Velvet & Linen

a garden dining room....

I'm taking a couple of days off to spend time with the kids, but before I do I want to share this new project that I'm working on.

Our client came to our shop on Friday to look at some of the pieces that will be going into her dining room. Our idea is to combine some industrial, Swedish, and garden elements to create an informal yet elegant dining room.

 

A pair of  these basket lamps will hang over an 11 foot zinc table, similar to the one in our sun room...

 

We've ordered a pair of these Belfort Wingback Dining Chairs from Restoration Hardware to sit at the ends of the table. They will be upholstered in a worn chocolate leather. The other chairs will be slip-covered in an off-white linen. 
 

The table and chairs will sit on top of a Luxe Silver Topaz natural woven carpet from Merida, similar to this one in our shop.

 A set of old wood doors, similar to these in our office, will be placed on either side of the large window. 

   

One of these will sit in front of each set of doors, filled with greenery.
 
 

A pair of bronze picture lights from Circa Lighting  will be installed above the wood panels to illuminate the urns.

 

We're also adding these weathered wood architectural elements  on top of the side windows to add interest and height. 

 

A pair of these lanterns will replace the existing sconces by the windows. 

  

I showed my client this image of Barbara Wiseley's home as inspiration for the window treatments. 

   

Image via Veranda Magazine

 Because the draperies will be stationary side panels, we are going to use these Belgian Linen panels from Restoration Hardware in "Sand". A woven shade will be used to add height to the window.

 

My client fell in love with this Swedish Buffet and antique French mirror in the shop, so they will be added to her dining room as well.

   

By the end of June, this garden dining room will be complete. Just in time for summer!

Have a wonderful weekend.

xo

Brooke

If you would like help creating the home of your dreams, email me about our design services.

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secret kitchen garden...

This week is turning out to be a little hectic. The school year is winding down which means open houses at all three schools, band performances, and end of the year parties. So, this will be a short post on a  kitchen garden that is being installed at our clients' home. Before the renovation, this area was an overgrown mess. Steve had the idea of creating a terraced kitchen garden where our clients could grow fruits and vegetables with their children. 

 

The willow fencing is a wonderful backdrop for the raised cedar planters.

 

Gravel was added to keep the steps from becoming too muddy. 

 
 The strawberries were planted at the edge of the planters to keep them from rotting in the soil. 

 

Citrus trees line the other side of the path.  As you can see, we are still waiting for the carrots and herbs to grow inside the planters. Our friend Lace suggested a pomegranate tree at the bottom of the pathway. Soon there will be a small play area down there as well, where the children can keep their garden tools. 
 

Thank you to our friend Lace for all of her wonderful garden ideas and to Brian Diamond of Native Design for doing such a wonderful job on the installation!

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Congratulations to Gina Milne! Her wonderful blog, Willow Decor is featured in this month's Romantic Homes Magazine "Site Seeing". If you don't read Gina's blog, you should definitely check it out. It's one of my "must reads".

xo

Brooke

If you would like help creating the home of your dreams, e-mail me about our design on-line services.

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book inspiration, flea market sale, and a thank you!

I love design books. The shelves in our office are stuffed with our favorites, and the ones that I can't live without are in the cabinet behind my desk in my home office. I've found a couple of new design books to be particularly inspiring....

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Joe Nye e-mailed me about his book signing at Hollyhock for his new book Flair. 

 

Joe is not only an amazingly talented interior designer, he is also a fantastic party planner. His attention to detail in all of his projects, whether they be a home or an event, is beyond compare. 

In the first chapter of Flair, Joe outlines the elements of an elegant table setting, including dish ware, flatware, silver, and table linens.  

 In the second chapter, Joe focuses on Paper. We get to go on a shopping trip with Joe to see how he selects every detail of an invitation including the paper, the printing, the wording, the envelope, and even the stamp. 

 
 He also shows us how to design a simple, uncomplicated invitation using thick, white stock and a red Sharpie!

 

At the end of the chapter, Joe also gives tips on place cards, menus and party favors. 

 Chapter 3 is filled with all of Joe's secrets about flowers, including sourcing, selection, presentation, and Joe's personal favorites. I learned so much in this chapter about how to prepare the flowers as well as how to select interesting containers. 

To complete our journey, Joe concludes Flair with a chapter that details all of the essentials necessary for creating a memorable get-together. 

Filled with helpful advice and gorgeous images, Flair has become my go to resource for party planning! Thank you Joe!

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Because my daughter Leila and I are starting to gather inspiration for her new bedroom design, Susanna Salk's new book Room for Children is getting a lot of use at our home! 

Leila is enjoying leafing through Susanna's book and putting Post-its on all of the images that she loves.

Leila found so many design elements that she loved in the images that were included in the forward by Kelly Wearstler. Leila's Post-it on this image said: "Bedding. Love!"

 While Leila and I both love the images in Room for Children, I also enjoyed reading Kelly Wearstler's thoughts on her children's room designs. 

I think we both were drawn to this book because the rooms aren't typical "kids' rooms". They reflect the abundance of options that are now available for children. 

Leila is much more design focused than I was at her age. At 10, she wants to move on from the typical pink girl florals. She loves the idea of incorporating some modern elements into the design of her room, like the side table and desk chair in this room designed by Allison Tick.

 When Leila saw this invitation to Susanna Salk's book signing at Hollywood at Home on June 10th, she begged me to take her. Hope to see you there!

 

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There are a couple more things that I want to share with you before the kids and I start planting the seeds we just bought from Renee's (thank you everyone for that tip!).....

Steve and I are working on simplifying our bedroom design, so we've decided to sell some of our furnishings at the Santa Monica Airport Flea Market tomorrow (including rugs, paintings, chairs, lighting, etc...), Saturday May 23rd! Charlie, Nick, and Leila will be helping us all day, and the wonderful Kelly, who manages our Giannetti Home Store will be there too (Thank you Kelly!!!). 

 

Please stop by and say "hello", if you are in the area. I think you'll love the great things you can find at my favorite flea market. I'm sure I'll end up buying more than I sell ;)

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Last but definitely not least, I want to thank my blogging friend Julia at Hooked on Houses for including my Kitchen Garden Post in her weekend round-up!

 Check out all of Julia's weekend links here.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

xo 

Brooke

If you would like help creating the home of your dreams, e-mail me about our design on-line services.

To subscribe to Velvet and Linen click here. 

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inspiration for a special nursery....

I received an unexpected email the other day from none other than Terri Sapienza. Most of us design bloggers know Terri as the wonderful writer for the Washington Post Home section. But Terri is taking a break from her duties at the Post to start the most important job of her life : becoming a Mom.   

In Terri's email she thanked me for the inspiration for her daughter's nursery that she found in one of my posts about my favorite Jane Churchill wallpapers.  A couple of the images in that post were of my clients' daughter's bathroom. We chose Jane Churchill's "Fairbank" wallpaper. It looked beautiful with the Thassos marble and the white cabinetry. 

 When Terri saw this post, she knew that "Fairbank" would be perfect for her daughter's nursery above the newly installed wainscot. 

 

Terri's daughter's room is only 8'x11', but the simple color scheme keeps it from feeling cramped. Terri also chose pieces that were the correct scale for the room. 

The white baskets provide storage and keep things looking neat and tidy (at least until little Maren can crawl!).
 
   

Terri added a sweet pink roman shade and a toss pillow made in Hable Construction's "Rose Checker". The fabric works beautifully with the colors and pattern of the wallpaper. 
   

Terri hung a wall shelf and a couple of framed pictures to personalize Maren's room, but she didn't want to cover up too much of the beautiful wallpaper!
   

 
   

Thank you so much Terri for sharing these pictures with us! You've created a cozy, happy place for little Maren, and I'm thrilled that you found inspiration in one of my posts!

  

xo 

Brooke

If you would like to create the home of your dreams e-mail me about our design online services.

To subscribe to Velvet and Linen click here. 

To become a fan of Velvet and Linen click here.