In case you missed it last year this interesting magazine, known in part for its beautiful art direction, photographed fall fashions on location at the Dorothy Draper-designed Greenbrier. Isn't that a great shot? Except for the hairstyle it's a bit Betty Draper (as in Mad Men, no relation to Dorothy).

This fall another arresting view of the West Virginia luxury resort will be seen on the cover of Emily Eerdman's highly anticipated Regency Redux. (Click here to read Jennifer Dwyer's preview of the book.)

Emily and I have a mutual passion for art history, so recently I asked her to share a few of her favorite films that showcase Regency style. She has delightful insights, including points about the connection between Hollywood Regency and challenging economic times. I'll be back shortly to post them.BTW: Laura deserves credit for introducing me to the striking photography found in the magazine mentioned above.

But honestly, I was ready to slide my business card across the counter and offer to do damage control if they ever wanted some help.

Some very well-intentioned individual was on the right track, striving to liven up the space with a cheerful, friendly color. But this salmon pink is so over the top, it's amazingly bright. My photos don't do it justice, so you'll have to trust me when I tell you that standing in that space, you literally vibrate!

Fun, whimsical display made from dried tree branch and paper clips to hold favourite photos and treasures...
Idea from Pottery Barn

What do you do when you have combined living spaces that flow together? Do you paint them all the same color? How do you visually separate the spaces? Or do you want to make them more cohesive? We've got a great example of this quandary, submitted by reader Mary Beth.
Okay, here's my take on the matter. First question-why do the areas need to be the same? Who says they have to be the same colors? I say, each space has it's own purpose, and deserves its own color. Of course, there are architectural restrictions to work around. For instance, you shouldn't try to break a wall into multiple areas of color without natural breaks in the wall, such as columns, cabinets, or other elements. So, the structure and layout of the space does determine where colors are placed...to a certain extent.

So, where do we go from there?

First, you need to figure out what kind of lighting the space gets. Is it bright and sunny, or shady and cool? What design goals are you hoping to achieve with the spaces? Is the living room supposed to be relaxing, or energizing? Should it be spacious and airy, or cozy and intimate? These are all issues to consider before launching into color selection. That being said, since we don't have all those answers for this dilemma, let's play around with color:
Here's a soft sage green living room, paired with a neutral warm mocha color (you'd need to check how it worked with the detail work in the tiles, as I can't quite tell what color they are)
Alternatively, here's a cool gray blue, paired with the same mocha kitchen color.
Just to get daring here, pushing towards cleaner, brighter colors could further liven up the space. Here, I simply bumped up the saturation level of the green and added a cheerful blue wall for the kitchen.

You may wonder where I pulled the bright blue suggestion. When you are really stuck trying to figure out a good color for a space, try inverting the colors to find the compliments. If you have a photo editing program, you can do it digitally. Otherwise, grab a handy-dandy color wheel, and travel across the wheel for the color opposite your color in question. (Ie with a red couch, we'd be looking at blues and greens) Here, for example, are the inverse colors of Mary Beth's rug. Voila- a lovely complimentary blue shade.
As a last suggestion, to tie the couch into the decor, a rich burgundy wall would work really nicely-pulling in the living room colors with the reddish undertones in the tile work.

I'd like to hear from readers to weigh in with your suggestions. What colors do you think would work best for Mary Beth's kitchen/living room combo? How would you solve her color dilemma?

: : these guys are my inspiration right now. maybe I'll have some more time to spend on my patterns this week.

I love the portfolio of photographer Carter Berg. The photos appear so dynamic...it makes me want to be in these spaces and be able to spend hours devouring all the trinkets and art and furnishings, and of course pet the sleeping lab on the sofa.

Designed by Bodo Sperlein for Lladro, the magic forest re-cyclos series combines classic Lladro birds in a new setting of gold plating and silver.

Kerf Design is a custom furniture and cabinet shop making company, committed to environmental responsibility through the use of sustainable materials and methods. They specialize in building modern cabinets and freestanding furniture out of plywood and plastic laminate. Their work has a wonderful mid-century modern feel that will work in any modern interior.

: : happy v day : : more kurbits inspiration on my mind. a series of cards called .boda., designed by no one but, .hanna werning. for company lagom. .lagom. is the Swedish word for 'just right', not too much, not too little of anything. I believe it is the only language with a word describing that, and it says a lot about the Swedes themselves. via bowie at .print&pattern.

via Fred Flare.

Phew! I am back from our whirlwind trip to the Bay Area to try and secure housing. Emphasis on "try"... Boy oh boy, are houses out there expensive! I guess it's all about "location, location, location".
While house hunting, I had a completely different perspective from that which I normally inhabit- that of adviser. Often, I have clients who want to spruce up their house, but are concerned about selecting colors that will make the house easier to sell, eventually. So, here I was, a potential buyer, examining houses for my own needs. I have to say that staging and colors helped a TON with the appeal of a property. Of course, I'm rather biased, but in my head, I imagined I could see through what wasn't there to what I would do to the spaces. But after days and days of touring properties, you don't want to expend the energy. Turns out, I was much more intrigued (as were other house-seekers I noticed), by those spaces with color.
Love, love, loved the colors in this house. We were ready to move in, and I didn't even have the desire to change their paint choices. This house wasn't staged, but really tastefully done by the owners. After peeking in an office cabinet, I discovered someone living there works as a color consultant.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, staging refers to taking a house for sale, and spiffing it up to make it more appealing to potential buyers. Sometimes, a stager works with existing furniture and accessories, editing where necessary, re-arranging items to maximize space and flow. Other times, stagers will bring in furniture and pieces into an empty house, to give the buyer a sense of how the space would feel when its inhabited.
Testing the authenticity of a staged "bed" that turns out was just cardboard boxes draped in fabric. Aren't these walls just screaming for chromatic assistance? A distinctly unsuccessful staging, I hate to say.

Sometimes, stagers will go further, advising refinishing floors or painting walls. I've got to tell you, it made a huge difference as we were strolling through our 15th house of the day.
Soft yellow walls and muted sophisticated accent colors (check out the throw pillows, rug, even the golden bowl on the table) really made this room appealing. The touch of green helped round out the palette. This was another favorite house, but alas, an offer was already in on it.
Those properties with unique, rich or even just understated colors on the walls certainly made the place feel more homey and more personal. Loved the pumpkin.
There's something so sterile about an empty, white walled house. This fireplace wall would have looked much better with an accent color to ground it in the space.
I'm not big on black counter-tops, as they are hard on the eyes, ergonomically. Not enough contrast between the work surface and items on top. But I loved how the stager took cues from the existing palette to bring in black and white plates in the empty cabinets and pulled in touches of bright blue here and there. I couldn't get enough of the sunshine streaming through the window-just like a cat, I suppose...

I noticed it in new apartment complexes, as well. They advertised "designer colors" and would point out accent walls in the model unit that were either standard, or not included. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera when we toured the complex, so I can't show you the cool hall and unit colors. In any case, evidently, the general public has become much more color and design savvy, for the salespeople to emphasize color so much.

So, that's just a little taste of our adventure out west. For the time being, I think we will settle for a rental while we continue the quest for our house. I'd like to hear from those of you who have gone house-hunting in the past: how important were the wall colors in your impression of a property? Did it make a difference in the end when you bought something?

I'm taking the next few days off because I'm still quite ill but I will meet you here again in a few days once I'm back to my 100% Holly self again and then it's full steam ahead! :)


I've been battling the flu for over 10 days now and the doctor told me that I won't kick it until I stop working and just sleep... So that's what I plan to do. But I should feel better soon and when I do, I'll return with lots of lovely product submissions to share along with another office redux so I'll meet you back here in a few days. Thank you so much for understanding!

(image by holly becker, a woodpecker outside of my bedroom window taken last week.)

Initially this post was going to highlight the evolution of Regency style in the movies. Some cool art history professors I knew years ago often recommended films as a way for students to get better acquainted with furniture and design from different eras. Of course, the scholars intended movies to be used just as a supplement to books and museums since many films take poetic license and are not literal interpretations of a given period.


I asked the dynamic art historian and Regency expert, Emily Eerdmans, about films she suggests watching. Interestingly, her choices came mainly from the 1930s and 40s when Americans were under serious duress from the Great Depression, followed by World War II, and needed a form of escape.

Before turning to Emily's list I want to mention that historically in times of stress people tend to turn either to classic, been-around-forever design, like the 1820 English Regency chair above (courtesy Katie DID and available at Jane Austen at Home) or to fanciful upbeat looks. The Bennett family home, as seen in the recent version of Pride and Prejudice, was out of necessity very much romanticized shabby.

In contrast Windsor Smith's modern spin on California Regency blends tradition with old Hollywood glamour (C Magazine, April 2008).

As you read about Emily's picks, you may notice that she and Jennifer Dwyer have similar taste in films.

Here's some helpful background from Emily:

"Hollywood and the Regency style – could there be a more perfect pairing? Both epitomize glamour, high style, and - perhaps the most important ingredient – spectacle. It is then no surprise that movies have turned to the Regency period over and over again for inspiration.

During the Depression, the Regency style was embraced by decorators for two reasons: firstly, it was long on look, and secondly, it was relatively cheap. It didn’t take long for Hollywood set decorators to use it for the sumptuous penthouses, ballrooms, and boutiques of the onscreen swell set.

Here are a few of my favorite movies from this period from which the term 'Hollywood Regency' was born. Many of the sets feature lavishly swagged curtains, fringe galore, satin upholstery, and streamlined versions of Regency (and French Directoire and Empire) furniture."

Dinner at Eight MGM 1933
Art Direction Hobe Erwin and Fred Hope

Often it is only a dressing room or bedroom in an entire film that is given the Regency treatment, such as in Jean Harlow’s famous bedroom suite in Dinner at Eight. The white-on-white scheme devised to make the most of Ms. Harlow’s platinum beauty has been dubbed The White Telephone look and is reason enough to see this all-star classic.

Anything Fred and Ginger

RKO was particularly known for producing movies on a shoe string. Luckily, the studio had Van Nest Polglase and his team of art directors to meet the challenge. Settings that popped and sizzled were created by emphasizing the graphic contrast between black and white and shiny and matte (black glossy floors were constantly polished between takes to maintain their high sheen). Neoclassical elements are most often introduced in a Deco Greco fashion, and given a flat, two-dimensional treatment. Scale was also played up and down – a playful technique that found its way into the interiors of Dorothy Draper and others. Top Hat and Roberta, both 1935, are particularly recommended.

Wife vs. Secretary MGM, 1936
Art Direction Cedric Gibbons, Edwin Willis and William Horning

Besides a delightful story line featuring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and Jean Harlow, the use of contemporary style is fascinating in this romantic comedy. While Gable’s office is decorated in the latest “less is more� modern idiom – which his mother compares to a bordello! – his home and particularly his wife Myrna Loy’s dressing room is done in the classical moderne style, with neoclassical inspired furnishings. Love that Lucite, illuminated dressing table!

Midnight Paramount, 1939
Art Direction Hans Dreier, Robert Usher
Interior Decorator: A.E. Freudeman

Any Mitch Leisen film is a treat to watch – having been an art director himself, he always played close attentions to the settings. Lots of money was lavished on this production and it shows! Here we see a later phase of the Hollywood Regency style that emerged in the 1940s. It is less pared down and moderne, and more bold and over the top. It also draws upon not just the Regency (or other neoclassical styles) but mixes in Rococo and Baroque as evidenced in the exaggerated headboard of this bed. Don’t miss the draped lampshade, a staple of the Hollywood Regency interior. Another Leisen delight: Easy Living – the hotel suite is outrageous!

The Picture of Dorian Gray MGM 1945
Art Director Cedric Gibbons
Interior Decorator Jack Bonar

For a more pure and academic portrayal of the Regency Style, there is none better than the house of Hurd Hatfield in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The stunning settings for this film communicate the pomp and stateliness of the Regency, and, to my eyes, still looks incredibly chic to this day.

-- Emily Eerdmans

For a full overview of Regency style past and present, be sure to get a copy of Regency Redux. Black-and-white images above are courtesy Emily Eerdmans. Images one and two, at top, are © Mira Nair, Vanity Fair: Bringing Thackeray's Timeless Novel to the Screen, Newmarket Press, 2004. See also her Regency-era film, Vanity Fair. Images three and four are from Pride and Prejudice.

TIFF(Toronto International Film Festival) is currently red hot in Toronto right now, we had ticket's to watch "Miracle at St.Anna's" on Sunday and the Q&A with Spike Lee but I came down with a horrific flu that rendered me bedridden so the tickets went to friends of ours. However, I did have a little run in with a celeb ... non other than, actor Viggo Mortensen! He was chilling out, having a smoke in front of his hotel with his friend when Ed and I happened to walk by.



As much as I hate being the star struck fan, we had to stop and talk to him. With a cig in one hand he brought out his other to shake ours and we stood for a good few minutes just standing around chatting it up as if he wasn't one of my favorite actors of all time!!!

I know I won't be able to watch anymore movies this week, but man does the city start buzzing when TIFF starts up. Anyone else have any encounters with celebs this week???

Recently I had the pleasure of working with photographer Kate Mathis again.

I met Kate years ago when i first started as an prop stylist assistant and have enjoyed her company and work ever since. 

Many of you may recognize her work from the Martha Stewart product packaging photography. She shot both the craft line for Michaels to the Macy's collection. 

Kate can take images like the simple paper flowers below to the sublime level.

With a discerning eye for composition and impeccable perspective and lighting, it's always a pleasure to be on set with Kate.

Below are a few shots from our most recent collaboration. (Food styling by Megan Schlow.) You can also look at her online portfolio for inspiration.

: : This is a new serie of patterns at IKEA, called .fialena. I adore the name, it's what my parents would always call my sister. she was .fialena., I was .pyret. and my brother .skrotten. Maybe not the most flattering name for my brother, but it was very cute when he was young.

Anywho, these patterns are very much in line with the current scandinavian folklore pattern trend that's happening. making me think my own patterns are very current and aligned with this trend?? IKEA why won't you call?


I found this while I was browsing the .style files. blog.

This is an out & out traditional arrangement. Beautiful green beetle leaves arranged in a circular fashion with festive, cheery yellow marigolds and pink buds giving it that colourful contrast.

In the center is a mini traditional Kerala lamp lit with wicks dipped in oil. Shiny brass diyas complete the outer circle with their festive brightness:-)


(Images & ideas by Arch, feel free to get inspired and link to me but if you want to use my photographs for some other purpose please send me a mail)

I went to ROme - what a wonderful city! - and when I came back, Summer just barged in and claimed me. Perhaps it's the Roma tempo I got accustomed to after just three days of leasurly long lunches in the sun, strolling in unknown charming streets where history is ...