Saturday, March 19, 2011

Foyer fabulosity Part I and a Stylish Blogger Award!

I start this day with a prayer for Japan and for the recovery and restoration process to be swift and successful and for the people to remain strong and determined. May God light their way.....

I was extremely grateful to receive the Stylish blogger award by not one but two absolutely amazing blogger friends whose blogs are two of my top favorites! Thank you so much Amy and Luciane!! I am honored and grateful for the recognition. Please visit them at their blogs (both incredibly great)
Click here

Click here

One part of accepting this award is passing it on....so here is my list of  blogs I feel deserve special recognition and a shout out for doing an awesome job! They are each worth visiting as there is always beautiful eye candy and interesting tidbits of information (Click on blog to visit) And thanks for what you do!


Good morning........I preface  this by saying this is going to be part I of a two part post. I have a large collection of foyers and dont' want any of them feeling left out so today is part I!  (Part II will follow one day next week) Foyers are one of my favorite rooms in the house. They are the first to give you an impression and hopefully a lasting one. Think about the first time you visit someones house or apartment, your very first opinion or take on that respective home is based upon the minute the front door opens.........
Do you see a bland space that underwhelms you or an interesting space with beautiful flooring, lighting, maybe a beautiful chest or console with a lamp or interesting objects of art. Maybe there is a painting, mirror or collection of books perched atop a table. The foyer is your first chance to wow someone coming into your home. It can set and should set the tone for what is to come. Because it is typically small or smaller than other rooms in the home, it is often a "doable" room to complete and unlike a living or dining room, you don't have to wait until you can afford to get everything you need. So here are some foyers that I think have successfully created that WOW factor and get you at "hello".

Hendrix/Allardyce designed this fabulous and very grand foyer using antiques and allowing the gorgeous tall iron doors to create drama and elegance
I love this beautiful and quietly dignified foyer complete with center table, ample seating and lots of natural sunlight...the architectural elements add a lot of visual interest
Gorgeous breathtaking foyer with dramatic black and white marble floors, gorgeous architectural elements is all you need, Cullman and Kravis
Ashley Whittaker created this beautiful and stately space, love the floors, the blue and white and the stair runner...they all work fabulously together
Scott Snyder chose gorgeous inlaid wood floors to create a wow factor for this elegant Park Avenue apartments foyer...very opulent
A stately home went simple and classic in their foyer, understated and elegant
Thomas Pheasant designed this understated, classic traditional foyer in Paris
Vibrant metalized wallpaper is sometimes all you need for the wow factor
An all time favorite, very French looking, the paneled door, flooring and iron balustrade make it!
Love this elegant old world feeling foyer, Mary Evelyn McKee
Darly Henault used a dramatic inlaid stone floor for extra punch in this traditional foyer
This has a neat, sleek and elegant vibe. The stone walls add a lot of interest as does the dark framed door....nicely done.
Alexa Hampton designed this spectacular New Orleans foyer complete with columns, intricate marble flooring and a fabulous iron door, keeping the furnishings simple and understated
Kay Douglass designed this European influenced foyer with Belgian stone floors and a rustic center table, love the floor and the beautiful antique lamp
J Randall Powers created this symmetrical foyer with a pair of chests, mirrors and stools
Jan Showers designed this glamorous old Hollywood feeling foyer
Ned Marshall kept this dramatic space sparse and simple...the dark dramatic floors take center stage, he went with a silver striped paper and played off the color in accessorizing it 
This surely has the wow factor, the gorgeous bright chinoiserie panels and zebra covered benches add much drama to this foyer, Maison 21
Barbara Westbrook used rich warm woods to decorate this pretty and casually elegant foyer
Wow talk about drama! HGTV dream house chose to paint the walls and molding aqua with gold accents....dramatic and lively
The less is more principle is at work here, and very effectively..quietly elegant and sophisticated foyer, Nathan Egan
William Hodkins designed this grand space, keeping it monochromatic
Pretty monochromatic wallpaper sets the cool elegant tone for this neutral foyer..beautifully done by Thornton Designs
Black and white checkerboard floors always make a statement, House Beautiful
Michael Berman kept things simple and streamlined in this transitional feeling foyer
Elegant tropical feeling to this large, grand scaled foyer complete with fireplace, House Beautiful
Sometimes just a few very dramatic objects is all that is needed as shown here, Decorpad
Jonathan Adler kept this all white foyer simple and used purposeful pops of color for drama on the chair, and black console table


So you know I love to know if you have a favorite. What are your favorite touches in a foyer? Some things I love are over sized mirrors, tall branches in a blue and white jar or some other pretty container, a few books or picture frames adds a warm touch. Flooring and lighting of course are very important and set the tone for all the decorating elements that follow. Have an enchanting day!



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Friday, March 18, 2011

A DAY DEDICATED TO JAPAN

No post today as I stated yesterday, (but feel free to poke around at some of my older posts). Today is a day to think about, honor and pray for those in Japan. Be back tomorrow.....
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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Things I am loving Thursdays....

I start this day with a prayer for Japan. The devastation is beyond comprehension and it seems that every day I wake up, I have to brace myself for an even more dire report than the previous day. I pray for all the people of Japan, both those that lost their lives and those that are survivors, and for the swift recovery and healing for the country and its stoic people. Hope we will each do our part, there is nothing too small to help in this enormous relief effort. I have been recommending this link (from Time's newsfeed) as a short, to the point list of ways one can help. Click lick here for the link

I am also participating in The bloggers day of silence, tomorrow March 18th and will not have a post on Friday (will resume Sat) This is being done to raise awareness for the relief effort and how important it is for everyone to help in their own way. I ask my fellow bloggers to consider participating, if you aren't already.

More information go here


So on things I am loving Thursdays, I talk about what I am loving or what I have discovered this week. Since I am in the full throes of doing multiple things for the house, I am exposed to a great deal. Sometimes too much. Sometimes, it is overwhelming and just when I think I know what I want, BAM, I see something else that turns me in a whole new direction. Thankfully, this isn't happening too often but when it does, I just go with it and figure there is a reason for everything! I am concentrating on getting the bathrooms done, the kitchen and carpeting for the bedrooms (yes, looks I am winning....) but below are some other goodies that I have found in my travels..some I would like to use, others to put on my wish list. Whats life without aspirations and dreams! What are yours?

INSPIRATIONS FROM WALLPAPER. Do you ever find something you fall in love with so much that you allow it to inspire you to complete a room? Well I do this all the time and I am feeling very inspired by these two papers, by Ralph Lauren. I think they would both be stunning in a powder room.....I also put the picture of a tonal marble basketweave in the middle that would work with both just to give you an idea. I love them because I love birds and the colors are elegant and timeless.   What do you think? Do you have a favorite?





NAVY UPHOLSTERED HEADBOARD/BED. Thinking about this idea for my sons room. Very elegant, timeless and certainly very handsome/masculine especially when accented with things like nail heads and more masculine feeling fabrics. What do you think?  I love the look paired with rich dark woods and can see it with plaids or tweed fabric as an accent. I just love the richness of the navy, though I would add more plaids and or woven fabrics. 




REPRODUCTION ACCENTS FOR THE KITCHEN. These refrigerator doors are just incredible! I love them, its too late for me now as my panels are being made as we speak but I think in the right kitchen, these could rival anything else in the kitchen as the real showstopper! (love the clock on the top of the second one...how neat)


LIQUID SOAPS AND CANDLES BY SEDA FRANCE. OK, I know this is a super teeny tiny indulgence and that's why its so great....a cheap thrill! I normally do not get too excited over liquid soap or candles, trust me on that one. But Seda France makes the most wonderful smelling soaps and candles whose scents linger on your hands like perfume. They come in several scents, french tulip is one  my favorites. I buy them by the half dozens....and put these gorgeous refillable bottles of liquid soap in all the bathrooms. The candles are amongst my most favorite and I am really a serial candleaholic. They now come in the gorgeous containers below which are a chinoiserie ceramic....so gorgeous!  I have over the years tried almost every candle manufacturer, or almost all and Seda France ranks among the top two for me. Again these are scattered all over my house and the scents are so beautiful and permeate everywhere.....a treat!


GOTHIC INFLUENCE LIMESTONE MANTLES. Something so old world about these, they give a room a certain authentic appeal. We have been scouring many sources for the perfect Gothic influenced fireplace mantle for our family room. We finally found it....its very similar to the one below. An exact reproduction of a period mantle, made in limestone which has a natural "antiqued feel" to it. It will make the room and I am sure be a focal point.





GORGEOUS GREEN GRASS AND A SMALL FORMAL GARDEN IN A YARD. I love these images from Wild flower grounds, magnificent not overly landscaped yards but with an architectural quality to the landscape....a small beautiful hedge garden or pretty cutouts using grass and stone, so pretty..I must have spring fever!




REPRODUCTION PERIOD HARDWARE. I love old hardware....always been drawn to it if I see an old piece of furniture, the first thing I look at is the normally gorgeous vintage looking hardware...that has that special aged patina on it. Even the new ones meant to look old still look new, but there are some great choices out there. I am just starting to look for both my kitchen and the doors...lots of choices and am sure there are many yet to discover.



MARBLE MOSAICS. What is one of my Thursday posts without something from my favorite marble mosaic company, New Ravenna. Their imagination and creations know no bounds..they are just jaw droppingly




GREAT LINENS. I am a bedding fanatic. My justification and mantra is  that we spend nearly half our lives in bed! Why not sleep in the best most comfortable luxurious bedding you can afford! One of my favorite companies is Home Treasures, they make beautiful incredibly soft cotton sateen bedding and sheets.The detailing can be kept simple or they can put gorgeous laces on the edges....they customize it however you would like but their attention to detail is wonderful. Many of the sets I have, I have owned for several years and they  hold up beautifully. At the end of a  long day, coming home to a luxurious bed swathed in the softest cool linens is the ultimate reward! If you want to indulge in a really amazing set of linens...I highly suggest these!



BOOKS. I am a definite bona fide book junkie and in particular love interior design and architecture books. Have stacks and stacks of them all over the place. Two coming out that I have just preordered that I cannot wait to receive are Charlotte Moss's new book, Charlotte Moss decorates and the new Ferguson and Shamamian book, New Traditional Architecture..they both look wonderful!



So that about sums up what I am loving today, of course tomorrow is a whole new day! Would love to know if you like anything above or if there is something new that you are loving this week..always fun to hear. Wishing you an enchanted day.



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