happy birthday chanel no. 5

who doesn't know chanel no. 5.   
50 years young - a great age!

loving this video where even a red builder's 
hard hat can look romantic!

beautiful pictures outside the musee d'orsay in Paris,  
all the month of January

Cultivate What Your Critics Don't Like

Listen carefully to first criticisms of your work. 

Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like - 


then cultivate it!!

That's the part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.
Jean Cocteau


Can you think of  better advice for a creative individual?

It takes great courage and confidence of steel to follow through with this advice.
But...think about anyone who is famous probably did (without knowing it), 
or never heard or listened to the critics.
They are unique. No?

I   " 5  fingered "   this quote from Yvette @ In So Many Words

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG..... Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design, Cultivate What Your Critics Don't Like
 

Design Trends!

The final installment of my trip to Market was to look at the overall design trends for 2011.

We saw a lot of furniture that mimicked Tara Shaw Maison and Aidan Gray - some were more rustic like Restoration Hardware, some were more chippy and distressed. There were a variety of price points and quality. But if you are interested in this look you will be able to find it at any price. My only caution when shopping is to look at the finishes - some of these vendors are doing great work that looks authentic and others are not. I was very impressed with almost all the pieces from BLISS (above) - they were my favorite vendor for quality versus price.

We continued to see in almost every showroom neutrals and linens. This bedding ensemble from Legacy Linens was just beautiful.

But the one new element we noticed the most was the introduction of more organic and textural type materials. We saw more rattan, raw wood and specifically we saw a lot of driftwood/wood.

We saw wood made into sculptures like this wonderful horse -

And this large seahorse!

Pieces like this mirror were in several showrooms but Currey and Company seemed to have the best selection and the best quality.

Here it is with several lamps with wood bases.

This large mirror was just striking - and notice the chandelier in front.

They had several other interesting Chandeliers like this trellis style.

We fell in love with this standing lamp - we loved the texture and scale.

Their smaller lamps were also interesting. They had several styles like this ball lamp.

and the figure - we loved this one.

Over all we saw little departure from the past year - most vendors playing it safe and neutral with lots of gray, taupe and brown. It was a great trip and I came back even more inspired than before, with many new sources with quality products. I would be interested to hear how you all feel about seeing more of this look and your thoughts on trends for 2011.

(all photos Willow Decor not be copied without permission)

More Glass and, of course, Dale Chihuly.

Living in the Seattle area, it can't go without mention that Dale Chihuly is the most successful Northwest artist in history. The Queen of England, Bill Clinton, Elton John, Mick Jagger and Bill Gates own his glass.  It can be seen in 225 museums around the world. He now wears an eye patch due to a crash one rainy night in England where he blinded his left eye and nearly died. Three years later he dislocated his shoulder and consequently no longer blows glass. He has since amassed a fortune and built an entire comtemporary glass art market. 

 In the penthouse at 60 Warren Street in New York City, a Dale Chihuly chandelier hangs in front of a 24-foot two-story window.  Natural light floods in to illuminate it, along with the Jason Brooks painting and a 1,300 Antony Gormley sculpture.

A detail from Dale Chihuly's Persian Pergola shows the artist's propensity for massing glass components of varying sizes and shapes.

Hardware is often referred to as the "jewelry of the home". It can be a powerful design tool. Tracy Glover has come up with these fabulous drawer knobs made from hand-blown glass. The vivid shades are reminiscent of the colors so often used by Dale Chihuly.

Peanutella

Deb did it again! My jaw dropped when I saw this chocolate & peanut spread she calls peanutella. My chocolate loving friend made it last night for her kids and she already declared that tomorrow morning she is going for an extra ten laps in the pool (giggle). Doesn't it look delicious? (I dare you not to crave it tomorrow morning for breakfast) xoxo

P.S: Also, homemade nutella. Yum!

new brocante season - french linen bedsheets

I can feel my pulse beginning to race a little faster as the new brocante season looms larger on the horizon.  The auctions have picked up speed and the brocante fairs will kick off again this Sunday - BBRRR!!!   The negative temperatures are going to make it hard to get out of bed early but I'll do my best.

This season I'm definitely going to be on the look out for more bed linen.  Nothing beats the pleasure of slipping into these smooth heavy linen sheets.   This one is on my bed this week and I love it.  The open embroidery work looks great against the dark bed cover.

Some people get worried about using these.  I can see no point in having them folded up in a cupboard, they have to be seen, indeed they were made to be enjoyed.  I wash all my vintage sheets in the machine, and press them with a mangle iron.

Elephant Themed 1st Birthday Party

Do you remember this darling bird theme nursery room? Well, that little baby boy recently turned one!

For his first birthday celebration his style-savvy mom selected a sweet & whimsical elephant invitation by Sweet Street Gals from minted.com. The invitation inspired an elephant themed birthday party full of style, amazing details and cakes that are drool-worthy!

It’s the little details that made this party so special including this darling elephant balloon topper from Bratty Cakes. Amazing, right?

The birthday boy had a special red velvet cupcake made just for him. Don’t you love this baby elephant with single red balloon? 

Alphabet blocks and a banner spell out birthday wishes to memorialize the special day. Did you notice the little elephant in the top block?

The banner was handmade from a template  found on Martha Stewart {here}. Each letter was printed out and cut in circles. The letters were then glued on red paper circles {coordinating with the party theme} and strung on a white ribbons.

To create these custom goodie bags, photocopies of the invitation were made and adhered to the front of solid red paper bags. Each gift bag was personalized with guest’s names using white letter stickers. So simple, so cute!

I still can’t get over that darling little cupcake with the baby elephant. 
What’s your favorite element?

PS - Minted.com is one of my affiliate partners... check out all their gorgeous designs! 

Shopbop on Sale and $100 Giveaway!

** Update: Nikki - You are the winner! Congrats **

You can never have too many shoes - from edgy military inspired boots to the classic black pump. Shopbop, a premier online shopping destination for fashion forward women, is giving one lucky BB&B reader $100 to shop for whatever style your heart (and feet) desires.

To stay stylish and comfortable during the day, Shopbop offers flats from designers like Tory Burch and Jil Sander. For a night out, swap out your regular heels in favor of some edgy thigh high boots or a wedge boot from Shopbop’s collection of Tapeet shoes. If you want some trendy clothes from your favorite designers to go with your new shoes, check out what’s on sale at Shopbop.

To qualify, visit Shopbop and leave a comment below.

and click on the Facebook "like" button (right above the comments)

Winner will be announced on Friday!

shop * facebook * twitter * bloglovin * lauratrevey.com

Giveaways every Monday on BB&B

** Interested in hosting a giveaway? Contact me here **

A month by month plan to get your home storage organized

Better Homes and Gardens released this storage organization guide recently and I thought it'd be a good thing to share. I should have posted it early, and from now on I'll post each month's schedule withing the first week of the month. To read the whole storage plan on BHG, click here.

Click on the image for a larger view

January is all about the home office. Here is what they suggest doing:

•Create a Mail Station. Set up mailboxes on a desk, wall, or bulletin board. Or give each member of your family his or her own labeled box, bin, or slot.

•Stay on Schedule. Hang a large monthly calendar in a spot everyone can see and use it. Choose a paper calendar or dry-erase version, and encourage everyone to write important events, deadlines, and reminders.

•Organize Office Supplies. Outfit a desk drawer near your main working area with a divided tray or multiple small bins. Limit the number of office supplies in each compartment. Label each compartment with an adhesive label.

•Get Rid of Junk. Test all writing utensils. Toss everything that doesn't work perfectly. Group similar items (pens, pencils, markers, etc) in canisters for easy access.

Of course, you can always go way more in detail, but I think their suggestions are a nice starting point.


I adore this choclate office, and I'm a huge fan of baskets.
via Southern Living


The modular desk systems and home office styling ideas from Pottery Barn are an organization junkies dream. ...one day...
via Pottery Barn

love me an inspiration board
via Traditional Home

A super glam office

A Herman-Miller studio.

Modern Bed, Design Zip Bed From Florida

Modern Bed, Design Zip Bed From Florida is a bed design is very modern. This is one product from a company called Italia Furniture from any part of the U.S. state Florida. Well it is in production beds in Florida and marketed throughout the world. This is the perfect bed design and very modern at all and has many advantages in terms of economical and practical.

This modern bed is designed with zippers on the main section to bed. framework of this modern bed is also made of very soft material and feels very soft. indeed the ingredients to make this modern bed is not a haphazard material.

Convenience of this modern bed is when we wake up we do not bother to tidy it up, like most other beds. well because the bed was dizzy in rancar resliting for easy and practical way. we just pulled his zipper to tidy it up again. and zipper lid also serves as a blanket directly, without using a separate sheet

For those of you who like a modern type bed may Modern Bed, Design Zip Bed From Florida like this very cock for you. Modern Bed, Design Zip Bed From Florida It also comes with a variant of blue, gray, and red that might fit with the design of your bedroom.

Park City Condo Project: Before & After

Take a look inside the condo remodel that is nearly completed!  

Before & After photos say it best, so here you go:

Main view from foyer - BEFORE

Main view from foyer - AFTER

Simply removing that kitchen wall made the condo feel 10x bigger.

Fireplace - BEFORE

Fireplace - AFTER

We resized the fireplace so the firebox was centered in the surround.  It looks much bigger even though the firebox is in the same location (raising the firebox was easy, but moving it left or right would have been much more expensive), and is now more centered on the sitting area (furniture is still in the works).

Kitchen - BEFORE

Kitchen - AFTER

View into Foyer - BEFORE

View into Foyer - AFTER

Master Bathroom - BEFORE

Master Bathroom - AFTER

We reconfigured these walls a bit so the vanity would be part of the bathroom rather than the bedroom, and the closet is now bigger.  We also got rid of all the funky angles here for a much cleaner look.

Guest Bath - BEFORE

Guest Bath - AFTER

There are still a few items to finish, including furniture and accessories.  I hope to show more photos of the furnished space (including bedrooms) once that is all completed.

This has been a really great project to be a part of.  My client loves color and appreciates natural materials and textures, so I've had the opportunity to be a little more bold than usual here.  The contractor, Bruce Anderson, from Blue Willow Builders, has done a wonderful job and has a great team of guys that are fun to work with.   I wouldn't hesitate to send anyone to Bruce for remodel or new construction projects.  All the beautiful cabinetry, doors, trim, and fireplace mantle, were designed and built by Chris Peterson at Riverwoods Mill.  Chris has a great eye for detail and it has been a pleasure working with him on design specifics.  Other key players are Cora from Ferguson, Kathleen at European Marble, Terry from Foremost Interiors, Jayson from Kupferschmidt Electric, Tony from Workman Floors, Keene from Mountainland, the staff at Light Spot Modern Design, and many others.  Having a good team makes all the difference in the world!