thanks to all who left comments on my blog this week! i put everyone's names into a hat (literally. a hat.) and we have a winner...

the fabulous and ever-sophisticated miss whitney sturdy.

whitney, you are hereby obligated to throw a fabulous soiree so that i can create some fun invites for you :)

as for the rest of you, dear readers, i'll have some more sophisticating for you this week!

...happy sophisticating...

sneak peak + a freebie!

i have been busily working with my dear friend carrie paschall to plan an intimate 40th birthday celebration for her husband, danny. danny is an admirer of all things autumnal--the weather, the colors, the food, you name it. naturally this has inspired our theme for the party!


i will post a full event gallery of the party at a later time, but in the meantime i wanted to show you the invitations i designed. we took inspiration from one of danny's favorite artists, charlie harper. as you can see, i mounted a charlie harper print on a chocolate brown notecard.



i then printed the invitation copy on a piece of vellum and laid it over the print so all of the beautiful fall colors could show through. then i folded over the notecard at the top, punched a hole in each corner and threaded rustic twine through the holes to attach a twig to the top of the card. done! rustic sophistication and a "sign of things to come" for the guests at the party. what do you think?


...here's the fun part...
for the next week, if you leave a comment on this blog, i will enter you into a drawing to receive a custom invitation design! so if you have a birthday party or a holiday gathering coming up, i will design and assemble up to 25 very sophisticated invitations for free... you'll just pay for materials!
the drawing will take place next sunday, october 25 at 8:00 p.m.

hope you have a great week and, of course
...happy sophisticating...

design obsession: one room, multiple seating areas

hello faithful readers...or should i call you dreamers, since you would have had to dream up posts on my blog lately? i have been m.i.a. my apologies. however i have an excuse! LOTS of events and fun projects that i'll be featuring ever-so-shortly.

in the meantime, consider this my ode to living spaces. in the last 20 years, we have seen the rise of the "great room." these often massive spaces are meant for living, dining, lounging, cooking...everything! all in one room! don't get me wrong, i love an open floor plan as much as the next girl--but really unless you have a weekly book club with, like, 90 people, you will rarely need one gigantic seating area.

my sophisticated suggestion? carve up the space. floating sofas with a sofa table behind them. area rugs. small game tables. my personal favorite? back-to-back sofas. matching, or not. either way they are an uber-chic way to create delightful seating groupings that are a bit more attainable and inviting.

take inspiration from these photos. just looking at them you can tell exactly how the designer intended the space to be used. you can just picture 3 or 4 ladies chatting in one area, a gentleman reading in the corner, an older sister playing a game with her younger siblings at the table...so fabulous! these tips can help you acknowledge the large space, while maintaining a cozy atmosphere.

...happy sophisticating...


the front half of the "great room" in this incredible brooklyn townhouse is broken up into lovely areas--an oh-so-chic table and chairs for chess or afternoon tea or homework. this area is separated from the seating area in the front of the room by the beautiful fireplace. if you were standing at the front window facing the table and chairs, you would see our next photo.


this is in the same room as the previous photo! brilliant, no! i love how distinct these areas are, but how the luxe fabrics and lively colors tie the entire space together. i love the "separate togetherness" of the space.


i love the use of back-to-back sofas here. it's a chic way to give equal attention to the fabulous fireplace and the "indoor/outdoor" nature of the room. best of both worlds!
september 2008.


again with the back-to-back sofas. this time, separated by one sofa table. so brilliant!
june 2007.


an interesting twist--this room is especially versatile. it could be used as an expansive space, or could function as multiple seating areas. the sectional in the corner is a brilliant way to take advantage of space that could have gone wasted. the room is still open and spacious, but still contained.
june 2009.



love the breakdown of this space. the more formal seating area is separated by a floating sofa and modern sofa table. the area behind has a much more "loungy" feel. this furniture is low profile, so it maintains the airiness, but provides lots of options.
july 2009.


from this one angle, you can count 3 seating areas! the stools are a brilliant touch because they create three distinct seating areas but could be used in multiple directions and they allow the eye to float across the room without obstruction, adding to the loftiness of the room.
july 2009.


you can just imagine people in this room. comfortable. cozy. spacious. brilliant.
january 2008.

again with the back-to-back sofas! this time, the gigantic area adds further definition to BOTH seating groupings. a very nice touch!


in this grouping we have multiple back-to-back sofas that almost give the appearance of being single pieces of furniture. the muted color palatte combined with subtle florals add interest to the room without getting too busy.

all photos compliments of house beautiful.