Color of the Year!

You might have noticed a lot of pink around town these days. Honeysuckle has been elected by Pantone as their color of the year! We're seeing it everywhere - from home furnishings to clothing to makeup.
I was putting away some sample books in my studio and these two happened to be sitting next to each other. One is full of fabric samples from Kravet and the other is a wallpaper book from Cole & Son. They made me happy just looking at them! I think I'd like to wallpaper a room and then fill it with the coordinating fabrics on the furniture and draperies and they could all live happily ever after!

French Chateau Kitchen

I realize I have two "French" posts in a row, but when I was going through some old pictures in my file, I found this one. It is just so.....interesting. I have no idea where I got it, but I had to share it.
I love the idea of taking a room into Fantasyland. I love the chalkboards on the ends of the cabinets and wouldn't be surprised if one of them was actually a door front. Instead of a crown molding on the top, they added a ROOFLINE! So theatrical! Who says you have to have things designed just like everyone else? Speaking of the molding, my neighbor has a 7" stainless steel band up there - in her very contemporary kitchen. She didn't change her white cabinets during a remodel, she just took the crown molding off and added the band (or her contractor did!)
If you take away the "roof", the decorative painting and the chalkboards, this is a pretty typical kitchen.
Wouldn't you love to have a party in here!

French Doors

I saw this window treatment several years ago and for some reason, lately, I cannot get it out of my mind. It operates in a slightly similar way to a Roman shade, only there are no cords, and only one setting. Still, it seems like a very elegant way to dress a door or window. And so simple to operate. You need only one set of brackets for the center rod, which you use when the shade is in the "up" position. There must be endless ways to embellish this with combinations of fabric, trim and hardware. These particular doors were in a master bedroom that opened out to a patio. Charming!