Annie Elliott Design
Greater Washington DC
When I ordered several of West Elm's lacquer trays for myself in addition to recommending them to clients, I knew it was time to spread the word.
These trays rock.
Useful, versatile, inexpensive, attractive, varied (they come in 3 sizes)...these trays are a decorator's dream....
Dear Annie,
We moved from our first house in Nashville after it flooded in May into an amazing 100-year old bungalow in a historic neighborhood.
The last thing on my immediate design list is paint color for the living room. I am leaning toward a grayish blue to pick up on the blues in the LR rug and the gray in the throw pillows....
Some lovely clients of mine had the sweetest, tidiest house. But there was no front hall; you walked directly into a tiny area that the clients charmingly used for playing games.
I'm sorry I don't have a "before" picture, but the poor little space needed help. The chairs were mismatched, and the corner fireplace - excellent, functional - made the room a challenging shape....
With all the Restoration Hardware bashing I've been doing recently, I'm feeling the need to be a bit, how shall I say?, nice.
So I opened my new Pottery Barn catalog determined to find something nice to say.
And guess what? It wasn't that hard!
In addition to a few items that weren't bad, such as these block-print linens at right,...
Some conversations are so much fun you're glad they're being recorded.
Walla Walla Union Bulletin logoThat's how I felt talking with Jeremy Gonzalez and Sheila Hagar on their gem of an audio series, "Almost Your Mother."...
They call the series, "Almost Your Mother" because Sheila has a son named Jeremy (but not this Jeremy), and Jeremy's mother's name is Sheila (but not this Sheila)....
Sigh. I debated, Gentle Readers. I debated whether to violate my "say mostly nice things" policy and write this letter to Restoration Hardware. Ultimately, I decided that in the same spirit I provided Pottery Barn and Target with some, ah, constructive criticism in the past, so too might Restoration Hardware benefit from a friendly chat. I mean, wouldn't you want to know what people were saying behind your back?
Dear Restoration Hardware,
I am a former fan who is worried about you....
Me, shuffling through the mail: Holy crap.
Uncle Jimmy, my brother, in-house bass player, painter, and handymanny: What?
A: The Restoration Hardware catalog.
UJ: What about it?
A: Look at the cover....