Black Cerusing

Forget ebonized wood or black lacquer! Black Cerused oak is my new fave...

I've been a fan of the faux bois look, so I'm also finding myself drawn to black cerused pieces in showrooms. 

^Real Black Cerused oak                    Faux Bois Pattern^

I saw this image on the F. Schumacher website advertising their new collection of mirrors, and while the mirror is very pretty, my eye was drawn to the cabinet underneath!

It happens to be their piece called the Barclay Chest

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And, I was in David Duncan Antiques the other day and saw this set of Black Cerused Case pieces and loved all of the details of them: the finish (obviously!), the greek band along the top, and the bold, large-scale hardware really makes it. 

Between this set and the piece from Schumacher, it seems like cabinets with this finish wouldn't look right with small or rounded hardware....

I think these two would look amazing up against an Hermes orange leather wall.....

Don't you think??

Drake Design Associates recently released pictures of a Central Park West apartment they worked on...

The design is so beautiful with such ethereal shades of purple, but also, I don't know who took these photos, but they are gorgeous and really capture the color and light of the spaces!

You might be able to see why people feel like his signature color is purple...

Living Room

Detail of Living Room

The color and texture of the fabric or wallpaper in here makes you want to just go over an pet it!

I'm loving the warm purple upholstery against the dark wood frame

The heavy dark wood fireplace surround juxtaposed against the feminine, light purple is a bold look

Again Jamie used his signature grid velvet that is carried by F. Schumacher on the bed frame

This is why I love Jamie Drake; his designs just make you feel good!

2012 Kips Bay Showhouse

This space was designed by Thom Filicia 

This year many of the rooms used more moody, deep colors.

In this room, the green walls remind me of some of my St. Patrick's Day posts back in March.

The high gloss ceiling makes the room look like it double-height, and I think lacquer looks so elegant!

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This is the Dining Room that Todd Alexander Romano designed

I am loving the purple/ green combo!

I also am a sucker for spaces that mix traditional elements like the dining chairs with more funky, modern elements like the table.

In the picture below (of the same dining room), you can really get an idea of the rich purple used on the walls. I immediately wanted to know where to get that gorgeous emerald mirror, but its an Italian antique....

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This Living room was designed by Brian del Toro

Definitely sensing a deep chromatic color theme and a funky mirror theme here.....

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And, I wouldn't be a true fan if I didn't include the living room designed by

 Jamie Drake and Drake Design Associates

Love that green wallpaper and bold color juxtaposed against the white upholstery!

A while back, I saw a Jeremiah Goodman exhibit and fell in love! His work inspired me to want to paint more and to design spaces someday like the ones he captured so beautifully!

I was reminded of him recently when I saw he was on Twitter! (definitely had to follow him @JeremiahGoodman).... shameless plug- Follow me! I'm @AllisonKepler

Since he is so inspiring to me, and since I had surprisingly not heard of him before the exhibition, I figured I would share some of his striking works with you!

Carlos de Beistegui, Interior Designer, Dining Room, Paris, 1960

Seriously?? Absolutely gorgeous

Now that it's spring and the crummy weather is hopefully mostly behind us, I am finding spring-y inspirations.....

I'm not talking baby chicks and bunnies, instead, an artist relative Farida Hughes' work comes to mind.

I find her pieces to have a light, playful, airy quality that makes me think of spring. 

And she uses gorgeous colors!

entitled: Mingling

entitled: Journey

I just have one question: Is there a family discount???

The Colour Lovers website is soooo inspiring! I have always dreamed I would one day design fabrics, and this site makes me feel like I kind of am! 

It also is a great way to get color palette inspiration. Some of the members come up with color combos you would have never thought of!

You can design patterns, and create original colors and color palettes.

After using this site, I feel like I am finding color inspiration in the most unexpected places!

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Palettes

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Patterns

                             

I think these would make great fabric patterns, don't you??

I am LOVING these earrings found on Etsy!

made by FizaDesigns

The green onyx mixed with the gold orchid flowers is gorgeous!

I can just imagine a room that has the same feel as these earrings

On Etsy, there are lots of vendors that sell this orchid jewelry, and the color combinations and daintiness of the orchids are beautiful- check it out! www.etsy.com

Made by eiiii

Green Inspiration of the Day

I love Jamie Drake's work, and I do like this dining room he did in Manhattan. I am not feeling the digital artwork so much, but he does use a couple of the fabrics he designed for Schumacher.

These pictures don't do the real fabrics justice and there are many more other designs for Schumacher that aren't green!

The interiors below that use those deep, saturated jungle-y greens remind me of Rousseau's Jungle paintings.

Dining room by Meg Braff

Kristin Hein & Phillip Cozzi

So March, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, will be devoted to green inspiration!

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This is a necklace I designed that incorporates green, gold and black.

Green can have so many different looks and feelings.....

I love every single color of the rainbow. If anyone ever asks me my favorite color, I put waaaay too much thought into it and I can't even choose anyway. I can find some variation or shade of any color that can make my heart skip a beat!

Soooo... I love it when House Beautiful devotes an entire issue to a color. The March 2012 issue was all about Green. Unfortunately, they did not seize the opportunity to work in anything about sustainability or eco-friendliness, but it did cover every shade and variation of green I could ever hope for.

One of the green beauties in the issue that I am obsessed with is this dining room by designer Katie Ridder.

She used this darker version of a celery-type green in an unexpected way by pairing it with jewel tones. 

Love it!

I admit I had never paid much mind to the color green before this issue but now I realize the versatility of green....

Green is natural: From moss to grass to cypress, fern to pine, chameleon to shamrock, and holly to sage

Bold: From emerald to hunter, chartreuse to viridian, teal to electric, peridot to verdigris, celadon to malachite,  and jade to kelly

Even delicious!: From creme de menthe to celery, olive to pea, lime to honeydew, pistachio to apple, and mint to pear

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My first post ever!

Welcome to the inaugural posting of my Design Around You blog! I am new to the blog scene but I, like many other creative people, always have different snippets of ideas floating around up there and would love to document and share them