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Archive for the 'Mishmashes & Musings (Steph)' Category

{ Currently Loving } : May 2020

These are a few of my faaaaaaavorite things….


 
Please… someone either take me to La Posta Vecchia Hotel immediately so I can live in this bathroom, or bring this bathroom to me.

Tammy Connor Interior Design out of Charleston does some stunning things… like this living room on Kiawah Island, that I audibly gasped when I saw.  It’s the sconces that tipped the scales.

I started a SATC binge this weekend and I’m telling you, it’s nothing short of – well – basically a simultaneous orgasm of nostalgia and sheer bliss.  It makes the whole world right again.  I was sure I’d already seen every episode at least 4x but it’s been years.  When I was in college, our dude-neighbors had HBO and we would invite ourselves over and park it on their sofa at 9pm every Sunday night to watch.  PS, this article ranks every single episode which is amazing.  Anyhow – all the seasons are on HBO Go but you can also do a Hulu add-on of HBO which is what I did.

How cute is this little fixer upper in Birmingham?  I feel an oddly strong pull back to the South these days, and have for awhile.  I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older and (that’s where my Pops is) and we’re hoping to start a family soon, or if it’s because I lived in Charleston for almost 10 years of my adult life and I have so many amazing friends there who feel like family so it still feels like home… or what. Maybe just a wee condo there to escape to in the Winter would do?

Loving everything from Lucy Laucht.  Literally every last thing.  Karrie turned me on to her work and now I want (all of it).

Sarah Sherman Samuel just did this bathroom and played with a wider grout line as a design element in a way I have never seen anyone else do.  It’s genius.

This breakfast nook is everything.  From Lauren Santo Domingo’s house in the Hamptons.

The thought of this classic Bowood on the walls of a nursery is just about the only thing that could convince me to get knocked up before my #letstrythisagain October wedding and bust the seams of my dress that is the most beautiful garmet I have ever seen in real life.  KIDDING, kidding.  Sort of.

Also, this.  From Cabbages & Roses.  A nugget’s room would be a toss-up between the two.  Just ordered samps from across the pond and can’t wait to see em.

Also comes in blue.  Be still my heart.

New cocktail I’m going to learn to perfect?  The Paloma.

These window treatments bring cornice boxes to a whole new level.

How beautiful is this??  Wish it were fabric that could be printed… it’s the back of an antique kaftan – mid-16th century, probably from Istanbul.

Behold, the perfect outfit.

Double Chaises???  Don’t mind if I do!  Image from Courtney Barton, whose vibe I love.

How lovely are these?  I’ll take two to match my two double chaises.

Welcome to my new (dream) house!  Again… the South.

Need this frame stat.  This is the kind you have forever.

I die over this print.  DIE.  Like, would put it everywhere and on everything.  It’s 1750-1800 ca. French linen and cotton.

This one would also make beautiful drapery panels.  I love pink as a neutral.

On that note, dying to paint something either Farrow & Ball Setting Plaster or Pink Ground.

The sconces in this bathroom are to die.

I just put them in this mood board last week for a new uber traditional client’s bedroom.

How beautiful is my friend Rosa’s backyard??  I would legit never leave.

If your uterus didn’t already explode at those nursery wallpapers earlier, check out this numba, and everything on Elisa Vaughn’s page.

Oh fer pete’s sakes – while we’re talking about kids clothes – how cute is this little bathing suit?  It’s from a wholesaler that I have no reason to buy from and where you have to buy in bulk – so if like, all of y’all want me to order a few for your little chunky monkeys, lemme know.

Same for this ditty.  I love it so much.  20″ square x 4.5″ tall.  Perfect for an ottoman or maybe to corral liquor bottles on the bar.  Holla if you’re interested in one!  Retails for $170.

Pretty good fish taco recipe if you ask me.  Sidenote: you need about 1/3 of the ingredients it actually calls for for that jalapeño slaw.

Go ahead and eat these chocolate chip cookies from Butter & Brioche for dessert.  Good luck converting the ingredients from grams & such.

Love these Miu Miu heels.

Love all the artwork at House of Spoils.

Love this bedroom by Julie Hillman.

I love this dresser perhaps more than I’ve ever loved any piece of furniture I’ve ever seen.  Vintage, from a Wendy Word install.

Sink is bananas.

Disc Interiors out of LA did this kitchen and it makes me so happy to look at.  It’s probably the Calacatta Viola and the green cabinets.

This ring is INSANE…. loves.

If we’re Facebook friends then you’ve probably seen this, but my friend Gina (Buwalda) Johnson started doing these beautiful, editorial freehand pieces recently, and I asked her to do one of me and (my sweet baby GusGus).  I cried for an entire day, I think, when she sent this to me.  She’s now taking commissions – check out more of Gina’s work HERE.

How pretty is this pillow I just had made for the bench in our dining room?

And, this is (currently) our bed.  I brought this pillow I love home from my shop to test out the pattern against my fave ever Carolina Irving Patmos Stripe Euros.  I love it.  It needs to be wider so I’ll have another made, but the pattern and color palette is perfect.  It’s a favorite Rose Cumming print I used for a client’s drapery panels last year.

Welp, it’s 8am and I should probably throw on my running shoes and shuffle around the block.  Hope these ditties give you guys some good inspo too!  Have a great rest of the week!

xoxo,

Steph’s Favorite Things { Spring 2020 }

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Wellllllllll since we’re all at home (pretty much indefinitely? …#gulp) – might as well embrace it, right?  I doubt Shakespeare was talking about the Coronavirus when he said this but –

So, in the spirit of being home, I thought I’d rock out some of my most recently coveted favorite things.  Might as well cultivate the most beautiful, comforting environments we can, right?  Whilst we’re all staring at our 4 walls and such.

To start, this is one of my favorite prints from my favorite textile designer, Carolina Irving.  Cordoba in Raspberry / Aubergine makes me SO HAPPY every time I look at it.  I think most people probably reserve a print this loud for a pillow or a small dose of something, but I love to see it on a larger piece of furniture, like this settee.

Speaking of… I’m currently having a 100-year old carved settee recovered in this fabric from Peter Dunham.  It’s for our wedding…… which *hopefully* will still take place sometime in 2020.

This rug has long since been sold and I still cannot stop thinking about it.  Never have I ever seen a more perfect rug in that tart hue. #rugsaremydrugs

This is Amber Lewis’ new kitchen, and you know what my favorite part is???  The stone ledge.  Love the utility of it.  Also appreciate the tiled hood (it’s just prettier than a stainless steel one, amiright?)… and while we’re talking details, also love the inset cabinets, the ceilings, and obviously the Clé handmade terra cotta field tile which I cannot stop using.

Speaking of, about to use the Tea Ceremony colorway of Clé’s Zellige in a master bath remodel in Crested Butte and I CANNOT WAIT to see it.

How beautiful is this vintage oushak from Jayson Home?

And this Temoayan Blanket from L’Aviva Home?  Give me all the texture.

Never, ever can ever get enough green glass.  It’s reproduced so frequently now (and not very well – no offense to my homies at Homegoods) – so whenever I see authentic vintage demijohns or wine jugs, I snatch them right up and make sick lamps.

If this isn’t the cutest outfit I’ve ever seen, I don’t know what is.

These drapes from the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara make me happier than a pig in shit.

I have a super soft spot for light blue cabinetry… (and that hood… plaster?  And that range.)  PS not sure whose work this is so if you know, please holla so I can credit properly!

More beauties from Carolina Irving Textiles…. note the itsy bitsy blue contrast piping!  All in the details.

Hey.  While yer home and just in case y’all need to spice up the baby making during #isolationstation.

This one is equally hot.  QUARANTINE JUST GOT A LITTLE MORE FUN CAMPERS.  Maybe I’ll get this for my honeymoon.  When we get to go on it.  In 2022.

Until then, I’ll just keep slammin rosé on the sofa sans my brazziere.

WHAT ARE THESE AND WHERE DO I GET THEM????  Do we think the City Market in Gunny would stock em this Spring?  …#snort.  Hey.  A girl can hope.

I love the idea of doing shirred fabric behind glass doors.  Especially in a bedroom.  I also saw this in Estee Stanley’s office a few years ago – she had these HUGE French vintage-looking vitrines with fabric behind the glass doors.  Pretty sure I soiled my drawers right then & there.

Catchpole & Rye has some of the most BEAUTIFUL PLUMBING FIXTURES.

 

Those guys and Waterworks.  They are budget busters but holy testicle Tuesday, they are works of art.  I had to screen shot this from a video from the last time I was at Waterworks in Denver but holy smokes, it’s my all-time fave.  The Étoile widespread faucet in unlacquered brass and it is aged to heavenly perfection.  PS, you know who’s gonna hate me while we’re building / renovating a house someday and then love it when it’s over??  …his name rhymes with Dris Criscoll.

Also love this Killi Stripe Orange fabric from Penny Morrison, available to the trade through Hollywood at Home.  AKA my favorite place on earth.

All I ever wanted were the Muriel Sconces from Oly in my bathroom someday.  Or over a fireplace.

OBSESSED with this itsy bitsy range from Big Chill Appliances in a kitchen by House of Jade Interiors.

I MEAN….

Could we please talk about the new marigold colorway of this Carolina Irving stripe?  I know, I’m wigging out this post over her.

Remember the time I was walking around Cherry Creek in Denver and LITERALLY STOPPED IN MY TRACKS when I saw this dinnerware in a store window?  It’s the Oriente Italiano collection From Richard Ginori and I don’t know if I have ever seen anything so beautiful.  I was so proud of myself when I registered for Chrissy Teigen dinnerware from Target that was PERFECT and so reasonably priced (and after I put it on our registry, it was promptly discontinued for no apparent reason and now I still can’t even find it on eBay)… anyhow.  I’m into simple luxury and I would say 364 days a year, I think doing things like registering for fancy plates & such is nonsense and stuff our Grammies did.  Um but that was until I saw these.

I mean.  How could anyone ever choose just one color?!  It’d be like being forced to choose a favorite child.

Currently burning in our house and legit the best-smelling amazon soy candles in the universe.  I would carry NEST’s Sicilian Tangerine (and Grapefruit, for that matter) in my store but they have like a 200-count minimum to order and, well.  Ain’t nobody coming to the store for awhile.  Anyhow.  Not essential for now but whenever things slow down, put this on your list.

Did you know Gucci makes pink wallpaper with herons on it?  Just sayin.

And that Cole & Son makes this Fornasetti stunning wallcovering with blue leaves and orange (kumquats?) on it?

Or, omg.  This oldie but goodie from Farrow & Ball – their Wisteria in this lilac colorway?  It’s BP 2209, FYI.

Surely I’ve posted this 19,587x – dating back to so long ago that I don’t even know the source – but this is probably the most perfect tile I have ever seen.

Why did I not buy this when I had the chance?

Perhaps the prettiest flush mount I have ever seen, from RW Guild.

Dying to use this somewhere…. (like my future kitchen).  Ken Mason Maroc 1 Mari 9B.  Speaking of…. I should also put together a post of the kitchen I would do.  Cuz that’d be fun.

One of the most beautiful Bolivian Frasadas I have ever seen (this one is sold).  But I have used these to recover dining chairs, dining benches, and am about to do a custom ottoman with one.

Errbuddy’s a little gun shy about big purchases right now – myself included – but these beautiful hurricanes (Arrow Stripe Etched Glass) from Jamali Garden have a palatable price point and put out such a beautiful glow.

I’m pretty over blue & white hmong batik but CERTAINLY NOT OVER THIS COLOR OF IT.  From Kishani Perera’s shop, Rummage, awhile back.

Also another shouldah-couldah-wouldah rug I didn’t buy.  Antique Khotan. #idiot

Just another case for dusty baby blue built-ins.  With that rug above in there?  I die. 1,000x.

Put em all together and whadda ya got?  These fab kicks that I cannot find the source for.

PS.  If anyone is on the hunt for a simple & casual dining side chair, I LOVE the Balboas from Serena & Lily.  The price is kind of annoying for a chair that isn’t fully upholstered, but they do usually have pretty good sales going.  Cushion comes in different fabrics, so dontchoo moms with spaghetti slinging toddlers get all fussy with me just yet for pitching something impractical.  They have Perennials!!!  (Also super easy to recover in whatever you want later).

New from Schuyler Samperton (who happens to be our office building’s owner’s bestie – who knew?)  DYING to use this somewhere.

We all know how fun it is to make your kitchen island look like a separate, special piece of furniture…. but what about the sink cabinet?!  If you have a love of antiques, this is a really stunning and unique way to incorporate them into your kitchen.

Love these Sita Marble Bowls from Annie Selke.  Quite certain lemons would JYEST look prettier in here.

Speaking of lemons….

Could we please all stop for a sec and marvel at the detail work here?

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{ via tasha b davis interiors – who does beautiful detail work when it comes to cabinetry & countertops }

….I meaaaaaan, if I didn’t already have a wedding dress………. and if I was a little less of a traditionalist, this one from Naeem Khan by way of Green Wedding Shoes would do the trick.

Howsabout these lamps from Paul Schneider Ceramics???

Speaking of pottery… ever since our kitchen shelf fell and shattered every single piece of dishware on it (including my Michelle Luu custom mugs – *tear) I’ve been begging her to make me some more.  So talented but she just does it on the side, so mama’s gotta wait till the wind is right and catch her on the right day someday.

This dresser makes me so happy.

And this one.

These lamps too – shades are covered in a Fermoie fabric via Hollywood at Home.

Um…. has anyone ever done this?  The bravest I’ve gotten is trying to scratch the surface of figuring out why I’m never not running 10 minutes late.  Is it that I think my time is more important than other peoples’?  (*cringe* – I hope not!) – though it really is an ass hole thing to do.  Being late.  Regardless…. whatever your hiccups are (and we all have them) – they’re all worth a little reflection.

This range, that white brick.  Everything.  By Summer Thornton, my hero.  PS I once sent her firm my resumé when I lived in Chicago and had no business sending her my resumé at that point in time (though it was before she was an actual BFD) – and they actually sent me the kindest reply.  I mean, it was a no – but still.  It was kind and it left an impression.

I would like to wear this all day, every day.

Or the Sissy sweater in Ivory from St. Roche.

OR these thermals from Mate the Label.  Which look perfect for #quarantine #isolationstation.

Hey man.  I’ll also take these sweatpants too while we’re throwing sh*t in the invisicart.

That said… if I could have 1 person dress me till the end of time, it would be Ulla Johnson.

If this isn’t the happiest pantry there ever was (and doesn’t make a case for painting something pale pink next week), I don’t know what does.

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And if this doesn’t make a case for panel-ready appliances………

In other news… this is a bedroom I finished last year in Charleston (it’s a little rumply b/c my client sent this snap to me on a Saturday morning… but it’s as life should be, right?  A little undone…) – anyhow – I keep looking at that custom suzani bench I had made for her and thinking how bomb it would be to make a whole coffee table out of it. #swoon

Dying over this Candy Brick tile from Ken Mason.  Grove Brickworks (that Ann Sacks carried forever) just changed their formula to more of a true “brick” (like one you’d walk on – little more harsh / matte and in colors that aren’t as pretty as before) so this is a fab alternative.

If you haven’t looked at Leanne Marshall’s bridal collection yet, then you haven’t lived.  It is the dreamiest thing I have ever seen.

Same with Pallas Collective’s Neome.  If I had seen this dress before I bought mine, it would’ve been a tough call.

This is a chair I have used in 3 or 4 houses – always with a different fabric on the upholstery, and once I’ve used the one with black strings.  (This one is in a house in Santa Monica)… It is the most fantastic piece of furniture (and SO COMFORTABLE).  Once life & my little shop gets up & running again and I move some other inventory, I’ll put a pair of these in there.

So beautiful.  I’m just going to sit over here and stare at it and look forward to the day when we can travel again.  Or, you know.  Leave the house.  This image is from Condé Nast Traveler’s Insta and if you’re into travel, you should probably follow them.

Is this what my hair is gonna look like by the time this quarantine is over from not heat styling it???  Hey.  A girl can dream.

Hope you guys are hanging in.  What do you plan on knocking out during this quarantine???  Besides barfing all my favorite things on you – and catching up on work – I’m going to use this time to pare down… to clean out closests and drawers and to minimize just the inordinate amount of crap we have… so we can breathe.  I also think this is a great time to be creative.  Running your own biz and not hiring full-time help (*COUGH* that’s my fault) tends to reaaaaallly bog you down with stuff that isn’t fun (like accounting and admin noise), so this is an amazing time for me to catch up on all the good juju.  Update my CAD skills.  Seek out new vendors.  Heavens – pick my French back up (!!!!)  I took a long walk outside to get some fresh air today and put my headphones in and blew through the whole Amélie Soundtrack and it took me straight back to 2002 when I was el-fluent-o, and then it took me back to every time I was in Paris, and how enchanting it is.  Le sigh.  So, this terrifying global pandemic does have a silver lining called, we all get to slow down a little and reconnect with the things we love, and the things that make us who we are.

xoxo,