Chic Coles

{The Saint Hotel} in New Orleans

2012-02-11T06:00:00.001-06:00

Recently renovated and opened in early 2012,

The Saint Hotel in downtown New Orleans has

incredible architectural history and beautiful

new interiors. From the navy and geometric bedroom

to the turquoise game room, the combination of old world

luxury and modern design aesthetic makes The Saint a unique

gem in the heart of The Big Easy.

HB Graphics - Energetic & Playful

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

We absolutely adore House Beautiful! And the March 2012 issue is no different.

They knocked it out of the park this month. The greens are absolutely gorgeous.

But what really grabs our attention in this issue are the graphics!

Each new section is started with fun type faces and unbelievably

energetic, playful spreads.

Our scans really don't do it justice.

You've got to pick up a copy for yourselves!

Happy weekend ya'll!

Hope you're doing something fun!

Soft and Feminine

2012-02-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

With Valentines just around the corner, we wanted to feature

beautiful soft and feminine interiors. These interiors have soft

pastels with muted tones. Layers of material make for soft edges.

Chiffon, velvet, gilding, mirrors, cashmere, crystal, fringe, flowers, curves,

pastels, silk, perfume...these are all words that describe feminine to us.

*Images compliments of: Canadian House and Home

Valentine's Day Wish List

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and whether you are a

single lady or have a special plus one, this is a great guide, broken down

into neutrals and brights, for a valentine's Day wishlist!

one. Urban Outfitters Zig Zag Printed Rug 3 x 5 - $39

two. Max & Chloe Dara Ettinger Druzy Earrings - $95

three. Sam Edelman Gigi Leopard Sandals - $65

four. Max & Cleo West Avenue Monogram Necklace - $175

five. Topshop Geo Leopard Scarf - $32

one. Essie Watermelon Nail Polish - $7.90

two. Z Gallerie Geo Pillow 22" Aquamarine - $59.95

three. Rebecca Minkoff Cheetah iphone case - $38

four. Cole Haan Jitney Chevron Case in Yellow - $54.99

five. Clare Vivier Foldover Clutch in Blue - $150

Guest Post {Sara of Blue Blinds Media}

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today we're excited to have Sara of Blue Blinds Media, one of our sponsors,
talking about some great new tools for bloggers and readers!

I'm thrilled to be guest blogging on Chic Coles today, despite the fact that I have no design background or experience! Like you, I'm sure, Chic Coles is the blog I turn to get my daily dose of creative inspiration through beautiful photographs and dynamic colors. As a professional blogger and social media manager, the tools that I use to organize my ideas and thoughts are the same ones that designers and visual artists of all types can use to organize their work spaces, projects, or even manage their blogs.

My go-to resource these days for my own site, as well as while working on projects for my clients, are Dropbox, Visual Thesaurus, and Pinterest.

Dropbox is a great way to share and manage all types of files and media; from

photographs and videos, to email and word documents, just drag and drop the

material into file folders that you create. Then when you are feeling not-so creative

you have a stored stash of great material just a click away. You can also share your folders

with friends, as well as accessing them on your mobile device, so your great ideas are always with you.

Visual Thesaurus is a link I discovered a few months ago. The Visual Thesaurus Thinkmap is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps that blossom with meaning and branch to related words. Visual Thesaurus works like your brain, linking words and meanings so you can have a richer word experience and write more dynamically.

Pinterest, accodring to their web site, is a Virtual Pinboard. It lets you organize and

share all the beautiful and inspirational things you find on the web, and then follow the

Pinboards of other members. Pinterest is a great way to organize design projects,

create a virtual wardrobe (before you buy the real one!) or even plan a vacation.

Whether you are a designer or artist or wordsmith, or just like being creative, I think

you will find all of these sites and programs to be great resources.

Annsley Interiors

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

What do you do when you are named Domino's 2007 designer to watch and then

Traditional Home's 2009 young designer? You design spectacular interiors

with that wow factor...You use fresh new fabrics in your interiors that

everyone wants to see...You match fantastic colors together in

the accessories that add a spark to your interiors.

This is really a great style of design; young, fresh, crisp and fun.

This is the work of Annsley McAleer, Boston based

Interior Design Firm Annsley Interiors.

A little blog talk...Following and Subscribing

2012-02-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

We had such a great response to last week's

blog talk about comments. This week, I am

touching on the difference between following

and subscribing, as different ways to follow us!

Google Friend Connect is when you follow

a blog and the new posts are displayed on your

blog dashboard or your google reader. This option

will only be available to blogs that use the blogger

platform and therefore will not be a reliable source

for those of you who read and want to follow other blogs

under different platforms (wordpress etc.)

Subscribing to a blog allows you to receive emails

of the posts to your inbox. You can find all of these options

on the sidebar of our blog!

Google Friend Connect

VS.

Daily Emails of the post to your Inbox

Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest * Contact Us

You can also follow us on twitter, facebook, pinterest.
I am always looking for at least one way to follow a blog,
since I read so many and love exploring the internet, that I like
having the option of coming back to a blog I love!

Anthro Wishlist

2012-02-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

There are a few items that have caught

our eyes over at Anthropologie.

All the colors are bright and

all the patterns are bold.

Just the way it ought to be!!

Anything over there catching your fancy?

Neon Splash Scarf

Stacked Chimes Earrings

Split Stripes Scarf

Print-Share Bikini

Woven Placita Sandals

"Gilded Business Cards"

2012-02-02T14:00:00.000-06:00

I am absolutely smitten with the business cards

{Camille Styles} created with the gold edges. Seeing

as I am in need of some business cards for Chic Coles,

this is great inspiration for our own cards!

Here is a preview of the steps, click {here} to view

more images, materials and instructions!

Blogfest 2012

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

We are off to Blogfest 2012, this coming May, with three days of presentations and lectures by the industry's top shelter magazine. We will finally get to meet fellow bloggers and exciting new ones too! We are so thrilled to learn and experience everything.

The kick off party will be hosted by Margaret Russell, editor in chief of Architectural Digest

The Savant experience center designed by Tom Filicia will host Monday night party

Ann Marie, Editor in Chief of Traditional Home will be hosting Tue lectures at the kravet show room at the D&D Building

There will be a tour of the Elle Decor Modern Life Concept house at the Dilion.

Are any of you going to Blogfest 2012? If so,

we can't wait to meet you!

I Love Me Some Pink!

2012-02-01T13:00:00.000-06:00

How cute is this silk pink top from Tibi?

It is definitely on my list for a fabulous

summer outfit, paired with a great pair

of white jeans!

...and just in time for V-Day!

Tom's Ballet Flats

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

I might be a little late to jump on the Tom's Shoes bandwagon, but the other
day in Whole Foods, I slipped my foot into one of the classics, and fell in love.
Well, right as I was about to buy them, I got an email from Tom's Shoes
announcing the arrival of their new style of Tom's Shoes...the ballet flat.

how cute are these?!?

The best thing about Tom's shoes is that with every pair you purchase,

Tom's will give one pair of shoes to a child in need.

Creating an Art Series

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-06:00

We absolutely adore a fantastic art wall.

Especially a series.

Copy cat is the name of the game here.

We challenged ourselves to replicate

our inspiration art series and think we came up

with some great, less expensive options!

Interior Designer Jamie Drake created this

series with artist Gene Davis.

We created ours with prints by

Jonathan Lewis from 20x200.

Susan Becher, featured in Lonny

created this gorgeous monochromatic series.

We used Agnes Martin prints

from Artriver.com.

Designer David Mitchell created this series

using cut paper, framed in identical frames.

We are thinking we might have to try this one out!

And this great series featured on

Martha Stewart's website is adorable!

The planes are pages taken from a book.

We used these great whimsical

prints from Paul Octavious.

Charmed in Atlanta

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

This is the work of a charming designer in Atlanta, Christi Holcombe, founder of Charm Home. Her work is classic but has a modern twist. Her interiors display the use of one solid color, coupled with the combination of white and black. Christi incorporates a beautiful degree of natural finishes and elements. We love the use of greek keys, quatrefoils, and geometric patterns. The use of emerald green, orange and turquoise blue in her projects are so pretty and really make her rooms stand out. It is hard to pick a favorite!

*Images Compliments of: Charm Home Design

A little blog talk...Comments

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

Here at Chic Coles, we go wild over comments. We read every single one, text each other about who said what and just obsess over the love we get for the hard work we put into our posts.

But did you know...it ain't easy commenting when you don't have a google blog!?

I went to post a comment on a blog the other day, not as Chic Coles, but as Melissa Cole and since I don't have a blog associated with my personal gmail account, it wouldn't let me comment just as a gmail account holder. It kept prompting me to start a blog...love you, Chic Coles, but one blog is enough for me!

So I realized for those of you out there without a blog with something to say, you can in fact leave a comment on our blog that isn't an anonymous comment!

You can put your name and your website (that isn't a google blog) into the

boxes provided and click publish your comment...voilé your comment is published!

Hope this is helpful and thanks again to all the wonderful readers out there

who comment on Chic Coles!

Let's Go Road Trippin' with Perennials

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

There is nothing we love more than bright, fun, graphic fabrics!

The new line from Perennials is amazing.

We love this outdoor fabric company and their

adorable Road Trippin' campaign is right up

our alley. Super cute!

We picked a few of our favorites. The orange melons

mixed with the berry tones, with

a bit of navy and grey, are so spot on!

Have a happy weekend!!

CA Home + Design

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

Clean, crisp and bright. Those are the words that come to mind when

looking at this ranch redo by Martha Angus Design in

CA Home + Design Magazine. This is a great before and after story and

the pictures sure do show that.

From the first shot of the sparkling dining room, you know

this is going to be a good one that takes

your breath away at every turn of the page.

Can you believe this was once a dark wood floored,

dark paneled low ceiling ranch; just waiting for a little redo.

Martha Angus and her associate Mead Webster gave this

house the once over with new finishes, fixtures and furnishings.

It has an adult feel with a playful edge that is totally kid friendly.

The perfect house for a growing family of five.

There are so many fun design elements throughout the house

that you just do not want to miss. Its all in the details.

Be sure to pick up your copy on news stands!

Art in a New Orleans Home

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

It doesn't get much better than this! This New Orleans
home boasts an amazing Elise Allen painting,
gold console table, flanking sconces and pink tulips!

Oliphant Jewelry

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

Although a bit late to the game, I just discovered

this fabulous jewelry design company!

Oliphant Design, created by the super

cute designer, Cara Hotchkiss, is filled with

gorgeous pieces. All in bright bold colors.

They all have me yearning for warmer weather!

Lantern Lighting

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

We have been working on this fun sunny porch. It is set as a dining room with a door leading out to an outdoor porch. We have saved these lovely old windows that crank out in the summer. We also had storm windows built that can be switched out for screens. We ended up really liking this sweet little lantern and it works wonderfully with the black painted chairs. These are some choices that we would have also loved to have worked with. All would have added a great bit of wismy and color style to this sun porch. Who knows, maybe we can switch it out in a couple of years!

*Images compliments of: Curry & Co., Coleen & Company, Shades of Light, Pinterest

Gold Dipped Glassware

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

Cassandra posted on gold frames yesterday, so to keep in the gold theme, I wanted

to share a DIY I found on Honestly WTF blog, showing gold dipped glassware.

I have been wanting these

gold glasses from Z Gallerie...

they are since sold out, so I thought

I would try the tutorial and make my own.

DIY Gold Dipped Glasswear:

View the tutorial with more images at HonestlyWTF

and have a great weekend!

Gold Frames

2012-01-20T07:30:00.000-06:00

A few days ago I posted about my new bedroom

goal, which included gold frames.

I ordered two of the above "gold" frames

and unfortunately they were really not gold at all!

So I'm on the hunt for actual gold frames.

Now I'm on the hunt for a relatively inexpensive idea.

Pure Style Home

Ultimate Restoration {The Dumfries House}

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

The Dumfries House in Scotland has been lovingly restored back from the brink of being totally dismantled of all of it's precious pieces and sold to the highest bidder. Well, Prince Charles stepped in and saved this historical monument. Dumfries House is an example of Palladian architecture by Robert Adams and his brothers, John and James. There is a collection of magnificent British Rococo furniture including 50 examples of Thomas Chippendale. What a learning experience one would have visiting the Dumfries house! It is now open to the public during its restoration. Architectural Digest has a wonderful article accompanied by photographs of this amazing piece of history.