The House Beautiful Color Institute Event

A few weeks ago, I received a special 'press' invitation to attend the House Beautiful Color Institute Event at the Atlanta Design Center. The big event was yesterday; when I arrived, I had a name tag that identified me as the author of the 'Things That Inspire' blog, and it was great to meet some of the designers, fellow bloggers, and magazine editors whom I have featured over the past two years!

Image via House Beautiful

The keynote speaker was Stephen Drucker, editor of House Beautiful Magazine, and on the panel were design luminaries Suzanne Kasler and Eric Cohler. The topic: color! Stephen's presentation was wonderful, and he illustrated color use through the decades with a representative picture for each decade from the House Beautiful archives (there were two pictures selected for the 90s, which Stephen noted was all across the board from a design perspective - as are the 2000s!). The 80s had a richly decorated room by Mario Buatta - I thought about Joni from Cote de Texas when appreciating the complexity of his look, and Stephen gave a nod to the true artisty that went into creating such a multi-layered room. It was interesting to hear Stephen's take on the color trends of the 2000s - from the juicy and youthful colors that he called the 'Sex and the City' look, to the complex textured neutrals accented with metallics (particularly in the gilded furniture and mirrors) so often seen in Atlanta decorating, and my favorite, the subtle neutrals that often pick up the colors of nature, particularly greens. There were some striking rooms from recent years done so beautifully in colors like purple, and Stephen identified an emerging trend: dark, bold rooms done in black and rich, deep blues. He commented that doing a black room is about as bold as one can get with color! I did not take notes, so this is all from memory, but it was great to get a perspective from a magazine editor who is so clearly passionate about his work and about color.

Eric Cohler Design, photo by Francis Smith

Next in the line up was Eric Cohler, who has a wonderful sense of humor and also a passion for design and color, especially the color blue! I always love to see work from NYC designers, because their challenges and the architecture they are dealing with is so different than the architecture and design style of Atlanta. I particularly appreciated the stunning museum quality contemporary artwork that many of Eric's clients own, and that he incorporates into his design schemes. Eric's humor and humanity made him the ideal panelist for this event, and from what I understand, he had to make quite a journey to get to Atlanta; we had terrible thunderstorms the night before the event, and Eric had to land in Alabama and take a taxi to Atlanta to make it on time.

Eric said that he feels like an artist when composing a room, with the balance of form, scale, and color. I loved this analogy, because I when I see a beautifully put together room, I truly feel as if I am looking at a unique three dimensional piece of art.

Finally, Suzanne Kasler revealed her color approach on projects, and specifically discussed her thought process behind several rooms that are well known on the blogosphere - the one that stands out in my mind is the richly colored dining room that she created in an Atlanta home (I posted on this home last year when it was on the market). Suzanne often paints an entire room in the same color - walls, trim, and ceiling - but in different finishes, glossy and satin (upon examing this picture, it looks like the ceiling was not painted in the same color as the walls, but the trim and walls are painted out in the same color, as are the windows). She introduced another color in this dining room - the green on the back of several of the dining room chairs - and the rug has the green tone that is on the back of the chairs.

The lacquered look on a wall came up quite a few times in Suzanne's presentation; she often uses three layers of glossy paint to achieve this look, and said that in the bathroom in her newly renovated home in Buckhead, she intended to do Venetian plaster walls but ended up loving the look of three layers of glossy paint so much that she went this route instead. Suzanne was a great speaker and presenter, and it was amazing to hear her design approach on some of my favorite rooms from her portfolio. It was noted that Suzanne has a book coming out in October: I was able to have a sneak peek earlier this week, and it is stunning (there is a kitchen in there that is the most beautiful kitchen I have ever seen). You can pre-order it on Amazon.

I had the opportunity to meet designer Melanie Turner Benecki, Southeast designer of the year, whose home I featured in a post last month; blogger Jennifer Boles of the Peak of Chic; and Clint Smith, editor of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles. All around, it was a great day for design in Atlanta! Thank you to House Beautiful for hosting this event, and for the special invitation.

Inspirational Atlanta Designers

Every year I like to attend the home furnishing market at AmericasMart in Atlanta. It is fun and fascinating to see the new designs by the furniture and decor lines, see what trends are emerging, and generally soak in the atmosphere of a place devoted to furniture, decor, and design. I almost missed the Mart as I was in Colorado, but I got back just in the nick of time and was able to go on the last day. This year, the Home Furnishing market seemed to have a special focus on design as an integral component of the Mart, and to my delight there were rooms designed by six of the top designers in the country, all based in Atlanta: Suzanne Kasler, Bob Brown, Carole Weaks, Stan Topol, William Peace, and Matthew Quinn. The home design showcase was called 'b.inspired', and each designer had 10 'Things That Inspire Me' listed next to their rooms. I spent over an hour admiring every detail of the rooms. Here are the rooms from Weaks, Brown, and Kasler - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Carole Weaks has long been on my radar, as she was mixing contemporary art with more traditional furniture and antiques many years before I started to gravitate towards this look. She designed a bedroom for her room at the Mart, and it was lovely. The bed is one of my favorite designs, made by Lewis Mittman, and the benches at the base of the bed are by Amy Howard. The chandelier is by Niermann Weeks.

I particularly liked the black cabinet, which is available through Smith Grubbs (to the trade only).

The next room was by Bob Brown. I always love seeing his work; it is comfortable, elegant, versatile, and clean lined. I appreciated that one of the things he listed in his '10 Things That Inspire' are the design blogs! Although this room is not really my personal style (it is a bit too masculine), it is beautifully and masterfully put together and a pleasure to look at. It takes a great eye to create a gallery wall like this, and I love how Brown used hanging lights instead of table lamps. I also like the contrast welting on the sofa and pillows.

The other side of the room has another wonderful gallery wall. It is amazing what the designers were able to do with their rooms; there were unique challenges given that the rooms did not have natural light or windows.

As much as I liked all of the rooms, my favorite was, of course, by Suzanne Kasler. Her style really speaks to me, and this room was a great reflection of her style. The room featured many pieces from Kasler's collection for Hickory Chair and Visual Comfort, as well as a few antiques. I love the dining table; if I could redo my own dining room, this table would be on my short list. Without its leaves, it is a small oval; with its leaves, it is quite long and seats 12. The chairs are antique, from Kasler's own collection. Her popular 'Alexandra' chair can be seen in the back - the quatrefoil shape is a classic form that she listed as one of the things that inspire her. I really like how she arranged the wood in the fireplace - quite sculptural.

Here is the room from the other side. The Swedish writing desk is antique. The slipcovered chair is from Kasler's Hickory Chair collection. I found the wall display to be quite beautiful, despite the fact that I am not an antler fan (although I do find European mounted antlers to be slightly more interesting). The room information said that Kasler used items from her personal collection to round out the room....

...and look what I spy. The bench that sat in the entry of her old home was used in the room at the Mart! The fabric is so distinctive with its custom embroidery. This antique bench was the inspiration for the 'Woodward bench' in Kasler's collection for Hickory Chair.

I wish I could have taken pictures of the other rooms, but the batteries in my camera died. The other rooms were also quite striking! I hope this is the start of a new tradition at the Mart. I found it to be very well done and quite an unexpected surprise.

One House, Two Owners

I enjoy perusing the real estate listings, and have been watching the listings for so long that I often see a home that was listed many years ago, and is now relisted. When looking at the 'new on the market' listings a few weeks ago, I noticed that a home I had featured on my blog two years ago was for sale again. I called the post 'Light Filled and Lovely'; I love the light coming in from two sides, the elegant furniture, the touches of periwinkle throughout the room, in the throw, the vase on the mantle, the stripe on the benches, and the contrast edge of the curtains (hard to see in this picture). I later learned that this was Suzanne Kasler's former home , which is featured under the 'Asheworth Court' section of her website.

I thought it was interesting to see the changes with the new owner. On the left: the real estate listing from two years ago, when Kasler was selling the home. On the right, the current real estate listing. When Kasler sold the home, Georgia was in the middle of a terrible drought. Now, the drought is over, and we have had the wettest spring in decades. The trees and landscaping have grown considerably, as you can see. Kasler kept plant containers to a minimum, with just a few Versailles planters along the walkway. The new owner has a few more, including two near the front door. Also, the right photograph was taken when the sun was casting long shadows on the front of the house. The picture on the left looks much clearer and cleaner because there are no shadows.

On the left, the entry as it was when Kasler lived in the home. On the right, the entry as it is with the new owner. The new owner stayed fairly true to the furniture and decor scheme that Kasler used, with a vertical piece of contemporary art, a settee, and a side chair.

On the left, the picture from the real estate listing when Kasler was selling the house. On the right, the living room from the new owner. The new owner's style is more casual, more eclectic. You don't see surf boards in a home too often in Atlanta! I love that driftwood sculpture on the right.

This is hardly a fair comparison, as I did not save the old real estate picture of Kasler's dining room; this image is of Kasler's former dining room, professionally styled and photographed. Several of the pieces in Kasler's dining room were the inspiration for her line of furniture for Hickory Chair (the settee and the buffet). On the right, the same dining room as the new owner has decorated it. It looks like the new owner kept the wall color, but Kasler took the pink silk curtains that made the room pop. The new owner has a round table, which works well in the space, and I love the new chandelier. Or maybe it is the chandelier that used to be in the breakfast room when Kasler owned the house. Overall, the space is not quite as formal, but still very pretty. If I were the owner, I would have used a rug that filled the room a bit more.

To the left, the kitchen as it was when Kasler lived in the home. See a hint of the chandelier? Yes, I think this was moved to dining room by the new owners. I wish I had saved the picture of the casual dining area of the kitchen, the big turned wood chandelier was really dramatic in the space! To the right, the kitchen as it is in the real estate listing with the current owner. It looks like a lot of things were kept the same - the subway tile backsplash, the marble countertops, the color on the walls. I love the bit of trim that is slightly below the moldings. The new owner added something on the vent - maybe antlers? It is amazing to see how different the colors appear in the professional picture - the walls look quite periwinkle on my monitor.

On the left, Suzanne Kasler poses in her former bedroom, in an article from Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles. On the right, the image from the real estate listing. The new owner also has a sunburst mirror above the bed, one of my favorite looks. The new owner also has a fourposter bed. Instead of a bench at the base of the bed, the new owner has a cute little dog bed!

It is fascinating to see how a home can take on a different character with different owners (and of course, a different decor style). Yet, the bones of the house remain the same. Some people have the ability to see beyond the decor of a home to the architectural bones; I must admit, I am quite influenced by the decor when I see a home, and sometimes I like a home for the decor rather than what is really important, the flow and the structure of the house. It is helpful to me to see how one house, with two different owners, can take on a different look and feel. For more information and pictures, please see the real estate listing.

Come see what is going on this week on the Hooked on Houses Friday blog party, and Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday! Also, please make sure to stop by my 2 year blogiversary give away - a one of a kind item that cannot be found in stores!