Book Club

Book Club: Styled by Emily Henderson

Emily Henderson has one of the most relatable style in interior design. Her looks are easily achievable and her blog and book, Styled, shows you how to get it. She does a great job of blending a couple of high end pieces with some lower end products from Target and the flea market- just two of her favorite sources from among many. And she has a relatable personality. If you’ve been following her blog, then you know how she is with her sense of humor (love it!). While keeping it all professional (with the exception of a few personal moments), she keeps it light, fun, and a joy to read.

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Book Club: The Decorative Carpet

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Why are rugs on the bottom of the totem pole?

I work at a rug and carpet store, so for me, that’s why I don’t bring up rugs very often. I see them all day already. Before I worked at this store, I had zero appreciation for rugs. Zero. Everything I had been exposed to were either the stuffy traditional rugs (you know the usual blacks, reds, and blues- not my style) or the cheap rugs at Walmart. I almost didn’t even understand why they existed. Then I entered the rug industry. Literally, a door had opened up a whole new world for me and exposed me to so many beautiful rugs that were so painfully out of my budget.

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Book Club: Made to Order

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Time is just flying by right now. We just got back from a weekend trip up to the mountains and I lost track of blogging time, which in my defense is quite easy to do when you go up for a nice relaxing weekend to disconnect. But, when the Blue Ridge Mountains are having some unusual wildfires and it’s just all around smoky, it’s hard to focus. The smoke has reached all the way to Charleston and I tend to get light headaches after being around any kind of smoke in my face long enough. I’m kind of surprised- though maybe I shouldn’t be- that there’s not more coverage on it. How do people out in California put up with all the smoke from the wildfires they have every year? And all at once it breaks my heart and pisses me off that there are people out there who wants to literally set the world on fire. I believe most of the wildfires going on right now were started by arson. Why, people? Why?

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Book Club: A La Carte
A La Carte: Elements of an Elegant Home by Sherrill Canet:

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This book was a birthday gift from my husband. I must admit that I had not been aware of A La Carte by Sherrill Canet before and found myself pleasantly surprised by this hidden gem. If you have a love for anything antiques, old world, or traditional styles, then this is the book for you. I have read a few design books, but this, by far, pays more attention to antiques than the rest. I appreciated that I got to learn a little more about good antiques to keep my eye out for when I go browsing through these antique stores, like a Dutch Colonial mirror (similar here). Those are some cool looking mirrors with tons of details. An English Regency chair (similar here) have a cool design to them, particularly when they’re gilded in gold, and a 1940’s Bagues sconce (similar here) is just the thing to dress up a room.

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