Chicago Design Blog | Material Girls | Chicago Interior Design

{Chinchilly, Essie}

{Buckingham Interiors + Design}

Fall has officially come to Chicago, and chilly it is!  Today it barely broke 60 degrees and what does cooler weather mean besides boots, scarves and jackets?  Autumn nail polish, of course!

Today was the first time I got my autumnal manicure/pedicure for the season, and what better color to choose than Chinchilly by Essie!  I discovered this color around this time about two years ago, and it has been a cool weather staple ever since.

Here are some of the colors that I am look forward to painting my nails this fall, and in the spirit of MG, here are some cool interiors to go along with them!

{Carry On, Essie}

{Lonny Magazine}

{Very Structured, Essie}

{Elle Decor}

{Glamour Purse, Essie}

{Rue Magazine}

{Power Clutch, Essie}

{Lonny Magazine}

{I Break for Manicures, OPI}

{Architectural Digest}

{Suzie Takes the Wheel, OPI}

{Decor Pad}

{Roadhouse Blues, OPI}

{Decorpad}

{I Eat Mainely Lobster}

{Architectural Digest}

{Are We There Yet}

{Decorpad}

{Urban Smoke Ball Fixture}

Lighting has long been one of my favorite parts of any design project, but it can also be one of the most difficult and time consuming part of the process.  First off, lighting really comes in bulk.  In some of my larger projects, I have upwards of 100 fixtures!  Wattage, placement, dimensions, shades….so much to think about when choosing just the right lighting schemes.

When I was blogging about the 2010 San Francisco Elle Decor Showhouse, I realized that the various designers had one common lighting theme: Urban Electric.  I often use UE myself, for their diverse collection of fixtures can appeal to a broad range of clients’ tastes.  I really admired the pieces used in the showhouse, but I wanted to also share with you some of my personal favorites.  Enjoy!

{Anson Ribbon Fixture}

{Athena Fixture}

{Chisholm Hall Fixture}

{Diamond Fixture}

{Dover Ball Fixture- Elle Decor Showhouse}

{Gwendolyn Hang Fixture}

{Kings Road Fixture}

{Poppy Fixture}

{Morris Ribbon Fixture}

{Sprig Fixture}

{Brad, Angelina and the kids racking up the frequent flier miles}

Don’t we all love getting a glimpse into the fabulous lives of celebrities?  US Weekly, People, even Star, there’s something so addicting about getting the inside scoop on the stars.  Not only do we like to see them at their “finest” (how can we forget Britney’s little getting out of the car mishap, Lindsay’s many lovely party pics, or the Olsen twins glued to the Starbucks and oversized shades), but we also love to see the way they live in their homes.

As I was browsing the Architectural Digest website, checking out what the recently appointed editor-in-chief Margaret Russell is doing for the magazine, I came across the “celebrity living room” feature.  And like any juicy deets about celebrities, I just had to take a peak.

{Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Beverly Hills}

{Angelica Huston, California Central Valley}

{Sting and Trudie Styler, London}

{Joshua Bell, Manhattan}

{Jennifer Aniston, Beverly Hills}

{Elton John and David Furnish, Los Angeles}

{Kimberly and Dennis Quaid, Los Angeles}

{Diane Keaton, Beverly Hills}

{Gerard Butler, New York City}

{Patricia Heaton and David Hunt, Los Angeles}

{Cher, Los Angeles}

{Sheryl and Robe Lowe, Santa Barbara}

{Look familiar?}

If so…then it’s your lucky day!  I think most of us are probably familiar with the much blogged about Bunny Williams’ living room (turquoise? horn decorations? sound familiar?) that was a part of 2009 Kip’s Bay Showhouse in NYC.  If this room caught your eye, than you really must check out the many other rooms styled by other top designers.  And if you really can’t get enough, then you can have it all to yourself, for $50 million that is.

Sotheby’s International Realty is listing this home, a 21,000 square foot limestone mansion on the Upper East Side, at quite the price tag.  Although unfortunately only the select few can afford such a home in the mid 8 figures, you can virtually tour it all you would like at House Beautiful’s virtual tour (as well as check out more photos from the show house).  Enjoy!  Oh yeah, and if any of you MGs end up purchasing this home, I’d be more than happy to stop by for a visit

Images courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty.

Gleaming, glowing, glossy and bright… These walls are anything but understated and I’m infatuated with every inch…

Never afraid to color outside the lines, Miles Redd allows sapphire to shine…

Where was this room when I wrote Purple Rain? Check out these glossy, bold boundaries… Yum!

Jonathan Berger gave this late-19th-century Brooklyn home one jaw-dropping entrance with Benjamin Moore’s Razzle Dazzle… Wowza!

Laquered loveliness… This space couldn’t be more fab if it tried.  Loving this high-gloss blue amid black, white and yellow…  Fierce.

{Images gathered from Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and Head Over Heels.}

Essie’s new flavorful Winter Collection has me smitten like never before… Mint Candy Apple, Lollipop and Rock Candy have joined the Essie line up and are far too fabulous to cover fingertips alone…

Don’t you agree?

Mint Candy Apple floors shine amid snow white subway tiles and lacquered cabinetry… I am eating this Windsor Smith kitchen up with a spoon! Delish!

Sarah Jessica Parker packs a Lollipop punch in her Hamptons kitchen with Enzo Mari art and a glossy red island center.

Betsey Johnson, Eye Candy Goddess, coated her NYC Penthouse sky in Rock Candy-inspired hues… Can we blame her?

I just love how a tiny .5 oz. bottle can inspire an entire room… Don’t you?

{Images collected from Elle Decor and Elle Decor UK.}

As you know, I’m quite partial to brights, lights and whites… of neutrals and heather grays… but must admit, these slate-inspired spaces have me going to the dark side…

Mario Buatta adds depth and elegance with his brilliant selection amid feminine, delicate decor…

Loving this seamless blend of ebony walls and glistening black flooring…

Crisp white linens set off soot-like surroundings oh so beautifully in this Domino bedroom…

Drama and glamour filled walls house this chic ebony and ivory tub just right…

This sleek backdrop is the perfect compliment to Vueve Clicquot hues and rustic wood floors…

Natural elements and fresh whites pair perfectly atop pitch-black boundaries…

What do you think? Time to turn in those pale walls for a little dose of drama?

{Images gathered from Apartment Therapy, Domino, Decor Pad and Living Etc.}

Could this delicate Ochre fixture be a more lovely topping  for this handsome walnut Hudson Furniture table?

Texture, texture, texture! What I wouldn’t give to curl up and indulge in this fireside nook… I am loving the Alison Berger sconces and pendant lighting, not to mention the bronze vintage table by Philip and Kelvin LaVerne.

Check out the full spread in the November Issue of Elle Decor.

Parties, entertaining, now showers! ‘Tis the season for gathering friends and family to celebrate anything and everything, to which my last two posts, now this one, are a testament.  It’s always fun and beneficial to hear what the experts, such as Eddie Ross and Tom Kehoe, have to say about hosting a get together.  We cannot, however, have the likes of Eddie or Tom on call to deck-out every gathering, large or small.  So I am dedicating this post to my own take on hosting a party, in this case a baby shower.  

A few weeks ago I hosted a shower for a mother-to-be who is very near and dear to my heart.  Having known Erin for over 10 years, she was our beloved sitter when we lived here in Chicago, and after a brief junket at SMU, she transferred to Miami of Ohio while we were hunkered down in  Cincinnati  (where I opened my antiques store, Crackle.)  Thank goodness that she is now a special education teacher at a local school so we still get to see her often!  Erin and her husband, Lee have been a wonderful part of our lives and being pregnant with her first child, I wanted to throw her a shower that was intimate, personal and lovely.

Rather than holding the shower at a restaurant or country club, I chose to have it in my own home.  I think there is no better way to honor someone than by having a gathering for them in your own home.  It shows a level of commitment, dedication and involvement that I just don’t feel is achieved by holding an event elsewhere.  And besides, this way- for better or for worse- the event planning (and very importantly decorating!) is in your own hands.  

By using my own furniture and place settings and adding celebratory touches such as floral arrangements and balloons, the event retained an intimate yet bubbly and fun feel.  Using things of your own, often in unexpected ways (such as the table which is normally used as a center table in my parlor and chairs from all over the house!) instantly creates a relaxed atmosphere that is far from a stuffy, formal setting.  The delivery of recently purchased pieces from Brimfield could not have come at a more opportune time.  Chairs were everywhere!!!

 

With its fairly open floor plan, tables and chairs in just about every room of my main floor were not isolated from one another.  Rather, each “vignette” of sorts provided an intimate yet unique experience which were united by guests mingling throughout the entire space.  

It was a truly fabulous day full of love, laughter and life.  What better way to celebrate the coming of a new life than by holding a party in honor of someone who has contributed so much to your own?

On the QT….It is a girl