Dallas Blog | Material Girls | Dallas Interior Design

I don’t know about you, but I find accessorizing one of the most challenging parts of the design process.  It’s partly because you have to get the right “mix” of accessories. There has to be a balance between textural and smooth, shiny and matte, colorful and neutral, etc.  It can also be difficult because you might find the perfect accessory, but the scale is totally off…or maybe it’s the fact that it’s the last step in the process and if you are anything like me, you are a perfectionist and won’t quit until you find those amazing last touches for the space.

But above all, I truly believe that accessories can be so frustrating because of the lack thereof.  Of course there are a lot of accessory showrooms in Dallas, but  not very many that will let you take things on approval to test out and that is KEY with accessories (buying more than you need, playing around with the arrangement at the residence to get the perfect balance and then being able to return anything that just didn’t work out).  This past year I re-discovered IBB Design Group, a 40,000 square foot showroom who lets you take on approval, has up-to-date/ stylish accessories and has a warehouse FULL of them!

And if that’s not enough to convince you, here is proof-

Shay Geyer and her mother, Beth Rafferty are the brains (and beauties) behind the thirty year old showroom.  The duo’s knack for creating inspiring commercial and residential interiors, as well as stocking their showroom full of goodies from markets around the world, has kept their clients coming back for more.

{Shay in front of one of her favorite pieces}

Not only do they have accessories galore, but they also stock furniture from tons of different manufacturers such as Baker, Henredon, Lee Industries and Vanguard.  The best part? Everything is available for purchase off the floor!

As you can see, they have tons of mirrored pieces. I recently bought two John Richards mirrored etageres from them that are to die for!

Their colorful, patterned vignettes are constantly changing as things move off the floor very quickly (and I have to say this keeps my visits really interesting!)  You never know what they will be up to next

They use really fun patterned fabrics on their pillows and accent pieces….

They sell tons of lighting too…lanterns, drum shade chandeliers, crystal lamps- you name it.

See what I mean about the art?

Did I mention the bedding yet? So luxurious! All you need is a matching silk sleeping eye mask to complete this relaxing scenario.

I’m normally not a huge fan of leather chairs, but I could totally do a pair of these-

Their chairs never lack detail.  Whether it’s a back with a contrasting fabric, a shiny set of nailheads or patterned tape trim, you can count on them to give you designer quality furnishings.

This one here is from their own line…isn’t it great? I love the gray fabric mixed with the gold nailheads. Very unexpected yet so chic.

On my last visit, I snuck back to the warehouse to look at even more inventory and came across this turquoise chest with fabulous oversized hardware-

I love these chairs because they are traditional but with a modern funky flare.  You’d expect the chairs to be all neutral right, but a patterned ikat back?  Only at IBB!

Come visit them! Monday through Saturday- 10-5pm

5798 Genesis Court, Frisco, TX

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Every designer in Dallas has their go-to vintage stores that they frequent for the best deals and hidden treasures. EJ Interiors would like to share one of our personal favorites for finding the best in vintage furniture and accessories – Antiques Moderne! (We are not alone, this is even Barbara Bush’s favorite spot for vintage furniture shopping!) They are a one-stop shop – you can pick your piece and they will refinish, restore, or reupholster for you as well.

John Bacile is the owner of this 20,000 square foot space that is packed full of furniture, art, lighting, and accessories. He has a workshop in the back where they are busy restoring, upholstering and lacquering unique pieces for their wide range of clients. John finds some of the most amazing pieces that you just can’t find anywhere else, and he’s always got the history behind each piece! This guy really knows his furniture.

Take a look at some of the furniture pieces our clients have purchased and the amazing job that Antiques Moderne has done refinishing them -

Wing Chair AFTER!:

We refinished the wood in a glossy white and reupholstered it in a fun gray and white fabric with shiny silver nail heads. Didn’t their team do a great job? Our client just loves it, and we do too!

This credenza stopped me in my tracks when I first saw it. I completely fell in love, and our client did too!

This is it BEFORE:

And here is the AFTER!:

We had John and his team lacquer this piece in a gray-blue color to coordinate with a fabric in the room. It looks absolutely fabulous now!

For the same client, we purchased two wing back chairs that were in need of a little T.L.C.

Here is the BEFORE:

And AFTER!:

We had Antiques Moderne reupholster the pair in a vibrant orange velvet to pop in the navy room. They turned out amazing!

If you live in, or ever visit, Dallas you must stop by Antiques Moderne to see their huge inventory of great vintage furniture. You’re sure to fall in love with something!

Their address is 1208 N. Riverfront Blvd. Tell John we sent you!

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The Material Girls would like to introduce our newest advertiser Joss & Main! We are so thrilled to have Joss & Main be a part of MG!

For those who don’t know, Joss & Main is a members-only site that features daily deals chosen by their carefully selected stylish curators. Joss & Main gives members a chance to buy designer goods at a fraction of the cost! Items featured on the site include everything from large furniture and accent pieces to small accessories, lamps, and kitchenware.

Take a look at some of our favorite featured items from the past few days!-

Chevron Wingback Chair

Spot on Blackbird Striped Lumbar Pillow

Treviso Chandelier

Osbourne Mirror

Freud Croc-Embossed Leather End Table

Henley Sculpture

Louis Ghost Chair

Stateroom Trunk End Table

Click HERE to register with Joss & Main, and tell all of your friends to join too! Trust us, you don’t want to miss out on these fabulous bargains!

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This year has been a pretty fast-paced one for EJ Interiors- we moved into a new office, added some fresh faces to the team and have worked our tails off!  It’s hard to believe that it’s already December and 2011 is coming to a close.  We’ve been really lucky to have worked on a lot of exciting projects this year (and have been having so much fun with our clients in the process) that we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at what EJ Interiors has been up to for the past eleven months or so…

Living Room

Dining Room

Breakfast Room and Kitchen

Office

Dining Room

Kid’s Room

Family Room

Wine Room

Living Room

Guest Bedroom

Family Room

Family Room

Living Room

Office

Game Room

Living Room

Master Bathroom

Piano Room

Dining Room

Guest Bedroom

Master Bedroom

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This past weekend we participated in the Hope for the Holidays event with Catholic Charities.

Pettigrew Associates in the Dallas Design District was kind enough to host the event at their fabulous new showroom off of Market Center Boulevard.

Back in September, we were asked by Catholic Charities to select a few pieces from their World of Goods store and revamp them using paint, fabric and other materials.  We love a fun vintage “Before and After” and also helping out a good cause, so of course we were more than thrilled to participate!

With the painting expertise of RetroChic Renovations, the upholstery skills of M&M Upholstery, and the mirror knowledge of Alamo Glass, we were able to take these pieces from old and worn to modern and fresh!

BEFORE-

AFTER-

BEFORE-

AFTER-

AFTER-

BEFORE-

AFTER-

(All furniture pieces are available for purchase via Catholic Charities, so email us if you are interested!)

EJ Interiors was also asked to decorate a Christmas tree in the theme of our choice that was to be auctioned off the night of the event. Our “Hollywood Regency Holiday Tree” incorporated a chartreuse and white geometric printed skirt, gold peacock feathers, damask ribbon, and an assortment of funky decorations including- white feathers, gold and silver sunbursts, crystal droplets, solid chartreuse, mercury glass, pearl and mirrored ornaments. We were lucky to find the “tree topper” at West Elm which we had created using silver feather-like fans.

On Friday afternoon, we toured the new Pettigrew showroom, which had lots of amazing abstract art, incredible chandeliers, rock crystal accessories, and luxurious pieces of furniture. I loved their mix of traditional and modern in each vignette.

The best part of all, is that Pettigrew makes their own lighting! We went back to the shop where all the magic happens. They showed us a chandelier from England that they are currently working on for a client in Dallas. The scale of it was pretty amazing. Taylor is standing next to it (so you can really see how humongous this thing was!) Now if only we could see the house that this incredibly tall piece is going in….

Some more of their lighting. Isn’t the piece on the right gorgeous?

If you are a local interior designer and haven’t visited Pettigrew’s new showroom yet, it’s a must! It’s a great trade resource for clients with lots of unique and diverse pieces!

1805 Market Center Boulevard, Dallas, 75207

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Now that we have entered the month of November… tasty holiday drinks are back on the menu, stores are stocking shelves with holiday decorations, and it is finally time for the once-a-year Dallas Sample Sale!! Trust us you don’t want to miss it!

This fabulous event starts with a preview night this Thursday, November 3rd, from 6-9 p.m. and lasts all weekend! The Dallas Sample Sale takes place at the Dallas Market Center (see directions here).  This is your chance to get a head start on all of your holiday shopping and get amazing gifts at wholesale prices! There is something for everyone on your list… Jewelry, toys, children’s clothing, home accessories, holiday decorations, furniture… you name it there’s a showroom for it!

Also, the Salvation Army Angel Tree program will kick-off during the preview event on Thursday! Shoppers can make selections for their angel and drop them off that night, if they’d like!

The sale takes place Thursday evening from 6-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Last year’s sale drew more than 15,000 people! Tickets are only $20 at the door so don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity! See you there!

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This morning, the EJ Interiors team took a little field trip to the Global Views warehouse sale! We got there right at 9 a.m. thinking we would be the only ones there… but the place was already packed! It was crazy and definitely took a lot of work, but we walked away with some AMAZING bargains!

There were rows and rows of tables covered in fabulous accessories…vases, candelabras, mirrors, trays, lamps, fabric, furniture, anything you could imagine… and people were grabbing everything in sight!

These etageres are to die for! I wanted to buy them all.

We started a little pile of our finds (which eventually grew into a HUGE pile), and continued adding as we discovered more!

Look at the assortment of trays we rounded up! We ended up buying two of the quatrefoil ones for ourselves And the cream Barbara Barry tray was a steal! Wouldn’t these look great on a coffee table or ottoman?

Amazing selection of mirrors. We came back with two of these also…

This was a great set but we really wanted a few more to finish it off so…

We decided on this set of 6! Not really sure where they are going yet but somebody needs these!

And finally, here are a few pictures of our THREE dollies full of goodies! Please don’t show my husband these photos…

These lamp shades might be going in the office or be made into a funky light fixture for a client!

These vases were a hit! (Everyone kept trying to grab them!) They are real silver leaf and imported from Italy! Such a good buy.

As you can tell, we had a wonderful time and came home with A LOT of great stuff! Now we just have to find a place to put it all!

The Global Views warehouse is located at 7301 Ambassador Row in Dallas and sale ends tomorrow at noon! Definitely worth a visit!

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For the past month, we’ve been hard at work on a vignette for Dwell with Dignity’s new Thrift Studio store which just opened up in the design district here in Dallas.  Five local designers were asked to plan out a room vignette using Dwell’s vintage furniture and accessories from their warehouse, as well as other donations from the design community.  We had so much fun on this project because it was different from any other project we had done before. We really had to stretch our creativity on this one! We had a really short time to complete it in, limited resources, and virtually no budget, but we were definitely up for the challenge!

Taking this lackluster space from this-

{Before}

To this- in just a couple of weeks was a little bit of a stretch for EJ Interiors but somehow we managed to pull it off!

{After- EJ Interiors’ dining room vignette for Dwell with Dignity’s Thrift Studio opening}

Our room centered around bold orange and turquoise. The inspiration? A pair of these adorable chairs that we managed to dig up in Dwell’s warehouse…

The process was so unique that I had to take some photos along the way to document our Dwell journey!

Phase 1- All of the designers meet at Dwell’s warehouse to grab the pieces they want to use for their vignette.  I put everything in my little pile that could be a possibility for the space.  Now the question is- what in the world am I going to do with it all?

Phase 2- There was a lot to do in a little amount of time.  Since most of the things in the warehouse were older items, I knew that re-upholstering and re-painting furniture had to happen..and quick!

I couldn’t believe my luck in finding these four matching chairs in the warehouse…

And  then I was even more shocked to find the perfect turquoise fabrics hidden in a corner…

It was meant to be!

M&M Upholstery donated the upholstery labor and Nicole Horne of Modern Relics donated the painting labor for the chairs…what a fantastic team they made!

Phase 3- Time to get the room painted!  Twenty five Neiman Marcus volunteers came out to help us get our rooms ready and I must say that I couldn’t have done it without them!  They quickly helped my vision come to life and did such a great job painting the walls and trim.

I loved our little team! If any of you are reading this, thank you again so much!

The Thrift Studio starts coming together…

Loved the entrance!

Ok we are making some progress..drapes are almost up!

Phase Four- Completion! Everything is in place for the sneak preview party and so now we just wait for people to shop, shop, shop!

For those of you that weren’t able to make it for the great deals at the preview party last Friday, not to worry because the Thrift Studio pop up shop is open from now until October 29th- Monday through Saturday 10-5:30 pm at 1616 Hi Line Drive in Dallas.

So many great deals to be had and such an amazing way to help out a good cause!

So many volunteers helped make the Dwell with Dignity event such a success.  Thank you again!  Some of the sources below..

{Royal Old Fashioned Tumblers- Wisteria Outlet}

{Mirror- taken off from an old dresser and re purposed for the buffet.  Christian at Think Twice kindly helped us hang the mirror by decorative gold chain}

{Bust- Pettigrew Associates}

{Pedestal- Dwell with Dignity}

{Custom white drapes with turquoise band on leading edge- Stitches by Carmen; wood drapery rods- Williamson Supply}

{Crystal Sconce- Dwell with Dignity}

{Vintage Gucci bag- Dwell with Dignity}

{Painted brackets from Hobby Lobby, vintage New Orleans prints, wall sunbursts, antler horns- EJ Interiors}

{Chandelier- Visual Comfort, Taylors on Ten}

{Wall Color- Benjamin Moore paint}

{Flatware, dishes, wine glasses, decorative bowls- Dwell with Dignity}

{Dining table- Dwell with Dignity- base painted orange}

{Mercury glass vase- EJ Interiors}

{Sticks in vase- found in a pile of bulk trash-no kidding EJ Interiors}

{Chaise lounge- Dwell with Dignity- repainted creamy white}

{Custom 18″ pillow- Trina Turk fabric; chaise upholstery- Childress leopard print fabric- EJ Interiors}

{6×9 Sisal rug- Dwell with Dignity}

Photos by: Fort Worth Real Estate Photography

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For some reason I feel like all of my projects lately have had one thing in common… ottomans! Random I know, but it seems like these multi-purpose pieces have solved some big design dilemmas for us at EJ Interiors! Whether we are working on a family room, bedroom, home office, or even an outdoor living space, ottomans have been the perfect solution when we are tight on space or need the room to serve several functions! I searched my go-to sites (Pinterest and Decorpad) for some fabulous examples of how ottomans can transform ANY room.

IN THE MIDDLE OF FOUR CHAIRS-

I must say that my favorite use of the ottoman is a square ottoman set on the diagonal placed between four chairs.  This seating arrangement makes for a very cozy conversation area-

{Traditional Home}

IN PLACE OF A TRADITIONAL COFFEE TABLE-

Sometimes you just want to put your feet up when on the couch watching TV, but this is never as relaxing with a regular coffee table.  With this layout, you don’t have to feel guilty kicking back and relaxing and it’s super comfortable too-

{Elle Decor}

In this situation, I like a tray on the ottoman- one that can hold books, vases, and other random accessories-

{Elle Decor}

BETWEEN TWO CHAIRS-

J Lo chose to put a coordinating ottoman between her two two matching chairs.  This ottoman can serve a few different purposes…it can be pulled up in front of one of the chairs as a foot rest, could be an extra seat, or if it had a tray, could pose as an accent table to hold drinks.

{Veranda}

This ottoman poses as a foot rest and/or coffee table between these two chairs in this gorgeous gray library-

UNDER A CONSOLE TABLE-

You never know when you are going to need extra seating at a party, so the placement of this ottoman is a great solution for when you have to accommodate larger groups. Not to mention, this ottoman just looks good as an accent under the console table and softens the lines of it.

IN FRONT OF A CHAIR-

This is the most obvious place for an ottoman, in front of a chair..however, where the chair and ottoman are, couldn’t be more unexpected- in a master bath!

AS EXTRA SEATING IN LIVING ROOM-

These round and oval ottomans are pretty fab and are a great way to add extra seating to your living room. Usually placed right in front of a coffee table, these ottomans provide a place for guests to perch and enjoy their cocktails!

Jamie knew what he was doing when he added this huge round hot pink ottoman-

{Jamie Drake}

And here he did it again!

{Jamie Drake}

AS A BED BENCH-

Ottomans in the bedroom are perfect for breakfast in bed! (or more realistically, a good spot to sit and put on your shoes!)

{House Beautiful}

{Tobi Fairley}

OUTDOOR OTTOMANS-

Ottomans in an outdoor living area add seating without blocking the beautiful view OR they could serve as footstools for days when you just want to lounge!

{Architectural Digest}

{Windsor Smith}

AS STORAGE-

How amazing is the Rousseau storage ottoman from Lilly Pulitzer?? 16 storage pockets inside for shoes!! This is seriously every girl’s dream…

IN A CLOSET-

Well actually, maybe THIS is every girl’s dream. Great use of it, wouldn’t you agree?!

And another…just so I can live vicariously through these women with their big closets!

So I guess the question is- is there anything you can’t do with an ottoman?!!

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I was so excited when I received this email from Wisteria! It is finally time for their Warehouse Sale this Thursday, Sept. 22nd through Saturday Sept. 24th! (I will be there tomorrow with bells on!)

Their warehouse is located just outside of Dallas in Farmers Branch (see map HERE). I highly recommend heading out there sometime this weekend for some great deals on fab furniture, home accessories, jewelry and more!

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