The intersection of fashion design and interior design is one of my favorite topics.  Really, it's more of a "tangled web" than an intersection because fashion and decor constantly overlap.  That's why you see pieces of fashion in shelter magazines and pieces of home design in fashion magazines.  In other words, fashion inspires decor and vice versa.  Plus, if you love design, you just plain love design ... no matter what kind!  I love fashion design, interior design, industrial design, architecture, you name it.  I don't think you could find an interior designer who didn't enjoy clothes or a fashion designer who lived or worked in an uninspired space.  Plus, if you are creative in a design sense, it almost doesn't matter whether you are creating fashion or interiors.  To wit, many of my favorite fashion designers have been wildly successful with home collections - Armani Home, DKNY, Calvin Klein, and so on.  The list is practically endless!  So I was delighted to find an email from Schumacher, one of my favorite fabric suppliers, reminding me about the Trina Turk for Schumacher collection of indoor/outdoor fabrics.  Yummy!   Who doesn't love Trina Turk?  Her fashion sensibility is so very Palm Springs - happy, fun and cheerful - and she brings the same spirit to her home designs.  Check out the Sunglass Print in Parrot above ... how fun is that?  I'm dreaming of a sunny day at the pool, fruity drink in hand and a pile of magazines by my lounge chair!    

Today I had the pleasure of visiting Walker Zanger with a client who is doing a major home renovation.  Can I just tell you how much I love that showroom?!?!?!?!   Walker Zanger has some absolutely amazing tile and stone.   It was fabulous just walking through their back area and checking out all of the marble and granite slabs.  Anyway, my visit today inspired me to highlight one of my favorite Walker Zanger collections, Vibe.  In the words of Walker Zanger (or at least their PR department), Vibe is a "fresh interpretation of the bold retro aesthetic" of the 60s and 70s.   Really, I just like it for the super great shapes.   The colors are fabulous - who wouldn't love colors with names like Shag Green, Key Lime and Boogie Brown? - but I think using all-white Vibe tile would be a great way to update the classic bathroom.  Why Walker Zanger doesn't show Vibe in their online catalog is beyond me, but you can view the collection here. 

Here are my two faves, Moroccan and Ashbury.  Super groovy!  

Time for the party recap!  As I expected, the party was fabulous.  The invitation sets the tone, and as we've already discussed, this invitation was superb.  Holly from Salutations gives us more specific details about the invitation here.  Love, love, love!   

When I arrived at the party, everything was stunning.  I always notice the flowers first, and they were absolutely exquisite.  The enormous vase of tulips on the front table (like the stamp on the envelope - get it?) set the scene.  Make sure to notice the amazing Juliska globe pendants!   

As you moved back through the room, there were arrangements even more beautiful than the tulips ... and tulips are my favorite!  Elements and In Bloom Ltd. were responsible for the floral design, and the white containers are also from Juliska.   

Although I was a good girl and stuck just to sparkling water, the petit hors d'oeuvres created by Chef Paul Verica from The Club at Longview looked phenomenal.  Dina Berg Blasek, the event planner, was such a pleasure to talk to.  I had not met her before, but should I need event planning services in the future, I know who to call!  Of course, Brock and his two associates, Erin and Courtney, were as lovely and welcoming as always ... and the selection of china and other home goods at The Registry at Brock Moran Home is absolutely unparalleled.  Really, as a bride in Charlotte, your registry options were limited.  Almost everyone registers for something at Belk's, and you can also find fina china at Elizabeth Bruns, John Dabbs and Tiffany & Co.  But none of those stores come close to what Brock has put together.  If you are getting married (or just lucky enough to be purchasing new china), run - don't walk - to Brock Moran Home ... now!  Look at this spectacular place setting ...  

For that matter, between Brock, Erin and Courtney, you'll be in good hands at Brock Moran Home no matter what you are looking for.  Take a quick peek at some of the furniture and home accessories ... 

One final detail that no fabulous party is without ... a stack of favors!  Aren't they just delicious?  With Brock's signature wrapping, you almost don't need anything inside!

My latest catch phrase is "be marvelous."  Isn't that grand?  I picked that up from The Marvelous Wonderettes, an off-Broadway show.  It wasn't the greatest show, so don't take that as a recommendation, but I love the sentiment.  We could all use a little more marvelous in our lives! 

Anyway, back to design ...  and one of the most marvelous things I have seen in a long time!  Kelly Geisen is an interior designer out of NYC, and this project (in her own home) was featured on Apartment Therapy.  What a creative way to disguise a television!  The enormous flat panel televisions that dominate so many living rooms are a pet peeve of many a decorator (including myself).  But let's be practical -- what else are you going to do with it?   I resisted a television in my living room until about one month after my twin boys were born ... and I had spent the previous 672 hours comatose in our living room with no entertainment except crying babies.  Yikes!  Clearly my husband realized that I was at a weak moment, so he seized the opportunity and proposed a television on the wall ... and I caved.  I'll admit that I enjoy it there (notwithstanding the sleep-deprived "The Real Housewives of Orange County" marathons that I "enjoyed").  Especially with the boys, it is just convenient to have a television there.  Before we installed the television, I had all sorts of grandiose ideas about having the television recessed into the wall with a piece of art over it and/or a cabinet that the television could raise up out of.  Unfortunately, at the particular time, there weren't any reasonably priced products of that ilk ... and the idea (and expense) of cutting into our walls and/or decimating our Barbara Barry by Baker cabinet to have a television lift installed didn't seem great either.  So on the wall it went.  And we live with it there to this day.  

Perhaps that's why I find Kelly's idea so fantastic!   Check out the "fireplace" in her living room ...     

This is her bedroom "fireplace." 




Unfortunately, this won't work for me either -- I don't think I'll convince my family to give up the gas logs in our fireplace -- but a gal can dream!  Until then, here's what I have ...

So I went to the party at Brock Moran Home tonight.  It was just as fabulous as the invitation led me to believe!  By the way, I learned that the invitations are from Salutations, a wonderful fine stationery and gift store that is also located in Ballantyne Village.  I spoke to Holly, the "chief style officer," tonight and she was absolutely delightful. 

Anyway, here's a teaser until I can get the photos uploaded ... It's Bernardaud Sauvage, my favorite china pattern from The Registry at Brock Moran Home.  

Can you tell from the photo that there are two finely textured, raised patterns - one a mother of pearl grey "lizard skin" and the other a combination of hexagonal patterns?  It is so amazing that I can hardly stand it.  I told the Bernardaud rep that, when I die and go to heaven, I hope that's the china pattern!  

Even if that particular pattern is not "your cup of tea" (ha, ha), there are soooo many others to choose from.  The selection that Brock has is really unparalleled in Charlotte.  The brides should be stampeding their way to his store! 

Have a great weekend, everyone.  I'll be back on Monday after a whirlwind trip to NYC - more details to come on that as well!  

I have a penchant for vintage furniture - especially chairs - so every now and again, I sit down and peruse craigslist just in case something fabulous pops up.  I'm still thinking about an amazing sofa from the 1950s - I passed on it because its upholstery was really rough and would have to be redone immediately (oh, and I don't need a sofa), but its shape was fabulous and so unusual.  Big sigh.  Well, I spotted this coffee table several months ago.  (Clearly, there is more than one such table because this is a relatively new listing.)

I thought it was really cool and different ... not my personal style, necessarily, and definitely not the style of my house, but pretty awesome for the right setting.  Anyway, I just filed it away in the back of my mind ... until I was walking through Restoration Hardware and spotted this. 

The craigslist table is slightly smaller than the Restoration Hardware version (48x24.x16 vs. 53x28x16), but both carts are early 1900s industrial originals.  So what do you think?  The Restoration Hardware looks a little more cleaned up around the wheels, and I don't really care for the shiny waxed finish of the craigslist find ... but the $350 asking price for the craigslist find is a steal compared to the $910 price tag on the Restoration Hardware table.   

I absolutely love it when I see fabric, wallcovering, accessories, whatever in a high end setting that I can identify as not being from a high end source.  Don't get me wrong - I don't care about the price tag.  If you have an eye for design, you can find fabulous things at any price level.  It's just that - when I've spotted something inexpensive or widely available that is placed in a pricey or exclusive room - I feel as though I am in on a little secret!  I blogged earlier about the Southern Spring Home and Garden Show.  What I didn't tell you is that I went to the show with The Bachelorette.  We still have a few things to do to "finish" her renovation, but we are taking our time, mainly due to budget considerations.  Anyway, in one of the designer rooms, The Bachelorette spotted a couple of green recycled glass jugs ... just what she'd been looking for to add some color to her kitchen.  Well, I'm not shy about these sorts of things, so I just picked those jugs right up and flipped them over ... where I found the item tag and SKU.  Where were they from, you ask?  The tag proclaimed them to be Tar-jay circa 2009!  I thought that was hilarious.  Again, I couldn't care less that the jugs are from Target.  Target has done as much or more to democratize design as any mass retailer ... and you'll find many a Target item in my own home.  But seriously why didn't the designer take the tags off?   In my mind, that is a shameful lack of attention to detail.  But maybe I'm the only one who cares about that sort of thing.  

Well, that's not the only "secret" I've busted in the last few days.  The Bachelorette was at B.D. Jeffries, one of my favorite stores, to purchase some lamps that I had selected for her console.  The lamps are totally fantastic - I'll share a photo soon!   Anyway, while she was there, she saw a large swath of fabric laid out ... identical to the fabric I chose for her dining room chair cushions.  Well, B.D. Jeffries is not an inexpensive store ... but the fabric we bought came from Robyn's Fabrics and cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 per yard.  How about that!  It really is a fabulous fabric - if we hadn't bought the last of it, I think I would have bought some just to keep on hand - but isn't that funny. 

To digress for a minute, I really am a fan of Robyn's Fabrics.  It is a large store, open to the public, with nice fabrics in stock at reasonable prices.  While I love to shop the huge selection at the trade-only showrooms that I frequent, Robyn's is great for a client on a budget and in a hurry!  

But I can even top that B.D. Jeffries story ... I was reading the April issue of Elle Decor last night.  It was a good one, and I will definitely have more to say about it.

I'll often give my shelter mags a quick read when they first arrive, and then wait until later to really pore over and break down every detail.  So as I was flipping through, an advertisement for Julian Chichester caught my attention.  I've never specified any Julian Chichester pieces, but I hope to do so soon because they really do have great style.  But what caught my attention was the fabric on the chair.  Darned if that chair is not covered in another fabric that I also picked up at Robyn's Fabrics for The Bachelorette!  Check it out below on the Julian Chichester chair.  

Isn't that beyond hilarious?  We didn't end up choosing that fabric - it just didn't work with what we have - but it is really very sharp.  So here's the morale of these stories. 

(1) Remove all tags. 

(2) If you need an in-stock fabric with a high end feel sans the high end price tag, head to Robyn's.

(3) I am very, very observant.       

PS - Sorry, the green recycled glass jugs aren't available online or I'd provide the link, but they are currently in Charlotte area Target stores in the home accessories section (the one that changes seasonally, near the picture frames and floral items).  Oh, and Julian Chichester has some great items on closeout right now.  I'm lusting after the faux shagreen bedside table.  Yum.  Email me if you'd like more info!