She’s got the gift!

Posted By Emily-Dallas | Sep 15, 2008 | 6 Comments | Category: Decorating

I have been harassing my aunt for months about coming over to take pics of her house for a blog post…it’s a lovely house that is constantly being spruced up. Whenever I get an invitation in the mail to a graduation party that is being held at her house, I immediately start looking forward to seeing the things she has done with her home and oh yeah, seeing the fam can be nice too.

Ever since I can remember, each house she has lived in has had its own unique personality. My aunt has always had impeccable taste, a great design eye, and her house always manages to look so put together. Upon my visit to her house last week, I asked her if she would ever decorate others houses since she seems to have “the gift” and she looks at me like I am a mad woman…her passion lies in decorating her house and hers alone! She is just very in tune to her own style and knows where to go to get the look she wants.

She is drawn to warm accent colors like reds and oranges, browns, and also touches of green; however, she says if she ever had a second home like a lakehouse, she could easily switch over to more cool tones for a whole new look.

Her house is so inviting…contains attractive and timeless pieces that she has invested in. She only buys things that she absolutely loves (and my uncle gives her free reign to decorate how she wants- and even approves of animal print! Something my mom is still trying to convince my dad of)

This is her formal Living Room to the left of her home’s entry hall. Gorgeous rich colors encompass this room giving it a cozy look that welcomes visitors upon their arrival.

These framed prints were given to her and my uncle as wedding presents. This same look is also on the left side of her Living Room giving it perfect symmetry.

She collects Victorian paper mache mother of pearl boxes which she displays on her coffee table

She has all dark brown sofas in her house but I just adore this look.

She thinks great lighting and accessories really make a home!

I love her entry lantern…most all her lighting is from Currey and Company

Another shot of the entry

Her tall mirror goes perfectly with the tall entry ceilings- adds some height to the space. Her grouping of three frames- the two mirrors and the small piece of art looks really put together. A lamp on the right balances out the console.

This piece of art work is over two hundred years old. This is her absolute favorite piece in her home. You can barely see it but it shows three small figures jumping into the lake which reminds her of her and her two sisters. Cute!


Her dining room is my favorite room in her house which really surprised her. I think it’s because I am always drawn to cooler colors and her dining area is by far the coolest hued area of her home. Gorgeous paintings are hung from venetian plaster walls. The color is a green/gray tone which really makes the dining room look elegant and dramatic.

I love her collection of plates. The leopard rug adds some playfulness and pattern to the room while the dark stained furniture is the perfect complement to the gorgeous chairs. I love dining rooms that have a few mismatched chairs in the mix on either end of the dining table. She picked out the fabric for all the chairs and they get along great with eachother don’t you think?

My aunt’s best decorating advice?

Hold out until you find things you really love and have a plan before you start decorating!

Ooh the chandelier in here is to die for…maybe she will sell it to me in thirty years once she tires of it… :)

The family room is attached to the kitchen in an open floor plan and chocolate browns, reds, and golds envelope the room

Love love love her sofa and the contrast it makes with the light coffee table

Her zebra chair is so adorable- gotta have that extra touch of animal print in each room!

Again, she goes to town with the symmetrical art pieces (you can never go wrong with this look) Simply stunning

One thing she hates- clutter! You will never see her toaster or blender on her kitchen countertop.

A lot of her accessories she gets at Marburger Farms in Round Top (twice a year)…I’ve been itching to go out there!

Her dog refusing to be photographed- hiding behind the chair…


Her breakfast area

And now for the master bedroom..this is her favorite room in the house. Now that it is complete, her next project will be tackling the master bathroom!

A bed would not be complete without a set of upholstered boxes (or benches or chairs…)

Floor length mirror in a pretty and colorful paisley add some pizzazz behind her nighstand.

Gorgeous pillows to boot!

Well that’s the end of the tour…the upstairs is off limits as she is working on her daughter’s room-perhaps when it’s all done, she’ll let me take a peek (with my camera) to show all of you!

Oh yeah, one more room that I got a kick out of- (knowing how much my aunt likes to switch out her decor) the spacious and infamous attic where all her old furniture goes to retire…maybe her dining chandelier will someday make its way up here…or into my home! :)

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Huge Sale!

Posted By Emily-Dallas | Sep 12, 2008 | 5 Comments | Category: Sales, Shops and Showrooms

Room Service Home Outlet in Dallas is having a huge sale! Tomorrow is the last day- they are open 9-3 so better get there before it’s all gone!

Lauren, Lauren’s mom and I actually made a trip up there this morning and got there right when they opened. The impending hurricane caused Lauren to evacuate Houston and travel hours in traffic to the big D. I have to admit, I was selfishly excited when Lauren told me her evacuation plans included a trip to Dallas and the Room Service Outlet. There was no question- I had to go with!

We saw this adorable ottoman with cute nailhead design for only $399…

I kept telling Lauren that it reminds me so much of another ottoman I have seen blogged about before..this Horchow ottoman below is $1900 more expensive! Yikes

Here we have Lauren’s dream lamp-


A marked down painted chest and muted floral chair


Remember this screen? Lauren blogged about it when she went to Jayson Home and Garden in Chicago…also seen on the cover of Met Home…also seen on Fifi Flowers in a lovely painting she created

We all fell in love with this mirror- someone please buy it and send us pics of it in your home! I think it was around $160-ish

I love the sinuous curves in this chair

All in all, a great shopping experience, wish I could have had more time- had to run off to a site visit but will definitely be back for their next big sale!

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We have gotten great response and excitement to our Swank Lighting contest so far…thanks to everyone who has helped spread the word!

Lauren and I have decided that we are going to pull ourselves out of the judges panel so that anyone we know can enter the contest and everything is fair and square.

Here are the four new judges…drum roll please…

Judge #1- Karen Olivia (otherwise known as “Alkemie”)

Karen Olivia hails from San Francisco, California. She is the author of the design blog Alkemie and lives for all things design oriented. As an avid traveler and bibliophile, she has been exposed to a broad array of cultures and design. Her hobbies include photography, adding to her various collections, dance, martial arts and continuing to trek around the world in search of that next adventure…and good food.

Judge #2- Joe Cariati

Joe Cariati is a glassblower and educator based in Los Angeles. For the past fifteen years, Joe has engaged with artists, designers and architects as a professional gaffer, realizing their designs in blown glass. Currently Joe owns and operates Joe Cariati Glass and functions as lead designer and glassblower. His current designs are receiving global attention from major retailers such as Barney’s New York, Gump’s San Francisco, Space Australia, and Le Bon Marche in Paris. Joe has been a visiting Faculty at Rhode Island School of Design, California College of Art, Pilchuck Glass School and Urban Glass in New York; currently Joe teaches at California State University Fullerton in Orange County.

Judge #3- Doug Taylor

Doug Taylor is a Partner of Swank Lighting LP and is graciously providing the beautiful prizes that you all can win!

Judge #4- Julia Edelmann

Julia Buckingham Edelmann has founded her Interior Design Firm, Buckingham Interiors + Design Buckingham Interiors + Design, based on the concept that each home should have it’s own sophisticated yet funky look. It should not be overstated but subtle, not minimalistic, but comfortable. Julia has a heartfelt sentimentality for all things original and intriguing.
Specializing in an unusual twist on tradition, Julia’s dream is that all of her clients feel at home amongst collections of disparate yet congruent objects and furnishings. The home design process should be a wild and exhilarating ride! Based upon her studies at the University of Arizona, her antiques store in Cincinnati, Ohio, her design showroom in Chicago, and personal experience in 6 home historic restorations/renovations Julia and BID bring to life interior design as art.

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Design Boards

Posted By Emily-Dallas | Sep 10, 2008 | 1 Comment | Category: Material Girls Projects

I am very excited about the Material Girls / Swank Lighting Design Contest and am really looking forward to seeing some of the design boards to be entered in the contest. I loved Lauren’s design board & loved the blog post she wrote for, “Speidi’s Love Nest.” It has encouraged me to come up with something as well – hopefully soon!For the time being, I thought I’d write about design boards in general and share a few of my own to inspire the readers to contribute some of their own.

As most of us interior design educated designer’s know – design boards go back to the days of our training, in school, pulling late night deadlines for class projects. I think every project I ever did in school required a design board. It was a method of making a presentation to the class about the project, a way to convey and discuss our ideas. Even in the real world of design, design boards are used when making presentations to clients. So to this day – I still find myself pulling together a design board or more loosely a “concept board” or “inspiration board.”

Typically, I will use a matte/cardboard board, a canvas board, or even inexpensive frames. However, in the quest to be environmentally sound I am scraping cardboard from shipping material & other materials – anything I can find to be reused as a design board. As far as the materials, any images whether from books, catalogs, magazines, and online sources can be used for the images on design boards. Finding finish materials – a small knob, pull, fabric/wallcovering samples, paint swatches, and many other “found” materials can all be used to simulate a color, pattern, or finish selection. Just thought I’d provide these ideas to encourage the readers to source for their own design boards.

Here are some more concept boards from my own design projects:

And of course, all boards cannot go unexplained – so providing a written description about your ideas & concepts completes your presentation!

Blog contibution by Jill Seidner Interior Design

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I live for going to antique shops…even just to browse….I try to make a trip to one every few weeks to satisfy my antique withdrawl. I love junk shops, resale shops- you name it. I imagine it’s because I have a creative eye and a mind that is always thinking “I wonder how I can redo/refinish this piece?” “What color can I re-paint it?” I want something that sparks conversation in my home- not something that everyone else has and that was mass produced somewhere.. (hello, IKEA!)

And White Elephant Antiques is just the place…located off Industrial in Dallas among the row of antique shops, I always find SOMETHING there that I can’t live without. And it’s very reasonably priced too! The people don’t stare at you while you walk in hoping you’ll drop $10,000- it’s very low key and the people are incredibly friendly and helpful…that is one of the reasons I keep going back.

Some of my finds the other day-

I love funky lamps…

I have always had my eye on this little convex mirror…until I noticed its price tag of about $1200! It’s tiny but it’s adorable

One of my clients had mentioned that she loves old maps…I found this map of Chester (in the UK) at WE (dates back to the 1800′s) for $175- it’s really pretty cool in person

A fun lucite lamp…

I love these little sunbursts- $95 each

Pieces of corinthian columns

They have tons of great mirrors…

and mirrored furniture!

I love this bright green chest and the teensy white metal chairs that hang above

My favorite part about antique shops is finding unexpected whimsical pieces (and this place has a ton!)…a random pink beauty shop chair sits in a corner

I wanted this sconce- there was only one there and I needed two! But Lauren ended up finding me some equally beautiful sconces on ebay

Really old, expensive gilt antique chairs sectioned off

I told you there was whimsy! This baby carriage reminds me of one from an old creepy movie- like the Omen..could be a carriage for little Damian!

Mirrors galore

White Elephant Antiques

1026 N Industrial BlvdDallas, TX 75207 (214) 871-7966

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Contemporary Lightboxes

Posted By Emily-Dallas | Sep 06, 2008 | 6 Comments | Category: Art, Lighting

In the process of specifying for clients, there is always the research involved to gain insight and inspiration for the project. Even the simplest items require in depth research and I almost always start with the internet. Sometimes you stumble upon something you weren’t even looking for. That’s what happened to me today! In my quest for bathroom sconces – I came across these very cool lightboxes! Is it art? Is it lighting? It’s both! I am definitely looking forward to using these in a future project. And of all places, they came from one of my favorite online resources: Design Public

Their lightbox art ranges from $395-$1500….view more here!
——————————————————————
Blog contribution by Jill Seidner Interior Design
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First 15

Posted By Emily-Dallas | Sep 06, 2008 | No Comments | Category: Contests

The first fifteen entries into the Material Girls contest get a free Swank Lighting t-shirt!
Pick from any style below…

Front of t shirt with logo

Back of shirt- Swank lamps

Also have ladies tank tops…

Even something for the little one!
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Winners of the Material Girls/Swank Lighting design contest will be the proud owners of these beautiful lamps!

1st place/Grand Prize- a pair of Swank Lighting Lamps valued at $2,190.
Winner can choose any color including (T-Bird Blue, Red/Orange, Vanilla, Sea Foam Green, and Lavender Berry)

Winner can also choose how they want the lamps configured…
Right side up as in the T-Bird Blue above or Inverted as in the Red/Orange below

2nd place- a pair of Swank Lighting Lamps valued at $1,600. Winner will be able to choose between the green pictured, T-Bird Blue, Red, or Lavender Berry

3rd place- a pair of Swank Lighting lamps valued at $900. Winner gets the two lamps pictured which comprise 6 different candy colors of hand blown glass balls by Burchetta Glass

Thanks Swank for the wonderful contribution and good luck everyone!

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We have exciting news about our Material Girls Design Contest that we posted a few weeks ago.

Swank Lighting so graciously decided to donate some of their gorgeous lamps to our contest! Their lamps are only the best of the best and we are so happy that one of our readers will get to display a pair of these beauties in their home! Later this week we will be posting pictures of the Swank lamps on our site that one lucky reader will get (retail value of at least $2,000)!

Same rules apply to the contest; however, one new rule:

**You must include a pair of Swank’s lamps in your virtual board’s design!**
And look how many there are to choose from:


If you haven’t seen it yet, Lauren posted her virtual design board that she did for Spencer and Heidi’s Love Nest- she used a stunning pair of Swank’s lamps to complete her design.

We are pushing the contest back a couple of months so you guys will have lots of time to make awesome boards!

All boards are due November 1st. Winner will be announced on November 15th!

Judges will be Lauren, myself, Doug and Ed of Swank Lighting, and one guest judge!

You can submit a virtual or scanned in design board of any type of room you choose- feel free to go crazy with fabric samples, furniture/ lighting pics, paint colors, cut outs from magazines- you name it! (and hey if you are a good artist, feel free to include a drawing!) A small description describing your tv character’s room and why you chose the decor you did, would be much appreciated-send all boards and descriptions to Emily@ejinteriors.net

ANYONE is allowed to enter- that means bloggers, readers, students, designers- it’s fair game! Just make sure that you create a design board for a well known tv character based on his/her personality and lifestyle. The Met Home Showhouse is a great example of how they used Showtime tv shows to influence each room’s design.

We are excited to see what you come up with!

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Fabric Art

Posted By Emily-Dallas | Sep 03, 2008 | No Comments | Category: Art, Fabric

First off, I’d like to introduce Jill Seidner who owns Jill Seidner Interior Design. She is an Interior Designer in Los Angeles who will be guest blogging for us! Some of her wonderful posts are soon to come! But to tide you over for now, here is a great post she did for us on Fabric Art.

In design & decorating, the walls cannot be ignored! There are so many applications for walls whether it be artwork, decorative painting, built-ins, tapestries, wall decals, wallpaper, or just color itself! However, there is one solution I love to recommend to my clients that is accessible and affordable – and that is the use of fabric art or textile art. If in one’s travels they come across an amazing piece of fabric – why not display it on the wall? It can easily be taken to a frame store for framing or simply tacked to the wall. There are several ways of display.

I am a big fan of one company who makes doing this quite simple and cost effective. It’s a company called Textile Art.

They specialize in Marimekko prints which are retro, mid-century modern, & contemporary Scandinavian designs. I love browsing all the different patterns, graphics & color.

Some of the various prints are:

I recommend purchasing one of the wall hanging kits if you are going to hang on the wall. They sell a wood frame kit so the fabric can be wrapped around the frame then simply stapled to the back. CB2 also carries these fabrics and they have a more modern mounting kit which is a hanging rail.
For a residential project of mine, we used one of the botanical fabrics with the wood mounting kit in the hallway of the client’s entry as seen in the picture.

Lastly, if you are really on a budget – find small fabric samples or scraps that can be turned into a series of wall art with inexpensive framing as I did in my own apartment using fabric & wallpaper samples:

I love all her ideas! She inspired me to do a framed damask fabric hanging in my bedroom!

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