This dining room was on the cover of Elle Decor, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since!  Even though it wouldn’t fit in with the style of my own house, the design, by Larry Laslo, is playful, bold, and formal all at the same time.  With plans to join friends and family this weekend for Easter dinner, I thought it was the perfect time to share this dining inspiration.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lauren

Today our studio has seemed a bit like the RDU airport, a thoroughfare of multiple clients, piles of fabrics and furniture catalogs, along with presentations in multiple locations, even our lunch room. Looking over some photos I snapped on Thursday at a drapery installation, I think I’d like to go on over there and settle down here: in this quiet corner of our client’s study. This composition represents a mix of things she loves: Pineapples, the color blue, a fantastic semi-antique French Baker Chair, and her floor to ceiling wall of books.

Drapery Fabric: Donghia’s Spice Market Warp Print in Blue & Grey Salt

A mirror may be the last thing you want to stand in front of in the morning. (You hate to see the sheet marks that run across your face or how bad your hair looks after tossing and turning all night.) Mirrors always tell the truth, whether you like it or not, but they can also be quite deceiving.

Is there a place in your home that seems dark or almost cave-like? Maybe there is only one window in the room or the space feels small and cramped. Perhaps a mirror would help!

Mirrors can fool the eye and make a space feel visually larger. They reflect light, making the space appear brighter.

When used on a voluminous piece of furniture, like this chest from Hickory Chair, the mirrors help the piece seem like it doesn’t take up so much space.

In this shot from the dining room we designed at Balmoral, you might be fooled to think the room extends beyond the cabinet upon first glance.

Traditional mirrors hung on the wall have a similar affect. Lately I’ve been drawn to mirrors with mirrored frames, like the Hovan mirror from Uttermost. Where it lacks a wooden or metal frame, it gains versatility and can be combined many other finishes.

Mirrored furniture can have an elegant, traditional, romantic, or even a modern look. This piece from Arteriors Home would look perfect in a hallway with beautiful prints hanging above.

Bradley-Hughes manufactures mirrors in a varity of antiqued styles. They can be applied to walls or their furniture. This picture really shows how the mirror doubles the amount of light from the sconces.

Mirrors deceive the eyes and add visual interest to spaces. With so many ways to use them, which do you think is the fairest of them all?

Here’s a little color (or shall I say colour?) inspiration for your weekend. I was perusing the Designers Guild website for some fabric and came upon their paint products. The hues were remarkable and decidedly European in their saturation levels.

From the website:

Be sure to check out their website to see a diverse collection of inspired fabrics and schemes. I love the image below:

Photos from the Designers Guild website.

I love interiors with personality, spaces with pieces that you can’t help but talk about. It may be a fabric, a chair, a work of art or an accessory. When I spotted these accessories from Global Views, I imagined them quickly becoming the topic of conversation.

A Horse, of Course, to Hold Your Books

Climbing Men to Scale the Walls

And to jump start any dinner party:

Like Pola and her friend Roid, Judy and I assisted local photographer Ray Barbour as well as Master Photographer John Stanton on a photoshoot of our work at 1322 Queensferry Road in Cary. We’re anxious to see the results of the shoot, but thought that we’d share our “behind the scenes” experience…

Just a few pieces of equipment

John Stanton, perfecting the amount of light for the photograph

Ray sets the shot, while John perfects the lighting levels

Judy and Ray review the process

Ray finding an angle

John hangs a sheet of mylar scrim to diffuse the lighting

Ray and Judy decision making. The shoot was filmed digitally and reviewed via Mac

The photoshoot process is long and rewarding,furniture and accessories must be shifted again and again

Judy awaits to stage the next shot

The Subject: The Dining Room

Noontime Sun: Part 2 of the shoot. There’s a story behind that painting, as there are stories to be told about many of the objects we incorporated into the design. In the end our arrangement of the details, composed into a photograph, tries to capture a moment perhaps better left for one to experience in person.