Question

So, I just deleted a 3hours spent post!!!!! AHHHH! How do I recover it?

Inspired....

Home art studios...

I am just am always looking at magazines...but I love the convenience of online magazines like Lonny where I was inspired by these beautiful home art studios in there November 2012 issue.

This is the New York studio belongs to landscape architect, Miranda Brooks. I love the femininity of this space. I do draw and paint, but its been years since I have done if as a hobby on either canvas or sketch papers. White walls make for a neutral environment conducive to letting your mind be free to create art.

But I can do the same in this masculine space below belonging to the artist...Jeremiah Goodman.

 I love dark spaces! There are all kinds of little cozy places in here to curl up with a sketch book!

These spaces have inspired me to get dig out my paitn brushes from the hall closet. I do have a couple of canvases that are calling my name.

 Have you been inspired by anything lately?

Emerald Color Palettes

By now, everyone knows the Pantone color of the year is...Emerald. I have seen tons of post and mood boards, and color stories on this very subject and though I would add to the frenzy by creating a few color palettes.

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I consider these palettes to be warm and "contrasting" in color:  Emerald + Tan & Emerald + Black...! Below are cool "monochromatic" palettes:  Emerald + Gray &  Emerald + Aqua...!

All of these are very sophisticated palettes especially the gray! 

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Personally, I think "green" in general is a great color in any shade! But emerald on its own is vibrant and regal. A very bold color option in any room or wardrobe...its just a matter of how you combine it with other colors.

 

Ethnic Appeal

I love  "ethnic"  textiles, architecture, and accessories whether its Indian, Bohemian, African, or Moroccan inspired ETC..., if its exotic, then I am luv-in-it-all!

I attribute my love for ethnic decor because it lens itself to being rustic and modern. My favorites are textiles with their  intricate motifs. Died, woven, and embroidered by hand you have to appreciate elaborate process that goes into these pieces.

Next would have to be how those textiles are applied whether its pillows or rugs!  Layers of color, texture and pattern all combine to create a collage of eye candy.

But I have to say I appreciate the "less is more" approach when adding just the perfect amount of ethic decor to be able to label room, having ethnic appeal just like the images below!

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Another way textiles are applied are through fashionable attire! Prints, ornate jewelry, woven hand bags, or versatile head pieces all fall under the wearable category.  I personally have these large wooden earrings that I wear every now and  again. They are probably my favorite and what i consider to be ethnic.

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Next fall into the architectural department!  Whether its huge warm heavily carved doors, tribal wall coverings, or carved archways these are the kid of details that I call "show-stoppers!"

I love the idea of being able to re purpose old vintage doors into headboards or coffee tables.

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Check out those lanterns!!!

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Last would be furniture, accessories and lighting. These are the "piece de resistance"  of an interior. Small, ways to add some powerful pieces of ethnicity into your space like Moroccan pendants or moroccan mirrors and Asian cabinets.

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I am so in love with this cabinet. It is uber cool, uber ethnic and oh sooo uber fantastic! I hardly ever use that word to explain anything, so I hope you get the idea!

Does anyone have some beautiful ethnic textiles, architecture or accents in their life? Or maybe you have a really ethnic pair of earrings, like me, or dress! Tell me about it! 

Sophisticated Pom Poms

The great thing about pom-poms is that  you immediately associate it with youthfulness and exuberance. That's why it fits perfectly in to a girls bedroom design. But what about using it elsewhere?

I mean are poms the first thing on your list? It can be hard to incorporate it "successfully" because it can go juvenile, in a not so attractive way, real fast.

Check out these "successful" applications to incorporate pom-poms into your decor:

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 A multicolored pom-pom curtain tie-back?!! This is smart! Its a great SMALL (that's the key here) detail as well, but almost camouflaged in with the floral drape design. This is still very youthful, but also sophisticated. This is an idea yo can use in a living, dining or bedroom application.

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 These large poms on this throw brings the exuberance into this room fo-sho! Makes me want one...NO need one. This is sophisticated because although large in scale its ONE muted mustard tone against a simple a settle backdrop.

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A bouquet of pom-poms. How fun are these? I just love these necklaces! Again ONE muted tone. No multicolor here! I could see these as curtain tie-backs a well.

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And ah! Tulle pom pom garland is a winner. Can you see these as the perfect Christmas garland? In this application I would go with pale tones like a mint green, or a really soft blush.

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Hands down the most sophisticated pom-pom of them all...the emphasis juju hat! Large in scale and instant way to add texture in a room. This would be my route! So fun  but any color would work here. I especially like the jewel tones.

Insta-Weekend

I have now got the hang of Instagram (@startollie) and now fiddling around with Twitter (@SisSophisticate). Thank you to my new followers...why didn't I start a long time ago?

Let me share with you my "Insta-weekend!"

 The weekend kicked off  with putting these beautiful turned legs on my new lovely!

The armoire is a craigslist purchase for $50 and the end table came as a pair for $100.

This caused us to go into full on rearranging mode that turned out to be a breath of fresh air on Saturday morning.

WARNING: Objects in picture appear smaller than what they really are. 

Believe or not my oldest is 13 and all of 6' tall! the other s are 12, 10, and 3. 

I have to keep birth certificates a s proof  in my back pocket!

The kids started basketball season and we thru the little on in for picture day! 

Sunday went as usual with my morning routine:

10 newspapers...for coupon inserts

2 to 3 cups of tea with honey

and 2 slices of toast!

We went out with a bang by floating this ikea goody!

Snow Leopard

I just love this fabric!

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Its so simple yet so intriguing! 

About My Ottoman

I shared my new lovely with everyone as soon as I got it in place on Friday! Now as you see this, there are a couple things that are not quite right with this image. You have to visualize with me here:

• I got the settee at a garage sale for $25 a couple months ago, so its going to be recovered. 
• There are trophies and medals hanging off the edge of my plant ledge, I promise, I can NOT keep up with these things...but kudos to my kids for being such wonderful athletes. 
• The fireplace is STILL unfinished and the art is small scale but great for color of what I had. Its custom art by the way!
• As much as I love my flat weave, hounds-tooth, black and white area rug...whew that a mouth full, I keep going back and forth about this or a heavy knotted jute. BUT the turquoise is killer against it. We will see...!

But onto the lovely ottoman, it arrived on my door step on Thursday evening and we put it together that night, very easy!  We purchased it on Amazon. Its the Button Tufted Linen Ottoman by Skyline. Its honestly gone up in price about $70 since we hit the "checkout" button in December.

Its actually on sale at Target right now for less than $250.00 but in only a few select color options. Before I considered the turquoise I was pondering on the black, but either way I knew I wanted the linen. I had been peepin it out for awhile now. I pinned it months!

We rearranged both the living room slash sitting room and family room on Friday night, but once it was right it wuzzz right! I am sooo... happy I went with a pop of color. Its so easy to go safe, but you have to go against the grain sometimes. But I do have a vision!

Anyone have any bold purchases they have mad lately? If so I would like to know about them!

My New Lovely...

all excited over this lovely...more details to come!

Artist Feature + Inspiration

I have a blank wall well actually a few!  Its time...TIME to get something on these walls, but this one in particular is just screaming for something....

So I have been peepin out this great artist named Amanda Stone Talley

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Her work is abstract , but I love the colors and how subdued and controlled they are. Also the way she combines colors is genius. In a room, you can not help but be drawn to her art. as you can see in the room designs above.

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Check out some work from her portfolio...really captivating and powerful. I can see why her work is used in so many spaces.

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This is really striking! I would like to see something like this, but I have a bench that it will go very so it needs to be  elongated as a double or use a double pair. I have taupe walls, so it should be just as striking!

Junk Drawers...?!!

Not really junk, but I am going through my drawers in my nightstand and I came across some old drawings I did. These are actually when we first moved into our house a few years ago. Its an idea I had for the family room layout and casual dining room, but looking back...my things have changed!

 

After living in the house for awhile we decided to move the TV to behind the wall where the fireplace now sits. So that really changed the entire layout. The way I use the space is still thee same as far as function so I still have kept some of the same ideas like having a computer armoire in this space. I still want a chaise sectional, but I decided not to use an upholstered ottoman int his room.

As far as the casual dining room ( or breakfast nook) I am  doing wall to wall bookshelves where I show the banquet and a window seat will now go under the window.

This is so random, but I just thought I would share. I have plenty more where this came from...Its just about time I execute!!!!

On My Desk

Okay...so I said I was gonna focus more on my projects this year, but listen, a girl has gotta get paid! So I thought I would share with you my current project (or one o them)!

Bi-yearly my company hosts what we call a "dealer show!" Its actually where all the owners come together to view the new furniture purchased at market.  I am in charge of design and layout of the showroom floor. This time I am dibbling and dabbling into the Friday night event as well, which serves as the corporate social.

The theme is actually a play off of the new store branding design I did back in October. I can not go into too much detail but you can see a snippet of it in the link! The theme is "Details in Retail!" But I wanted to do something fun for the Friday night theme, a fun sophisticated Jazz Cafe!

Here is the mood board I put together a few weeks ago:

"Setting the mood is going to be the name of the game with vintage décor, ambient lighting, inviting lounging options. Rustic, charming, and classy are just a few words that describe what will be an unforgettable night of good people, relaxing to good music,  enjoying good entertainment, along with lots of good food! No detail will get missed by addressing everything from the presentation to the entertainment all the way down to the food."

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After a few Google searches and going down a few dozen rabbit holes I came across this inspirational piano bar and restaurant called the Manhattan Inn.

The image above gave me the inspiration for the food base on the fact that barbeque tends to be the favorite at these coporate events.

"We love barbecue, so let’s make it rustic ans sassy! Let’s integrate the food presentation seamlessly into the design and décor by not leaving any detail unturned. Things like cast iron serving dishes, handwritten chalkboard food label's,  and salads served in a martini glasses are just a few ways to add to the rustic charm." 

This is my interpretation of a fun sophisticated Jazz Cafe! Let's see what happens!

Changin it up!

I have been rockin my fro (my sister-do) for about five years now and I feel like I need a change. NOT gonna get all wild and change get a perm or a blowout, but I do want o change up my look a bit.  I wanna go short enough that I can pull it down into to my face like this:

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I am looking for a messy but curly look with a little more shape to it.  My usual style is to pull it back with a head band off of my forehead because I let it get really long. So right now its about 3 inches too long. I'm gonna try tighter curls before I cut too much off. Let's see what happens.

Ombre Nesting Tables

Okay, this DIY project has three things to love all wrapped into one or three, depending how you look at it. 

BAMBOO + OMBRE + PURPLE 

 

Kristen at KFD Designs is a very talented painter and I constantly check her blog out to see what she's up to! You have to visit her blog to see the before pics!

If you read my blog you know that I love purple, so this is a definite winner for my inspiration archives!

No Biggy...just more to do!

Have you ever started one project and it kind of runs into another project and then another, and then your well planned lest of priorities starts getting shuffled around...YEP, that where I am! No matter what "best liad plans..." right, never fails!

I am, excitedly but anxiously, in the midst of sourcing for my laundry room project, but instead of buying new cabinets for storage, like I planned, I'm gonna try to save me a buck by using ones I have in my kitchen already! You see I plan on creating some space in my kitchen for open shelving.  So what does that mean...well, that means I am going to be doing some kitchen updates as well as my laundry.

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If you visit my board for kitchens on pinterest, one thing is pretty clear.. I love white kitchens and I love open shelving. My thing is what finish I want to have; stainless, white, or  rustic.

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Things I do know is I want white cabinets and white backslash. That is just a classic look, and I want my kitchen to be what I am calling my "neutral zone" because its going to serve as a breather space with no taupe walls. Just light and bright!

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I think I am however favoring the rustic look! Especially since I am doing a white kitchen. I do however want to still pull off a "rustic-modern" feel without going too cozy cottage!

So here's the plan:

No biggy, just more to do!

BUT I CANT GET CARRIED AWAY!

PHASE-1 (for right now)

1. remove and refurbish the cabinets on either side of the window
2. paint cabinets and walls
3. replace counter-tops (or refinish, more on that to come)

PHASE-2 (for the future)

1. install floating shelving on either side of the window
2. install back-splash
3. replace (finally) replace the window treatment

PHASE-3 (for the distant future) 

1. enlarge island size
2. install pot rack 
3. replace lighting 

Y'all have to know how easy that is, so I am just going to keep this simple for the kitchen! Okay, so it's not so simple after-all so I broke it into phases to simplify it.  My dead set finish date is end of January for the laundry and February for phase one of kitchen updates.