Table Skirt Love

As our house continues to fill and overflow with toddler toys, I have found myself needing more storage to hide the craziness!  I have finally decided to banish the clutter with something that I love... a skirted table!  I just had a console table built for our family room (you could also buy an inexpensive table from ikea, west elm or even a garage sale - we just needed a custom size to fit the space)... The table was designed like Jan Shower's Manhattan table below, with an upper shelf for small baskets and our media electronics and the lower space is lined with baskets holding all of my 20 month old's toys... woohoo to hidden clutter!  I am about to send 6 yards of platinum linen and an awesome greek key trim sent to a workroom this week for the custom table skirt... see the design board below with my actual fabric and trim.  I plan to pile on pretty books and one of my favorite lamps to soften the lines of the television - and will be sure to post a picture when it is finished! 

Here are some other great skirted tables.  I tend to gravitate towards the more tailored look with pleated corners and trim, but you can also drape a nice silk or linen over any table for a more relaxed look.  Skirted tables look fabulous in an entry, as a buffet in your dining room, for a tv console, to cover a dining table, or even as a bathroom vanity.  

These may inspire you to add STORAGE and STYLE in your home with your own skirted table!

Phoebe Howard

 

Tom Scheerer

Urban Grace

Jan Showers

via Domino Magazine

via Cote de Texas

via Cote de Texas

John Saladino

Pam Pierce

Below are a few table skirts all by designer Grant Gibson, who obviously loves a good table skirt!  I love how you can see different ways he uses the first table, which is actually in his own home.  Notice he shows it with a glass top and without... you could also top with marble or other stone!

 

 

 

 

Another designer, who I personally adore, that loves skirted tables is Palmer Weiss.  Here are a couple of her takes on the style...

 

A Room Fit For a Lady

Every woman needs a quite space of her own to read, relax and... who am I kidding... to look through the mail, organize her kids crazy schedules and get all the bills paid!

But who says you can't have it all?!?  I am currently creating a home office/sitting room for a busy mother of 3 that is both functional and beautiful.  The muted colors of a relaxed swedish/french room are the perfect calming backdrop for some blissful time alone (even if it is just to pay the bills).

Below are some other great feminine and totally chic studies/offices fit for a lady...

giannetti home

mary mcdonald

jan showers

katie ridder

ruthie sommers

tracy garet

Ruthie Sommers for Drew Barrymore

Cozy Gameroom

The gameroom I talked about in December is almost complete, and until the room is photographed, here are some images of furniture, fabrics and other elements we used to help inspire your own cozy retreat...

This galvanized steel coffee table looks fabulous topped with a leather tray and art books.  The bottom is perfect for storing games and blankets in large baskets.

 

A small loft/nook is carved out in one corner of the room and is piled high with a houndstooth cushion and lots of custom pillows.  The pillows and cushion were inspired by menswear textiles and really add a cozy richness to the room.  I am a fool for monograms, and the one above was the perfect touch to a crisp ivory linen pillow in the loft.

To add a nice pop of color, a large Persian rug was laid over the new sisal-like carpet.

One of my favorite additions to the room are the custom built-ins!  We transformed an odd attic space layout into a custom media center and bookshelves.  The media cabinet was custom finished by Linde Browning Giddens with base of Benjamin Moore's Wedgewood Gray and a gorgeous glaze that gives it instant patina.  It is flanked by antiqued ivory bookshelves (also finished by Linde) filled with pretty books and accessories that were special to the family.

The best part of all is hearing the family talk about how much they love their new room and that they spend tons of time there together... that's what it is all about!

Kids Rooms

I apologize for not posting in so long... life has been very busy between juggling my design clients, photoshoots, my mom's illness and traveling with my family.  I recently had the opportunity to design and style the room sets for JC Penney's fall baby and teen catalogues which was kind of a fun break in the routine.  Kids rooms can be such a fun thing to work on, because I have the freedom to be a little more creative and whimsical than most adults are comfortable with in our own spaces.  The art director, Tanya Millet, and I had a great time collaborating on over 30 sets and photographer, Keith Madigan, brought the magic to life through his lens!  As soon as I get the images, I will post them for you to see, but in the meantime I would like to share some of my favorite images from Domino and House Beautiful of kids rooms that would make even the most mature adults wish to be young again!

Park Cities Pad

I recently started working on a new project in Park Cities for a young lady with a refreshing sense of adventure.  When I heard she loves Kelly Whearstler I knew we were going to have fun!  We are still in the beginning stages, but I am loving the direction of this soon-to-be stylish pad.  I am so in love with these fantastic tufted French slipper chairs that are going to be recovered in a gorgeous indigo velvet with a peek of ikat on the back.

  

sahana ikat by schumacher         slipper chairs from again & again        luxury velvet by fabricut

The overall look of this project is a mix of traditional and vintage french furniture with a playful edge and feminine appeal.  Subtle pops of pattern along with classic textures like linen, velvet and silk keep the look young and fresh while still sophisticated.  A mix of materials (navy lacquered french commode, bronze coffee table, and mahogany lamp tables) come together in a "I didn't try to hard way".  And there will be lots of attention to detail with pillows, trims, accessories, artwork and lamps to complete the comfy yet glam room.  Here are a few more pieces that I have scoped out for her living room.

rug by shades of light

     

lamps by Arteriors 

(but not the crazy shade shown on the right!!!)

venetian mirror by wisteria

Since the client adores Kelly Whearstler I was delighted to run across this image of one of KWID's projects the other day.  This shot totally echoes the feel of our room, but instead of being inspiration - it was affirmation!