Things I am loving Thursdays....

Its my day to rant and rave about what I am loving today, and this week my list is long. Too many pretty things catching my eye. Plus with the house decisions in full swing, I am getting stimulation overload from all the visits to stores, showrooms, wallpaper stores,etc and we have not even factored in the internet and how much you can find online....so without further ado here is what I am loving this Thursday! Let me know if anything here appeals to you too or if there is something you are loving this week that you want to share!



DOG PORTRAITS.I fell in love when I spotted one of these outrageous originals at someones home. For all you dog lovers out there......let me introduce the "Dutch Touch"...the amazingly cute, whimsical, beautiful, elegant dog portraits! Inspired by the masters, artist Valerie Leonard will replace a splendid "period dog painting's face with your  Blue Boy, Skip or Bruiser (or whatever you call your beloved four legged friend)  with your dog's face! These are just too cute for words and make an amazing gift as well. Not to mention no one will have the same painting. Great gift for those dog lovers out there...............Teddy, get ready for your closeup! Visit Valerie at http://www.vldesign.biz/AnimalPortraits/

Now this guy here looks uncannily like Teddy...by golly, it could be one of his ancestors! Does this mean Teddy has royal blood running through his veins?

POLISHED NICKEL HARDWARE. Love the look of polished nickel and am using it in every single bathroom except two powder rooms. Also putting polished nickel sconces in every bathroom.  The finish is gorgeous and reminds me of a fine European hotel. Perrin and Rohl make some of my favorites faucets, all modeled after classic English/European faucet's. Just classic, simple and understated beauty.

WALLPAPER. True, I am a long ways away from having to put up wallpaper but its a great starting point in designing a room because it allows you to follow a theme/color scheme/feeling and can make other selections a lot easier. So below are some of the wallpapers I currently have samples of that I really like for various areas in the house. I love the soft pale blues/grays as you can see, but love the ones with soft gold patinas too and the chocolate brown is gorgeous as well. Any favorites? What room could you see it in?

Would be pretty in a ladies closet or dressing room or small bathroom with soft painted creamy cabinets with maybe a subtle blue glazing?

Don't know for where, just think its so pretty!

I like this potentially for my sons room, handsome and timeless

This would be drop dead gorgeous in a dining room

Soft sweet pattern...love the base color

This could be gorgeous just about anywhere..love the rich brown!

Love this for a pretty, feminine dressing area or bathroom

Gold foiled, whats not to love?

Another beautiful paper...love the pale aqua and gold..so rich!

DESIGN BOOKS. I was given this AMAZING book by a dear friend as a belated birthday gift, and I must say it has my name all over it. Have you ever been so inspired by something so beautiful that it takes your breath away and literally brings tears to your eyes....well this book did that for me. I think part of it is the sheer beauty of the French interiors which are so beautifully photographed for this book, in my eyes there is no equal for French decor. Then the other part of it, was it brought back a strong rush of wonderful memories from having just been there and very much wanting to be back. So, if you are like me and love home decor and architecture books I highly suggest you get this one, its so heavy it doubles as a free weight! Love it!

PLANTERS. I have always loved, loved loved these charming, uber elegant French planters from Provence planters. They are just spectacular looking and so authentic. What do you think? Though I would personally go for white, black or possibly green....I do love all the fun colors they are available in! Visit them at http://www.authenticprovence.com/ 

LOVE this setting with the orange trees....visual perfection!

All the pretty colors! 

Gorgeous green in this metal 19th century planter with masks

ENAMELED RANGES. Love me a European enameled range...thankfully today there are cheaper alternatives to the famed Le Cornue (and more user friendly too) If I could use a 48' range I would go with this Bertazonni, borrowing its look from its European counterpart, Le Cornue..it has the good looks, but the added feature of being user friendly and is about half the price! I also love the Ilve, wihch I am nearly positive I am going with but go back and forth betweent hat and the La Canche, an equally beautiful and well reupted range. They are all great looking and you can't go wrong, lets be honest here. I love the rich enameled colors with the brass and silver trims.....beautiful!

The Le Cornue in white

The Le Cornue in black

Here is the Italian, Ilve in a 48 inch, black with brass

And finally here is the La Canche.

LIMESTONE HOODS. I am using a limestone hood for my range. I love them, they are old world add instant warmth and authenticity to a kitchen and do add a bit of grandeur as well since they were used hundred of years ago. Here are a few examples from Francois and Co.

AMAZING HARDWARE FROM SHERLE WAGNER. Well, let me clarify...anything, anything at all from Sherle Wagner. The ultra luxe brand that was originally famous for their amazing reproduction hardware that unfortunately for me, has branched out into lighting as well. Love these bird sconces. Here are a few gorgeous faucets, a beautiful marble console and a bird sconces...that I wouldn't mind having!

MARBLE. One of the oldest materials on earth...whats not to love? Its gorgeous and looks beautiful well, just about anywhere. I have almost for sure decided that I will go with a simple subway tile, possibly beveled in Calacutta Gold to match the counter tops, I want it be very subtle and to just blend.....love how the subtle warm and cool colored veining looks against the crisp white...by far my favorite marble for a bath or kitchen!

WOOD FLOORING. Yes, I am in the throes of selecting a lot of different floorings right now, wood, stone, marble, bathrooms,etc....one of the ones I was most excited about was selecting Parquet Versailles for our living and dining room....stunning!

These are reclaimed floors....fabulous!

Unfinished...but stunning!

MONOGRAMS. I love monograms, always have...maybe its the Southern in me but they are just so classic and make, well anything personal. In fact, never met a monogram I didn't like!  I am always on the lookout for beautiful monogramming companies and I recently found one!  Monogram Inc. will help you create a custom monogram based upon your personal style and color preference. Their work is really exquisite. Below are a few samples, if you want to visit them go to http://monograminc.com/.

OK, I could go on and on but these are some of my top favorites....enough dreaming for one day. Let me know if you have a favorite or if there is something that you are loving this  week...and hope you enjoy the day!