{what's forever}

{Georgian home by Gil Schafer}

First of all, I want to say "thank you" to Things That Inspire for the kind mention on her blog. Without trying to sound cliche, her blog is truly inspiring and is one of my regular reads. Yesterday Things that Inspire published another thought provoking post that considers the definition of a McMansion. Once again it sparked a lively conversation that you don't want to miss.

Secondly, I want to clarify a point from my last post. Just because something is considered a 2000's trend, it does not make it bad it just means that it may not popular in the design world 10 years from now. Many of the elements we have incorporated into our decor over the past decade are quite beautiful and that is precisely why we like them! If there were no "trends" we would all be living in museums today.

That said, a home full of solely trendy decor is a vapid and soulless one. It is so important to mix in the old with the new and to incorporate things that are truly meaningful to you such as collections and

family heirlooms. In the end, what makes a house a home is it's unique reflection of thos

e who live there.

All of these posts on trends got thinking about building and design elements that are truly timeless. As I mentioned in my last post, almost everything looks dated eventually but I came up with a short list of things that in my opinion seem to stand the test of time. As I began to gather images to illustrate this post I found it ironic that many of the rooms had more than one "timeless" element to them.

Traditional Architecture

{Gil Schafer home}

Traditional architecture is something that will never go out of style. While it's forms may vary from one region of the country to another, a historically proportioned house is timeless. Many argue that traditional floor plans are unfriendly to today's mode of living and while this may be partially true there

are many classically trained architects out there who are building new and restoring old homes to meet the needs of the modern family while at the same time staying true to the historic form.

{photo from University of Virginia Rotunda designed by Thomas Jefferson}

White Upholstered Pieces

{Mark Hampton room via Architectural Digest}

White and off white upholstered chairs and sofas are the "little black dress" of interior design. They are timeless, versatile and go with just about anything. You can change and update their look easily with throw pillows and surrounding accessories. If you look back through shelter magazines from past decades you will see many different styles and varieties of upholstered pieces that have come and gone. It is the classically lined white sofa and chair that have stood the test of time.

{Gerrie Bremermann via Southern Accents}

As someone with young children knows, white furniture is not practical. Slipcovers and indoor outdoor/fabrics help make it possible for those with pets and families to incorporate this design element into their homes. I am planning to use an off-white linen Sunbrella indoor/outdoor fabric to upholster my living room sofas.

{Peter Dunham living room}

Antiques

{image from Gerrie Bremermann's New Orleans shop via All the Best blog}

It almost goes without saying, but antiques will last a lifetime and look beautiful through every passing trend. Gerrie Bremermann, a New Orleans designer encourages young clients to save up and invest in one antique at a time so that in 20 years they have a lovely collection of valuable antiques. Antiques can, and should, be paired with less expensive "of the moment" accessories to keep them looking interesting and fresh.

{Jacques Grange Paris Apartment via Trouvias}

{Albert Hadley's Connecticut Home via Style Court}

Blue and White Chinese Porcelain

{Aerin Lauder's Hampton's home via Elle Decor}

Actually a subset of antiques, blue and white porcelain just never seems to go out of favor. Blue and white wares give a space a fresh that look is always en vogue.

{James and Whitney Fairchild home via House and Garden 2004}

{Oscar de la Renta's dining room table 1971 via style court}

Creamy White Walls

{Givenchy's home via The Givenchy Style}

Paint color trends come and go over the years. Yesterday's warm beiges have given way to today's cooler grays. Blues and greens are "in" and reds are not as popular at the moment. Color palettes change frequently and fortunately paint is the cheapest and easiest way to update a room.

{White House from Jackie Kennedy Era via Architectural Digest}

Creamy white walls however never seem to be out of style. If you notice, many of the rooms featured above have light colored walls. Joni at Cote de Texas is not a big fan of white walls. She likens them to a face without makeup. If a room is architecturally less than superb and the room lacks sufficient color and flair in it's accessories, a creamy white wall will look bare and boring. Fill a cream colored room with beautiful antiques and fabulous fabrics and it looks elegant and inviting.

{Emma Jane Pilkington's dining room via Farrow and Ball's The Art of Color}

I would love for you to weigh in on the subject. In your opinion, what design elements stand the test of time?

{the trends of tomorrow}

Yesterday, Things That Inspire, wrote a fabulous post entitled "Trendy Elements that Scream 2000's." In it, she lists design elements that might be likely to date our interiors to the past decade. Things such as oil rubbed bronze, open floor plans, and granite counter tops were listed as possible "of the moment trends."

The truth is, almost everything that we see in magazines today will look dated to our eyes in the next decade. Just open a Southern Accents from 1999 and you may be surprised by how "tired" many of the interiors look to your eyes. Unfortunately, our American culture gets bored easily. The design industry capitalizes on this, and new trends are formed, causing individuals to want "the next great thing."

The question remains, what will be the trends of the 2010's? I am no market expert, but I have a few guesses. We will have to wait and see if any of them come true!

Scale of Homes

Given the current economic climate, I predict that homes that are built in the next decade will be smaller and more intimate. Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I hope that homes will be designed in a manner that allows families to interact in meaningful ways.

Eco-Friendly

The government is mandating that more and more building materials and appliances be environmentally friendly. In many states you can no longer purchase oil based paint because it is harmful for the environment. LED lighting is is improving and more and more builders are using these energy efficient lights.

I predict that in the next decade we will see a large increase in sustainable building and design elements. I also predict that as sustainable materials become more mainstream they will become more aesthetically pleasing and more able to compete with their non-eco-friendly counterparts as well.

Eclectic Decor

This trend has already taken off but I predict that it will continue well into the next decade. No longer does everything need to be "matchy- matchy" or formulaic. Rather interiors are becoming more eclectic: inspired by travel and history. Interiors that reflect one's individual style and tastes rather than following some uniform formula, are the most stylish of all.

Return of Brass

I don't know when, but I predict that brass will re-emerge the finish of choice sometime in the next decade. Given the cyclical nature of design, brass is due for a comeback. It may not ever reach the status it did in the 1980's but I am betting it will regain popularity again.

The use of Ceiling Lights Instead of Canned Lighting

I think that canned lighting has seen it's heyday instead of "swiss cheese" ceilings and we will see a return to hanging lanterns and chandeliers to add overhead light to a room.

Readers, I would love to hear from you. What do you think will be the trends that emerge in building and interior design over the next decade?

{images: 1 - via david netto, 2- via small place style; 3- via lee industries; 4- via lonny magazine; 5- via elle decor 6- via cote de texas}

{pretty books}

Our new home has a great amount of built in bookshelves in the living room and family room. Fortunately, I love good books and we have a large collection of hardback classics with which we can begin to fill the multitude of shelves. Even so, I still have many shelves that lay bare. I am constantly on the hunt for beautiful books that inspire and are visually appealing. Today, Penguin Books is releasing a new range of hardback classic books. These pretty cloth-bound books were designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. The collection includes titles such as Great Expectations, Sense and Sensibility, and one of my all time favorites, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. What could be more lovely than well written words wrapped in beautiful design?

{image: via style.com}

{skirt it or show some leg?}

I am currently shopping for a pair of sofas for my living room. I have long loved a tight back English arm style for its ease and timelessness. Now the question remains do I want to skirt the sofa or do I want a sofa with exposed, wooden legs?

Exposed, wooden sofa legs give the room a more handsome, paired down elegance. Adding more feminine fabrics or other skirted upholstered pieces can balance the look of the room.

Jacques Grange often goes for exposed but upholstered legs, a unique and chic look.

Steven Gambrel also favors simply lined upholstered pieces with exposed legs. His interiors have a soft, serene but masculine look about them.

I equally prefer the look of a simple skirted sofa. In general I am drawn to a waterfall skirt to elongate the lines of the sofa. A skirted sofa feminizes a sofa and in many ways gives the room more flexibility.

A skirted sofa also has a very English, traditional feel which is why it is important to balance the room with some more contemporary pieces. Todd Romano and Emma Jane Pilkington do a nice job creating this balance.

A soft, traditional room with a pair of skirted sofas by Suzanne Kasler.

A simply beautiful skirted sofa in a bold golden hue by Jeffrey Bilhuber.

So what do you prefer? Do you like to show some leg? Or do you favor a more demure skirt?

{images: katie ridder via elle decor; 2- via baker; 3- jaques grange for aerin lauder via elle decor; 4- via steven gambrel; 5- jeffrey bilhuber via style.com; 6- via hickory chair; 7- via todd romano; 8- emma jane pilkington via elle decor; 9- via suzanne kasler; 10- jeffrey bilhuber via house beautiful}

{sneak peak: j.crew spring 2010}

J. Crew is definitely mixing things up again this spring, literally. Given that the economic climate is less than ideal for the fashion industry, J. Crew is embracing the current reality and encouraging it's customers to mix what they already have with a few new pieces.

Spring 2010 looks as if it will be about a little bit of everything from military, to vintage, and from sparkle to menswear inspired pieces. There is hardly anything in your closet that you couldn't mix with this new line.

So go on and get that old striped shirt out of the back of your closet and give it a second life with a new jacket, a long strapped bag, or piece of sparkly jewelry!

{images: 1- via new york magazine; 2 & 3 via style.com}

{autumn weekend}

I am longing for a quiet weekend in the country with colorful crackling leaves, Barbour jackets, Hunter wellies, warm apple cider, and those that I love. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of unpacking to do so a trip to the farm will have to wait. Have a beautiful weekend, wherever you are!

Fall Song

Another year gone, leaving everywhere

its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves,

the uneaten fruits crumbling damply

in the shadows, unmattering back

from the particular island

of this summer, this NOW, that now is nowhere

except underfoot, moldering

in that black subterranean castle

of unobservable mysteries - - -roots and sealed seeds

and the wanderings of water. This

I try to remember when time's measure

painfully chafes, for instance when autumn

flares out at the last, boisterous and like us longing

to stay - - - how everything lives, shifting

from one bright vision to another, forever

in these momentary pastures.

- Mary Oliver

{images: 1- via gil schafer; 2- via habitually chic; 3- via anna wolfe photography}

{playing games}

A good friend was over helping me make beds and unpack boxes. After a good bit of wrestling mattress pads onto my sons' bunk beds we ended up sitting and visiting for a brief time in our new large family room. As friends who have a love for design design often do, we ended up batting around ideas for furnishing the room.

Because the space is so large we will need a pair of sofas, back to back in the middle of the room and two separate seating areas on either side. In addition, to the two seating areas there is a large bay window off to the side which needs to be filled as well. I had thought a third smaller seating area, such as two chairs and a small table might be appropriate, but my friend had an even better idea: a game table. A place for games to be played and puzzles to be put together is perfect for our big family and makes our house more of a home. So now, I am in search of the perfect game table. On a limited budget I will be scouring consignment stores and flea markets to find the perfect little perch for our budding strategists!

{images: 1- design by marshall watson, house beautiful; 2- design by miles redd via house beautiful; 3- via 1st dibs; 4 - via mecox gardens}

{new blog in town}

John Vierreg, owner of Charlotte's Post & Gray and Interiors Marketplace has launched new site and blog. I for one am excited to be able to see some of their amazing inventory online since I am unable to visit their store on a regular basis!!

{chair rail}

Our new home had chair rail throughout the first floor. Chair also known as dado rail was traditionally used in older homes to protect plaster walls from chair backs and other furniture contact. Over the years the need for chair rail has become obsolete with the use of dry wall and washable paints.

Many people still use chair rail for decorative purposes to add interest to rooms or to keep their homes historically accurate. When I saw our new home for the first time, I knew right away that I would remove the chair rail throughout our house. Our chair rail was was placed quite low on the walls. The horizontal lines running through my 9 foot ceiling rooms made the interior of the home look squatty. Once the chair rail was removed, the rooms looked more elongated and elegant.

{our walls just after the chair rail was removed}

I don't always recommend removing chair rail. There are many interiors in which the chair rail adds, rather than detracts from it's surroundings. When wide, classically shaped chair mold is used in a light colored room, it looks timeless.

In this Michael Smith entry hall, the horizontal line of the chair rail is used to diminish the feeling of height of the 20' high room. When rooms are two stories tall, a grandiose effect is achieved but the space often feels cold and uninviting. Chair rail is a perfect antidote in spaces like these.

I love the use of wainscot, paneling applied between the baseboard and chair rail, to add interest to a bathroom or hallway. Wainscoting was historically used to cover the lower part of the walls to keep dampness out. Today it is used for decorative purposes to add interest and texture to a room.

If you have chair rail in your home that you don't particularly care for but don't want to remove, there are many creative ways to improve it's appearance. To start with, unless you have very tall ceilings, you should avoid painting a room with chair rail a dark color as this will make the ceiling heights look even lower. When ceilings are standard height, try painting the walls and the trim in lighter shades. Sheila Bridges paints her walls, chair rail and wainscot all the same color. This elongates the appearance of the walls and creates a sense of uniformity in the room without losing the interest of the moldings.

The owners of this dining room, stepped outside the box and hung works of art over and under the chair-rail. What a creative way to work around what is can be a limiting decorative element!

Charlotte Moss does a lovely job accentuating chair-rail as well.

In her former Townhouse, she used the chair rail to frame a collection of chinoiserie panels.

In this New York apartment, Moss created unique fabric paneling to create a textured look above the chair rail.

Chair rail when accentuated well can add a lot to a room. When used incorrectly it can detract greatly from a space's appearance. Are you a fan of chair rail? If you have chair rail in your home, I would love to know how how you have decorated around it.

{images: 1- via gil shafer; 2- via sarah bartholomew; 3- via gil schafer; 4- via michael smith; 5- via gil schafer; 6- via kate spade; 7- via sheila bridges; 8- via sheila bridges; 9- via stylecourt; 10- via charlotte moss; 11- charlotte moss via habitually chic; 12- charlotte moss via veranda}