SIGNED BOOK GIVEAWAY!: {GREEN}

Hi All!  Today was supposed to be a guest post day, but I've been snowed under with work, moving, and a happy chaos.  Once we get through this week, we'll be getting some more regular content on here.  

I read a quote today, "Be like a duck.  Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath' -Michael Caine:)

As we head into Earth Day in the coming week, I will be sharing some great give aways on the blog which were donated by a few of my fave interior designer friends from across the country. Be sure to be looking for those. 

Meanwhile, my giveaway today is an autographed book, GREEN Interior Design, by author/designer Lori Dennis.  She's an interior designer extraordinaire, and HGTV personality.  She's beyond talented. 

And, while I was at Design Camp, I found her to be really hilarious, refreshing, truly authentic, as well as a huge inspiration for the green movement in Interior Design. 

Lori was recently invited to do a window at Legends of La Cienega {one of my favorite LA design events} so keep your eye out for some eye candy on that.  BTW, Lori's sister,  was also a design camp host as well.  She was a truly green delight and challenged me personally to become more green conscious too.   I'm not hugely green, but I am making little baby steps now.  We all have to start somewhere to make a difference, right?  

OKAY, NOW...  

To enter yourself in this giveaway, you must leave a comment here on the blog and name your favorite 'Green' product, 'GREEN' home project, or any type of 'walk in the forest' that made you feel 'GREEN' in a good way.  Winner to be announced after Earth Day. PSSST...Don't forget to like our Pickwick House facebook page and then also become a member of the blog! I'll be sharing some of my fave green things coming up on the blog. GO>GREEN>>>

Happy Hump DAy!

xx
sharon

Guest Post: Holly Hollingsworth Phillips

Hi All!  

I introduce to you a wonderful new friend I made at Design Camp a few months back.  When I first met Holly Hollingsworth Phillips, she used her southern belle accent to complement my daring {Target brand} hello kitty skirt I was wearing to a cocktail, and instantly, I knew she was a girl I liked.  Haha.  

Holly is a most fab designer from Charlotte, North Carolina and recently was named by Merida as one of the ten designers to make a splash in 2013.  You can head over to Merida's open studio blog HERE to read their feature and learn more about what the 'big dogs' are singing about.   

What I love about Holly's expressive style is that she makes beautiful spaces out of art and antiques and can go from ultra modern and funky to a sweet twist on traditional.  

I recently asked her if she'd guest post about something she's currently loving that's 'Green'.  I thought it would be appropriate as we are leading up to Earth Day.  

Okay, so be sure check out her blog, of course, her highly addictive pinterest page, and for sure, follow her IG.  She posts gorge stuff!  I especially love that her creative talent is evident in her kids work.  Recently she posted a wallpapered room, that was created out of her 6 year old daughter, Gigi's, artwork that was incredible!  Talent runs thick and deep in her southern family.

Um, yes, that's Holly sitting in her vibrant and cool office below. Tres Chic, she is, indeed.  I'm pulling infinite inspiration from this young lady and mama of three!

Photo by Chris Edwards

Okay, Holly, take it away!...

It is hard trying to be aesthetically pleasing and green at the same time. There are a few vendors and fabric manufacturers who put an emphasis on this but, they are still few and far between. Well, that is not the case with Rubie Green. This company is based in the US and founded by the talented Michelle Adams of Lonny fame. She started this boutique fabric house to fill a void in the market that combined good environmental practices with aesthetics and what a bang up job she did. With no further adieu I introduce you to Rubie Green.

“It's a barefoot walk in the sand; it's a lazy afternoon nap, and it's your first sight of the Mediterranean coast. It's life at its simplest, and nature in its wordless beauty. 

“Here at Rubie Green, our mission is to dress your surroundings in fabrics that represent vitality, energy, comfort and style, all while maintaining respect to the environment by using only 100% organic cotton. We believe in classic designs that are familiar to every decade, re-vitalized in an eco-friendly manner. We know that natural does not mean boring, and that interiors make a house a home.

Our team performed months of research, attended trade shows and participated in conferences to find what we believe is the most eco-friendly printing method available. Our upholstery fabrics are made of 100% certified organic cotton, which is whitened without bleach and printed here in the US. We print with water-based, non-toxic inks that contain no volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), and utilize a printing process that minimizes water consumption. In fact, the factory uses only one gallon of water per day! This was an exciting discovery for our team as water plays such an integral role in most other methods of printing. We also wanted to avoid fabric waste so we decided to print only on demand, using heat and pressure to finish our fabrics instead of chemicals.”

Here is the wonderful range of fabrics available in the collection. I am quite partial to the Jackie and the Mary. Roar!

You can shop Rubie Green upholstery fabrics, pillow covers and accessories HERE.  Bravo to this fantastic company! Lets hope for the future of out children and the planet more vendors can go green while staying pretty. 

*****************************************

And, it's Sharon here, popping back in to say:  Thanks so much, Holly!  I am SO glad you storied Rubie Green, as I've long been a fan of Lonny mag, and the passionate-visionary creator, Michelle Adams.  BRAVO to her for her 'go-green-go-fresh' style!

For those of you locals, here in the Springfield area, I actually have had many of these beautiful Rubie Green sample fabrics here at the studio for awhile now that I am just dying to use.  Aren't they so pretty?  What are your faves?  I love the Marilyn and the Megan a lot.

If you're just visiting my site for the first time, or maybe stopping in as an occasional visitor, I'm so happy to have you!  I invite you to join my blog and become a member.  And once you become a member, be sure and stay tuned, because soon and very soon, you will be able to enter for the chance to win some special giveaways from some of our guests. Browse yourselves around on all the blog buttons I've posted at the top too.  Facebook, Pinterest, and IG:-)

xx
sharon

Pickwick House is a full service design/build company in the heart of the Midwest!  {Springfield, Missouri's Rountree Neighborhood}.  We handle all aspects of residential renovations from small to large projects and are available for full service and consultation design, and/or stylizing from Springfield and beyond.  Call or email us today.  We may be on location, but we'll get back to you in no time.

 417-459-8988 *sharontaylordesigns@yahoo.com

BIG LOVE

You've heard me touch on 'thoughtfully done remodel/restoration' in some of our recent home reno posts, but Barry Darr Dixon {one of my biggest design idols} recently brought the point home very simply and eloquently at Design Camp. "As a designer you have two clients.  The client and the home {building}."  Pretty simple, huh?  "Good, professional designers and contractors SHOULD value the home and it's architecture."

It's no secret that Will and I LOVE architecture and it's at the core of why we even fell in love.  We carry a big heart for that into every project, and I believe it really raises the value of what we do.

Pickwick House is a full service design/build company in the heart of the Midwest!  {Springfield, Missouri's Rountree Neighborhood}.  We handle all aspects of residential renovations from small to large projects and are available for full service and consultation design, and/or stylizing from East to West Coast.  Call or email us today.  We may be on location, but we'll get back to you in no time.

 417-459-8988 *sharontaylordesigns@yahoo.com

xx

sharon

V&M CRUSH!!

MY WISH LIST from my new favorite shopping site; Vand M{Vintage and Modern}.  I must've been living under a rock or something because I'd never heard of it until recently while I was at design camp.   A group of us designer campers were invited to go have a bite for dinner with the co founder of V&M {a sponsor of camp}. Bill Indursky.  A magnetic, smart, and quirky guy.  He was a fantastic speaker who had us revved up from the GET-GO at camp!

While at dinner, he shared with us his personal and inspiring story of growing several businesses and then his latest, V&M.  V&M one of the fastest growing curated online marketplaces on the internet.  We all know about 1st Dibbs, right? Well, V&M is a close second to it with it's impeccable selections.  It's known for more affordable prices, however.  Who doesn't love that?

When we all parted from dinner that night, Bill told us to be prepared for his 'TREND' talk the following day with his over the top attire.  We tried to guess but would've never guess him to be 

sporting head to toe tattoos, some sort of slick material-ed kilt skirt, spiked gloves, and shiny gold high top nikes.  Almost as catchy as his talk.  ALMOST! 

Go check out V&M!  You'll be glad you did!!  

OKAY, here is what's on my wish list from V&M. {Btw, how many times have I said V&M in this post? I can't say it enough!} 

I would love to add this bleached wood trestle table to my new home office.  It would be an amazing desk. What I really love is that it has a parque top.

This guy is definitely on my list.  Not for cheerleading particularly, but for waking my teenagers up.  I hope they come in extra large! It's only $200.  I LOVE the look of these megaphones.  

Great paper weight.  

 I'm ordering this suzani for a client and hoping to order a couple extra for our new house.

Vintage metal baskets always come in handy for art supplies, linens, and books.  

This turtle shell is so sweet.  Turtle shells for good luck for the coming year. {This is an antique turtle shell and is not on the endangered list.}

Hope you're having a good start to this holiday week!  

xx

sharon

vandm.com/

Kitchen Trend: Classic Lines + Modern Features

In restoring our 1930's American Colonial house, the words that keep echoing in my mind are "Appropriateness" and "Quality".


In designing our new 'old' kitchen, I have been stalling on decisions for the appliances.  Until I found these.

  

One of the speakers at Design Camp was a sub zero wolf rep and one trend she mentioned was that stainless steel is seeing a digression in the design world.   Surprising, huh?  Not really.  She shared some newer subzero models that are going back to the 'classic look' we remember from Grandma's house.  Classic with modern features.  While I'd love to go with sub zero, my heart keeps taking me back to these pictured above by AGA. 

We're about to push the 'go' button on these three AGA appliances  in 'vintage white'.  And, lucky for us, they just so happen to be hosting a promotion until December 31st!

I've spoken with several designer friends who use this brand who say that it is not only a beautiful and 'green conscious' brand, but that the cooking capabilities are amazing and super long lasting.  I'm curious though, because we are buying this product blindly.  {There aren't any on the showroom floor here in the Midwest!} Any of you out there using the AGA brand or do you have a brand of appliances that you would swear by?

xx
sharon

Design Camp Attendee, Austin Texas

Hi All.  

To those in the midst of preparing for hurricane Sandy:  My thoughts are with you.  Sending strength and good thoughts your way!  

I just returned from Design Camp in Austin, TX.  It was the first of a series of more camps to sweep across the US.  It was also a first time camp experience for me.  I found it to be completely amazing for many reasons.   First, and foremost, so I could educate myself more for you.  I figure I owe that education to you, my clients, here in the Midwest.

Above, is a pic of the portfolio case I put together to take to camp, using an inexpensive portfolio case from Walgreens, a gold coin thrifted brooch and red ribbon.  {Super easy, super inexpensive, yet classically organized looking and hopefully professional. hehe.}

HGTV personalities and celebrity designers, Lori Dennis and Kelli Ellis {co founders of Design Camp}were warm, funny, and very generous with their knowledge as well as their a-list line up of amazing speakers!  I was extremely honored that I was a chosen recipient to receive a free tuition pass thru Ronda Carman's blog, All The Best.  If you are a designer or  in the line of this industry, I strongly encourage you to go to one of the upcoming camps.  The next is slated for Atlanta, I believe.

Happy Monday!

xx
sharon