A country home with a touch of coastal style

Well, we are finally coming to the end of this home makeover for our client and I am thrilled with how it all came out. This was a major project of all new furniture (custom and semi-custom), paint colors, accessories, window treatments, area rugs, art, etc.  The works!

I apologize for the grainy photos, but I forgot my camera and had to use my phone. 

I love the placemats and napkins my client has set on the tables!  Just the right touch!

New England Fine Living's Web site http://www.newenglandfineliving.com and this blog was created by Linda Smith Davis, The Fine Living Muse, as a Girl's Guide to Decorating in Style, Entertaining in Style, and Living in Style.

Hollywood Glam Masquerade Ball, 2013

I know I will be adding to this post, but if I did not get some of the pictures loaded, I know time would take a hold of me and you would not see these until next year.  

This is a masquerade ball I produced, for the public, with another decorator as a way to showcase our businesses, and it was a blast!  For months we were buying, creating, and scheming the design and look of the event and venue.  Below, are just some of the pictures.  

First, maybe I should tell you how we came up with our ideas.  While we chatting over a glass of wine, we thought it would be fun to have a story to follow.  I  already knew I wanted to create a "Hollywood Glam" theme.  I also thought it would be fun to involve Lillian Bond, a 1920's actress.  I have used her photo before on my blog and I think she is stunning.  So long story short.... we concocted the idea that Lillian, from the grave, wanted to host a party and hired us to plan and initiate it for her.  She was the Ghostess and we were the Hostesses.  It was also where "DUG" her proposed.  

Dug, (get it... dug?) has ring box and ring in hand while Lillian's first husband, well part of him, is by her feet.  These two were the hit of the party.  Everyone kept getting on the stage with them and had their photos taken with them

Here I am on the right with Dug and  Liz Taylor (Hollywood themed party remember :-)   )

The entry hall before all the guests arrived.  

Guests enjoying the cocktail reception and appetizers while the live band played in the ballroom

 

 The creation of my paper poms.  I have not made these since I was a child. I used to make them with my grandmother out of tissues from her tissue box, then again, I made them for a float for our town parade.  We had to make hundreds of them in red, white, and blue.  I created a "how .to" video, but that too will take forever to post now that we are so busy.

Here is the finished product.  We found glass cylinders at the start of this project and went from there to create a centerpiece.  While I made the poms, Laura strung Swarovski crystals and a spider to hang from the pom.  The final touch was adding small LED lights we found at a craft store to the centerpiece.  We tucked one under crumpled up opalescent tissue paper, and one inside of the top of the pom.

Placed in the entry hall, this dessert station  was also used for the appetizers when guests first arrived. :Laura painstakingly searched the woods for just the right branches, and set them in pots with bricks then expandable foam.  Smaller uns of hickory branches were added for depth and dimension.  During the night, our lighting company had this vignette enveloped in an eerie red glow. The "red glow" photos following does not do it justice.

We knew a candy buffet was a must, so deciding on a black, acid green, and silver theme, the hunt was on!  

Coming up with names for all of the candy was fun, we had ourselves in stitches laughing at some of the things we came up with.  And no, I cannot share them with you since some were not very lady like :-).  

 

New England Fine Living's Web site http://www.newenglandfineliving.com and this blog was created by Linda Smith Davis, The Fine Living Muse, as a Girl's Guide to Decorating in Style, Entertaining in Style, and Living in Style.

Moving from a 1920 Mansion to an eight year old home.

I am so envious of those who have time to post almost everyday, but alas, my schedule has been so full with design and party jobs (which is a great thing!), that I have not had the time to blog, but I hope to make a few posts, in a row, of what I have been up to.

Below is just one of many rooms I am working on for a family in Boxford, MA.  Coming from a mini 1920's mansion, that was full of antiques and dark colors, this family moved into an 8 year old contemporary cape and had me change all of the colors to light, airy, and cheery colors.  We also started from scratch when it came to the furniture, so I got busy drawing, designing, shopping, and finding fabrics.

Here is a pretty cool photo of the house they moved from. Not sure who took the photo since it was sent to me when I first started working with my clients. For several months we met here while we designed their new home.

Just to show you the interior of the old home.  Dark Wood, Colors, and Antiques.  

Now check out the difference of their new home!

The old lights.  Great and functional, but not for the style we were going with. 

New England Fine Living's Web site http://www.newenglandfineliving.com and this blog was created by Linda Smith Davis, The Fine Living Muse, as a Girl's Guide to Decorating in Style, Entertaining in Style, and Living in Style.

New Paint Colors For A New Home Purchase

One of the things I absolutely love to do is help clients select colors for their homes and to complement all of the items we are selecting.   Currently, I am working on a home that is having every room painted and changed.  We are custom designing most of the upholstered furniture and some of the casegoods, ordering accessories and lighting, and selecting paint colors that flow from one room to another.    The below photos were taken while the rugs were being delivered (hence the reason some are not centered  yet), but I wanted to show you the rooms at this stage. 

From this angle, you can't appreciate how the wool and viscose rug change color when you walk around the room.  The wall color, Pashmina Gray from Benjamin Moore, was selected from the wool base color in the rug. I will take a photo from the hall soon that shows how pretty the color is

This is going to be a dining space off of the kitchen. The previous owner used it for a sunroom sitting space, but I designed a 66" round table to go into the space, wicker chairs have just arrived at my warehouse from California, the large iron and glass chandelier is in, custom iron rods are being created right here in Massachusetts for the inner corners of the windows, and my workroom is sewing the window treatments.

The soft gray blue paint color from C-2 was selected to complement the stones and the existing built-in entertainment center.  This area rug has touches of the blue, but was mainly selected for the other colors that matched the fabrics we are using in the room.

This fabric is being used on two occasional chairs

This room was a bold move, going with a dark brown wall, but it already had darker colored mauve walls.  One thing I wanted to make sure was done was that the sloped part of the ceiling was also painted brown.  In the before picture, you can see the ceiling actually draws the eye to that part of the room and I wanted the room to have a nice flow to the eye.  I can't wait for you to see what we have in store for this "lodge themed" room. 

The Before Picture

When I work with clients, I keep their color palettes in my binder for future reference.  I love how soothing, yet fun all of these colors are and how well they work together from room to room.

We are still a couple months away from completion, but furniture is starting to arrive, window treatments are being sewn, and accessories are being purchased. I can't wait to share the finished rooms with you!



New England Fine Living's Web site http://www.newenglandfineliving.com and this blog was created by Linda Smith Davis, The Fine Living Muse, as a Girl's Guide to Decorating in Style, Entertaining in Style, and Living in Style.