Thursday, July 28, 2011

Design 101: The gift of textiles

 
Textiles are the quickest and easiest way to bring style, color, pattern, and texture into a room. Whatever your taste, snuggly throws, cheerful crochet, fabulous fabrics, cozy quilts, and squishy pillows, are all a gift to the home decorator.
Jane Brocket, author


Our Willow House design team used lovely textiles to bring warmth and interest into this Birmingham loft. Heritage Wall Art hung from the homeowner's rustic ladder brings color and texture to a focal point. A neutral sofa is livened by the contrast of crisp stripes and soft scrolling on the Embroidered Scroll and Stripe Pillow and the Scrollwork Oversized Throw. A zebra-skin ottoman provides a surprising, yet neutral, element to the room. It's topped by the stylish Parisian Ottoman Tray, providing a base for the Heritage Hurricane and one of our new Demibottles and adding light, warmth, and color to the room.


All of these products (and more!) can be purchased through my Willow House online store, or through a Willow House in-home design workshop. Or, if you are a discount shopper, host a design workshop of your own to receive discounted and free products! Beginning August 1, 2011, our host rewards program has been improved even more!


Note: My August 2011 hosts receive DOUBLE HOST DOLLARS! Host a $500 party and select $200 in free products! Host a $1000 party and select $500 in free products! {This applies to both in-home and virtual parties.} Contact me today to reserve your date!



© Suzanne Jackson 2011.
{I'd love for you to share this post with friends, but please share the full link. Common courtesy dictates that you do not copy the post into your own blog without proper attribution. Thanks!}

Saturday, July 23, 2011

I'm part of a fun summer linky party...

I jumped into a fun summer linky party over at Organize and Decorate Everything, sharing my impromptu Summer Squash Salad. Won't you stop by and check out the party, or even join the fun?

Organize and Decorate Everything

Refined Organic Tablesetting

Okay, so I'm going to be telling my age here, but when I first started feathering my nest, the hot decorating colors were mauve and wedgewood blue (makes me a bit nauseous to think about now). Country was all the rage, and I do mean country: I'm talking light oak, tons of dotted cotton ruffles, and geese.

Thankfully, we have so many more options when it comes to decorating these days. Lines are blurred between styles, so much so that they have morphed into rustic modern, refined organic, and more unexpected labels. It's quite freeing, actually. We can incorporate so many favorites into one room by tying in a single element using color, texture, or style.

Here's a great example of this fusion of styles.


The Ikat tablecloth is organic and fun, and the colors are trendy, yet understated. The flatware is classic; its clean lines blend with any style, and the damask stamp adds a special flair. The dinnerware echoes the tranquil look of smooth riverstones. The styling reminds me of what I call "grandma dishes," but with an organic edge. Can you see the delicate braided relief around the dinner plate edge? And what about the medallion stamp on the salad plate? Each of these little details add boutique style to everyday durability. I love the little bowl -- the tulip shape makes it so special. And the glass goblet brightens up the table.

For those of you who are interested, these are the brand new Willow House products (available beginning August 2011) featured in this post:
  • Adelaide Flatware
  • Riverstone Collection Dinnerware
  • Salud Glass Goblets
Each of these products can be purchased through my design workshops, as well as through my online store. (Contact me for details on getting these products FREE when you host a design workshop or virtual party -- August 2011 hosts can get up to 50% of their total party sales in free products!).

{I love that some of the new Willow House Jewelry by Sara Blaine gives a nod to the details of our latest tableware... it's all Simply Good Design!}



© Suzanne Jackson 2011.
{I'd love for you to share this post with friends, but please share the full link. Common courtesy dictates that you do not copy the post into your own blog without proper attribution. Thanks!}

Monday, July 4, 2011

Barista bar a la Willow House

When Willow House launched its first catalog eleven months ago, I fell in deep like. Now, I do truly like all Willow House products and, like a mother with her children, I try not to play favorites. But there are a few products that have become my go-to's because of their extreme versatility and beauty -- and the French Wire Tiered Stand tops the list. The French Wire Tiered Stand did not come in my kit, but I used my very first host rewards toward this baby, and I've used it every day since I unpacked it.

Actually, my daughter used it first. The first morning after the French Wire Tiered Stand arrived, I came into the kitchen to see each tier holding a lovely variety of breakfast foods. She had placed bagels, English muffins, fruit, instant oatmeal packets, and more on the tiers, creating a vertical breakfast buffet. And she tied a lovely bow on top. (Where was my camera that morning?)

Besides using it to serve food, it also served as a great fall decor item in my living room. Leaves, gourds, and mini pumpkins brought autumn color inside, reminding us of all the wonderful fall traditions we enjoy as a family -- visiting the pumpkin and apple farms, trips to Dahlonega, Thanksgiving with family, and more.

At Christmas, I used my beautiful crackle glass ornaments and fresh pine sprigs, then the family added notes of gratitude on red and green paper. It was a great reminder of what the season is all about to help us keep the right focus.

But now, I think we're really hit the jackpot for this piece. We were kindly given a Keurig coffee maker this past Christmas. While there are some interesting K-Cup organizers out there, none of them really appealed to me. They seemed to take up too much counter space for just one thing, I didn't like the idea of the time it takes to put a K-Cup in each little holder, and the under-the-coffee-maker drawer style won't worker with our cabinets.

As I was putting away the Christmas decorations, I realized that my French Wire Tiered Stand would be available again. After sitting pretty for several months, she was ready for word duty again. I removed the middle tier so that the height wouldn't interfere with my upper cabinets (and now I use the middle tier for a bread basket, riser, or pie plate holder). I put our everyday K-Cups in the small upper tier (Green Mountain Breakfast Blend, if you must know). My Verde Berry Bowl sits on the large bottom tier and holds an assortment of K-Cups for guests. I pulled out my old faithful Southern Sayings dip bowl (Southern Living at Home) to hold snacks, and one of my mother's vintage Pyrex refrigerator dishes holds a variety of tea bags (which are much cheaper than K-Cup tea). Mama's old teabag caddy also stands ready for service.





I love the way everything is at our fingertips, but I can easily clear the counter for cleaning. In case you're wondering where all the creamer and sugar are, we store them in a cabinet above the coffee area. To save time and money, we buy large sizes and just use them right out of the container (until company comes -- I do provide prettier hospitality for them!). My personal barista prefers it this way and, since he makes me the perfect cup of coffee each morning, I'm happy to oblige!




{I linked up with I'm An Organizing Junkie !}

© Suzanne Jackson 2011.
{I'd love for you to share this post with friends, but please share the full link. Common courtesy dictates that you do not copy the post into your own blog without proper attribution. Thanks!}

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