Colors of Spring

I adore this time of year when you start to see signs of nature coming back to life after the cold winter. Seeing all the Bradford Pear trees blooming and all the oak trees getting their leaves makes my soul happy. Of course, here in Texas my allergies are about to kill me! I had the windows open the other day and the birds were singing like they hadn't sung in years. It was an amazing sound! It's so cool how Spring makes our lives feel like they are getting a fresh start. Everything seems new again.

I thought you would like to see some of the color trends for spring that are inspired by nature. I thought they were really beautiful.
Room Inspired by these beautiful flowers.
I love this room's pale pink color, it is almost grey. I also love the layering of the natural elements in this picture. The height of the sticks gives such incredible interest to the mirror and adds a softness to the room. The light colored basket under the table brings your eye to the floor and creates balance to the overall look. Mixing styles is also what makes this room amazing. The rustic tin cans add a bit of country and the imported carved furniture adds the eclectic twist. The shape of the mirror is also very striking and having it hung close to the table top is perfect. Notice how the height of the mirror is the same as the pictures on the wall to the left. Again this brings balance to this area. All the colors are so natural and soothing. I want to create this look for a client!!
For those of you that are taking time off for Spring Break like me, I hope you get to spend some time a part of nature. Maybe it will inspire you to start a project! May you feel a new beginning this spring!

Barbie's Real Life Dream Home - 50th Birthday

It's Barbies 50th Birthday today! If you can make it to Malibu, interior designer Jonathan Adler decked out an over-the-top, pink-carpeted 3,500-square-foot house for the official birthday bash.

MALIBU, Calif. – Barbie's Malibu Dream House is coming true.
On the eve of her 50th birthday, interior decorator Jonathan Adler has decked out a real-life 3,500-square-foot pad overlooking the Pacific Ocean to look like the blond doll's outrageous home.
Adler, who was commissioned by toy maker Mattel Inc. to decorate the house for Monday's party, said outfitting the sleek mansion (a property that's frequently rented for film and photography shoots) took six months of planning and a few weeks to install.
"Barbie was a dream client because she doesn't exist as a person," Adler said. "She exists as fantasy and is the perfect client because she's always happy and fun and loves everything. I thought to myself, 'How would Barbie live?' What I thought was Barbie would have a house that is glamorous, kittenish, chic, colorful and happy — as well as functional."
Adler lined Barbie's bedroom with wall-to-wall pink carpeting emblazoned with her initial. The closet is filled with 50 pairs of pink peep-toe heels while her kitchen is stocked with cupcake-making ingredients. An in-house museum features 25 vintage Barbie dolls on display. In the garage? A pink Volkswagen New Beetle with a motorized pop-up vanity in the trunk.
"I think this really is Barbie's Malibu Dream House because the setting is so incredibly dreamy and ethereal," Adler said. "We're perched on a cliff in Malibu overlooking the ocean. It's a fantasyland for anyone. It was difficult to find the house to celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday because it had to be the ultimate Malibu house, and I think we found it."
Decorating Barbie's real-world dream home, which will be the site Monday of a star-studded soiree celebrating the doll's birthday, was a dream for Adler, the potter and decorator who has served as head judge on Bravo's "Top Design." He said Mattel gave him access to the company's archives, including a look at all of Barbie's various dream homes over the years.
Following the festivities, most of Barbie's custom decor will be shipped to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas to furnish a special pink-tinted Barbie Suite that will be available for bachelorette parties, birthdays or anyone who wants to live like Barbie. Other items will be available from the "Jonathan Adler Loves Barbie" collection launching in September.
Adler's favorite furnishings are hanging in the living room: an original Andy Warhol portrait of Barbie valued at over $200,000 and a chandelier — designed by "Project Runway" contestant Chris March — that's made up of over 30 blond wigs and took more than 60 hours to craft. Adler also admires a one-of-a-kind black-and-white wall mirror created with 64 dolls.
So where's Ken?
"Ken's around, but does she need Ken?" said Adler. "No."

By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang, Ap Entertainment Writer – Fri Mar 6, 2:29 pm
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Inspirational Words

I'm working with a really fun family right now. Yesterday she sent me an e-mail saying that they were so excited about getting started with all the ideas I had presented to them. She sat down with her family and asked them to each give a word to her that described how they wanted their house to be after the finished product. She sent me an e-mail with the words they came up with. So awesome when the whole family gets involved. Really...they have to be. Especially for this special family. They have decided to purge a ton of their items, going through drawers, sorting through clothes, throwing away things they don't use or need. All this in preperation for the "transormation" their house is going to go through. New paint, furniture, window treatments, rugs, lamps and much more. It's nice when you can all be on the same page as a family and work together towards a goal. This will be a challenging time for them over the next few weeks with painters invading their space and the upset of being out of their regular routine. The best thing is that this family is in it together and can't wait for the end result. This makes my job a lot of fun. I can't wait to get my hands on the final touches, it's going to be so much fun. I'll post before and after pictures once it's done!

I've been collecting some of my favorite quotes and filing them away. After reading my cllient's e-mail, it inspired me to put them all together for you. They make me smile.

“The details are not details, they make the design”.Charles Eames

Fortune favors the brave – Virgil 17BC – 19BC

We ascribe beauty to that which is simple - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Less is more – Ludwig Miles Van der rohe

The home should be the treasure chest of living –le Corbusier

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful – William Morris

Form and function should be one, joined in spiritual union – Frank Lloyd Wright

Creativity is seeing something that doesn’t exist already – Michael Shae

Fashion passes, style remains – coco chanel

Concrete Treasure

I've had this Concrete stone cast iron decorative finial for a while now. Discovered it a while back on one of my treasure hunting days. From the moment I saw it I thought it would really be nice painted to look like concrete rather than this kinda dreary brown color. I found this picture of a mirror and thought it could be my inspiration for the color I was going for. I've discovered that painting is my therapy. I keep projects like this around so when I feel the need to paint, I can do so. I dug this treasure out of my storage unit, dusted it off and got busy. I always find myself in a good mood when I do projects like this. I put my ipod on and it was such good medicine.

Here's the end result. This items is for sale - $100 if anyone is interested. It's approximately 25" tall and would look great in any kitchen. Contact me at 817-706-8000 for more information.