Our Trip to Atlanta's Mart - Part 2 (Accessories)

Of course, the citrus or acid green color is still very popular. I think every showroom had something in this color.


These silk mums looked so real, Bettye and I had to feel them. We are very picky about artificial arrangements.


These one stem mini pots are great to place in a guest room bedside table or to place at each place setting for a bridesmaid luncheon or a dinner party.

Our Trip to Atlanta's Mart - Part 1 (Furniture)

Bettye Zettergren, our new designer, and I just returned from Atlanta's Merchandise Mart. Bettye and I spent two 10-hour days walking the floors of "Building 1" and a few floors of "Building 2." To give you a feel for the size of this Market, "Building 1" has 20 floors and each floor has 30 - 50 showrooms. The showrooms in Building 1 have accessories, linens, holiday and furniture. The other buildings had showrooms that included housewares, gourmet, gift and apparel.

We found so many great showrooms! We love visiting market to see what's new. I took photographs of a few interesting things we found in the showrooms. (Note: The showroom floodlights made it really difficult to capture a good shot.)

Oatmeal colored furniture was prominent in a lot of showrooms, as well as upholstered furniture with oatmeal linen fabrics. Using such a neutral colored piece of furniture allows you to paint your walls almost any color and leaves you with lots of options for window treatments. I love the natural texture that linen adds to a space. Linen can also evoke both the feeling of formal and, at the same time, a touch of casual.


The king headboard above was gorgeous with its oatmeal colored linen fabric. I think it was the tallest sleigh headboard I have ever seen. Bettye and I estimated the height at 7'.


The photograph isn't great but it shows more of the oatmeal colored furniture.


Would you like to make a drastic change in your dining room without the cost of purchasing all new furniture? Consider changing your two end chairs to one of these chairs covered in a custom fabric. Adding two totally different end chairs to a dining room table can change the whole feel of the room.



We found these outdoor rugs that are made to withstand the outdoor elements. They even had a display with a sprinkler pouring water over a rug continuously. The best part, in my opinion, was their reasonable prices. They were available in multiple solid colors as well as a braided style. They even poured red wine on the rug and it didn't stain the rug!

The Adorable Fairy Doors!

I spend at least one to two hours reading every day. When you make it a practice to read on a daily basis, a whole new world is opened up to you. The amount of information available on the internet is staggering. Casey, my daughter-in-law and partner, reads as much as I do and several weeks ago she happened to read a blog that mentioned "Fairy Doors" and we both thought it was the cutest idea! As I began researching this unusual topic, I was surprised to find how many people have added "Fairy Doors" to their homes and businesses.

I think this craze began in Ann Arbor Michigan (click on the second door on the Ann Arbor page to view sightings). Visitors and children are enthralled with hunt. Check out the "Fairy Door" Google installed in one of their conference rooms; the title on the Fairy Door is "Giggle," how appropriate! Perform a search in Google for "Fairy Doors." There is a lot of information out there (resources and blogs) regarding this subject. Judy Santoni and her girls visited Ann Arbor, click HERE to read their story. You will see that the possibilities are limitless!

If you have small children or grandchildren, this is a perfect idea to add a bit of magic to your home or business. What child wouldn't would love having a "Fairy Door" to visit? There are so many creative and imaginative things you can do with these. Start a tradition by encouraging children to clean their room, then, if they don't clean their room, the cleaning fairy comes to tidy up the room and leave a note saying she is disappointed and will visit again later hoping the room will be clean next time or maybe every night the fairy is moved to a different spot and, of course, you might mention the fairy door is only magical when they don't touch it.

You can purchase "Fairy Doors" from Enchanted Fairy Doors Shop or Monkeytail and Wellington or purchase dollhouse doors and adorn them yourself.

'Tis the Season!

I love the Christmas season! Everyone seems extra friendly during the holiday season. This year (and I still can't believe it), I am not going all out with my usual Christmas decorating. Because I was out of town at the beginning of December, and also because Jerry and I are going to Casey & Owen's (my son & daughter-in-law and my two granddaughters) home to celebrate Christmas with them, I decided not to put up a tree this year. YIKES, this is a first for me and it feels strange! Next year, though, I am planning on decorating as usual and hosting a Christmas Open House.



This year Casey has been busy decorating her house with a little inspiration from Anthropologie. If you have visited the Green Hills store, you may have seen lots of stacked wood and their famous handmade snowballs. These snowballs are the cutest and are so easy to make. We asked our sales person if she knew how they were made and she spilled the beans. Jackpot!!!



Here is how to make indoor snowballs that "won't melt in your house!"

1. Crumple up white kraft paper to the desired size. (Be sure to vary the sizes)
   
2. Wrap the crumpled ball with plastic wrap at least 4 or 5 times.
3. Wrap outer layer in Glad "Press & Seal" with the sticky side out.
   
4. Roll sticky ball in artificial snow. (Artificial snow can be purchases at Target or any craft store.)
5. Voila' ... you have the cutest snowballs ever!
   

Who knew they would be so easy and inexpensive to make?



Look how cute these jars are with the white lights, silver ornaments, and snow.

I love decorating with live greenery. Not only does it look great, it smells even better! Take time to enjoy the sights, smells, and good eats of this holiday season!

Making a difference in a community!

Lee McElwee, our office manager, made the comment after seeing the movie Blind Side, "This movie inspires you to want to do more." I hope this movie will inspire everyone that sees it to do more for humanity. Our entire family and several friends are going to see the movie on Thanksgiving night. I have heard rave reviews about this movie. I can't wait to see it; I love movies based on true stories.



This movie made me think about the nonprofit organization in which Dandelion Interiors is a member. The group is WCAA (Window Coverings Association of America), which is a nonprofit organization for the custom window treatment industry. This organization sets the standards for business owners that fabricate and/or sell window coverings. WCAA members are committed to educating themselves and providing the highest quality custom window treatments. Dandelion been a member of this group for over 10 years and we have dedicated ourselves to maintaining these high standards. In fact, I believe in this organization so much that I am an active WCAA board member.

This year, our members decided to get involved with Habitat for Humanity after Julie Coleman and Jill Robson spoke with Lisa McIntyre at Habitat for Humanity. Jill Robson was instrumental in securing the donations for the hardware and linings that were used in the homes. The hardware was donated by a local company, United Supply Company and the lining was donated by both Read Window Products and United Supply Company. The cost of the fabric was paid for with our local chapter's funds. Additionally, many of our members donated lots of time to fabricate the drapery panels. Very proud to be a part of this giving group.

What is Habitat for Humanity?

• They are a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. They build homes for people in need, regardless of race or religion. They welcome volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds.
• The houses are simple, decent and affordable to low-income families around the world. See what Habitat houses are like around the world.
• Whenever possible, they build energy-efficient, sustainable housing. Learn more about our construction and environmental resources.

This week, Jerry Green and Johnnie Davis installed drapery panels in two Habitat for Humanity homes. Originally, they were scheduled to install draperies in three homes, but they ran into a snag when they noticed a doorbell was installed over the window in one of the homes. The homeowner was disappointed, however she was assured that we would return with a solution and she would have her draperies soon. Our group is providing draperies for nine new happy homeowners.



This is Jill, chapter Vice-President, steaming the panels after Jerry and Johnnie installed the draperies.

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments regarding activities you are involved in to give back to your community, the earth or anything you do to make someone's life a little better.

Decorating for Thanksgiving

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons. I think the fall colors are inspiring. The cooler weather always gets me in the decorating mood, I begin pulling out my fall/Thanksgiving decorations. This year, I purchased a few new items to add to my collection. Decorating for the holidays is an easy and inexpensive way to totally change the look and feel of your home.

I found this classic turkey a couple of years ago at Williams Sonoma. He will always be part of my Thanksgiving decorations. The swag/pumpkin garland came from Pottery Barn. These decorations made a perfect addition to my dining room table.


Since my house has been the gathering place for Thanksgiving for the past 15 years, I always seem to adorn the dining room more than any other room in my house. We will have 18 -20 people ready to gobble down the feast on Thanksgiving day. I picked up this cute pheasant at Z-Galleries this year. They had a great sale on their accessories.

I added my rusty wire pumpkin to a bookshelf in my family room and sprinkled a few dried leaves around the base for added interest.

I had to purchase the adorable ceramic pear and pumpkins from Z-Galleries. The price was too good to pass up. I added a few fall leaves that were kissed with a touch of glitter.

Of course, I always have to burn a few spice candles and brew some spiced cider to complete the mood. Now all I have to do is work on my menu, determine what dishes my family will bring, go to the market, cook the turkey and dressing, set the table . . . . Whew, I think I am tired already. Happy Thanksgiving, hope all of you have a great day with your family.

Favoriate Finds at High Point Fall Furniture Market

Jerry and I returned from High Point Furniture Market recently. High Point Market runs for seven consecutive days. Everyday designers walk until they feel like their legs will fall off and then get up the next day and do it all over again. There is so much to see at this market. I wonder if anyone can see it all. You can tell in the videos I am still perfecting my video skills. Just use the pause/rewind button if I moved to fast in the video. More videos showing you what's new when I visit Atlanta's Merchandise Mart in January and High Point again in the spring.

Below are some of the showrooms I found interesting at this market.

*Song: Stop and Stare by One Republic

Loved the furniture pieces and accessories in this showroom.

*Song: Fireflies by Owl City

More great furniture pieces. I love the distressed looking furniture. So much less fussing and worrying over dents and scratches.

Song: Hallelujah by Brandi Carlile

Great outdoor pieces.

*Song: Show Me What I'm Looking For by Carolina Liar

Great lamps with great pricing.

*Song: Free by Sarah Brightman

Beautiful glassware.