FROM THE RIGHT BANK

FTRB In Nesting Newbies

Ally — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:00:32 +0000

The new issue of Nesting Newbies is out and I’m very pleased to be one of the contributors, along with a number of bloggers whom you and I love.

I was asked to plan an itinerary for a perfect trip. Do they know me or what?

Click on the image for a larger version and be sure to check out the rest of the issue for lots of cooking, entertaining and decorating ideas. A big thank you to the editors!

It’s a long weekend here in the States so I’ll see you all back here on Tuesday. Hope your weekend is a fun one!

Find FTRB on Facebook & Twitter.

©2010 FROM THE RIGHT BANK. All Rights Reserved. If this post is published anywhere other than www.fromtherightbank.com, it is without permission and in violation of copyright laws.

Secrets from a Stylist Has Spawned My New Obsession

Ally — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:00:46 +0000

By now you’ve all heard that Emily Henderson won HGTV’s Design Star and now has a show called Secrets from a Stylist. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved the first episode. I think she is adorable, I love her style and it’s the freshest program I’ve seen on HGTV in a long time.

There have already been a lot of reviews so I’ll leave it at that but the reason I’m bringing it up is that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these lanterns:

I actually gasped when she approached these.

She removed the white fabric and painted the black part white like so:

but I actually would like one as is. I’ve seen a lot of imported lanterns in my day but I’ve never seen one as gorgeous as these! The black and white is perfect! I am obsessed!!! I want. I need. I must have. (Emily: I saw that you walked out of there with two but I only see one being used in the house so if you have a spare . . .)

Has anyone seen these in the Atlanta area? Or anywhere driving distance from Atlanta? Or how about some good import stores in the area that I can look into? Help me, please, someone . . .

(Photos: 1&2.HGTV 3&4.Clipped by me from HGTV.com after painfully sitting through a million commercials to fast forward to the right part. 5.the Brass Petal)

Lars Bolander’s Scandinavian Design

Ally — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:00:09 +0000

Given my penchant for Scandinavian style you can imagine how happy I was to receive a copy of Lars Bolander’s Scandinavian Design by Heather Smith MacIsaac which is being released today. (Yes, today!)

Lars Bolander is a leading Swedish interior designer who has designed homes all around the world. In Scandinavian Design, he shares his expertise and experience, showing us how to incorporate and mix Scandinavian elements to create the Scandinavian look in our own homes.

The book starts with architecture, then moves into interiors, room by room, highlighting furniture and accessories.

All of the homes featured in the book are beautiful in their individual way while sharing the very Scandinavian traits of being unfussy, well-proportioned, light-filled and tranquil.

Scandinavian Design is definitely another one you’ll want to add to your library and as I said, it’s being released today. Click here to read more and to see ordering options.

Even More Window Seats

Ally — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:04 +0000

It’s no secret that I love window seats. My files are bursting with them so I think it’s a good time for another roundup.

These are all very different but I love the feeling of all of them. I need to get working on one for this house!

(Photos: 1.via Living Arts 2.via Belle Maison 3.S.R. Gambrel 4.via All You Need Is Vintage 5.via Desire to Inspire 6.via Being Ruby 7.Alvhem)

Bright Basement Inspiration

Ally — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:00:29 +0000

At the rate I’m going, it will be a while before I get to the basement but I do have a general idea of what I want to do with it. Here are some inspiration pictures of what I have in mind.

We’re lucky to have a walk-out basement so there is natural light.

I want to keep it as light and airy as possible like these rooms with a white and neutral palette and plenty of natural elements like wood and sisal.

For those of you who have basements, what do you use it for?

(Photos: 1.House Beautiful 2.via Down & Out Chic 3&4.Skona Hem)

Al Fresco? I Don’t Think So.

Ally — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:00:52 +0000

Each summer, everyone talks about how lovely it is to dine out doors. Pretty tabletops, fresh food, lingering as the sun sets . . .

Yeah, right. This might be your reality but in Atlanta, it’s like 500 degrees everyday so I’m not going outside for anything, much less eating – even if he’s cooking:

That’s how bad it is here, people . . .

. . . because you all know how I feel about him. Have you done a lot of al fresco dining this summer?

And speaking of summer, if you’d like to see some of my favorite summer items, please head over to the Zhush where I was a part of Sue’s “Summer Style Secrets” series earlier this week.

Hope you have a fun and not sweltering weekend!

(Photos: Ditte Isager)

Travelogue: Geoje & Seoul

Ally — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:00:24 +0000

I had planned on taking a lot of photographs on my trip to Geoje but a typhoon had passed through just before my arrival and it looked like this for much of my stay:

Wet, gray and foggy – not great for photography but the scenery was pretty stunning nonetheless.

As I mentioned, I went to visit a charity, which is a school and home for mentally and physically disabled children. Seeing the work they do and meeting all the amazing people who work there there was completely inspiring.

After the school visit, I had just enough time for a stopover in Seoul for some power shopping and a quick visit here:

The gate leads to the royal palace and dates back to the 14th century. The original was destroyed during the Japanese occupation and after years of re-construction, it was just re-opened on August 15, Korea’s Independence Day.

And my favorite pic from the trip is this one from a Buddhist monastery:

I uploaded a few more photos to my Flickr account if you’d like to see more.

Happy Traveling Thursday and bon voyage!

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

Wallpaper for the Dressing Room

Ally — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:15:43 +0000

I have fantasized about having a dressing room forever and in the new house I got my wish. It’s not nearly as grand as Aerin Lauder’s (above) but I’m thrilled to finally have one. There’s one blank wall in there that I’ve been wanting to wallpaper but thus far, I hadn’t been able to decide on one.

Well, the other day I was unpacking some more boxes (yes, I’m still unpacking) and I came across these papers that I had forgotten I had:

The story on these is that about a year or so ago, I was at the local Lowe’s in Seattle and saw that they were clearing out a bunch of their wallpaper. I had no need for any of it but they were practically giving it away so I grabbed the ones that I thought I might use some day.

I think this blue/taupe floral and scroll pattern one is perfect for the dressing room. And to think I didn’t even have to leave the house for it! Sometimes, it pays to be a hoarder. I plan on tackling this project in the next week or two so stay tuned!