TEST POST
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Beautiful Photography by Emily Followill
We previously featured our friend Emily Followill's photography in this post. She recently photographed this cover home for Traditional Home magazine. Interior Design by Amy Bergman. Take a look...
Great job Emily!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Five Designer Tips
I sat down with Suzanne this past week and asked her to share some of her favorite design secrets. I wanted to know what are some of the most common mistakes she sees, and more importantly, how can we fix them. Here are a few tips:1. Bring color in with accessories or things can easily change. It's great to follow the trends, and a lot of people love to use color and pattern to do just that. But you have to ask yourself if the color will be relevant next season or if it will quickly date the room. It's much easier to switch out drapes, a painting, or some throw pillows than risk purchasing a sofa in a color that may go out of style in a few seasons.
2. Keep expensive pieces neutral. At The Lucketts Store, we tend to keep our furniture and big items neutral. Most pieces are in shades of white, black, grey, or natural wood tones. This creates a nice backdrop for accessories which can be toned up and down according to the season and switched out according to trends.
3. Don't do dinky! If you have a small room, it is okay (repeat after me ---- it is okay) to have a big piece of furniture. There is nothing worse than walking into a room with ten pieces of furniture that are on the wrong scale and serve no real purpose. Suzanne mentioned a client's office that had a little desk that could barely fit a laptop, next to an itty bitty bookcase which held only a fraction of owner's books, next to a tiny side table. None of the pieces were functional, but the homeowner felt because she had a small space, everything should be on a small scale. Remember that large pieces provide a lot of storage and make a statement.
4. Remember to maintain balance. A lot of clients have huge flat screen televisions hung on the wall surrounded by furniture. While grouping furniture around the t.v. seems natural and functional, Suzanne said it often looks like everyone is staring at a black hole. Suzanne likes to balance the "black hole" with another large piece or dark item on the other side of the room. This way, one side of the room isn't heavy and concentrated while the other side of the room seems like it's floating away.
5. Yes, anything CAN go together. Suzanne mentioned the importance of buying pieces you love and colors that you're attracted to. Everything doesn't need to be matchy-matchy. You also don't need to limit yourself to a strict number of colors in a room. The trick is to find a piece of art (the larger, the better) or fabric you love that ties everything together and has all of the colors you are using in the room. You can easily pull together a room full of seemingly mismatched accessories and make it look like everything was meant to go together in the first place.
Throughout the store and in the April Design House, you'll see these principles put into practice. We're using a lot of blue accessories to provide fresh pop for spring, and as a bonus, these colors will nicely carry through the summer too. We hope to see you this weekend!
Monday, March 28, 2011
House of the Week
The Hunting Lodge
above, The Hunting Lodge when John Fowler lived there.
I have always adored this house in England. It is so romantic and charming...just perfect in its setting in the English countryside 38 miles outside of London. And boy does it have history. It is now home to celebrated British decorator Nicky Haslam. He has lived there since 1978. John Fowler of Colefax and Fowler fame lived there prior to Nicky. The house dates from the 16th century and was built for King Henry VII as a resting place while hunting. It is said to the place where King Henry's son Arthur, big brother of future King Kenry VIII, met his fiance met Catherine of Aragon, who later married Henry after Arthur died. Enjoy and be sure to click on the link at the end to see more pictures from the WSJ article about the house.
photo by Simon Upton
photo by Simon Upton
Click here to read more about the house and see photos.
above, The Hunting Lodge when John Fowler lived there.
I have always adored this house in England. It is so romantic and charming...just perfect in its setting in the English countryside 38 miles outside of London. And boy does it have history. It is now home to celebrated British decorator Nicky Haslam. He has lived there since 1978. John Fowler of Colefax and Fowler fame lived there prior to Nicky. The house dates from the 16th century and was built for King Henry VII as a resting place while hunting. It is said to the place where King Henry's son Arthur, big brother of future King Kenry VIII, met his fiance met Catherine of Aragon, who later married Henry after Arthur died. Enjoy and be sure to click on the link at the end to see more pictures from the WSJ article about the house.
photo by Simon Upton
photo by Simon Upton
Click here to read more about the house and see photos.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Shark Tank is Almost Here!!
Check out the preview for next week's episode where I pitch the Sharks!
April 1 on ABC -- 8pm/7pm central
April 1 on ABC -- 8pm/7pm central
Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon
This is one of Jane Douglas' favorite fabrics. We really have to find a place to use it. I wonder which one of our clients' houses it will show up in? Ways to use the fabric are endless...
image via absolutely beautiful things
The Chiang Mai Temple in Thailand
It even comes as stationary from Dempsey and Carroll.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Stepping Through The Door....
Happy weekend everyone!
Who knows what doors may open for you this weekend.
Who knows where they might take you if you stepped through.
If your door was leading to unknown, unexpected, and unusual (maybe even scary) places.... would you go?
Linda. xox
******
Who knows what doors may open for you this weekend.
Who knows where they might take you if you stepped through.
If your door was leading to unknown, unexpected, and unusual (maybe even scary) places.... would you go?
Linda. xox
******
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Bathroom Furniture
Go ahead, put your feet up...
photography by scott dyke
image via decorpad
image via apartment therapy
decorpad
image via living better together blog
photography by scott dyke
image via decorpad
image via apartment therapy
decorpad
image via living better together blog
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Think Spring!
I know we like to keep the Design House a suprise and wow you each month. I heard a rumor that the words used to describe this month's Design House are: uncomplicated, elegant, and spring. We will try to sneak back into the Design House tomorrow and get you some pictures of all the goodies available at this month's event. Be on the lookout for updates tomorrow on the Design House.
If you haven't been to the Design House before, you're in for a treat. The Design House is a monthly designer showcase where an entire home is redecorated every month with current trends and fresh ideas. All of the unique furnishings are available for purchase and you can take them with you the same day. Photos of prior Design House events can be viewed here. Check back for new photos posted monthly, and be sure to visit us for the April Design House, located on the same property as The Lucketts Store. The Lucketts Store and the Design House are located at 42350 Lucketts Road in Leesburg, VA. We are at the only stoplight in Lucketts. Our main building is the large green building on the corner; the Design House is at the end of the parking lot, right past the iron yard and the barn.
We look forward to seeing you, April 1st, 2nd, & 3rd, and please think SPRING!
Monday, March 21, 2011
House of the Week
So here I was on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, stuck in traffic driving home from a lacrosse game on West Paces Ferry Rd. I was surrounded by Neel Reid and Philip Shutze mansions, not a bad place to be stuck. Turned down a side street to avoid the traffic and landed on a quiet street with some cul de sac offshoots. I drove around a curve and noticed this charming house, which had never jumped out at me before. Nicely situated on the lot, good details, good landscaping and a pretty slate roof. The owners have let us know that the house was built in the 1930's, and Philip Shutze was the architect. And it's white clapboard so you know what that means....house of the week!
Isn't it interesting that there are no gutters on this house? Makes for a beautiful line. I wonder if there are any issues with water management?
Friday, March 18, 2011
Recycled Kitchen Cupboards to Paint Canvas's
I think it's kind of awesome because when me and Chris were dating we actually designed our bedroom furniture. We drew it out, made the measurements, decided on the style, etc. and then when we bought our house my dad made and gave the finished pieces to us. I love having something that's our personal taste AND handmade by my dad. I have an old oil painting that my grandmother hanging on the adjacent wall and although I don't know if I'll ever be at her skill level, I love having my own across the wall.
To make it less cupboard-like, I textured the flat surface with joint compound and used paints I already had from around the house mixing and creating colors with the same color palette, yet not exactly matching the walls. In all this project cost me $0.00 Does that feel good or what?
Happiness Is Not....
I found this picture on a lovely Tumblr called 'Peace - That Was The Other Name For Home'.
What a beautiful name, and such a lovely phrase and sentiment (the name of the Tumblr, that is).
The quote in the picture is interesting too..... I'm not sure I've been able to make happiness a way of life... it eludes me sometimes (maybe more than sometimes). But I think we need to know sadness, grief, and all the wide range of emotions to really know and feel what happiness is when we do experience it.
I do think I'm far better now than ever before at finding happiness in small things, simple occurrences, and single moments.
I don't need to feel blissed out, bounding with wild joy, or jumping with excitement (as much as those feelings are magnificent when they do happen), to feel steady happiness and contentment.
Reading a favourite book whilst curled up in my favourite chair and sipping a cup of tea is enough to make me feel happy and carefree.
Maybe in its own way that does mean I've made happiness sort of a way of life..... because I accept that it doesn't have to be HUGE, and I accept that not everything is going to be great, but I also know in the end.... it will all be OK.
Rather than chasing happiness and getting anxious if I'm not feeling it, I let it flow around me as it wishes, with the knowledge that if I stay as positive as I can no matter what life throws at me, do my best, and I let myself feel whatever I need to whenever I need to... it's always waiting there for me.
Hmmmmmm, rambling away late on a Friday night. I think it's time for bed. (Actually, it's nearly 1 am on Sat morning - definitely time for sleep!)
Happy weekend everyone!
Linda. xox
******
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
above image via Veranda
In honor of the day, green rooms by one of our favorite designers - the master of color, Miles Redd.
image via Elle Decor
image via Veranda
