Holiday Tables by Sharon Taylor Designs

Tomorrow, I'll be a guest on KY3 t.v.'s early morning show sharing some Holiday Entertaining Tips.

I will be setting the table + showcasing some super simple gift wrapping ideas.

I like table tops to be fast + easy to assemble so I'll start with a few things I have on hand... Inspiration color: Scarlett Red. {I'm sure it will be a twist on the traditional.} I hope you like it!

This scarlett red dining room is a recent project of mine that was recently photographed by Sesha Shannon.

Happy Holidays!

Photography by Sesha Shannon of Convey Studio Photography

A Mod-Traditional Dining Room by Sharon Taylor Designs

Most American families don't use their dining rooms, but the couple who own this beautiful English home DO... and here's why:

Freshly painted walls, and 'Taylor-Made' touches.

What do you think? My clients are quite pleased with it, and so am I!

This dining room was opened up to a small kitchen. Basically, the door leading into the dining room was small and squatty. It was widened and raised, with all trim and molding made to match all of the original 1920's styled woodwork.

While the widened doorway was a really grand and needed update..the two conjoined rooms were still feeling disjointed and not cohesive at all. The kitchen was already painted this beautiful color of blue {the Brit husband's fave oceanic color}, and the dining room had butter yellow walls and yellowish curtains. I convinced them that they needed to "be-Out-with" the yellow and bring on the same vibrant blue as the kitchen. I knew that this would happily marry the two rooms together and give the space one large, sweeping-room effect. {Unfortunately, I have no photos of the kitchen to share yet...but will soon.}

This mod-traditional project is pretty much right in line w/the way this middle aged couple live. They are madly in love after 15 years of marriage and whenever I visit them for their bedroom makeover, the husband is usually cooking dinner on their viking range, the table is set w/lit candles, fresh flowers...and then she arrives home from work with a "Hi, honey I'm home." and a smooch. They have their long dinner chat together and then they take their fast paced nightly walk...arm in arm. {Mod, yet traditional living and very sweet}

The drapes and chandelier are from West Elm. Flowers by Janet Pearson, The Orchid Lady. Black Chair Slipcovers designed by me. We used the chairs they already owned...but they were needing some serious style makeovers since being purchased in the 80's. I had them re-dressed in some classy custom made slipcovers using wholesale heavy duty black denim. The dining table is an antique and the wings on the sides fold down. It seats six comfortably, but could also be used as a credenza or sofa table as well. The rug was found at Tuesday Morning.

Photography by Sesha Shannon of Convey Studio Photography

Blue Opulent Christmas

This Grand Opulence post has me playing "Blue Christmas" right now. It's also making me daydream of what I might do with a certain house in my neighborhood that was recently purchased after not having being touched since the 1960's. Imagine stepping into the set of Sound of Music.

If I were given the chance, {along with a few gold coins} to either:

A. buy it

OR

B. decorate this grand home,

I would definitely gravitate towards giving it a classic-traditional, yet refreshing twist of style.

This is Aerin Lauder's East Hampton home, which was featured in the December 2007 issue of House and Garden magazine. {image via Habitually Chic}.

Stay tuned for a newly painted cobalt blue dining room by Sharon Taylor designs, coming up this week...

Sneak Peak of an Early Christmas Present by Sharon Taylor Designs

Remember the red 'hooker-chic' headboard I found for a client? Well, here it is, hot off the truck! {Again, I apologize for my photography skills}. Still searching for some killer side tables to compliment this curvy bed. We're thinking either rustic-modernism, or sleek-industrial.

My client has little ones who like to snuggle up aside a mama and a papa on occasion. So, when choosing the fabric for reupholstering this piece, we knew that we needed something resistant to kid-like actions...i.e., super-hero flightiness, artistic marker renderings, and sweet little lolly-pop kisses. I selected a deeper grey colored canvas, that is warm, heavy-duty, and ultra cheap ($5.99 per yard = $36 total for fabric). That's cheaper than pre-made gravy! And, on top of that...It was a Pottery Barn remnant.

The bed installation went w/out a hitch, just as I had planned. Hanging it on the wall and then reinforcing it w/two L brackets underneath was no problem at all for these guys.

More to come on this bedroom redo. Also, stay tuned in, because I have some other exciting new design things happening this week and all the rest of the month.

I'm off now, to design a 2010 New Years wedding, using creme burlap runners on long harvest tables... it's going to be beautiful!

Have a wonderfully cheerful week!

Sharon

An Argentinian Dining Set to Cry For by Sharon Taylor Designs

A real quick post today...I'm off to pick up some emerald green rail-roaded drapes today from the work room. So excited to use them for an interior shoot today in a cobalt blue dining room.

Here at the end of the busiest year I've had in the business...I'm setting aside time to try to have ten interior rooms professionally photographed. These are all my projects that have not been shared yet. So, yes, all my 'talk' will now be a for real thing . My good friend, Sesha Shannon of Convey Studio Photography is going to be giving them life by capturing them at their best. I am nervous, anxious and excited all at the same time. I hope it all delivers.

Shout Out: I have been so very fortunate to have some of the best people, friends, family and photographers that have been willing to take a chance on me. Thank you!!

It's been a wild ride since I stepped foot into this thing called a design career three years ago, but I am officially hooked on it! Ups and downs along the way have made me stronger, and I have truly enjoyed the lessons learned on each project I've taken on. Many, many lessons learned that I hope to pass on to readers and viewers.

So here is a set of chairs that I found a flea market for my sister's dining room. They gave me ugly eyes when I first found them. {Think yucky Glossified dark wood finish from the seventies with a 1980's rosette styled fabric}...wish I had the 'befores'!

I gave them a lacquered high gloss black finish and white leather upholstery + nickel tacks and VOila, I WANT! Do you like? Also, I found the amazing Czechoslovakian chandelier for her as well.

Gotta run and get my stylizing game on for the shoots!

xo

Sharon

Black Forest Sundae Kitchen by Sharon Taylor Designs

Here's a little Black Forest Sundae edition of a kitchen {same client}. I just this week topped the dark chocolate floors off with the whipped creme and red cherries...{Oh, how I love a good pun!} I really need help...Am I strange to want to name these rooms after food? What does this mean? I'm sure it means I have an eating disorder of some sort, among many other things...

O., but this room is just

VERY, don't you think?

Lately, I can't get over watching my little Sylvie slide around in her swirly bottom black tights and new {large} red coat. Never do I have any luck getting a smile out of her for the snap.

Currently obsessed w/Miles Redd eclecticism.

I've been so busy decorating everywhere else but my own home. How are all your homes coming along? I'm seeing some fantastic Holiday cheer in the neighborhood! I mean, more greens than ever are going up around here. Very heart warming. Cheerful big wreaths, pony tails {that's what my sister Rosie calls her door swag}, and lights that really say "Glad Tidings".

I say big "Bravo!" for Happy Holidaying!

xo

sharon

Swank Office by Sharon Taylor Designs

Remember the post when I shared the smoke-colored glass desk, upholstered raspberry delight chair, and drapes for a home office I was designing for a client? Well, it's almost done and here it is!

Unfortunately, I don't have any 'befores' of this room. Basically, just picture it empty. With a combination of thrift store finds, Target pieces, some DIY items, a couple splurges, I think we got just what we were trying to get.

It all started with a smokey glass desk I found at a thrift store for sixty bucks. I think the smokey color gives it a mysterious glam vibe.

My client is a young, business woman who owns and runs her own boutique clothing store. This girl's got style AND drive, let me tell ya! We wanted to create a home office that was colorful, mod-baroque, with splashes of Spanish and Chinosiere influences.

I found the cornice board at a thrift store for $25. I kept the original retro fabric upholstery on it, but knew that it needed some extra oomph to lift it out of blahsville... So, I took six yards of black 2" ribbon and glued a big criss-cross on it to give it a classier, more 'Taylored' look. Then I selected a champagne-colored taffeta to coordinate with the cornice board fabric. The black border on the inset just unified the two together perfectly, and gave these drapes the richness that they needed {but not for a kings' ransom}. These drapes cost under $250, w/the seamstress' charge included!

Now keep in mind, these are my own personal snapshots. One is really blurry, but the color was SO right, that I couldn't resist posting. {The real photographer is coming next week}.

I outfitted one wall w/two matching cork boards from Target for $15.99 [awaiting some personalization and yellow post it notes}. I actually like how the two 'blank' corkboards look in and of themselves. They give the wall a decorative, mod, mid-century paneled look. Now that's inexpensive art! I also loved the symmetry of the two and twos {chairs and corkboards}, flanking that darling aqua side table. And the crystal and brass wall sconce placed in-between the two really helps to break all the straight lines, while it adds some very necessary sparkle to the room.

The opposite wall is devoted to a killer spanish piece that is actually a reproduction cast off from a local warehouse. It was formerly, a mucky, faux painted brown and pea green hutch which was probably intended to be used in a 'french-country or tuscan' decor styled home you so often see in these parts..."But I say, Out with that type of stuff!! Out the door, Puh-lease!" Okay, moving on...This piece has great character and lines though. Ser-iou-sly. My instant vision for it included a fresh coat of white lacquered paint. {I mean faster than you can say jack-rabbit is how fast I wanted this thing painted}. I decided to echo the inset with a similar aqua to the side table. All of the tchoskies are thrift store finds, including the Sweet matador that just kept telling me that he needed a home. He fits in quite nicely on this spanish hutch. There is a lot of storage space in the drawers for all of my clients paper work etc.

To mix things up a bit, I chose to infuse some spanish/woodsy tones into the already baroquial feeling room. I devoted a step ladder book shelf {$20 thrift store find} to a careful selection of brass goblets, yak horns {correct me if I'm wrong}, wood boxes, antlers, pine cones and driftwood. I might even add a bit more of these darker elements to the spanish shelf, which to me, is needing a little more drama rather than 'marshmallow clouds'. I'll re-tweak this room and add a few more pieces of art work to the walls before the real photographer comes next week. Until then, what do you think?

I have an installation coming up on Friday. Can't wait! Oh, I do love installation days.

A few other mentions I might add about the office above: The raspberry delight chair was formerly a tired old garage sale find that my client had sitting in her garage. We gave it new life w/nickel tacks, raspberry colored wholesale fabric, and white lacquered paint. The rug is a round braided jute rug that I found at Lowes on clearance for $99. I found the whippet dog at a thrift store for a real steal as well.

Well, gotta run...Have a wonderful rest of your week!