You Only Live Once

I usually try not to dive too deep into my personal life here on the blog but today is different. You see, my beloved grandmother, Maureen (posted about here) passed away this week and I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything but my family.  My posts have been and may continue to be a little sporadic over the next few days as I sort through my feelings and spend time with my loved ones so please bear with me...and remember, you only live once!

I doubt designer Emily Mughannam had a post like this in mind when she custom designed this neon light for the San Francisco Decorator's Showcase but as I reflect on my grandmother's life I honestly feel like this motto is shining in the back of my mind.  During my last visit to the hospital my grandmother introduced me to her nurse as her granddaughter the "designer"...in that moment I felt an extreme sense of pride -- it's a moment that I will always remember as try to live every day to the fullest and forge my career path and future.

You may be shocked to find out but Kerr is not my last name, it's my middle name and my grandmother's maiden name.  Growing up all I wanted was a "normal" middle name but over time I learned to love it. For blogging/business purposes, I've pretty much dropped my last name (Luber) all together so now, more than ever, I feel fortunate to have a part of Maureen with me every day.

(Images: Helynn Ospina for Emily Mughannam Design)

It's Tortoise Time

Grant K Gibson

Mark D. Sikes via Habituall Chic

Miles Redd for Century Furniture

Tory Burch

Tory Burch + Palmer Weiss

Albert Hadley + Miles Redd

I never met a faux tortoise that I didn't like. Tortoise print is such a classic and sophisticated way to add interest to a room. Tortoise furniture and accessories were long considered to be a luxury, and we can now recreate that luxury with faux tortoise painted furniture. Grant K. Gibson designed the faux tortoise Parson tables above using warm, rich tones. Miles Redd, on the other hand, used more vibrant green tones for his.

This weekend I plan to follow this follow this tutorial and create my own timeless tortoise table -- check back Monday for the results!  Wish me luck!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Lush Leaves

Truth be told, I have a bit of a design crush on LA-based designer Peter Dunham. The designer's enviable background – he grew up in England, France and Spain and worked for design legend David Hicks – led him to design an enviable, fresh feeling textile collection. So it's days like today, when the sun is hiding and the sky is gray, that I wish I had just the smallest piece of Dunham's "Fig Leaf" fabric in my home. Lord knows I have a brown thumb and kill just about every plant I touch (this topiary included), so I think this textile could be my happy alternative for lush leaves.

Dunham says that this print was inspired by a similar fabric he saw as a child in his neighbor, Spanish surrealist painter, Salvador Dali's home. It has such a summery, fresh, classic look and since plant life is practically a neutral this print works perfectly in just about any eclectic, evolved interior.

(Images 1 /2 Diane Bergeron / 3-7 Peter Dunham / 8 Ruthie Sommers)

Texture

This Madrid apartment is seriously chic.  Every surface has an understated and stylish take on texture. The grasscloth wallpaper, the rustic burlap curtains, the charcoal velvet sofa and the fur rug all contribute to this luxe but affordable look. Apparently many of the items are from Zara Home. My favorite piece is that rusty, burnt orange mongolian lamb furl pillow. God I hope they open a Zara Home in Chicago.  Who's with me? 

(Images via)

Domestic Tranquility

There is something about this living room that leaves me absolutely speechless. Perhaps it is the luxuriously rich hand-blocked Zuber wallpaper and floor-to-ceiling windows, the herringbone floors and saturated green rug, the oversize Venini colored-glass chandelier and it’s dazzling red crystals, or maybe it's the absence of clutter and sense of tranquility designer Ilse Crawford created.  Whatever it is, I’m in love, love, love!

J'adore Hervé Pierre

With stacks of iconic orange boxes, pretty perfume bottles, plastered angels and a curtain tieback made of a stuffed Balmain glove, the New York home of Carolina Herrera creative director Hervé Pierre has an utterly romantic sensibility I simply adore.  I love his attention to detail, his color palette and the fact that it's slightly cluttered yet still extremely elegant.  Pierre's NeoVersailles apartment feels like Paris in New York - and what's more romantic than Paris on Valentine's Day?

The plaster angel, which came from a Christmas window display at Lanvin in Paris, overlooks the living room.

The curtain tieback is a stuffed, mounted Balmain glove.

An artist's wooden hand model looks great perched near a collection of books about Christian Dior

I wish I had “I’ve worn an Hermès scarf since I was 15! Even in bed.” - Hervé Pierre

Extra-long pink curtains drape into flowy puddles on the floor - how dreamy!

The tea-service porcelain is from the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres (posted about here) and is an exact replica of those made in the eighteenth century. The macarons are from Ladurée.

A bedroom fit for royalty - Pierre’s canopy bed is covered in 92 yards of fabric from Beckenstein, a gift from Carolina Herrera.

I'm in love with the color scheme and brilliant use of scale in the bathroom.  The green of the oversized perfume bottle looks beautiful against the Carrara marble walls.

Images by The Selby