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Fresh back from my visit with my “pink lady” in Atlanta, I had an amazing trip.  Exciting, productive and FUN. We worked and played hard.  After long days at the house and various other design related destinations, we ended the days with the best food Atlanta has to offer together and the stress of the day dissipated with our first glass of Proseco:)

I was so pleased to see the renovation coming along so swimmingly, and with the handsome and capable Duncan in charge, why wouldn’t it be?  The subs I met were top of the line: professional, knowledgeable and polite—to the point of referring to me repeatedly as “M’am.  Courteous, yes, but making me feel like an old hag!:) I need to remember my upbringing down south and get over it, now…

The house is looking great, on schedule and final finishes are about to be installed.  As expected, a slight hiccup occurred. Client forgetting to tell me about a wall between the kitchen and family room being removed was a detail I was glad to learn about.  In fact, we turned on a dime and ran over to ADAC  and COMPLETELY re-invented her Family Room textile composition.

When this happens, I try to embrace it rather than get panicked.  Why bother?  The challenge needed to be met and we DID it. Result?  I am actually more thrilled with the second scheme than I was with the first, and that says a lot.

Lunch at The Hungry Peach was a real reward.  Let’s just say it ain’t no Au Bon Pain… (Boston Design center, are you listening..?) Let me mention how amazing this design center is: AMAZING.  Frankly, I could have used another 2 days exploring the Atlanta Design Center has to offer—many lines I had never seen and a prolific and progressive display of cutting edge design sources.  For those of you who think the south is behind the north, well think again, honey.

Curious about what we accomplished in 3 hours flat?

Take a peek:

Hi, friends.

I sure hope you haven’t given up on me; I have missed all of you!

Busy, busy working on several new projects, including a new tween girl’s clothing store in Brookline which is going to be a real design treat and surprise for all you locals. Scheduled to open by the skin of our chin in October, it will be fun, fun and more fun.  Check back for details.  The overall look is a bit of a secret, but not for long….the great part is that we are incorporating two local innovative designers’ items in our scheme, which feels right and looks fresh and plain great.

I am headed to the ATL for a site visit on my “pink lady” project— whose fabulous historic home is in full renovation mode.  The finishes are as colorful and unexpected as we planned and I am thrilled with the outcome so far. We are FINALLY ready to order the textiles and furnishings, which I blogged about almost a year ago.  This has certainly been an exciting full scale project and I am super thrilled to actually get it installed.

I am lucky to have a great new roster of fun projects and great clients right now, thank goodness…:) Once again, the spirits above have gifted me another design soul-mate for a client, a real treat for any design professional. It is rare that a client loves everything I suggest and is willing to go for it, hook-line-and-sinker. Most clients start with baby steps, start to understand me, and go for some or most of my ideas but—usually not skidding into home plate full speed ahead, like these few. I certainly was lucky to have found one of these in my “pink lady” and now, a local newbie who is making my job more fun than it already is. As evidenced by the OKL suggestion I emailed her about a half an hour ago and has already been purchased for her dining room.

Notice the turquoise sideboard pictured above.  Welcome the newest member of my local project round-up: a vintage Asian buffet, scheduled to land in Boston in a few weeks, hopefully. Now, this is a woman who thinks like me!  Jump in without looking down…. Happy times…!

More soon, promise.

XO

Katie

Image via One Kings Lane.

I know, where the hell have I been?

It appears I am on an extended “sabbatical”, yes, a sabbatical—that is what i will call it. This implies I am not gone, just off doing something important somewhere else, which is EXACTLY the truth. I am busier than I ever anticipated with client projects, new initiatives and of course, the girls being home and needing me.

When will I be back on track? Dunno. I hope to each day, but it will happen naturally, just like the blog came to be. So please check in, soon I hope to be posting loads of new project snippets from near and far.

Meantime, I was on a mission to find zebra hides for a few clients and found a treasure trove at Jayson Home and Garden— the zebras are all faux, which is nice for some, and there is a rainbow of cow hides to choose from—I never knew cows existed in so many colors, in fact.

Even a faux leopard, which could be an interesting addition to a moody space like a den, library or office.

But, if you are looking for a hide, look no further, here you go:

 Images via Jayson Home and Garden

In design (and in food), I find that mustard is a tough sell. I can’t count the times clients tell me they hate the color mustard. The same holds true with food; mustard is the kind of thing you either love or you detest it…

I am a mustard lover, myself. I love it in food, I love cooking with it, and I really LOVE it in design. It pairs well with navy, chocolate, turquoise, purple, magenta, grey—you name it. Call it gold, deep yellow, ochre, call it whatever you want—but please don’t count it out!

Because it’s an “off” color, I find that mustard can enliven an otherwise clean clear palette and give it, well, some “spice”. I suppose that’s why it’s called mustard…

Images via Osborne and Little.