Showing posts with label dining room. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dining room. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Fab Finds for the Home

As I’ve mentioned before, I love shopping on Fab because you really can find everything you could ever want all in one place.  When they asked me to curate another post, I thought it might be fun to highlight some of their home items.  As we approach the Passover and Easter holidays, you might want to think about getting your dining room ready for guests. 

One of the hardest parts of living in New York is that almost all of us rent.  That means that maybe you get to paint if you are lucky but wallpaper is out of the question…until now. This Chevron Wallpaper from Swag Paper above is “repositionable, removable, and reusable” which is remarkable.  If anyone needs me this weekend, I might be “wallpapering” my entry hall. 

Fab has so many different styles of rugs that you could find one for every room of your home.  I particularly love how the wavy circles of the Millennium Patriot Blue Rug contrast with the geometric wallpaper. It also reminds me of an Elliott Puckette painting. They have a lot of flat weave patterned rug too.



If you are planning a dinner party, you’ll need something to sit on.  This Maui Armless Chair from Kartell would add a bright pop of color to any room.  Fab is also having a huge Kartell Sale which includes Ghost Chairs and other iconic designs. 


Unfortunately, this teak table is no longer available but it’s a great example of some of the vintage furniture you might find on Fab.



I’m not always a fan of posters as art but I’m loving the vintage inspired city posters by Anderson Design Group. In addition to this San Francisco Trolley Poster, they also have quite a few posters of other cities and areas in the US and abroad.



It feels like spring is never coming to New York since it keeps snowing.  This Bay Stripes 16Piece Tableware Set by Gibson would be cheerful to use on the greyest of days as well as when sunny spring finally arrives. 



These Zeno Rocks Glasses in the orange hue would also add another pop of color to the table.  I think they’d be great for water or wine. I always feel like I’m going to knock over any stemmed glass at dinner so the lower the better for me. Oh, and at $11 for 8 glasses, they are an amazing deal!



As I stated earlier, Fab really does offer everything including the actual fixings for dinner.  The Roast Chicken Kit with truffle butter sounds yummy and you wouldn’t even have to leave the house to go pick it up!

Please keep in mind that some of the items on Fab are available for a limited time so if you like something, you might want to act quickly.

In the interest of full disclosure, I worked with Fab on this post but the items were chosen solely by me and the opinions expressed are my own.   It is sponsors like Fab that allow me to continue to bring you Habitually Chic everyday. Thanks!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Aubergine & Green

I have a weakness for a spring chartreuse-y green color and Todd Alexander Romano's room is punctuated with fabulous pops of the color against aubergine walls. Not sure if you can tell in the photos but there is even an aubergine trim from Samuel & Sons along the edge French Empire chair upholstery. You can read the entire story of how this room came about at The New York Times if you haven't already read your 10 free stories for the month. The dining room in The Kips Bay Decorator Show House is a perfect mix of modern and traditional that I think too many people are afraid to try but as you can looks amazing. 

I'm off to cover another show house now because my work is never done. 

Bon Weekend!










Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2011 Dining Room

As I mentioned previously, some designers were faced with the task of keeping certain room elements at the 2011 Kips Bay Decorator Show House.  None was more daunting than the dining room with walls clad in hand-painted wallpaper which was a gift to the owner of the house from the sister of Madame Mao.  Interior designer Matthew Patrick Smyth did such a great job designing around the wallpaper that you think it was part of the original design.  He created special wall hangings to soften the space and played off the neutral tones to create a serene oasis.  Sometimes, an unwanted design element ends up making a room.



Matthew Patrick Smyth











Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Hampton Designer Showhouse: Dining Room by Marshall Watson

The dining room at the Hampton Designer Showhouse is directly to your right when you enter the house and Marshall Watson has created a fabulous room to greet visitors! According to his description of the room, his firm decided to take the architectural details of the room down a notch by adding "rustic textures and natural linens, accompanied by both vintage and antique furnishings that command a strong presence."

There were a lot of wonderful details in this room including the English oiled walls, the monogrammed slip covers/place cards on the Spanish chairs, and the natural edged table.

I often see dining rooms in real life that look unfinished because no thought was ever really given to them since they are rarely used but this room doesn't leave any wall empty. The art and furniture around the sides complete the overall design wonderfully and make it look like a room you would want to use everyday!

There were a lot of lovely flower arrangements in the showhouse.

The most unique element in the room is the light fixture that lighting designer Mark Figueredo (MF Custom Lighting and Design, 631-329-5033) created from "bee skeps." It adds that natural element that any house near the beach should have to make it feel a little more casual.

At first I thought the wired flatware was part of the design until I remembered that sometimes showhouse visitors think they should be able to take home a souvenir. That happened to designer Garrow Kedigian at the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse this year and he was very upset because the item taken was a sentimental object picked up in Paris. So this is a good time to remind everyone that the designers who participate in showhouses often borrow items from showrooms or their own homes and they must be returned so please do not steal anything! If you need a fix, you can always buy something at the gift shop!

UPDATE: I came across this great article today by Marshall Watson that describes exactly how much work goes into participating in a showhouse!

Photos by Heather Clawson