The Gorgeous Guild

I have become more than a little obsessed with the Designer's Guild. Their uses of color and pattern is the epitome of Victorian chic. Here are some fabulous couches I couldn't help but share.

Haute Hotels - Gramercy Park

I try to spread the love of decor around, but as a native New Yorker I will always have a soft spot for the my city that never sleeps. Gramercy Park Hotel has been reviewed by the New York Times and Vogue for its decor choices. The owner of this historic NY hotel invited artist Maarten Baas to be a part of the design team. Its no wonder this hotel has the perfect mix of avant garde and artistic class.

Rich, full, invigorating colors pervade every space and frankly I am DYING to stay there just for the surroundings. Can you blame me?

J'adore the Haute Hotels...

Decour in the City - Pheonix, AZ

The Desert Botanical Garden - The Nature of Glass

Every once in a while, I like to get my fill of virtual culture and find out what is happening in the art world outside of DC. In my sifting, I found some breath-taking images from an installation at the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona.

The artist, Dale Chihuly, has created some of the most unique glass sculptures I have ever seen. They are interspersed throughout the garden and the effect is amazing. The bright colors and shapes are the perfect complement to the landscaping of the Garden.

Amazing... no?

Aspiring Spotlight

Through my MySpace page I have found some truly inspiring and interesting fellow lovers of decor. One of the first that wrote to me about his decor creations was The Lightstyler. He asked that I look at his work and frankly it deserves to be shared. I could say that I was doing him a solid, but really I should be thanking him for a gorgeous new blog topic.

The artist, and he is an artist, hails from Germany and the images you see below might appear to be freestanding glass sculptures or photographs of some being in the cosmos...

...but really they are up close images of light fixtures and lamps made by hand!

Fabulous...no?

Door Decour

It's all about the little things, right? Fun little details are what make decor worth while... Check these out... I found them in Domino Magazine. Great door decor fun, all for less than $100.00!

Simply Beautiful Spaces

Searching for the next feature on J'adore, I have found some simply beautiful spaces.

This first image is from one of my favorites... The Designer's Guild. Sometimes I think that if Betsey Johnson had become an interior decorator this guild would be masterpiece collection. I went on Betsey's site and found images of her inspiration hideaway Betseyville - I think I may have hit the nail on the head.



These next two were designed by a new found favorite Martyn Lawrence - Bullard. This design group shows amazing use of color and texture through muted patterns in its spaces.

... this dining room has a fantastic use of scale that creates a beautiful effect. The sheer size of the ceiling installations just MAKE this space. Also, I love the way the focal point of the eye level space, linear in the straight line pattern of the dining chairs, is contrasted with the spherical , textured chandeliers...

This space is by Male*Cahlin Designers. I chose it because I love the wood ceiling, gorgeous art piece and magenta head and foot dining chairs. Splashes of color make this space interesting.

J'adore beautiful spaces...

Targeting Decor

I am a firm believer in the use of creative discount items to create chic looks. Quiet as its kept, Target, when you know how and where to look, can give you lovely rooms, interesting lines and a wide array of decor options. Since we all need to save money, periodically I will give you rooms I create with just Polyvore and an internet connection to Target.com.

Just click here to see each item and its cost

Library Decour

OK... so as an avid reader I like to display my books as much as the next girl. A wall of books in your office or library can add a certain element of decor in and of itself. Rows and rows of books in honor of the literature you love... With that in mind, have you ever color coordinated your lastest titles to match your decor? Like this...

This decorator has enhanced this entire room with Book Cover Decor and they didn't have to raid Barnes and Noble to do it. Check this out...

This entire site Book Decor, is dedicated to creating this look for you, your home, your movie set, whatever... pretty nifty if you ask me. Though, I think I will keep picking my lit for content rather than color.

Wall Flower

I am always looking for new and innovative ideas in decor. I was on one of my fav sites and found this wonderful room with a fantastic decor idea.... Wall Flowers. Honestly, its simple, creative, divine... in my opinion. Best of all, we can do this at home. With no more than a visit to the local arts & crafts store we could create this look for ourselves.

The flowers really pop against the rich color of the walls. However, this would work beautifully with white walls and pastel flowers as well... its up to you!

J'adore new ideas

Quotidian things - Unusual Art

I have been scouring the NY Times for the next big artist or inspiring piece of art and I came across this. These are sculptural art installations made from everyday materials and regular household items. Honestly I was blown away to discover what these pieces were actually composed of.

Its amazing how the artist had the foresight to understand the effect that these items would have at a larger scale. Check them out...

Styrofoam cups

Toothpicks

Plastic Cups

Paper

J'adore...