Let Winter Melt to Reveal Your Girlie Girl

Yes, every girl loves the layers of winter, but I can't wait for the snows to melt! I want to feel that fresh, feminine, and sweet. Nothing beats that transition to spring with a long soak to defrost from the cold. I love this fresh steel claw bathtub with the colorful tile photographed by Kathryn Russell {No. 1}. Of course, a lovely chandelier of frills, girlie color, and smart recycled materials can add drama no matter what season {No. 2}. These special chandeliers made by Magpie were snatched by the buyer, Keith Johnson of Anthropologie, and ended up in one of the Obama children's room! Very Girlie Girl! 

{Keith Shopping image via DomestiKated Life}

Time to shimmer with Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Shimmer Dust.  Shimmer is the perfect touch for the girlie girl look. I always throw a hint of shimmer to my neck and shoulders. It's just so alluring! Sexy lingerie always helps too!

{Satin is ultimate Girlie Girl image via Victoria's Secret}

Need more ideas? New York Fashion Week 2010 is loaded with new inspirations for the girlie girl. Try something frilly and over the top, something eye catching, and head turning by Marchesa {No. 4}. The label is named aftered a socialite which makes sense as you wander their collection-so goddess, so fresh, so lovely...ah..now if spring would just arrive sooner then later!

{image via everyday facts}

Get the Look: The New Tradition of Darryl Carter

{image & cool website: Get Togetha}

Darryl Carter is a lawyer turned interior decorator that has an eye for refined rustic beauty. His career launched when his Washington D.C. apartment got featured in Metropolitan Home. The phone kept ringing for him to add creative input into homes across America. He likes to mix old and new, refined and rustic, casual and formal. He just understands how to blend furnishing elements and textures, as well as how to mix old pieces with new.

Darryl Carter and friend

{image: Habitually Chic}

More of his work to inspire some of your own pairings at home........

{image & slideshow of Carter's work at Elle Decor}

He loves dogs and I love that!

{image: VT Interiors Library of Inspirational Images}

I have always loved the look of rustic furniture pieces with the glam of polished metals. In this case, I love the rustic blues with the old world glitz and gold. I also love how Carter manges to silhouette every piece in the room on a white background. It really provokes a case for not using much color. 

{image: Back Garage}

This is a peek inside Carter's D.C. townhouse. I love the stacked books tucked into the corner. As my husband and I make the move to our new loft, I have the motivation to get rid of lots of clutter. However,  I love the look of stacked books and magazines everywhere in the house. This image makes the case to bring all of it with me!

{image & awesome slideshow of Carter's DC townhouse: Elle Decor}

What a design guru! I love the painted barn door resting at the back of the room!

{image: Covetable}

Get the Look

{image: Remodelista Daily}

Step 1: Start with Neutral Walls, Floors, and Ceilings.

It seems like the first step in recreating the Carter look at home is to pick a neutral color. The above color is Winter White, which implies a coolness to the color. Several of the rooms we've seen above are cool and refreshing like iced water. Most palettes can be put into the category of warm or cool, but Carter's work is very cool (like that pun?LOL!). Remodelista Daily is a fantastic resource website to aid in the journey. Let's recap this point...Create a Neutral Background (here is an example of a Carter image for inspiration).

{image: So Haute}

Step 2: Find Unique Furniture Pieces from Auctions, Flea Markets to Thrift stores.

Can you think outside of the box? If you see a Baroque chandelier scone, would you put it next to a rustic country cabinet? That's the challenge of good decorating, finding harmony with unlikely furniture pieces and textures. 

{image: Habitually Chic}

Step 3: Learn to Edit

This step requires the intuitive ability to refine the space by looking at the ensemble and removing the pieces that don't work. I suggest that you take photographs of the space and carry them with you to lunch or when you step out for a coffee. By removing yourself from the space and looking at the photographs, you will be able to edit more keenly, like a stylist for a magazine. It works-trust me, baby! Look at how simple, but edited this last space is! 

{image by the super-sweet website: The Goods Design}

Now go and Get the Look!

Modern Girl is Set to Move into a Beautiful Loft next Month!!!

{image: This is Glamourous}

For my husband and I, it was easier buying our first home {which happens to be a two-floor loft} than it was booking tickets to California in January! I mean we literally went to Cali for a month and one week later we see the space, and have to decide if it's for us by 7:00pm the next evening. No stress, right?!  At the moment, the market in Toronto happens to be extremely impacted. Every space we looked at had between 5-9 registers bidders for units, condos, lofts, or homes. The most depressing thing when we first started out on our adventure was how small the space was for the mula! I felt like we were never going to find a space. Our first real estate jaunt, we saw 15 spaces..it was insane!

{Raw elements are part of the loft attraction. image: Building Green in Vermont}

On Monday, we saw two more totally unique loft spaces. The first loft was a traditional vintage 70's era loft and the second space was the one that we bid on and won. It is a modern loft, built within the last 10 years, it has three balconies and a patio, fireplace, lovely kitchen, and more. I will totally post pictures when I download them from my camera, but until then I had to share the joy! Here is a little drawing that I created in honor of our new move.

{I am so happy to nest! image: Pacific Citrus}