What market still retains value? The fine art and antiques market still represents a good investment while the value goes beyond monetary enhancing one?s life with beauty and function. The investment value is as strong as ever for the best pieces. It?s also a good to time to go ?green?. Buy mid level pieces, a lot of people feel there is more product (people are selling more things) and some of the prices have not changed much over the years. Now is the time to invest in that special piece that will anchor a room setting, so that one can enjoy the investment and the use.

Artist, Maker, Period, Form and Function are some of the most important criteria to consider when looking at an investment piece.

• Artist: a signed piece is generally worth more than unsigned painting or piece of furniture.
• Maker: can be attributed when it?s a known form and the construction and materials are in sync.
• Period Piece: generally (a piece made in the period i.e. Queen Anne) is worth considerably more than a piece in the Queen Anne style, or a reproduction.
• Form: small occasional pieces are more desirable than oversized/out of proportion pieces.
• Pieces of Regal style are more desirable than ?grandmotherly? pieces. One does not want a room to be predictable. It has to be fun and you should be able to visualize yourself living in it.
• Function: for instance make sure an antique chair is sturdy and can be used or it should be restricted to a piece of ?Decorative Art or Sculpture?

If you can only buy one thing, it?s best to buy a piece that is universally recognizable in a room be it a Neoclassic Secretary or a Mies Van Der Rohe ?Barcelona? Daybed.





One can buy the investment quality piece and then accessorize around it, such as comfortable modern upholstery. In this case, form and function rules, mixing 20th century chairs which are sturdy as opposed to antique chairs which can be fragile and need extensive restoration.

Jennifer Adams of Jennifer Adams/Design Group has been very active sharing her ideas and information on TV. Recently she completed a special titled Area Rugs: Commitment phobic? Where do you even begin?.

With the help of my favorite area rug distributor, Tufenkians, of Portland, Oregon, I recently filmed a segment for BETTER, with Brooke Carlson, in the home of News Anchor Natalie Marmion. We discussed the do's and don'ts and where to begin when trying to find the best area rug.

In the piece she offers these tips for selecting area rugs:

- Rugs change color based on which direction you lay them. If it looks too light, try turning it the other direction and watch how the colors in the rug completely change!

- When selecting size for the living room, a good rule of thumb is to have all of the furniture on the rug or off the rug. Obviously the coffee table can stay on the rug, but it's best not to have any of your chairs or sofas halfway on and halfway off the rug.

- When selecting size for the dining room make sure you have a minimum of 2' behind each dining chair on all sides. No teetering chairs at the dinner table allowed!

- Always try out the rug in your home prior to committing to the piece. Tufenkians will deliver your rugs, help you place them and then bring back the pieces you dont want.

It's exciting to see the various ways designers market themselves.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery



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I love the captivating beauty of baby blue... and it simply shines in Sheila Bridges' apartment in New York. A spacious, airy and elegant space... the sophisticated blue and the complementary soft green provides a perfectly classy background for her collection of antiques, collectibles, artwork, and favourite quotes.

Hey Kstylers. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and a fun New Years. Meet Lola, my friend C's grandog. She was the star of the Sorry Tree party this year and definitely won the prize for best dressed. Unfortunaly our xmas went a bit sideways this year and here's why!

I never thought I would say this, but thanks to designers like Susie Mendive of SUM I am actually ecstatic wallpaper has made such a solid comeback. This is gen-u-ine excitement. My parents coated our home with wallpaper in the early 80’s, and it wasn’t pretty. It was so bad I remember as a little girl trying to peel it off to hint to my parents that they needed to do something with the walls. Now, times are different and I want to paper my walls myself!

Wallpaper actually gets me all riled up so I apologize in advice for my lengthy list of questions with Susie Mendive. Enjoy!

I know a bit about your background…a graphic designer with a graduate degree from North Carolina then to LA then to NY as art director with stila cosmetics…but I think there are some holes, especially in how you transitioned from branding cosmetics to designing modern wallpaper. Tell us more! How did SUM come together?

It happened very organically. I very much wanted to design and produce my own product and call all the shots. It just made sense at that point in my career. There is a lot of hard work involved and it can be consuming but I like taking it one step at the time.

Tell us about the name, SUM. How did you come up with this?

My husband and I were in Tokyo and it just hit me, Su is from Susie and M from Mendive but more than that it was the idea of a total home concept…SUM of all parts. A total approach to design and living.

The female silhouettes of your Floral Femme Fatale prints are an amazing graphic. They have a significant presence let alone bring movement, style, femininity, character and a sense of a couture-ness to a room. I would guess that your time with stila cosmetics may have carried over into the inspiration for these designs, is this right or was it something else?

Yes, that’s right. The silhouettes are something I started with at stila. They have a very universal quality and allow you to project your own thoughts on to them. I am always more intrigued by what is left out of an image or illustration.

Many of the modern wallpapers we see are meant to be an explosive replacement for traditional wall art which I find very refreshing and exciting, but also a bit of a challenge! I love the colors and graphics of the Vespertine Wallpaper in Twilight but am not sure I could pull it off in my space (maybe the black option would be better for me). What tips do you have for creating a harmonizing space when using bold/graphic wallpapers?

It isn’t as difficult as it might seem. I think Vespertine Twilight would be great in a powder room, kids room or a small kitchen. It uses bold colors but you can paper a single wall if you are unsure and pick an accent color from the pattern for rest of the room. Items like lampshades or rugs will help unify the scheme and wood and chrome or bronze elements will add a little luxe to the mix. I try to stay away from a too done, matchy matchy look or it seems like a set rather than a lived in space.

Was it a challenge to create a line of wallpapers that are made in the USA, constructed of recyclable paper and hand screen printed with water-based, non varsol inks? I can’t begin to image how long your screen printing stations must be!

Too long for a Manhattan Apartment! I actually use a company out in California who share the same values as I do about the environment. They have been hand screening wallpaper for over 20 years and converted to water based inks about 5 years ago. We try our best to maintain the highest quality product and still be kind to mother nature.

I always appreciate getting a glimpse into a designer’s work space and adore the photos of your loft on hgtv. Any difficulties to living/working in the same space?

I don’t actually live in that apartment anymore but still do the live/work thing. For me work and life are not separate. Living is by design. I have an enormous bedroom now (with a door this time!) and carved out two spaces with a beautiful, white modular folding screen. I then built in a storage/desk unit and of course wallpapered the space in Underwater Bamboo Pink. The whole color scheme came from the wallpaper so its silver and soft pink. It got a little too girly so I peppered it with earthy accents of walnut wood. The whole space feels very glamorous but warm and grounded…what’s more inspiring than that.

If you could paper someone’s walls, whose would you choose and which design might you use?

Frida Khalo
Diane von Furstenberg
Bjork
an Obama White House

…all custom designs of course!

I crave an opportunity to experiment with wallpaper, but I also fear it because: 1.) Of the expansive range of possibilities 2.) It is wallpaper and I don’t trust myself to be able to successfully apply it to my walls. But, I want to try so badly! What do you suggest for someone who is venturing into this arena for the first time…especially if the possibilities are as customizable as your wallpapers?

I think all the options available actually make it easier to find something that will work with your existing decor or serve as a jumping off point for a revamp. I understand the fear of installing yourself, many of my clients feel similarly. Wallpaper is really not that hard to put up and there are so many DIY sites out there with step by step instructions… in the end there is very little guesswork. I hung my very first Femme Fatale strike offs so I could learn how to do it and see how the paper performed, not the easiest, but definitely not hard. Having said that, if you are still hesitant, hire a painter or wallpaper installer. Many professional painters have experience hanging papers and the necessary tools in their arsenal. The most important thing is to be bold and experiment! Most of my clients are like you, saw it in a magazine and wanted to try it for themselves. All of them have been thrilled with the results. And remember nothing in this life is permanent!

How do you get out of a creative rut? What most inspires you?

Travel, travel, travel. It is the single most inspiring thing I can do. Floral Femme came together after a trip to Shanghai, Animalia after spending time in Holland. Places seep into me and become creative output.

What is next for SUM?

More wallpapers! I have one in the design stages that looks like painted canvas on the wall and another that is very male. I don’t see a lot out there for the boys so I thought it the perfect thing to design. SUM is now available in Utrecht, the Netherlands at Springers Wonen, in Malmo, Sweden at Tapetorama and we are looking to expand further in Europe and of course stateside. We are also moving into Fabrics and are looking to add other designers under our moniker… more parts to SUM total.

Thanks, Susie!

View all of Susie Mendive’s SUM wallpaper collection on DP.

Photograph: Alain Levitt
Makeup: Melissa Silver

Living room / lounge

Living room / lounge

Living room / lounge

you’ve got to love a city whose motto is “keep austin weird.” full of flavor (i’m talking amazing tex mex), color and character, austin is a city that seriously has it all. it also has one of the best vintage/design scenes full of incredible shops like uncommon objects and room service vintage - and these places keep popping up all over the roundup for austin inspiration (check out the d*s austin guide here for more great shopping). so without further ado, today’s talented roundup: joel mozersky (the designer behind the real world: austin house!), d’ette cole {etta industry}, melissa gable {one creative girl}, jennifer braham {brink design} and jaime jo fisher {jewelry}. in case you missed it don’t forget to check out the regional roundup: austin- part 1, and stay tuned next week for our third and final installment! [thanks, designers!] -anne

CLICK HERE for the full post or just click “read more” below.

One.Eleven.Design

1. Where are you from? Where do you live now?
I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, but Austin has been my home for 22 years.

2. Describe your work.
I design residential and commercial spaces, such as restaurants, bars, retail stores, and hair salons. I also designed tour busses for the Dixie Chicks and the house for “The Real World-Austin.” I would describe my work as modern interpretations of classic design influences and eras. I’m much more interested with the history of decoration, and the relevance it has today, than what is happening “right now.” I think overtly contemporary design tends to look dated quickly and takes itself too seriously. I like my spaces to have a wink- a sense of humor and, most importantly, a soul.

3. How is your work influenced by where you live?
Austin has become very cosmopolitan in the past 10 years, but what is great about it’s growth is pretension is frowned upon. Austinites see right through it. It is an exciting place to be creatively- how can you move design forward, but maintain a foothold on what makes our city unique?

4. Where do you go in Austin when you want to feel inspired?
Uncommon Objects, Mercury Design Studio, Uptown Modern, and Room Service Vintage- I always find something I love at these stores, and they inspire my work tremendously.

5. How would you describe the Austin design scene?
We have an incredible creative community- architects, interior designers, artists, and craftsmen- who are a pretty tightly knit group. We also have clients who understand what makes a city great and unique is its culture of small businesses, and who support local talent.

6. If you could go anywhere where would you go?
There are so many places I haven’t been, but I would love to go to Thailand.

Click here for more of Joel’s work.

Etta Industry

1.  Where are you from? Where do you live now?
[From] Houston, Texas. [Now]  Austin ~ deep in the heart of Texas.

2.   Describe your work.
Working as an art director/designer/artist in a variety of mediums and arenas, my work combines a never ending love of color, a strong design sense, an eclectic aesthetic with a driving spirit of curiosity and wonder.

3.  How is your work influenced by where you live?
I think Texas is a really interesting combination of bold frontier independence, rich
cultural influences of Mexico and a vast landscape.  This region of Texas seems a
creative wellspring because Austin is an overgrown college town that embraces/
encourages diversity and individuality.

4.  Where do you go in Austin when you want to feel inspired?
Outside, it’s lovely here, sometimes kinda hot, but a lovely heat.

5.  How would you describe the Austin design scene?
I think it’s in its ‘tween’ stage, it’s just starting to stretch and grow and come into it’s own identity.

6.  If you could go anywhere where would you go?
Excluding time travel, if we’re talking places that I’ve never experienced, I’d like to see, eat and smell Cinque Terre.  If we’re talking favorite places, hands down that’d be Uzes, France.

Click here for more of D’Ette’s work.

One Creative Girl

1. Where are you from? Where do you live now?
I grew up in a big, old house in Columbus, New Jersey - surrounded by trees and fields and dairy farms, a mile from the “world famous” Columbus Farmer’s Market (and flea market). After graduating from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I moved to Austin looking to be “wowed” by a new city (and I was).

2. Describe your work
A colorful, quirky, mish-mash of vintage images, found objects and stuff I like, dissected and arranged One Creative Girl style.

3. How is your work influenced by where you live?
Austin is a very colorful and off-beat place with lots of art and design and plenty of places to hike and swim and stay grounded  - it’s a pretty great place to live and play, dream and create.

4. Where do you go in Austin when you want to feel inspired?
I love to roam my favorite shop -  Uncommon Objects - it is cram packed with vintage goodness and always gives my brain a good jump start. In addition to that, a long creekside hike to connect with my froggy friends also works.

5. How would you describe the Austin design scene?
Encouraging and supportive - i have lots of friends who find Austin to be a great place for a creative lifestyle. There are yearly studio tours in several different neighborhoods and it always amazes me when i see just how many artists are here creating fabulous stuff!

6. If you could go anywhere where would you go?
I would love to live and create in Mexico. It is such a colorful and dynamic culture, I think it would be a perfect environment for me. Whenever I visit, it is so hard to leave. I have been searching for a way to live between Austin and Mexico for a while now and am sure it won’t be long before I find it!

Click for Melissa’s website, blog and etsy shop.

Brink Creative

1. Where are you from? Where do you live now?
Until age 13: Pennsylvania. Ages 13-18 Los Angeles. Age 21: Santa Fe. Ages 13-30: The Bay Area: Santa Clara, San Francisco, Berkeley. I live in Austin now. South Austin.

2. Describe your work.
A product of intuition and channeling my clients. Assemblage of everything I absorb. Reflections of when, where, why…either the solution, posing the question, regardless, always a combination of as many emotions evocable. Japanese : retro : contemporary : interactive 2d : hand made pixels…lush, love : life : contemporary : familiar : redefined : color that shifts energy. As much as possible by hand and then the fascinating life the artwork takes on as it’s digitized and moves throughout it’s many applications.

I stay open to the discoveries in “mistakes”.

I still measure equidistant areas from left to right and top to bottom when treating typography…respecting my traditional design education, but hand made patterns may have a loop or twirly thing out of whack. Don’t stop the press! Instead, magnify and celebrate. Keeping craft alive. Attention to detail and allowing the process to allow the product to develop. Pushing and pulling these poles while staying committed to the task. Inspirational design that serves it’s function, has a strong foundation and expansive possibilities.

3. How is your work influenced by where you live? 4. Where do you go in Austin when you want to feel inspired? 5. How would you describe the Austin design scene?
Austin is a city in flux…more so than most. Just when I’ve seen the major transformations in the town in just a year and the resulting dichotomies are tense: Fluidity and resistance; sloooow and fast paced; limited with a whole world of possibilities…hence a culture that attracts and continually stimulates artists of many a genre. Here’s a way in which allowing the ever evolving process to flow while keeping a standard and integrity. The work comes from the constant combination of this tension. It’s exciting, sometimes painful, but always rewarding in an amazing end design, lesson and developed relationship with all the players involved (me, the client, printers, writer, programmers, sign vendors…all the people it takes to get the job done well).

In Austin, we’ve had a poor rap about our art/design scene and I feel that’s quickly changing. I push push push to help set a higher standard. Many push to keep the original Texan/Mexican spirit alive. That combined with an influx of people from everywhere is dynamic and keeps me designing around the clock. I lived in San Francisco and LA…I love both places, but I feel as though the gold (for me) has been found. Here, there are new discoveries abound!

A city undefined, although I hear many trying. The subjectivity of it all spurs interesting conversation and certainly influences my work as I push push push myself to levels beyond what I thought possible. I think I do the same to my clients. Much to some of their dismay…it’s never easy giving birth!

Physically, my word is influenced by found materials and I do my best sketching at my favorite restaurant. Now I prefer to go alone…hmm, I can’t believe I just admitted that. To feel inspired, I go to beautiful stores (preferably second-hand), my full flat files, my growing library and I hang out with my brilliant artist friends.

6. If you could go anywhere where would you go?

If I could anywhere: 1. I’d go back to my mom’s garden. A penny for every beetle I picked off the green beans. I’d make $3 a day sometimes! 2. In a hammock during the fall at dusk. My lifestyle doesn’t allow much sleep. 3. Camping with my significant other with nothing but a t-shirt, jeans, my toothbrush, water and my dogs.

Click here for more of Jennifer’s work.

Jaime Jo Fisher

1. Where are you from? Where do you live now?
I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois just east of St. Louis.  I currently live with my husband, Chris Campbell and our dog and cat, Brinkley and Tula in Austin, Texas. I work full time in my home studio making jewelry that I sell thru my website, galleries and a few juried art festivals.

2. Describe your work.
I make jewelry and sculptural boxes with sterling silver, mineral stones and a wide array of found, vintage or repurposed materials.  These commonly overlooked and typically discarded materials can be a piece of broken windshield glass, a fragment of plastic from a doll shoe, a found pebble or shell, or even a tiny stuffed pillow sewn from the plastic of a thrifted rain poncho. Many people who see my work for the first time assume the stones are all resin, enamel or beach glass and seem pleasantly surprised when I tell them it’s plastic from a bundle of rubber grapes or the sculptural box they see actually houses and displays a wearable ring.

3. How is your work influenced by where you live?
I have been living in Austin for over 2.5 years. Living in this progressive city directly influences my work.  Austin is about nostalgia, the DIY approach and green living including recycling and conservation. This is evident in the design, fashion and craft of local artists.  This idea is very much in keeping with my work as well.

4. Where do you go in Austin when you want to feel inspired?
Austin has a plethora of great thrift stores, from the high-end vintage stores to the more hardcore, not for the faint of heart, to scavenge about digging for potential new goods to incorporate in my work.  I am always looking on the ground, in thrift stores & flea markets as well as online. I enjoy finding things that will seem slightly bizarre when used in my jewelry, some of the more unexpected being bristles from a toothbrush and dryer lint from my lint trap. There is also a really great bead store in Austin, called Bead It, where I get some amazing vintage plastic and glass pieces that appear in my work as well.

5. How would you describe the Austin design scene?
I am part of an organization made up of an amazing group of women that live and work in Austin called Handmade Austin Women. The weekend show is a fun filled family event that offers some exquisitely designed and handmade items including paintings, pottery, jewelry, handmade clothing, hats & bags as well as some 2d & 3d collage work.   Another event on the art scene is the East Austin Studio Tour. My husband, who is a potter, and I turn our garage into a temporary gallery space for a weekend during the tour to show our work along with over 200 other studios that reside in East Austin.

When feeling uninspired or less than motivated, you may find me at any number of art galleries in Austin, at a friends studio to chat up their current work, at Book People or Domy flipping thru their amazing book collections, taking a Bikram Yoga class at Yogagroove, window shopping at a local vintage shop or digging around at a local thrift store.

6. If you could go anywhere where would you go?
If I could go anywhere my heart desired I would plan a road trip with my husband, with a tiny “fixer upper� trailer in tow, and discovery the sites one city at a time.

Click here for more of Jaime’s work.

This blog chronicles my entire kitchen renovation from start to finish. Greentea Design has provided me with their solid wood kitchen cabinets, and I'm taking care of the rest.

If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out my kitchen remodel blog for an archive of previous posts. I posted recently about the flooring, and now.....the cabinets have arrived!!!

I was sooooooooo excited for the day the cabinets were to arrive. Since Greentea Design is based in Toronto, I had only seen the cabinets on their website, and got a tiny sample (about 3 inches) sent to me in the mail to help with my countertop selection. Friday was the day....and it turned out to be bright and early. There was a bit of chaos early that morning as I scrambled to get some extra hands out to my house ASAP to help me unload the truck, but was quickly forgotten once I got a glimpse of the cabinets. The unloading only took about 20 minutes (once they got a system going it was easy peasy). I wasn't able to take photos of them being unloaded because it was raining that day. The first photo I managed to take was of all the cabinets stacked in the living room.


The cabinets were left there for the majority of the day because I wanted to get the walls and ceiling painted before getting the cabinets in place (turns out the walls weren't ready and needed more sanding - but we found this out after 3 coats of paint and after the electrician got the potlights working). For several hours the cats had a ball climbing all over them.


WOW - they were packed so carefully. I worked for moving companies for a few summers during my university years and I have never seen anything packed like that. For each cabinet there was styrofoam on the corners, then a box that wrapped all the way around, then moving blankets wrapped and taped (with perfect corners, like how us women wrap presents), and then shrink-wrapped. It was like Christmas morning unwrapping each piece. And not a scratch or mark on any piece. What a relief!



Is the suspense too much to handle? Then click HERE.

BEFORE:

TWO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT OWNERS, A GUTTING, AND 14 DUMP TRUCKS WORTH OF FILL LATER:

Hello, Cottage Living, are you reading?  When I missed my flight on Sunday I really lucked out. My friends Sophie and Kent offered me shelter in the 1940’s cottage they have been lovingly modernizing for many months. Circa 200 years ago, their neighbors would have been Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, as it is located between Monticello and Ash Lawn. It is truly one of the most beautiful spots around Charlottesville. It sits between the flood plain of Houchens Creek and beautiful woods, and when you look in out from the back, you can spy neighboring cows. Sophie and Kent are two of my pals from grad school. Kent has his Masters in Urban Planning and both of them have Masters in Landscape Architecture. Kent also has lots of experience in construction with a focus on green building, and Sophie is a kick-ass fiddler and gardener.

I wish I had some interior before pictures to show you, but unfortunately, they no longer exist. The space shown below used to be four dark, cramped rooms: A kitchen, a dining room, a bedroom and a bathroom.  S & K ripped the whole thing open and installed all new windows, which are all Low E, argon-filled sashes. The ceilings, once low and dark, were ripped out, and now they are 10′ high. The beams were restored from the original structure. The space is so peaceful and sunny that I felt like I was in one of the charming chapels that dot the landscape in the country around Charlottesville.

A very small addition that accommodates a new bathroom was added to the house’s original 840 square feet (it’s on the right side of the exterior “AFTER” photo). The floors are reclaimed heart pine, and all of the poplar siding and trim came from the Appalachian Sustainable Development mills in southwest Virginia, all of it harvested from certified-sustainable wood lots in the southern Appalachians.

I love that they used an antique dresser for storage in the bathroom:

Formerly an unused attic, Sophie and Kent opened up to the roofline and created an upstairs loft. Yours truly was not feeling confident about scaling the ladder after two margaritas, but I could see from below that it  added a lot of usable space to the house:

Here are a few more sweet nuggets:

There is a real nature study aesthetic all around the house:

While all of the walls are crisp and white, S & K’s careful editing of antiques, oriental rugs, artwork and objects add so much warmth to the modern space.

Curious about that lamp? The lovely and talented Christina Michas made the gorgeous shade for them as a wedding gift:

The house is still a work in progress, but I kind of dig these little traces of it:

To read more about the project, check out Strata Projects Design.

today’s city guide belongs to wilmington, north carolina and comes to us courtesy of ellie snow of mint. ellie grew up in wilmington and has been living in the triangle area of north carolina ever since. she’s currently a graphic design at flywheel design in durham and is thrilled to share her favorite hometown spots. wilmington is known as “wilmywood” to some, because of the numerous tv shows and movie that shoot there, so if you’re in town keep your eyes open- you never know who you’ll bump into (i’ll never forget hearing from friends in wilmington who got to see the dawson’s creek cast for years). click here to view the full guide or just click “read more” below. thanks, ellie!

Nestled between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, Wilmington is often called the Port City; although many fondly refer to it as “Wilmywood” in honor of local motion picture and TV studio Screen Gems. (Think Dawson’s Creek, or the recent Nights in Rodanthe). Wilmington was settled nearly 300 years ago, and today visitors can stroll tree lined streets past century-old homes, then drive less than twenty minutes to find themselves among surfers and sunbathers on beautiful beaches. In the mid 1980s, Wilmington began to revitalize its downtown and today the area is rich with restaurants, bars, boutiques, galleries, and antique shops.

SHOP:

-Edge of Urge- 18 Market St.
Located just a block from the riverfront in downtown Wilmington, indie boutique Edge of Urge has become a favorite among locals and tourists. The boutique specializes in the handmade, with a range products by DIYers to brands like Orla Kiely, and a wonderful collection of mens and womens clothing, shoes, accessories, goods for the home, notecards, and more.

-Island Passage- 4 Market St. or 1900 Eastwood Rd. (Lumina Station)
An old local favorite for women’s clothing and accessories, Island Passage now boasts 6 locations in the Cape Fear region and has labels such as Free People, French Connection, and Velvet.

-Return Passage- 302 N. Front St.
A sister of Island Passage, Return Passage is a one stop shop for those looking for gently used, well priced clothing and accessories. If Marc Jacobs under $50 sounds appealing, then Return Passage is your place.

-Blackbeard’s Bryde- 18 S Water St. #5
Blackbeard’s Bryde has an eclectic (and occasionally blush-worthy) selection of gifts, clothing, jewelry, and things for the home. It’s located right on the Cape Fear River and is named for Wilmington’s pirate past.

-Baby Swank- 1904 Eastwood Rd. in Lumina Station
Just over two years old, Baby Swank is an upscale shop with everything needed to upfit your dream nursery, from cribs to rocking chairs to linens.

-The Ivy Cottage- 3020-3030-3100 Market St.
The Ivy Cottage was opened in 1998 by a mother daughter team with a true love for antique shops and flea markets. Over the years it has grown from one building to four and now has over 25,000 square feet of vintage and consigned furniture, home accessories, antiques, china, jewelry, garden items, and more.

-Planet- 108 N. Front St.
Look for the mannequin wearing a gas mask, and you’ll know you’ve found Planet. Odd gifts and good deals make this shop a hit with men and women alike.

-008- 105 Market St.
This tiny boutique got the headlines this year (sort of) when Sophia Bush strolled in and bought a couple of shoes. It’s not surprising, then, that 008 is the place to find hip mens and womens clothing and accessories.

-Airlie Moon- 1908 Eastwood Rd. in Lumina Station
Step into Airlie Moon, take a whiff of that lavender, and you’ll be ready to move into a cottage on Wrightsville Beach and start decorating. Think refinished furniture and design with southern, sophisticated vintage-inspired flair - with plenty of crisp linens, hand-milled soaps, and delicate jewelry to boot.

-Flashbax- 30 N. Front St.
You’re sure to find the perfect flapper dress, sixties beads, or vintage cowboy boots at Flashbax on Front St.

-Hallelu- 84 Waynick Blvd. Wrightsville Beach
Hallelu has great clothing (both new and consigned), good prices, and a scenic view of the sound. After you’ve bought that cute dress, duck around the corner to Trolley Stop (see below) for the best hot dog you’ve ever had.

-Antiques on Castle Street, 500-600 block
Castle Street is a great place to spend a couple hours antiquing. Favorites include Castle Keep (507 Castle St.), a shop with beautiful vintage textiles located in an old church building, and Retrolution (553 Castle St.), a new shop specializing in cool finds from the 60s and 70s and excellent prices.

-The English Garden- 2317 Market St.
Gifts for your favorite gardener, plus a great selection of orchids and rose bushes.

-Sambuca- 200 N Front St.
Sambuca is a boutique and spa specializing in organic, fair trade, renewable, and recycled materials with lots of style. They offer a good sized selection of beauty and skincare products, in addition to Bella Muse gift cards and stylish, comfortable women’s clothing.

EAT:

Narrowing down Wilmington’s restaurants is no easy task. Wilmington has become known for its wide selection of delicious cuisine, and of course nearly everyone offers a good selection of seafood. If you’re new to the area, you have to give Calabash-style (read: deep-fried) seafood a try - preferably with a side of hush puppies. And of course there is good ‘ol southern BBQ at every turn. But as you’ll see from this list, this southern town is not all greasy-spoon joints.

-Dock Street Oyster Bar- 12 Dock St.
When I tell people I’m from Wilmington, it’s not uncommon for the Dock St. Oyster Bar to come up in conversation shortly thereafter. Delicious seafood, good service, and dog friendly.

-Indochine- 3007 Market St.
I’ve lost count of how many restaurant awards Indochine has been given, and in my own humble opinion, Indochine is one of Wilmington’s best. Since it’s often crowded, you’ll probably be sent to the bar for a couple drinks before you’re seated in their richly atmospheric dining area and served delicious Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. If the weather is nice, sit out back in a gazebo and enjoy the garden under strings of lights.

-Caffe Phoenix- 9 S. Front St.
You’d be hard pressed to order a bad thing on this menu. Modern and trendy since it opened in the ’80s, Caffe Phoenix is a good place to have a glass of wine, watch passersby, and check out local artwork on the walls.

-Circa 1922- 8 N. Front St.
The hardest part about classy Circa 1922 is knowing when to stop eating all the fantastic tapas you’ve ordered. Because skipping dessert is not recommended!

-The Dixie Grill- 116 Market St.
Combine greasy-spoon style eating with menu items like veggie burgers and fresh fruit & granola, and you’ll have Dixie Grill. Just don’t leave without trying the sweet potato fries! Breakfast served until 3pm.

-Slice of Life- 122 Market St.
Who doesn’t want a hot piece of pizza after hitting up the downtown bar scene? Open until 3am, cozy Slice of Life has a great pub atmosphere and truly delicious pizza.

-Trolley Stop- 121 N. Front St. and 94 S Lumina Ave. Wrightsville Beach
The Trolley Stop has two locations - one downtown and one at the beach. Go to Trolley Stop at the beach in the summer, and the line goes out the door as beach-clad locals load up on Surfer Dogs. I don’t know if it’s the ridiculously soft buns, the melty cheese, or the juicy hotdog itself, but there is nothing like a Trolley Stop dog.

-Tidal Creek- 5329 Oleander Dr. #100
Tidal Creek is a market and deli selling organically produced foods and goods from local growers and high-ethics companies.

-Casey’s Buffet and BBQ, 5559 Oleander Dr.
Look past the atmosphere and dig in to a plate of collard greens, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and of course BBQ. Southern charm on the side.

-Coffee
Wilmington is the birthplace of Port City Java, although now that Port City Java is a franchise in seven states, it’s almost like visiting Starbucks in Seattle. Instead try the Smudged Pot (5032 Wrightsville Ave.) which has friendly staff, a great selection of magazines, crafty goods for sale, AND ice cubes are made from coffee. Another good bet is Jester’s Java on Castle Street (#607) which is a great place to stop after you’ve hit up all the antique shops there.

TO DO:

Festivals

Wilmington holds numerous festivals - most notably Azalea Fest which takes place each year in April when the azaleas are in full bloom (well, at least in theory.) The multi-day festival includes a parade, a street fair with local crafters, teens in antebellum gowns (’Azalea Belles’), concerts, home tours, and more.

Downtown Wilmington becomes festive again in October with Riverfest, when you can watch fireworks, view local arts and crafts, hear good music and watch various competitions.
For those who tire of the street-fair scene, there are some fantastic arts festivals that should not be missed.

In November the Cucalorus Film Festival celebrates independent films, in May the volunteer-run W.E. Fest celebrates indie musicians, and in July the Cape Fear Blues Festival brings national and local acts to the Port City.

Bars

Wilmington bars come and go, but these favorites always promise a good time. The Soapbox Laundro-Lounge is downtown’s largest music venue and has washing machines available for patrons who need to kill two birds with one stone. Level 5 at City Stage (21 N. Front St. 5th floor) is a theatre and rooftop bar combined. Enjoy the riverfront view from above and then duck inside and see what’s playing. Bluepost Billiards (15 S Water St.) is a smoky dive off of an alley downtown. Pop open a PBR and play pool, skee-ball, air hockey, or any number of arcade games.

-Thalian Hall- 310 Chestnut St.
Built in the 1850s, Thalian is a beautiful place to see local and national productions from ballet to music to films.

-Farmers Market- N. Water St. between Princess & Market
From mid April to the end of December, local farmers, crafters, and musicians gather on the Riverfront for the Saturday Farmer’s Market.

-Airlie Gardens & the Minnie Evans Sculpture Garden, 300 Airlie Rd.
Airlie Gardens is an historic, 67 acre county-owned piece of property on the water just before Wrightsville Beach. It’s a wonderful place for a walk or a picnic, and is home to the “bottle house,” a work of art dedicated to African American folk artist Minnie Evans. Evans was the gatekeeper of Airlie from 1949-1974 and the bottle house (named because it is made of glass bottles and mortar) was built in 2004 by local artists to celebrate her life.

-Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, 3021 S 17th St.
Built by the famous architectural firm Gwathmey Siegel & Associates of New York City, the Cameron Art Museum is one of my favorite places to visit. The museum has featured such exhibits as the costume designs of William Ivey Long, contemporary works using classic weaving techniques, and the phenomenal installations of Diane Landry. The museum shop items complement whatever is currently on display in the museum, making it an enjoyable stop on the way out.

-ACME Art Studios, 711 N. Fifth Ave. 910-763-8010
Ring the bell and if anyone answers then you’re in for a real treat. ACME is home away from home for 18 artists who work in all different mediums. You can also visit ACME during Fourth Friday art walks, from 6-9pm.

-Fourth Friday Art Walk, from 6-9pm April-December, 208 N Front St.
Start at Bottega Gallery, get a map, and visit the downtown art galleries during this monthly grassroots event.

I was pleased when Julia Rothman wrote in earlier this week to tell me about her wallpaper. I’ve been very busy over the past few days and haven’t been reading as many blogs as usual so I’m not sure if this made the blog rounds already. If so, my apologies for repeat content.

I’m so proud of Julia as I think her eye is outstanding and her style is superb, I think she is one of those designers who is very blessed with not only listening to her own voice and acting on it to pull together her patterns, but her designs just so happen to be extremely marketable. Isn’t this what every creative person hopes, that what they see in their brain that is then translated into a product will be something others will potentially buy? Julia is very lucky in this way and I feel happy to watch her growing as a designer all of time thanks to determination and hard work. Her latest project happens to be hand screened (made in Chicago) wallpaper, no longer do you have to dream of having her patterns cover your walls as it is now a reality. Aren’t these drool inducing? Learn more about them and see all of the colorways and patterns available at Hygge & West for $125 per double roll.

By the way, have you heard of Hygge & West before or is this the first time? For me it is the first time so a special thanks to Julia for the introduction. They have products from many other talented designers as well, here are a few that I enjoy.

1. Wallpaper ceramic votive set by Jeanette Hiiri, 2. Casalinga birds (they look like my vintage birds shown here in my living room), 3. Fiducia set designed by Louise Campbell for Kahler, and 4. Rachel Pearson candles.

Visit Hygge & West here to see more wonderful things for the home (click on the designers names on the right side of this page.)

(images from julia rothman and hygge & west)

i'm so excited to share this with you! a large apartment remodel & redesign project that i was fortunate enough to work on has come to completion, and the project manager has sent over some nice site photos. this is the icing on the cake of a lot of hard work from a lot of talented people. there's really nothing like the satisfaction of seeing a project complete and the clients happily moving in.

For those of you who would like to create a modern and high-quality living environment in their bathroom, here is something you might want to take a look. Called “Oasis of Balance” this bathroom vanity design by Joerger is characterized by three dimensions that create the perfect balance : function, form and fascination. The most interesting part of this design is the black washing area that gives you a sense of quality and style. For those of you who are interested in this piece you can find it here.