With A Man In Mind: A Gentleman's Dressing Room

Today I am featuring the Gentleman's Dressing Room from the Traditional Home Show House at the Adamsleigh Estate in Greensboro, NC that I toured while at High Point Market.  This dressing area was thoughtfully designed by Lisa Mende and Traci Zeller, both based in Charlotte, NC.  The wall covering was a special design tribute to John Hampton (Hamp) Adams, textile magnate and patriarch of Adamsleigh.  It is an architectural toile, designed from the original blueprints of the home.

 

 

The fabric that is covering the ceiling is also found on the back of the shelves in the closet.  This was also a very fitting tribute to "the mansion that socks built!"

 

The green grosgrain ribbon detail can be found in elements throughout the space.  It is finely placed around the chair and one of the pillows, as wells as surrounding the walls and ceilings.  For details on how this was executed, click here.

 

I would like to think that my husbands closet would be as nice and styled as this one; but alas, I'm afraid that it just would not be!  However, one can always attend show houses and dream!

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

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Mid Week Tidbits and Other Stuff

I've been having such a great week!  I hope you have as well...

 

 

Since announcing my participation in the 2013 Room Service Atlanta project, friends and followers of my blog, Facebook, and Twitter have been so supportive with their donations and words of encouragement.  I feel really blessed to have these people in my life.  Sure, some I may only interact with on the social media sites and have not ever laid eyes on, but to know that there is something about me and what I'm doing that has impacted them enough to do something to help me and my cause, simply overwhelmes me.

 

 

There's nothing that I like more than statement necklaces.  I've not tried layering them, but after seeing how striking this looks, I think I may try my hand at it and give it a go.  Yesterday, I took my son to the park to shoot around a little bit and walk the trail.  Guess what I had on?  That's right, a statement necklace!  I should have had him take a picture!  I don't think anything of putting one of those fabulous pieces on with a sweatshirt or zip-up hoody!  Like Bill Blass once said "Style is primarily a matter of instinct."  Great instincts, great style! 

 

 

I long to have one of these sitting places in my home.  It doesn't have to be in my bedroom...hmm, I actually prefer that it's not.  My bedroom is definitely relaxing, as it should be; but when I try to read in there, it's not long before I'm sound asleep.  I love to read!  I will read anything I can get my hands on.  Unfortunately, I don't get to do as much leisure reading as I would like, but I do my best to get it in when I can.  Stephen King was quoted as saying, "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."  Obviously, I like to write and I'm never really at a loss of things to write about.  Well, that's not exactly true.  Sometimes, when I'm trying to decide what you guys will be interested in reading, I do find myself at a loss...

 

I wish I were more of a DIY'er!  I would love to go buy a few of these wide plank boards and put them together to make an awesome desk like this!  Or table even for crafts and what not!  I do know a few people who could make it for me.  Maybe I'll give them a call and see what we can do.  There is a quiet pleasure I get when I design something on paper and then actually see the manifestation of it.  So maybe it's not so much the DIY aspect that I'm interested in, as much as it is just designing pieces and having someone else make it!  Now that's a thought!

 

Ah, Tina Turner...the Burner!  I love her!  I've never had the privilege of seeing her perform in person.  What a show she puts on, I'm sure!  I adore this picture of her.  I adore the picture of any woman (or man) that can smile and laugh with abandon.  It says a lot to me.  I'm told I smile a lot.  I do.  It was even observed by a friend that I smile even when I'm uncomfortable or faced with a less than desireable situation.  I do.  Smiling makes me feel better and it makes handling those sticky challenges easier.  I don't smile when someone is upset with me.  That would be mocking and insensitive.  I have more sense than that!  I just think that if we all smiled a bit more, it would make life and all of it's challenges and difficulties a little bit easier to bear.  You should try throwing your head back and laughing a hearty laugh!  Let me know how it made you feel.  Oooh, also try smiling when you're upset!  That's a good one!  Definitely let me know how that one goes!

 

I think a lot.  Too much even.  Sometimes anyway.  But, I will say this 95% of what I think about doing for myself, my family and friends, and my career, always has a positive ending!  The other 5% either wasn't given enough thought and ended with unfavorable results or never got done at all...

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

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Easter Tablesetting Ideas

Easter has long been thought of as the beginning of spring.  It is the time of renewal, refreshing, the shedding of winter heaviness in favor of a lighter, even brighter outlook.  I love the spring, sans the allergies that come with the blooming flowers and trees.  It is always such a pretty time of year and being someone who loves nature and the outdoors, I find so much inspiration in it.  My family and I enjoy the walks in the parks, along it's trails, hanging out on the deck taking in the sights and sounds, driving down treelined streets and marveling in the colors.  It's like magic!

 

 

 How simple and lovely is this!  Just using beautiful teacups to place small Easter egg confections and placing them on the table or buffet.

 

 

Going into the yard and picking a few pretty stems and wrapping them nicely in the napkins will add so much to a minimal tablesetting.  It really doesn't take much.  It just takes a little effort and creativity.

 

 

Gerber daisy's can be found at your local grocery store very inexpensively.  Using an eclectic mixture of dishes and drinkware makes it special.

 

 

Last year I posted a great Easter diy project that Gillian and I tried that was a lot of great fun and ended being very pretty!  Here's the link (An Easter DIY Project my Daughter will love) if you think you'll like to try it out!

 

More stems and blooms and soft pastels make the table pretty.

 

Okay, if any of you saw my space at the 2013 Cathedral Antiques Inspiration House, you would know that I love using bird nests and small eggs in my designs.  It makes for a wonderful introduction of nature into any setting.

 

 

Happy Easter and Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

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The Way We Live Today

We no longer worry so much about how this looks, or how that looks, or even if this is going to match. We live with the things that speak to us and the things that we love. We fill our homes with finds from our travels, items from years past, things that we may have inherited or were given to us by friends and family that have value; sentimental or monetary, it doesn't matter.

 

 

 

We've embraced who we are and by doing so have given ourselves permission to be different in our decorations; knowing that it is okay to have that weird, knarled piece of wood lying randomly on the table.  It is okay to pin unframed pictures to the wall to make an off beat statement that probably only we will understand, like, and appreciate.  It's okay if no one gets it.  It's okay if no one likes it.  We do and that's enough.

 

 

We want to be surrounded by those things that have a story behind them. They don't have to be old to have a story. They can be things that were made in China yesterday, that were bought while out just browsing with a loved one. It really matters not.  The point is we have gotten to a place in our lives where we want things of meaning and to have meaningful experiences. This is what having a collected home means.

 

 

We're not just making room for collected treasures, but collecting moments to treasure.  We're creating environments that excites the child within us, relaxes our minds, and speaks to our souls.  We're showing ourselves, becoming more and more transparent to those who are fortunate enough to be invited through our doors.  When we welcome our friends and family, colleagues and peers into our homes we're giving them an intimate tour of the place where our most personal and private moments happen.  Not to be taken lightly, nor taken for granted.

 

 

 

We are not in a hurry to fill our homes with things just so that there won't be any empty spaces. We're okay with the empty spaces, knowing that the perfect piece will come. We now understand the importance of taking our time and making the most of everything. We're not so quick to throw away things that we once thought no longer suited a particular need or looked a certain way. We will repurpose. We will repaint.  We will tear down, build, and transform.  We will do what we need to do in order to make it fit the way we live today.

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

*Images via my Pinterest boards



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Happy Valentines Day?

I'm not all that big on Valentine's day; never have been.  I am, however, a romantic.  Not in the sense that most would think.  You know, the mushy love stuff.  Ha! There's nothing wrong with that.  I just don't have to have it to have romantic notions.  I can romanticize just about anything.  I enjoy life's simple pleasures, whether with Pete, my children, or by myself.  Of course, it's always nice to be on the receiving end of their affection, and I am so glad they shower me just because!  So to them...Happy Valentine's Day! 

 

 Isn't this camellia beautiful?  Look at how delicate the petals appear and yet they withstand the rigors of growth, weather, the elements, and being handled by those who want to enjoy their beauty in a vase.  Youth and beauty is usually compared to that of a flower.  I get it.  Take nothing for granted.  Enjoy all the things the days will bring.

 

 It would be such a pity to cut into this cake, but how else could you enjoy just how delicious it is?  It wasn't made to just be pretty.  It was made to be enjoyed by all of your senses.  Our lives are no different.  What a pity it would be to have the ability to decide what kind of day we're going to have, who we're going to spend our time with, and what we're going to do, only to choose to do nothing at all.  Wow!  Really?

 

 I love the length and color of this belted skirt paired, with the classic white button down.  So feminine with a casual easiness.  It always makes me smile to see women who are comfortable in their skin, because no matter what they are wearing, they are wearing it; it's not wearing them.  What you're wearing doesn't matter as much as how you're wearing it.

 

 

As a nineth grader in Etoyle Mouser's English Literature class, I loved all of the writings of Elizabeth Barret Browning.  Did I understand all that she had written?  Of course not.  Did it matter that I didn't?  I don't think so.  It was more about how her poems made me feel than about my understanding.  I am a very analytical person.  I've been criticized by a few for being so much so.  I am also a very feeling person, in that it matters more to me the experience of the moments than it does the moments themselves.  Simply put, if I want the experience of enjoying a cup of coffee, I'm probably going to drive pass five Starbucks to get to that one Illy coffee shop where I can have a nice porcelain cup with a pastry on a nice porcelain plate.  Now don't get me wrong, I too enjoy Starbucks, but there are times when it means more to me to have the "experience" than the coffee itself.

 

No matter what this day finds you doing, whether with the love of your life or in the company of yourself, enjoy the moments of being.  Being able to wake up this morning and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you.  It does surround you, you just have to open your eyes to see it.

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

*Images via my Pinterest boards



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A Flair for Outdoor Living and Entertaining: Janus et Cie

I posted, a couple a weeks ago, pictures I'd taken at an event celebrating the opening of the new Janus et Cie showroom at ADAC (Atlanta Decorative Arts Center), and I wanted to follow up with these most amazing images that were shared with me by the showroom the day of the party.  Click here to see more pictures from the grand opening celebration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you seen a more beautiful and colorful table!  Most of the candle holders and votives are kept in inventory and can be purchased to take home that day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love what you see here and would like to experience the showroom firsthand?  Contact Residential Specialist, and my friend Jessica Warner for an appointment, or to let her know you would like to stop by.  The showroom sells to the public and will work with you to pull together your new design project or freshen up what you currently have. 

 

J A N U S e t C i e

349 Peachtree Hills Ave., Building A-1, Atlanta , GA 30305

T 4 0 4 . 8 5 5 . 3 4 4 4

F 4 0 4 . 8 5 5 . 3 4 4 5

 

 

Make it AMAZING!

Rhonda

 

*All images via Janus et Cie; Atlanta, Georgia



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