Phillips Furniture -- one table, four ways

I am having so much fun in the very fashion-forward Phillips Furniture store in Kirkwood, Missouri, where I've opened the in-home design program that offers affordable design services.

Our store is where "life meets style", as the tag line says.

True to life, a client gave me design challenge. She loves the above very cool guitar-pick table by Sitcom. She wants to replace the stools for chairs that provide a supportive back for her child's booster seat.

Can life meet style?

Ha, you bet!

I found three stylish options to support a booster seat:

So which is your favorite?
Come visit me at Phillip's Furniture to learn more about the in-home design program, because YOU deserve a designer! 314-966-0047

Meet DeirDre Krotz -- A St. Louis Favorite

Close-up shot of finish applied to what was once a white laminate cabinet. CRAZY!

My St. Louis favorites list is growing, this time with DeirDre Krotz, faux artist, who does the most amazing treatments with paint. Her company is called Crazy Walls.

I first became acquainted with her when I took one of her classes and she has since done work for my clients.

Her most recent work transformed a plain laminate cabinet to become a stunning old-world piece. Crazy!
Original white laminate cabinets (above)
AFTER (above) DeirDre does her "crazy" magic. Same cabinets, no joke. These are laminate, but you would never know.

I can't tell you how many clients ask me if they can paint laminate.

Yes Susie, you can! And DeirDre can help.

If you live in the St. Louis area and would like to learn how DeirDre and I can transform your furnishings, your walls and any paintable (not a word, I know, but I like it) surface, give me a call: 314-276-1129. If you live elsewhere, fly us out!

Moonrise Hotel in St. Louis

Sitting area in lobby of the Moonrise Hotel.


Dan (husband) and I went with friends Don and Diane Wallace to check out the new Moonrise Hotel on the Delmar Loop.

The website says it "blends cool modern design and quirky sophistication to create a truly unique boutique hotel experience...The result: an unforgettable experience that combines Midwestern hospitality with urban chic and luxury boutique."

The lunar-themed decor is really out of this world. LOVE it!

It's so cool. We'll book guests here for sure.


Stairs light up and change colors. The Chihuly inspired chandelier is to die for.



The place was hopping. Great to see in this economy.

Ashley Furniture Homestore in St. Louis Missouri gives away $500 in Groceries -- FREE Groceries

Do you need furniture, but feel you can't justify another purchase so soon after the holiday buying season?

Do you need a TV console for the new flat screen TV you got for Christmas?

Does your room look bare now that the Christmas tree is gone?

Ashley Furniture in the greater St. Louis Missouri area is making it easier to consider a new purchase at this time. They are giving away $500 in free groceries for each household that buys $500 or more worth of furniture.

Yes, that's right. FREE Groceries!

This is NOT a gimmick, it's for real (see the store for more details and/or learn more at http://www.claimyourgroceries.com/ ).

We are seeing a lot of happy faces in Ashley Furniture Land..."You're Gonna Love This Place!".

The offer ends this Sunday, January 4, so hurry in!

If you come to the Kirkwood, Missouri store, ask for me, Dana King! I work at the Kirkwood location on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

If you have not been in our store, there has never been a better time to stop by. You will be blown away by the prices and the merchandise that represents EVERY style.

Bring photos of your rooms and I'll be happy to suggest items to complete your space. You will be amazed at how we can do so much for $500!

Action Abstraction

I am loving the holidays and time spent with my family. My daughter Audrey (20 yr) is home from college. My son Alex (17 yr)has planned many of our family activities including a wonderful visit to the St. Louis Art Museum to see the special exhibit Action Abstraction. If you live in St. Louis you have until January 11 to see it. It's traveling around the country, so look for it in a city near you.

I love studies in color...and especially abstract art. I can't put in words what it means to me, but it elicits reactions in my soul like when I listen to inspiring music.

I was most moved by Grace Hartigan's work, her story and her art.

Like most women and blacks in the 50s, she had to fight hard for recognition of her work. Hartigan ran in circles of those better known Abstract Expressionists like Pollock and de Kooning. She broke through a glass ceiling in the art world as the only woman represented among 17 artists in the prestigious exhibit "New American Painting" sent by MOMA to Europe to communicate that New York had trumped Paris as the capital of modern art.

I am drawn to Hartigan's use of bold brush strokes and saturated splashes of color.

Bold, abstract, vivid and color infused...I can't get enough of it!

My favorite Hartigan painting is Summer Street (above). Can you make out the woman from the 50s shopping in the street? It took me a bit, but I found her. And do you see the watermelon? What else do you see in the busy summer street? What color and light of summer do you recognize? What time of day does it look like? Are there buildings around and if so, how are they recognized in the painting? Do you see yourself in a street like this?

I wish I could pluck Summer Street off the exhibit wall and place it in Heather's home! Perfect for her piano room (you'll see the reveal of Heather's piano room later on my blog). It would also look great in the 10th Street Lobby (also stay tuned for that reveal.)

I also loved New England in October (below).


Grace Hartigan quietly passed away in November this year. Though she faded from prominence years ago, I am grateful her work lives on in this exhibit.

New St. Louis Favorite -- Victoria Gray

Vintage design is not something I do a lot, but I think it would be fun. And now I know yet another resource in St. Louis for period pieces.

Victoria Gray specializes in vintage clothing and anything to do with the Victorian period. Check out her website -- click here -- where you can learn about estate sales, fashion shows and presentations.

This weekend there is an estate sale, really two in one.

Victoria says:This house is jammed with antique collectibles! So much so, that we'll have the first floor sale on Saturday July 26, 9-5 and Sunday July 27, 9-3. Then the second sale the following weekend for the basement, which is full to the gills!!! Saturday August 2, 9-5 and Sunday August 3, 9-3.

Learn more details from her website.

Colleen Livingston Mitchell -- a STL favorite

Only two days left to catch Colleen Livingston Mitchell's photography exhibit. See it at the Soulard Coffee Garden -- 910 Geyer Ave. in Soulard, St. Louis, Missouri -- until July 15. You can have breakfast or lunch while also enjoying the exhibit on the two floors.

Colleen, a St. Louis (STL) favorite is also one of our design hoppers and brings her talented eye to our desighHop club get-togethers.

I enjoyed the opening reception for her exhibit on June 1st. Here are some of my favorites, though "my" photos do NOT do "her" photos justice...so I hope you will see her exhibit in person:


Colleen stands by her doors poster.


Colleen's photos -- above and below -- of Chihuly art exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.






A heavenly view of clouds.

Budget Design Inspiration

A few things crossing my inbox this week to inspire the budget decorator.

First from a Missouri favorite, Pat at Back Porch Musings shares her DIY project to cover a $20 sidewalk sale chair in zebra print. I am very drawn to traditional furnishings covered in unexpected prints. I think it looks right at home in her more traditional setting. Let's hear it for Pat!


Pat's chair before makeover


Pat's chair after makeover


Pat's chair looking at home in its new surroundings





From our St. Louis favorite, UMA, these very fun vinyl tiles, Mozaikit: 225 a set for only $25.


I have blogged about vinyl stickers before -- they are the new wallpaper. Cover anything and have fun.






From Ballard Designs, we can be inspired by three basic rooms decorated with accessories for under $1000. I show one of them below. It's inspirational for sure, but I bet I could do it for half that. Dare me? Check out all three the rooms: Decorating on a Budget from Ballard Designs.

Before

After

On the designHop front, we have seen a great response to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. Many are inquiring how they can start a designHop club or party. I will share details soon. Please leave a comment if you would like to learn more...and check out the new designHop links.

NEW from our St. Louis Favorites

More great stuff from a St. Louis favorite: UMA.

I just love their new bamboo screens. These are especially practical if you need to divide a room but don't want to pay for dry wall or don't want a permanent divide. I love the organic feel, the colors and shapes. Starting at $260, they create a lot of drama and interest for the buck.

While they are shown in a contemporary space, I think the screens can complement any style.

From the website:

Roll them, curl them, make them your own shape. These pliable bamboo screens are in many colors; tan, light green, chocolate, turquoise, natural, and black. The undulating top makes them even more fluid and organic. The natural features of the bamboo are accentuated by a light stain. And at only $260 for a 6' x 8' screen, they are amazingly inexpensive for a room divider. We also stock an 8' x 10' version with no scallops and it's priced at only $380!

Visit UMA in downtown St. Louis or on the web at iloveuma.com

And here is a shout out to another St. Louis favorite -- Colleen Livingston Mitchell, Photographer and Digital Artist, will show her work at an Art Show opening this Sunday, June 1 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Soulard Coffee Garden, 910 Geyer Ave in St. Louis. I plan to be there with camera in hand and share highlights next week.