the sitting room....

its the little things that make a huge impact. lately i have been doing a lot of shopping/ scouting for a client. its not as easy as one may think; you really have to LOOK b/c what you may love, others may not get. anyways, i frequent a lot of the same places in hopes to find a new shipment of goodies or discover a jewel that i may have overlooked previously. and one of the things that i have realized is that it doesn't just pay to have great things in your store but the people who own the store make a world of difference.

hence, the sitting room....a married couple from LA that uprooted and basically pointed their finger on a map and decided Charleston as the place to raise their children and start their store. boy, are they a fresh face in this sometimes (well actually a lot of times) stuffy town. heather has great taste and gets what is "in" in my humble opinion. brady, is great at helping out clients and if he doesn't know things exactly, well he says "heather will be here any minute". plus, they are super fun to talk to! little me gets stars in my eyes when it comes to LA...i don't know why i am fascinated w/ that silly town...yea, well i do know why, b/c i am a celebrity stalker...lame i know! anyways, i am really routing for this couple and their store! i want them to succeed and hope nothing but the best for them...yesterday i found out our children will be in the same daycare class starting in sept...i warned her that taylor is a little bit of a diva (i don't know where she gets that from)!! so if you are ever in mt. pleasant, you should totally check out the sitting room...they have great upholstery, they carry dwell bedding and tabletop, and have a fresh take on accessories and lamps!! heather, i am still keeping my fingers crossed that you pick up madeline weinrib.....

cha ching...

shopping can be tiring...i'm not asking you to feel sorry for me...but it can be hard, especially in atl and that town's insane traffic; i need to do a little shout out for my neighbors who lent me their gps...i don't know what i would have done without it. i LOVE that thing...but its kind of scary...i don't pay a bit of attention to my surrounds and i put all of my trust into this computer generated women to guide me all over town...it never once crossed my mind that she could be telling me the wrong place. but luckily, she was right on and i had a successful shopping trip in the big city. i can't go to atl w/out stopping at pieces; *sigh* i could live in that place...its so wonderful and beautifully color coordinated with amazing taste. yea, i am going to have to do another *sigh* on that note.
so i'll touch on some hot spots i experienced...bedding- i still think that it is really hard to do bedding...maybe b/c my bed consist of a white duvet b/c i can't figure out what i want to do in there. however, i went to this amazing place, belle chamber- loved it. i was greeted by a woman who looked just like charlotte on sex and the city but w/ shorter, curly hair. she was sporting her pearls and a perfectly pressed pleated shirt. she was so much help. i think charleston needs a bedding place like this one. they have so much gorgeous stuff...all the lulu dk samples (which is a huge help when you are trying to match things with existing fabrics in a room). and so many other brands that i hadn't found online. the only draw back is that luxury bedding comes with a luxury price tag. so i am still in limbo.
okay, this is getting super long so i am going to speed this up...LOVE bungalow classic. the store is just so tastefully done and has the most beautiful lamps. and the way they display their furniture is just wonderful...all upholstered in linen, coffee tables had sparse but right on accessories, bedding was classic, and fabulous rugs. you should totally shop here...stocked up on some lamps for a client.
i am multi tasking by writing this way too long post, talking to my brother, and eat the rest of taylor's peach. i am going to run!! have a great weekend!! tay and i are going to play at the pool today...much needed relaxation after all of that shopping :)

foxglove antiques...

so i am finally back after a long week in my home state of GA (it was hot as you know what there). it was a week jam packed and i am still recovering/ trying to catch my breath from all the events. i have to jump right back into work this am so i can't give the play by play of the atlanta part of the trip just yet...but i will share a wonderful antique store i found in miami circle- foxglove antiques. they have just so many beautiful things here...i could have walked out w/ the whole store and acquired a huge amount of debt! unfortunately, the pics on the internet don't do the store jutice but if you are ever in atlanta, you should stop by and see for yourself just how cool the place really is!

i'm back.....

and all i have to show are some random fabrics and a matchbox from pieces. i wish i had some great pictures to share w/ you from my trip to ADAC and pieces but i don't. it was a really quick trip. i was semi disappointed at ADAC b/c i really didn't see much "new" stuff. i found some great wallpaper from schumacher but it is being mailed to me b/c i didn't have time to wait around for all of my memo samples. victoria hagan has some great furniture additions...and i am obsessing over some wallpaper that ruthie sommers has in her office (its not new though....just new to me). when it gets here, i'll share them.

pieces was great. i was sad b/c lee wasn't there and i would have liked to have met her. i wanted to take a picture in there and i asked the guy working and he didn't seem too down w/ it. so unforunately, all i have to show is this matchbox. i think one of my fav parts about the store was the handles on the doors...huge lucite ones. i would love to get my hands on some of those. the store is amazing...everything organized by colors- yellow, kelly green, etc. i will say, if you can't make it to the actual store, the website is a great representation of everything she has. i kind of felt like i was in my computer b/c i have stared at her inventory for so long!!

so i am sorry i can't share more but like i said the "atl" part of my trip was very quickly done....also i have caught some kind of funk going around and am not feeling the best. hopefully, tomorrow i will be better....ta ta for now.

my love/hate relationship

i have to say to was a little POed when i opened the new pottery barn kids catalog. there on the glossy pages in front of me was an oval crib just like my daughter's....one that i searched long and hard for, going to another state to b.braithwaite in order to order a "unique" crib. i love my stokke crib and the unusual shape and the fact that only two companies offered oval sheets. i wanted to be slightly different, on the cutting edge b/c after all i am a designer and people expect things. pottery barn is a massive design source for the general public and a leader in design trends. it's even a style that my clients describe themselves as wanting..."the pottery barn look". i continued to flip through the magazine when i arrived to a giraffe propped against the wall...another sigh of disappointment. my husband and i spent hours painting this giraffe (we rented an overhead projector, i had the giraffe bodice printed onto clear projection paper, and we sat there at night and traced and painted it onto the wall). now there is a wooden cut out available... finally, i arrived to the fabric page, there sat all of my designer Hable fabrics now available on upholstery offered through pottery barn. i cannot compete with pottery barn prices and Hable fabric is in the upper $100 a yard w/ a minimum order of 3 yds. huge sigh....

so you are probably wondering what the "love" part is in my relationship w/ pb after all of the hates i just listed....well, i think it is a great source of ideas and they do a really good job of creating a look that appeals to the general public and designers alike. they just make my job a little harder at times when they pounce of something that is usually offered "to the trade" only. but that is my job, to be on the cutting edge and constantly searching for the latest and greatest...

the saks of baby stores

if you want to know what makes my heart melt, its b. braithwaite. i fell in love with this baby boutique when it was featured in southern accents last year. i loved it so much that i drove to atlanta just to go there and buy my baby's crib. the store is gorgeous and why shouldn't it be...it's creator is nancy braithwaite who has been an interior designer for 35 yrs before starting the store. she and her daughter chaffee, decided to open a baby boutique after going on a shopping trip to paris(i would kill to go on a shopping trip in paris). the layout of the store is amazing....very classic and sophisticated. a lot of baby stores can be junked up with whimsical aspects, but not here. the "nurseries" are set up in a monochromatic look, beautifully showcasing each of the contemporary cribs they offer. one of the best parts about the whole experience are the beautiful topiaries that you are greeted by at the entrance of the boutique....a huge teddy bear and rabbit. it is truly a pregnant woman's shopping dream....if you are ever in atlanta and are craving some baby bliss, stop by b. braithwaite!