global tropics in 2013...

Happy New Year!  I have a feeling that 2013 is going to be a good one.  Our son starts his first day of Kindergarten at the end of January (the school year is flipped in Australia) and we have a couple fun vaca plans in the works.

To kick off 2013 I thought I'd share my latest design board with you all.  This board was actually a request from my husband.  He said that he wants our future Hawaiian home to have the same vibe as the Ralph Lauren store in Honolulu.  Since he and I have always admired the design of that store and it pretty much parallels our own personal design aesthetic, I was all over that request!

So here is my latest design board, inspired by the exotic, tropical, global interior of the Hawaii RL store...

the RL store has seagrass flooring, white painted built-ins, tons of moldings, grasscloth walls, blue and white Asian vases, and large arrangements of potted orchids. It really is a beautiful store. Perfect design inspiration for a Hawaiian home.

It's really similar to all the design boards I've ever done for our house, but like I mentioned before, it's basically the style we love, just a bit more defined and pulled together.  Fingers crossed, I'll be able to begin implementing this design in about eighteen months.  Something to work toward in 2013!

Global Cuisine...

I chose to design this dining space around our existing dining table and four dining chairs (similar to the ones featured).  The room needed to reflect our global sensibility, but with a quirky and fun edge...cue the hand chairs and the neon.

It's always been my intention to add end chairs to the table, but I've never been able to choose.  However, I'm happy to announce that, as of now, the choice has been made.  I'm sure the carved wood hand chairs aren't to everyones taste, but I love them and they're a huge hit with our five year old.

There's also a couple fun DIY projects I'd like to attempt, such as making similar light fixtures, adding some dry brushed paint to our existing table (like the one featured) and painting the collection of rice baskets like these from Martha Stewart Living...


 

 



Yep, I think I'll be able to throw some super fun dinner parties in this room!