Here are some highlights:

Great Mirror at Ainsworth Noah:

I love the detail:

Travis and Company:  Mirror is AMAZING!

Trim Detail on pillow:

Using a Stripe to create a Square Pattern:

The intricacy and loveliness of Fromental’s wallpapers never cease to take my breath away–a lot of the detail work (flowers, birds etc) are stitched on the paper:

Detail:

More Fromental:

Up close- painted detail:

Fromental Cherry Blossoms- a new take:

Hand painting and silk stitching…does it get better?  Me thinks not:

All sorts of gorgeous–Fromental paper:

Details…Love the nail head application:

Dainty and sweet–Dogwood and bird chandelier at Century- Reception for Charlotte Moss (who has a new line of furniture out for Century)

Detail:

I like this elephant table:

Another great mirror and Phillip Jefferies wallpaper at Grizzel & Mann:

Grizzel & Mann- Look at those sofa legs…va va va VOOM!

Detail- I adore!

Another beautiful mirror at Ainsworth Noah:

Detail of mirror- (And another Where’s Waldo moment for my iPhone):

This chandelier at Ainsworth Noah always blows me away when I walk in…so I finally snapped its pic:

Such a sweet chair:

Gorgeous blues (and whites) at Lee Jofa:

Ohhhhh….my…..goodness…..Blue Quartz Lamp (Grizzel & Mann) Velvet fabric hanging behind wonderful lamp?  Pretty fantastic:

Striped Wallpaper by Harlequin (Zoffany)- hung horizontally!!!! LOVE!  Great idea.

A “Gurgling Cod”.  Mom had one of these and it actually gurgles when you pour water out of it.  I got a smaller one from Anthropologie years back…it makes a great vase:

Whenever I travel to a design center, I get so inspired!

@

Or whatever ABC would like to call it.

The Bachelorette featuring Charlotte’s own Emily Maynard is premiering and rumor has it that the dudes vying for her heart are living here:

Of course I’ll watch it!  Only because I want to see the local hotspots featured…(ahem)

Good news for those looking for a 12,000 square foot “European-style” (?) mansion…it’s for sale!  For a cool $ 5.89 million this pleasure palace can be all yours.  Which is super interesting considering it was previously listed for $ 3.9 million.  Wow.  I guess having a bunch of hard partying dudes living there really ups the ante.

I digress.  Without further ado…

It is lonely at times to be on the road working (that made me sound like a roadie for Journey) when I miss my family.  But, I still think I have the GREATEST job in the world and my fantastic clients (in Charlotte AND across the country) have made it worthwhile.

So…to all who are balancing whatever in your lives…Happy Mom’s Day…whether it’s a four legged fur baby or a two legged mini you…we all do the best we can.

Onto FLOWERS!  As you may know, I love them.  Almost any flower makes me happy.

And I love to putter with floral design as well.

So…here are some recent snaps I took at Furniture Market in High Point and ADAC in Atlanta.

Enjoy and I hope these give you some great inspiration to create your own!

 Enjoy!

@

Even though this is an historical home (1854) my client wanted some contemporary touches.  We blended a little bit of both.

Chandeliers/Lighting are up:

Transitional pendant for the kitchen:

This is an old piece from the 1930′s…Machine Age inspired.  Perfect for a masculine bedroom.  I had the candle covers changed and the rewired so the wire was less obtrusive.

I’ll post a pic when it gets hung.

Very unique antiqued mirrored star pendants.  Love the edison bulb.  These are for the 3rd floor guest room hallway.

Eurocave wine refrigerator being installed in the Butler’s Pantry:

Lamps, Lamps, Lamps!  We have opened the boxes from the Charlotte House and are in the midst of deciding what will go where.

A Before Picture…Kitchen Facelift:

And right where they are standing…Tile Backsplash up in the kitchen and leathered Absolute Black Counter top.

Remember the Master Bathroom?  (vaguely resembled a La Quinta Inn before we took a jackhammer to it).

In process:

Last week:  Tub is in, shower is in….it’s getting there.  We added this window.

The light fixture is an antique piece that was a gas/electric conversion piece.  People were “nervous” about the reliability of electricity so the smaller arms were gas.  I had the whole thing electrified.

No small trick installing on a slanted ceiling!  My brilliant contractor constructed a shim.

No shower:

Voila!  Shower!

A  peek at the shower floor:

Shower Niche:

Back in February, taping out the vanity.

There was a Jack and Jill situation that made the bathroom feel cramped and disjointed.  I took down the wall and designed a peninsula vanity with a counter to ceiling mirror with a sink on either side.

Putting up the “wall” that will house the counter to ceiling mirror:

Locating the sconces that will “float on the mirror”

That’s it for now…as always I’ll keep you posted.  If you want to read more about this project, go here.

I’ll be working in Atlanta this week!  Trips to ADAC and great seminars with Charlotte Moss and Suzanne Kasler at Design Defined.

I hope your week is inspired!

@

Here’s what I spied at High Point this week…

His traditional Equestrian theme- sleek…

A virtual zoo…

Bamboo cage pendants…

I love these pagoda inspired sconces with antique mirror backs…

Blue and white! Updated…

A little more traditional blue and white…except for size.  These are HUGE lamps.

I like the tin pendants!

I hope you have an illuminating weekend,

@

]]> http://amyvermillion.com/blog/2012/04/furniture-market-spring-2012-part-3-ralph-lauren-is-delightful/feed/ 1 http://amyvermillion.com/blog/2012/04/furniture-market-trends-2012-part-one-jonathan-adler-loves-color-and-i-still-love-natural-curiosities/ http://amyvermillion.com/blog/2012/04/furniture-market-trends-2012-part-one-jonathan-adler-loves-color-and-i-still-love-natural-curiosities/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:00:23 +0000 Amy http://amyvermillion.com/blog/?p=4774 Continue reading →]]> Color is EVERYWHERE at High Point Furniture Market for Spring 2012!

It was refreshing and made me very inspired.

We stopped by Jonathan Adler’s haven of cool to check out the zippy patterns and neato color combos…

Excuse the wobbly pics, I had sixteen cups of coffee.  (3 anyway).

Off to Natural Curiosities…I wrote about my last visit here

I really dig them.  They are California based, simple, cool and have unique pieces..here are some highlights.

(More wonky camera shots)

Those are moss collages…

Love must be in the air…

And my dear readers…I am nothing without YOU!

Thanks for the continued support and stay tuned for more market trends!

@

Spring has Sprung in Hickory Chair.  It’s always one of my favorite stops.

One of the Spring trends is COLOR!  I love it and it was in abundance at Hickory Chair.

Not just the flowers…(although those were magnificent too), the wall colors, fabrics and painted finishes.

Suzanne Kasler’s Pink room was a delight!  The pink fabric is part of her new collection for Lee Jofa.

A new bed option…using tapes on the Suzanne Kasler Bed.  Me likey.

I wandered over to see Alexa Hampton’s collection and there she was!  Alexa is an amazing talent and extraordinarily funny.  I could have chatted with her all day.

Her space had GORGEOUS peacock walls and lush velvets.  Fantastic!

Bold brights!

Velvets still big!  Love this Apple Green and the striping on the Artisan Chest.

Painted Furniture, Striping and Dual Finishes are trending…

Velvet Stripes

Upholstered Case Goods…

And crisp blue and white…

The blue chair fabric is a stylized python…which is everywhere in fashion too.

Stay tuned for more trends and more MARKET!

@

They are known for their depth of color due to the pigments and resins they use including  natural ingredients such as chalk, lime putty and china clay.  It all contributes to the “Farrow & Ball look” which is kind of understood in the design business…old world, rich and layered.

Equally lovely are their wallpapers which are also manufactured the traditional way…made to order using water based paints with hand brushed ground colors.

Since the wallpapers have unique and distinct colors, it is very helpful that Farrow & Ball offer suggestions of paint pairings to marry happily with their papers.

Here are some of my favorite wallpapers and the color suggestions to pair:

Renaissance:

Lotus:

Crivelli Trellis:

Peony:

Wisteria:

Bamboo:

Since some of those colors are nearly impossible to read….go to Farrow & Ball to play and see what’s recommended.  They also recommend pairings of differing paint colors.

These books are wonderful:

And if you go to the website…you can vote for your favorite door!  Here are a couple in the competition:

Enjoy,

@

]]> http://amyvermillion.com/blog/2012/04/farrow-ball-papers-paint-selections/feed/ 7 http://amyvermillion.com/blog/2012/04/7-years/ http://amyvermillion.com/blog/2012/04/7-years/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:25:21 +0000 Amy http://amyvermillion.com/blog/?p=4726 …and I’m not itchy.

Happy Anniversary Mr. V!

You make my world go round and my heart still skip a beat.

Oh and thanks for:

Beans

And our life together.

@

It is the only time that recovered Titanic objects have been offered for sale.  There are stipulations for owning the collection including properly maintaining the collection, (not selling it off piece by piece) and you must make it available for public viewing.

I guess that rules out me buying this:

Doesn’t this seem an unusual style for 1912?  I think I rocked a faux version in 1983.

All kidding aside…this makes me sad.  It’s like when I viewed the mummies in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.  All I could think about was this mummy was/is a person.

And there was someone on the Titanic with my name…wonder if she made it?

I’ll soon find out as I am reading the original book about the Titanic.  It is the definitive book that is based on survivor accounts.  It even has a passenger/survivor list.

Sadly, a lot of survivors ended up taking their own lives.

Like a lot of people I’m fascinated with the not only the story itself but the interiors of the “unsinkable” ship.

Photos of the interiors show a definite division between the 1st class and 3rd class areas.

1st Class Lounge

2nd Class Smoking Room

3rd Class General Area

As spartan as the above interior seems compared to 1st Class, it was worlds above what most “steerage” class accomodations were in 1912.  Ground breaking as the interiors were on all levels, the designers failed to include enough life boats for all the passengers and crew resulting in the disastrous fate for 1517 people.

For those who could afford a 1st Class ticket, there were many amenities including a gym.

Veranda Area:

Staterooms:

1st Class Smoking Room:

Reading and Writing Room:

Another view of the Reading Room:

Grand Stair Case:

Made famous by:

The auction items include the cherub pictured above:

Also included:

Menu from the day of the sinking

1st Class tea cup

Bowler hat

Random jewelry

Cup

Bakers Hat

Pocket watch

Men’s cotton gloves

Diamond ring

On Saturday, April 14th, it will be the 100th year anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.  A lot of passengers heard and felt the ship “scrape” the 100 foot iceberg as it passed. Some even saw the towering ice as they looked out of their stateroom portholes. What they didn’t know was that the gash was wider than the waterproof compartments and the ship was taking on water faster than the crew could manage.

Too few lifeboats and poorly managed evacuations meant a choice between going down with the ship or jumping into frigid waters in hope of a rescue.  Unfortunately within minutes most jumpers were dead from hypothermia.

I’m not sure what choice I would have made considering Mr. V would probably have to stay on board if I could have gotten a life boat.  Considering Beans would be an issue.

What would you do?

Check out the documentaries and short films that will be popping up this weekend.

The winning bid of the 5,500 piece collection will be announced today!

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