Fantasy Dining

Iconic sideboard from Oscar de la Renta's collection for Century

It doesn't quite have the ring of "Fantasy Island," but assembling a dreamy fictional dining room was at least as fun as being greeted with, "De plane, de plane!" (Am I aging myself here?)

But I digress.

Seattle Homes & Lifestyles magazine graciously invited me to offer my take on "traditional," which as those of you who follow the blog know, it's basically not so much, though I do occasionally have thoughts of covering an entire room in toile...you know, in an ironic way.

I got to create my own client profile, and I'm now wondering what it says about me that I made her a single, childless woman of my own age. My interpretation of traditional was to design a classic dining room with a more contemporary palette and finishes, and upon reflection, it's basically the room I'd create for myself with A) more money and B) no children.

Being broke and with child(ren), and actually no dining room at all, I've opted for a functional but quirky eating nook that serves as our primary "hanging" spot in the house, but more on that in a few months. (We're prepping for a photo shoot of our home in a few weeks, to hit a magazine near you next year! Stay tuned.)

Take a look at the spread from the magazine, and be kind when taking in my rendering.

Here are some of the dreamy items I included:

The Empire Chandelier we all know and love, from the uber-fabulous Marjorie Skouras

To-die-for vintage pink Murano glass lamps from Swank Lighting

My current favorite dining table, the Phillippe by Oly Studios

Also from Oly, one of my favorite chairs of all time...

...tied with this one, a reinterpretation of Frances Elkins' classic design by Hollywood at Home

What you can't see well are the ahhh-mazing Jim Thompson striped silk curtains and Moroccan-influenced cotton sheers, or the just-right-shade-of-turquoise leather seats on the Frances Elkins-esque chairs and the canary yellow Kravet ultrasuede on the Oly chairs. (I know, ultrasuede....?....but a great color and completely cleanable, a must for the dining room.)

And we have previously discussed the fabulousness that is Cassandria Blackmore....she is, of course, a key player in my little fantasy, and this piece was the inspiration for the room's color scheme:

Maybe someday this will be a reality for me, but for now I'll have to live through my fictional client and my little rendering.

You Need Therapy

Big thanks to the lovely people over at Apartment Therapy for featuring my yard today, which I have discussed here ad nauseum and will refrain from doing so again as my random act of kindness for today.

But since we're talking about Apartment Therapy, they featured an ingenious idea a few months back that I saved to my reference file, and now seems as good a time as any to pull it out for everyone to see.

I (and a lot of us, to be sure) have a love-hate relationship with the TV: I love to watch it (and hate to watch it--another post entirely), but hate the idea of making it a focal point of the room. I like the idea of hiding it in some fashion--behind a piece of art that slides away a la Celerie Kemble, behind a panel of an entertainment center, etc.--but I also like the idea of admitting to the world, "Yes, I am human and therefore flawed. I love me some 'Bachelor,'" and putting it out there for public consumption.

Which is why I think the idea below is a nice one:

Though I fear the television may be a bit low for ideal viewing, I would be willing to make such a sacrifice for this insanely fabulous way to display it. Kudos to interior designer Kelly Giesen for her creative solution to this age-old (or at least, half-century-old) dilemma.

She's got another TV (this one in her bedroom) hiding behind that fabulous mirrored screen at the top, too. Love it!

Check out the full post here.

Talking Trash

Our Imperial Trellis wastebasket is featured in the current issue of House Beautiful, along with 49 other delightful ways to rid yourself of garbage.

Shown in green (#41, not ranked in order of awesomeness, I might add -- and please ignore my seriously lacking scanner skills):

...it is also available in charcoal:

Additionally, there's this version honoring the wonderful David Hicks:

All are currently on sale for $77!

And while it's not exactly the glamorous way I'd always imagined being featured in House Beautiful for the first time, it is House Beautiful, nonetheless. First stop, trash can. Next stop, design project.

Might I add, by the way, that the July issue of HB is, in short, awe-inspiring. Miles Redd has outdone himself yet again (studded green leather doors, navy lacquer walls, oh my!), and the home by Jonathan Berger is one of my favorites in recent memory. The pink entry is drool-inducing.

Domino, schmomino. I am loving me some House Beautiful! (Hearst Communications, if you take this one away from me, I'm coming after you. Remember: we all have your address.)

Sponge Worthy

I was so excited to awaken this morning to a "sneak peek" of my home on the ever-popular design*sponge today! (Now that that's out of the way, can we all take a second to admire that headline? As you were.)

Being a to-the-point-of-madness perfectionist, and in consideration of the fact that design and aesthetics are my bread and butter, I was reluctant to send them photos of my far-from-complete home. We're constantly in the midst of projects, slowly making our way down the wish list as the money appears to pay for each item. In a cruel twist of fate, we were just preparing to tackle some of the more dramatic projects--wallpaper, painting, new furnishings, etc--when the fabulous design*sponge opportunity arose.

To flesh out the place, we borrowed a few items from the shop (but technically, I do own these and selected each and every one, so that's not cheating, right?) and convinced our fabulous neighbor and photographer extraordinaire Liz Ophoven to snap off some pics.

Here's what we came up with...see if you recognize anything. And, more importantly, stay tuned for some serious "after" shots in the next few months.

And in what was apparently our day for great blog coverage, the perennial favorite Decorno gave our gardening efforts a nice shout-out, though her readers were not all so sure... What do you think?

Surfing the Web

Through this crazy thing called the Internet, we stumbled across a few lovely mentions of our shop--mainly, our shop's new Web site, but more about that later--and we wanted to share them with you.

The first is by a designer and blogger in...India! What a world, in which someone across the globe finds our shop. If only I could visit India so easily (and inexpensively).

The second is much closer to home, a great graphic design firm here in Seattle called Suite 7 Creative. Check out their very nice post AND their equally great Etsy offerings!

Here are a handful of other blogs we were thrilled to discover thanks to their thoughtful inclusion of our shop:

b.chic design

The Continuous Thread of Revelation

Thanks for the great mentions, ladies. We are happy to return the favor.

Now, back to Web surfing.

That's Amore

In a strange but delightful turn of events, we were featured in the November issue of Italian Architectural Digest (not sure whether to punctuate that with a "! "or a "?").

If there are any fluent Italian speakers out there (yes, I am talking especially to you young, handsome male Italian speakers), take a look and let me know what it says.... All I've gleaned is ITALIAN ITALIAN ITALIAN ITALIAN "Leah Ball Steen" ITALIAN ITALIAN ITALIAN "Hollywood Regency" ITALIAN ITALIAN ITALIAN "Seattle."

And if previously mentioned young, handsome male Italians could send a recent photo along with their translations, that would be swell.

Crack Ups

Thanks to DailyCandy for the love thrown Humpty & Eggberta's way. These little beauties are handmade by hipster L.A. designer Helene Ige and her mom (how cute is that?) and come in two different sizes. I defy anyone not to utter some sort of high-pitched squeal or at least an "Awww..." upon seeing them.

The perfect gift for your favorite egghead. (Sorry.)

Mention you saw them here and we'll give you 20% off to thank you for humoring our bad puns.

As seen in December's "Domino"

We have been working like mad for many a moon now to get our Web site up and going, but it looks like we are still a week or two away (maybe sooner...keep your fingers crossed!).

With Thanksgiving approaching, we are ever so thankful that the items shown above appear in the December issue of our beloved Domino magazine, crediting our humble shop for ordering purposes. Naturally we were hoping people could simply hop on over to our Web site and buy them, but now it seems it won't be quite that simple.

If you saw the items and are interested in purchasing one (or, better yet, more), here's the skinny:

1. The resin stag head is featured in the medium size, measuring 16"H. He sells for $55, and he has two friends: a smaller version, measuring 7 1/2" for $25, and a larger version, measuring 20" for $120.

2. The gold and coral costume necklace is from Kenneth Jay Lane and retails for $100.00.

If you're interested in purchasing either, drop us a line at info@revivalhomeandgarden.com or ring us at 206.763.3886. We will be happy to help you!

With any luck our site will up by the time the issue drops and all of this will be moot, but we are not betting on it.... Murphy's Law and all. Damn that Murphy.

Mean Melamine

One of our fave items at the store, Thomas Paul melamine plates in assorted colors and patterns, was featured front and center in Kelley Moore's latest King5 entertaining segment. This time around, Kelley uses the various designs to customize Thanksgiving place settings around guests' personalities. Great idea! And no broken plates this year...even better.

Watch the video clip here.

Hole-y Lantern, Batman

Thanks to our pal and event & lifestyle guru Kelley L. Moore for the shout-out on her recent King 5 news segment. (If you are in a hurry, fast-forward to the very end of the segment for her mention of the store and our cool Morroccan lanterns.)

The lanterns really are lovely, by the way, and serve as a wonderful graphic pop when unlit, too! We have them in two sizes (medium and large), should you find yourself strangely craving one or more after watching that segment.

Find out more about Kelley here, and watch for her on shows like "Rachael Ray" and "The View." She is quickly becoming a global brand!

Post-Domino Post

We had such a great time at our recent soiree to celebrate all things Domino (well, mainly just two things: their new decorating book and our inclusion in the just-released November issue) that we wanted to share a few images that capture the evening beautifully. (Special thanks to our friend and photgrapher extraordinnaire Liz Ophoven for the fabulous pics.)

Thanks as well to the team at the Adventure School for their awesome balloons and "domino effect" window theme. Check out their incredible Web site...makes me want to jet off on safari.

File Under "We Could Have Told You That"

We are so excited to be named one of Seattle's top shops by NW Home & Garden/Seattle Magazine!

Read the ginormous list here.

On a personal note, next year we are shooting to make it on the "best desserts" list. Can't win 'em all.

The Good, the Bad, and the Web Site

First for the good news: we are featured in this month's issue of Domino; those of you who follow our comings and goings know how excited we've been about this....it's our favorite magazine and, well, it's just plain cool to be in a national magazine!

The bad news is only minor, but we needed some bad news to fit with our trying-to-be-clever post title. Back to the bad news: in the blurb about the store, the name is sort of...incomplete. But Domino, we still love you. Like my grandmother used to say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

That just leaves the last topic for this session: the Web site. It has been in development for some time, and we were hoping and praying it would be up by now, but it looks like we are still one to two weeks away from the launch of our e-commerce site. Please come back and check then to see more of what we carry, and perhaps even order something of your very own.

If you'd like to be alerted when our site goes live, sign up for our mailing list (see the top right corner of the blog) and we'll let you know. We'll even send you a discount code to use on your first purchase (once we figure out how to do such a thing, of course).

I'd be interested to hear what all you Seattleites think about Rita's selections and comments, should you be so moved to share.

(Rita Konig, by the way, is perfectly lovely, in case you ever wondered.)

Party Buzz

Thanks to our lovely friend and fellow decor lover Allison, creator and author of the indispenable NW Source blog called "Minding the Shop," for the recent piece on our upcoming Domino-themed bash.

While you are all most likely sick of me talking it up, and perhaps about Domino in general, we're in the home stretch.... And if you come to the party, I promise not to mention the "D" word for at least the amount of time it takes to receive the next issue. Scout's honor.

On a side note, how much do I want to live in that house? Thiiiiiiiiiiis much. Could I at least have the front door? (Image courtesy of, yes, Domino)

Warm Fuzzies for Cool Pricklies

Our favorite death-defying plants were given some kind attention by our friend at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Tracy Schneider. (Thanks, Tracy!)

Check it out for yourself, then come pick one (or three) up for your favorite plant killer.

Oh-h-h, Domino

Mark your calendars... Saturday, October 18, we are celebrating big-time. Firstly, we're marking the publication of the first-ever decorating book from our favorite magazine, "Domino." We'll have dozens of copies of the book on hand for purchase, and we're cooking up some sort of fabulous giveaway to commemorate the event.

Secondly, and--in our little world, more importantly--we are rejoicing in our inclusion in said favorite magazine's forthcoming Seattle shopping guide, penned by the lovely Rita Konig, whom we had the pleasure of spending a day with a few months ago. The guide will appear in the November issue, but we're working on getting a stack of advanced copies to distribute at the soiree.

Good food? Check. Good music? Check. Fawncy alcoholic beverages? Check. Amazing items for you and yours, for holiday or every day? Check.

Hold the date, and we'll keep you posted on all the details. Stay tuned...

Press On

Not to sound tiresome, but we are excited to be featured in another wonderful local press medium; we're in this month's just-released "Top Docs" issue of "Seattle" magazine in both an editorial feature on the store:

http://www.seattlemag.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=3E1DA341B2834604B64A1EB3BA74CCFB&tier=4&id=3F5951D512224805A13934A08887466D&AudID=42BFF54AF0444B8F92E1C3E1A324650E

AND in the big fashion spread as well. A number of our products appear prominently in the feature, including our yellow MetroSofa Louis chairs, yellow accent table from Shine, high-back metal iron chair, and other favorites, alongside a creepy barn owl (!). I can't find the story online, but go pick up the magazine and check it out.

Retail Therapy

After such a long absence in posting, clearly we needed a little therapy to get us back on the straight and narrow...and we got it a few weeks ago, courtesy of our friends at Apartment Therapy. They paid us a visit recently and wrote about it here:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/seattle/revival-home-garden--059318

Hot Off the Press

Today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer includes a lovely feature on the store and the world's largest photograph of me, three days post-baby (a fact they unfortunately neglect to mention in light of the photograph of me looking, well, not slim).

Read it here, where thankfully there is no photo included: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/372289_retail26.html

Best Seat in the House

A design we love is currently appearing (or disappearing, as the case may be) in all its glory in this month's issue of "Seattle" magazine/"Northwest Home & Garden," selected by the lovely and just plain nice lifestyle guru Kelley L. Moore (whose first name has been unfortunately misspelled by her friends at the online version of the mag....reformed editors can't stop themselves from noticing such details).

But I digress: it's the "Magino" stool from Karim Rashid--it's got a great silhouette and, as we love all things acrylic, it remains one of our favorite pieces to mix in whenever we get the opportunity. It also comes in a slightly taller, side-table size; a rectangular coffee-table style; and a bar stool.

See the feature here:
http://www.seattlemag.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=3E1DA341B2834604B64A1EB3BA74CCFB&tier=4&id=A8CCA3A8F04347E489BFF662C21A6CC8&AudID=42BFF54AF0444B8F92E1C3E1A324650E

and check out the other styles on Umbra's Web site:
http://www.umbra.com/ustore/family/magino/c165/s0/magino.html

THEN come by the shop and buy one from me!