M Designs

I just wanted to let you all know about a great on-line magazine that I really love!  It’s Lonny Magazine.  Lonny is celebrating their one year anniversary this month.  Happy anniversary!

It seems that I am always on the run between client meetings, kids activities and traveling.  I recently received an iPad, and I love having the ability to flip through this magazine on my iPad, while I’ve got a few minutes of “down time”.

Lonny covers everything from design ideas and tips, how to choose paint and colors for your home, how to select the perfect accessories….everything!  And the photography is just beautiful!

If you’re looking for great information, inspiration and eye candy, take a look at Lonny!  Below are just a few images from their October/November issue.

I saw these fabrics and fell in love! Call me if you are interested!

Love this mix! How fun is this!

See what I mean about great ideas?

By Eddie Ross and Jaithan. When I saw them at High Point I told them this is my favorite table EVER!

Another addition to my travel "must stay" list....beautiful!

As you know, I went to the Round Top Antiques Fair last week. My friend Linda Burnside, with LGB Interiors came all the way from Columbia, SC and was my partner in crime. I don’t even know where to begin. We saw it ALL! There were so many vendors, and fabulous treasures – I’m almost speechless!

We were on a mission to find the perfect accessories and furniture for several clients, and our mission was accomplished!

We purchased a beautiful oriental rug; some wonderful antique leather bound books, and an antique Spanish bowl, just to name a few things.

And of course, I had to make a personal purchase, which was a beautiful hand embroidered denim shirt. I couldn’t leave without it!

I’ve attached several pictures of interesting products that we saw while we were there. The last picture is of my car – yes, we managed to fit everything in!

I’m already planning my next trip. If you love antiques, you should plan a trip and go sometime as well!

Today I will load up my car and head south to the smallest incorporated town in Texas….Round Top, population 81!  Salute!  Round Top is home to one of my favorite places to shop for antiques; the Round Top Antiques Fair.  This fair began 43 years ago, and is going stronger every year with more exhibitors and certainly higher attendance.

At Round Top, you can find everything from furniture, to dishes, quilts to light fixtures, and everything in between.  Many vendors are known for their ability to find eclectic, one of a kind items that you wouldn’t normally be able to find on your own.  The exhibitors search all over the world for the highest quality antiques to display to their repeat and new clientele.  Rest assured, even if you are a faithful Round Top attendee, you will always find something new at the fair.  (What is that saying….everything old is new again?)

The exhibitors are set up in four different venues, creating a quaint “fair like” atmosphere, but the quality of their products is anything but “fair like”.

The Carmine Dance Hall is heaven on earth if you adore gorgeous antique glass, crystal, silver, linens, and my favorite….china.

I especially love the display in the Continental Tent.  Exhibitors in this location offer high quality products from England, France, Spain, Italy, and other European countries.  You can find items ranging in style from country to formal, small or large, inexpensive or pricey.

I have been to Round Top many times, and wouldn’t dream of missing it this year.  If you love antiques like I do, this is a must attend event!  If you are just an antique “browser” or an aficionado, there is something at Round Top for you.

I haven’t posted this week because I am in the midst of a whirlwind…literally. We have changed our accounting system and are slogging through the details of learning an entirely new system. We have also been working with an out of town client on an exciting new project and have been focused deeply on getting the first phase complete before the client leaves town this week. WHEW..

Remember how everyone tells you to stop and smell the roses? Yeah right. Not in my world. But tonight I had a “moment” and now I have a much better understanding of what that means. I asked my son to take out the trash and recycling when we got home this evening and while I was preparing dinner, I looked out the window to see him dawdling in the front yard. I was distracted at that moment and didn’t knock loudly on the glass like I normally would, urging him along in his least favorite task.
About 5 minutes later he came inside and handed me this…..no words, just a sweet grin and a look of pride in his eyes.

My sweet boy took a moment to smell the roses and use the talent he was born with…imagination and an artist’s eye. This is his sculpture, created from a holly leaf from the neighbor’s yard and yaupon berries from a tree in our yard. Notice how the larger berries are on the larger projections on the leaf and they get smaller as you get to the bottom of the leaf.

I loved my gift, and more importantly I stopped and took the time to talk to him about his creation, how special it made me feel and how amazing his “eye” is in creating art.

Stop and smell the roses!! I hope you all find time to experience the beauty I did today.

As a Designer and Decorator, it is very important for us to keep a portfolio of our work….after all, it’s not enough to TELL people what we do, we need to SHOW them.  We don’t photograph every job, however, there are those jobs that stand out, and we want to capture the end result.  The best way for us to do this is to hire a professional photographer, style the space and schedule a photo shoot.

I really love setting up for photo shoots!  It gives us the time on a job to ensure it looks like we envisioned it when we began.  It also gives the client a chance to see their home through our eyes.

What’s involved in a photo shoot?  It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort.  M Designs “styles” the space prior to the shoot.  As you can imagine, people live in their homes and they NEVER look like the photograph on a daily basis.  However, we need to have lots of prep time in advance to prepare the space.  We work with the photographer to style the shot and though I would love to hire a stylist on each shoot, most of the time, we style our own shots.  This includes providing props, which could include fruits, veggies, or food items for a kitchen shot, perhaps dishes and linens for a dining room shot, linens for bedrooms and bathrooms, and pillows and accessories for living areas, and ALWAYS fresh flowers.  We select items that would coordinate with accessories that are already in the space and make that photo come to life!

Once the shopping is finished, we arrive at the client’s home and proceed to “style” the space, putting each accessory in just the perfect place….sometimes moving items many times before the perfect shot can be captured.  This step happens 2-3 days before the shoot so we can take test shots to see what is still missing, or what needs to be edited out.

We work with a professional photographer on each shoot.  We also work with our builder and remodeler clients to style their photo shoots for their photographers as well.  I highly recommend working with a professional for a number of reasons.  First, they are extremely experienced in lighting a shot.   This entails a number of lighting elements, from actual lights, to reflectors, to standing outside a window and shading it while we take a shot.  Secondly, they can instantly tell you which shots will be the best and what will be the best angle to show your work.  We have often moved a piece of furniture 2 inches while they stand at the camera and check the shot for accuracy.  Lastly, our photographer does clean up in Photoshop at the end of the shoot.  This involves removing ceiling fans or plugs that are distracting, adjusting color to match a sample on fabrics, and taking out shadows that we weren’t able to remove in the field.

When you work with a professional team such as we do, it makes our job easier.  Without great photography, you aren’t able to show your work in its best light.  As designers, that is our calling card, and we are only as good as our last photo shoot, so we need to constantly document our latest projects.  Photo shoots are a lot of work, but they are fun, and the end result is always fabulous!

As I work with clients designing, remodeling and decorating their homes I get to know a little about them, their families, and their personal style.  No two clients are the same…their likes, dislikes, or their style.  However, I have come across one statement that comes up time and time again, and that is the remark “I just can’t live without…..”, and then they all fill in the blank with their particular item that would make life a little more challenging if they didn’t have it.  I am asked frequently as well, “Denise, what’s the ONE thing you couldn’t live without?”  It is very hard to narrow my “must have” list to just ONE thing, so I’ve come up with my top 10 things, that without them, my life would be a little less sunny.

1.  Shoes – I love all shoes, platform pumps, strappy sandals, patent pumps, boots with fur ……including my wall of shoes in my office.  Prada, Gucci, Louboutin, YSL…LOVE shoes.

2.  My family – without the support of my wonderful husband Scott, and my adorable children Jaxon and Jori, my job wouldn’t be near as rewarding.  I love coming home to share my daily experiences with them.

3.  My faith – as many of you know, without a foundation, those bad days or tragic events could take you under.  I believe my business was built upon my God-given talent and without Him, there isn’t much of a reason to be here.

4.  Color  – though muted, our studio reveals my love for many colors.  I am constantly changing the paint colors in our consultation rooms and vignettes, and am still amazed by the difference a new color can make

5.  Bread – as I have an allergy to peanuts, most chocolates and sweets are off limits to me since they are manufactured in facilities that also process peanuts….so BREAD, here we come.  I love all types from Rye, Rosemary infused, Pumpernickel and Sweet breads.  I have been pretty good lately and only indulge once a week, but be careful if you put a bread basket in front of me…I can’t resist.

6.  My work family – we try to have lunch as a group here in the office each day and it’s so great to have an incredible team to “break bread” with and share our daily lives.  They are positive, supportive, and creative, and I love them all.

7.  Pratesi Sheets – While I switch between my Pratesi and Anichini sheeting, I have been eternally spoiled and can’t go back.  I have even considered taking them on vacation so I can have a better night’s sleep.

8.  My iPad – While I still don’t own an iPhone, I received an iPad for Mothers Day this year and I read daily blogs, download the latest novels, keep my calendar, and read and send e-mail from my iPad.  The convenience for work is priceless.

9.  Lavender – OK – I have gone overboard here, but I just love the smell of fresh lavender.  Car fragrance ma’am?  Lavender.  Bath Oil?  Lavender.  Linen Spray?  Lavender.  Lotion in our office?  Lavender…you get the picture.

10.  Dishes – I have never met a china pattern I didn’t like.  I am embarrassed to say that I own over six sets of china and everyday dishes and still look for more.  I mix and match them and love setting a table…glassware is my second place here and I always have plenty on hand for entertaining.

What is one of the 10 things YOU can’t live without?  Post your comment…we’d love to share with our readers.

Last week my favorite Kravet rep came by to show the new fabrics by Thom Filicia for Kravet.  First let me say, AMAZING price points.  And secondly, what a breath of fresh air.  Take a look…I was instantly inspired for a few projects I am working on and I hope you will be too.

I have kept a library of tear sheets in our studio offices for over 10 years now.  Many of these notebooks have images from now defunct publications.  From Met Home to Southern Accents, to Domino, this library is a treasure trove for all the designers in my design studio.  My ritual every summer of compiling tear sheets and filing them gives me inspiration for months.  As we embark on a new round of projects, I need fresh inspiration from the past and I hope to get it this week.  What does your tear sheet library look like?

As I prepare for a photo shoot for one of our recent installations, I am left to ponder how to best style the deep teal library we designed for the Mrs. of the house. 

While this room faces south, it receives bright light most of the day.  This created a requirement for a cool, sophisticated color palette and we turned to our favorite teal palette.  This was over a year ago, before turquoise became so very HOT…so are we abandoning teal now for the younger, fresher turquoise? 

Below are my favorite teal inspirations…just don’t forget that popularity often fades and we are left to depend on our tried and true friends…don’t forget teal…it gets along so well with turquoise.

Photos from Lonny Magazine

Fabrics by Trina Turk for Schumacher Fabrics

I recently worked with a client to furnish their family room, and found the most wonderful animal hide furnishings.  The designer of these unique furniture creations is Kyle Bunting.  In his studio, nestled in the Texas Hill Country outside of Austin, TX, Kyle and his design team have created a groundbreaking collection, and have redefined the use of hide in interior furnishings.  He is passionate about working with hide, and has worked strictly with hide for the last decade of his career, developing interesting designs, techniques and applications for this medium.

Kyle Bunting has product offerings such as rugs, wall coverings, upholstery, furniture and art.  His style is a combination of classic, contemporary design and impeccable craftsmanship.  All products can be custom specified for hide color and wood finishes.  In his collection you will see every color from white to black, shocking pinks, vibrant greens and calming creams, just to name a few.  By combining hides and textures, even his monochromatic rugs take on a multi-dimensional life of their own and become incredible works of art.

Primarily recognized for their collection of luxurious hide carpets and wall coverings, Kyle is also a supplier of hides for upholstery and architectural applications.  Kyle and his team have designed projects for design and private clients world-wide, for both residential and commercial use.  Kyle’s productions are of the highest quality in the world, and I think you’ll agree after viewing these photos, that his work is nothing short of incredible, for instance, the Custom Feature Wall – Cowboy Hats – Designed by Tracy Overbeck Stead for the W Hotel in Dallas, TX.

If you are considering making a bold, innovative statement in your décor, I suggest checking into Kyle Bunting’s line.  With the addition of just one wall covering, rug or set of interesting hide upholstered chairs, you’ll be the talk of the town!