Re-Dazzle your home for the holidays

         Re-dazzle your home for the holidays!  

Nothing says Welcome quite like the entrance to your home.  

The exterior and interior.  Make it inviting and spectacular.   

Dress up your entryway pots 

                   

A natural evergreen, boxwood or magnolia wreath tied in your favorite holiday ribbon will make your front door look beautiful.

                   

As you walk in, make your foyer beautiful!  My friend  

Susan Stafford created the most beautiful centerpiece in her  

foyer.  The moss reindeer surrounded by paper whites and  

garland not only welcomes the holidays but is welcoming to friends. 

      

When it comes to our Trees, we all have ornaments that we've collected through the years; things our children have made (my favorite), ornaments we've been gifted (not always what we like), and those we've carefully selected and love.  How do we place them all together and still have a wonderful tree.  

A couple of suggestions:

1. Have one larger tree with those beautiful ornaments you love and a smaller tree with the ornaments the kids have made through the years.

(Donate the ones your not crazy about.) 

2.  Strategically place all of the ornaments on one tree and use ONE common thread to weave all of the ornaments together.  Whether it's hanging them from the same color ribbon, or using the same garland throughout the tree, this will make your tree look like everything belongs together. 

For the Mantle, use seasonal greenery:  pine, magnolia leaves, boxwood, fresh cut herbs.  I love combining them with  flowers in dramatic arrangements.

It's about bringing the outdoors in!

 

Photo courtesy of www.elizabethannedesigns.com 

Inspired by Suzanne Kasler

I had the opportunity to meet Suzanne Kasler at a book signing and opening of the new Lee Jofa showroom in Charlotte, NC.  Her line is updated and fresh.  She has taken classics in archival and brought them to the viewpoint of today.
  

She translated the archival designs of English prints, jacquard's, suzani's and florals with her use of  color and paired them with Armani like colors.

Complementing her bold and colorful prints are washed linens and crisp taffeta's that literally have a beautiful hand.  Her approach is to mix subtle neutrals with fresh colors.

Michael Woodal, Kravet representative

 What I loved most about her collection is the ability to combine larger patterns with smaller patterns and solids, all complementing one another with her use of color. 


She was darling, every fabric "is one of my favorites" she said through her presentation.   You can see the enthusiasm in her face and hear it in her voice.  How could it not be beautiful.  http://kravet.typepad.com/inspiredtalk/2011/11/suzanne-kasler-unveils-room-at-lee-jofa-showroom.html

A show house dazzler

   2011 March of Dimes Designer Show House

A BIG Thank you to all who came out to support the March of Dimes house, it was a wonderful success for not only the March of Dimes but for myself as well. 

      

                                              

            

The kitchen began as very dark space with its cherry   

cabinets and Brazilian cherry floors.  My goal was to lighten the space, accentuate all of the positive features in the   

room and make it as livable and comfortable as possible.

   

   

I began to embellish the kitchen with the help of Stark Carpets.  I wanted a beautiful rug that would lighten the room, and bring in some of the wall color.  The rug, was a Hand knotted Oriental, woven in Pakistan with a contemporary coloration and a center medallion.  The minute I saw it, I knew it was the perfect piece.

The drapes, a linen Cowtan & Tout fabric used as the leading edge had just the right shade of blue and paired with the greyish raw linen panels they complemented the rug very nicely.  

   

Combining antiques with new pieces is a wonderful way to create comfort and add interest to any room.  The furniture from LaDonna Antiques and Accessories gave the kitchen a sense of presence. The dining table, a Period English Regency,  paired with Mouton linen wing chairs and side chairs made the dining area feel inviting.  

The paintings by Amy Sullivan Artistry, Sharon Hockfield and myself all looked like they were especially made to work with every detail in the space.  

Of course no room is complete without the right accessories.  They give personality and character to a space.  There again by combining antiques with newer pieces the room looked like there was actually a family living in the house.  

Thank you to all of the businesses that made this space a beautiful kitchen. 

    

 To see all of the images go to http://www.rosadestinteriors.com/Gallery.asp   

Creating a Show House

A Great Cause, a Great House!

I’m honored to be participating in the March of Dimes show house. This years show house in Charlotte, NC is a 10,000 sq. ft. Georgian home in the heart of one of Charlotte's oldest and most prestigious neighborhoods.
It’s always exciting to do a room in a show house, to push the envelope a little and pull out all of our bells and whistles. 
People love to come and see the different creations we designers come up with and see who their style relates too.  It's a wonderful time to get ideas but an even better time to support a great organization.
Stay tuned to see the finished kitchen, always the “heart of the home”.
http://www.rosadestinteriors.com

Dream Home

I'm in Washington, DC this week for a couple of days visiting my son.  I had sometime by myself today so I decided to visit the Washington Design Center 2011 Dream Home.
Eight of Washington's most creative designers collaborated with DC area jewelers.  They each selected a piece of jewelry which would become their inspiration for their room.

I will share with you a couple of my favorites.

The Atrium, by JD Ireland Interiors was inspired by this blue agate and gold stunning necklace.

 

The space is clean-lined with unified movement, stimulating the senses with sparkle.

  It is anchored with natural material and highlighted with gold and blue accents inspired by the necklace.  I loved the use of the iron spheres and the punch of sparkle.

The Bedroom Suite by Zoe Felman Design

 

 This beautiful gold and diamond ring resembling a tree bark-like pattern with subtle hints of silver was the inspiration to this modern bedroom.   The floors, walls and trim are painted shades of silver and gold and accents of bolder colors add vibrancy to the elegant bedroom.

  I liked the use of the free forming shapes used in pieces such as the fan chair and lotus table.

The Living Room by Susan Nelson Interiors

 

The vibrant necklace by Dina Mackney just makes you want to smile and this is exactly what Susan Nelson wanted you to do when you walked into her Living room.  The Asmara rug was the inspiration to the living room.  The colors in the rug;  yellow, green, coral tuquoise and lavender gave the room an airy feel and a punch of color.   My favorite was the aqua chandelier, it made me smile. 

To see more of the 2011 Dream house, visit http://www.dcdesigncenter.com/dcdesigncenter/index.cfm/dreamhome/overview

Combining fabric as easy as ONE, TWO, THREE

                                               # 1                                      #2                           #3


All you need is Three fabrics to make a room great, the fabrics just need to be GREAT.
I spent the morning at the fabric showroom and came across these beautiful fabrics by Highland Court.
They would be beautiful in a den or living room.

Fabric #1, a linen,  has wonderful abstract flowers in navy, tan and a sky blue.  It would make beautiful pinch pleated panels, fun yet elegant.
Fabric #2  is in a herringbone pattern made of a linen/polyester blend  and is perfect for upholstery.  Fabric #3, the navy and blue arabesque fabric,  resembles and feels like cut velvet and would work beautifully as accent pillows.
It's all in the combination of colors, textures and application that come together to create a beautifully finished room

Be my Guest...

Be my guest and welcome!
Do you love having friends and family for a long weekend or extended stay?  If so, what better way to say welcome than by creating a room that makes you smile as you walk through the door.


But before you go crazy painting and buying accessories to create a beautiful guest bedroom, ask yourself the following questions:

•  Who are most of your guest and do you love them coming or is it an obligatory visit?
•  Are they adults or will they be bringing their kids?
•  Will they be traveling with pets? and are you OK with that?

These questions must be addressed in order to design the proper guest room.  Just remember, "Function always comes First."

Classic & Timeless, Jennifer Lopez serene guest room featured in Veranda is glamorous. Great lighting, flowers and a place to put your suitcases on.  What more do you really need?

Refreshing and inviting by  Charles Stuart, the guest bedroom could be used for more than one guest with twin beds, a comfortable chair in Brunschwig & Fils fabric and a foot stool.  brunschwig.com

 

Have fun with your guest room, inject your personality into it.

Add whimsy to your room with a fun pet bed, www.bigdogbeds.com, this will certainly become a conversation piece.

 

A place for your guest pet, flowers and a pot of fresh coffee are small details that say "WELCOME."