Happy Labor Day everyone! I have spent my holiday weekend updating pieces for Dwell With Dignity’s latest venture, Thrift Studio.  This pop up studio will only last for 30 days and will pop up around Dallas twice a year.  Lisa and Kim have asked five local designers  to set up and design vignettes for the launch of Thrift Studio later this month.  The  launch and first Thrift Studio will be located in the Dallas Design District, I promise to share the details once they are released. Along with all of our vignettes, there will be fabulous pieces from local showrooms and designers.  So grab your checkbook, credit card or cash and get ready to snag tons of deals and benefit DWD at the same time.

Last week we all met up at the DWD warehouse to select the items we wanted to use in our vignettes.  We all scoured the warehouse and picked through furniture, accessories and draperies that have all been donated to DWD.  Pieces from Global Views, The Curtain Exchange and Shine Home made their way to our “piles” by the end of the selection process.  I can not wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Emily Johnson pulling her fabrics together for her vignette.

Now that I have my selections made,  the work to complete my vignette is on.  I snagged two fabulous yellow channel back chairs that are the starting point for my final look! They are in rough shape but nothing a little love and wood glue can’t fix. My mom has been over the past few days helping me repair the chairs, remove the damaged fabric pieces and giving them a fresh new look.

Now for a sneak peek of the pieces I have pulled for the vignette and the progress we have made on the yellow chairs. I have decided to go with a black and yellow color palette for the small space.  Stay tuned, I will show you more peeks of the final look and give you the details of the yellow chair update!

Part of my pile in the DWD warehouse

This beautiful cabinet and large desk will be refinished by Nicole Cullum by Modern Relics. Nicole has graciously offered to paint one piece for each of the designers! Her before and after section on her site is awesome.

Painting, sewing and high glossing have been the majority of my holiday weekend. I woke up this morning a bit sore but it is amazing how a few DIY projects and help you wind down from the daily grind. Here are a few pictures of the pieces I have been updating for the vignette. I can’t wait to show off more details on the yellow chairs, they are GORG!!

Today I wanted to share a Law Office lobby that was recently finalized.  My client had the challenge of mixing existing traditional pieces like Persian rugs and antique furniture with his collection of contemporary art.  He wanted to space to have a modern twist but not so modern that the lobby wouldn’t appeal to his more traditional partners in the firm.   I am very pleased with the final look in this lobby!  Since there are no windows, the space needed to be brightened up a bit. The building standard wallcovering was a neutral cream so at least we were on the right path…

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

I instantly fell in love with the scale of this sofa once it was in the room. We had the sofa made custom to fit the space and gave the back and sides heavy tufting for a traditional feel to balance out the clean lines of the piece.  I selected a  heavy weight ivory upholstery grade linen and decided not to have back cushions.

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

This Sunray wood cocktail table brought in the traditional look with wood while the shape and sunray top added to the modern side of the style formula. The heavily textured dark base grounds the table in the center of the seating arrangement and visually creates a more welcoming area.

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

The accent chairs are stunning in this teal chenille fabric. We too a classic wingback shape and gave it a simple yet modern look with simple legs in a dark espresso stain. The pop of color works well with the art pieces and the Persian rug.  We also had the accent chairs custom made to fit the scale of the room. I didn’t want the backs of the chairs to be so high that the room felt to formal.

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

My favorite detail in the lobby are these Cadiz lamps from Bungalow 5!  The hexagon pattern and black lacquer base are absolutely stunning.  Since the rug had so much going on with color and pattern, I didn’t want the space to look like everything matched by using solid color lamps. I actually tried a teal, red and orangey lamp in the room but they clashed  with the Deco Side tables and just didn’t fit in. These lamps have the graphic pattern I love, simple neutral color scheme and look so sophisticated in the room.

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

Image Via: Melanie Johnson Photography

I wanted to share a few behind the scenes images from a recent photo shoot with Melanie Johnson.  You always end up seeing a few of the crummy before images along with the ahhhmazing final product that Melanie always creates. I have worked with Melanie for over two years now and it’s funny how we discuss my wish list, check a few test shots and then she just makes the magic happen.

This latest project is the lobby of a Dallas law firm that I started working on last summer. One of the partners had bright contemporary art pieces and a few rugs from his private collection that he wanted to use in the new space.  He knew he wanted more of a modern clean look but also wanted to appeal the more traditional side of the other partners in the firm.  Gorgeous antiques, warm hardwood floors and beige walls were the starting point. I can’t wait to share the final images.  If you want to see the process of the custom furniture…take a look HERE.

For now, enjoy these pics I snapped at the shoot and I promise to share the details soon.

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Last week we put the entire Shop on sale for “We are feeling the love Valentine’s Day sale” and added THREE $100 gift certificates to our facebook, twitter and blog followers.  So we asked, “what would you do with a $100 gift certificate to Shop Ten 25?” as a way to enter. Today we have our THREE winners and you going to love what they picked from Shop Ten 25. THANK YOU to everyone who left comments, our rugs and pillows were the top pics!

The three winners were selected at random…

Peacock Rug |  L O V E Pillow | Gold Bamboo Mirror

Octagonal Mirror | Bargello Rug | Radford Table Lamp

Black & White Moroccan Rug | Katana Jade Pillow | Gothic Yellow Pillow

I have been wrapping  up 2010 in The Shop and am preparing  for many new and fabulous pieces in 2011. I though it would be fun to share the TOP 10 pieces in the shop from this past year!   SHOP TEN 25 officially opened in  April 201o as a small online boutique with no more than 200 pieces. We were so blessed and overwhelmed by everyone’s support that we just had to expand! In October 2010 we launched a much bigger, fancier Shop and loaded it with over 1000 gorgeous pieces!

One of my favorite features at The Shop is the GALLERY. It’s a great place to see the pieces from the shop in a real life application.

Take a look at the top 10 selling items from The Shop from 2010! And because you loved them SO MUCH, they are all 20% through Friday January 7th..WHOO HOO!

Stairway to Heaven Print | Barbara Barry Luxe Organizers |  You Are My Sunshine Print | Turquoise China Horse | Rome Gold Rug |  Wood Starburst Mirror | Peabody Mirrored Console | Hyperion Black & White Rug | Faux Malachite Boxes | Brown Zig Zag Pillow

The Holiday House is set up to offer buyers an inspiring visual experience and a chance to see a wide range of furniture, decorative accessories, and holiday decor from the showrooms.  The  4,200-sq.-ft., eight-room “home” was furnished and decorated for the holidays and was presented during the Dallas Total Home & Gift Market this past June 23-29, 2010. The home featured products from showrooms throughout The Dallas Market Center  and was  located in The Grand Pavilion at the Trade Mart. Christmas displays were the main accessory in the Home for the Holidays exhibit.

All Images: Melanie Johnson Photography / Thank you Melanie for being such a dear friend and making Studio Ten 25′s images so beautiful!

I was honored to be invited to design the dining room for the house!  I was paired with Terry Fry from The Jim Marvin Collection to complete the space with Christmas decorations! I wanted the room to look like a chic dining room with a lounge where glamourous Hollywood movie stars would chat over dinner and  sip cocktails afterwards!

Once I had the drawing of the room,  the paint color (selected for each room) and my contact for the Christmas Decorations, I was ready to go!  I’m a planner so I had my “ideal” floor plan and Glamorous Chic color palette in tow as I  walked around begging vendors in the trade center to let me borrow their pieces!  Most showrooms needed their furniture to be on display in their showroom during market so  it was a challenge.   I ended up getting all of the furniture I wanted and am so happy with the end result!

I made a design board to help me coordinate all of the pieces that I had my eye on. The Twig Accent Table that I wanted to use was not available at the time, but I was able to find something that worked just as well.

Terry from Jim Marvin Collection pulled the green and aubergine color scheme with silver and white accents. Since I was going with a classic black and white palette it was easy to use metallics and pops of green to bring it all together. I loved that he let me help him put the decorations up too, I’m sure I was in the way but made a great assistant!

The first piece that I found for the room was the oversized white leather sofa from P.A. Turner.  They had this piece in their showroom and I even had a client look at it for his dining area.  I have had my eye on it for a while and it was the perfect piece for this large open space.  I love the curve of the arms too and the square wreath was the perfect size to compliment the large pieces.

Terry started with a glitter structure to create the wreath’s shape. He then added evergreen swags to create the base and background of the piece. Metallic leaves, ornaments and orchid stems were then mixed in the evergreen. I love that he used the pheasant feathers and dark aubergine accents to complete the look!

I borrowed the faux fur pillows from P.A. Turner and added these Citronelle Square Pillows from Global Views.  Since the white leather sofa was so slick, the different textures and pop of color from the pillows looked perfect with the Christmas pieces.

In order to complete the “lounge” area of the dining room, I needed more seating and accessories.  I found these gorgeous black and white large patterned chairs at Design Directions and was so lucky to snag them! They bring that Old Hollywood style to the lounge area and the shape is just beautiful and classic.  The two  Spindle Accent Tables finish off the lounge area and the mirrored tops are another touch of glam that I love!

And what glamourous lounge area would be complete without fabulous lighting?  I absolutely LOVE this C Chandelier from Global Views! I almost fell over when they said yes…and again when the huge pile of boxes showed up!  The sweet girls from the Trade Mart along with my mother spent over 4 hours helping me install the pieces on each side of the sofa. They were perfect!

Check back tomorrow for {Part Two} of the Home For The Holidays Dining Room.  The dining area and sparkly Christmas trees make up the second half of the space. I have so many great images that they deserved their own post!!  Happy Christmas Eve Eve!!!

I am happy to announce the launch of SHOP TEN 25, our new online boutique.  The shop has been stocked with glamourous furniture, rugs, pillows and tons of gorgeous accessories!   A BIG THANK YOU to Successful Online Stores for creating our beautiful Shop!

We are continuing to add new pillows, lamps and rugs over the next few weeks so keep checking in for items from Thomas Paul, Square Feathers and Lazy Susan!!!

We are also excited to offer pieces from artist like Chris Judy!  Chris is an amazing contemporary artist based in Dallas and I am so excited to offer some of his limited edition prints!

We will be sending out monthly specials, updates and giveaways so sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest!

**We will also be adding to our “Gallery”  that will feature Shop Ten 25 products in their new home, yours!**

I’m going to be taking a break from the blog today. We are busy little bees around here preparing for the new Shop Ten 25! Our online store, Shop Ten 25 has been undergoing a huge make over and we are putting the final touches on. I can’t stop singing this song…I love Huey Lewis and the News!  Looks like Itunes just had a run on Huey Lewis and the News downloads..by me!

Here are a few of the new pieces that you will find in the shop! I promise to post full details once we go live next Monday!

I am so excited to show off all of the glitz & glamour that will be Shop Ten 25.  The store is being stocked with furniture, pillows, rugs and unique art and sculptures! Take a look at some of our favorites! We are expanding from 250 items in our shop to 1000 plus! My favorite addition will be the seasonal pieces this year. Chic Christmas stockings, pillows and tree skirts!

Arteriors Home

Arteriors Home

Global Views

Global Views

Cyan Design

Cyan Design

Emissary USA

Emissary USA

The Rug Market

The Rug Market

Trina Turk

Trina Turk

Chris Judy Art Limited Edition Prints

Chris Judy Art Limited Edition Prints

Square Feathers

Square Feathers

Barbara Cosgrove

Barbara Cosgrove

World’s Away

World’s Away

Seasonal Christmas Pieces

I have been tied up with project details, meetings and keeping up with my husband’s crazy travel schedule and about to fall over! A little retail therapy always perks me up so I was thinking about my dining/sitting area and how it really needs to be completed.

If  you need a little retail therapy…check out our online store, Shop Ten 25!

Here are a few of the pieces that I have had my eye on and there is a very good chance that they end up in my house soon!

A Starburst mirror is always a classic touch…this one may find a new home over my entry console!

These Olivia Tables from World’s Away would be perfect next to the new tufted back sofa in the sitting room!

Or…the Wrenfeld could be a good option in white if I needed more bulk in the space.

This Aqua Glass Lamp from Arteriors Home is the perfect pop of color for the sitting area!

I have had my eye on this Trina Turk stunner for a while now!

This “ruffle” bowl from Global Views is the perfect size to keep keys and little extras from my purse!

The perfect entry table,  light and airy!

Now…I just need to convince my husband that I NEED all of this!! Wish me luck!

We were so excited to share pictures of the Global Views Artisan Media Cabinet from Keli’s home in Louisiana. They wanted something modern and unique to store their movies, electronic pieces and something that would work with their large flat screen.

At 70.5″ long, this piece was perfect and looks fabulous in their living room. I love your sofa fabric too!Thank you for sharing Keli!!