Decorating for the Holidays

I think by now everyone has done their decorating or wrapping up.  I am not a huge decorator in the holidays.  My husband always tells me that our kids will ask for lots of santas and lights and we will tell them "no honey im sorry we dont do that".  I really  like my home to look festive but comforting and still inviting.  So these are some of my favorite photos this year.

                                                                      Veranda Magazine

                                                                         Veranda Magazine

                                                    I LOVE this picture.  Can I go to this party?

                                           Cottage Living  - Oh I miss this magazine, please come back!

 I think this is my favorite picture from the season.  It is from one of my new favorite blogs,     http://ariannabelle.blogspot.com/

Happy Holidays!
Nancy

Man Zone

Ryan and I often dream of our to be homes.  We sit and talk about all the things we would want to do.  Everytime he throws in the "Man Zone Room" to the mix.  I totally understand wanting a space but I think I like the idea of a man zone as much as he does.  So of course I tell him I also want one, ha.  So here are a couple of pictures that I think would be cool for a man's room.

                                          I think every man's room needs to have a fireplace.

What would your man or woman zone look like?   Its something fun to think about on a cold day like this!

Thanksgiving Table

I am sorry I have been lacking in the blog department but we had Ryans parents in town for Thanksgiving which was such a blast, then we had the Holiday Party at the store.

I did want to share some pictures of our Thanksgiving table on the porch.  The weather was amazing that day.
We are very thankful to have one last time before the really cold weather came in to enjoy the porch.

Have a great Wednesday and stay warm!

Holiday Party Today at Scout!

Come by and get in the holiday spirit from 4-7! Enjoy some wine and appetizers while shopping.
We are giving 20% off! (everything except jewelry, art and sale items)

Hope to see you today!
Nancy

100 of Atlanta Homes Favorite Rooms

Today we are so excited because Atlanta Homes came out with their favorite 100 rooms over the last 10 years.  We are so pleased because we had our hands in 3 of the rooms! (66,86, &100)  There are so many beautiful rooms and talented designers.  It truly is a great group of people!

Check out our rooms!

Lake Keowee House Beth Webb and I did for Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles 2008 Designer Showhouse

 

 When we were we a part of Summerour Interiors we helped Decorate Keith's amazing Tower

     Christmas Showhouse, Beth Webb and I again teamed up to design this Chocolate inspired room.

Very exciting to be included with this talented bunch of Designers.  Congrats Everyone!

Mountain Home

Today it is rainy and overcast in Atlanta, as was yesterday.  So when I opened the House Beautiful for November I started drooling over the Mountain home that Stan Dixon and Kathleen Rivers designed.

The symmetry is a really cool aspect of this room.  I have a love for things symmetrical.  I also like door openings above with the wooden railing are so rustic right next to the crisp white planked walls.

I could totally hang out in the dining room eating that cheese and drinking that wine tonight!

The room has such a wonderful feeling.

This is the coolest idea.  Turning a little nook into a guest bedroom.  It is perfect for a mountain house.

The planked walls make it feel warm and a great contrast with the chocolate brown drapery.  Great way to close off the room.

Last but not least the screened porch. My favorite place to be in the fall. 

Congrats to both Designers, they did a great job!

The New Traditional

I just bought the book by Darryl Carter "The New Traditional".  I cant believe I have gone so long in
my design life without it.  But I began to think what does "The New Traditional".  Everyone I am sure has
their own opinions and design ideas about what it means.  I think one major theme is having textured/old items mixed with new items.  It is the balance of modern and traditional, which I call transitional.  I wanted to share some of the textured items I love.  I really love a space that you can feel it has been lived in.

For example, this kitchen it is a place of gathering.  The subway tile adds a clean lined nature to the space but in contrast to the old kitchen island with the dog pillows piled underneath makes the space feel inviting.  

I adore the stacked wood on the left.  It adds that rustic/warm nature to a clean lined living room.

This is one of my most favorite pictures.  I love the modern light with all this very rustic wood against a white background.  I love everything in this picture.  Do you?

Happy Friday! 

Martha Stewart's Kitchen

I always knew that I loved Martha Stewart.  She has had some rough patches but no one can deny the womancan design a beautiful kitchen.  When I saw her kitchen, once again, in her magazine I had to share with you all.

I love the wall color.  Image from Martha Stewart Living.

Two islands, if you can fit them, it's such a neat idea.  Love the white marble.  These floors are to die for! She says that they are reclaimed pavers from her garden.  They almost look like wood.  

More great shots of her very organized storage. 

I love the profile cut in the sidesplash of the marble.  Great hardware on the shelving also.

Does everyone else love this kitchen?  Happy Tuesday!

Beacham Interview

Check out my interview with Blayne Beacham from Beacham and Company.  Thanks again Blayne!
http://networkedblogs.com/9NbxV
here is the interview....Have a great Halloween!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

An Interview with Nancy Duffey

Nancy Duffey of Scout for the Home won our ad space competition for this issue of

We think her ad looked beautiful, don't you?



I wanted to ask Nancy a few questions about her background, and she was so great to answer. I loved learning more about her story.

So... here we go :)


Blayne: How long have you been interested in Interior Design? Were you one of those kids who always moved the furniture around in their rooms, or did your interest come later?

Nancy: I have been interested in Design my whole life. I can remember in 5 grade getting to design my own room for the first time. Of course I choose a Laura Ashley bedding set which I can still visualize. I would often change around the furniture arrangement of my room. I think its something about being ADD, ha. My mom is just like me, always moving furniture around, so I grew up with someone that loved her home and her things and wanted them to be fresh and look beautiful. Also my godmother was a huge influence, Carolyn Malone. She would let me work for her some summers and that was probably my first start. I would say that was late high school into college though.

B: What did you major in? How has it impacted your career?

N: Unfortunately when I decided to go to Ole Miss they had just taken away the Interior Design major. I wanted to go there so bad so I went into Art History major instead. I think it was a great thing for me but I do miss some of the things that I would have gained from majoring in Interior Design. I think I got to choose what my taste was and find myself in design. I of course love art and got to experience so many different periods while in my major. Its interesting to go to college and none of your friends are taking the same major. Most of my friends were in business so I would always be off to these random buildings for hours at a time. I think I gained some confidence there because I didn't have anyone to lean on.

B: What was your first job out of college?

N: Ha, my first job was an internship with Dan Carithers. Not unlike a lot of my other girlfriends here. I went from there to helping Susan Bozeman a little bit then I landed a job with Keith. It was a new start up interior design firm and it was very exciting at that time.



B. Why did you decide to open Scout for the Home?



N. I thought about opening Scout about 1 1/2 before I actually did. It was a real leap for me. I always knew I would love my own interior design firm but I began to think how hard it would be to just start. So of course this is no original idea but I decided that if I had a store then it would kind of round out my firm. I was also engaged to Ryan whom also worked at Keith's office and thought it would be nice to have separate jobs before we came back together at some point in our careers.



B: How did you decide on the name "Scout For The Home?"

N: I struggled with names a lot. Then someone said "why don't you name it Scout". I was like well that is perfect but it has to have something else right. So my mom came up with the "For the Home". My dog is named Scout. She is named after my favorite book "To Kill a Mockingbird". I liked the play on words. It's not original as I have come to find out but it makes me happy.

B: I know you recently renovated your own home. How did that go? Are you pleased with the renovation?



N: I LOVE our home. My husband worked so hard on that renovation. He did such a good job.

This is the house before it was renovated.


We really transformed the whole front of the house.

I have lived there for 5 years now and renovated twice, so I think this is the last time for that at this location, ha.
I will say we added a fireplace and screened porch and those are my two favorite things.

B: How did you go about designing your own home? Was it different that designing for a client? How?

N: Well that process is definitely not over. I have a very hard time doing my own home because I see new cool things all the time so I change my mind constantly. I am just not like that with clients, ha. Now my house is very neutral white, flax, brown, and grays. The downstairs is all one room so it has to flow well. I love the palette because it is so calming.

B: What are your plans for the future?
N: That’s an interesting question right now. As me in 6 months, ha. We are planning to live in our home for another 4 or 5 years then I am sure we will move and redo another house. I can see in our lifetime having many moves. Both Ryan and I love to redo and change so that makes for an interesting set of homes. I think that I will expand the store at some point, but never huge. I would just like a little more space. I love designing and have some fabulous clients right now so hopefully I will be lucky enough to keep doing that. This has been a very interesting first year but so much fun and worth every second. I love what I do so hopefully I will be able to continue it!


Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions Nancy! I have loved getting to work with you through this whole ad competition. I love your store and everything you plan to do! I can't wait to see all you do.

To Learn more about Nancy please check out her website and her blog.

Thanks everyone for reading! COme back tomorrow to learn about the two FANTASTIC sales that have happened at Beacham & Company in the past week!!

Interior Designer vs Decorator

One of my new favorite blogs, yes I am slow on the blog uptake, is Haven & Home.  I went to college with Marianne and was so pleased to find out that she has a fabulous blog that is quiet popular.  She is also a very talented Designer/Decorator.  The other day I was reading her blog and I came across the debate of Designer vs Decorator.  I have always been very interested in this topic because I went to Ole Miss and studied Art History so I do not have an Interior Design Degree, although I always knew that I wanted to design. I have worked for so many talented Decorators that have not have Design degrees, that always told me "You either have it or you dont".  I definitely wish I could do some of the things learned in Design school (im sure my husband would be happy if i knew some of those things as well, especially CAD). So this debate hits home for me. Please dont think I am saying anything against Design school, everyone is very talented that has gone through it and I respect them so much.  I just think it is an interesting debate.  Check out her blog and let me know what you think!
  http://havenandhome.blogspot.com/2010/10/milestone-and-great-debate.html

Porch Weather is Here

I just love this time of year.  Its time to open the doors and the windows and let the outside in!
Here are some pictures to inspire you. Enjoy the weekend!

These are custom made swings designed by us with Pierce Martin for the Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles 2008 Designer Showhouse.  This is one of my favorite porches of all time.

These images thanks to Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. 

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.  Im off to see Ole Miss play Alabama, 

hope the Rebels can pull off a win. 

Nancy

Thanks Beacham!

I wanted to give a huge thanks to Blayne and the Beacham Team for a great party
last week and the wonderful Ad they did for me.  If you dont remember,
Scout for the Home won the Beacham contest for the free ad space.
Last week they had a party for their new magazine and unveiled the new ad.

Front Cover:

Then here is our ad!

Thanks again!

Linens and things

 

 

 

 

We love Matteo Linens!!!  When we saw their store front in Los Angeles we had to share it with you.  The showroom is as organic as the linens themselves.

Matteo is a complete bedding line, quilts, duvet covers and the softest sheets you will ever feel.

The colors are natural and soft, earth, plum sage, cloud just to name a few.

In addition to this 100% garment washed linen, Matteo produces a second line called d.u.e. which stands for "design under experiment".  This line, made with 100% garment washed cotton, is more affordable and has a younger look.  

Nap European shams in ash,  from d.u.e./Matteo

Also, be sure to see the throws and blankets we have in stock.  Some are made with alpaca and others with Lambswool, but they all add a pop of color to any room.

 Come in and see what's new!!!