Traci (left) & Lisa (right)

Rendering via PVE Design

photo via Lisa Mende

See more beautiful pictures on Lisa’s Blog, click here. She even explains the process of adding nailhead & grosgrain ribbon details!

My talented friend Lisa Kahn creates serene rooms like the showhouse living room below. She designs custom products for her clients and partnered with Chelsea House to create a beautiful showroom for High Point Market.

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There was so much to see and so many friends to greet this market that I had to push back my flight! No matter how many times I attend, there is always a new showroom to be found. Good thing Traci Zeller had her fabric launch party at Younger Furniture, because I breezed by them several times without stopping in. If you love vintage inspired furniture, they are definitely worth checking out.

Traci is a mom of twin boys and knows how to rock a livable space that is also aesthetically pleasing. (Eloquent way to say: “Just because you have kids doesn’t mean your furniture needs to be cheap & ugly until the kids grow up.”) The pillow on the right was inspired by a painting her boys created from blowing colorful bubbles on canvas. Brilliant!

These were seriously the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.

Don’t you love the grosgrain ribbon detail on the pillows!?

My tablescape inspiration started with her cobalt gown. This has to be one of the most gorgeous dresses I’ve ever laid eyes on! Here’s a little moodboard I started with:

The dress has so much movement, but it also has an edgy element too. This was the inspiration behind the placemats. I wanted to juxtapose organic with a bold geometric pattern.

I love how the florist folded back a few of the rose petals. It makes it very sculptural, like a piece of art.

Me & my honey

Here are some of the other lovely tablescapes from the Ball:

Which one is your favorite?

If you have an event coming up, we would love to help! Email: info@stacynaquin.com

The other question: “What sports does he play?” None! I know because I made him try every single one. He was drawing inventions at 5…he’s a really smart cookie! Me on the other hand, I was trying to smoke boys at arm wrestling and football at his age. (Let’s just say I have a competitive gene.)

This is my husband Bryan. He owns an A/V company, that’s slang in the industry for Audio/Video/Home Automation/Home Theater. There is quite a bit of crossover in our business, and I’ll tell you more about the automated window treatments & theaters we’ve done later.

Seriously, the best float I’ve ever seen!

Life is too short. Find a costume, or create one.

I was on a mission to capture the spirit of people serious about St. Patrick’s Day. Mission Accomplished.

Click here for the funniest video I captured of street people:

(Turn your volume up!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Javo-RJprIo

If you’re not from the South, you may be interested to know of a weird occurrence that happens at parades. Do you see all these beads on the ground? For some reason, there is a thrill of the catch. If you don’t catch a bead and it lands on the ground, well, I guess it’s no good. As the years go on, the bar is set higher for bigger and better beads! A few years ago, no one would have ever left large beads on the ground, only the tiny ones.

I hope you remembered to wear green!

source

Piperfields is a great local store I recently found. They sell vintage jewelry, modern replicas and other little goodies. Even their business card is savvy!

Wallpaper made of book pages wraps the dressing room…

C’mon, I know some of you peeps are going to attempt this chandelier tonight!

The vintage case…

Okay, this is where it gets good…ohhhh…I’m lusting. Brass trinket boxes…

Double lust….vintage necklace holders! Perhaps my closet will jump to priority in the new house. Can’t you see it: White lacquer built ins, gaudy chandeliers (I was a drag queen in my former life, ya know!) and these brass babies everywhere!

more…

Can’t get enough…

And this little guy as an oversized mirror. Done. #quickestclosetdesignever

Couldn’t help myself…St. Patrick’s Day present?

The end.

Oh, call me. I can make this happen for you. (225) 308-1754

For iPhone users: Create a new contact in your phone.  Click the edit button, then add photo. Just snap a picture of the business card with your phone! All I do is put in a basic name or company name. If you have a lot of info, scroll down to Add Field, click, then scroll down to Notes and type away.  In the company section, I typically add a word or two so I can remember where or how I met them. If you get lots of business cards at an event, why bother typing in all the info…you can just edit the photo to zoom in and look at the biz card! (The downside: you can’t get both sides with your camera phone)

This little finding has been amazing for me! The best part is in the search. When you go to your contacts, just type in what you’re looking for in the blank search bar. It doesn’t matter what field you put the info in, it will still come up. For example: I went to a Design Bloggers Conference last year, and I know the Twitter hashtag is #DBC2012, so I may want to add this in one of the fields. It will find your contact with or without the hastag. (If you’re on twitter, see the #DBC2013 feed for this year!)

Also, when I type in “NY” in my contacts, Bottega Louie comes up (a lovely cafe with freshed squeezed orange juice, amazing brunch & beautiful macarons), along with my favorite NY taxi driver (good ones are hard to find ya know and my New York friends I’ve met along the way!

If you have a fabulous business card app to recommend or a great way to organize your business cards, please leave a comment below!

Now, lets talk balance & symmetry. Other than the bookcases, nothing about this room is symmetrical. I tend to gravitate toward symmetry, but sometimes you need to change things up a bit so the room doesn’t get too formal looking. Did you notice the brass table pushed to the right side of the sofa? Although it is not centered, it is balanced in the room! You don’t have to have exact items on either side of each other, whether it be a piece of furniture or accessories, and you don’t have to have the same number of items. Offsetting this table gives balance to the “blank space” inside the art grouping, and it also visually fills in the space on the right where you would maybe want to put another chair. If the table was centered in front of the sofa, the room would look “heavy” toward the left side of the room because of the pink chair and artwork.

Do you see how there is only one pillow on the left side of the sofa? This balances the table on the right. Visually it’s balanced, but asymmetrical.

Even though the art collage is the focal point, do you see how changing one thing allows your eye to travel around the room?

If I had a coffee table centered in front of the sofa, the art above would still be okay, but I would probably make the smaller top right picture a little more rectangular to fill some of the negative space. Are you ready to experiment with an asymmetrical look?

What items are you bringing in your home for a feeling of LOVE this Valentine’s!?

See more of my projects on Olioboard, or follow me on Pinterest for more inspiration.