It's Been a Long Time...

It's been a long time since I've been in love with a space as much as I am with this one. So glad I rediscovered this April 2010 The World of Interiors squashed behind the couch in my basement, of all places. How could I have let you out of my protective care? Yes, magazines sometimes can mean that much... The genious designer behind this home is Bruce Budd, photography by Richard Felber. (--oh, and doesn't the planter above look alot like the one I just posted about here?)

I want everything from all these rooms.

Designer Tag Sale!

My friends at Sally Steponkus Interiors are having a tag sale! All items are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you're interested in any of these or would like additional information, the contact info is at the end of this post. Happy shopping!

Pictured above: RJones “Elizabeth” loveseat in custom-colored Quadrille fabric (from the 2010 DC Design House master bedroom) Loveseat alone (not including custom Quadrille fabric) would be $4970 list. Size: 72”W x 32”D x 31”H. AW: 5.5”. Interior Seat depth: 20”D. Seat height: 18”H.

Price: $2800
Gilded/weathered wood wings. Size: 63” tall x 14.5”W at widest point. Price: $300 for the pairSet of (6) RJones Dining Side Chairs – H42 D27 SH19 AH24 –

Description: Semi-attached seat cushion, boxed, no welt, with buttons. Tight back with buttons. Button pleated outside back. Welt on frame. Tapered legs in solid wood.

Price $5,000 for set of 6 (list price for the chairs alone [without fabric] is $9650)

Fabric on chairs is Colefax & Fowler #3418-04, “Riley Stripe”/Aqua.

(6) Rolls of Harlequin Wallpaper – Pattern #70621 – Price: $396 for 6 rollsNina Campbell wallpaper: Pattern #NCW2244-02 “Kylemore” from the Nina Campbell Fandango collection. (3) Euro Rolls at 20.5”W x 11 yds long each.

Price: $220 for 3 rollsOsborne & Little wallpaper - #W1062-04 – (3) rolls at 20.5”W x 11 yds long (cream background with gold stars that have a red shadowing behind them).

Price: $220 for 3 rolls(1) Lights Up! Deco Deluxe Pendant Light - 21 H x 21" diameter - - 8' black silk wrapped cord; 5" diameter canopy, Price: $160

Weathered Mirror, 28" x 38.5", Originally bought at Luckett's annual flea market, never used. Mirror is wood with a weathered tin facade. Beveled mirror inside frame. Can be turned either way. Very rustic and cool. Price $150
Rug – 94" x 136"- Slight wear on one corner. Price: $600

Williams Sonoma 8'x11' wool and cotton crewel rug, discontinued style no longer available. Never used. Taupey grey beiges, graphic pattern, really nice and neutral. Not heavy duty
by any means, but pretty. Price: $900
Chinese lantern – 7” square x 16” tall to top of lantern (not including adjustable chain to the canopy). Canopy is 5” in diameter. Price: $100

If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing any of the items shown,

contact Heather at Steponkus Interiors at 202. 237. 9872 or

Heather (at) steponkus.com

I Spy

Recognize the living room on the left that's featured in the FLOR carpet catalog? I'm pretty positive it's the room below, designed by Nate Berkus. OK - enough procrastinating and minor trivia for me, time to get back to my paying job...

Interior design by Nate Berkus, image via Chicago Home + Garden (more images there), photography by Bob Coscareli.

In Lieu of Southern Accents: Marjorie Johnston & Co.

In Lieu of Southern Accents - I think this may become a theme for me in 2011.

When I saw this first image on the main page of Marjorie Johnston & Co it pretty much took my breath away. The Gallery Foyer Marjorie H. Johnston and Wendy Wooden Barze designed for the 2009 Birmingham Decorators' Showhouse is a classic, elegant room full of interest and energy. Love all the repetition of the curves, from the bureau to the high backed bench to the stunning metal frame encircling the small portrait. To see more, go here.

Richard Taylor at Pottery Barn & a Giveaway

It was very exciting the other day to find that select pieces from concrete artist Richard Taylor are now being offered exclusively through Pottery Barn! All the pieces bear his name and Pottery Barn has done a terrific job of crediting his talent in their descriptions:

"After years of experimentation, English artist Richard Taylor perfected the difficult craft of mold making. His artistry allows him to create original pieces that showcase his great skill and eye for detail. Made from his original molds with details that are hand carved by Richard, our planters feature two rounded handles and a decorative double ridge."

The Handled Planters above are available in 4 sizes, ranging from $12 - $99.

Fluted Urn - $14
Leaf Planters - available in 2 sizes, $16 - 29.
and this very cute bird on a metal stick for $6.

Although it says Richard's pieces are available online and in the catalog, at my local Pottery Barn (Arlington-Clarendon) they had a nice selection of the Handled Planters and the Fluted Urn. The finish and texture are great and the aged look sets these pieces apart.

In honor of Richard's work being carried by Pottery Barn, I'm having a giveaway. The winner will have a choice of the Fluted Urn or a small Handled Planter or Leaf Pot. Just leave a comment by Monday night 9 pm Eastern.

*UPDATE* - Jean of the blog Downsizing in San Francisco is the winner. Congrats Jean!

Eye Candy: Federal Style

Alan de la Vigne's restored 1830's Federal style home in Port Hope, Ontario was featured in Canadian House and Home's February 2010 issue. Now you can also watch a 5 minute video tour of his gorgeous home. After you recover from the fact that this daper gentleman is 81 years old and looks hardly over 60, you'll be treated to:

`

- an all white painted open staircase filled with light

- antiques in every room, including a 1712 French armoire and 17c Italian table

- beautiful moldings and

- a southern-style draped porch with exterior curtains made from a very thrifty material

To see the house tour, go to House & Home Online TV HERE.

(First image via the blog 2 Hounds Unleashed, photography by Ashlee Raubach, House & Home, February 2010)

Scott Antique Markets: Part 1

For some reason I didn't equate Scott Antique Markets with original furniture design and was happily surprised to find out how wrong I was. Above is a console table designed and built by Ken Bizzell (404.771.9245, kbiz1 (at) bellsouth.net). To me it's the perfect balance of industrial edge, clean lines and a creative twist with the tall height of the top made from barn tin. This design is also available in a matching side and coffee table.
Ken fabricates the hip base of this round coffee table with steel, circle-cut. So love this.
More clean lined pieces. This ottoman is available in a natural fabric too. Also love the demilune pieces in the back
A lamp base with a beautiful blue-green patina.
Tony McCray of Rust in Peace, (404.944.5533) is the designer behind these fabulous repurposed pieces. All make a unique statement, just one (or two, in the case of the mirror stands) could boost the whole look of a room.
Last summer I posted about the amazing zinc topped tables Dave Lennard (941.232.2925) creates (go here to see more). He also had a large selection of mounted goat skulls.Here's one of Dave's salvaged wood coffee tables with alot of great character.This is a close-up - but not of the wood piece you just saw. This one is concrete! - fabricated from the top surface of Dave's piece by Richard Taylor of Flat Earth Designs (to-the-trade and at Round Top)
I'll be doing a whole post on more of Richard's work next week. In the meantime, you can check out last year's post It's Not Leather, It's Concrete! See the theme here...

A pastor by day, Brewster McLeod of Lexington, KY (859.552.0304, stainlesssteel111 (at) yahoo.com) creates amazing sculptural pieces.
This spring is completely balanced - no small feat of engineering. Couldn't you see this as a focal point in a garden?
Another inventive table with a unique base made of salvaged machinery pieces.
Wrapping up with a bit of humor - Brewster's version of a Shade Tree, replete with vintage sun glasses!

All these designers do custom work and are super nice as well - the best combination.

Why I Love curateDE!

Overwhelmed by all the design content that's out there? Well, now there's curateDE! The brainchild of interior designer Raji Radhakrishna and her techie husband Murali Narasimhan, curateDE is the design aficionado's digest. Think of it as a curated version of design magazines and blog posts, featuring those articles and posts that other design lovers have recommended via twitter.

How do you use curateDE?: First, log in with your facebook or twitter account. From 50+ sources, select the ones that you would like to read and add to "Your Sources". This will automatically edit and leave out the ones you are not interested in. You can select up to a maximum of 30 sources ( which is a maximum of 200 articles/posts). Every time you visit curateDE, you can quickly browse through the article lead-ins in "MY Page" and click on those you want to read more about, which then takes you to the article's original sources. In my opinion, that's a huge plus that makes curateDE stand out from other portals.

curateDE is designed to "ping" the latest articles and posts posted on web sites and blogs when they are "tweeted" by some one. Similar to an RSS feed except it's been designed it to only ping a portion or one photograph and only the first couple of text lines on the original post or article. The more the article/post is tweeted/shared, the more likely it will appear on curateDE. I also love the Wednesday and Sunday curateDE Edition. In the last month, I've come across great design content I normally wouldn't have if it wasn't for curateDE. Be sure to check it out.

To join in all the fun, I've recently created a twitter account for My Notting Hill here & installed a share button at the end of each post. (...no need to give details on how long it took me to figure that out.)

Back tomorrow to start off a week devoted to Scott Antiques Market & the amazing design stores of Atlanta.

Brass Clams & Back from Scott Antique Market

Loving brass lately and I was so happy to find these nesting clams from Matters of Style Marketplace (www.mosmarketplace.com). Check out their site - right now there's a terrific acrylic clam shell and 2 yards of KWID Giraffe in blue, among other great finds. I would post pics of these, but can you believe, our POWER IS OUT AGAIN!! (blogging via an ipad w/low batteries).

This is completely frustrating as I've just returned from my first ever trip to Scott Antique Market and there's so much eye candy trapped in my camera.

Giant Ball or Clam? in my fireplace

Me: I think I want to put one of the giant balls from the backyard into the fireplace?
Dan: What?
Me: The giant clam has been done before; it's even appeared on a magazine cover. I'm just copying.
Dan: Nobody who comes to our house will know that.
Me: Yes, they will.
Dan: Didn't you just spend hours arranging all those shells inside the clam?
Me: Are you going to help me or not? I think I can roll it in if you aren't.


Me: I like this better. Don't you think it's odd and funny in a cool way?
Dan: It looks like a meteroid fell down our chimney.
Me: ...walk away...

Me: ...return to living room later to be greeted by a happy, smiling giant ball

What do you think? Ball or Clam?

(Concrete clam and hypertufa ball from Flat Earth Designs, www.flickr.com/fedatl)