My qi must be totally out of balance. 

First, I missed out on this tiny table at the Baker sale.  I almost posted about it as my "wish list" item for the sale; I've been coveting it for years and just can't justify paying full price.  Melanie from Charlotte (the purchaser of the table), if you read my blog, consider this a virtual "begging and pleading" for you to change your mind and sell me the table! 

Then I received in today's mail a cutting of a chocolate brown Sunbrella velvet to approve ... but the color of the cutting is way different than the memo sample I got from the showroom.  Even my 3 1/2 year old twins said that they weren't the same color.  Bummer!  Of course, I'm thankful that I have the cutting and can refuse to approve the release of the 20 yards (that are already paid for), but I'm disappointed that I won't have the fabric in a timely fashion. 

Now, I find out that - as part of Hachette Filipappi Media U.S.'s strategy to focus its resources in the shelter category on Elle Decor - Metropolitan Home and its website will close after the December issue.  Read the NYT article here.  I have countless tear pages from Metropolitan Home, including a 2002 article featuring one of my all-time favorite homes, the Washington, D.C. home of Darryl Carter ... who happens to be one of my all-time favorite designers.  Heck, with Metropolitan Home folding and my subscription to Architectural Digest expiring, I barely have anything to read any more!  Big sigh.     

I'm making an acupuncture appointment stat.               

What's a girl to do when there are two sales on the same day?   I'm the one who needs a twin!  My early AM dance card is already full with the Baker sale ... but I just got word of a factory closeout sale featuring furniture from Randall Allan, Councill, Hancock & Moore, Robert & Robert, and jessica charles.  It's being held on Friday, November 6th from 9 am to 5 pm and Saturday, November 7th from 9 am to 2 pm.  Location is the Councill Distribution Center, 1161 N. Main Street, Denton NC 27239.  The Hancock & Moore piece that I am currently dying over is living at Brock Moran (of course).  What's super unbelievable about it is its amazing fabric.  I think it's this Shadow Bisque leather that has been embossed to give it both texture and sheen.  Absolutely fabulous!!!  When I first saw that chair, I thought, "how can I justify this chair?" and "I don't think I could let my twin boys even breathe on it!"  Needless to say, I don't have the chair, but boy do I love it!  

Is that not enough for you?  Well, the Hickory Furniture Mart is holding its semi-annual after market sale from November 6th to November 8th.  The Mart is open on Friday and Saturday from 9 am to 8 pm (extended hours) and on Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm.  For those of you who haven't been, the Mart is a mix of over 100 factory outlets, stores and galleries.  My favorite stores here include Baker Odds and Ends, Henredon Factory Outlet, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Factory Outlet, Drexel Heritage Factory Outlet, and Century Furniture Outlet.  There is also a regular retail outlet for Boyles Furniture.   

The Catawba Furniture Mall is also advertising its after-market sale, which runs from November 5th to November 14th.  Hours are 10 am to 6 pm except Sundays, which are 1 pm to 6 pm.  Stores in the Catawba Furniture Mall carry a wide variety of manufacturers/vendors (click here for the list); my favorite manufacturers here would be Bernhardt and Lexington Home Brands. 

Have a great weekend ... and enjoy that extra "fall back" hour from Daylight Savings Time! 

Happy shopping, and let me know if you find anything fabulous!

Photos from Hancock & Moore

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We now interrupt our regularly scheduled programming of the High Point Market to bring you these breaking news stories. 

Baker is having another sale.  Seriously.  I find this extraordinarily strange that they are having three sales so close in time to each other.  Nonetheless, mark your calendars for Friday, November 6, 2009 from 8:30 am to 6 pm.  To preregister, send an email with your name, complete address and phone number before November 3 to BakerFactorySales@kohler.com.  According to the postcard, there will be a variety of casegoods, upholstery, accessories and lighting, and "[m]any additional items have been added since the last NC Sale."  There will not, however, be any fabric at this sale.  As before, the sale takes place at the lower level of the Baker Factory, 3487 Tex's Fishcamp Road, Connelly Springs NC 28612.  It makes me laugh just to type the words "Tex's Fishcamp Road."  So what do you think I should put on my wish list this time??? 

Wondering what happened to Homearama, the Charlotte area's annual tour of extremely expensive, elaborately furnished and complete with every bell-and-whistle new homes?  Well, it should come as no surprise that the economy tanked that event, which had occurred yearly since 1984.  The last Homearama, which took place in the fall of 2008 in The Palisades, featured only three homes - half the usual number.  The next Homearama is now set for 2010, probably in the Bromley development in Weddington, North Carolina.  But never fear, sports fans - the Home Builders Association of Charlotte is holding the first annual Luxury Lifestyle Home Tour, a self-guided tour of luxury homes each priced over a million dollars, to whet our appetite until Homearama returns.  Tickets are available for $10 at participating Harris Teeter stores or online for $15.  We've already missed the first weekend, but you stil have this weekend (October 31 to November 1) and the following weekend (November 7 to November 8) to hit the tour.  Hours are 10 am to 6 pm on Saturdays and 1 pm to 6 pm on Sundays.  I'm really very interested to see how these homes compare to the Homearama homes of the past few years.  I'm assuming that they are all unfurnished, and my prediction is that the interior finishes won't be quite as posh ... although I feel certain they will be more than acceptable!  I'm probably going to go on Sunday.  Anyone interested in coming with? 

Remember this post?  Well, Graham & Brown is offering 20% off the "Frames" wallpaper, now through August 31, with the code "SummerSale."  So act fast!

In the mood for more than wallpaper?  Baker Furniture (you know I love them so!) is having their Fall Sale through October 19, with special discounts on Baker, Milling Road and McGuire furniture, lighting and accessories.  For an even better deal on Baker, head to Boyles Distinctive Furniture ASAP!  Boyles - probably Charlotte's largest Baker dealer - is offering a special "tax break sale" through August 31, during which they'll give you a discount equal to the sales tax amount on your furniture, bedding or accessory purchase. 

Happy shopping!   specistorewide discount equal to the
sales tax amount on your furniture, bedding or accessory purchase

I am so not a morning person!  Ever since my twin boys arrived, my alarm clock has been banished to a nightstand drawer.  After all, I have two built-in alarm clocks!  But every once in a rare while, I pull my trusty alarm clock out ... and last Friday was one of those days.  Why, you ask?  The Baker factory sale, of course!  Despite having a late meeting the evening before, I woke up way too early, rolled out of bed and into gym clothes, and hit the road to Connelly Springs.  It's an easy hour and fifteen minutes from Charlotte, especially easy when you are on the road way before the morning commuters.  Ths time, I remembered to bring a folding chair (although I forgot to bring it home - oops!) and a magazine, so I passed my time in line reading the latest InStyle and eating a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut generously shared by another shopper.  Yum, yum!  Thank you, whomever you are!!

And guess what was waiting for me???

Can you believe it?  A Barbara Barry iron tripod table, exactly what I daydreamed about!  I cannot even express how excited I was.  As I made my way through the rows of furniture, I was thrown off for a moment by the marble top (Emperador Light, I believe).  I haven't seen the tripod table like that before, and the website doesn't show marble as an option.  My best guess is that this was a custom piece for a customer who changed her mind or perhaps just a one-off for a showroom or other display.  Either way, I scored!  And here's the best part - the marble top is not attached to the table, so if I want to use it "plain" (which also makes the table much smaller), I will simply have a antiqued mirror top cut to fit, et voila!  Pricing-wise, I paid about 1/3 of retail for the "standard" table (with an antique mirror top).  I have no way of knowing what the additional charge would have been for the marble top.  Most of the tags at the sale indicate the sale price and the regular retail price, but the regular retail price on the tag for my table was blank.    Regardless,  I'm thrilled!  

Overall, the sale was great.  I didn't come home with anything else - I got what I came for! - but there were a number of pieces that I really loved ... and a few incredible deals.  If I were furnishing a home from scratch, I would have come home with more than a few things!  No news yet on the next sale, but I'll let you know when I get word.  I wouldn't expect another for six months or so.   

Oh, and a big hello to Kathleen, a fellow designer from Charlotte.  Kathleen and I were neighbors in line.  We hadn't met previously, but she recognized me from the blog.  Kathleen, email me your contact info if you get a chance!      

Yippee!  Baker is having another factory sale ... Friday, August 21 from 8:30 am to 6 pm.  As usual, it's being held at the lower level of Baker's casegoods manufacturing plant at 3487 Tex's Fishcamp Road in Connelly Springs, NC.  According to the postcard, new product has been added since the May event.   I'm curious what prompted this - I've not known Baker to have two factory sales this close in time - but I'm not complaining.  I couldn't make the last one, but I'm definitely headed up to Connelly Springs for this one!  I would be so excited to score Barbara Barry's Iron Tripod Table.  My fingers are crossed!  Anyone want to tag along? 

Remember to give me the scoop if you hear of any other factory sales!

I didn't exactly solve the mystery myself, but I do have an update on the striking mirror in the Foxcroft home featured in SouthPark magazine (and on the Mid-Century Modern Homes tour).  Turns out the home is owned by one of my husband's colleagues and his wife!   (Charlotte really is about three degrees of separation, at most.)  Anyway, the mirror - which, as I discussed earlier, bears a resemblance to the Constellation Mirror - was custom-made by a very talented friend of the owners.  The friend also considered the Constellation Mirror cost-prohibitive, so she decided to make her own.  Wow!  That is DIY at its finest.  Hopefully, I'll find out whether she is still in the business of making mirrors ... and I'll be sure to let you know if she is!   

I get asked all the time if my twin boys are identical.  On one hand, it seems like a silly question - Henry has hazel eyes, Charlie has blue eyes; Henry has dirty blonde/brown hair, Charlie has darker brown hair - but on the other hand, I do understand it.  They definitely resemble each other, only one inch and three pounds separates them size-wise, and I dress them alike.  But really, if you take a few minutes to talk to them, it is simple to tell them apart.  And so it is with many of our lookalike products! 

Hmmmmmm .... well .... there's really not much you can say about that.  It is so obvious how much higher quality the Baker mirror is.  But you pay a price for that level of craftsmanship!  So, which mirror is better?   I can't say - it just depends on you and your budget.  The Pottery Barn mirror will give you the same look, for sure.  But the Baker mirror is one that will be passed down for generations.  So take your pick - whatever works best for you!   As for me, I haven't bought either.  I don't really care for the Pottery Barn one now that I compared it side-by-side to the Baker mirror ... but I'm not willing (or able) to pay the premium price.  By the way, I started thinking about this after reading May's South Park magazine.  An interior shot of a mid-century modern house in Foxcroft is just fantastic.  While it's hard to tell from the photo, there's a very similar mirror above the fireplace.  It's definitely not the Pottery Barn version, but it doesn't look like the Baker mirror either.  Let me know if you figure it out!    

Photos from Pottery Barn and Baker Furniture

Lace up those running shoes, because the Baker Factory Clearance Sale is coming up!   Here's the 411 - the sale is Friday, May 15 (one day only!) from 8:30 am to 6 pm at Baker's Hildebran, NC factory.  Early registration has already passed, but you can register upon arrival at the event.  All items are sold on a first come, first served basis.  Purchases can be made with cash, check or credit card.  Delivery service will be made available for an additional charge.  

For those of you who have not been to a Baker Factory Clearance Sale before, it is something to behold!  I haven't been in a few years, but I'm thinking about heading up this time.   I love, love, love Baker Furniture - Barbara Barry is one of my design heroes, and Baker produced her first furniture collection - but it is not inexpensive.  This sale is a great way to buy Baker on a budget (but to be clear, still not an IKEA budget.)  The deals can be incredible, and you never know what you might find.  I recommend that you arrive early, ask for info on the layout of the "sales floor" and run once they open the doors.  See you there!   Oh, and if you get the scoop on any other factory sales (especially Henredon, which is Barbara Barry's new home), be sure to let me know!    

Photo from the Baker website