours at The Suites at Market Square.  The Suites are SUCH a great venue, I spent so much time there discovering new vendors.  It was awesome!  If you are a designer, you should really try to make it to High Point - totally worth the Business Trip!  Happy Weekend!

After treating myself to a vintage Hermes scarf at Round Top (Happy early Birthday to me), I am obsessed with all things orange.  But I don't want cheesy orange, I want old world orange.  I think traditional bones are the key to pulling off this color.  I of course LOVE Hermes orange, but lately I've been completely obssesed to color matching fabrics to the label on a Veuve Clicquot bottle!  I also love the idea of the bold orange paired with powder blue and indigo.

Oh, I met Aerin in High Point...no big deal!  We're BFF now, she liked my necklace!  Seriously, she is the DEFINITION of effortless chic, which sadly, to pull off, is not effortless at all!  Love her!

 

 

Here's my spin on it...a little Michael S. Smith for Jasper, a little Windsor Smith, and a dash of leopard!

It was another successful year at the Design on a Dime fundraiser in the Metropolitan Pavillion where 1.1 million dollars was raised to help support those living with HIV/AIDS in NYC.  Housing Works (along with all their amazing sponsors and co-chairs) pulled off a fabulous event with a lot of mingling, inspirational design ideas and colors galore thanks to Valspar.  I myself swooped up a few purchases of my own and I have to say, the bill doesn't feel as painful when you know the money is going to a good cause.  Let's run through some of my favorites starting with Genevieve Gorder who created a dual space for Valspar using lots of fabulous color.  

Genevieve in her Valspar Vignette where she created two separate spaces.  One kids area with a bright yellow wall and one dining area with the navy blue.  She really wanted the color to have an impact on the space so she chose colors that had nice contrast and worked her magic from there

As you can see her choice of color really packed a punch!  All of the pieces were collected from various Housing Works locations around the city and she had to pull the vignette together with what was available.  Never and easy task!  Using Valspar paint she was able to transform each piece and re-purpose it in a way that's unimaginable to the eye until it's complete

She found an adorable daybed for the kids half of the room and used a fun, bright throw to cover it which allowed her to bring in other colors like the pink side table and green pendants.  Valspar makes it easy and fun to use color

One of my favorite finds was this antique side chair with a strong black and white ikat upholstered seat and rich black painted frame.  It was snatched up before I could get my hands on it so unfortunately it's not one of the pieces I went home with..

Not only did Genevieve add bold color but she threw some stripes and matallics in the mix to give the space some variation in pattern and color.  Don't be afraid to take your paint projects to another level

Here we are together in her vignette!

Samantha Knapp designer and creative director of Tiger Lily's Greenwich stands in her "Wizard of Oz" vignette

Samantha used a mixture of matallics and furnishings both traditional and modern to create this fun space which included an actual yellow brick road.

Nicole Gobbons Studio (aka SoHaute) created this colorful space using bright colors and abstract art which seems to be a BIG trend these days.  It's a great way to spice up a room in a jiffy

Here's a close up of the abstract painting which was done by blogger and artist Nicole Cohen of Sketch42

Larry Ruhl from High Falls Mercantile used old pages from a collection of books as his rug and various antique maps that he's been collecting for years as his wallpaper.  He's the king of re-purposing!

Check out this gorgeous wallpaper by Florence Broadhurst!  Bravo Arden Stephenson for selecting something so smashing

Lara Spencer (another chair of the evening) created this blue and neutral room for One King's Lane

Housing Works made their own fun vignette using bold fluorescents and a geometric pattern on the wall with Valspar color

One of my favorite rooms of the evening was by Danielle Colding (the HGTV design star winner) who used bold black and whites including the gorgeous juju wallpaper by Aphrochic.  Swoon worthy..

I love the touch of bright orange on the edges of this unique console table

A masculine groomsmen's suite

Pops of color added to this neutral room gave it just enough oomph

Thanks to Valspar, Housing Works, Elle Decor and all the co-chairs who were responsible for another successful event that will help the homeless and those living with HIV/AIDS.  I can't think of a better way to spend my money and gather design inspiration at the same time.

Last week we had the honor of being invited to High Point Market in High Point, North Carolina!  We were more than thrilled when we were contacted to host a tour of new vendors at the Suites at Market Square building. Our first evening there really set the tone for the entire trip.  Material Girl Lauren, Material Guy Nathan, our friend Meg of LeSueur Interiors, and I made our first stop at the CR Laine showroom for a little get together with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails.  While we were there, we met up with Material Girl Jill, and our fabulous friend Christian, of Maison21.  It was a great first night in High Point!  What could be more fun than having a blast with friends in a gorgeous showroom, while meeting other fellow designers and design bloggers?!

 The Material Guy and I at CR Laine!

Material Girls Lauren and Emily with Meg Lonegran! Check out that awesome Schumacher fabric on the wing chair and accent pillow!  It's perfect with that sofa!

Emily, Rachel and Meg with design blogger Nicole of So Haute!

Our first full day was just that.... a FULL day of shopping, checking out all the vendors we could possibly squeeze into one day, and spotting all the new stuff we could see!  We found a ton of new and exciting vendors that we can't wait to start using in our designs!  There is so much to see at High Point Market, we feel like we barely scratched the surface!

Amazing new lamps at Visual Comfort-

We brought home lots of great new vendor sources to use on our client projects!

The Bungalow 5 showroom was amazing in person!

We've always been a fan of glass knots as accessories.  These beauties are from Sklo.

We met Tara Shaw of New Orleans, who couldn't have beem more nice!  It was incredible that she gave us a one on one tour of her booth while we were there.

We loved these guys too!  Their look is fresh and exciting, with great use of color and materials.

On day #2, we hosted our Material Girl tour through the Suites at Market Square.  It was really special to be able to meet and connect with some of our devoted readers!  The vendors I targeted on the tour Nathan and I hosted were Festoni, The Detroit Wallpaper Co., CHC Art, Louise Gaskill Lighting, Tamarian Carpets, Saddleman's of Sata Fe, and Tara Shaw.  We had a really good group, and we think they enjoyed their tour!  We know we sure did!

Tamarian Carpets

CHC Art

The Detroit Wallpaper Co.

Louise Gaskill Lighting

Saddleman's of Santa Fe

Our tour group at Tara Shaw!

After our tour..... you guessed it!  More shopping and scouting for new vendors to add to our list!  We found some good ones!

Of course Aerin Lauder (and her new collection at Visual Comfort) was s-t-u-n-n-i-n-g!

Regina Andrew had some great new lighting and accent furniture pieces that are to die for also!

Loving this wheel bookcase from Noir!

The agate series from Wendover are so colorful and each one is really unique.  We will be specifying these asap for a client.

After another full day of shopping, checking out vendors, showrooms, and hosting tours, it was time for the famed Halo party!  What a great way to spend our last night in High Point!  We were finally able to get all the Material Girls that were at market all together in the same place, at the same time!  It was a blast getting to hang out at the fab Halo showroom and share a glass of champagne with our fellow Material Girls!

From left to right: Nathan (Dallas), Emily (Dallas), Julia (Chicago), Jill (LA), and Lauren (Houston). We missed you Rebecca (New York)!

Our last day in High Point was short, but we were still able to squeeze in a few more places to see! Our first stop was Oly Studio's showroom.  It was beautiful with it's clean and crisp white color scheme.  Have always wanted to see their pieces all in one space and they certainly did not disappoint!

The biggest highlight of the day we found at the Vanguard showroom.  As we were walking through, we turned the corner, and low and behold, there was Thom Felicia!  How adorable is he and his greek key belt? Love!

Before we headed back to our hotels to pack up and head to the airport, we were able to have a fantastic roof top lunch over looking High Point.  A perfect way to end a spectacular trip to market that we'll never forget!

We'd like to give a big thank you to the High Point Market staff and vendors who all helped make 2013 Spring Market memorable and successful! See you next year! 

This past week I attended the opening party for the Los Angeles Modernism Show, taking place through the weekend at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. The show features over fifty exhibitors displaying 20th century furniture, decorative and fine art from across the US and Europe. Most all the exhibitors (with a few exceptions) are based here in Southern California. The event also benefits P.S. Arts, a charity working to improve the lives of children by providing arts education (a charity I've mentioned and featured greatly on the blog). The show featured some amazing  finds - and here is what caught my eye (among the celebs in attendance)!

It was lovely to meet and see actress Courtney Cox! (Her fellow Friends star Lisa Kudrow was also in attendance.)

My "design partner in crime" and fellow blogger Christian of Maison21 attended the event with me too.

Loved this glam gold console featured in one of the exhibitor booth's at the Los Angeles Modernism Show.

Lots of artwork among the vendors, including abstracts, pop art, and geometric pieces like this one.

Maison21 looking quite serious among some modern colorful pop art.

I would say the Joannes Lucas booth was the most eclectic of all the vendors, with the theme "Zoo" going on.

But I have to say, I quite liked this guy.

And wouldn't doubt this would be a conversation piece at any party.

One of our favorites, is the Christopher Anthony Ltd space (which we had also seen at last Fall's Art & Antiques Show. Yet again, another hit - featuring some great finds - including the console and accessories above (and below).

We had our eye on this vintage fireplace screen.

I thought this gilded geometric wall sculpture was pretty cool.

More from Christopher Anthony Ltd - modern metal and glass side tables.

Off the Wall Antiques featured some great items, too - such as this large scale chandelier.

These textured wall tiles were a fave of Maison21's.

I quite liked these retro textured pair of doors.

Lot's of abstract art was on display, both gallery style among the aisles and in the vendor booths. I think seeing all the various pieces of art was one of my favorite things (well, among so much else!).

If you missed the show this year, be sure to mark your calendar for next year!

All photos by Jill Seidner Interior Design

For more, check out all my Instagrams here!

For those of you who are around the NYC metro area this weekend you MUST come by the best shopping event of the year!  Housing Works will present it's annual 'Design on a Dime' event which will feature 50 top designers who create fabulous vignettes using lots of beautiful Valspar color!  The event is open to the public on Friday, April 26 - Saturday, april 27 and I highly recommend that you stop by to scoop up the deals that haven't been taken on opening night.  If you're still interested in attending opening night you can purchase a ticket here - The event is tonight so hurry and join me as I interview Genevieve Gorder from HGTV and mingle with others such as Lara Spencer, Sabrina Soto, Nicole Gibbons Studio, Tiger Lily's Greenwich, High Falls Mercantile and so many more!  

Stay tuned for the full coverage of the show later this week!