I'm a Fan - Summer Thornton

I just happened upon designer Summer Thornton's website a few weeks ago and quickly became a fan! It's not often that I find a designer's portfolio that matches my design style so perfectly :) Below are a few of the beautiful rooms she has created, but you can see her whole portfolio 'here'. 

She does airy & light, sophisticated & elegant...

{I LOVE the studded brass dresser above and fell head-over-heels for one on Craigslist the other day - until I saw the asking price pop up in my email inbox.}

She does trendy & fun, lively & eclectic...

{I like the mix of patterns and colors in this room, not to mention the various furniture styles which are combined.}

And, oh, does she do whimsical & theatric!

{Not quite sure what this room functions as, perhaps an entry? Either way, it has my eyes darting around, trying to uncover all of its hidden jewels. Can I please have a client who would allow me to do this someday?!} 

ps. My favorite part of Summer's website is her advice page - I have to take note of this idea! I also happen to agree with her on all points...

1. Do at least one thing your mother wouldn't

2. Reference the past, don't repeat it

3. Use patterns and colors recklessly

4. Insist on natural fabrics

5. Colors don't clash

6. Never say never

7. More IS more

Emily's Fav!

Emily sent me over to check out her favorite designer's portfolio - you must take a look at the work of Tom Scheerer! It was chock-full of beautiful and inspiring images, and I also happen to love how it was organized - city, country, beach, commercial.

While there are many many portfolios out there that I love to browse and most contain stunning images, I seldom find one that is full of designs with out of the ordinary and unique ideas.

Not completely unheard of, but I don't see floating beds often. I'm really liking all the varying texture and furnishing styles in the first image with the twin bed, and the second room seems like an extremely relaxing and airy place to sleep...something about sleeping in the middle of a room seems freeing to me!

How about all those circular rugs? Quite unexpected, and I like!

{All images via Tom Scheerer Inc}

Don't you love Scheerer's inventive designs? It's refreshing to see spaces that are playful and creative, yet elegant and timeless. Definitely a FUN portfolio to peruse!


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Okay, this is Emily now.. I just had to weigh in on this posting dedicated to Mr. Scheerer since I adore his work. (thank you Saara for writing this post!)

Dear Tom,

I love the way you so seamlessly maneuver between so many different design styles; urban to country to your set-point-style, island...



I love how you have so much fun playing with design elements to truly create something captivating to look at.





I love that when I discovered your website, I realized that I probably had 20+ of your rooms already stored away in my design binders.



I love your clean style that somehow always feels completely liveable.




And lastly, I love your color combinations and how you almost always incorporate something playfully unexpected in every room.


Thank you for the design porn as Joe and Kim over at Desire to Inspire like to say:)

Love, Emily

Lonny Reminder...

The newest issue of Lonny magazine is out, and it is goooo-od! Grab your beverage of choice and click through some fabulous pages...

I really enjoyed this issue - I was inspired by the large article on the 16 YEAR OLD designer whiz-kid, all the upholstered headboard photos, and this page...

Have you heard of this Decorator Tag Sale website? How cool?! I checked it out, and there are so many fun items for sale. I'm definitely adding this to my list of shopping resources! I need a new coffee table and wouldn't mind giving that Hermes tray table a new home. :)

From Bahamas To Reality!

Last week I was extremely busy doing this...

And this...

Horrible, I know!

Isn't life after vacation awful? Getting back to reality is tough. Ok, done complaining. We were so lucky to be invited to our friend's family beach houses on a teeny, tiny island in the Bahamas for 10 days. Hope Town was nothing short of AMAZING!

My wee beach babe sure had a great time...

I'm missing Bahamas life already, especially all of the island architecture. The houses are all painted cheerful, bright colors and are simply adorable. Most, if not all, have shutters (which actually function!) and I LOVED checking out all of the house/shutter color combinations on my daily walks. Such a happy little town!

Pop Quiz!

Don't worry, no one fails this one! If you've browsed through the March issue of Real Simple, you may have already completed this design quiz. It's fun, though, so you can always do it again!

Without thinking too much about your choices or looking at the small letter they are associated with, circle images on the right page that you are drawn to.

{Sorry these weren't scanned - haven't been able to get near that device for some time now. You can click the photos to make them bigger. Don't forget to read the actual article too!}

Ok, start circling - quick, quick, quick!

Done circling? Now tally up how many A's, B's, C's & D's you circled (hopefully you have one somewhat dominant letter), flip to the next pages, and see your favored design style displayed in a beautiful room. I really love how the article suggests key starter pieces for every style - a great touch!

If you're like me, you probably had a pretty good idea of where your style would fall. I was right-on with guessing that I'd be mixing things up with a dash of "Sophisticated Classic" and sprinkling of "Vintage Eclectic".

Another great tool is the handy chart listing a few stores relevant to each style, or fusion of styles. I'll have to refer back to this when I'm drawing-a-blank on where to start my shopping...

Well, there you have it. I thought this was a fun 10 minutes!