The latest and greatest from one of my favorite designers Kelly Wearstler. Of course I had to come up with an excuse to go visit and stay in the new Proper Santa Monica Hotel, a meeting in Santa Monica gave me the perfect reason to escape!

The whole space is beautifully curated and feels at once luxe, but attainable. Otherworldly sculptural furniture elements mix with natural, simple materials making for a dynamic and eye pleasing combination. I spent more time then I want to admit walking through the lobby and restaurant taking in the wood and upholstery choices and eyeing each light fixture and hard surface choice. It feels both wild and restrained which is a difficult combination to reach.

While The Proper San Francisco is a whirlwind of pattern and color choices, with jewel tones and blacks contrasting each other, The Proper Santa Monica feels quieter, simpler. You can feel the inspiration of nature, beach sands and organic materials guiding each choice. The underlying vibe is still sexy and sleek, but with a different note this time.

After dinner and a beach walk, I found myself back in my room excavating each surface and material choice. Wide plank light oak floors lay the natural palette while each furniture item is curved, no right angles in sight. An interesting choice, but something I have seen recently trending in furniture styles- more curves and soft lines than ever before. This sets an unconsciously soft and soothing sense to the space. The oversized, half moon shaped upholstered headboard makes you feel secluded and encapsulated in softness. The quality of all the materials is obvious and felt throughout- solid woods, rich wools, simple linens.

Overall I loved my stay, and felt comfortable and relaxed. The environment was perfect for a quick working getaway and reminded me once again of the power of a beautiful interior. The impacts of beautiful spaces are so profound and can trigger inspiration when you least expect it. Thanks Kelly for another beautiful space to inspire!

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I have been looking at a lot of furniture lately (as usual!) and I am seeing tufted upholstered furniture everywhere! What used to be typically symbolic of traditional style, tufting is now being used in conjunction with clean lined modern pieces. I am loving this eclectic juxtaposition with furniture. It really adds a rich and unexpected twist to a room. Besides the stylistic element tufted in a great thing to consider in terms of furniture longevity as tufting usually requires more fabric just due to the construction is pulled tighter than a traditional sofa = so saggy fabric. Prints, velvets, leathers, linens- keep you eye on tufted furniture as I know you have not seen the last of it. Before you know it there is going to be reverse tufting, patchwork tufting and then we will all be tufted out. In the meantime peep these great styles that will look fab in virtually any space. 

image via Design Chaser

Image Via Glitter Guide

image via pinterest

arm chair, club chair, sectional, bed, sofa, swivel chair, ottoman

2016 has been amazing! Ready for 2017 to be another fabulous year! Thrilled to start out the year giving my top 2017 home trends with some of my favorite designers like the uber talented Brian Paquette and Cecily Mendell  on Sunset. 

The holidays are quickly approaching! Head on over to Sunset to get my top 9 tips on a no fail holiday deco scheme. Hint: it doesn't have to be all red and green, neutral is a beautiful choice! 

You guys! Have you seen the newest Fall collection from Nate Berkus at Target? I love all things Nate and Target has really hit the mark with this one. Target is such a great source for unexpected, affordable home pieces and I swear the collections keep getting better and better! I love Target especially for accent tables and textiles. Their pillow and throw collections are always great and its the perfect place to source trendy seasonal items that you might want to switch out because nothing is too expensive. 

Be sure to check out the Nate Fall collection, so many of the great trends I have seen for the Fall are happening here- rattan, gold accents and rich browns. Go grab some! 

A. Black and Gold Round Coffee Table B. Fringe Oblong Decorative PIllow C. Braided Woven Storage D. Stardust Bowl E. Striped Tassel Throw Blanket F. Over Tufted Shag Rug G. Inlay Tray H. Charcoal Earthenware Vase I. Metal Wall Decor

Seems like I have been working on a lot of kitchen designs lately and wanted to share some of my tips when it comes to designing a kitchen and also what I am loving right now! There is a lot to think about when you are re-modeling a kitchen, unlike many other spaces in the home kitchens and bathrooms are usually spaces that need to do a lot of jobs as well as withstand the test of time because they typically end up staying put for a bit!  Case in point the 1970’s kitchen that I am currently working on! It hasn’t been touched in a couple of decades so its finally time for a facelift! 

Top Tips

Be practical! Think about all the functions for your kitchen- how do you use it? Are you a super cook? Do you love to entertain? Do you want to just make your kitchen disappear? These are all important things to consider when starting on your project. Although you love the look of carrera marble, its tough to maintain and if your countertops take a beating a quartz or other manmade material might be a better option for your lifestyle. 

Steer Clear of the Trends! You want your kitchen to withstand the test of time. In kitchen’s and bath’s I tend to recommend that my clients go with neutrals on things like the cabinets. Although a lime green cabinet looks amazing in a magazine this wont necessarily translate for many years and if you are planning to live with your new kitchen for awhile I recommend staying with the basics on the major pieces. 

Treat your tile and hardware like jewelry! These are the places you can have a bit of fun with. Be more adventurous with your tile choices and know that nickel, chrome, rose gold.. you can change up your hardware easily over the years. 

Brighten it up! I love me some lighting! In all spaces! Lighting in a kitchen is especially important. Here you have to consider decorative lighting as well as task lighting. A vintage pendant can make any space interesting and again this is an area that can be changed out of you keep your kitchen for 30 years! 

Trends that are not Trendy! 

I’m loving a lot of whites, natural stone and light woods.  There are so many amazing materials out there to choose from and dont even get me started on tiles! But truly I am really drawn to the direction of the kitchen being a space that takes its inspiration from nature, it should be a beautiful backdrop to create delicious meals for family and friends to enjoy. 

I love thick natural wood open shelving. 

Hints of brass or gold mixed with a surprising rich color. 

I have been seeing a lot of islands that are different material than the rest of cabinets and that is a trend I am really loving. 

Bench seating is always a hit with me! Anywhere you can lounge to drink your coffee is a plus! 

Ok I am going to go back to pinning incessant inspiration pictures. Follow along with me here! And in the meantime I hope you are inspired to create your own perfect kitchen oasis. 

image via Gravity Home 

Well its almost October! I am currently traveling in Iowa, and it feels like a hot, hot summer here! But the changing season usually means the leaves will start to change- unless you live in California like me where the only discernible change in the season is that it is much darker in the mornings on my runs and the persimmons have started to rippen in the trees around my treehouse! But I digress. On to fall home tips! Lonny Magazine recently asked me to round up some quick and easy ways to get your house ready for fall. You can read all my tips right here.

But I also wanted to add in some of my favorite Fall inspired furniture pieces that I have been seeing as of late. To me, Fall always means cozy textures- velvets, rich leathers, slubby sweater fabrics. All the yummy stuff! But also great woods, crazy coppers and warm hues that reflect the season. Check em out below and dont be mad if your inspired to throw out all your furniture and start from scratch. Well we can all dream! 

Spike Coffee Table 

Spike Coffee Table Jayson Home 

Statement making is an understatement. Love the color of this table from Jayson Home. I always say your coffee table should bring the whole design together. This outta do it. Throw a great vintage leather tray on it, some beautiful olive branches and magic fall has arrived! 

Hemming Swivel Armchair

West Elm's Hemming Chair 

I love the print no on this chair- the perfect patterned piece to take an empty nook t new heights. Throw on a warm pumpkin colored pillow and silky throw and its perfect to cozy up on! Grab one here 

Land and Sky Buffet 

Anthropologie Deer Console for the win! 

This Anthropologie console had me from the moment I laid eyes on it. I love the magic quality of the carving and of course the literal nature of the imagery just scream fall. Every room needs a conversation piece and this could be it. I'm a sucker for animal home decor and this one is a biggie! 

Brass Sconce

Brass Sconce via Triple Seven Home 

Brass is the perfect metal for fall. Its warm and soft and adds just the right amount of "jewelry" to a space. I ran across these great sconces on Etsy and fell in love. These have such a fun sculptural quality to them and are so modern and clean. Check out the rest of the shop for more awesome lighting pieces!  

Marigold Natural Rug

Rug via Forma Living

And I cant have a round up without some natural material! Love the beautiful gold sheen and meticulous craftsmanship of this hemp rug. Perfect for your foyer or mud room, this casual rug has a beautiful interesting shape and will set the stage for your seasonal decor. Love! 

Heike Weber . Hello this is amazing! I have been researching a lot of art installations for one of my particularly stylish clients lately and ran across Heike Weber's work. Obsessed, dying, can barely breathe! Really loving this amazingness that involves permanent marker. It has a great natural quality, is pattern without being chaotic and that pink its just my favorite color these days! I always love a good malachite pattern and this is a just doing it for me in all the right ways! Now excuse me while I go grab my sharpie and attempt a masterpiece of my own.