More Christmas House!

What can I say, I can't get enough. This has really been a fantastic experience that I have thoroughly enjoyed! Friday night was the opening party and it was so much fun and really great to connect with all our fellow designers and appreciate each others work. That being said, here are some good (and some not so good because they are from my phone) pictures of things I really love in the Christmas House.

I think these parrot figurines are fantastic. So cute and whimsical! John Oetgen designed the living room and these live on the cocktail table. I might have jumped over the velvet rope (or satin ribbon) to capture these guys, hopefully Mr. Oetgen would forgive me!

One of the guest bedrooms was designed by Barbara Heath who has a lovely store over in Brookhaven called The Mercantile. This piece that is hanging over her mantel is just beautiful. I believe it is a piece by Julie Jone Boulee (not 100% on that but 98% sure.)

On the way to Beth Webb's space you have to pass through what I like to call Hermes Heaven. There you will meet this life size black plastic horse, I am now naming him Jacques (after my favorite nail polish by OPI "You don't know Jacques") He is super friendly and doesn't bite so be sure to say hello to him!

Beth Webb's Artist Atelier is just beautiful. There are so many details I could do an entire post about that space alone. One thing that I know is that as an artist you like to be surrounded by things that inspire you. It's not about a specific object, but more about what that object says to you as an artist, how it inspires you. I love this particular vignette of the space because I love how these elements feel casual and effortless, meanwhile I know that each piece of this puzzle was placed exactly where it is with purpose and intent.

At one point Friday night there were a bunch of us just hanging out in Susan Ferrier's Master Bedroom. She is one of my favorite people and an amazing designer. Her master bedroom is so elegant and refined, but it feels comfortable. It doesn't make you feel afraid to live in it (probably why we were all lounging around in there!) My favorite thing about that room is the drapery. I couldn't stop petting it, I wanted to just wrap myself in it and stay there.

One space that I haven't seen any other blogger mention yet is Mimi Williams' upstairs hallway. I didn't know Mrs. Williams prior to this Christmas House but Mark has known her for years, and the thing I have learned about Mimi is that she has an incredible eye for art. When Mark and I saw her picking out the pieces she wanted to install I was just in awe of her and her taste. Several of the pieces hanging are from her personal collection, this piece she commissioned from Jeff Jones.

As a designer of a space outside of the main house, I can appreciate the other more remote spaces of this show house that could be easily overlooked. The entire guest house really is lovely and I am not just saying that because that's where our space is. The patio off of Bob Brown's study has some amazing outdoor furniture (which I believe was designed by Lush Life.) The wine cellar designed by Kay Douglas & Dixie Peeples and media room designed by Chip Cheatham downstairs are also really lovely spaces, yes I said downstairs!

This past weekend was the opening weekend and I heard that there was a new record set for attendance, almost 400 people on Saturday alone! Be sure and make your way over there before we all have to go and take it apart! It is a great thing to do on the weekend, and with Cafe Noel downstairs you can also do lunch there too! For more information about tickets and a list of the great special events happening at the house, just click HERE!

"The Funny Uncle" meets Rhoda Morgenstern

I love installations. This show house installation went really smoothly and was pretty much complete and done on the first day--including accessories! There was something about doing this show house that I really like, it's sort of like playing dress up. You can be whatever you want and portray whatever you feel like, this room was like dressing up for me. This time we decided to dress up like Rhoda Morgenstern (meets MWDA)! I have said in the past that I love working with developers, typically you have a lot of creative freedom. Developers just want the project done on time and in budget and they pretty much trust you to execute their objectives in your creative way. I have found that a show house is similar, except you are both the developer and designer. You have to execute your objective on time, on budget and creatively. Mark said that this is the room that the "funny uncle" stays in when he comes to visit, but the further along we got in our design the more we wanted to be the "funny uncle" and we wanted to stay there (in fact, we all agree that we would be beyond content to move into our guest house)! It started to become more Rhoda then Uncle, so we'll stick with that--because let's face it, no one wants to be the "funny" relative but everyone wants to be Rhoda. It really took on this collected and personal feeling, probably because a lot of things came from us personally. I am excited to say that our room is done and lovely, we are so happy with the solution and the feeling. I hope those of you that make it to the Christmas House, please make every effort to walk to the carriage house and check out our room upstairs! The Christmas House opens next week, November 14th and will be open through December 6th. You can get all the details as well as ticket information here!

Installation Day, boxes and bags and lamp shades oh my!

Bubble Wrap is my friend, he keeps things safe!
(like the amazing artwork borrowed from Emily Amy Gallery & accessories borrowed from Stanton Home)

Places places! I actually mapped all of this out on the floor with masking tape to make sure it was going to fit!

Some of my books take from my Library.

Mark and I found this old camera when we were out shopping one day, and my dad brought me this sketchbook of Paris after one of his trips...we like them together.

All sorts of fun things...

My favorite thing, this beautiful Hermes bicycle. I can't believe they let me borrow it!


Another shopping trip find, really cool vintage luggage.

Just a few more finishing touches.

Toasting to the completion of our first show house! Hooray!!!

To see more you are going to have to come check out the Christmas House!!!!!
Open November 14th through December 6th
Details here!!!

Experiment gone wrong...

So I had fully planned to document our first show house experience and it just got away from me. I had really good intentions and filling you in along the way but it just didn't happen like I had planned--and neither did our room--all I will say is thank goodness I looked at the November issue of AH&L. But now it is X-Mas House time and I am in the throws of stress, paint, and a $4,000 bicycle. I am literally leaving the office to go paint, that's right, Mark and I are painting our own room...this should make for an interesting afternoon. I am fully committed to our design and I really am excited about it, I am hoping it will turn out as lovely in person as it is in my head, you'll have to let me know. Anyway, here is a teaser of what's going on in our space, and check the Yummy Scrumptious Facebook page and my profile for mobile uploads, I'll try to get in another couple of posts this week so you can see the insanity!

I love myself a sequin!

If I had a bicycle, I would want it to be this one from Hermes.