One Small Change: The Devil is in the Details

It's the smaller details that often make all the difference. For example...

White-on-White

Contemporary column lamps paired with a simple pot of white orchids create a clean uncluttered look toning down the orange wall.


Modern Classic

Sleek celadon column lamps with green and aqua fish ceramic fish bowl make a soft gentle contrast against the orange.


Fun and Funky

Angular hexagonal jar lamps and fun fish dishes create a whimsical mood and the bright turquoise combined with the orange background make a very lively room.


What's your style? No need to buy new furniture. Reinvent a space with accessories.





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Elle Decor's A-Team (Part III)

The other week, we started a new feature, looking at Elle Decor's 2010 "A-List of 25 interior designers." Some are well known to us and some vaguely familiar, but all have distinguished themselves as the best in the industry (at least according to Elle Decor). We thought it would be fun to take a look at these taste makers each Monday - to see how they appeal to our own aesthetic and even find a little Key West in their style if it exists.

Catch up with:
Part I
Part II

Today - I only have time for two (hmmm....will it be only one by next week?) Here they are:

Victoria Hagan

ED (Elle Decor) describes Hagan's style as "merging traditional aesthetics with the requirements for modern living. Her crisp, uncluttered designs are not only visually appealing, her many clients...find them supremely peaceful."

We love how she uses blue as a neutral, how she maintains a classic elegance, but pairs it with modern expectation for comfort, and how she gives existing natural light a significant presence in her designs.

Charlotte Moss

ED describes Moss designs as having "livable glamour, inspired by English, European, and American traditions, channeling those iconic influences into a wide range of expressions - country manor pretty, cozy chalet, Anglo-American suave - whose common denominators are comfort and suitability."

It was hard to find a handful of Charlotte Moss images since there are so many to choose from. Since she doesn't have a "portfolio" on her website, I just trolled around the Internet and grabbed a few that appealed to me:









Seems like Charlotte Moss can do it all (and pretty much has), but what we love best about her work is how she manages to make her spaces look like they're filled with treasures without an uncomfortably cluttered feel.

*images from: Elle Decor, Culture Fix, All The Best, Duncan Fuller Interiors, Washington Post, Habitually Chic, James Swan Co.

Any thoughts so far on Elle Decor's selected designers?




*Unless otherwise specified, all images procured directly from the designers' websites.

One Small Change: Using Accent Paint for Impact

This Friday's One Small Change features paint. Probably the easiest way to make a statement in your home is with paint, and if you don't like it you can always paint over it. Everyone knows that painting an entire room can make a big change, but today we are going to consider little projects that probably won't take more than a weekend to complete.

Here are three examples of painting an accent wall. To make the most of the beautiful wainscoting, keep it a crisp white while adding color on the walls above.



We like the way the color sets the mood of the room with the peaceful blue in the bedroom, and the warm uplifting orange in the dining room.

This accent wall is actually a "headboard" created with paint and molding.


Here in Key West, porches are typically painted blue to confuse the mosquitoes!


The ceiling is considered to be the fifth wall of the room, so why paint it white, when you can add a mood changing color?

A calming blue...


A nature reflecting green...


A soft romantic pink...


Smaller areas like furniture or the interior of cabinets and shelves allow you to use rich, vibrant colors that would be overwhelming on a large surface.

This pretty little chair is a great entry accent.


A deep, rich indigo is a wonderful foil to pine.


This ordinary little bookshelf takes on a whole new personality with a bright splash of spring green.


And the apple green painted inside these kitchen cabinets add a pop of color and really shows off the white china.


Have a great weekend, and if we've inspired you to take on a painting project let us know.





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*images via Martha Stewart Living

Hemingway Days

This week is the 30th Anniversary of the Ernest Hemingway Festival in Key West. "Papas" come from all around to compete in the look-alike contest held in July to honor what would have been the author's 110th birthday this year. In addition to the look-alike contest, there is a fishing tournament, a one-man drama depicting Hemingway's life, and the announcement of Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition.



And what Hemingway festival would be complete without a "Running of the Bulls" down Duval Street?


Ernest Hemingway is easily Key West's most famous resident, having lived here with his wife Pauline at their Spanish Colonial residence on Whitehead Street from 1931 until their divorce in 1939. This was the most prolific period of Hemingway's writing, as he found great inspiration in the turquoise waters and the variety of characters who live in Key West. Hemingway owned the home until his death in 1961, and many of the couple's furnishings from their time here, as well as descendants of Hemingway's well-known six-toed cats, are still at the home, which is now a museum.









Pauline had been an editor at Vogue magazine when she met Hemingway in Paris. Her sense of style and wealthy upbringing led to some budget overruns which may have contributed to the end of the marriage. After hearing that she had spent $20,000 to have a swimming pool installed, Hemingway tossed her a penny saying that she might as well have his last cent! To which Pauline responded by having the penny set in the stone around the pool.


No doubt the Hemingway House in Key West houses the most famous cat drinking fountain in the world; The top of the fountain is an old Spanish olive jar that was brought from Cuba. The trough at the base of the olive jar came from Papa's good friend Joe Russell's joint "Sloppy Joe's." It is actually one of the bar's urinals. Pauline added the decorative tile to disguise it




Happy birthday Papa!