Red and Green Makes for a Great Design

No, I'm not just super excited for Christmas. As promised on my last post, I wanted to share my new found love for red and green. Trust me, it works...

This is my little home with the hideous green leather couches I was forced to design around when I moved in with my husband. These are the first things to go when we move. (and yes I have an area rug on top of a carpet and I don't care what anyone says about this being a no-no)

I have more red in the room, I just didn't take a photo of it since it was a bit messy...

Here's a little outfit I threw together:

Are you a believer now?

On My Wish List - Fall 2011

Regardless of the fact that I've been shopping for Fall practically since August, there's still a few things on my wish list. P.S. Dear Husband, I'm so glad you do not frequent my blog...

1. Celerie Kemble usually rocks my interior design world, but now with a book featuring black and white designs?? I must have it. Ooo I forgot to share my new little settee for my black and white office. I just got it, so I'm still designing around it, and most likely will always "still be designing around it":

2. I'd love to convert the recessed light above our entry into this pendant light. Allen + Roth from Lowes has the coolest light fixtures and are so inexpensive!

3. I'm searching everywhere for a pair of leapord print leather driving gloves, but the only pair I've come across that I like (of course) are these from Net-A-Porter. $500? I don't think so...

4. I don't think this counts as being on my wish list anymore since I just bought it... BB Dakota, Lord & Taylor, on sale for $46.80. Come on how could I resist this??

5. Apple picking is a must for me every Fall. There's lots of local orchards in my area. My mom used to always make us baked apples and I love carrying on the tradition with my Italian husband who had no clue what they were. Click here for a 5 minute recipe on these babies:

6. It's my one year anniversary next weekend! We're headed to the Finger Lakes, NY and will be hitting up a ton of wineries. For sure.

7. I have a wall across from my dining room that is so bare and has been screaming for wallpaper ever since I moved in with my then fiance now husband 3 years ago. Here's the thing. My dining room is red. Should I be crazy and do the green damask or be a little less crazy and do a red trellis print? I have a green/red theme going on in my family room, so I'm leaning towards the green damask. I always hated that our couches were green and the dining room is red, but lately, I've made it work. And now I'm seeing the theme everywhere. I smell a blog post on this one...

8. For the cold nights ahead - Le Creuset dutch oven to make a delicious sounding red wine pot roast recipe I read in my latest Food magainze. Of course a need a purple one.

9. A french press coffee mug. Now I can bring it with me on the go! Although, wouldn't life be so much better if this is how I was enjoying it?

See, it wasn't all purchases to adorn my closet with....so Husband, if you are reading this, you should be proud of me (especially if you want to be eating a delicious pot roast for dinner)

A Fashionable Interior

I love the polished look this girl exudes. So chic, I had to design a board around her:

Parade of Homes

So very last minute (like that same day) we decided to stage our little semi-detached home we are putting in our county's Parade of Homes. The day before judging, I was running around my showroom and personal home finding things I could slap together to stage this house with. I only staged the first floor and here's how it turned out:

- First, here was my inspiration for the paint palette (this was chosen ahead of time, not the day of...just thought I'd throw that in there so you didn't think I had some sort of super human paint powers.)

- Powder Room

- Living Room

- Dining Area

Yes, that is a folding table with a tablecloth on it... It's all I had!

- Kitchen I designed

 Master Bath that I couldn't decorate, but picked out the tile for and looove:

Not bad for a $149,900 builder spec home, right? Other than the serious gap of decorative items now in my home and office, I'm happy with how everything turned out. Sure it could have been more decorated, but then we're talking some serious $$$. I'll be adding home staging services to my decorating company's website soon, so if you're local and interested, let me know!

Missoni for Target

Yes, I was one of those crazy people who was in Target the minute it opened to scoop up all my Missoni goodies. And I'm glad I did! It's all over the news how the stores are sold out. I wanted to post how I styled my cardi that's pretty much everywhere. I gotta say though, I am loving this bad boy:

 Do I sense a color scheme for an interior?

Jenna Lyons Home

I freaked when I found Todd Selby, an awesome interiors photographer in case you weren't aware of him, shot Jenna Lyons New York apartment. We've all seen her apartment everywhere ever since she was featured on the cover of Domino, but Todd's ability to capture photos makes it seem like a whole new experience. Enjoy!

Images from British Vogue via A Lovely Being

I also shared a link on my facebook page to this article from NY Mag. Be sure to read it, it's pretty awesome. On September 13th, J.Crew's spring collection will be showing at NY Fashion Week. Can't wait to see what they come up with!

Blog Discovery

I know I've been extremely light on the blog front these days, but I'm hoping to improve this once things chill out a bit for me at work. In the meantime, check out this cute blog I found! I love her random style boards she puts together and where she curates some of these awesome finds, I have no idea. I love this one, centered around a road trip:

Don't ask me why, but I feel the need to own those sunglasses with the chain strap...

Also, I've been meaning to share that my bff was featured in The Glitter Guide! I'm so proud of her. Be sure to pop over and read her awesome interview.

A Fashionable Interior

To me, black and navy are almost as chic a combination as black and white are. The images below are complete and total proof of this, and yes, that is once again my girl crush Olivia Palermo.