Last week was quite a week for design in New Orleans, and I was fortunate enough to have had to beautiful visits with wonderful design bloggers, Gina Milne from Willow Decor and Brooke Gianetti, the talented designer and voice behind Velvet and Linen, and her  architect husband Steve.

Brooke and Steve came to our wonderful town to attend the Design Leadership Summit, which brought many design luminaries to to New Orleans, several of whom had a chance to visit our shop. Brooke and Steve arrived at Julie Neill Designs around 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, with tired feet from walking all the way from the Windsor Court Hotel! Despite the trek, they were both so alive with personality and design ideas, and fun  and friendship! It was one of those times when you meet  someone and it seems you've known them all your life.

I was very glad to show them my shop and tell them about how we make each and every piece to order, and can customize pieces in both size and finish and even create new pieces when the need arises.

Brooke and I both thought that Julie Neill lighting would work well as a complement to the gorgeous Swedish pieces she carries in her Los Angeles shop, Gianetti Home.

Brooke and Steve are such a dynamic couple, he creating exquisite, classically inspired buildings and she providing just the perfect complementary interiors.

We talked about our common design motivations and inspirations. We all are crazy for all things Venetian, and we share a deep and passionate attraction to the designs of Mariano Fortuny.

 

Here's a stretched silk Fortuny chandelier similar to one Brooke and Steve have in their office.

We talked about proportion  and scale and were blown away to find out that we all base much of our work on the Golden Mean.

Brooke and Steve are clearly a talented couple who are very serious about design and the is very much evident in their work.

Steve's has completed some amazing architectural projects:

 

And Brooke often complements his work with impeccably appointed interiors:

 

I love their work and look forward to collaborating on some projects.

Brooke and Steve's gift for design collaboration is also very apparent in their shop, Giannetti Home. As anyone who's read Velvet and Linen knows, Brooke's love for Swedish antiques is counterbalanced by Steve's attraction for industrial pieces. This brings a dynamic  tension to the look of their shop and lends an air of relaxed elegance, much like the couple themselves.

 

They have a talent for display which makes the most of their concurrent design leanings.

Their home in Santa Monica is further evidence of their easy yet refined style and taste.

Brooke's use of white and pale colors in her sunroom are quite easy on my eyes.

I love their bedroom, with its pale natural fabrics, French and Swedish antiques, a salvaged architectural element, and a crystal chandelier.

The gateway to their home also reflects their love of the classical and is quite the elegant welcome......

Well after a short visit to my workshop and the flagship Leontine Linens store,

we proceeded down Magazine Street to Perch, where we met up with Valorie, the famous

Visual Vamp!

Here is the Vamp clowning around with a felt flower on her head.

Brooke and Steve fell in love with Perch, and were so taken with a print of a nude woman that they found, that they purchased it for themselves.

 

The Gianetti's truly adored Perch's fun and funky take on casual elegance, and the unusual finds the shop has to offer.

And then it was on to dinner at one of New Orleans's newest and most fabulous restaurants, Coquette.

Although Coquette has only been open for a few months, it is housed in a 130 year old building that was recently renovated after sitting vacant for many years. The combination of exposed brick walls, old storefront windows and elegant lighting provides an extraordinarily comfortable and visually pleasing setting for experiencing such amazing dishes as fried soft shelled crab with a red cabbage slaw and roasted cherry tomatoes, barbecued shrimp and brioche, and a chocolate mousse tarte.

Julie Ponze, Director of Sales for Julie Neill Designs, and Valorie the Vamp helped me entertain the Giannetti's in true New Orleans style. The conversation was warm, honest, at times intense, intellectual,  stimulating,and friendly. We stayed and talked long after the delicious meal was complete.

I think that when it was over, we were all a bit sad to leave, and we all hoped that we'll be able to get together again soon. Of course Brooke and Steve had a 5am flight in the morning and were looking forward to getting home to their three children.

I must say that a great time was had by all.

Earlier in the week, my shop was graced with the arrival of the famous author of Willow Decor, Gina Milne. Unbeknownst to me, Gina has had a long friendship with my friend, an up and coming very talented New Orleans designer, Millie Gaines.

It was so fun for Julie Ponze and me to show Gina around the shop and watch her get to know our things in person. She was quite blown away by the amazing hand  finished quality of all our pieces.

It was fun to hang out on the over-the-top Desire Bed and have our picture taken. Gina was very interested in seeing our brand new workshop, so we walked down the block and she was quite taken with the care and talent that goes into the completion of each piece we do.

Gina, who is very interested in bringing her design outlook to the Boston area is quite a talent in design herself. As many of us who have followed the developments of her kitchen and butler's pantry renovations knows, she has a great ability to study the details which will take a project from ordinary to extraordinary.

Her beautiful renovated spaces show her talent for space planning, cabinet design and a pleasing use of materials.

I had such a good time hearing Gina's plans to continue growing her blog and her design business. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.

It is a known fact that blogging is quite a phenomenon for bringing people who operate within the same fields together into a community. It's really an astounding way to network and to learn from others who share your interests and vocations. But I have to say that the most gratifying aspect of participating in the blogging world is the making of some very good friendships. I am so glad to have met in person some very wonderful people.

Thank you Gina, and Brooke and Steve for coming to visit us here in our home town, and for sharing your ideas, your inspirations and your friendship with us.

Today, I'm joining Julia at Hooked on Houses "Hooked on Fridays" party. I'm hooked on meeting and becoming friends with the amazing people who write all the wonderful blogs that  entertain and educate us and draw us together.

In the world of design blogging, we spend  an astounding amount of time studying, discussing, reporting and commenting on beauty and beautiful places.

To me, there would be nothing more beautiful than a world where nobody goes hungry.

Meg from Pigtown Design and Chris from

Easy and Elegant Life have organized a way for each of us to do our small part to help others who are needier than ourselves. Please go  here to make a donation to Feeding America and truly make a difference in someone's life and make this world a more beautiful place.

 

As anyone who reads design blogs knows, the work of Atlanta designer Suzanne Kasler is widely extolled and discussed throughout the blogging world. She was first brought to my attention by one of her hometown admirers, Things that Inspire.

Things that Inspire, who is quite a student of dining room decor posted this gorgeous picture from Traditional Home which showcases some of Kasler's strengths as a designer: her skillful combination of traditional and more modern pieces, the way she uses a mix of soft colors to create fresh and elegant environments, and her use of symmetry to provide the elegant feeling of calm and balance within the room.

I love the fresh, modern elegance and confident use of the color pink in this room, also from Things that Inspire. Of course, my eye is also drawn to the curvy, playful lined, yet traditional chandelier and sconces seen here.

 

Suzanne is so popular among bloggers, that Joni at Cote de Texas has even named her as Number 8 in her widely read and anticipated feature on her Top Ten Designers! The gorgeous room above, from Cote de Texas leaves little question as to how this  decorator has become so popular.

In fact, Joni says that Suzanne has "blazed her trail through the Interior Design world" and has her work published at a dizzying rate. Joni says, "Young and vibrant, Kasler's designs are as colorful and full of life as she is."  I love the ethereal blue color of this dining room, the finely slipcovered chairs and the graceful chandelier.

More from Cote de Texas. I'm loving the beautiful black screen and the balanced composition of the sofa and bench/ottomans placed in the intimate seating corner of this room.

 

Another admirer of Suzanne is Patricia Gray, who comments of the designers outstanding use of black and white.

The Peak of Chic featured this picture showing a very fabulous piece from Suzanne Kasler's new line of furniture which she has designed for Hickory Chair.
This quatrefoil shape which she has expertly incorporated into the back of the chair is a perfect example of Kasler's deft use of classic historic forms with an updated appeal.

In Suzanne Kasler, Hickory Chair has found just the person to provide them with furniture designed for today's fabulous home. In her expert hands, the designs are modern with a lasting elegance drawn from classic lines, shapes and colors. These pieces are made to travel through a lifetime of homes and decors.

Inspired by antique French chair designs, this lines of this chair cleaned up and simplified to sublime effect.

More French influence, shown in soft easy modern colors and sumptuous fabrics.

This is such a now interpretation of Chippendale lines. It's so clean and fresh and mixes easily. I love the light painted wood.

There is  nothing cleaner lined and more attractive than this armless sofa. The attention to detail is beautiful.

Like so many other bloggers, I have become a fan!

So I guess you can imagine how excited I am to have received this invitation from my friend Jim Smith of Dixon Smith Interiors  in Baton Rouge.

Yes, I've been invited to Jim's wonderful Interior Design Showroom to meet the designer herself, and I'm thrilled.

Dixon Smith Interiors is The Place to Go in Baton Rouge for full service Interior Design. They have a talented staff of designers who create beautiful interiors for their clients.

I'm very happy to say that they carry Julie Neill Lighting.

I'm really looking forward to meeting Suzanne.

 

I'll let you know all about it! Stay tuned!

 

On Sunday, I was fortunate enough to become the proud owner of a gorgeous pair of paintings which I had commissioned the amazing Amanda Talley to paint for me! These paintings are so very beautiful to me that I decided to share them with you, my blog readers. As you can see from the photo above, the artist, shown pictured with her  beloved dogs, Phil and Don is as beautiful as her paintings.

Here is the fabulous pair created especially for me by Amanda!  When I asked Amanda to paint  these for me, I showed her the space in which they would reside and I asked only that she do what she thought best to address the callings of my soul and the surroundings in which they would be placed....and this is exactly what she achieved. The colors make my heart sing, and the spontaneous, swirling shapes make my soul want to dance, and  Amanda even added a special  written message within the composition that she knew would move me beyond belief, and it did! I will treasure these pieces forever!

In celebration, I asked Amanda if I could take you, my blogger friends on a tour of her studio and she said, "Yes!"

Amanda's atelier,  which is located on the corner of First and Magazine Streets, is a candy-box full of visual pleasures.

 

Her paintings are exuberant, spontaneous, colorful, and confident: much like the artist herself.  Amanda is an open and luminous person who takes her inspiration from her life experiences.

Amanda has self-published a book in which she presents a photograph alongside of a painting which was inspired by it.

I loved hearing Amanda tell the story of how this iridescent pink raft inspired the pink painting in the photo below.

Although Amanda grew up in Baton Rouge, went to college in Virginia, and got her Master's degree in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design, I feel that her work reflects a love for the city she's called home for the last 9 years, New Orleans!

When Amanda first came to New Orleans, she worked for New Orleans interior design icon, Gerrie  Bremermann, for whom she has great admiration and affection.

Amanda's work has been featured in more than a few of Bremermann's interior design projects, including this one, which was shown in Southern Accents.

This painting, entitled "Kiss a Frog" is featured in the book Swedish Interiors, and is in the home of John Rabalais, another design client of  Gerrie Bremermann.

Here are some more of Amanda's large paintings along with photos of the images and experiences that provided her inspiration.

I suspect that her irresistible dogs, Phil (pictured above) and Don, two creatures who live in constant motion are the basis for many of Amanda's sophisticated, energetic black and white paintings.

Amanda's manipulation of line and color, and her gestural compositions make her paintings easily  recognizable and cause her work to be quite sought after.

Amanda's utilization of clear colors,  applied in rhythmic  brushstrokes give her paintings a sense of delight combined with modern refinement. They are both sophisticated and fun.

Since Amanda paints from her intuition, her pieces speak to the soul.

 

At first glance, one may think that each painting contains only one or two colors, but upon closer inspection many layers of color and texture become apparent. What seems simple at first becomes richer and deeper as one takes time to study the piece.

Amanda's paintings on paper also display the intensity with which she approaches her art. I love the way this painting seems to hover in air, since the artist chooses to leave some of the paper unpainted. The motion in this painting leaves me speechless!

Another example of the artist's talent for layering infinite subtle shades of color into a dynamic composition.

This painting, entitled "Uninvited" shows how  through the use of line and color, as well as the application of paint, the artist depicts a feeling of raw emotion.

  

Amanda's smaller works, are gorgeous little gems.

Although these three each measure only 12" x 12", they show the work of talented and sensitive hands.

They are more intimate, approachable small treasures.

Today in New Orleans, the weather was near perfect. The sky  was absolutely cloudless, the local humidity was at a record low, the temperature was just the right degree of cool which made the quality of the sunshine all the more beautiful. I received a call from Amanda. She said she was taking Phil and Don for a walk and taking pictures of the flowers which are blooming around our neighborhood. I heard her exclaim, "Pink!"

Soon after that, I received this picture in my e mail showing how inspired Amanda was by this glorious day. How lucky we are that she decided to share her work in progress!

Awhile later, this photo arrived! Look what an exquisite day in New Orleans has inspired this very amazing artist to create!

Thank you, Amanda, for sharing your beautiful work with us!

Amanda can be reached through her website, www.amandatalley.com or at her studio on the corner of First and Magazine Streets.