Mood Board Monday MckLinky Party #2 - Choose Your Chair

Welcome to the 2nd Mood Board Monday! And thanks to PK at Room Remix for asking me to host this time...


... she also asked me to choose the inspiration items. My picks: Anthropologie's Antwerp and Bertram chairs. Here's my own mood board, then we'll take a look at the others...

My first inclination was to choose the curvy, flowery Antwerp chair. So I chose Bertram instead. Just to step out of my comfort zone a bit. Then, as I do before I start working on a mock mood board, I imagined my clients and their story.

MY CLIENTS: A young, professional couple who live in a city apartment they bought right after they married three years ago. They each put in a long work week, spending most evenings eating a late meal out or scrounging something quick in the kitchen. They do like to dine with other couples on weekends and would like to do more of that, plus some business entertaining, at their own home more often. With no children yet, their apartment reflects their young, upwardly mobile, traditional-with-a-contemporary-twist aesthetic.

THE SPACE: The dining room. Largely ignored because of their busy lifestyle and work schedules, it's finally getting some attention. My clients would like to serve cocktails, seat 6-8 people for dinner and will primarily use the room at night. Budget-minded purchases will be at the core of the design, but driving it will be the pair of Bertram chairs they've decided to splurge on.

THE MOOD BOARD:

young professionals' dinner party by Comfort&Luxury on Polyvore.com

THE DETAILS:
Bertram Chairs from Anthropologie.
Covington Side Chairs from Bassett. Seats will be reupholstered in Shalimar Sateen Hyacinth fabric in purple (the swatch nearest the side chair) from Calico Corners.
Laurent Table from Crate & Barrel.
Steamer Bar Cabinet from Crate & Barrel.
Sullivan Charcoal Rug, 10'x14', from Crate & Barrel.
Polished Chrome Chandelier by Quoizel from Lamps Plus.
Polished Nickel Sconces by Sheffield from Lamps Plus will be placed in pairs; one pair on either side of the mirror over the bar cabinet and the other pair on the opposite wall on either side of the art that will hang there. (see it below)
Le Soleil Wall Mirror from Home Decorators Collection hangs over the bar cabinet.
Titan Pewter Silk in Gray/Silver from Calico Corners (the swatch you see next to the mirror)is used for custom curtain panels.
Purple Damask Wallpaper from Graham & Brown is used on all four walls.
Ruby Crystal Wine Glasses, a wedding gift, are paired with simple Glass Water Goblets from Crate & Barrel.

Rounding out the table setting is the couple's Royal Doulton wedding china, which not only brings a bit of sparkle with its platinum banding but another bit of subtle color: salad plates have pale blue rims.


Here's a better look at the bar cabinet, opened to show off its sleek, practical design and copious capacity.

And because the tiny pic on the mood board doesn't so it justice, here's a close-up of the chandelier.

Hanging on the wall opposite the bar cabinet will be a large, framed poster the couple already owned. A souvenir from their honeymoon in New York, this image of acrobats defying death at the edge of a rooftop overlooking the city presents a quirkier view than the usual cityscape of a place that holds fond memories.

As dining room chairs, the Bertram armchairs might not be the most practical choice, but they make a great style statement in a space that doesn't get daily use. They're also quite pricey, so I would suggest my clients extend their lives in this way: when they start a family and move to a house in the 'burbs, the chairs can move into the family room. The gray area rug can follow the chairs... it's a hard-wearing, neutral color. Other more colorful, family-friendly pieces can be added to create a lively, happy mix. New host chairs, perhaps a slipcovered parsons style, can take their place in the new dining room. Even the bar cabinet might take on a new life as storage and display space in the family room or entry. And I can see it painted a bright, fun color like shiny lacquer red.

Okay, that's mine... now let's see who else is linking up!

Here's what you do to join the party:
1) Create a mood board using either of the inspiration chairs. (both from Anthropologie) 2) Write a a post about it, including sources. 3) Add your name and project to MckLinky here on my post (Example: Tracy's Dining Room Mood Board)... 4) ...then add the link to your SPECIFIC POST, NOT your general blog address. 5) Last, grab the Mood Board Monday button (above) and use it to link your post back to this post so that everyone gets to join in the party!

Get Your Mood Boards Ready!

Did you choose Antwerp or Bertram?
Have you been working on your board?

Monday's the day. Go back to this post to get all the info you need for the MckLinky party on Monday, November 9th. You can also go to Room Remix, where PK started Mood Board Mondays, to see all the creative results of the last challenge. Please come play with us! No competition—just fun.

Closet Envy

You know things have gotten pretty bad when you envy the closet of an imaginary character. Make that the doll version of an imaginary character. Sharpay of High School Musical fame has a prettier, more well-organized closet than I have had in years. And I'm a bit envious of her ruffly handbag and pink "leather" ottoman too. And, yes, I can see she only has one dress (or is it two?) hanging in her curvy closet/wardrobe—which makes it so much easier to be organized—but that's not my point. My point is that her closet looks like that and mine looks pretty much like this:

Multiply this pic by four or five, and you'll have some idea of the state of the master closet my husband and I share: nearly fourteen linear feet of reach in space with an old-school single rod, single shelf set up. I'm embarrassed to admit how many years it's been this way. Not always so messy and crowded but always so inefficient and uninspiring. And always near the bottom of the home improvements priority list. Until a few days ago. When it fell down. Yes, that's what I said. Fell. Down. Finally succumbing to the weight of too many unnecessary things, the shelf and rod as one unit pulled from the wall and crashed to the floor. Inside the closed closet, the contents were squashed to a 30" high heap. Pushing the doors open against the pressure of all that stuff proved daunting enough. The excavation process was just ridiculous. That was a fun day.

Over the next few days though, we did have some fun and our closet is shaping up nicely into something along the lines of this, above. Towers and double rods and a shelf up high for long-term storage in plastic boxes and bins. Or maybe I should shop around for a vintage suitcase or two. That's pretty cute. It needs a bit of fine-tuning and a few organizer-type accessories, but it's already so much better than it was, I'm actually grateful that gravity forced our hand.

One of the details that drove the design of our new and improved closet system is the fact that we have sliding doors—two sets—on this closet. I'd love to have bi-folds like in the photo above, so I could whip them open and view my entire wardrobe at once, but that's just not practical for our space. I'll show you our fancied-up sliders when this little project is complete.


In a previous home, I hung double swing-out doors on my 6' wide reach-in closet (after installing a very efficient system similar to the one above). Not only was I able to view and access the entire contents at once, but I had the backs of the doors available for goodies like hooks and shoes racks as in the photo below.


And once, in a very tiny apartment, I had a surprisingly decent walk-in closet. Because it was a temporary rental, I didn't think to decorate it with pretty things hung on the wall or throw down a runner, but I did hang a mirror on the back of the door. A classic choice.


For a brief moment after our closet crash, we entertained the idea of breaking through the wall to the newly empty bedroom next door and converting it into a closet/dressing room/bathroom space. (Sorry, K, I know you've been gone only a few months!) That moment passed, however, when the dollar signs started ca-ching-ching-chinging in our heads. If I did have the luxury of an entire room, I imagine my closet might look something like this:

I don't know exactly what's going on with those slide-out baskets, but I sure like the way they—and the glass doors above them—look in this sunny yellow room. And then there's this wallpapered, chandeliered beauty, below. But I don't believe for a moment that the girl who owns this closet has so few items of clothing. Or only three pairs of shoes.

If I was forced to used dark wood, I'd most definitely accessorize with brightly colored storage boxes and use lots of glass and white paint like in the closet below. But I would never buy a yellow hat. Not even as a prop.

My inner control freak really likes the idea of coordinating my wardrobe with my closet system and room decor, but I simply couldn't live with myself if I let things go this far:

What I could live with, given the luxury of space (and dollars) with which to create the closet of my dreams, is something like this:


Click on the pic above to see the entire post Joni wrote about the home wrapped around this perfect, girly dressing room. As you might imagine, it's quite a house.

Those of you who appreciate a sleeker, more contemporary aesthetic, might prefer this look, below. And while I would like to be able to see the entire contents of my closet all at once, I think this is taking things a bit too far. Only the super-freakiest control freaks among us could keep this always-on-view closet in order. Though I suppose my well-trained staff could take care of it. (These are fantasy closets, remember? I can have fantasy staff if I need them.)


And speaking of freaky—or at least outlandishly lavish—check out these closets I found at Exotic Interiors.




Holy cow, right? And did you notice that they all have seating? Do you think that's simply because they have the space and so they can? Or do you think, just maybe, having all that stuff can be a bit overwhelming and that it would be necessary to take a break now and then from the pure sensory overload of it all. Probably though, if you're in a closet this big, it's just too darn far to go back out into the bedroom to find a place to sit down and put your shoes on. So that green velvet dentist's chair is absolutely practical.

Let's get back to reality now, shall we? Since I don't have this many shoes. . .

. . . or a wardrobe the size of Ms. Bradshaw's (I mean, Mrs. Preston's), I don't really require an entire room.

However, I do have sufficient closet space so as not to require doing this to my bathroom (but wait, there's not enough room in my bathroom for my bathroom so I guess this was never going to happen anyway).

What I really need is stuff like this

and this


to make the most of the space I do have. I thought about adding some bag hangers like these, below, but they take up too much prime clothes-hanging real estate. I will add one or two of those shoe stacker thingies though. And my handbags will live quite happily in the cubbies we've installed.

All of this introspective thinking about my closet and its lack of efficiency (crashed to the floor being at the extreme end of impractical), got me wondering about the rest of you...

What are the best and worst things about your own closet?

What would you change today? (given the time and the cash)

What does your dream closet look like? Go ahead, be a diva.

If you find yourself, as I did, "closet challenged", here are a few links to help you out:

Closet Organizing Checklist at Real Simple

31 Ways to Make Over Your Closet at Real Simple

Top 10 Organizing Tips for Closets at BH&G


And if you have a moment to read what two other bloggers have to say about their closets...

Tracey at Notes from a Cottage Industry wrote here about how much she loves her closet... and its contents. But she's moved recently so I hope she'll love her new closet just as much. And show us the crazy-creative things she does to spiff it up. Hand her a paint brush and she could work wonders giving Sharpay's curvy wardrobe the vintage cottage look she loves.

Janet at The Gardeners Cottage showed us her closet here. And while I may not envy its tiny dimensions, I do love her beautiful home and her attitude about living well and within your means and without so much "stuff". She would never in a million years have a green velvet dentist's chair in her closet.

They've Got My Number

Big Brother is alive and well and apparently working at Horchow. You know, the online home decor company that in 1971 became the first luxury mail-order catalog without an actual “bricks and mortar” storefront. Currently partnered with The Neiman Marcus Group, it remains a reliable source for distinctive fine furniture, linens and decorative accents. All at a luxury-level price, as you might imagine.

Horchow has long been one of my "go to" sources for decorating inspiration. And they must be on to me because, yesterday, I received an email from the company telling me "our design team thought you might like these items". Curious, I had to look. Color? Check. Whimsy? Check. Transitional designs that work in both traditional and contemporary settings? Check. Pretty chairs with great lines and even better upholstery treatments? Check and check. (Will you just look at that peacock chair, below. It has a velvety bow buckled across its back!)

So how is it they happened to send images that were all just my style? Do you think they know about the chair I used in this post about purple? And again in this post about a plate? Do you think they know that I once used a lamp shade identical to the one you see here, below, to write about budget-friendly lighting? Do they know how much time I spend browsing around in their bedding ensembles and table settings? Somehow, I think they must.

"But wait", you say. "Tracy, don't you know they're just manipulating you?"— "Send her a bunch of pictures she'll like" the ever-watchful marketing execs growl. "If she bites and blogs about them, that's more free advertising for us!" Followed by barrel-chested, cigar-chomping, corporate bad guy laughter.

While I appreciate your (imagined) concern, my response to the above scenario is: so what. (And, no, I don't really think that's the way it went down.) If I can use Horchow's beautiful, colorful, sometimes over-the-top merchandise and design tips to advise clients and come up with my own easier-on-the-budget alternatives, then they are welcome to "use" my blog (to reach my vast readership of twelve) any time they want. In fact, I recommend you take a look at what they have to offer. Try to take away some ideas for your next creative decorating venture. Ideas don't cost a thing. But... if you are drawn to make a purchase (and they are, by the way, having a pretty decent sale right now), do tell them Tracy sent you. Maybe they'll send me some more pretty pictures. When they finish congratulating and slapping each other on the back.

Oops, It's Happened Again... and a reminder

During the past few weeks, my little blog received another award... from three different bloggers... and just the way it happened before, I let too many days (weeks even) pass before acknowledging them. This time, it's the Kreativ Blogger award and I am honored to have received it from three bloggers who are themselves incredibly creative. For this embarrassment of riches I thank

Soodie Beasley, whose thought-provoking posts inspire me to be a better writer, though I wouldn't want to be judged by my long-winded comments to her.
Kathy, at Creative Home Expressions, who expresses her multi-talented creativity through design makeovers, pretty crafts, beautiful tablescapes and inspiring finds.
Tamera, at Double Delight Designs, a busy new blogger who, with infectious enthusiasm, is creating a fun, pretty, crafty, cozy home for her young family and sharing it all with us.

In order to accept this award, I must list seven things about myself that my readers may not know so I have compiled a list of seven "favorites":

1) Favorite forbidden food: Pastrami sandwich, from a "world famous" local chain, with mustard and pickles
2) Favorite after-school cartoon: Kimba the White Lion

3) Favorite flower in my own garden: Alstroemeria

4) Favorite ice cream flavor: Rocky Road; with almonds, not walnuts

5) Favorite new fall television series: Flash Forward

6) Favorite happy movie moment: When Mary Poppins, Bert the chimney sweep and the children, Jane and Michael Banks, jump into Bert's chalk drawings.

7) Favorite book that made me cry, even the second time: "Charms for the Easy Life" by Kaye Gibbons

Now, here are the seven bloggers I choose to pass this award along to:

52 Flea

Boxwood Terrace

casa dulce hogar

Daisy Cottage

doe-c-doe

ella minnow pea

The Happy Homebody

These seven blogs are new to me and even after reading them only a handful of times, I can say that they are fun and clever and pretty to look at and, most of all, very, very creative. If they're new to you too, please take the time to have a look. If you're already a reader, then you know exactly why I've chosen them, don't you?

DON'T FORGET!!

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!!

I'm hosting Mood Board Monday this time. Go to this post to see the inspiration items and get your mood board ready for the McLinky party on Monday, November 9th. You can also go to Room Remix, where PK started Mood Board Mondays, to see all the creative results of the last challenge. Please come play with us! No competition—just fun.