Design Stalker!

It is getting easier to be a Design Stalker these days. Especially when the team of Veranda magazine and ADAC (Atlanta Decorative Arts Center) come together to present the celebrities of the design world at one of their events. The fabulous team of Brooke, an interior designer, and Steve Giannetti, a well known architect, were the inspirational team yesterday at an event in the beautiful showroom of Ainsworh & Noah at ADAC.

Winton Noah, Steve Giannetti, Brooke Giannetti, Hal Ainsworth

The Dynamic Duo were introduced by their good friend and editor of Veranda magazine, Lisa Newsom. Lisa met Brooke through her blog "Velvet and Linen." During a time that they spent in Santa Barbara, near where the Giannetti's live and run their full service design firm and shop, Giannetti Home, Lisa and Leslie Newsom Rascoe, call them and were invite out on their boat. They have been good friends ever since. Veranda featured the Gainnetti Home in the July-August issue this year.

                                             Lisa Newsom, Brooke Giannetti, Leslie Newsom Rascoe

THe Giannettis were at ADAC to talk with a group of southeast designers that were eager to hear about Velvet and Linen and their new book Patina Style. Their style is a blend of the old and the new, the beautiful and the functional. They design for real families and approach each job to tell the story of that family by their home and its design. They use muted, natural colors to create a calm retreat from the hectic daily life of these families.
They have also added a furniture line to the many hats they wear, along with being parents to three children and assorted animals!

They gave an exciting presentation that ended with a question and answer time. I was amazed at how freely they shared the stage and the presentation flowed effortlessly back and forth between the two. You could tell they were a couple that worked well together. One of the questions that was asked "was how do you manage your life working all day together and then being together in the evening?"

 Steve laughingly answered, alcohol!

Here are a few shots of their work and you can see more on the website:

www.GiannettiArchitects.com

And here I am with Brooke after she so graciously signed my copy of Patina Style!

Life isn't the things you own, but the experiences you have with them.

Brooke and Steve Giannetti

Interior Design is heading Outdoors!



There is nothing like Fall in the South! Summers sweltering tempertures are finally starting to subside and the time has arrived to move your entertaining outdoors.  Now is the time to think about creating those special outside places. Interior design is heading to the exterior.       

Bunny Williams

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

My Home Ideas

It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life. ~P.D. James

Southern Living

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
~John Donne

My Home Ideas

A woodland in full color is awesome as a forest fire, in magnitude at least, but a single tree is like a dancing tongue of flame to warm the heart. ~Hal Borland

Southern Living

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
~George Cooper, "October's Party"

Home Bunch

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer's best of weather And autumn's best of cheer. Helen Hunt Jackson

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Southern Savy Style

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

Youth is like spring, an over praised season more remarkable for biting winds than genial breezes. Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits. ~Samuel Butler

I hope these pictures will give you some inspiration to take your interior outside. Grab a glass of wine and go enjoy the beautiful colors mother nature has to offer while you are surrounded by the wonderful brisk air of Fall!

Interior Design of the 60's is showcased in the Help

If you grew up in the south during the sixties, the movie The Help, immediately transported you back in time.  Kathryn Stockett tells a very compelling story about an unlikely friendship between three women in Jackson, Mississippi. There were so many familiar things about that era that I recognized. My freshman year in high school was the first year the schools were integrated in my hometown. Having lived during that time, I can see why Skeeter, Abilene and Minnie's book set the town on its ear! I look back at that time and see how far we have all come. Stockett's story of the black women of Jackson in 1962 brings that time vividly back to life.

The set decorator Rena DeAngelo, takes the main characters of this story and shows each ones personality in their homes interiors. DeAngelo and Mark Ricker, the sets production designer, used fabric, wallpaper, furniture and accessories to bring these characters to life on the screen. 
 

One of my favorite lines in the movie is when Skeeter's mother says to her, Love and hate are two horns on the same goat! That is how I feel about the sixties and interior design! There are some good things and some oh so not good things!

One of the good things to remain is a traditional four poster bed with a beautiful canopy treatment.

One that needed to go was the TV tray!

Our house had these same heavy cornice window treatments in the living room and dining room when I was in high school. But I don't ever remember wearing a bow like that in my hair!

And we had louvered doors like this between the living room and dining  room.

Another style to keep is the settee that Skeeter and her mother are sitting on. I have one just like it in my house now. But it is covered in a leopard print!

I remember we had one of those lovely pole lamps and a paneled den. Also that low back sectional furniture was all the rage!

I don't remember the formica table and the check vinyl floor at my parents house. But this kitchen could have come straight out of my grandmother's home. Vinyl has gone through a number of upgrades since the sixties, but I don't think there was much that could be done for that dinette set!

I do believe this was the only wrought iron pattern they had during that time! I think every outdoor terrace or patio area had one! This day and time the choices in outdoor furniture are endless.

And last but not least is Hilly's pink bathroom. I had this same beautiful shade of pink in my bathroom growing up! It is now my grandson's bathroom and it is chocolate brown with white beadboard. I was so happy to see that pink GO!

Yes we have come a long way in so many different part of our lives and homes.

 But as in all things.....what goes around comes around! So it will be interesting to see what design comes back next!

Interior Design “find” in Cashiers, North Carolina!

Do you ever feel like things happen for a reason? Maybe it was the coconut cake my two friends and I lingered over at lunch. Maybe it was the wrong turn we took on the way to the shuttle stop. But for whatever the reason, I am glad we were detained. We had driven to Cashiers, North Carolina to see their annual Designer Showhouse. While we were waiting to board the shuttle to the showhouse, I noticed two men in front of us. One of them seemed strangely familiar. I asked my friends if they had seen him on television. The other man over heard us and said that is Leslie Jordan. You may not recognize the name, but you would his face! He played on “Will and Grace” and most recently was in “The Help.” Leslie is original from Chattanooga and still has that southern charm! He could not wait to tell us all about filming his cartwheel in the Help!

Leslie Jordan

We struck up a conversation with them as we rode on the shuttle. Little did we know what a design treat was ahead of us! The other man was Charles Faudree. If you are not familiar with his name you may have seen his design talent in magazines like Veranda, House Beautiful, Traditional Homes or one of his several design books. He has his own line of fabrics through Vervain. Charles has created a name for himself nationally and internationally after being a part of the design industry for over forty years.

Charles Faudree

Charles is based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. But has recently purchased a home in the Cashiers area and did the entryway for the 2011 showhouse “Reflections.”

Reflections - Cashiers Designer Showhouse 2011

The showhouse runs through September 4^th.  If you can make it to Cashiers, you will enjoy this house. It is actually two houses that have been put together and the designers have out done themselves in making their designs work with the interior and exterior of the house. The lake view is particularly stunning from the porch areas. I could have happily curled up with a good book and spent the afternoon there.

Charles had his new book “Details” for sale in the gift shop area, but he was told, when we arrived, they had sold out. I had recently seen his book advertised and had it on my “to purchase” list. We were almost finished with our tour, when Charles came back through the house looking for us. They had received some additional books and he came to let us know and tell us he would be glad to autograph our copies! Not only did we get Charles’ signature, but Leslie agreed to sign our books too!  I want to share with you several pictures of interiors created by Charles Faudree.

If you like his style, I would suggest checking out his books. They are in bookstores and on Amazon. I know your book will not be as cherished as mine, since every time I see Leslie and Charles signatures I will think of what a lovely afternoon we had with such entertaining Southern Gentlemen!

4 Cats

I have been on a brief blog break, since I got back from my trip. Been trying to get caught back up on work and other things that needed my attention, since I returned. I plan to get back on a more regular posting schedule. (I hope!) I have a few more things from my trip to share with you, but will mix them in with design notes.

                                                                        

I think I would have to say our best dining experience in Barcelona was at 4 Cats. It was certainly the one that had the most interesting decor and beautiful exterior. All of this, to me, helps to make the the meal exceptional.

                                                                              

We had several people tell us not to miss the 4 Cats. They said it was very popular and to be sure and call for a reservation. We decide to go there for lunch and made a reservation. We were glad that we did, as soon as we arrived they started to fill up fast.  I can't begin to tell you how wonderful the food was and the service was exceptional.

 After turning off one of the main streets we wandered down one of the many alley ways to the entrance. The alleys are made out of stone and are not very wide. Mainly foot traffic with a few bikes.

                                                                                                                           
After entering through the front door we come into a room with this mural on the wall. Our hostess then led us back into the next area....

...that was the bar. The front and back areas on the bar had the most incredible tile work all around it. The ladies room is through the door to the left. European bathrooms usually allow a "lot  to be desired!" This one was incredible with the same magnificent tile work on the walls, the floors and the stalls. Quite elegant! After our detour, we were escorted back through the door to the right.

This was the view from our table across the main dining room. The fresh flowers in the center were a gorgeous arrangement! All done with white and green flowers. Always one of my favorite combos for arrangements in a room with so much going on and filled with color.

Here are the 4 traveling gals enjoying a lovely glass of wine before our culinary adventure begins at the 4 Cats. (from left to right: Patty Wallis, Pat Hensley, yours truly, Vaughan Nalley)

Love these beautiful windows and their surrounds. They let in just enough natural light. I would have loved to have seen the interior at night.

 Here is another shot of the exterior. This entire street was just loaded with charm!

It is time to say goodbye to the 4 Cats and move on to another adventure or maybe a siesta!