Dallas Blog | Material Girls | Dallas Interior Design

Seeing the photo below in this month’s House Beautiful, reminded me of how much I love a good WIDE stripe!

{Wallpaper is Millennium Stripe in Beige and White by First Editions- design by Meg Braff}

I think wide stripes just make so much more of a statement than a narrow stripe.  My belief is that if you are going to stripe it up, you might as well do it to the extreme.  Make it bold!  Wide stripes look great just about anywhere- on headboards, painted on walls and ceilings, on wallpaper, on pillows, on chairs, on window treatments and on rugs!  There is nothing better than a wide stripe (ok, maybe a fun geometric) but you get the picture!

Of course, wide stripes don’t look great everywhere- you certainly have to choose the right application.  Scale is very important in this case!  You need to make sure the repeat of the stripe isn’t too big and overwhelming for the piece you are putting it on.

Take a look at these whimsical rooms below, that decided that in the right application, going wide is the answer!

Bringing the stripes all the way up on the ceiling, helps this bathroom feel much taller.

{Domino}

Horizontal stripes helps to widen a room.

{Miles Redd}

Wide stripes on roman shades make a fun, graphic statement in this playroom.

{Traditional Home}

There is no “coloring between the lines” here!  The designer decided to take the stripes all the way out to the exterior border of this headboard.  Never would have thought to do this, but it works wonderfully here.

{House Beautiful}

Wide stripes can look fabulously graphic on a black and white rug.

{Visual Vamp blog}

Wallpaper is one of my favorite applications of the wide stripe- go bold with red and white or keep it simple and understated with a tone on tone neutral stripe.

{This is Love Forever blog}

Stripes even look great on the ceiling- especially in a nursery!

{Apartment Therapy}

Or how about wide stripes on the floor?

{Point Click Home}

Or even alternating colors on the wall?

{Coastal Living}

I adore wide stripes on furniture…and I’m talking WIDE! The settee below takes wide to a whole new level.

{Decorpad}

Green and cream stripes are repeated throughout the room below.  This repetition is what makes this room so interesting and cohesive.

On the right chair, a wide stripe fabric can look really lovely. Normally I am not a red person, but the chair below is so rich and fabulous!  The more contrast in color that your two stripes have, the more of a statement you will make!

{Patricia Gray Blog}

Since wide stripes are more whimsical and playful in my opinion, doing them in a nursery or playroom is a great idea.  Julie Richard of Shelter blog, created this nursery for her son, which was featured on La Dolce Vita’s Personal Style, Defined series.  Perfection!

{Design by Julie Richard of Shelter}

These photos make me want to go get some painters tape and start striping whatever I can get my hands on!

Share:

     

Christine from Evergreen Park, IL won our Material Girls/Merida rug contest!

Congrats Christine and enjoy your new rug!

Also, be sure to visit Merida’s regular monthly giveaway for more chances to win one of their fabulous rugs.  You’ll also get a coupon for a rug purchase just for entering! Not too shabby if you ask me.

Thanks to all who participated.  Looking forward to the next MG giveaway!

Share:

     

I tend to frequent the Kravet showroom in Dallas at least once a week!  I always seem to have such good luck there in finding the perfect fabric for a client.

While on a memo sample shopping spree the other day, I came across the most beautiful fabric- it consisted of a soft turquoise and brown leaf print embroidered upon a crisp white linen background.

{Herbarium- Mineral: 30352/1635)

And what do you know, it is a fabric by the distinguished interior designer, Barclay Butera!  I could not get this fabric out of my head all week.  It became the jumping off point for an entire room design for that client.

I  must say that all of Barclay’s fabrics and rugs for Kravet are so completely stunning…and the fact that he has also selected a forty color palette of paint from Benjamin Moore that will complement all these textiles, makes them that much more appealing!

His paint colors are organized into four divisions-

Beach (i.e.: Ben Moore’s Blue Toile 748), City (i.e.: Indian River 985), Mountain (i.e.: Great Plains Gold 1077), and Town & Country (i.e.: Krisp Khaki 234).

To learn more about these fabric divisions and get further Barclay inspiration, be sure to read his book, Living in Style.

Here are a few additional photos of Barclay’s Kravet fabrics to get your creative juices flowing-

These to me are such calming fabrics.  They aren’t loud or overdone in the least bit.  Fourth from the left, is my fabric crush- Herbarium.

Now let’s just hope that my client selects the color scheme that had Barclay’s Herbarium fabric in it! (fingers crossed!)

And one more photo for the road…Barclay’s Tufts for Kravet Carpet.  How great would this look with a bit of chocolate brown?

{Photos via Kravet, Inc.}

Share:

     

There’s only a week and a half left to register for the Material Girls/Merida rug contest!

Winner receives a 5′ x 8′ Serengeti Gazelle area rug valued at $1800.  This is a contest you don’t want to miss!

The Serengeti is part of Merida’s new Global Collection line and is composed of sisal and linen.

If you would like to receive a FREE sample of one of the Global Expedition products (like the Serengeti above), click here for their online sample request form.

Drawing will be held on August 31! Can’t wait to reveal the big winner!

Share:

     

I’m sure this diamond patterned Stark carpet has been blogged about over and over again…but for good reason!  It’s such a fantastic, versatile rug that looks great with any type of room.

The Stark sisal is a recurring piece that I often see in dining rooms and living rooms.  Well, not in “real life”, mostly in publications.  You see, most clients are apprehensive about using sisal rugs in their home.  Their view is that it is high maintenance and not very practical.  Maybe there is some truth to that, but you just really can’t beat the look of a sisal rug!

I really do see this particular Stark rug EVERYWHERE.  The name of it is Natura.  I was looking in my Style Book last night and started to notice just how many photos I’ve torn out that include this Stark rug! What are the odds?  Well, don’t answer that

This rug would be perfect for a project I am working on but I’m hesitant about it and wondering- is it just a fad?

Cote de Texas used the Natura in one of her projects.  Isn’t this living room lovely?  The diamond patterned sisal she chose is a perfect match with the paint color.

Here’s another instance where the Natura showed up- but in a dining room.  For a room like this where lots of grays are used, I think it is essential to have a natural rug like the sisal to warm up the space so it doesn’t look too stark (nor too matchy)

I spy…the Natura! In a Cote de Texas post

Here the Natura is (yet again) in one of my favorite Traditional Home spreads.  We blogged about this circus themed home not too long ago- such an interesting history behind it!

And another instance where a designer used the Stark rug.  This time, it’s in the “Yoga dining room” that was featured in House Beautiful.  I always remember this as the Yoga dining room because they framed grass Yoga mats with panel moldings for the backdrop of this room! Now if only I could find my old mat from Tarjay…

Same house- different room!  The Natura was also used in the client’s living room to keep it consistent throughout the public spaces.

This D Home spread featured a dining room with the patterned rug.  It complements the beautiful de Gournay wallpaper nicely.

I found this funky dining room in Veranda.  What do you know? They used the Stark rug too!

I just discovered that this rug is also sold at their Outlet…learn something new every day!  Didn’t even know Stark had a few outlet locations.

Would love to know your thoughts! Are you already over this rug or is it a classic?

Share:

     

We are so excited to announce our latest giveaway- the Material Girls/Merida Free Area Rug Contest!

Merida has been designing sustainable and stylish area rugs for over 30 years.  We are so thrilled to be partnering up with this wonderful rug company and giving our readers the opportunity to win a free Merida area rug.

Winner will receive a 5′ x 8′ Serengeti Gazelle (sisal and linen) area rug valued at $1,800! (pictured above)

To enter, all you have to do is read the official rules (which state you can only enter once), complete the form on the link here, and click on the confirmation email to validate your entry.  Merida will ship to US and Canada.

The drawing will be held on August 31, 2009 and the winner will be announced on Material Girls, September 1st!

The Serengeti rug is just one of many rugs featured in their new Global Expedition line (others include the Alhambra, the Kyoto, and the Cortina).  The Serengeti was inspired by the exotic wildlife and landscape of the African wilderness.  This sisal and linen combo is woven in an earthy palette of sun and sand with shiny yards in a simple but visually stimulating design.

{Serengeti- Jacana}

{Serengeti- Ibis, Gazelle and Jacana}

{Turkana Sahara}

{Alhambra- Glacier and Camel}

{Turkana- Sahara}

{Kyoto- Locust, Glacier and Tupelo}

As you probably already know, sisal rugs are currently a very popular choice of rugs for the home because they are so versatile.  We love this area rug because it brings neutral texture to a room and looks great with any type of decor.  With a sisal, you aren’t tied to a particular color scheme which I LOVE as I am constantly changing around the rooms in my house.

{Kyoto- Locust, Glacier and Tupelo}

Contest ends August 31st- thanks for participating!

Share:

     

I didn’t know Vera Bradley had a rug collection, did you?

As a matter of fact, (if you want to get specific) this fine rug collection was created for Vera Bradley by Marcella Fine Rugs and is made of 100% wool.

The Peacock Rug above bears a striking resemblance to none other than her Peacock bag collection (which I have and love!)

Her rugs mimic the colorful, playful patterns that have made her bags such a success.  Check out more patterns here!

Share:

     

Guess who?

Designer…produced geometric carpet designs and graphic color combos…liked to mix contemporary with classics…influential in the 1970′s/1980′s…British.

Hmmmmm…who could this be?

{Photo via Patricia Gray}

{Photo via Style Court}

I’m sure you won’t be needing to phone a friend or use a lifeline on this one…who else could it be other than the iconic, uber talented designer- the late David Hicks.

David Hicks’ legend is now being carried on by his son, Ashley through the multi-line interior design showroom, Studium.

David’s classic, graphic patterns from the 1960′s have been reproduced as marble and limestone flooring.  Are these not incredibly stunning?!

The flooring can be customized and is available here- starting at $75/sq ft.  What a great way to add lots of pattern in an unexpected place!

I’ll take them all please! Ok maybe just a sample…

Share:

     

One of my clients emailed me today with a link to Angela Adams’ site (any relation to Ansel?). She wants to purchase one of her fabulous rugs for her home.

I got to exploring more of her site and she has some really interesting pieces on there. I love her use of color and pattern in all of her products. Her designs are inspired by the natural beauty of Maine. Never been to Maine before, but if it’s as gorgeous as her designs, we may just have to take a trip there!

Not only does she have home decor, she also designs apparel.




These trays are perfect for serving sweet treats (like cupcakes) at a party. Magnolia Bakery or Sprinkles? Hmmm decisions, decisions.

Her Lulu Stationary

It has become a recent obsession of mine. Recent meaning- about an hour ago. I love this current and stylish color combo- blue and orange!

These Pod/Sprout pillows are the best- never quite seen anything like them!

These geometric pillows are equally as fun.

A lot of her fabrics, wallcovering, and rugs are sustainable too- so you can be chic and enviro friendly at the same time. Also, check out her contract wallcoverings for MDC (to the trade)- cool stuff!

Share:

     

Whenever working on a project, there is always the rug debate…purchase something with a lot of color and pattern or stick to something subtle and neutral such as sisal, seagrass, or jute.

Mary MacDonald “wanted a contemporary pop” so she chose a pattern for the floor. This Lisa Fine rug has a large scale pattern which actually makes this small room appear a bit larger! The trick to expanding small rooms, is to use large furniture and large patterns- you just might be surprised how deceiving it is- makes people think the room is a lot larger than it is. And in interior design, we are all about optical illusions and hiding our room’s flaws!

Solid and muted hued furniture let the flooring take center stage for once!

Share: