Friday, October 22, 2010

The Table is Set...McHenry Mansion Fundraisier

Growing up in Modesto, the McHenry Mansion was always a part of the downtown tradition.  Built in 1883 by Robert McHenry, it is a beautiful example of Victorian Italianate architecture.  In highschool, McHenry Avenue was the street we cruised and George Lucas made the movie American Grafitti based on his highschool days of cruising downtown.  The McHenry Mansion is on the National Register of Historic places and has been beautifully restored.  Throughout the year, they host a Dickens Christmas and Victorian Tea
in December as well as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day Teas.  Both of my daughters have attended events there when they were young.

As with most things worth saving and no money to do it,  they hold fundraisers throughout the year and my partner in crime Linda Porhat of Linda's Party Designs and I participated in the Tablesetting Fundraiser Wednesday and Thursday.  We narrowed our theme down to Morroccan and have haunted the thriftstores and all the Pier Ones, TJ Maxx's and Ross' to find items to create our vision.  We made chair ties, sewed tablecloths and bejeweled plates (you know Linda has to have her sparkle).  It all came together  for the public viewing starting at 11:00 am and yesterday was the catered luncheon. This being our first year to participate, we weren't sure what to expect but "WOW" it was 42 tables of high energy people supporting a great cause and the creativity of the tablesetters.  So, want to see our table....



Starting with a round table...

Tablecloth to the floor and beaded trim added to the topper...oooh shimmery

Reds, terracotta and purple pulled from our fabric inspired our color palette.




The placesetting up close and personal with the jeweled chargers.  A huge "Thank You" to
Diana Pleitez of Pleitez Lavender for providing the yummy lavender truffles in our favors.
The ladies loved them!




Elephants On Parade!






           
                                      Chair ties with elephant tassels...a great Tuesday Morning find!




It was dark in the hall, so not the best lighting for pictures but here is the finished table.  Elephant candleholders and the peacock feathers and flowers in the urn on top of the gilded small table for drama and height.


Here are our ladies who lunch...who were so kind and complimentary and who didn't want to use their napkins and mess up the placesettings! Thank you ladies and thanks to Anne Hathaway who chaired this event and hopefully is laying on the couch and resting today because she deserves it!

In true fashion, we were already planning next years table as we finished our lunch...

To Your Interior View,

Michele

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Give Me My Space...Tween/Teen Bedroom Design Tips

Have you seen the commercial where the mom, daughter and sales associate are standing in the paint department at Lowe's trying to agree on paint color for the teenage daughters room?  I recently had that moment with my daughter Hallie.  We have spent the last few weeks coming up with and implementing some changes to her bedroom.  She has chosen a color scheme of black, white, gray and turquoise for her new look.  I am patiently trying to explain (ok, maybe not exactly patiently) why certain grays will work and others won't and thinking that she could be my toughest client yet!  I'm having a hard time disengaging the designer hat and wearing just the mom hat. 



Choosing colors and laying it all out!



Hallie's Color Samples

As our kids become tweens and teens, they are outgrowing the ruffles, dinosuars and more childish themes we so thoughtfully chose for them.  They are ready for a more sophisticated functional room.  Many teens actually have a good eye for design and an idea of how they want to live in this space.  Via TV and movies like Gossip Girl, Twilight and all the Disney Channel shows they are exposed to what's new and trendy and the trick is to interpret this into everyday living.  Teenagers spend hours hibernating in their rooms and with the advent of technology they are texting, video chatting or gaming, listening to ipods, watching TV or contemplating that cute boy/girl in history class, there may actually be a little homework going on too. 


PBTeen

So a good place to start is with what your child's interests are and some possible themes: sports they play or teams they love, dance, music, theatre (Hollywood Glam is really hot right now), surfing, skateboarding, animal prints, an ethnic theme like moroccan, african, french or italian; outdoor adventures, camoflage, etc. Maybe an industrial or Tye Dye Hippie look is what they're into.  


How are they going to use the space?  Are you trying to make it more functional for them as homework demands grow?  Do they need a desk area and technology hookups?  Is it going to be a place where friends will come and hangout?  Measure your area and determine the best layout for how everything will fit to accomplish your goals.  Next,  what's staying and what's going?  Can furniture be repurposed with a coat of paint and new hardware.  Now might be the time to step up to a bigger bed or a new dresser.  Depending on the age of your teenager, plan ahead for what they might be able to take with them to college.  Storage is key for teenagers and shelving units with baskets to hold all those flash drives, ticket stubs, etc. that accumulate will keep them a little more tidy looking (what? I know I said tidy and teenager in the same sentence). 
Roxy @ Bed Bath & Beyond

Now...the fun part.  What colors to use?  Citrusy colors, black, white, pink, turquoise, brown and blue or , yellow and gray?  Go shopping with your teen and see what's out there.  Target, JC Penneys, Sears, Pottery Barn Teen and Bed Bath and Beyond all have the current popular colors in sets or you can make up your own combinations.  Kids have just gone back to school or off to college so there are lots of choices out there right now.  Choose a rug and pillows to accent these colors.  Curtain Panels and accessories finish it off but beware of making it look too matchey matchey.  You want a cohesive look that says, "hey I've moved on from Hannah Montana and these are my interests now!"  This is a great opportunity to give them a budget and let them research the cost of new items before actually hitting the stores.  You can work together on painting walls and/or furniture. In Hallie's case, she wanted to do the painting all herself and I wasn't going to say no.  Quite frankly, she did a great job, got a great appreciation of how much work it is and even did her own touchups!  She is away this week as a counselor for 6th Grade Science Camp so I'm trying to pull it all together while she's gone.  I will share pictures when it's done.

Her weapon of choice...of course she had to paint a heart on the wall first!

If your tween should want to paint their room a dark color like black, don't freak but compromise with painting one wall, the ceiling or use chalkboard paint so they can create their own masterpieces as inspiration strikes.

PB Teen

PB Teen

Below are pictures of Alek's room that I did earlier this year.  He was moving into a different bedroom and his mom Nancy wanted a place for him and his friends to hangout.
 

                                                                  Before with red and gold 


 
New paint and laminate floors by handywoman extradonaire, Wendy Malone from A Woman's Touch


 

                                          With new bedding, nite stands, rug and headboard
he got a new room in beige, browns and blue. 



New media console and flatscreen...sweet!  You
can't see from my pictures the blue rug on the floor but it
looks great on the new laminate floor.  This room functions
for Alek and his buddies to hang out and play video games
or watch a movie with his family.

And once your teenager has flown the nest as my nephew Cody did this past Spring, my sister converted his room into a craft/hangout/bonus guestroom.  Check out how cute it is...


Using Cody's bed, she added new bedding she bought and pillows she made...


Love the vinyl stick chandelier on the newly painted walls.


Ooohh...scrapbooking heaven all organized.

Kids at the tween/teen age are going to hang out in their rooms A LOT!!! Work together to give them a space that helps them define who they are and maybe they'll invite you in once in awhile!

To Your Interior View,

Michele


Friday, August 13, 2010

The Eat Pray Love in Style

Today the movie Eat Pray Love comes out starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardiem and maybe if you lived under a rock you wouldn't know that.  I for one was excited and a little apprehensive when it was announced that they were making a movie of the book.  How would they convey in a movie all the thoughts and life changes that occurred in the author Elizabeth Gilberts' year long journey?  There is a whole lot of history of movies not living up to the book.  However, there is no denying the huge marketing campaign that has been leading up to todays movie premiere. 

Whether you agree with the author's choice to chuck it all for a year of self exploration (indulgence?) or not, it has created some style influences in both fashion and home decor.  I for one loved the book (read it twice).  First, who hasn't thought about just leaving everything behind, just for a little while, to find ourselves, rejuvenate, explore someplace new and eat lots of good food?  Sign me up!  Italy for sure...India, I would probably pick somplace else but Bali, oh yeah.

Secondly, I love that she was honest about the questions she has about life, God and love. Thirdly, I learned something from reading this book.  Her descriptions of her time in Italy, where she lived, the food she ate and the origin of the italian language took me there.  Her time in the ashram, the principals behind yoga and meditation, "the Yogis believe a human life is a very special opportunity, because only in human form and only with a human mind can God-realization ever occur.  The turnips, the bedbugs, the coral--they never get a chance to find out who they really are.  But we do have that chance."  In Bali, we learn that it was once not always paradise and that it has a history of slave trading and wasn't until the 1960's that the government decided to reinvent it for tourism.

If you haven't read the book or won't see the movie, you can still see evidence of it's influence on style for our homes and fashion being marketed at places like World Market, HSN, Target and others.



 Journal for your own book...





Yoga Mat with Carrying Bag

Yum Pasta!

Some beautiful candleholders to set an exotic mood. These could be used in many decor styles.

 
 

Your own little budha


Add a touch of exotic with pillows
Baskets are always perfect!
 

Love this rustic bench for an enclosed patio or entryway...

All images from World Market

So are you a fan of the book?  Will you see the movie?  I'm hoping to see it this weekend.  I won't be traveling the world but just escaping for a couple of hours into someone elses.

To Your Interior View,

Michele