happy mother’s day!
happy mother’s day to all my beautiful friends and family, and especially to you, mom! this post is for you, cause today’s what it took to get back to blogging. plus it’s a great way for us to work together to decorate my old room into your dream guest room.
to my friends i may seem a little scattered cause it’s been awhile so i’ll just blab/blog and let it all hang out in no particular order!
wow! i have really missed being involved in our blog community. it’s a place i took for granted but treasured as my own private world with you all. guess i grew up a little this month. i know now that this is a public place, and not everyone has my best interest at heart, some will really try to hurt you.
realizing that was a jolt and for a brief, un-shiny moment my joie de vie waned, so i stepped back to contemplate life and redefine what’s important.
www.frenchbedroomcompany.co.uk
happily lemonade was made with those lemons and i came to the conclusion that i have no regrets about my life or past. my ‘dark side’ is really not that dark or interesting. but it’s mine. and i actually like it.
so thank you for waiting for me, there’s so much new stuff i want to tell you and share.
ok mom, we’re starting with the bed, if any of you blogging gurus have seen something special please let me know, i’ve been out of the loop and feel like i have a lifetime of catching up to do!
i’m glad to be back and can’t wait to explore with you!
(this site is from melissa, so thank you)!
and these from oly studio via girl meets glamour….thank you…hope this is a start MOM!
life as some know it
beauty and pain through robert polidori’s eyes
i couldn’t resist saying hello and thank you for my birthday wishes from the most beautiful blogging friends a girl could ask for! lovec
a new perspective
hi friends, this is a hard post to write… i guess cause i don’t really want to write it, but have to. i’ll be taking a few weeks off from blogging while i develop some projects i’m not allowed to discuss (that’s hard cause i want to share with you)! and rethink my life in general. it’s my birthday in a few days and i’ll be giving myself a gift of freedom from vices (which i need in a big way)! i guess we all go thru times of change and please know that i will be back soon. in the meantime i’ll be visiting your blogs and enjoying life from another angle.
love to all and see you on the other side!
ps these are both pics of marilyn monroe, she seems to sum up how i’m feeling right now so thanks mm for your undying inspiration!
don’t just do something, stand there
that’s what my guy told me once upon a time. hi friends! it’s been a while since i just zoned out and surfed the web, waves, and well, life in general. finally time to stand still for a sec.
which means back to blogging, yay! and of course surfing super briefly led me to so many fabu pics, places and people. here are some you may have seen but i just discovered:
via girl meets glamour, who also had this serene beauty:
bedding by Toast (but their website isn’t working)
this link was sent to me by my friend Mike who opened a store called Bodega Shoppe in Red Bank, NJ and is about to open a second one there. He’s sent met this great inspiration painting by paul from www.paulin-paris.com. I’ll keep you posted on his progress! mikey, send more pics!
isn’t he cute?
as far as these two wallpapers below, i hate to say it but i have no idea where they came from and ask: do you?
just cause it’s pretty, and our bench is in the pic…thanks Brilliant Asylum!
while i’m on the subject of the line (so much for taking time off)! here are a few new pieces being added this week. there are 21 colors and finishes. what do you think?
ok gotta run, more later! xoc
j’adore Drew Barrymore
by now you must have seen the april domino magazine with Drew on the cover. it was thrilling to see that she (and designer Ruthie Sommers), turned her office into what looks like a set from an old Lionel Barrymore film! it’s filled with textures, lacquer, history, fun, discovery and Drew looks like she was born to hold court there! i love her decor, no rules, all style! go Drew!
what a muse she must have been for ruthie!
une autre vie
hi all! well, this is our potential dream house in the sud, as it was, as it is.
these are her stats:
| • Bedrooms |
3
|
| • Queen beds |
1
|
| • Single Beds |
4
|
| • Sleeps |
6
|
| • Baths |
3.5
|
what about it for our bloggers getaway…(2 weeks in may)?
there’s plenty of room
and there’s a little pool
i’d definitely sleep here one night!
it might as well be spring
a beautiful minute
i stumbled onto these spectacular images of by Sarah Greenwood for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day during my one minute of surfing today, courtesy of my new favorite site: Design Smack
More later!
ok that’s it
i’ve sufficiently regenerated, thank you very much. after a marathon of vegging out to the Bad Girl’s Club, i knew it would all be ok. today i vow to start working on the trip to paris and the south of france in may. you know you’re invited! i stole these images from the net, just taking a sec to surf and get revved up cause i’ll have to come back to this. but at least it’s inspiring me.
above is a market in aix en provence. just one more click led me to the link below for affordable villas. now back to my chores…can’t wait to dig in now and look for our chateau to share!
ps ok it’s now 9:30 and i did manage to work on the trip a little…just got a ticket for $650! My aunt told me to go to her website and it’s great! check it out: www.marciasfreetravel.com
time to turn on tune in drop out
coo coo for coconuts is what i am, and drank two for breakfast just today. my bud liz turned me on to them. what’s amazing is that they are unbelievably delicious but also have the same properties and makeup as our blood. check it out!
we have to open them at liz’s so i thought i’d shoot her place cause she’s been working on it
plus her beachy ways inspire me
i have so much to do but somehow just can’t make myself do anything. the highlight of my day was taking a cat nap in the sun. well, tomorrow is another day! (did i say that yesterday)?
that side of paradise
going thru a pile of emails on this gorgeous miami sunday proved worthwhile cause there was an intriguing email from a high school friend. she’s going to France in september on a yoga retreat. looks like heaven and we’ll be there for the maison et objet anyway, so why not!?
below is her own yoga studio: thanks tracey! hope we can rendezvous with some blog friends too!
well now back to work planning the trip to paris and the countryside in may. is anyone interested in a bloggers weekend down south? i’m hoping to meet with some of my blog buds and would love you to be there too!
lalalala life goes on
anakasa has this gorgeous stone backlit display in their lex ave store. not easy to do but highly dramatic!
first of all, thanks everyone for the fantastic things you said in the last couple posts. i don’t think i’ll ever recover! i’d like to put together some blog friends and their wares but we’ll talk about that later…
i had to/have to take a break after that whirlwind couple weeks. it all came and went in the blink of an eye. now there are other projects on the horizon, but first i’m going back south into seclusion to sort it all out and unwind. here are a couple new york happenings:
i only WISH i could tell you who’s apartment this is…she is my IDOL! probably yours too since we like the same movies!!!
anyway she wants her apartment to be very old italian, and loves the muted colors of venice and rome.
i of course love the turquoise ceiling (sorry the pics are so bad)!
and she wants yellow chairs
on the uptown side, this is where our bench ended up. the second item purchased in a beautiful russian woman’s apartment. i’ll keep taking pics of the progress we make.
i just thought this speaker was cute.
back downtown, i met with a great designer and friend, Patricia Fox. we’re talking about collaborating on an atelier in her apartment. again, want to talk with you bloggers about merchandise and your opinion of a little place that would be by appointment only.
it’s a bit victorian and a little disheveled but she’s ready to go for a complete revamp. it gets great sunlight, and taking pics of her handmade pieces was inspiring.
it has all the trimmings to be a fun little speakeasy, off the street and very intimate and cozy
needless to say it’s another project and i went to fla to get away and write. but at the same time it’s such a great opportunity. more to come on the subject tout de suite!
and now the end is near
it was so nice to come home to find a link to a beautiful site. thanks tony!
ok well this is my last post about the show, the little details…tomorrow we break it all down.
ok this is the end! onward! i’m glad i have you to share life with! xoxoc
it took a village
wow. i swear cried and laughed when i read your comments tonight. i really am overwhelmed by your generosity and kindness. so many wonderful people went into making this happen with me. i promised to show you the details, and these are some of the people who created them. above: Boudoir Architecture wallpaper
Above: Carotouche Mirror
My great friend and colleague Maki makes magic with our beaded and sequin curtain line and silk charmeuse pillows.
i got suckered into this color…
and couldn’t resist using it twice!
we made these mirrors with 100 year old glass
tiles made from mother of pearl and abalone
it’s hard to photograph these ethereal pieces cause they’re so delicate.
platters and dishes.
.
meanwhile, maribelle chocolates didn’t have to do with drawing people in…much!
one of the women who came to paris was collecting broken doll heads and we had fun looking for them! these are Jane Bulmer’s lovely shell ladies and babes sculptures, the fruits of her labor!
and to be in the presence of amy’s lamps…well that ’s a lotta cherries on top. without amy and her husband david, this would not have been the same experience. and thanks to karen and tony and marc and pete! you’ve got me for lots of favors for a good long time 
you don’t have to be a star, baby
hi all! thank you all for your good cheer! today was our debut and it was exhausting but fun! we met so many fantastic people and even tho there was a fire at the party i managed to have a couple glasses of wine…so that combined with the tired feet are leaving me with not a lota but i just wanted to send pics and an insight…nothing is out of your league! thank you for believing in me, i believe in you too!
i’ll show some the details tomorrow! suite dreams!
what have i done to deserve this?
heaven sent down some angels today, and just when i needed them. karen and mike and tony, what would i have done without you? thank you for your patience, talent, hard work and never say die attitudes. i will be there for you anywhere, anytime!!
well pardon my pics, i was pretty remiss about taking any shots. we were at it since the crack o’ and i barely touched my beloved camera. this was when we first got there…
and this is when we left, many hours later. what do you mean it hardly looks much different?! well truth be told most of the stuff today was lighting, floors and walls, which, well didn’t get finished to say the least. ok just wait till tomorrow!
xox
c
aw, man
hi mes amis! i only have a spec of time once again, but wanted to share a bit more of amy’s work. it’s just so…enchanting! so much of my stuff has been upholstered, reworked, refitted and revamped. but so much hasn’t! tomorrow we get in line to unload the first batch at 7am. i promise to take pics as the booth evolves. i just wish all my stuff was ready but i guess i have to let go and accept whatever happens!
i was just watching the divorcee with norma shearer (1930’s pre code hollyood, my all time favorites)! do you love her?!!
when my guy walked in telling me about his day. i am the world’s worst multi-tasker. so that leaves me with about one more sec…i miss you and thank you all for your wonderful good wishes! xo c
i couldn’t take it
i didn’t want to let another night pass without saying hello and giving you a quick update. days have been long, cold and wet in ny this week while i shopped for fabrics and trims, obsessed about the booth and tried to tie up the endless loose ends.
needless to say you never know what’s going to happen till the day of reckoning. but i did want to share these sweet pieces:
by artist amy leonard who’s making lamp sculptures for the show. she’ll be at the booth all week, so if you love her pieces, please come by! ok, the one thing i’ve mastered this week is when to say when and that is right about NOW! lots more to come, tomorrow is another (fleamarket) day!
ps: if you remember, i wanted to do a fab friday finds but never really got it together. well luckily, courtney of nesting instincts came into my line of site. she finds wonderful things on the web…on FRIDAYS! so for now, take a look at her beautiful pics if you get a chance, she has an eye for art that soothes me! pss: i know it’s not friday but i don’t go by days of the week anymore till this show is over!
psssssssssss: this is the link for the show itself:
http://www.archdigesthomeshow.com/
float like a butterfly
dirty but pretty.
this is from hotel carnavalet in paris. i don’t know if they know. i was dying to use this on the homepage of my site but thought better of it. but i hope my blog buds appreciate it. as soon as this show is over i’m gonna start on working on the rendezvous to paris in may. these salons are a trip all their own.
this is from another salon in paris, hotel soubise, an amazing home with the prince and princess’ suites still intact. it looks imposing from the outside but it’s got drop dead interiors. don’t get me started on the walls!
i satisfied my shopping/fleamarketing/weekend and overall tune out and found these at the ny flea’s garage. i love it there. always something inspiring.
we’re going to blow these up. they’ll be on canvas so you can hang or lean them.
more on the flat stuff: we’ll have it for sale at the show and on the site.
i think this would be great for girls too, minus the black sheets!
here it is in creme
this is another flat headboard. the detail is amazing.
anyway, that was my happy distraction for tonite. now back to the grind. sent my guy off to florida and have ny to myself. now i’ve really got no excuses! i usually wing stuff like this but i’ve been asked for the layout. who can predict that? oh well, luckily there’s an art store across the street so here goes nothing!
omg i did it thanks to a friend who clued me in to the scale thing! i’m going to bed!!
picking up the pieces
the tiniest bit of surfing today led me here to nesting instincts, thank god.
meanwhile, my puzzle is coming together, got the beaded wallpaper in 40 x 60. still don’t have the walls nailed down, but am working on it. the rest is cake! well, except for the upholstery, transport, set up and those dang walls…
anyway for the past couple i’ve been working at nite with sara of sadie olive to create my new website, www.theparisapartment.com! it’s in progress so more layers and tweaks are coming. i hadn’t touched my old site for so long…now i’m inspired to keep adding to it, a whole new hobby! if you need anything done, on the web or graphically, ask sara. she is a dream come true to work with! thanks Sara, you’re my hero(ine)!
as for the rest of my day? well i’ve been at it nonstop (till now, finally going to eat).
the pics below are from one of the vendors from paris who’s sending stuff for the show! it’s all flat, so you could apply the door panel to your door and have an instant architectural element. the books are flat too, look at them on the mantle. it’s just frenchy good fun.
and this below? i can’t remember where i found it but it’s sort of inspiring me, if anyone knows of it’s heritage please say so 
more to come, must eat!
final note: just stumbled onto apartment therapy.com and found de Gournay. for the wallpaper lovers:
