New Face

I just finished a total flip-flop of the retail space...at least 6000 sq. ft. of the 10,000 sq. ft. footprint. Holy moly....I was missing my little 900 sq. ft. darling of a Yardley store about half way through!

After the manpower went home about 9:00p.m. it was a one woman show.

My arms are sore.
My feet are aching.
My brain is hibernating.
My legs hurt.
My eyes are tired.
My stomach is growling.

After 16 hours on my feet, I'm dead.

I might be missing my little Yardley boutique, but at midnight, I'm loving the 5 minute ride home.

I'll try to post some of my favorite vignettes in the next few days. I didn't think to capture the chaos.

Come see the magic!

Welcome all and come back soon!

Linda has departed.

Entertainment over...

Hard working friend, gone.

Sad,sad,sad, so sad.Very sad.SAD.

I'm am happy to report, however, that we had a very successful Grand Opening. Four days of entertaining our clients, old and new. Four days of replenishing inventory after busy days. Four days of making our refreshing drink (compliments of my daughter, Jessie's recipe), and four days of nightly baking.

As promised, here is the recipe for Jessie's refreshing and super easy drink! (The glass samovar helps make it glamorous, and shortly, you can purchase your own from Black-eyed Susan).

One two litre bottle of Sprite Zero

One packet (pitcher size) crystal light lemonade

One sliced cucumber (I think it's prettiest sliced on the diagonal)

Plenty of ice!

We had many great responses and good reactions to our new and larger space. More room for jewelry! More room for vintage furniture finds! More room for accents, small and large. More room for art and mirrors! More room for my design studio and all of my favorite resources!

I'll have to say that I'm looking forward to having a wee bit more calm life. The old space is completely empty, the new space completely redesigned and merchandised (that is, for this moment!). After all, more traffic means more sales and more sales means more work...you get the picture. The Princeton Designer House is progressing (so far, without any appearances from me, but I hope to resolve that issue this week), and it does, indeed, seem like life could take on a bit slower pace.

I hope you'll take time to come by the new retail space and see it for yourself. We're settling in and beginning to feel quite at home...even have visions of turning some additional space into something fun. Christmas has begun to come in the back door (yes, truly) and it feels like summer is upon us. Thanks for all the support and for the many personal visits and wishes for success.

This image give you some idea of the end of the day...grand opening completed! Change is always a constant at Black-eyed Susan. If you come often, you'll see new inspirations and changes all around. Come see the magic.

Taking Shape!

The bedroom retreat is beginning to take on personality! Today, we delivered load after load of accessories, lamps, a very stylish chandelier, books, art, all of the key ingredients for style.

Boxes of special inventory from the shelves at Black-eyed Susan! This is the fun part. The floor has been mopped and shined,the painting completed, the heavy furniture has been hauled into place...now the magic begins. The room begins to sing with personality with the next stages.

At times,the chaos is overwhelming. "Stuff" everywhere, and when your room is on the small side, it gets difficult to have a staging place.

Check out these fabulous vintage chairs, courtesy of my cute friend's father-in-law. These are the real McCoy's! Sneelock helped me take them out of Mr. Giler's home about a year ago and they have been taking up residence in my garage, just waiting to be put to good use. I think I found their purpose. Taupey grey strie velvet with orange piping! Gotta love 'em.

A note of interest, all this time I thought they were identical...only to discover today in the unveiling that one is slightly shorter than the other! Were they "his" and "her's"? My friend, Paul might know the answer from his childhood!

This is the beginning of a fabulous window treatment. Soft, open-weave linen roman shades with "eyelash" fringe! Now that's what I call style. Watch for the panels to be hung in the next post.

Here's another shot of the room "in preparation" for the finishing touches and custom bedding. Where to put "this" while I unpack "that"...the challenges of a small room can be vast. The trick is to make the room seem like you planned it that way, that things are not just crammed into it, but purposefully planned. (Thus, the painting of the closet door that will really not function! Make it seem like part of the wall).

Lampshades and harps are being exchanged to ensure the proper scale to the height of the bed.

Here is a shot of the upholstered bed with three of my Paris botanicals crowning the headboard.

Mirrored mahogany chests flank the bed. Several of the custom pillows have been placed for inspection on the bed. Love that natural linen pillow with the orange grid.

A bit of interesting trivia about the room: this room was designed for one of my very stylish clients, Lauri Osterstock. She graciously agreed to loan me the contents of the room prior to installing them at her home. Thank you, Lauri! It has been fun to collaborate with her in the design of the room. Most of the elements will transfer to her master bedroom (minus the orange accents). We have chosen a beautiful soft grey/blue, SW Sea Salt, as her accent and wall color. The result is ethereal and I'll show you the "reinvention" of the room with a different color when we install it in her home. It was fun to "co-design" the room with the help of a trusting client. And, it makes me happy to think of my design being resurrected after the show!

Watch for more additions in the days to come...along with the "before" photos of the room in all its glory.

Looking forward to more progress tomorrow and the next few days. So far, we're ahead of the crowd, nearing the finish line. *whew*