Dream Spaces by Loi Thai

Today we want to welcome our friend Loi Thai, from the fabulous store and blog Tone on Tone. Bethany and I had the pleasure of visiting him at his exquisite store in Bethesda, Maryland this past year, and we were blown away by how beautifully curated and tasteful his store is.  As you can see by his pictures, he has phenomenal taste and his home is pure perfection.  He is an avid gardner, along with his partner Tom, and their two pooches, Mocha and Panda.  You will never meet a nicer, more kind, sweet and generous person than Loi. He brings so much light, quality and positive energy to our blogsphere.

Many thanks for inviting me to guest post about my dream house. I'm so honored to be here!!! :)

My partner, Tom, and I have been thinking about a second home. We'd love a cottage in the mountains or up in New England (Maine), where the summers are cool and comfy. Ideally this dream cottage would be small, simple and have only one floor. There would be a central open room and a couple of bedrooms neatly tucked to the sides. That's it!

Here is a sketch I drew up:

 My dream cottage would be a simple and symmetrical rectangular box. There would be a front vestibule entry and a veranda in the rear. The center room would have super high ceilings.

 

 The dining area (right side upon entry) would have a trestle table with French Tolix metal cafe chairs. Above and below photos via Pinterest.

 I love the above trestle table from Crate and Barrel. It would look great with 4 Tolix chairs on the sides.

 To soften the dining area, I'd use a pair of skirted Lee chairs. When not in use at the ends of the table, I'd placed them on either side of this antique Swedish sideboard from my shop.

 In the living area, this Morandi painting would hang above an antique American mantel.

 This slipcovered Lee sofa would anchor the sitting area. I'd splurge on two pillows in Jaipur from Raoul Textiles for George Smith. The coffee table is from Hickory Chair.

 Behind the sofa would be this antique Swedish table (above) with a basket tucked underneath.

 On the right side of the living area would be this antique Swedish secretary.

 I'd place this antique Swedish clock on the left side of the living area.

 Simple sisal rugs would be used.

 A beautiful painting from Stanley Bielen and antique pottery jugs would complete my dream cottage!

Thanks, again, for having me, Nancy and Bethany!  ~ Loi

Thanks Loi, for being our house guest! I love your house plans and your simple and elegant taste. Don't forget to check out his blog Tone on Tone!
We'd move in with you but I don't think you have room for  2 bulldogs, a Shih Tzu and a Golden Retriever, although Panda and Mocha probably wouldn't mind!

Nancy and Bethany

Dream Space Series : Because It's Awesome!

Today we have the awesome Tobe Reed from Because It's Awesome. She is weighing in on her favorite looks for us in her dream home.  We all love Tobe's good taste, spunky personality and wonderful ideas on decorating, fashion, lifestyles, events, and all things fun and fabulous. Hop on over and check out her blog.

Hello! Tobe from Because It's Awesome here talking dream homes. No easy feat for a girl that's attracted to every decor style under the sun, but we'll give it a shot! When I take the time to really think about it, I really have a thing for quaint California Spanish-style bungalows, so that's where we're going today.

You know it's going to be crisp, comfortable and casual from the moment you walk in.

 Vogue

Cozy colorful living room.

Matchbook Magazine

Nails kitchen.

(Don't worry; we're changing out the granite soon.)

St. Louis Homes Mag

Dreamy master bedroom.

 Traditional Home

Secured the dream master bath, naturally.

via The Style Encyclopedia

Where we'd entertain:

Dining room with maja drama.

 Grant K Gibson

Cocktails (or tea . . . booooring) in the sun room.

Elle Decor

Saturday brunches and late night dinners on the patio.

Elle Decor

We'd DEFINITELY be sportin one of these.

Woodlands Lifestyles & Homes

And even though I love the neighbors dearly, you'll have to take the bridge to their place.

Architectural Digest

Thanks for having me, Nancy and Bethany! ox

And thank you Tobe for visiting with us!  We love your dreams!

-Nancy & Bethany

Looking for help with your home? We have consulting services starting at $50. Contact us today for information.

Dream Spaces by The Zhush

                                       by Sue DeChiara of the fantastic blog and shop:

Before we started this blog I had never used the word"zhush" and now we can all credit Sue with a word we see frequently as we peruse design blogs and fix up zhush our homes!
Here is her Dream Space and all her Dream Rooms, some of which she already owns!

Hi! I'm Sue from The Zhush and zhush.com. Dream home series are always a lot of fun to write, since anyone that blogs about interiors all day is always doing a bit of wishful thinking.  As to where this house would be located...it would not be too far from where we already live in Westchester County, New York.  I'd venture five minutes outside our state into Fairfield County, Connecticut. I love New England architecture. A classic shingle style house like this one designed by Brooks and Falotico would really suit me just fine!

As far as kitchens go, I'm very partial to all white ones. Pheobe Howard always gets them just right, like this here. To. die. for.

As far as living rooms go, given how new ours still is, I'm still pretty partial to it. Lauren Muse helped us achieve the right mix, I'd like to think I could take it with us wherever we go. The same holds true for our Master Bath, seen below.

As far as the Master Bedroom goes, I fell head over heels for Marlien Rentmeester's entire home, but it was this room that really stole my heart.

Finally, some added features that I'd love to have in my own home one day would be a real library with a ladder, amazing herringbone floors and a grand entry/foyer. Thanks for having me over, hope you all enjoyed my dream home day dream!

Thanks so much Sue for sharing your good taste! Your living room and master bath are so beautifully designed.  I would want to take it with me as well!

Have a great week friends,

Nancy and Bethany

We would love to help you pull together the perfect vision for your home! Contact us for information about our services.

House Guest Series : The Vintique Object

Today I'm pleased to welcome the very talented Camille from one of my favorite blogs The Vintique Object as our house guest.  I love her style and her eye for photography and she recently redid a twin girls' bedroom that is HEAVEN on wheels!  

"I'm Camille from the Vintique Object and am delighted to be here today to talk about taking pictures of your home or design work. 

When I first started my blog, I was consistently disappointed with the pictures I took of my house.  Do you know that feeling?  It looks great in person and then you take a picture and...blah.

So I started to study professional photos of interiors and that has resulted in my series Composing Photos of Interiors.  I am by no means a professional photographer, but I do want to share with you some common mistakes I see people make when they take photos of their homes or design work.   These are mistakes I made when I first started, and while I'm sure I'm still making a ton and don't even know it, I do feel that my photos have improved!

So here goes:  The Seven Mistakes as illustrated by my own photos.

Mistake #1:  Taking a photo with the flash on.  

Turn off your flash.  I know that you guys already know this, but I'm going to say it because it often leads to the next mistake.  (And if you didn't know to turn off the flash, you'll want to do it to avoid bright spots and weird shadows in your photo.)

Mistake # 2:  Turning the lights on.  

A lot of people will turn on the light in order to compensate for the flash being off.  Or just because it looks prettier that way in person.  But prettier in person does not always translate to prettier in photography, unfortunately.  Take a visit to Pinterest or flip through your latest decor mag.  I challenge you to find any picture with a light on.  They are there, but they are few and far between.  If you do find one, often the professional photographer has found a way to compensate for how the light changes colors in the room and how it adds unnecessary shadows.  Turn off those lights and take the photo during the light of day.

But what if you don't have enough natural light?  The simplest thing to do is use a free photo editing program like PicMonkey to edit your dark photo for exposure.  But if you want other ideas, email me.  I'd be happy to share them!

Mistake # 3, 4, and 5:  Taking the photo too far away, at an angle to the subject, and too high.

When you are taking a photo of vignette or detail, which I wrote a post about here, it often works better to stand at a 90 degree angle to the subject.  And it works even better to get up close and personal so that the subject fills your entire view finder.  I have a lot of negative wall space going on in this photo.  Plus it's hard to see what's going on with the vignette.

Also notice where I am when taking the photo.  I actually held my camera above my head to take this photo, which is not an attractive view point (I used to think it was and did it all the time! :)  It works better to hold the camera level with the horizontal surface, like a table top, mantel, or counter.

Mistake #6:  Camera is not level.

Not holding the camera level can make viewers feel a little dizzy, like they're in the crazy house at the carnival.  Keep that camera level.

Mistake #7:  Keeping the photo small.

This one is for bloggers or folks developing a portfolio.  The bigger the photo, the happier your viewers will be.  I can't tell you how many times I've been perusing the portfolio of a well-known designer only to find that I have to lean my face into the computer and squint to see his/her work.  I once even nosily emailed a designer to suggest that his work would be better represented if his photos were larger!  He sent me a copy of his most recent book in the mail as a thank you!


Finally, here is my final photo with all the mistakes corrected.

I'm sure a professional photographer would find a lot wrong with this photo, but it is an improvement over the others, right?

• The flash is off.
• The photo is taken with the lamp and overhead lights off and it is edited for exposure.
• I am standing at a 90 degree angle to the vignette.
• I am standing close to the vignette so that it fills up the entire frame.
• The camera is level with the surface of the chest.  (You can tell by how much of the top shows in the photo.)
• The camera is (mostly) level.
• The photo is blown up to extra large.

I have come to believe that the photos you take of your work (whether you earn money for your designs or not) are absolutely critical the success of your blog or portfolio.   If your photos fall flat, you'll be hard pressed to show people your talent.

If you are visiting Powell Brower Home, chances are you just like to look at a pretty picture.   And if the success of Pinterest is any example, that's all anyone really wants to see.

Thanks to Bethany and Nancy for inviting me to do this post.  You guys really and truly are some of the sweetest, most supportive bloggers I know!

If you want to read more about interior photography in depth, you can visit my series here.  "


AHhh- I just love her. See what I mean? So talented!  Thanks so much for popping by to visit Camille.  Check her out over at The Vintique Object!

If you are looking for help with your home, we'd love to work with you! Contact us for a listing of our services and prices.

Nancy and Bethany

"House Guest" series: Styling

Today our House Guest is one of our favorite blog friends, Pam, who always has the most brilliantly styled rooms. Here are  her tips on styling.

I'm Pam from Simple Details and couldn't be more thrilled to be here.

The only thing better than being a 'House Guest' on your blog would be being a
 house guest at either of your beautiful homes!
You're a wonderful addition to the blogosphere, and I'm inspired by both of you daily!
Thank you for asking me to share a few ideas for styling...

When I'm styling a space whether a small coffee table or larger bookcase
I think of  the same basic elements as when I'm decorating a room.

SCALE, LAYERING, REPETITION


1. Scale: Starting with the largest pieces first dictates much of the placement.
One trick I like to use is removing shelves from a bookcase to add interest and
 allow for a range of sizes for accessories.
2.  Layering:  I decide which pieces I'm going to use as a background for layering
Cabinet above - the mirror and artwork in front of it.
Coffee Table - the tray, then the vases on it.
Bookcase and Mantle below - the mirrors, artwork, and  'Z.'
3. Repetition: I repeat some of the elements to give a sense of cohesiveness.
Color, Shape, Type of Accessory
Cabinet & Coffee Table - pink, blue, black, curved vases, gold frames, books
Bookcase and Mantle -  ivory, brass, books, brass trays on easels,  
round mirror (see far right), round ivy topiary, sunburst mirror
branches, vases (all thrift store finds and painted)  

One more tip is to make sure your vignette has at least one of each of these elements.

SHINE, PATTERN, TEXTURE, NATURE/GREENERY


1. Shine:  Mirror, brass, silver, glass, high gloss
2. Pattern: Cabinet & Coffee Table -  the pattern is in the blue floral artwork, even the
stripes on the book spine, also the  tray is lined with a black and white leopard print. 
Bookcase & Mantle -  the brick itself is enough pattern so I intentionally kept
 everything else monochromatic.
3. Texture: I would say most of the time texture naturally falls into place when
you include all of the other elements, but if it looks like it needs something, think texture!
Cabinet & Coffee Table - fabric shade and trim, flowers, smooth pottery, old frayed book
 and even wood cabinet, and glass table.
Bookcase & Mantle - Brick, branches, smooth pottery, rustic planter, worn book pages,
weathered frame, stamped brass tray.
4. Nature/Greenery:  Flowers, plant, branches, twigs, seed pods, just about anything
you can bring in from your yard. A must for bringing life and texture to your space.


Hope you're inspired to take a look around your home and yard to create a new vignette.
I'd love you to stop by Simple Details and and visit sometime.   


Thanks so much for having me Nancy and Bethany!
  
Thank you so much Pam! These are great tips!  Don't forget to see our ORC reveal this Wednesday!


If you are looking for help with your home, we'd love to work with you! Contact us for a listing of our services and prices. Nancy and Bethany

House Guest : Sadie + Stella!!

Time for another installment of House Guest and this week we're entertaining Lindsay from Sadie + Stella (more like the other way around... she's providing the entertainment).  Most of you already know this adorbs blog, but if you haven't added her to your blogroll yet, do it now!  Lindsay writes about the greatest stuff and her pictures are the best eye candy ever.  Mom and I totally love the namesake too!  Please welcome Lindsay:

Hi you lovely readers you! I am Lindsay from Sadie + Stella and could not be more jazzed to be sharing my favorite go to accessory today. I know you all are scratching your heads and wondering what it could POSSIBLY be. Wait for it. It is the one. The only. Tray. As the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I am telling you. It ain't broke and I am not fixing it. No matter where I go, no matter what I do, no matter what I try to replace them with, I cannot seem to stray from a good tray. Just like Ennis couldn't quit Jack in Broke Back Mountain, I cannot quit trays. Solid comparison here, I know. I cannot and will not. It is a timeless home decor accessory that can be filled with any and everything, hence making it the best. 

Trays are the perfect addition to any area to organize and group like or unlike items.  I am a rebel, so I prefer to group the unlike items. It brings a sense of unity to an otherwise chaotic space. It defines the area and brings organization to the table. As we all know, nothing is prettier than organization. NOTHING. I have compiled the most perfect imagery that will get you pondering about the best accessory in the world. The tray. The tray is here to stay. Read my lips. So let's just see this at play. Shall we?

In the living room. Organizing various things. 

Or in your most personal spaces, organizing your most personal knickity knackys.

Did I tell you or what?!? Seriously. Solid choice if you are looking for the perfect accessory to tie that special space together. Thank you so much for having me you beauties, you. And thank you to the fabulous Mother/Daughter Dream Team of Nancy and Bethany for having me here. Please drop in to Sadie + Stella and share your fabulous selves with me! Loves!

Told ya she was great!  Go check our the blog!

-Bethany