Confessions Tuesday

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I can’t believe that it has been nearly 5 months since my last confession.  The truth is, my lay-off, has thrown me off-track.  I never thought about the reality of not being employed and how my life would temporarily change.  It has been an experience to be a full-time mommy.  This time around with my second child, I have spent the majority his life solely caring for him.  In this sense, it has been a blessing- to get to spend so much time with my kids.  But I can’t deny that much of the last five months there has been a huge question mark, always in the back of my head.  Where will I be happy?  When will that opportunity come?

I changed direction in my career only a few months before being let go.  But the more time that I have had to reflect on this decision, the more I know that it was the right for me.  I spent the majority of my 20’s feeling lost.  I knew that architecture wasn’t what I was meant to do but I couldn’t put my finger on what other path to take.  This blog, which is really a journal for me, has given me so much insight on the fact that I am absolutely passionate about interiors.  All I do is dream about interior spaces and my short experience from working with clients has let me know that I love the challenge.  In time it will work out because I am fiercely committed and hopelessly in love with this thing called design.

But the real point of this post is to re-evaluate my purpose for blogging.  I started blogging thinking that I needed to put myself out there and just show my creative endeavors which quickly lead to the opening of my etsy.  But what is always on my mind is interiors.  So I am taking a blogging break to re-design my blog, re-think {and bring back} some weekly features, and of course to work on my house-the start of an interiors portfolio.  I have the time right now, and have new motivation. I promise I won’t be gone for long, I love this blogging thing too much.  It’s amazing the way that you feel connected to total strangers because of  common interests and pretty soon they are your blogging friends. It’s sorta funny.

And as far as my etsy, I am also re-evaluating.  I realize that I like to do things out of order, I guess I drum to my own tune.  Case in point- I had a baby, graduated school, and then married, totally out of order.  I have been working on a line of products with a partner and will launch a new etsy before the year is done.  Very excited to bring that to fruition.

*****

Be back before you know it!

xoxo

Dulce

NOLA Recap

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Jeez, where did the week go?  I intended to post this last week but. Life. Kids. Busy. You know.

So first thing we did when we got into town was go to the French Quarter.  After eating some smoked duck quesadillas (which were delicious,) we ended up on infamous Bourbon St.  We happened to be there the same week as Final Four.  Oops.  The streets were littered with college kids and everywhere we went, there was a  line.  Kind of a bummer, but we made the best of it. We didn’t make Cafe du Monde.  We tried but the line was 75 people deep.  How good can the beignets be?  Don’t answer that.


Back on Bourbon Street, we walked through mass of debauchery.  It totally is.  Performing street kids and strippers served as our entertainment.  We stopped at the classiest looking joint on the whole strip, the Old Absinthe House.  The bar was dim-lit with art-deco crystal chandeliers that gave a warm glow to the exposed shiplap walls.  These old walls were covered with visitors business cards, there were 1000’s of them.  It was charming.

It was also romantic.

The following afternoon, we  took a detour from Magazine Street and ended up at a cemetery where Benjamin Button was filmed.  There is a long stretch of a concrete barrier, marking the  perimeter.  We didn’t know that it contained bodies until we crossed the threshold and looked back.  Kinda creepy. The cemetery was beautiful, full of monolithic , above-ground tombs with oaks lining the pathways.

After the cemetary, we went back on Magazine Street and I fell in love with this ‘painting.’  When I took this picture, Kid Rock was standing a few feet away from me-btw.  The owner of the shop told me that it was a 1940’s fabric called Chintz that stretched on a frame.  It surprised me.  The flowers looked like a painting, in person.  It really had a trompe l’oeil effect.  I am totally on the lookout for some vintage fabric like this.  It looks like an english tea-cup.  Love.Oh and this Anthropologie store display was freaking amazing.  It was made of bent wire that formed tetrahedrons, silk flowers cascaded down.  it was  so pretty and made me want to make it.The next night we skipped Bourbon St.  and headed to Frenchman St, where the locals go.  First we went to a jazz bar where we found people swing dancing.  So darling.  I have to pick up swing, it is now on my bucket list.

By 3am, we ended up at a party that was held in a vacant lot beteween two historic buildings where this image was projected.  There was a mass of people dancing  with headphones on, dancing to mystery music.   So naturally we had to go in, right?  When we received our headphones, we discovered that there were two channels, one playing high speed music, the other playing down tempo.  It was pretty silly and so much fun.  

 Good times.

So Little Time

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so many new online Shelter mags (or new to me-whatev.)  This weekend I ran into a definite goodie, Adore Home.  I am loving the color in this home by Claudia Stephenson.  The pops of fuchsia are calling my name.

And this bedroom is what I am all about currently, soft pastels, fuchsia, a little leopard with a furry throw.  So calming but interesting at the same time.{via}

Did you spot that Prada-Marfa sign?  This has special significance to me.  My girlfriends and I will be taking a trip there sometime soon.  I hear it’s amazing.

I am now contemplating the idea of diying the clever art piece.  Maybe.

Go and take a gander, and let me know what you think.

xx

Big Statement Chandeliers and Kid Rock

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I am back!  Nola was so much fun!  I’ll share some pictures later in the week.  Before then, I have to tell you the bizarre highlight of the trip…antiquing with Kid Rock.  No joke.

I’ll explain. Since I love old things, I knew I wanted to devote a day to Magazine Street which is known for the abundance of antique stores.  I walked into an upscale store called Bush Antiques and while gawking at a brass bed, in strolls Kid Rock with his bodyguard and entourage.  What is really ironic is that a few days ago at MLB lecture/book signing, one of the projects that the designer to celebrities showed happened to be Kid Rock’s newest home.  Mr Bullard talked about one design meeting that was held in Kid Rock’s kitchen, complete with a stripper pole and a group of gogo dancers.  So naturally, I wanted to go up to Kid Rock and casually say, “I saw your house.”  But that would have been really creepy, right?  So I turned chicken and just followed him for a minute and then walked out.  I wish I would have stayed in the store a bit longer to see what he purchased.  Nonetheless, I sorta feel like I brushed elbows with celebrities last week, and I guess I literally did.

Yeah, it was weird.

But back to real life.  I have been thinking of my chandelier problem.  And I found some nice examples of large pendants that make a big statement.

Observe below:

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I love how this one above has a teeny-tiny tabletop with that enormous crystal chandelier.  It has a bit of an Alice in Wonderland feel, in a good way.

I think this one is even bigger than the Saarinen table below. Lovely.

So I feel better about the whole over scaled chandelier thing.  It’s better to be noticed than not, right?  Oh and I found this picture below while searching this subject and I am in love.  I lurve the modern acrylic box that houses the very traditional chandelier.  Hmm, maybe when I get tired of my bamboo chandie, I may do this to change up the look.  It would be an awesome diy.{via}

You know, I always thought I would be a crazy, star struck person if i ever ran into a celebrity.  But I am glad that I wasn’t.  How about you, care to share any run-ins with celebs?

A Recap with a Small Rant

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First, a bit of a recap on yesterday’s lecture…

Mr. Bullard was great.  He was charismatic and gave a speech that was full of wit.  He presented projects of his most famous clients such as Cher, Cheryl Tiggs, Ellen Pompeo, Kid Rock, Cristina Aguilera, Ozzy and Sharon Osborne, & most recently Sir Elton John.  It was interesting to hear tidbits about these celebrities and their design decisions.  Like this picture below:

Can you believe that this is where Ozzy Osborne, the prince of Darkness, sleeps!?  So girly and lavender. Obviously, Sharon O. wears the decorating pants in that family.

And then he went on to talk about Cher’s most recent house. She was coming out of her ‘gothic’ stage and was in a Buddhist stage.  Here is her very ‘Buddhist’ bedroom, living room:

{images via Lawrence Martin Bullard}

In retrospect, what I saw as a common thread through his designs, is a worldly aesthetic.  He is a well traveled man-much like his clients, and his work reflects this.  Martin’s designs are very much, Architectural Digest material, removed from common folk, strictly for the elite.

And now a bit of a personal rant regarding my feelings on this…  I generally do not like faux-tuscan, mocktorian, or anything stylistically/period faux.  In the richest part of my city there are many McMansions that are built to look like French Chateaus, English Castles, Spanish Villas, etc. and I detest these.  I would love a Tuscan home in Tuscany but it just seems wrong here.  It is not the size or grandeur that I am opposed to, but rather the fact that it is not original. Sure, they are beautiful, but what it boils down to is that I am a purist. I much prefer all the renovated 30’s colonial homes that are truly regional.  Probably because this part of the world is the land of developers where historical buildings are torn down and replaced with something fake.  It is so sad that historical value is not appreciated here. So my feelings on this subject are quite strong.

But I digress.

Back to the lecture, Mr. Martyn also shared his ‘rags to riches’ story which I so enjoyed.  He started as an actor and won a small part where he befriended a producer and his wife.  The group all ended up  at Bullard’s place.  The producer and wife were impressed with Martin’s humble flea-market decorated home and offered the actor his fist decorating gig.  Immediately after that small job, he landed another decorating job where he was called to be an emergency wedding decorator after the original wedding planner had a sudden death.  He was given a gratitude invite to this wedding where he sat next to Cheryl Tiggs.  She would be his big break.  A rookie, never formally trained decorator, would land 6 magazine covers and named designer to watch due to that first celebrity project.

Amazing story.  I have to admit that I sat there thinking of my own career wondering when that ‘break’ will come.  In due time, I suppose, I just have to keep on truckin.’  I do not aspire to be a celebrity designer or to design exclusively for the uber-wealthy.  I love the idea that design can be attained by anyone, no matter what their class status. Modest budgets require more creativity and that is so me.

So I will continue to enjoy Mr. Bullard on season 2 of Million Dollar Decorators, and wonder, how the hec can a doorknob cost 30G’s!?  He is a riot.

On a silly note, I almost bought his book.  Almost. But decided to pick up a cheaper copy on eBay.  I would have loved to have posted a personal pic of the two of us and have him sign the book “To Daawlin…”