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Sabtu, 23 Oktober 2010

Colors you need now for instant holiday glamour!

Still trying to figure out why feedburner isn't working on the new blog. Here is our latest post.

To visit the new blog

Color is such an intrinsic part of the holiday season. When fall leaves begin to change, the colors of warm cinnamon, spice, and umber envelop us with familiar things. It is no surprise that people love fall. When the warm temperatures quickly turn cool, we gravitate towards warm earthy colors that provide us comfort and bring us back to the routines that we are accustomed to. The holidays deliver to us rich traditions that remind us of joyful memories spent with our families and friends and each year our rituals begin: the decorations get unpacked, the recipe cards get pulled, holiday cards get sent and the decorating unfolds.

This year I wanted to embark on something new. As a designer I am an expert at creating stylish and updated homes, and I wanted to approach this holiday season with this same frame of mind. I teamed up with Lori Sawaya of Color strategies to talk shop about how you can create stylish and updated holiday decorations with new colors in a way that still honors our favorite season but giving your home a fresh take on an old classic.

One of the biggest trends in fashion this fall was deep plums, with splashes of yellow. I loved this combination and wanted to sit down with one of my favorite colorist to find out why this combination works, and how we can incorporate it into our existing holiday decor for a fresh take on Christmas 2010. Listen below to my conversation with Lori Sawaya, color expert:

Click here to Listen to our podcast:

Purple & Gold~Indulgence and Joy!

How are you going to incorporate this new combo into your decor this season?

Tune in next week to learn how we incorporated this new color combo in our Festive table scape post.

AB HOME Interiors holiday photo shoot 2010

Next week will be our final post for Mrs Bliss’ holiday workshops. We are delighted to bring to you my tips on:

Festive Tablescapes-A guide to true Southern style.

We had the opportunity to use Christina Strutt’s, (the owner and CEO of Cabbages and Roses) beautiful linens to show you how to get true Southern style.

Christina will be offering up her top holiday tips and I will be offering up some of the best tips to set your table with Southern grace with a little AB HOME twist.

My staff and I had a blast doing this photo shoot (see a sneak peek above) and I cannot wait to share all the fun. Be sure to follow our blog and leave a comment because we will be raffling off several

of the goodies from the photo shoot, styled by Amanda Burdge (moi) and staff of AB HOME Interiors, and photographed by Christy Bryan of Waldorf Photography here in Nashville.

Dont forget to follow the Holiday Workshop Train with our host Mrs Bliss!

Mindy Lockard Getting your stationery wardrobe ready for the holidays + a giveaway

Pemberley Collections Creating a Fall Centrepiece

The Entertaining House Cocktails to Kick off Your Holiday Season

Lily Lemon Tree In Vogue at the Tailgate Party: The Height of Chic on the Twenty Yard Line

Tatertots and Jello Thankful Garland

Lucky Life Parties Setting Up Bar and Food Stations

The Daily Basics Creating Fun Holiday Traditions – Memories You’ll Love

Housewife Bliss The Art of Wrapping

Do you need decorating assistance? Want your home to be filled with warmth and joy?

Call us about our online design services.

We offer an array of services to meet your design needs whether you live in our area, or out of state.

Click here for more info!

Don’t forget to follow us on twitter!

And become a FAN on our AB HOME facebook fanpage!

Minggu, 10 Oktober 2010

How to decorate your mantel in 10 minutes or less

Hey everyone. For some reason my google connect follower thingy is not working on the NEW, FANCY more PROFESSIONAL wordpress blog. Funny that the good ol' blogspot blog never lets me down....so unprofessional that google! SO, until I can get it fixed I will post an excerpt here of any new posts that go up on the "other, more professional" blog with a link taking you to the post, so you don't miss an ounce of good content from me.

Happy Sunday!

As with any fall, this is our busy season. I work non-stop, seven days a week frantically trying to get everything done until December. Happens. every. year. And every year I wonder how on earth I will get through it all. Ironically enough, January is our slow season and every year I wonder how on earth I will get through it. I swear I can be such a designer sometimes! The good news is somehow, some way, it all comes together and we get through to the New Year, which we kick off with big plans, stars in our eyes, and tons of yummy left overs. But until then, here are some great tips on holiday mantels that are easy to assemble and easy to tear down when all the adoration of the holidays and eggnog has worn off.
Using items you have:
1) Take ornaments that you already have and string them through some decorative ribbon and hang on your mantel. Take existing hurricanes and fill them with decorative ornaments, acorns, nuts, or candy canes and use them to hold the ornament garland. For added glow, throw in some beautiful votives that will cast a magical glow when lit in the evenings. Click here to read more

Jumat, 17 September 2010

Get motivated! The best ideas to get you through fall with ease!

This holiday season at AB HOME is turning out to be one of THE best! We have all kinds of great articles chalked full of tips, tricks and time saving suggestions to get you through this season with ease!
First off, coming Friday, October 1 seven designers including myself will be going live with:

Designers Challenge 101:
Top tips for decorating like a pro!

After my post How to design a room on a budget and 5 Super simple things to update your dining room my inbox was flooded with inquiries from my faithful readers wanting more!

I wanted to do something big but wasn't sure what to do that would be helpful. I started talking with Kathy from Creative home expressions and we started swapping emails about a budget friendly post chalked full of ideas, with a strict budget in mind.Well two of us on this challenge just wasn't enough! So I called on all my designer friends and basically gave them an ultimatum: Put together a fabulous room on a budget and tell our readers how you did it, or we aren't friends anymore! Well it didn't really go down in that fashion, but VERY close. Ok, not really, the truth is I am a drama Queen, there was no ultimatum because everyone loves and adores me and would do anything for me so they of course said yes!
Who could say no to MOI!

So who is participating in this fabulous, magnificent post?
Below is a list of all the designers participating:

Traci Zellar of Traci Zeller Designs

Kelly Berg of Arte Styling

Kelly James of Design Ties

Dayka Robinson of Meditations on Life and style

Kathy Passarette of Creative home expressions

Amanda Burdge of Abhomeinteriors.com

Susan Snow of Movingdesinz

Ok great, so what does this mean for you? Can I just say awesomeness all around! All seven of us are decorating the same family room with a six thousand dollar budget in mind. The idea is to see how the pros take a few thousand dollars and make a room look fabulous, when done right! We will be showing pictures, products used and much more! And I may be a little biased, but AB HOME'S room is fabulosity in big proportions! Can't wait to show you!

I will also be participating in Housewife Bliss':

Holiday Workshop
Mrs bliss and friends

I am honored and excited about participating in this series. Coryanne's goal with this series:

"The Holiday Workshop is a collective effort by some of my favourite sites. Together we will be tackling some of the tricky subjects that face every woman in the run up to the Holiday Season….household management, decorating, cooking, drinking, social graces, creating, gift giving, entertaining and fashion."

The series will run each Thursday in October and will touch on various holiday events from October to December. The fabulous sites who are participating:

Lucky Life Parties

Pemberly Style

Tater Tots and Jello

The Daily Basics

The Entertaining House

Manner of the Month

Lily Lemontree

The Savvy Host

AB Home Interiors (thats me!)

A Pretty Cool Life

Did I mention I am very excited about this series? I will be offering great ideas on effortless decorating, colors to update your holidays, great floral tips, and the finale post will BLOW YOU AWAY!!

Our finale post will offer some of the best ideas for the holidays, from some of the top people in the industry, on festive table scaping and the art of doing it right, without all the work! Love that!

Don't forget to follow us on twitter!

And become a FAN on our AB HOME facebook fanpage!

Selasa, 14 September 2010

5 ways to update your home for fall

There is nothing I love more than fall. It offers cooler temperatures, changing leaves, and a happy state of mind. Everyone seems to drink the kool-aid of fall magic. Wouldn't you agree? People in general seem to be happiest in the fall. I think the idea of big meals, family gatherings and good things to come (like a New Year) bring everyone's spirits around. One thing I love to do in the fall is update a few things in my home to "winterize it."

1) Custom Wreaths- Wreaths are super easy to make and most craft stores carry wreath forms. Get creative and use unexpected items. Below (from country living) this herb wreath is the perfect introduction into your home for the holidays. Fill your wreath with sage, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves. The aroma is amazing, and it's an entertaining delight for the upcoming festivities!

2) Maps-Maps are great little treasures with so much potential. They are inexpensive (some even free) and super easy to find. Here are some awesome things I like to do with maps!

a) Buy a large map and cut it up. Frame the pieces and hang it up in a family room. This creates instant, inexpensive art that is interesting and fun. b) Buy cardstock and cut out a favorite shape. Outline the shape with trace paper and place it on the map for a template. These can be used for labels, gift tags, or wall art, like below.

Source

c) gift wrap your presents with old maps. It creates a homemade feel, and makes gift giving extra special.

source

d) cover ugly books with old maps.

3) Decorative Bowls- One of my favorite things to do is put a large decorative platter on my cocktail table and fill it with old family photos. We see the most of our guests this time of year and they just LOVE sifting through them. This is a great way to reminisce, laugh and remember previous holidays gone by.

Source

4) Fruit- Fruit can add a lovely touch to the holidays, and make wonderful gifts. Also overlooked, fruit can be hung from the tree, placed down a dining table, or delicately wrapped (like the pears below) as a centerpiece or gift.

Country Living

Adorning fruit with simple ribbon dresses it up, making it perfect for a gift and adds a little sweetness.

5) Creamers, Pitchers and Serving dishes- The fall is a time to celebrate and be festive. It is also a time we sit down for family gatherings, and visit with friends. Add to your current collection of serving dishes by finding unique pieces that make it feel luxurious, and provide the comforts of home.