Cowboy Capital Pet Assistance League

Arlo and Louna

I was so excited to work on a pop up with Joan from fortheloveofahouse blog. Joan and I have known each other for a long time, have a mutual love of interior design, dogs, and all things antique, and are native Texans!

When I asked about donating a portion of the sales from the pop up to a charity, she suggested Cowboy Capital Pet Assistance League, and I gladly agreed. As you already know, I've got my sweet Frenchies, Arlo and Louna - and while they were not adopted from CCPAL, I have a special place in my heart for agencies and leagues like CCPAL who save dogs from kill shelters.

I made the donation from the art sales today, and realized that CCPAL has a really AWESOME donation option!

You can donate exactly what they need directly through Amazon! How cool is that?

Obviously a shelter needs cash donations to operate, paying vet bills and supplying vaccinations and necessary healthcare to all of the animals in need. Donating this way allows you to give big and spend small, literally feeding all these animals before they find their forever home!

Click Here and you can look at the full wishlist for CCPAL! 

It is SO easy. Just make sure when you choose where it's being shipped, that you ship to CCPAL. Otherwise, it'll end up at your door! 

For those of you who purchased art, it will ship out by Friday. I thank you so much for supporting me in this artistic journey. For those of you who came, but didn't see anything you had to call yours, feel free to shop my instagram for other pieces! And if my art isn't for you, that's ok! You can still donate to CCPAL either by donating to their Amazon wishlist or directly to the website. 

I'll be back soon with some news on our upcoming move, and some interesting interior design options for the new space! Til then, spread a little holiday cheer CCPAL's way!

Spring/Summer Switch Up

One of the things that I've always loved about the change of seasons outside, is the prompting for the change of seasons inside. We each do this in our own way, whether by putting up garlands and Christmas trees in December, or by switching out velvet pillows for linen in the summer.

When I moved into my apartment, I knew that the living and dining rooms would get a summer switch up - nothing crazy, just a shift to more color, and pattern and a more playful attitude. Today being the first day of Spring, I started to lay the frame work for this mini-shift, at least in my mind.

A room I've long admired for this type of change is the living room of decorator Suzanne Rheinstein at her California home. In the winter months, marked only by the calendar in southern California, Suzanne's living room sports upholstered pieces in velvet, and jacquard stripes.

In the summer, Suzanne pulls out the glacial green and white stripe slipcovers, which are matched to every piece of furniture in the living room:

And she recently had a second set of slips made for the living room from her new fabric line:

It didn't take a full tilt redecoration of the space to get a completely different look. By simply using different fabrics on the furniture, she was able to lighten the mood and formality of her winter look. Another California designer who uses slipcovers to change her interiors with the seasons is Penelope Bianchi.

Her home in Montecito, California is nothing short of extraordinary. Just look at this image, is this not the most enchanting thing you've ever seen?

The living room is quite large, and is separated by a round table in the center of the room. On the left, a seating group at the fireplace gets a refreshing change with each season. In the fall, paisley slipcovers are mixed with antique Flemish tapestry pillows, Scalamandre silk velvet, and African animal hide.

In the spring, stripes, and Jardinere toiles meet up with more Flemish tapestry and silk velvet, this time on small upholstered ottomans. 

And in the summer, white matelasse covers all of the pieces, and is used to fully skirt the normally open legs of the diminutive wingback chairs.

Here, you can see the open legs of the two chairs that face the fireplace. Slipcovers completely change the feeling of these two chairs for Spring and Summer. I've never personally met Penelope, but in my few conversations with her via email and the blog, she exudes warmth and creativity. The photos of her scattered about blogland paint her as graceful and stylish, elegant without any effort. If I ever break myself away from responsibilities and get out to California, I hope to meet her. 

My friend Joni, interior designer and author of Cote de Texas, redecorated her formal living room a few years ago. While it stays like this now, I wanted to use the change to illustrate the point of how simple changes (which could be temporary for the seasons) can completely change the feeling of a room. 

Joni's formal living room with pieces upholstered in Bennison fabrics, a luxury Britain-based fabric house. 

Today, everything slipcovered in beautiful white linen. You'll notice that the furniture didn't change in this space, nor did the layout. By simply slipcovering the pieces in white, and replacing the antique Aubusson rug with a creamy white cowhide, she completely lightened the mood of the room. 

ADDITION 2/21/17: 

Another friend who makes changes to the inside of her beautiful home with the seasonal changes outside is Joan, who blogs at for the love of a house. In the winter, the roaring fire of her plaster finished, custom built fireplace keeps her and her 3 beautiful pups warm on the cushions of her linen slipcovered sofas covered in harvest colored velvet pillows. 

In the Spring and Summer, the pillows change and Joan pulls up the antique woven rugs in favor of a striped wool dhurrie.

This beautiful space has direct access to a gravel terrace through two sets of french doors on either side of the fireplace, which doubles the livable space in the summer season. This room is a wonderful example of how changes as simple as pillow covers and a rug can completely lighten the feeling of a space.

So, what do you do to switch up your rooms for the seasons? Are you chomping at the bit to add those spring and summer touches to your space? Tell me about it! Lord knows, I am! 

Beautiful Bars

I'm still working on my little apartment, and I've found myself somewhat stuck - waiting for the right things to come along, and for inspiration to strike. Last night, nearly two months after I started, I finally finished the floor in the entry hall and dining room. Cutting those final, narrow strips was not the easiest thing I've ever done, so I had left it unfinished for far too long.

I'm planning on taking pictures of the apartment this weekend, and I'm actually pretty excited about sharing the space with all of you. This apartment really has some of my most favorite things, and frankly, some of the nicest things I've ever owned. Last night, as I started thinking about photos of vignettes and angles to get the best pictures of the rooms, it occurred to me that I really needed some fun pieces for the bar I've set up on an antique dresser in my dining room. Bar tables and bar carts are some of the most interesting things to style. Unlike other vignettes which can be purely decorative, these spaces have to function. The pretty things that you scatter on top/bottom/shelves have to be as useful to your guests as they are beautiful to you.

I figured if I needed inspiration, you might, too! So, I'll share with you some of the photos I found of brilliant bar set-ups, and a few fun items that I think might be both functional AND pretty for the home bar. Ready!?

What's great about this bar? Well, to start, it's accessible. Nothing worse than having people feel like they have to dig for things. If you have an alcohol you want to share with your guests, it should be out and free for them to pick up and pour. Secondly, it's purposeful and pretty: books, flowers and art all keep it from feeling like you just put all the bottles of things you own on a table. 

I love keeping lemons, limes, and other garnishes out for dinner party guests to make their own cocktail. Leaving them out all the time is wasteful though, as I don't drink at home by myself. But I share this image for another reason: the silverplate. If you can score it, beautiful silverplate pieces can be a real gem in a bar. A mint julep cup can be a great storage container for straws (above) and tarnished pitchers become great vases. 

I also love the idea of trays on a bar table. Trays allow you to corral things apart from your liquor, like your martini shakers, stirrers, etc.. This burl wood tray fits beautifully here, holding an assortment of leather wrapped bar accoutrements. 

This is really lovely, and pairs up a lot of the things that I love in a bar - both beautiful and functional. Trays: they're great in multiples, and they don't have to match! Thoughtful mixers! If you have the space, keep a few small bottles of ginger ale, soda water, and tonic. Tarnished silverplate. Here they have old silver and glass coasters, and a silver tray that's perfect for cocktail napkins. 

If you have the space, adding lighting to your bar table is also a great idea! Here, there's a ton of space, so matching buffet lamps flank art and anchor that niche. This set up is lovely for commercial use (as it is here) or for a large gathering. Personally, I don't like keeping glassware on a bar table all the time. Keeping your glassware in a closed cabinet after cleaning will ensure that it's ready to go for unexpected company (i.e., no dusting, etc.) plus, it's less likely that you'll have breakage. Afterall, we are talking about alcohol here people. Can you image someone who has had one too many at the corner of this bar? CRASH! Be thoughtful about not only what you have on your bar, but also where it's placed. If you do choose to keep your glassware on the cart or table, try to guard it from easy tipping. Last thing you want to do at a party is clean up broken glass! 

Here's another great bar, with lots of lovely things, and glassware stored correctly! If you are going to store your glassware on a bar cart, do so with the glass facing downward, and corralled in a tray. It'll save you a lot of headache, I promise! Also, things like your corkscrew can be beautifully decorative and also functional! If you happen to have them, you can store your bitters in flasks instead of the brown bitters bottles, and again, cocktail napkins are never a bad idea! 

These napkins come in a set of 8 from Crate and Barrel, for just $14.95

I am absolutely in love with these white linen hemstitched napkins from Amazon. You CAN NOT beat the price. A full dozen for just $18.95!

I personally prefer cloth napkins to paper. They take a little more effort, washing, folding, ironing stiff - but I think that the little touches like having cloth napkins is something that people remember and appreciate. It's a simple thing that goes a long way. 

Another great thing for styling your bar for parties, beyond the lemons and limes, is a small pot of herbs, like mint or cilantro. We talked a little about lighting for your bar, and lamps are always a great choice if you can fit them in. If you can't, candles may be a better way to go! Candles provide a beautiful ambient light, and if you have the room, a match strike is also a pretty piece you can keep on your bar! 

This marble one from Simon Paul Scott is incredible. 

And this little porcelain one from Hudson Grace is also lovely.

I did a book review on a really beautiful little book, perfect for the bar, called The Craft Cocktail Party. It's a wonderful book on creating beautiful and impressive craft cocktails for all occasions.

Flowers are lovely in any location, at any time. But cut flowers can be expensive to replace. One thing that is much easier, long-lasting, and just as beautiful (in my opinion) is a nice ivy or fern in a beautiful container or urn. 

My friend Joan, who blogs about her lovely home and her life in New Hampshire on her very popular blog, for the love of a house, is a master of all things interior design, including peppering houseplants into the rooms of her amazing home. Here, her bar, neatly contained in a woven basket has all the things I've been talking about: great lighting with a lamp and candles, accessible space for pouring drinks, and a kangaroo fern to add a little life to the vignette. 

What you may not be able to make out in this photo is the soda and mixers, to the far right of the basket, an antique hotel silver ice bucket, and bitters contained in wicker wrapped flasks. Yes, I think Joan's bar is perfect! Including that soapstone topped iron work table Joan found while antiquing in Maine. She switched the original wood top for the soapstone during her kitchen remodel. 

Now that I'm fully inspired, I hope you are too. I'm off to find a few beautiful things for the photoshoot tomorrow, hopefully these darn tulips will start to weep, and the lilies will open up. Have a great weekend!

The Dichotomy of a Pillow: To Chop or Not to Chop

That is the question! I've read hundreds of blog comments, dozens of blog posts, magazine articles, book footnotes, and even listened to advice from television decorators who weigh in on what seems to be a rather controversial decorating dilemma; when it comes to pillows: to chop or not to chop, that is the question!

I gather ideas for blog posts a number of different ways. And this post was inspired by a conversation that I had on instagram with my friend Joan of fortheloveofahouse. Joan posted this photo:

In her beautiful barnroom, pillows chopped and flounced about on the linen slipcovered sofa. The offender, sweet sweet Ella:

Ella is just one of many of the blogosphere's decorating dogs, but Ella shares a relatively uncommon trait ... she loves to chop pillows ... something she and her blogging mom don't see eye to eye on. I however, do chop my pillows, so together with Ella, I figured I'd advocate for pillow choppers everywhere by writing this post! 

The truth is, there are many degrees of choppedness, yes, I just made that word up - choppedness. Defined by the Artie and Ella First Volume Dog and Human Dictionary as: CHOPPEDNESS noun: the state of being chopped. "That pillow is in the fifth degree of choppedness." I have done my best to categorize and define them below.

The Half Chop

The half chop is what most of us see and appreciate, when in favor of the chopped pillow. It is a moderate level of choppedness. The half chop is noticeably chopped, with a polite crease in the center. This is easily achieved by first taking the pillow by the ears, slamming it against your closed legs (to fluff) then replacing on the chair or sofa, and giving a light tap in the middle of its head. Here are some published examples of the half chop: 

Leslie Dunn & Ann Tighe

Phoebe Howard

Jill Goldberg

Phoebe Howard

 Heiburg Cummings

Leta Austin Foster

Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Sally Wheat

Munger Interiors

Carrie Hayden

The Side Chop

The side chop is a little less common, and therefore confusing to some ... even chopped pillow enthusiasts, but it is my favorite karate move when dealing with rogue pillows. To perfect the side chop, you must first fluff your pillow (by any means necessary) and then use both hands to symmetrically chop at its sides, thereby trimming the fat off the pillow and giving it a plump and desirous hourglass shape. Here are some published examples of the side chop:  

All Jeffrey Bilhuber

Marco Meneguzi

Ryan Brown

Thom Filicia

Suzanne Rheinstein

Barclay Butera

The Pillsbury Poke

The Pillsbury poke is what many pillow chopping addicts do when attempting to quit the habit of chopping their pillows. They first fluff the pillow, place it in the corner of the sofa or chair, eyeing it intently as if missing something. Then they re-fluff, and give it the half chop. Determined to quit their chopping ways, they re-fluff, leave the room ... and run back in to give the pillow a poke. Here are some published examples of the Pillsbury poke.

Jane Moore

Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Brooke Giannetti

Phoebe Howard

Miles Redd

The WWF Full on Body Slam

This, my dear pillow chopping friends, is what even we avid pillow choppers avoid. This is the defcon 5 of choppedness. The WWF full on body slam pillow chop was created as an activity to reduce stress by Dr. Phil. Visualizing the person who has caused you grief, harm, or cut in front of you while in line at IKEA to buy your 20x20 down inserts for $4.99, you take your forearm and slam it into the pillow, narrowly stopping before tearing the whole thing in half. This, is how a true ninja assassin would treat their decorative accessories. Here are some published examples of the WWF full on body slam:

Barclay Butera

Bunny Williams

YAWN Design Studio

Michael Taylor

Barclay Butera

Eileen Kathryn Boyd

Ryan Brown

Barclay Butera

Laurie Pearson

The Soldier

The soldier is what the pillow chopping protesters have lined up on their sofas and chairs, prepared for decorating battle. These pillows are fluffed, but not in any way altered by an astute decorating hand. In fact, it likely takes longer for one to perfect the soldier, tightly fluffed but never pinched, poked, or chopped! Here are some published examples of the soldier:

John Saladino

Cullman and Kravis

Michael S. Smith

Charlotte Moss

Jan Showers

Phoebe Howard

Vicente Wolf

As you can see from all of the beautiful rooms above, ultimately, this is not a matter of taste, it's a matter of discretion. You either like the look of a chopped pillow, or you don't. It does not mean that you're stuck in an era of decorating that has long passed, or that you are less of a decorator than someone who prefers the soldier (no-choppedness) pillow look. It simply means you agree with me ... and Ella, and I think that puts you in pretty good company.

No pillows were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Posted with granted permission from Ella (and Joan)

Avoid the lines at Ikea - buy your pillow inserts at Amazon.

And please remember to vote for Color Outside the Lines now - February 12th for Best Writing on a Design Blog for the 2014 Design Bloggers Hall of Fame Awards. Read the full post here, or click here to submit your ballot!