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Facebook, the Final Frontier!

Ok, we've faced the technological demons and won! IDG is now up and tweeting, friends with your face, and bursting onto the i scene. As social as we are, designers and decorators are not know for their technical savvy. We can tell you where that wall needs to go, what color to paint it and which art ultimately adorns it but please don't ask us to measure said wall. Now that we've been introduced to techno chat you won't be able to stop us...

-advice unsolicited

-lifestyle commentary

-gossip on trends

-snapshots of temptations you'll covet

-reporting scrumptious design triumphs

and coming soon...

-on assignment color name validation

PS- We still hate all those unsightly cords required to power these great chit chat devices!

Befriend our face and get 10% off all in store purchases always because it's good to have friends in stylish places:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1626167457&v=wall&story_fbid=147605118614981#!/pages/Austin-TX/Interior-Design-Gallery/100786413318302?ref=sgm

the POWER of Eiffel Tower

Color is an inexpensive, quick way to update your interiors, everyone knows this...

Most folks get stuck looking at paint swatches and never move forward. Thats what designers are for! Not a day goes by that Ginger does not gush over Eiffel Tower from Pittsburgh paint. The warmth of this rich grey transforms dated colors into a timeless backdrop for grown up living. That accent wall you painted hot pink last year? Time to graduate, in fact accent walls to me are half painted rooms... so slap some French sophistication on those left out white walls too. Surround yourself in cozy decadence, this color is like a hand knit cashmere throw.

So now there is something to be said for grey, which is the new nuetral for those who know.

http://www.ppgpittsburghpaints.com/index.htm

You can't throw a lamp in Austin without hitting a musician but that doesn't keep the talent from moving here to jump into the country's hottest music scene. Tucker Jameson & the Hot Mugs (www.tuckerjamesonandthehotmugs.com), are no exception and moving means decorating, like it or not. While we don't have bedroom sets in our store we do have access to everything designerly and some big ideas we are always willing to share. We might be refinishing Tucker's bedroom set, maybe not, but regardless we adore meeting Austin's newbies and chit chatting about our fantastic city. We have been known to go on and on about the things we can do for you, we might sit you down and share tempting catalogs, but we will always listen and do back flips trying to satisfy your design needs.

Code of Correspondence

After a long absence of inspiration (ie Ginger was away) we are reminded of the importance of correspondence and keeping in touch. In this day of digital immediacy it's a rare treat to get a hand written note, even holiday cards come with a beep over our emails and Facebook pages. Jackie O, still a staple for style and manners, used to always start her day with morning correspondences, keeping in touch with friends, family, acquaintances and allies...

We just can't imagine her at Starbucks with an iphone tweeting away. Her subtle, classic charm would be far more likely to land on gorgeous paper with lovely embellishments. Our coastal consultant in LA, Chloe LaFond, says "every fabulista needs proper stationary". She adores Miellee Design Studio's glamorous options (see blogs we're following below).

So practice your cursive, buy some stamps, clear off that gorgeous writing desk and get in the habit of keeping in touch with old school style!

React or Retract?

Apparently I missed the fact that Rita's shoes were in fact glass, not lucite, and Prada of all designers! Such a faux pas could only be attributed to the fact that this is Austin, not LA, and flip flops reign here...
So my apologies for not attributing those chandelier slip ons to Prada, but maybe they'll overlook the slight considering our editorial concerns were validated:

www.dlisted.com/node/38637

(warning this link is for grown ups with taste)

Moments

Rain often keeps us indoors, trapped within our interiors, pondering our choices. The remedy to this is moments...

(as illustrated by our Tarrytown "circles" grande moment)
We often say in frustration "Give me a minute", but with some creative trickery you can give yourself back some MOMENTS that remind you how clever and fabulous you really are!
We are used to seeing said vignettes everywhere because psychologists train store merchandisers, who carefully then woo you with their "just so" product play. There are numbers, we love threes, and shapes, we love pyramids ... but this is about personality. Our "stuff" is a reflection of where we've been, and what we do, but how we arrange it is a reflection of how we feel (or when done with intent, how we WANT to feel).

If you act now, you too can use this method to change the way your interiors treat you...
Build yourself moments that reflect how and when you use the space AND declare how you feel about it!

*Welcome yourself home everyday with an exuberant floral moment in the entry.
*Lull yourself to sleep at night with a candle and magic-place-photo moment next to the bed.
*Wake yourself up in the mornings with refrigerator artwork curated to highlight bold colors and encouraging thoughts (even if you don't have kids, commission some youthful pieces from your friends' children).

It's amazing how you can tailor your interiors moment by moment injecting daily rituals with design sensibility and a bit o' pretty!

Take Two

Sangria Saturday is happening! The white wine recipe from last week was so fabulous we are revisiting it today. So far we've helped a lovely neighbor by scheduling an in home consultation for decision making on window treatments, gave a visiting couple "Dwell"ish visions of floating bathroom vanities (and told them all about Blue Dahlia, www.bluedahliabistro.com, my favorite salad spot), and finalized fabric going on a stunning family heirloom convertible chair.

... and the pitcher is still half full!

North Austin Couture

Sometimes we are inspired by artists around us... lately North Austin is BOOMING with talent that we have stalked and brought into our little world of design on Burnet. Enter Cheri Bingham, the talented genius behind Iron Thread Design. Contrast buttons are one of my many obsessions and Cheri does them like no one else... she'll even create buttons out of personal items for your custom crafted furniture. The Designiverse calls that a "memory moment" we like to think of it as Couture.

We have the very last of Cheri's discontinued line of ottomans on our sales floor now but with the attention they've been getting they won't last long. Come feast your eyes upon these North Austin Couture mid century modern jewels tomorrow and have a refreshing beverage with us... it's SANGRIA SATURDAY!

2 pillows will never do!

No dressed bed should ever have less than 6 pillows (much to the chagrin of husbands world wide). A bed should beckon to you from accross the room. It should sing lullabies with it's billowing pillows. It should look back at you in the morning and say I will be here for your work weary self tonight... au revoir!
husband: "but WHAT are those little frilly ones and that long tootsie roll for?"
Ok, so I admit, functionality is not always the motivation in design... fashion BEFORE function, remember? Those fun pillows are accesories, would you go out on a hot date without your fabulous tennis bracelet? They may not be convenient or cheap but they are totally necessary to pull together a well designed room. They are the bling, the razzle dazzle, the show stoppers!

Lucite reborn

We're not sure if you've heard, but Lucite is not just for showgirls anymore!

Lucite, defined as a trademark for transparent thermoplastic acrylic resin, has resurfaced on today's design scene as a hot new "retro" material that can be cast in many different forms and styles. While it harkens back to the 1930's Hollywood glamour days of it's invention (by DuPont), it was then embroiled in scandal during the promiscuous 80's as cheap heals and trashy bangals. Today, Ginger proclaims the ghostly material is a design jewel that can be fitting for almost all transitional styles and especially fitting for the downtown lofties.

We also want to thank Rita Wilson for demonstrating that Lucite is better left to chairs than shoes disguised as chandeliers...

Monday mornings...

Monday is research day, the day I hunt for that "just so" piece for a designer or design client that has hit a dead end. Today I'm digging for vanities; functional classic pieces for our friends the Johnson's in their new Master sanctuary, as well as an edgy piece for a bid on a condo in the stunning new "W" building down town. We found this silver leafed vanity in Dallas for a design client looking to add a splash of glamour to her home renovation...

Even when Ginger is off floating in her pool (we expect nothing more of her on a Monday) her design mantra guides me through the day...

"You can have everything, just not all in YOUR house"

This is the decree that keeps me from coveting all the wonderful pieces we find for clients, and allows me to adopt them all out to homes where they can sing!

Summer in a glass

Saturdays are all about Sangria this summer at Interior Design Gallery.
Ginger knows her Sangria and so far we've shared delicious traditional red Sangrias with fruited ice moulds but today it's a new recipe with white wine and we declare it's truly "summer in a glass"! I stopped by to grab some vegan cupcakes at Hey Cupcake! so now we are full on celebrating Austin's glorious extended summers...
Come visit and peruse our collections, test some chairs out, talk art, or just bask in the glow of our fabulous gallery showroom with us!