Category Archives: Design

The Old Girl Gets a New Look

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Everyone loves a good Before & After Story right?

Well, I orchestrated one this week (actually in just 36 hours)

It’s not quite finished yet and I did pilfer a couple of items that will have to be returned to their rightful places in my home eventually, but the results made me so happy I just couldn’t wait to share.

I even have music to accompany your stroll (If you love Bryan Ferry and old fashioned Big Band music you should check out his new CD “Jazz Age”

Um. Just one other thing…I forgot to take the “Before” photos, but trust me, it wasn’t exactly bad, but it’s much nicer now!

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It all began with the massive antique lantern below.  Over 3ft high and heavy with detail, I bought it in London eons ago and never found a home for it.

I know it looks like rubbish here

photobut with my newly invigorated passion for bright pink coinciding with getting bolder in my dotage I said to myself ;

“Slim, that old lantern is kind of fahbulous- why not paint it bright pink, I mean bright pink, replace the glass and hang it in the conservatory for the summer?

In days gone by, we used this wonderful room right off our dining room so much, but a few years ago it began to leak (hellooo-the house was built in 1895) so we moved most of the furniture out, save an old table and chairs and slowly stopped using it.

I can safely say “Hey, let’s all go to the conservatory!” is not a sentence you hear often in a household of boys.

 Even after I had the glass roof repaired (the swearing-ist glass repair workmen ever. How unreasonable is it to ask them not to walk on the antique glass??) I never got around to putting the furniture back in.

890A8465Until this week.

890A8472Having recently been so inspired by the colours and textures of Morocco, along with my love for lively Sri Lankan style,

and with Summer almost upon us…

890a8468All of a sudden I wanted the room done like yesterday.

Know that feeling?? It doesn’t just apply to hair and nails.

890A8514One of my favourite vintage Suzanis in hot pinks & purples served as my colour wheel

The silver tray I brought home from Morocco. Seriously. I love British Airways.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy walking by and seeing it every day.

890A8515The roses are from my garden

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What’s more fun than setting up a Summer bar?!

The drinks…OK, Smarty Pants.  I love these tiny tropical bananas from our local Asian grocery store.

 High/Low; Wicker lamp from Pottery Barn (in stores now) glassware from Christian Dior (couldn’t resist those sea glass colours and unusual shape)

890A8532Verging on vulgar in the garden but so great brought inside, these orange roses are for real. NO photo enhancement.

890A8536Tons of inspiration in the beautiful book “Rajasthan”

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Long time readers know of my weakness for a touch of red & white stripe come summer

890A8549Striped “dhurrie” from Pottery barn, ottoman “George Smith”, vintage leather poof

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890a8572Yellow throw pillow “Pottery Barn”, straw hat “Maison K” Montecito

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890A8574A couple of fav. mags always beckon one into a room

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890a8568Now I can’t wait to get up in the morning and have my tea in the conservatory-it’s positively singing with sunlight

(the hat is a must-slightly weird with my bathrobe but what the hell. Sorry for that visual)

890A8581and the perfect place for cocktails at Day’s end (or Day’s middle-towards-end..ish)

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 I know that some of you still in possession of a decent attention span might be asking

“But Slim, where’s the hot pink lantern??”

Still in the garage of course.

Stay tuned.

Let’s not get tooo crazy! :)

~

Get Schooled

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Question #1: What’s the worst thing about traveling?

If your answer is “PACKING” you get an “A”

If you squeezed in 2 answers, including “Airport Security” you get an “A +”

Question #2: What’s the BEST thing about traveling?

If your answer’s “Learning”

DING DING! You WIN!!

(If you answered “shopping” you’re a naughty, naughty student but I love you and you may sit beside me in class)

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So…

Imagine our delight in discovering this unusual little hotel in Portugal earlier this year.

Tucked away in a very quiet but convenient neighbourhood in the heart of Lisbon,

“Hotel da Estrela” has stayed true to the school it once was.

Even a good portion of the staff are students from a neighbouring hotel & culinary Institute.

890A3606Two views of the “study room”

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890A3602The Honesty Bar

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I dihn’t see you take that 2nd glass of Port!

890A3609Halls are hung with old maps and cool art, even the baseboards are blackboards where inspiration may be chalked up daily.

2f5c84a83ae8c264d1939738712c2f7e**

890A3783How fun is this custom carpeting in the rooms?!  (yes, that’s my foot- for scale)

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While not overly luxurious (which would feel weird in this funky/modern school ambience) the rooms and bathrooms are large, well appointed (though the giant showers could use a soap holder ) and reasonably priced. The staff are young, eager & courteous.

Coming home late in the evening even requires banging on a massive wooden door, just to add to the feel of missing curfew!

Full disclosure; we did not eat in the restaurant, as my friend’s friends who live in Lisbon took us out to dine at night.

890A3628Plus these egg custard pastries are mandatory every day. It’s a Portuguese law.

94d2548a7fe1fcf431df6dffe5eff4c4Chanel Resort 2013

Be True to Your School

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For more information on “Hotel da Estrela” 

~

For more chalkboard fun check out; Chalkboard China ( I just love them-if you click on the link you’ll see why :) )

Candle-Colletion-Blog-Ready3Chalkboard candles & Chargers both from Chalkboard China

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* Ciate Chalkboard nails here (available in the U.S. in June 2013)

** Tutorial on chalkboard tags here

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Glazed apple for teacher here

Lights Out

~

Mandarin & Midnight

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Tangerine & Noir

Mandarin & Midnight

Kumquat & Charcoal

Persimmon & Jet

Ebony &…

OK, let’s just cut to the chase…

Orange & Black

 It’s a great combination isn’t it?

So let’s not just save it for Halloween.

The black part of the equation is easy. Orange may be introduced as simply as above,

 with art, flowers, fruits, veggies in the kitchen, throws, books, glass or pottery in orange hues, candles, candy in a bowl,

leaving a luscious Leica laying around…

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A minor touch of orange carries major impact!

and if you don’t have the element of fire in a room, orange is your man.

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To further prove my point;

tumblr_mebiurvIM31rbsp5ao1_1280Love the art propped against the fireplace in this contemporary space.

03fb1532793411e2af7822000a1fb04e_7These are Von’s roses, not from my garden.  No scent, but they lasted about 9 days! Viagra roses.

268949408967282370_THIuSsGo_fTake note how many of these images have some form of natural wood working beautifully with the orange & black combo.

134127529_CtdQBZ7D_cSuch a cool kitch!

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Amanda Peet’s entry hall via Vogue

Do I see Viagra roses?

Here, natural wood, orange & black are adding a contemporary pop to an otherwise traditional room.

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 I want to hang a hammock inside somewhere, don’t you?!

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How about a sexy Public Bike propped casually against your wall

Michael Smith

This is a favorite photo so I’m sorry I don’t have the credit.

The coziness of a sleeping nook, dark wood and the arched leaded window are all so charming.

890A6279Here fiery orange & deep charcoal in my “Boy Barn”

It will be finished…eventually. You know how I hate to be rushed.

700_roman-williams-stiller-libraryBen Stiller’s library by Roman-Williams

Black bookcases are terribly chic.

Splashes of orange tones highlight them to dramatic effect in these three photos

one_kings_lane_scents_rusticand Hermes blankets always make Mommy happy.

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Pumpkin blankets and crisp black lines help to make this bedroom a triumph.

890A3820Oh, you naughty young Parisian man in Hotel Costes! How did you get on this post?!

c0fb762f6ef0f4e96eac0a238136cedeI like the warmth of this living space looking out on to the snow and pines, but can you tell what’s going on on the ceiling?

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and a touch of plum in these two pics60728294945475067_c7cdaavm_f

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LOVE this bold, fun room, especially the burnt orange velvet cushions on the African bead chairs.

SO…

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Go bold

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Go baby steps

but do think about giving orange & black a go-go (been watching Madmen much?!)

~

Slim Paley Daily #4

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IMG_4308“Cecil Brunner” climber outside my office window this week.

 Thank you so much for all your kind words and wishes on our 25th  anniversary yesterday, both here and on the FB page.

I was truly touched.

Happy Thursday night!

Now, back to the daily share, before it’s Friday…

If you’re anything like me (and you know you are because you’re here) you have about 50 million photos saved on your computer but aren’t printing any of them. Am I right? Sure, digital photography is utterly awesome and we’re taking TONS  more pics than we used to, but other than on a computer screen, they’re not tangible…

One of my Spring resolutions is to change that.

You saw my Moo cards-I’m on a roll…

Here are two more fun ideas to help get your memories off the screen and into the hands of someone you love ( that could just be yourself!)

Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 9.30.23 PMI’m totally in love with the look of these photo books you can create at Artifact Uprising

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I’ve been following them for a little while on Instagram and I’m so inspired by their style and company ethos.

They also have a blog that might ignite some grand ideas for your photos-they attract a charming crowd.

~

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Have you ever thought of making tiles with your photographs?

These large slab tiles (12 x 12) at  Image Snap are only $35

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Or an 8 x 8 square for $27.  Dude. Seriously.

Great gift idea.

You can even make teeny 2 x 2 tiles for $4 each.

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I could do a bathroom wall of my roses!

Have I made anything with Artifact Uprising or Image Snap yet? No.

Am I sharing them with you to push myself? Kinda.

Great. Now I have so many ideas and images swirling in my head, I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight.

Thanks a lot. Until Friday…

Good Night!

Slim Paley Daily #1

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Mini Monday

Welcome to the launch of “Slim Paley Daily” !

The plan is to share one fun thing a day for a week just to shake things up a bit.

Think of it as a “Friday Favourites” facelift (remember those?? Favourites, not facelifts)

As it happens, my first share is something I mentioned waaay back on Friday Favourites but never ended up doing myself…

until just recently

890A7901and boy, do I love my Moo Cards !

890A7894Half the size of regular business cards,they’re really inexpensive, easy to create and the Moo service is great.

and they’re funny, those Moo folks. Always a plus in my books.

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Simply pick whatever images you wish to print, drag them to the templates on the create page and off you go.

If I can do it, YOU can do it.

They have a multitude of combinations for fonts and background colours (though they could use more font choices) and the best part? They print on both sides!  Choose a matte or glossy  finish and load up to 100 images.

YES- 100 IMAGES People!

  I picked 100 of my own photos, most of them from previous Slim posts.
890A7884and went with a matte finish because I didn’t think my card case needed any competition. Ahem.

I think I ordered 400 cards because that seemed to come out to a ridiculously good price.

FYI- you can also create regular sized business cards, stickers, and other fun stuff.

moo.com

Check it out.

PPS. This mention is only with affection, not affiliation with Moo-nies.

~

See you tomorrow with Tuesday’s… thing.