Fun Fact Friday: Life cycle of a shower curtain

The first thing you need to know is how do folks buy a shower curtain?  

I've learned it’s color, then pattern, followed by price.

In the coming weeks we will look at all the steps needed to get a shower curtain from concept to the store shelf.

This week we look at color.

The first step is to look around.  I subscribe to a  number of on-line trade newsletter and publications like Better Homes & Gardens and Country Living for example.  I look to see what’s happening in paint and other finishes in the bath.   

a rug I saw on Pinterest

I find that observing the world around me is a great inspiration in itself.  


I like department stores jewelry counter as well as Home stores for rugs, pottery, glass, and wall art.  Greeting cards and craft paper too. 

from my Pinterest "pins"

Pinterest is a new way for me to collect color inspirations (take a look at my pins when you have a minute).  http://pinterest.com/monikamstyle/

 

Last, but certainly not least, I look to my customers, who share their hits and misses in their own stores…and then, as they say, I take it all from there.

See you next week!

Monika

my living room, or the home for wayward home furnishings

Okay, so what do you get when you love furniture/decorative accessories and have worked for some of the best sample sale companies on earth (Williams-Sonoma and Bed Bath & Beyond),.

You have STUFF.  Really great stuff, but stuff none the less.

The beautiful leather sofa and love seat we found on Craig's List got a face lift and went up to  the cabin (pics to follow soon).  Leaving behind the over scale coffee table and the more than slightly blemished side tables that came with the set.  The furniture from the family room (aka basement) came up so we had a place to sit.  Then add in the baskets for boys toys, an old and ever so comfy chair, my prized Chinese Rosewood secretary desk, my husband’s grandfathers writing desk..and I’m out of room and frankly, it's not the look I was going for.  Then there's the 1990's Tuscan gold paint and half complete bead board celling (started shortly after Noah was born (he's 4 now). 

So, I broke down this week and asked for help!

Some months ago I was looking though Rockland Magazine and saw this info/commercial for a local interior designer, but with a twist. She is a Decorator for a day.  No long commitment and potentially hefty bills to get the help I really need.  I want the room to look and feel like me and the “boys”.  What I need is a fresh pair of eyes for my little and very awkward living room. 

I’ll let you know how the consultation goes next week.

working your way around the room, this is the front door and front of the house

good shot of my prized desk...maybe a little too big for the space?

This is the main living space and where we watch TV.

On my way in to my studio today

On my way in to my studio today. 
NYC, 7:15am heading east down 30th street

Fun Fact Friday - Emerald Green

Okay, so Pantone has recently announced that Emerald (green) is their top color pick for 2013. 

What does that mean??

To me:

The Foundry 1-11-2013

I LOVE green!  It’s my favorite color!!   

I’m not planning to run out and re-do my living room, or any other room for that matter, in this color.   
I may consider it as an accent color, but only if it were part of an item 
I love.  

m.style Medallions

To m.style:

The color green is a very "bath friendly" color and I use it frequently.  I have variations of emerald in my current shower curtain line.  

Here are some examples you can find on-line today.  

As I am developing new patterns for 2013, I won't be searching out emerald as a color, but rather, I will embrace it when its part of a pattern I love and feel passionate about. 

m.style Ottoman Blossom

To what will you see:

Let us not forget that Emerald green is a very close cousin to Forest green (you remember the late 80’s) and too much of it could make your home look dated quickly.

You'll  see it featured in store windows, magazine spreads, and the like.  I think you’ll see the color in its original intensity and in variations.  

In short…I’ll visit the Emerald city, I just don’t want to live there.

clever storage idea

Up at the cabin, we are outside a LOT!
...and with that, a lot of the outdoors wants to get back in to the house where it doesn't belong.  

BHG on-line 1-9-2013

I saw this clever storage idea.  The original concept was for sports equipment...but I'm thinking season clothing.

OK, I like that laundry baskets are affordable (okay, cheap if you get them at a discount store).  

It has air flow, which is a must for snowy wet hats and mitten after a day on the slopes as well as wet swim trunks from a day at the pond.  

I also really like that you can personalize them.  This is especially nice when you have kids so close in age as it can sometimes be difficult to tell their clothes apart. 

To make the baskets a little more Benjamin & Noah proof (or as close as I can), I'm going to laminate the name card and attach them with binder clips.  

m.style around town: Gracious Home, NYC. NY.

Gracious Home window in NYC.

Fun Fact Friday: Color Definitions

While watching your favorite decorating show, you may have heard an interior designer referring to color with words like "shade" and "tone" or they want to warm up a space.



Here's what they mean.


Hue: another word for color

Tint: adding white to a color

Tone: adding grey to a color

Shade: adding black to a color
(I think of seeing a color under the shade of a tree)


Then theres the broader Cool and Warm
Cool colors refer to greens, blues, and violets. Warn colors refer to reds, oranges, and yellows



If you're in the planning stages of a color change or color related decorating project, may I suggest a color wheel. I recently purchased this nifty one from Amazon.com.  Well made and is super easy to use. 

 

by color wheel Interior Design Color Wheel

Inspiration in a FLASH!

Many on-line retailers have started membership only “flash sale sites”.  These sites offer 1, 2, and 3 day sales on numerous items, many at 40% to 70% off.  They can be a great value, but they can also offer a LOT of inspiration.

Many times these sites pulls items together by decorating styles/themes and color stories.  So if you're in to Mid-Century Modern or the color orange, they've got you covered. 


A recent “event” offered everything you can imaging in the color kiwi (one of my personal favorites).  From a lime squeezer to a 600 thread count duvet.  Another offered a beautifully arranged collection of industrial chic items for the home. 

This is an example of a recent Joss & Main color story


True Blue: Eye-Catching Decor in a Wash of Cool Hues

A jewel-toned evening sky. The shimmering waves of a sunlit ocean. The soft palette of a blooming hydrangea. Capture the brilliance of nature’s most dynamic color with this stunning collection of True Blue finds. Refresh with cheerful cornflower side tables, chests, and chairs, set a tray of cocktails atop a cerulean-hued ottoman, cast bold light with bright aqua lamps, and display plush pillows, faux florals, chic vases, clocks, and more in endless shades of blue.

 

So be it a color you love or a decorating style you have (or have been thinking about), try a flash sites for a little inspiration.  

Here are a few of my fav’s. 

Joss & Main: jossandmain.com

One Kings Lane: onekingslane.com

The Foundry: thefoundary.com