Fall with Flair! My Event with The Pierce & Makers Market

Last weekend I had a ball doing 2 super fun Fall entertaining events! One with The Pierce in San Jose and the other at Makers Market on Santana Row.   At the events I shared ideas on creating fresh and vibrant table settings for the season and did a live demo on how you can bring flair, color and a story to your holiday entertaining this year.  Be it a cozy meal for 4 or a lively dinner for 20!

I had a blast sharing design ideas and styling secrets with the lovely ladies that came! For intros, I asked everyone to bring / share something from their home that they absolutely love, and it was great seeing people's favorites - from an iridescent blue Buddha statue given as a gift,  to a vintage Moroccan armoire passed on from mother to daughter!

I had the best time designing and creating this festive, layered table setting. Here's a glimpse into it and some of the ideas I shared! The pictures are a mix from both days.

The perfect setting for our get together - under a canopy of trees!

A standout table starts with a vibrant table cloth! You can get totally creative with your tablecloths - go with fabrics that inspire you. This here is a modified duvet cover. I loved the deep Hermes orange and the pattern, and felt that it had great potential for a fall table.

Next, I added a pair of turquoise candles on vintage brass candlesticks.  Candles are SUCH an easy way to bring fresh color to your table. Experimenting with offbeat colors like turquoise, lilac, lavender, a deep pink, or even black brings that extra something to the setting.

You can change the look of your table with small adjustments! For instance, I switched the place setting on this table to take it from modern to country. I switched the pleated white plates & ruffle soup bowl from Crate & Barrel,  with vintage Perkin Hammer country-style salad plates & beautiful turquoise dinner plates!

Going from country to a more formal, luxe look: These vintage Italian salad plates that I found at an estate sale looked amazing and totally complemented the setting.  Starburst napkin rings bring in an extra element of festive luxury  (found these super pretty ones at Z Gallerie for an amazing price!)

The idea here is to MIX. Mixing a treasured vintage find with a newer purchase. Pairing brass flatware with silver or lucite napkin rings

It's all in the details!
- adding something fun & offbeat to your table makes it uniquely yours! I added this elegant Chinese figure playing an instrument that I'd found at a vintage shop. 
- little favor boxes for your guests with a delicious truffle in it? :)
- footed candy bowls to reinforce color & also have something for your guests to munch on. Fill 'em with little pieces of candy or fruits and nuts.
- glitter pine cone place cards bring in a personal touch & some seasonal charm!

Some more place card ideas... a dandy turkey place card or small white pumpkins with the initials of your guests !   

Acrylic napkin rings are great when you want a contemporary feel.

Speaking of something unique for the table, these candles that I found at Makers Market, are made from recycled bottles. I was told that the makers can make a personalized momento too, say using a bottle from your wedding. How cool is that!

The winner of our "bring your favorite thing!" contest - wonderful Schanelle. She brought this beautiful iridescent blue buddha which was given to her as a going away gift and as a harbinger of good luck. She won the footed candy bowls! :)

Me concentrating as I set and test it all out on day 1. Also, can I just say - I LOVED the lobby of The Pierce. It was open and bright and well lit.  The framed art on the walls were the original plans for Firestone Tire's first tire center from the early 1900s - which is what this building was many years ago. How cool is that!!

We got super lucky with our location on day 2 as well. At the last minute we had a snafu and couldn't do it in our original spot. But then we ended up HERE!  This gorgeous urban oasis style setting in the midst of Santana Row. A huge shout out to the generous manager at EMC for making this happen. We ladies had a blast!

And that's a wrap!

Drop me a comment below and let me know if you enjoyed that!   Anyone else getting creative during the holidays? How?!

Mitchell Black

I hope everyone's had a great start to their week! 

I just realized it's been a while since I've shared a wallpaper post on here! I discovered this cool new wallpaper source, Mitchell Black, over the weekend and instantly wanted to share it with you guys. I've been pottering around their site all week & they've got some really fresh and fun designs.  What's great is that their wallpapers are peel-and-stick (aka removable wallpaper).

Wallpaper has made a major comeback in the past couple years... it's ascended from "grandma's house" status to being totally chic. A great way to make a bold statement or set the mood of a room. Removable wallpaper works well in places where you want to get the look but without the commitment. And it looks pretty darn great too!   An accent wall? Kitchen backsplash? The kids' room?  These would be perfect.  I think the key is to go with quality paper & to hang it as smoothly and carefully as possible (here's a great tutorial by Apartment Therapy that explains how).  I like Mitchell Black's mix of designs - funky geometrics, uber feminine florals, whimsical patterns inspired by vintage Asian / African/ Australian textiles, and vibrant monochromes - they have a little bit of everything! Check 'em out.

I'm kinda sorta obsessed with this antelope sketch! Talk about DRA-MA.

It got me peeking into their Wall Art section.  Some really great finds here too. How fantastic is this swimmer series (splash, dive, in the air)  & the letterpress key!

Some News! + A Design Tip For Renters

I have some happy news to share with ya'll!  Over the next few months, I'm working with a fantastic interior design firm in San Francisco, Marsh & Clark Design. They primarily do residential design. And they've done the offices of the fabulous Chairish - a design & decor site I love for its curated collections. I'm excited to be there and to be working on projects this Fall, while continuing to share fresh ideas, schemes and resources with you here as I expand my design horizons! 

Coming to today's post - one of you lovely readers recently asked me if I had any decorating tips for renters.  When you're renting, you don't want to spend a whole bunch of money up front, but you still want to bring style into a space.  Here's an idea I like to share with people - Invest in things that are easy to carry over from one space to another.  For instance, getting some cute side/end tables.  

End tables are not a big ticket item, they're easy to move around, and they're versatile. Today they could be in your living room, a few years from now, in a bedroom. Compared to rugs, or curtains - which are pretty specific to a space, a good end table can be worked into a lot of different spaces! 

2 cute end tables under $100

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I love this two-tiered glass table at All Modern. It spells glamour & style. 

A pair of these would look oh so elegant in a living room. 

I pulled together this look  with a very similar table in gold. Layer with flowers and books to bring in the color. And I added gold/brass tones with the deer head and an industrial floor lamp - they tie in well with the table!

A similar style table would look just as beautiful in a bedroom...

Garden stools make for GREAT end tables & give an airy feel to a room.

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You could create a cozy nook in the living room or the bedroom like the one I've created below. A space to lounge, read a book or just relax it out!

I love sourcing on Etsy too for off the radar finds.

How fun is this Queen Anne end table!  It could get a new life with some paint - perhaps a light grey with antique white drawer fronts, like these ones

These wicker tables would make for a great alternative to a coffee table in a room that's going for a boho / beachy vibe. Soften with a linen throw and a tray.

And that's a wrap! If you're looking for stylish additions to your home, keep an eye out for end tables. Go with something that's really calling out to you - you'll end up using it in different ways over the years.

And lastly, if you have a specific question or a problem area in your home that's bothering you, I want to hear about it! Tell me in the comments.  I'll be glad to pull in my decorating and resourcing prowess to help you out!

This Week's Finds!

I've been seeing so many fun little things lately, little things that add big personality to a space. I thought I'd share some of my favorites from the week with ya'll!  

These votive holders ( seen in BHG's August issue). They are replicas of nautical flags - aren't they awesome? :)  They'd be great in a little boy's room. Or even 1 or 2 in an accessory tray in an entry.

These dreaaaaaaamy plaid throws by Faribault Mill. I LOVE the muted colors.

Fantastic swan arm chairs at an antiques store. The legs need some paint, but other than that - kinda perfect. 

A pair of chinoiserie garden stools. They'd make for great indoor side tables as well, like in the picture below

Bringing the outdoors, inside 

These all white busts would be perfect in a room that's mixing antiques and modern.  

This from a couple weeks ago -  a cheery chartreuse stool sitting pretty under a stack of furniture! 

I like the clean look of this tufted cocktail ottoman at Living Spaces.  They've given the space a  beachy vibe in this setting, but I think it'll look equally good in a more formal setting (with darker legs though)..

Also at Living Spaces, this acrylic & gold tray table. A great example of bringing in big style with a small footprint.  Setting two of these with some flowers & refreshments would create a welcoming ambiance for guests!

And lastly,  I bought this beautiful set of 6 stem glasses for a total STEAL. I used to have a set of green stem glasses I was in love with and they broke over the years. I've been on the lookout for a similar shade ever since. I finally found these with pretty rope stems. I can't wait to use them in a Fall table!

Anything you've seen lately you really loved?!  Something fun that you wanted to bring straight home with you (or had to resist bringing home??  story of our lives!  ;-)) 

From Inspiration to Design

I came across this fantastic Better Homes & Gardens cover not too long ago (it's from the archives, a couple years old!) But this room is still so fresh and relevant,  I thought I'd use this as an inspiration image and show how to take inspiration from a room - maybe you like the overall scheme or certain elements  - and bring it into your own space.

For instance, with this room -

design by Erin Gates / Elements of Style

I love the clean lines of the bedding and found a similar bordered sheet set in porcelain blue. To capture the navy / orangey-coral scheme, I added on these bright orange throw pillows. The brown faux fur blanket is reminiscent of the the warmer tones in the room, as is the jute rug. These fantastic white night stands seen on Ebay have curved legs similar to their inspiration. I took the fun leopard print from the bench and extended that out to accent frames. Punching in some color with a statement hot pink pillow (that also has a fabulous hand-painted leopard - two birds one stone! ).  

It's fun to look at a room, analyze why you like it and then go pick out your inspirations!

headboard / sheets / pillows / night stand / jute rug /  faux fur throw blanket / ivory throw / table lamp / accent chair / Dana Gibson leopard pillow - pink / mirror / leopard frames / palm leaf candle holders / flowers - current crush - hydrangeas!

What do you think? :)