best decorating: 2012

Decorology’s biggest giveaway yet – worth $1,299!

Join me in Austin, Texas on October 24-26 for Design Camp!

I am SO excited to announce this giveaway! One of you lucky ducks will win a ticket to Design Camp in Austin, Texas! Design Camp starts on Oct. 24th with a cocktail party, and ends on the 26th, giving you the weekend to explore Austin. I will be there and cannot wait to meet the winner!

About Design Camp
Design Camp is a two-day seminar hosted and instructed by Celebrity Interior Designers Lori Dennis and Kelli Ellis, with special guests segments led by local and national industry experts in niche fields.

The course is tailored for design professionals and design aficionados. Each day runs from 9AM-6PM and is broken down into 8 segments per day. Drinks, Snacks, Lunch, and Cocktail parties included. By the end of Camp, attendees will have the confidence and ability to run successful modern-day design careers, execute magazine ready interior projects, take careers to an entirely new level, network and collaborate with local suppliers and colleagues.

Design Camp is your destination for practical, applicable, real-life design insight you don’t get from traditional institutions. In two fun-filled days you will discover more at Design Camp, while saving time and money.

Here’s the nitty gritty:
Oct 24 Cocktail Party 6-8 at Stockton Hicks Laffey
Oct 25 8AM-8PM Learning, Lunch and Cocktail Party
Oct 26 9AM-5PM Learning and Lunch

You can see a more detailed agenda here.

To enter for your chance to win one ticket (a $1,299 value) to Design Camp, use the widget below to complete the entry requirements.
Good Luck!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

PLEASE NOTE: The ticket DOES NOT include hotel and flight accommodations, so if you do enter, please make sure that you will definitely be able to travel to Austin from October 24th to the 26th. I will provide the winner with accommodation recommendations.

Speakers include:
Kelli Ellis Celebrity Interior Designer Bravo, HGTV, TLC
Lori Dennis Celebrity Interior Designer HGTV, NBC, Oxygen
Shay Geyer Good Morning Texas
Susanna Salk NBC Contributor and Celebrity Design Author
Ronda Rice Carman All The Best Blog
Adam Japko Design Bloggers Convention, Design Sherpa
Shelly Rosenberg Lura Studio
Leslie Carothers Kaleidescope Partnership
Bill Indursky VandM
Carmen Busceme Hansgrohe
Katy Garret Connexion Software

Design Camp Sponsors:
Interiors Texas Magazine
Hansgrohe Axor
Sub Zero Wolf
Belle Maison
Decorology
Sustainable Furnishings Council
Kravet Interior Design Pro
Kaledeiscope Partnership
Art and Design Matters
Design Sherpa

House Tour: Rustic chic in muted tones

Happy Friday Everyone! I thought you'd enjoy this gorgeous home, which is not only decorated in a modest, but still elegant way, but also has some great architectural bones.

Enjoy!

Not to pick on Lonny Magazine, but is anyone else just a little bit tired of seeing every photo so over-exposed?

Homeowner Estee gives a great design tip: "I prefer to consider everything in terms of color, texture, and pattern, rather than in terms of period or origin. If you concentrate on the color of a piece, rather than whether it's Venetian or bohemian, it's much easier to blend different styles into a single room"

Love the white on the walls and headboard with the gray wash of the wood dresser

This is such a sweet room for a little girl, and it will grow with her with just a few simple changes

Nurseries normally don't turn my head, but this one is so serene and calm.

via Lonny Mag

Surface View – Art like you haven’t seen it before, and a BEAUTIFUL giveaway.

There are A LOT of online options for adorning your home with art these days, whether it be on canvases or wall stickers or prints, but to be honest none have had a selection of art that excites me as much as the art from Surface View.

And lucky for you, they are offering one lucky Decorology reader a print, stretched canvas or birch ply print up to 1200x1200mm ( THAT’S ALMOST 4 FEET!) as a giveaway. Surface View is all about customization and bespoke products, and is going to allow the winner to choose their size (up to the scale above) and any image on one of those 3 products!!! I have to admit I am a bit jealous already of the winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
To enter the giveaway, use the Widget ABOVE to “Like” Surface View on Facebook, and answer the question using the widget “Which Surface View print or collection is your favorite?” Go to Surface View to see the selection.

What strikes me most about the offerings at Surface View, aside from the amazing selections from the collections of museums including the National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery, Getty Images Gallery, and a wide variety of vintage textiles and maps, is the amazing quality and scale of the prints! The word that comes to mind when I look through their online gallery is “D-R-A-M-A-T-I-C-!”

I think you’ll agree when you see the samples I’ve pulled below:

I’m usually not a fan of wall stickers – but I did a double take when I saw these!

The impact one of their canvases can make in a space.

They also offer “epic posters”

How stunning is this mural?

Surface View’s website is also a work of art in itself, and I loved perusing the collections…

As a web designer I love their website!

SWOON! I am in love!

So, don’t forget to use the Widget above to “Like” Surface View on Facebook, and answer the questions “Which Surface View print or collection is your favorite?” The contest is open worldwide. Whoever wins will have their chosen product shipped to them free of charge.
The contest will close on 09/14/12. Good luck!

A simple, sophisticated Venice Beach House Tour

With all the glam I've been posting lately, I thought this attainable, livable look would be a nice breath of fresh air. This home is a renovated Venice Beach bungalow.

Click on each image for a larger view

I adore the simplicity of the dining room.

via House Beautiful

Top Trends in House Lighting

Whether the latest in hand blown glass, fabrics or customized pieces, or whether the newest environmentally friendly LED lighting is for you, the latest trends in house lighting are exciting and innovative and sure to cause a stir. With something for every room and more, lighting has never been so sexy.

Different rooms need different light, that's something we take for granted. However, the latest trends in lighting have taken this basic premise to new levels and with added colours, textures and new materials available, a sophisticated look is within the grasp of everyone.

When considering the right lighting for any particular room there are simple rules that it's well worth following. These make installing the latest trends in lighting far more worthwhile and to better overall effect.

• Take into account what you will use the room for.
A kitchen is for food preparation, but unless you have a separate dining room or are very formal, eating with the family, children's homework and many other tasks can happen here. Good lighting is paramount in a room with heavy usage like the kitchen. However, you may not want to be under the spotlight in the bedroom.

• Consider color.
If you have dark coloured walls, then you might want to employ brighter lighting to compensate. Natural light from windows will also have a bearing on how your chosen lighting works so placement is important.

Kitchen lighting has enjoyed something of a renaissance lately. Recessed lighting, once so popular, has become less sought after. However, pendants and spotlights have enjoyed resurgence in popularity with great fabrics such as tweed and ethnic woven fabrics being used for pendant shades. Also a long time favorite, glass, including colorful hand blown murano type shades, is a good choice for pendants.

Two very traditional chandeliers adds a lot of glam to this small kitchen

A modern twist on the traditional glass pendant or chandelier is a lot of fun in the kitchen

via Country Living, via Kes Lighting, via Rue Mag

Little LED spotlights make a big difference in glass front cabinets

via House of Fifty

Spotlights in busier areas are ideal and with the latest environmentally LED lights you can rest assured that you are making the ethical choice. Green lighting (the actual color – not eco), a huge trend a couple of years ago is out and more muted shades such as teal and smoke are popular. However, these shades are harder to work with in areas that need good illumination so perhaps stick to good uplighters and spotlights with dimmers for your pendants over eating areas to give the right ambience. Remember to use different lighting in different areas, lamps provide great task lighting and can be themed to fit in with your other lighting.

Teal, smoke, and lavender colors are ideal in bedrooms though. Again glass is a popular choice for shades and the chandelier is as big as ever. However, the latest chandeliers use quirky materials and there are some really great designers to choose from. Recycled materials are again a top trend with the environmentally conscious and chandeliers and pendants are an ideal way to channel this fashion in lighting.

For your main living areas, lighting can be one of the most exciting ways to bring a room to life. From the very large, think huge ceiling lights in everything from warm colored metals such as bronze or pewter to eco-chic pieces in layers of cheesecloth or woven fabrics, to the very small such as tiny LED's around a wall mirror are top trends at the moment. Lamps can be used to provide a talking point, with unusual one off pieces, perhaps steampunk influenced, which can be placed strategically to enhance the overall ambience of the room. With spotlights taking over from recessed lighting in a big way and color playing an important part, don't forget to make the very most of textures and materials. A colorful glass pendant or globe will cast a rainbow over the room, but choose carefully as you want it to enhance, not clash with, your decor. Small lamps with clear or white or environmentally friendly LED lighting can be used in areas where you read, sew or generally just want to have higher illumination. The dimmer switch is again, a must have. It really is enjoying a comeback and is so useful in creating depth and atmosphere.

I am completely in love with this shell pendant light. IN LOVE.

2 first via Vampdecor.com, via Country Living

Don't forget the bathroom, where a top trend this year is eco-chic. Muslin, cheesecloth and ethnic/romantic shades work best on pendant fittings. Colored LED again is huge and pink and lavender provide the most flattering of hues. Hallways and passages and landings and stairs, all need to be lit well enough to enable them to be used safely, LED again or lamps in recessed areas have great possibilities.

via Kes Lighting, via Homethangs.com

And finally, don't forget the outside of your home. LED and solar lighting are both here to stay and provide you with the latest looks to compliment your interior lighting.

Click here to visit Kes Lighting and see ideas for lighting.

disclosure*: this post brought to you in partnership with Kes Lighting

Happy Friday and a fantastic giveaway from eclectic decor boutique Zengerine!

I was lucky enough to be recently introduced to a very cool online shop called Zengerine. It combines two of my great loves: home decorating, and travel. While traveling I come across so many amazing objects, but expensive baggage costs and the desire to keep my bags light prevent me from snatching up all the amazing cultural décor I come across.

Luckily, shops like Zengerine have collected little treasures from across the globe so you don’t have to carry them over great expanses of land and sea!

The folks at Zengerine are also awesome enough to give one lucky reader a gift of $75.00! All you have to do to enter is answer some questions in the widget below! (Each question you answer counts as 1 entry).

Currently most of their product focus is on Asia, but they will be featuring products from all over the globe very shortly, so stayed tuned! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are some of my favorite products from Zengerine

I cook a lot of Asian food, and this Chinese steamer set would be so beautiful for entertaining!

How adorable and unique is this tea set from JIA Inc. in Taiwan?! I love the little feet.

This is one of those cups that you just want to display as opposed to using…I think I would use it for a muffin and coffee breakfast on a beautiful Saturday morning out on the balcony though… This porcelain comes from Shanghai.

Drooling over this Jim Thompson Thai silk cosmetic bag!

These adorable salt and peppershakers are from Hong Kong Designer Loveramics.

I have a SERIOUS crush on this Japanese and tattoo inspired floral dishware by Paul Timman for Ink Dish. The first item in my cart was the set of mugs that match this set!

Don't forget to enter this great giveaway by answering the questions in the widget above. The contest closes on September 9, at 6PM EST. I will announce the winner on September 10. Good luck, and have a great holiday weekend!

Blissful bedrooms galore

I don't think I will ever be the type of person who wakes up at an "acceptable" hour without an alarm. My bed is one of my favorite places. Considering my enthusiasm for sleep, I also share a similar enthusiasm for the bedroom. Cheap beds or higher end, they all deserve some lovely surroundings.