A Toile Tale: September 2012

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Yummy Fabrics

Don't these fabrics make you happy?

I do not try to use this blog to promote my design business, as a rule, but I just had to show you all (not y'all, since I live in Georgia, but grew up in the north) how wonderfully this room is coming together. I always try to protect my clients' privacy, but let's just take a peek at the choices we've made for this beautiful room. We're buying no new furniture, but recovering ten pieces that she already owns. The lay-out won't change, but it will be a huge change in the looks of the room. There will be a pair of tufted chairs in this blue geometric and a pair of club chairs in this blue strie twill.

Look at the colors in this fabric!!! This is a very traditional pattern, going back to colonial times, but produced here in current, vibrant colors. As we pondered this sample draped on the sofa, we noticed that the Encore azaleas just outside the window had blooms the exact shade of this coral background! There will be four game chairs covered in a matching herringbone chenille, which I forgot to photograph. This room has white walls and a soaring ceiling and is filled with light from a huge Palladian window and French doors. This all looks out onto a magnificent garden. You can see a post I did this spring at this home here.

Throw pillows from this linen will be trimmed out with this tape and fringe in cream and French blue. I'm sorry that I didn't get a photo of the ottoman fabric, either, but it is a perfect complement to the others. The workrooms should be working on this as we speak, so I'm eagerly awaiting load-in day!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Brights for Fall

I think I'm having a hard time letting go of summer. While I am out searching for the perfect pumpkins and hay bales and corn stalks, I still am not quite ready for the muted colors of fall.

So, when I had these flowers left over from a reception at our church, I decided to take them outside and enjoy them at a table that gives a nod to fall, but is full of bright yellows and oranges. These three ceramic tree trunk pedestals are from Homegoods last year, and all of the flowers came from Krogers.

It was a beautiful evening, so I set this up on our white circular deck that overlooks the lake. The trees are just barely starting to turn, but they will be a beautiful show of color soon.

This runner is a polyester silk from the floral wholesaler and it dictated the color palate. I used it over a plain white linen round caterers' tablecloth.

Starting with an orange woven placemat, I used a wicker charger, a plain white dinner plate, and then these yellow cabbage (lemon?) plates.

I topped it with these orange bordered salad plates and chose this yellow handled flatware. You can see a lot of these bright orange items at a luncheon I gave for my bridge buddies here.

The glassware is a mixture of high/low. These tumblers, placed on a small straw coaster, are from Walmart, and the wine stems are Juliska.

I was hoping that these napkins from World Market would be a match for this runner, and was tickled to see that they worked great.

These faux bois salt and pepper shakers mimic the ceramic tree trunks on the centerpiece, and I used these antler-handled fruit knives as butter knives. These square orange bread and butter plates were from Homegoods.

I found a bottle of wine that brought orange and yellow to the table. I probably drive serious wine drinkers crazy when I do this, and I love wine but am just not into all the details. I often choose what I serve by the label. The water was served in this wicker covered bottle that I sometimes use for flowers. That probably makes some people cringe, too.

It took just minutes to set this up, yet we enjoyed it so much. Loving the cooler evenings!!!!

Friday, September 14, 2012

Wine in a Purse??????

While I was dressing this morning, I had "Live with Kelley and Michael" on my bathroom tv. They featured this wine in a box that actually looks like a purse...and a very classy purse at that! I did an internet search and found their website. It turns out it is wine from France, but packaged in Sweden. Isn't it soooo cute?

Here's the white.

Here's the red.

And here's the rose. It's the cutest. I see this served right from the box at the table for a girls' "Let's Go Shopping" party that I have been thinking about. I can't help but think that this is sooooo my daughter, Susie and her purse loving friends.

Let's be clear. I am not endorsing this YET, but I must try it. I just have to find it first.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Wellies in the Weeds

This very handsome guy is our youngest grandson, Owen. Here he is picking apples at his aunt's farm. Don't you just love the wellies in the weeds and the missing teeth? He's just the best!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

We Must Never Forget

Pause for a moment and send some fervent prayers for the souls of those who

perished on this black day in history.........

and for those who responded. Their horror will no doubt be with them for eternity.

Now, pray again.....a prayer of thanks that this is still the flag that is flying over this great country of ours.

Let us set aside the ugliness of this political season and remember what brings us together, not what divides us.

God Bless America

Monday, September 3, 2012

The Sporting Life - Equestrian Style

Doesn't this look like fun? When Rebecca Smith, owner of Rebecca Ray Designs invited me to come to her house and play with dishes, I couldn't wait to start. My last post was the first table we collaborated on, titled "The Sporting Life - Canine Style". You can see it here. Then, we quickly put those dishes and accessories away and pulled this breakfast table together. We switched to equestrian style with these beautiful pieces.

Again, we just set up one end of the table with three placesettings.

My first choice was these vintage hunt scene napkins and placemats. They went directly on the old Baker table.

Next she offered these old Fitz and Floyd plates. How perfect!

But wait! It gets better! Then she remembered these dessert size plates that were perfect on top. They are Wedgewood and the pattern is "Hunting Scene".

Then she threw open this closet full of glass and crystal and said, "just pick some glasses". Well......I think I did pretty well. Rebecca doesn't know anything about these beauties, as they came from an estate sale. I grabbed the water goblets ......

and the compotes. Score!

After that, I was on a roll. Rebecca got some unexpected company, so I just wandered around the house filling up the table. There were so many beautiful things to pick from.

Like these sterling silver and cobalt glass salt cellars. Do you see what is on top???? A fox!!!

And I found more foxes to use as knife rests.

Then, in the silver drawer, I found these engraved silver dishes. I'm not sure what they were intended to be used for, but I'm showing them here as butter plates, and I've added these silver plate individual butter spreaders. These were all Rebecca's grandmother's.

One has to have a teapot for breakfast, right? I first thought that this was a fox on top, but it really is a cat. Still, it's perfect. I only used one of a pair of these.

Now, I'm on to the centerpiece. Out in the kitchen, I found a basket of white peaches, just picked that morning from their orchard, and a single dahlia that "matched" the peaches. Onto a green bordered plate they went, and they were perfect to soften the table.

Rebecca suggested this cement horse for the center of the table. It is one of a pair and very special. It is signed and dated "Hughette Wheeler, 1930". I did a little research and found that the sculptor is often called "Tex" Wheeler and did the life sized statue of Seabiscuit that stands in Santa Anita Park.

Naturally, we added these old stirrup cups for some extra color.

And there you have it! It only represents a tiny fraction of the beautiful decorative accessories Rebecca and Derek had available to me. And they were still unpacking!!!

Yep! You'd never guess from this angle that they had JUST moved and that much of their stuff was still in boxes. This house is undergoing some major changes and I can't wait to see what they do.

For now, I'll just give them a huge thank you for inviting me to do this photo shoot and hope that it won't be too long before they can actually take the time to sit down and enjoy a meal at a table like this.

Talley Ho!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

The Sporting Life - Canine Style

I have quite a treat for you today. While visiting my family in Cleveland last week, I visited Rebecca and Derek Smith in their new home that sits on twenty four acres with multiple outbuildings. "New" is a relative term. It is actually an architecturally significant Century home in Chagrin Falls. They have JUST moved in and are truly still in the middle of boxes and remodelers. I am so grateful that she agreed to collaborate on a couple of tablesettings with her beautiful dishes and accessories. Rebecca is the owner of Rebecca Ray Designs, a company that celebrates the sporting life, and you can see one of my previous posts featuring her goods here.

We were able to set three placesettings at the end of the dining room table and I bet you can't tell that the other end of the room is filled with boxes and packing paper and even Derek's laptop set up on a stack of cardboard! Boy! I was asking a lot to do this. Thank you, guys! Note the black framed oil beside the window.....it's their daughter, Lizzie in her first horse show and Rebecca's mother, Ann painted it. I tell you.....it's a talented family!

Have you ever heard of Marguerite Kirmse? You can read about her here. She is an English artist from the late 1800's who did these etchings featured on these plates by Wedgewood. We chose three different designs to feature on this table.

You can see more of her images here. I jumped at the chance to use these, but stopped jumping when Rebecca told me what they were worth!!! I handled them very gingerly after that. Of course, I was even more drawn to them when I saw the acorns on the borders.

Here's a close-up of the Cocker Spaniel artwork.

And here's the back of that plate.

To say that Rebecca knows her dogs is sort of an understatement. She breeds and shows English Setters and her mother, Ann Yuhasz, is a rather big deal in the dog judging world. Her kennel is called Hemlock Lane and their champions have shown at places like Westminster Kennel Club Show to name drop just a bit. You can see some images of her dogs here.

Here's doggy love for you! It's their daughter, Lizzie, with one of their puppies. Because of this love of dogs, their collections are impressive. You'll find a treasure trove of dog and horse related items in their home and outbuildings. Most of them or vintage or antique.

Here's what we chose to feature in on this table:

These vintage, taupe-on-cream linens support the colors of the plates. We placed them directly on the lovely old Baker inlaid table. These napkin rings are from the Rebecca Ray collections. They come four to a set and are different dogs or horses. These reproductions of old brass encircled rosettes are handmade for the company by the Amish community in nearby Middlefield, Ohio. They show up on many of her purses and accessories and can be customized to your taste.

Here's the sweet Beagle face......

and here's the King Charles Spaniel. I featured my set of equestrian themed rings in a post I did called "Giddy-Up". You can see it by clicking here.

Rebecca just opened the doors to her china and glassware storage closets for me and I chose these engraved wine glasses to go with this placesetting.

They are from an old Seder set that has been in her family for years and years. Aren't they special?

The horn handled knife is paired with vintage silverplate.

Look closely at the knife rests!

These salt and pepper shakers are made in Japan. These guys don't look very happy to be here, but are very sweet and perfect for the tone of the tablescape.

At two of the placesettings, I placed these tiny spill vases with a few wildflowers from the yard. What a nice pair, not totally matched, but facing each other. Love them!

Then, the third place got this little pair of paper mache dogs in the same colors. I just walked around and "shopped" her shelves to find them.

Let's look at the center of the table.

As a divider, we chose this remarkable alabaster setter. It almost took both of us to lift it! For right now it has found a place in a dry sink welcoming guests as they come in the front door. As she unpacks, it could probably end up anywhere, I suppose.

Then we added one of a pair of bronze bookends. You'll find several sets of these around the house.

And.....trumpet fanfare, please.....these French chalk dog heads that usually hang in the hallway. I've tried to research them from the markings on the back and I can't find anything. They are engraved M(H?)alide Suepteur Edite Paris. It's hard to read. If any of you know anything further, please let me know. I. Love. These.

And then there's this waif-like little bronze guy. I chose him because I just loved his face.

See what I mean?

I couldn't help sticking my hand into that china cupboard you see and finding this to use for the wine coaster.

Here's the marking on the back.

And they just happened to have the perfect bottle of wine to put on it.

Who wouldn't want to sit at this table and dine? Especially with the comfort of the Rebecca Ray leather and canvas pillow with genuine horse harness fittings? It sits on one of the 18th century tole, rush-seat chairs.

You'd never know by the look of this serene table that uninvited guests were dropping in, Rebecca was late for the Western Reserve Dog Show, Derek was in the midst of bank negotiations, Lizzie was looking for lunch, and about six dogs needed to be fed. They were so gracious to me. Their mind-set was putting things away, and I was taking them out right and left. I wish them well in their new home. May they fill it with love and laughter.

I think you'll agree they are "best in show"!

My next post will be the same table done in an equestrian theme with her unique finds and dishes. You'll love it!