Friday, April 23, 2010

Deadline for Style!

Press day...an early start to the day, and many times "just another day". We are always promised lots of important contacts walking around with "Press" badges. Seldom this is the case!
But, at any rate, this day is the one that marks the end of the line for being ready to open. It's generally a sigh of relief; all deadlines have been met, sheer exhaustion sets in, and most of the designers are on hand making the final preparations for the opening night preview and exciting gala that kicks off the next month.
Here are a few photos of my room through the lens of my camera. Sneelock was busy taking the real professional photos, and I'll share some of his with you later. Looking back over the last month, and peering into the rooms of my fellow designers, I was pleased with the outcome of my room. Plain and simple, I'm not afraid of color. It seems to have paid off! And that chandelier doesn't hurt either!

Overall view of the upholstered bed, Paris botanicals, and hints of the custom pillows, bedding, and mirrored side chest. Yes, I like it! Tiny upholstered footstool, a "gift with purchase" with the vintage chairs. I placed it strategically over a very bad spot on the wood floor where a stain from many year's use could not be cleaned up. Great idea! At first I thought it was just a quick fix, but I actually love the ottoman there. A little unexpected and alot of style.
The vintage secretary hand painted to perfection by my son, Ryan. A beautiful job, way better than I would have done myself. He meticulously primed, sanded,and painted this rather tedious piece of furniture. The only contrast is the interior of the glass doors. We painted that Sherwin Williams Sea Salt. Soft, grayed blue. The exterior is another favorite, SW Warm Stone . I've found this color to go with just about everything! It is one of the main colors we used last year in the Bucks County Designer House. The beautiful compliment it offers to SW Yam is soothing and delightful. I recommend it!
Another shot of the right side of the bed. Look carefully, and you will see a photo of one of my granddaughter's, Eva. She is turning 5 in just a short time. These fabulous lamps are the perfect compliment to the linen colors and textiles used throughout the room. They are about as close to SW Warm Stone as you can imagine! Great find. Good work. The taupe lampshades are fabulous too!
A closeup of the orchid garden that graces the deep windowsill. Totally realistic and delightful. No water necessary! Smart colors and lively motion. What is it about orchids, anyway?!

Closeup of the left side of the bedside chest. Our realistic maidenhair fern, always a stack of books and a coveted glass decoupaged alphabet plate. These two frames came home with me tonight for added photos...hopefully my other to granddaughters! (There are still a number of details to complete prior to 5:00pm Saturday night. *sigh*
I am totally in love with these authentic vintage chairs that were gifted to me by my friend, Paul Giler. In the home he grew up in, they reined in the 40's and live again in this new fabric, a beautiful taupe velvet stria by Kravet. The orange piping just completes the picture! I won't be sad if they are not sold...maybe the beginning of a new color pallet for my own family room! Thanks, Paul. While I must admit that I wasn't totally sold on using them in the beginning, they have now taken first chair on my "love that detail" list. You may be able to see that one is slightly shorter than the other..."his" and "hers"! So cool. They seem to be a hit with all who enter.
Take note of the linen fern fabric used on the kidney pillows! Trimmed with the simplest eyelash fringe, they soften and add interest to the room. This shot also gives a closeup to the cool drapery fabric I selected-Robert Allen contributed this piece of the style to my room. Linen with orange harlequin grid---oh, so Susan!
My shag rug is peeking out in the corner of the frame also. This retro look has been showing up in all kinds of Black-eyed Susan projects! So soft underfoot. So welcoming. So cool. Many colors and available in any custom size. I recommend it! Call me for details.

A closeup of the detail on the matching ottoman to the vintage chairs. It's a great closeup of the fabric detail as well. Those tea cups are the absolute perfect match! Such a homey touch. Once again, I like it.

Just one more closeup of the custom pillow shams and headboard. A long boxed sham sits in front of the two queen shams, the drapery fabric making another appearance. Man, do I love that fabric! Several other designers commented today that it is one of their favorites too!
Note the nail head trim on the bed and the warm stone porcelain artichokes on the bedside chest. Perfectly placed details. Perfect color. Perfect style!
Lastly, a closeup of the deep window sill behind the vintage chairs. I just love deep window sills!

The beautiful draperies frame this deep sill and stage the white porcelain pears, books, and lovely female bust. I'm loving these new supple "fresh-touch" leaves that are leaning out of the palest of aqua spherical vases.
Well, there you have it! Your own personal preview. If you live in the area, come see it for yourself. If you are a follower from afar, hope you enjoyed the view!
Welcome, style. Here's to a successful run for the next month.

8 comments:

Suzanne said...

What a beautiful room, Susan. Looking forward to seeing it in-person.

Love that upholstered bed. Love the chandelier, the mirrored chests...umm...I don't think there's anything I DON'T like, so I'll hush up now. ;-)

Have a great day!
Best,
Suzanne

michelle said...

This is so beautiful!

I love the headboard, and that drapery fabric is to die for! And the chandelier! Oh my, so much to pine after.

Cathy said...

Stunning! I am looking forward to seeing the room in person when I visit the house.

Lee said...

I too love the chairs. I made an excellent susan buy yesterday, am going to blog about it today. Also I brought my mom in to the store yesterday. Sorry we missed you but I can see why, the room looks lovely.
Lee

Claire said...

I love the botanical touch above the bed!

Unknown said...

Hi Susan, I just thought I might update you and your readers on the publicity efforts since it appears there is a misperception on the efforts going on behind the scenes with Showhouse. In fact, there were more than 20 local media there on Friday for the press breakfast. Tomorrow, our Showhouse will be included in home section of The New York Times. I have interest from 4 national magazines awaiting our house "after photos" (Traditional Home, Country Living, House Beautiful and Woman's Day) and have had - or will have - features in April, May and June issues of House & Home (one article per issue April May & a June photo wrap-up in both Central Jersey and Bucks editions), Princeton Magazine (feature out today), PM Magazine (April/May cover story), US1 (cover story), The Packet (2 features in this week's issues, one of which is exclusively on the designers), Town Topics (two articles), Princeton Scoop, Trenton Times (twice), PrincetonOnline.com and more. Philadelphia Inquirer was interested but in the end decided it was out of their readership as did Bucks County Courier Times. Bucks Magazine will accept our after photos this week for review.

I will continue my efforts on behalf of the League re: national mag coverage of our Showhouse. Because magazines are on a longer lead time, and mostly work in NYC, they wouldn't come to the breakfast, but do want the photos.
Thanks,
Allison Gumbs, Publicity Chair, JLGP Showhouse XVI

linda said...

Having viewed the designer house, it was so refreshing to see something different and oh so beautiful!

Jill said...

I love everything about this room, it is gorgeous!