a treat for you

client amy ordered calling cards from me recently. as i do with a lot of clients, we chatted via email about calling cards and well, other stuff. amy emailed me some of her design work. it's absolutely beautiful! i am so impressed by amy's remarkable talent. before i show you her work, here's a little bit about amy, in her own words.

"I am mom to a 20 year old daughter who is presently studying in Paris, France. I am a native Floridian. I attended Boston University School of Fine Arts and University of Miami School of Fine Arts where I recieved a BFA degree. I moved to New York City after college where I was an Art Director in advertising. I lived in NYC for 12 years. I moved back to Florida when my daughter was 2 years old and embarked on my interior design career. I was educated in interior design at Miami Dade Community College. I worked for 2 interior design firms before opening my own business. I also paint as you have discovered. I love anything that has to do with the Arts. I have always been an artist. Even as a little girl, art is all I ever wanted to do. I spent my childhood going from one art class to another. "

ok, now sit back and enjoy amy's talent. (click on pictures to enlarge.)

how would you like to open those french doors (above) and see that every day? i think it's just gorgeous. from the beautiful, soothing wall color to the stunning sunburst mirror to the small antique mirror down below to the pops of pink. or how about opening shuttered doors to this view. love the rug.in this contemporary/asian influenced bedroom below amy upholstered the wall and bed in a brunschwig and fils fabric. love the pillows!
ah, if only i could get ready in a space like this every morning (below). amy filled me in on the sources for this vanity area. the mirror is from Williams Sonoma Home. the sconces are from Restoration Hardware. and the hardware is Kallista. subway tile from Country Floors. amy designed and custom made the vanity herself.
here's another bathroom amy designed with a steam shower. amy says, all shower plumbing is Dornbracht. the sink/vanity is Villeroy and Boch. the linen cabinet is a custom design by her and the hardware on the linen cabinet is by Valli & Valli. all the woods are oak. the floor is a fabulous stone by Ann Sacks. the wall tile is Jerusalem stone by Ann Sacks. the shower ceiling is a slab of Jerusalem stone. and again, i love the pop of that orchid amonst the stone.
and lastly, a teenage girl's bedroom. amy says "she wanted orange, so I gave it to her!" the bed is done in white leather and manufactured by an italian company. the night table is by Cassina. The silver lamp is Williams Sonoma Home. the white shag carpet is Ralph Lauren. and the bed linens are johnathan adler for bed, bath and beyond."
and that beautiful piece of artwork above the bed.... amy did it! i told you she was talented.
amy's one of those designers where i feel like i could trust her to totally make over my house with minimal direction. i love her style! i hope you liked viewing her designs also. unfortunately amy doesn't have a website. i know, shocking. amy, you must get a website! we beg you. but for now, if you'd wish to contact her, please let me know. i'll put you in touch with her. thank you, amy, for letting me show off your talent.

simple and pretty

image from here via decor8

i spotted this image over on decor8 recently. and it's stuck with me. our weekend reminded me of this bathroom. blue skies. and sunny. so not typical of a seattle february.... but i'll gladly take it!

Orange Crush

I used to despise orange. Never wore it, never decorated with it. In fact, never ate an orange because of the texture. Things change. I now love orange. I have accents of it throughout my home... from the front porch to the powder room to the family room. I LOVE orange. And I tolerate a glass of oj (no pulp of course).

My favorite pot on the front stoop, filled with ranunculus, pansies, new zealand flax, western sword fern and ivy.






The guest bathroom. A silver sage paint with orange accents. The small landscape oil paintings were done by an artist on Maui. We picked those up on our last trip there and they're the perfect accent by the orange orchid.









I also got this beautiful fish drawing at a map store in Maui. And I had it framed with the orange mat and thick dark wood frame.



Moving on to my office...orange moorish tile rug from Pottery Barn. And lookey there, a very tired orange and white puppy (even the pet complies with my color scheme). Her name's Pixel (more about Pixel later as she deserves a post to her own). She had just completed 6 weeks at bird camp and was very exhausted.



And finally, our family room/kitchen is painted Sherwin Williams Rustic Adobe.