BEFORE: New House

Getting geared up for the move (or at least mentally I am)!  As for the actual packing, that's another story.  I just look at all the things that need to be packed and think 'wow, that's gonna be a pain to move!'  
This weekend, we began building the fence for the yard we have planned.  My Dad came into town, and he and the boyfriend managed to get all posts cemented into the ground on Saturday. I hung window treatments inside and did some cleaning.  Progress!    
Check out the "Before" pictures...

Living Room Before

Master Bedroom Before

 

Might not seem like much, but we have high hopes and big plans for that little yard.  Just a couple more work days and hopefully we will have that neglected yard transformed into a beautiful space perfect for grilling and outdoor entertaining.  Pretty excited about the inside of the house as well!

Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend!



LINE I LOVE: Lulu DK Child

How is everyone doing?  Apologies for the week-long lapse in posts, but it's been super hectic preparing for our move and the wedding that I have been planning.  Both are happening in the next two weeks!  I even had to forgo an invitation to the Heritage last Friday because I was just too busy.  I hate missing events like that, especially when the weather is perfect.  The boyfriend went though and I'm certain he had enough fun and drinks for the both of us.  Next year!  I spent the weekend making window treatments for the new house and we began redoing an old dresser.  Pictures of both to come once finished and installed.  I owe you all quite a bit of pictures, but once in the new house, I will share all. 
I did take about an hour this weekend to peruse my May issue of Elle Decor.  There was a feature on the fabric designer Lulu deKwiatkowski, who has a fabric line Lulu DK Fabrics if you aren't familiar.  She has teamed up with Schumacher to create the line Lulu DK Child, and it is delightful!  Some of these could be used anywhere, not just in a children's setting.  All in all, it is wonderful collection of fabrics, and I would love an offer to do a children's room so I could use some of these. 

All pictures courtesy of F. Schumacher & Co.

What do you think?  Wouldn't you agree that some of these fabrics could work outside of a children's room? I like that she designed it that way.

New Orleans: Part Deux

Continuing my recap of New Orleans...

On Saturday I took the trolley down St. Charles, hopping off at First Street so I could walk through the Garden District to see the beautiful homes. Making my way to Magazine Street for some good interiors "research", I stumbled upon Perch.  It is a beautiful little shop set up in an old home with whimsical touches in every room.  If you are looking for a unique and fabulous chandelier, this is the place.  They also have a wonderful collection of accessories. Everywhere I turned, there was some item I was trying to figure out if I bought it, how I could fit it into my carry-on bag. 

Children's Ghost Chair, which was on my Top 10 list for 2011.

Loved these note cards and writing pads!  Alexa Pulitzer, out of New Orleans, designs them.  She features different animals accessorized with something unexpected.  Check out the gator with the crown!  She also does cocktail napkins and cups with her designs on them (pictured above).  I'm told her designs are also available at Bergdorf Goodman.

Lucky for you, Perch has a website where most of their items can be found.  http://www.perch-home.com/

My next stop was Villa Vici, a store more focused on upholstered items in relaxing neutral tones.  Actually, because I had to meet up with the other girls, these were the only two stops I had time for, but it was perfect because they were two very different places, but both amazing!

Featured the coffee table below in my Get The Look post last week!

I can honestly say that in all my years of design, I have never seen a sofa like this!

New Orleans: Part 1

I'm back from my weekend in New Orleans, which went way too quickly.  I covered a lot of ground over a short period of time, so I'm going to split up the coverage in two posts. 

It all began Friday when seven girls landed in The Big Easy from pretty much every part of the country for a dear friend's bachelorette weekend.  We all met at The Ritz Carlton in the French Quarter, which is where we called home for the weekend.  It was fabulous!  Such a beautiful hotel with great views of the city and just two short blocks from Bourbon Street.  Pictured below is one of our beautiful rooms.  Don't you just love the huge windows?

The combination of the fabric panel, painted headboard and neatly pressed linens is so luxurious.

Beautiful fountain at the entrance to The Spa

Friday night's dinner was at Herbsaint.  A friend of the bride, who lives in New Orleans, planned all of our dinners.  Her husband was a chef at Herbsaint, so she ordered for the table all of the best dishes for us to try. 

Excellent!

Note: I was not drinking 3 glasses of red wine at once on purpose.  I ordered the wine flight to try three delicious reds. 

Saturday night's dinner was truly special.  The same friend arranged for a private dinner in the Proteus Room at Antoine's.  While being escorted to our private dining room, we passed the Rex Room (pictured below).  We were all enamored with the opulent green of the room.  Lots of special dinners in there!

Pictures of past Mardi Gras Kings and Queens in the hall

Side Note: The friend who organized this special dinner for us was one of the Queens a couple Mardi Gras' ago. 

Below, some of the old Mardi Gras jewels and tiaras on display in our dining room.  Excuse the blurry camera phone picture. 

All the ladies in the Proteus Room!  Such a special evening!

Check back tomorrow for Part Deux!