Summer Is Here!

Well...the heat is on here in Charlotte, it's officially the first days of summer and all I can keep thinking about is the beach, lazy days in a hammock (like the one above from Anthropologie), a few iced cocktails and a good book.

WAKE UP TIFF, YOU ARE DREAMING!!!  My kids are home from school, I now live 3 hours from the coast, plus I need to keep us all moving and doing so we don't kill each other. Oh, I'm kidding. I really am excited about this summer.......... but nothing puts me in a more optimistic mood than celebrating the spirit of summer with a few good inspirational photos and ideas.

Is it me or does a cottage with an old beach cruiser parked at the front gate make you dream about the ultimate in childhood memories? Maybe it doesn't remotely remind you of your own summer, but the idea of carefree days, riding a bike along a sandy beach road evokes the idea of stress-free days, tanned faces and flip-flopped feet.

Serena and Lily's front cover of the summer issue.

Everyone can at least appreciate a cottage interior that is playful or colorful even though might not be able to live with it year round. Nothing says carefree more than bright-hued pillows on a relaxed sofa or painted furniture and an eclectic mix of accessories.

This California bungalow by Krista Ewart is featured in House Beautiful and  is filled with lots of summery surprises.

The scalloped edge on the book case is a nice  cottage detail. 

I am biased to well designed children's rooms and this wallpaper is adorable in a beach cottage.

The woven totes filled with sun hats placed under a center mirrored table screams "Let's hit the beach girls!!" The chandelier is fantastic too.

It's great when your home can have a sense of humor . Don't take things too seriously.  This surf board coffee table in this beach house by Annie Selke  is the perfect color!!!

 It's easy to add an accessory here and there this season to add a summertime feel. Collected shells from vacations hold great memories.

This mantel in a Bridgehampton , NY cottage displays collected coral and prints in a monochromatic scheme.

This bowl from Wisteria is perfect for placing a few starfish.

An American flag can also stir up summertime memories, am I right?? Why is this???

Is it the wind from the ocean making those whipping noises or is it the beautiful movements it makes. Or is it a reminder of balmy nights with fireworks and symphony music? Whatever the case, a beach house with a patriotic influence does it for me. (I also love entertaining on the 4th. It can be really simple to pull it together. All it takes is a good menu, and some easy decorations....stay tuned for a compilation of ideas for this occasion.)

A beach house with a view of water, whether it's the sandy dunes or a pier out to the lake makes me think of these upcoming months like a giggling child. Why is it that just looking at these images stirs up these emotions? Maybe it's something innate in us that makes us gravitate towards bodies of water. In any case, the blue horizon will always make an impact, and can be incorporated no matter what your style is.

Lakeside living at it's finest.

This all-American beach house is on Martha's Vineyard. The porch below sings 'classic cottage'.

The interiors of the beach house is modern but also feels natural in the beach setting.

This is India Hicks home in the Bahamas, real classic island living. This is fabulous...check out the whole  place in her book,  Island Life. Amazing is one of many words that come to mind.

Scenic views in this bright and cheerful Palm Beach style home is fresh and unexpected.

California style beach living feels like the sand washed right into this color scheme.

Again, I love how rustic and natural the elements are in this California  beach interior. 

Shabby Chic Beach, so feminine and calming.

Summer dining "alfresco" has always been a favorite past-time for me. I love this picture below under a canopy of wisteria. This is a gorgeous setting for warm breezes and good food.

Ballard Designs displays another type of beachy dining.  Really easy to recreate too. Now we all need our own pier out to the ocean.

West Elm's version of a summer party...I adore these lanterns.

Very clever to hang  from a branch!!!

Love this cottage courtyard, again from the bungalow by Krista Ewart. It's fun and bright and feels like warm summer day. It's so creative to have covered the surf board in vibrant green fabric.

Outdoor living has really evolved in the last decade. I love how easy it is to recreate another living room in your own backyard. Summer nights, outdoors, aside from the mosquitoes (a new one for us Californians) can be so memorable in such great surroundings.

I love this outdoor fireplace. It really feels like a living room here.

Restoration has some beautiful new outdoor living furniture.

This fire table from Restoration Hardware "rocks".

Pottery Barn....way to go!!! This pergola can be ordered online. Look at how custom this feels. The backdrop  ain't bad either!!

AAAAHHHH....mojito anyone??

This summer I'll be coming up with entertaining ideas to make my summer a memorable one.  Hopefully you can take away at least one good idea to use for yourself.....or atleast put  it away for another time.

Here's an easy place setting for a summer brunch.  Find a colorful napkin and use it for inspiration. I am going to use an old print that was handed down to me from my mom. It must be from the 70's.

These are practically vintage now!!! But...the colors are back.

This would look great paired with white porcelain dishes that have a blue rim

I would use white dishes with a blue rim, but mine are packed away in the garage, so I am opting for glass. In this place setting I am going to use a scarf for a table runner (I got that idea from party planner and stylist Lulu Powers (as seen in LonnyMag this month).

I thought the check pattern was summery and picked up the sand color in the background of the napkin.

For a place card, which I love doing because it gives a more personal touch, I am "loosely" re-creating the print of the napkin in a watercolor.

My daughter participated in painting the cards, a good summer activity.

I wasn't trying to paint an impressionist's masterpiece or anything, just trying to pick up the colors in the napkin.

I cut out cards and wrapped it around the neck of individual vases with sand colored yarn (if I had bear grass on hand I would have used that), then filled them with sand colored rocks, also coordinating with the checked runner. I brought the napkin with me when I bought flowers and picked out a mix to go with the scheme.

One could either stuff the napkin in a glass or lay it across the plate in a napkin ring. Either way, I placed a shell nearby for that extra casual/beachy feel. Bringing in more glass with a pitcher filled with flowers and glass votives and candlesticks help fill in the table without feeling too heavy.

Just have fun with it. Recreate this look from the following retailers:

These napkins are from Cost Plus/World Market

Or start with a cheery ikat napkin from Horchow

Use a fun netting runner from Pottery Barn.

Or....

A gorgeous scarf from Antrhopologie with plain sand colored napkins tied with some natural raffia.

Add these fabulous acrylic plates from Crate and Barrel's outdoor dining collection.

Pulling it together is pretty easy, add some colorful flowers in a glass vase or a pitcher and you are done. (don't forget to add personal touches for your guests to make it memorable for them as well.)

More to come...stay cool and happy summer!

Color Trend: Blue Mood That Makes Me Happy

There is a subtle change in the way the design industry is using blue, but I'm taking notice, and me likey. It's dark, indigo, and mixed with black. It's being used in traditional and in contemporary settings alike, and it is not the typical "nautical" look we've all come to gag on. Just keep your eyes open....I think we just found the new "black".

This is the living room from the San Francisco's Elle Decor Showhouse. These wing chairs from Restoration Hardware are such a deep blue, they appear black.

The custom wallcovering in the dining room of the San Francisco Elle Decor Showhouse is a rich blue. In the shadows it appears like midnight.

This interior, designed by Steven Volpe, uses a military blue for the drapes in addition to the velvet sofa and rug.

Designer Iain Halliday grounds this space with a deep navy carpet from Beauvais Carpets. It's unexpected with a color palette of grays and leaf green and coral accents but it looks amazing.

The design team Kirsten-Kelli,  mixed black ebony wood stair-railing with the gorgeous dark blue pinstriped carpet runner. 

This is another example of the work of Kirsten Kelli. The ceiling has been treated with  a textural print inset into a coffered ceiling, finished in ebony.

Painting a dark navy has always been popular, but usually used as a backdrop for a Ralph Lauren Hunting lodge, or perhaps as an accent in a seaside home. Now it's being mixed in contemporary and modern interiors as well, and the combination of vintage pieces and sleek modern with the rich intoxicating color is anything but depressing.

This kitchen, designed by Windsor Smith, has slate blue cabinets, almost black. I love the mix of traditional elements and modern finishes....this interior will really transcend time. The white of the floors and ceiling combined with natural light coming through the windows make this kitchen bright and airy despite the darkness of the cabinet color.

I also see this trend in textiles accessories and other decor. From wovens and linens and the explosion in the past year of ethnic printed fabrics like the popular ikats have not excluded this blue black color.

Restoration new color palette for their outdoor collection features this midnight blue from Perennials, a high end outdoor fabric company.

This pillow, with a suzani style print is available at Williams Sonoma Home.

This fabric is from Michael Devine, who is known for his beautiful textured hand-screened prints. This particular pattern is petite fleur on white, color indigo. 

Kravet has a linen, Plugged In, in color Shale that lots of texture and can be used in a lot of different applications.

John Robshaw Textiles has a vast array of indigo inspired  woven textiles and bedding like these above and below.

Upholstered furniture have also been influenced by this trend. Take the following chairs that have a mix of deep indigo blue and black.

This Grafton Chair featured above in front of a wall of green, is from Anthropologie, and features an unfinished oak with a woven denim herringbone pattern....such a cool design mixed with the ultimate traditional frame.

This sofa is now featured at Room and Board in this dark deep blue....the new black, eh?

Neiman Marcus shows this very traditional chair again, with an ebony stain and dark indigo and white stripes.

This midnight blue is also popping up in lighting and accessories too.

The Zenith Chandelier from Baccarat, at a hefty $37000 is made with indigo colored glass and dark deniim shades. Totally different.

Jonathon Adler, the designer who boasts about "happy chic" loves midnight blue. His Nelson table lamp, his take off of the original Nelson bubble lamp offers a midnight blue finish.

Here is another example of Jonathan Adler's infusion of this deep blue, in his line of outdoor dinnerware. Instead of using the usual black and white zebra print, he blended the indigo and it looks fabulous.

So, keep your eyes open for indigo.....I'm IN and I DIG it.

Tiff's Charlotte Discoveries: B.D. Jeffries

Okay...maybe I should call it "Find of the Month" since I have been a little out of the blogging scene lately. I took a little hiatus but I am slowly getting back to design. The latest store that I have felt is post-worthy is a shop in Southpark called B.D. Jeffries. I love this store, and can't wait to get back there and look again.

This store is a second location for B.D.Jeffries. The first being in Atlanta, Georgia. The merchandise is a mix of high end casegoods and upholstered pieces, tons of tableware and accessories, a great selection of design books and even some women's and men's fashion accessories. The style is a nice mix of antique pieces from all over Europe in addition to some more streamlined pieces and transitional design. I think anyone could walk in and find something to furnish their home in here. (Maybe not ultra ultra modern, yet a hurricane could be placed anywhere right?)

I really love how the store was designed and merchandised. As one walks through the doors, the first room is like a cozy sun-room or portico, beautifully painted and serene. I love the detailed niches on the walls. You don't feel  like you are in a shopping center, even a high end one. I really felt like I was back in Malibu. The next few steps in, one reaches the body of the store. High ceilings painted a dark black or brown give real height to the space, and architecturally placed trusses, with an old world feel,  move throughout the showroom separating each set up.

One side of the room has primarily tableware displays, gorgeous plates for reasonable prices (in my opinion). There are a lot of extra accessories for entertaining.

I also love how they interspersed design books within the space as well. It really makes you want to pick each one up and read them on the spot. If you are looking for table set up ideas or at least finding the right napkins or holder, there is a special vestibule just for this.

While moving into the back portion of the space, the design morphs into a English Hunting Lodge of sorts, packed with gorgeous artwork, masculline accessories and a beautiful fireplace (not working, but gives you the effect).

A clever storage space in the wall reveals men's belts. I thought this was a genius idea.

There was even a section set aside for your favorite pooch. And, if you are a collector of cuff links, they had a whole case of them.

Circling my way back around to the front of the store, I found another set up, to me resembling the beachy showrooms I mentioned that reminded me of Malibu. Warm and creamy, relaxed but chic with another beautiful fireplace setting. There were cubbies with additional decor items, pillows and frames.

Of course, I always find something I can't leave without.  I fell in love with these Karakusa dishware. Karakusa means winding vine or grass in Japanese. I love the color, their organic shape and the brown rim of these ceramic bowls and plates. Best of all, they are really quite affordable. I am sorry to say I did refrain myself from purchasing these beauties, but they have been put on the wish list!

Overall, this design boutique is a winner in my point of view. They also can provide interior design services, so this is a one stop shop for the busy consumer who wants it all done in one place. The manager mentioned they will provide tear sheets as well for many of their case goods and upholstered pieces. They also said that the store will be on Facebook soon, so all the updates on the store will be at your fingertips. Located in the Morrison shopping center, this showroom should be on your next "to do" list.

Headboard: Now That's Using Your Noggin

I've recently challenged myself to spend some time focusing my attention to our guest room. Although it remains empty three quarters of the year, except as a stomping ground for my two kids, there is a definite need to spruce it up a bit. You never know, maybe if I make it desirable, more people will come to visit?? Let's just say, for the first eight months we lived here, I used one of our moving boxes with a tablecloth as a nightstand (I can't believe I am admitting this, call the design police!!!)

Another thing happened that spawned this idea as well..... my husband moved a TV into the room. (why is it that most men are obsessed with TV, and most women can care less if we have one in every room???? No need to answer this question, I'm just thinking aloud.) This required us to move some things around the house and bring in a cabinet for the TV to sit on. This also created the need to move the bed around for proper viewing, and now that we did this, the lack of artwork in this room became more apparent. I realized at this point that I should focus on the bed. I would love to buy a bed frame and call it a day, but since we are renting, I'm not sure I want to invest in a good piece that may not fit in somewhere else. So my next thought was .... I should try a diy headboard project.

Fancy Schmancy!

Bonjour my friends! Have you heard of Fancy Nancy? This series of books is about a little girl who loves to be fancy. She dresses without a filter, she speaks with french words, because they sound fancy, and she is a craft stores dream come true. My daughter loves her, so for her 4th birthday party, we decided to make our own interpretation. 

For those of you back home who have been wanting to see how Sydney's birthday party turned out, I thought I'd post a few pics. The tea party went off without a hitch and all the girls were having a ball (us moms had a good time too!).