how to incorporate a classic

Made by girl

 Black and White is neither created nor destroyed. Like a Chanel suit, 

it is a classic, ever present today, as it was yesterday.

I love all things black and white. And those of you who follow this blog, 

or know me, know how desperately addicted I am to this graphic pop. 

Paloma 81

Black and white spaces create graphic pop because white expands, and black recedes. Put

them together with a bright summer hue of pink, yellow, blue, green or any other bright color,

and it instantly captures your eye, and interest.

Lynn Morgan

Another interesting fact about black and white is that it is perpetually held as the most chic and stylish combination. Whether combined in fashion, or in interiors, it is always stylish and elegant.

Made by Girl

Black and White interiors always look sleek, fresh, and stylish. Many people I work with think that they cannot get away with using a black and white color scheme because it is often shown in a contemporary setting. But black and white is essentially a neutral, and goes with everything, 

like the photos shown below.

water leaf interiors

Sherrill Canet

Black and white is the easiest and most versatile neutral to work with in your home if you are looking for a new twist, or update. It can go from the extreme and over stated, like below

Geoffrey Bradfield

Or classically understated in a snap!

             

Bonesteel Trout Hall

Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury. Fashion fades, only true style remains the same and a woman is closest to being naked when she is well dressed. ~ Coco Chanel

Nothing could be more true than the way we live. Be authentic, love completely and surround yourself with a lifestyle of indulgence; even if fulfillment comes from a $2 dollar trinket. 

~ Amanda Burdge

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5 super simple things to update your dining room

Inspiration Board

Ever wonder what simple things you can do to update one of the spaces in your home? As a big "D" wading through the mud of a fabulous and inspiring new economy, I am approached with this question pretty much everyday. How can I get an incredible new look, on a shoestring budget?
After meeting with a client that I adore, we decided to do just this. She has a wonderful loft space here in downtown Nashville, and she was tired of her existing traditional space. To spice things up I decided on a very eclectic, and collected look based on the
 inspiration board she created. (shown above)

She has wonderful built-in bookshelves, like the ones shown below, but many of her pieces were dated and did not suit her lifestyle or personality. Her board was fun, imaginative, and spicy. And if you knew her, you would see that this board suited her perfectly. Karen is a free thinking, singer song writing rock and roll junkie, with twigs in her jet black hair, and in my book a modern day Jean Harlow hippie. Freaking awesome!

Credit

Her jumping off point was this Valentino photo above. This photo encompasses everything she loves. In her words to describe it: High Fashion, Titillating couture, Old world, Valentino red, Style, Sophistication, Chic chic, Glamour, and relaxed luxury.

One of the most exciting things about her space is the wall to ceiling bookshelves. It adds an unexpected focal point, that is dramatic and eye catching. Libraries are essentially a collection of books that add sophistication, refinement, and exude culture and experience, just like Valentino. So we combined her library and dining area into one large space so the table could double for a book research surface, and a fabulous dining experience. 

So what are 5 super simple things you can do to update your dining room?
1) Replace your captains chairs with something fresh. Either reupholster the ones you have 
or purchase new ones.
2) Add a new chandelier. The one above adds an incredible pop of color, and va-va voom for less
than $400 bucks.
3) Add candle light to your table top. Hurricanes are gorgeous accessories in the day time and create a 
wonderful glow in the evening when the candles are lit. And remember the AB HOME credo: 
Go Big or Go Home. Buy hurricanes that make a statement, and add tremendous weight to your table!
4) Purchase a new rug or layer a new rug on top of your existing one. Both will add a new element
 of depth and texture, and bring in some much needed color and style.
5) Fresh flowers. I cannot say enough about fresh flowers. Your home is your haven, make it inviting. 
There is no better way to welcome your guests, then to add fresh roses, lillies, peonies or 
any one of your favorite flowers on the table. 


Like what you see above? Here is our shopping list of items we used:

Items in this set

	Amazon.com: Gaiam Recycled Plastic Reversible All-Weather Indoor/Outdoor Ru... $89 - amazon.com
	Beach Rug AT064 Black / Ivory Boardwalk Stripes Rug - AT064BKIY $155 - csnrugs.com
	smoke chair $4,301 - hivemodern.com
	Roxy Euphoria 9 Light Polished Chrome Chandelier with Red Lucite Jewel Ligh... $329 - homedepot.com
	dining tables abchome.com
	Williams-Sonoma Home | Campo De Fiori Aged Terracotta Hurricanes $135 - wshome.com
	book lovers never go to bed alone bookshelves.tumblr.com
	Elegant Flower Arrangements, Orchid Arrangements, Unique Floral Arrangement... katrinaparrisflowers.com Need design help from an experienced design professional with over 12 years experience? Want to work with someone who listens to your needs and sticks to your budget? Call our office for a design consultation that will change the way you live and think about your home. Contact us @ info@abhomeinteriors.com or call us @ 615-750-2763 Like decorating but don't know where to start? Want to learn the insiders secrets, tips and tricks? Sign up for Design Strategies 101! (August classes are sold out! Sign up today to reserve your seat for September) Are you a designer in the Nashville area looking for mentorship in a nurturing environment? Want to learn the ins and outs of the business that school didn't provide? Sign up for Designer Bootcamp to learn the skills necessary to be a true design professional! Don't forget to follow us on twitter! And become a FAN on our  AB HOME facebook fanpage! Graphics and shopping program

Words for everyone to live by. Written by Nashville designer, Amanda Burdge

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Cheekwood, a beautiful historic estate in Nashville. "The history and origin of Cheekwood are intimately interwoven with the growth of Nashville, the Maxwell House coffee brand and the Cheeks, one of the city's early entrepreneurial families."

 If you ever visit Nashville it is a must see. They are currently showcasing the beautiful and aw inspiring art of Dale Chihuly:

After visiting I was so inspired by Chihuly's unorthodox vision, and creativity. A true "out-of-the-box" thinker. I could not believe the way this garden estate had been transformed. Then I ran across Erica Goldsen's valedictorian speech from June, and it gave me hope that true art and creativity will not be stifled with such visionaries coming into our future! Dale is a thinker, a dreamer, and an explorer, just like Erica.

Erica's words:

".....And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.

We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren’t we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.

We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be – but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.

Erica goldsen

Coxsackie-athens high school 2010 graduating class valedictorian speech

Comment: The following speech was delivered by top of the class student Erica Goldson during the graduation ceremony at Coxsackie-Athens High School on June 25, 2010

I

"Dale Chihuly is most frequently lauded for revolutionizing the studio glass movement by expanding its original premise of the solitary artist working in a studio environment to encompass the notion of collaborative teams and a division of labor within the creative process. However, Chihuly's contribution extends well beyond the boundaries both of this movement and even the field of glass: his achievements have influenced contemporary art in general. Chihuly’s practice of using teams has led to the development of complex, multipart sculptures of dramatic beauty that place him in the leadership role of moving blown glass out of the confines of the small, precious object and into the realm of large-scale contemporary sculpture.

Chihuly’s spectacular creations are found in more than 200 museums worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Garden exhibitions of his work have been mounted at the New York Botanical Garden, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.  For more information about Dale Chihuly and his art, please visit  www.chihuly.com. " Cheekwood 

Continue to be inspired, free thinkers, and refuse to conform. We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special!

Need design help from an experienced design professional with over 12 years experience? Want to work with someone who listens to your needs and sticks to your budget? Call our office for a design consultation that will change the way you live and think about your home. Contact us @ info@abhomeinteriors.com or call us @ 615-750-2763

Like decorating but don't know where to start? Want to learn the insiders secrets, tips and tricks? Sign up for Design Strategies 101! (August classes are sold out! Sign up today to reserve your seat for September)

Are you a designer in the Nashville area looking for mentorship in a nurturing environment? Want to learn the ins and outs of the business that school didn't provide? Sign up for Designer Bootcamp to learn the skills necessary to be a true design professional!

Don't forget to follow us on twitter!

And become a FAN on our AB HOME facebook fanpage!

The Ritz-Carlton Mystique

“We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.”

The Ritz-Carlton motto

Credit

The Ritz-Carlton is a high-end luxury brand hotel that has 71 properties located all over the U.S, and has 23 resorts worldwide. The best part about this luxury brands' business philosophy is it's impeccable service. Little did I know, the Ritz-Carlton has a Learning Institute and Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center that trains future employees and execs in the Ritz-Carlton principles of service. 
According to it's gold standards principles:

“The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission. We pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed, yet refined ambience. The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.”

Credit

This past weekend I had the pleasure of staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida and experiencing the gold standard of hospitality. I have always been a fan of luxury hotels, but never have I experienced service that is "The Ritz way."

Lobby:

The name Ritz-Carlton dates back to the Hôtel Ritz Paris and the Carlton Hotel in London, both operated by the legendary hotelier César Ritz. Loosely related hotels bearing the Ritz name began to appear in North America, including the Ritz-Carlton Montreal in 1912 and the Ritz-Carlton Boston in 1927. The Ritz-Carlton Boston was an immediate success, and became an enduring paragon of high society. In 1983, after two ownership transitions, the expansion of the Boston operation into a worldwide chain of Ritz-Carlton hotels began, headed by hotelier Horst Schulze and developer William B. Johnson.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marriott International. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company currently has 32,000 employees! Source

The photo above is me standing at the entrance fountain at 9:30 in the morning, waiting for the shuttle to take me to the beach. Little did I know, the shuttle wasn't coming for another half hour. Where is that gold standard when I need it? If I want to go to the beach at 9:30, dammit, I want to go now!

Ok, all is good, this is me at 10:30. Now that I have my feet up in a cozy lounger, and a Ritz blue umbrella over my head, I am queen for a day. Ahhhhh.

The main hotel is located in downtown Sarasota,(on you guessed it,) Ritz-Carlton Blvd, perfectly perched on the bay. This is the view from the 9th floor:

But having one location just wouldn't do. So the Ritz purchased a parcel of land located directly on the gulf, on Lido beach that houses their private residences, restaurant, second pool, and beach front property.

Seriously, does it get any better than this? This (photo above) is the private beach/pool club for Ritz guests and residences. It is approximately 3 miles from the main hotel located downtown. Thus the reason for me having to WAIT for the shuttle. And note to self, you can drive your own car to the beach club if you are impatient like me. If you prefer to take the shuttle it arrives every hour on the hour at the downtown location, and every half hour on the half hour at the beach club. 

Source

I have always loved Florida and all it has to offer. The weather, the beaches on the gulf, and shopping are bar none. But now that I have experienced Florida and the Ritz Mystique, I will definitely be going back. If you have never stayed at a Ritz I highly recommend that you do. The hotel and grounds were incredible, the food and ambience amazing, but the service and staff were remarkable, and made the trip memorable and extraordinary! For more info on this luxurious hotel, click here!

Need design help from an experienced design professional with over 12 years experience? Want to work with someone who listens to your needs and sticks to your budget? Call our office for a design consultation that will change the way you live and think about your home. Contact us @ info@abhomeinteriors.com or call us @ 615-750-2763


Like decorating but don't know where to start? Want to learn the insiders secrets, tips and tricks? Sign up for Design Strategies 101! (August classes are sold out! Sign up today to reserve your seat for September)


Are you a designer in the Nashville area looking for mentorship in a nurturing environment? Want to learn the ins and outs of the business that school didn't provide? Sign up for Designer Bootcamp to learn the skills necessary to be a true design professional!

Don't forget to follow us on twitter!

And become a FAN on our AB HOME facebook fanpage!