Blog

  • How To: Design a Tablescape

    My friends are always asking for tips and tricks on how to organize a fun and festive table.  First, pick your color scheme.  It can be anything.  Don’t limit yourself to what you think should go together… Go with what you like.  For this table, I picked blue, pink, and bright yellow.  I also wanted the overall feel to be chic, yet whimsical.  To achieve a lighthearted feel, mix patterns.  I mixed florals, stripes, and polka dots.  Remember, the only rules are the rules you make for yourself.

    ♥ Add fun and inexpensive touches to your table that go with your color scheme.  To highlight my love of bright yellow, I used lemons, candy sticks, and store bought lemon tea cakes put on a silver platter to appear homemade (cut corners and save time!) ♥

    ♥ Flowers are a great way to add pops of color (and fragrance) to your table.  Hot pink roses sandwiched between lemons inside mason jars were a perfect accent piece ♥

    ♥ I designed all of the menus myself.  Menus and place cards are a perfect way to bring all of your colors together in one place, helping the table to appear cohesive.  Don’t be afraid to mix different fonts and different size fonts.   If you don’t have the knack for graphic design, check out pre-designed menus and invitations online ♥

    ♥ Make sure there is plenty of stemware on your table.  You want your guests to feel welcome… and the more they drink, the more fabulous your decor will look! ♥

  • Kristin and Chad – The Wedding Gallery

    ♥ Elysium of Santa Barbara (my company!) provided the decor for this Orange County wedding ♥

    [slideshow]

  • Kristin and Chad… Elysium Designs the Decor for a Gorgeous Wedding

    I was lucky enough to be approached by a young and very talented woman (she is an artist with hair and owns her own salon in Orange County!) to do the decor for her wedding.  She had a vision… In her words, “Shabby chic meets simple elegance.”  The opportunity to expand Elysium all the way to Orange County (the ceremony and reception were hosted in San Juan Capistrano) was one that I could not resist. Before I knew it, the decor preparation (months of painting wooden signs by hand, doing all of the graphic design for the menus, affixing tiny pearls to the place cards, hand constructing the sage voile fabric and lace table runners, and the list goes on) was done and the wedding day was upon us.

    The afternoon sunshine reached its peak in San Juan Capistrano, California as Kristin and Chad said, “I do.”   Their ceremony site was lined with white hydrangeas wrapped in lace.  Ivory and lace rose petals framed the aisle.  The bride and groom had their first kiss as husband and wife under a dramatic oak tree.  At the reception, guests were enveloped by deep pinks, rich greens, and shades of ivory offsetting the grandiose fountain that graced the center of the large open air hacienda courtyard.

    At the end of the day, I awaited Kristin’s reaction to the decor at her ceremony, cocktail, and reception locations.  She ran up to me with a gigantic hug and said that it was the “wedding of her dreams.”  I couldn’t have been happier.

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQqsTdpNQ7E]

    To see the full wedding photo gallery click here.

    To see the full wedding photo gallery click here.

  • How To: Make an Inspiration Board

    Inspiration boards are vital.  Visual imagery is an important motivating tool and can also instantly improve your mood, drive, and outlook… Take a corkboard, some images, quotes, photos, anything that you love and tack it up.  The beautiful thing about this is that your inspiration board can change daily.  Fill it with whatever strikes your fancy.

    I covered my board with some of my doodles, favorite photos, cards from people that I love with encouraging words, my icon (Marilyn!), and ticket stubs that remind me of some fabulous events and concerts that I’ve attended.  Cover yours with whatever gets you going.

  • Current Obsession: The Farmer’s Market

    Basically, my favorite Tuesday evening and Saturday morning activity… Outdoor stalls with local vendors pedaling fresh flowers, fresh produce, and fresh ideas.  Nothing makes me happier than fresh flowers on my desk, by my bed, well…. everywhere… and a fresh, light meal to follow the workday.

  • Room Lust – Bathroom

    My bathroom is currently undergoing a bit of a makeover… formerly a bright (hideous and nauseating) blue, I painted it a deep high gloss chocolate brown. I hung a dramatic chocolate brown painting of Marilyn Monroe on the wall. I bought a deep brown wicker basket embroidered with “Laundry” in gold thread and a simple brown and gold décor set.  I normally don’t like things that are so “matchy,” but the simplicity of the set works.

    The items below would complete my bathroom by adding drama, glamour, femininity and whimsy… essentially the elements that a woman should be able to incorporate into every room.

    1. Bustled Shower Curtain $118
    I’d use it as a curtain for my french door that leads outside to the pool. So feminine. Love it.
    2. Isola Bella Bathmat $38
    Cozy and elegant for wet, shower scrubbed toes.
    3. Lock & Key Hand Mirror $32
    I’m dying. It’s a hand mirror. And a key. I love this kind of stuff.
    4. Crystalline Bubbles Perfume Bottle $48
    Ideal in the windowsill… old-fashioned and will grab a ton of sunlight.
    5. Provence Society Perfume Bottle $38
    So sophisticated.
    6. Nestled Ring Dish $10
    A lady always needs a place to put her baubles when she washes her hands.  Adorable.
    7. Diving Bell Trinket Box $38, $78
    Great accent pieces.
    8. Fairy Tale Jewelry Holder $128
    Too cute. Great statement piece for the counter.
    9. Kailyn 5 Light Chandelier Lamp $299.99
    Every girl deserves a chandelier.  Why not have one in every room in the house?