Decorating With Pairs - Do The Autumn Shuffle

I flipped out this morning!

A change of season, means at least the furniture gets rearranged, though at this point I have exhausted all the options in my teeny living room! So I just sort of flip flop the sofa and the settee, along with a couple of tables. I also move the art around a bit, and edit the accessories.

Before the flip!

The top photo is now, the bottom photo before the Autumn shuffle

However this is the latest (and I think last) upgrade to the living room. The Big Girl Drapes were just added in here. I did the bedrooms and my office HERE all in silk, all lined beautifully with thermo-suede, so it was only a matter a time before I would add the living room to this luscious collection.

The new drapes! Marilyn and I love them!

The color is in the same family as the old drapes, a distressed Fortuny style poison green velvet that I had for nearly ten years.

Last year

Sans drapes - the Summer look I just changed

The new drape color is a chartreuse, shot with threads of purple. It has in iridescent quality, sort of like a man's silk sharkskin suit.



The color changes with the light. It is absolutely wonderful!


This shade of green has been a signature color of mine for years. I never get tired of it.
The drape s are a perfect addition for the Fall season. The green reminds me of a color of leaf that I see in Autumn.


It's not just about bright reds and yellows and oranges. There's a bright green leaf that appears too.



But speaking of red, I also added another pair of something in my office!


I had one of the turquoise lamps for my desk , and I got another one (from perch.). I like the pair of lamps on the desk. I'm a bit of pair queen. The symmetry of pairs calms my lively decor! At least that's the story I'm sticking to!. The shades are custom from perch. They're silk and just so luxe. I love the floral pattern.



I also added a white cow hide rug. I have had the brown and white hide rug for over a year now, and I find it the easiest thing to care for. Dirt and dog hair simply do not appear, and it is so easy when I rarely have to vacuum it. So I acquired the white hide from Argentina for my office. I think it adds a bit of warmth for the Fall, and coming Winter months.


A young woman came into the shop and picked up a pair of plates, and then put one back saying she was told she has too many pairs of things, and she's trying to reform. I laughed and asked if the decor police had been snooping around her house. I told her that each of us is attracted to the same things over and over for a reason, the reason being that those choices can be depended upon to make us feel in sync, to make us feel good. She bought one plate, but came back the next for the second one.

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What The Heck

A video HERE made the rounds around Christmas. It showed a little boy unwrapping his Christmas gifts, which turned out to be a gift of books. The little kid had a meltdown screaming, "What the heck is that?" Apparently the tyke did not think books were a good Christmas gift.

Ever since I can remember I have asked for books as a gift on my birthday, or for Christmas, or Valentines Day, or a hostess gift, or just because I love books. I was an early and avid reader, escaping into my own world with a book in my hands from the daily commotion of living with a large family (I am the eldest of seven).

Reading also gave me an edge at school, and it opened my mind to the world.

Not much has changed in 56 years or so of reading. Books thrill me, keep me company, inform me, inspire me, entertain me, and are well, just me.

I have gotten some great books over the past year, and I share some of my faves in hopes that you will get to read them too.

Trica Guild "Colors, Patterns, and Space"

I cannot have too many oversize books on art, photography, and design. It seems like there are more than ever to choose from.

Caroline gave me the new Tricia Guild book, "Colors, Patterns, and Space", a book right up my color filled alley. It is chock filled with one extraordinary color combination after another, and the design style is uber high end shabby chic. I had a brief fever over the wallpaper shown in this book, quite ready to ask Jan in the UK to send me a few rolls.

The chaise in the guest room is a great place to read "The Fixer Upper"
Where do you like to read?

Many bloggers are fortunate enough to be sent books to read and review, sent by publicists who are savvy enough to recognize the ability of bloggers to get the word out about their author. One such book I got this past year is by Mary Kay Andrews called " The Fixer Upper".

It looked like chick-lit for decor lovers, with a dash of romance novel thrown in. I didn't have high hopes, but I did promise to read it. Well, I loved it! "The Fixer Upper" is a quick and entertaining read, and the interior design project the heroine tackles rings true. I think many of you will love it too.

Jack gave me "New York Private Parties Private Views", a perfect choice since I spent 15 years running my event design business in New York. There is a certain decorating and entertaining style in New York among the moneyed class that is intriguing and inspiring.

"New York Private Parties Private Views"

My sister-in-law Dina Kucera wrote the book, "Everything I Never Wanted To Be", that is getting quite a bit of critical praise. I'm hoping a movie deal is on the way. This is a book on a serious subject, told with humor and candor. The incidents in this book can happen to anyone's family, and reading this story can ease the stigma and shame. I am incredibly proud of Dina.

My morning read: "Everything I Never Wanted To Be"
When do you catch a read?

Alberto gave me "Designs on Film". I worked at The Museum of Modern Art (New York) in the Film Department for a few years of my youth. I went to film school, and most important I love movies, especially classic old ones.

When I first started this blog I wanted to do several posts on how the set decor in films has influenced decor in real life. It was very hard to find film stills (photographs) of sets, and I was not into pulling images off DVDs and videos. A couple of other bloggers venture into this territory, and do a terrific job of it, Linda from Surroundings, and Julia from Hooked on Houses.

"Designs on Film" is an exciting volume because art direction and set design as a serious subject matter has somehow been overlooked by film scholars. It is has many many wonderful photographs, and the author's connection to The Art Director's Guild is important. The text is fascinating, and back stories are as interesting as you knew they would be.

The subject matter is so vast and subjective, so of course there are things I would have liked to see more of, like the genre of of films that used Mid Century modern set design. I would love to see side by side examples and case histories of interior design work reflecting what is seen in movies and vice versa.

Nancy Meyers could produce a whole furniture line based on the set decor in her films and have a top seller. I think her sets have been reproduced in real life more than any other in film history.

Author Caty Whitlock does a fantastic job of expanding on her columns for Traditional Home magazine, which led to the publication of this wonderful and impressive book.

"Designs On Film"

Also in the stack of books I go through regularly are some favorites: One recent arrival is Vicki Archer's outstanding "French Essence" (for a really comprehensive look go to Joni at Cote de Texas). Vicki is a blog friend so her book is loved by me even more.

Also in the stack is Carla Coulson's latest book "Paris Tango". She is another blog friend, and this fabulous book is treasured. You can see more HERE

"Stealing Magnolias" by Debra Shriver had a juggernaut of a PR blitz by bloggers. More free copies of this book were generously sent out than any other book I can think of, and it paid off because the blog buzz on it was impressive. "Stealing Magnolias" is the best book of this type ever written about New Orleans and I was very proud to be part of the blog blitz HERE

"Details" by Lili Dialo is a book I want to love. Lili is a fellow stylist and her most famous work was featured in Domino. No one appreciates attention to detail more than I do (or you do). Styling is something I do everyday, personally and professionally. Anyone who gets a book deal is to be applauded. Lili has talent and chops, and a great career. All of this being said, I have to be honest in saying this book did not wow me. Lili writes like a college girl wearing her education on her sleeve, and somehow this is not charming, and oddly uninformative. The book is kind of like the fantasy volume every blogger would like to publish of the work on their blog. If you loved Domino, you will love this stylish book.

Visual Vamp stacks the books

So what the heck!!!! Books! Tell us what you're reading, and where you read, and when you make time for it. You know we want to know...

Visual Vamp: Saarinen side table stacked with books

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