Things I am loving Thursdays.........

Happy Thursday. Before I get started on all the wonderful things I am loving this week,, for those of you who didn't come by yesterday, I am having the most marvelous giveaway! How amazing are these lamps.....the giveaway is next Friday, March 11th and will be selected using Random.org. If you are a follower or subscriber you are automatically enrolled to win!Be sure to visit them..they have the most beautiful things!www.swanklighting.comThank you Swank lighting!

Hand blown glass lamps from Murano Italy, made exclusively for Swank Lighting.  These lamps are designed after a popular, classic Barovier & Toso lamp from the 1940's.  They stand 24 inches tall to the top of the socket.  The glass is hand blown and loaded with 24kt gold flake with vertical ribs and controlled bubbles.  The hardware is top quality solid brass. They retail for $2700.00

OK onto things I am loving this Thursday.........(besides those gorgeous lamps up there)

MARBLE. I have not made it a secret how obsessed I am with white marble. It adds instant panache to any room, kitchen or bath. Nothing is as luxurious and gorgeously timeless as white marble in my humble opinion. My personal favorite is Calacutta Gold, which has both the gray and the pale gold veining running through its white slab. Then there are about six different Calacutta gold varieties...does the decision making ever get easy? So below are a few examples..how beautiful are they? They each have their own personality for sure... Do you like the heavier or darker veining more than the lighter? Do you like it with more gold or less? Love to know what all you experts think!

LIGHTING. I have been looking at a lot of lighting lately as well. Right now we are just trying to make decisions on the absolute essentials, some sconces for the bathrooms, the hallways, and the exterior lighting. I have found some beautiful things....here are some of my top picks this week, too many gorgeous things to narrow it down..have a favorite?




SOME OUTDOOR LIGHTING

.

SCONCES AND LANTERNS FOR HALLWAYS AND KITCHEN LIGHTING

MAGAZINES.My definite cheap thrill of the week, Southern Accents. My absolute favorite magazine, which I know many of you coveted as well. Sadly, it  is no more so I greatly enjoy with new fervor going through my old issues and have actually been buying more online. Ironically many things I love now can be found in issues, 10 and 12 years ago! Goes to prove that classic interiors never ever go out of style. I just bought a lot of 22 issues....and am having a field day, ripping things out fast and furious...the papers are flying! To me, there is just nothing that compares to the consistent fabulous elegant traditional interiors that graced Southern Accents every issue...its sorely missed. This was my cheapest thrill yet all week!

WALLPAPER AND PAINT. As I start to seriously scour the showrooms for wallpaper and paint inspirations my wish list continues to grow. I found more wonderful wallpaper and really like the new paint colors by Stark. I spoke with the showroom manager who just painted several rooms in her house with Stark paint and she said she could not believe how beautifully it went on with just a single coat, that there was virtually no smell and it went on so much easier than another brand that shall remain nameless but one well know quite well. Some of their colors are just gorgeous. So here are my weekly wallpaper inspirations and a few of the paint colors i really like. 

This is going to the library powder room, am having a custom floor of a gold marble with brown and rust accents to match....when I get sample will post, its going to be tres jolie!

I just thought this is so pretty for a ladies bathroom...very soft powdery pale gray/blue/green

This is a classic from Stark, also great for a dressing area or ladies bathroom

BLACK ISLANDS. OK, if you have been coming here for any length of time you know by now that I have a "thing" for black cabinetry. So I have been obsessing over just the right black with just the right shine, etc....thankfully there are oodles and oodles of online inspiration and forget about the massive mounting towering collection of magazines and books that is taking over my side of the bed....all in the pursuit of good design! So here are a few "black inspirations", its easy to see why I am so drawn to it right? So elegant and old world......

MARBLE TILES. I have been very busy planning out the bathrooms....and finally am somewhat breathing a sigh of relief having picked out most of what we are doing. I have spoken often of how much I love New Ravenna's line, they truly in my humble opinion produce some of the most spectacular marble flooring I have ever seen..the sky is the limit, I am amazed by what they can do. I am going with more subdued looks in both color and pattern compared to what they are capable of doing....but they are scrumptious nonetheless. Take a look.....

My bathroom tile

A gorgeous border

Thinking of this as a border

Love this..what a work of art!

BLUE AND WHITE. Love blue and white and nothing beats walking into a crisp room done in all navy and white. I want to have a room solely in blue and white, so am thinking a guest room. Here are some inspirations...Mom and Dad hope you approve! I know they will because my very talented mother has a spectacular blue and white guest room herself that is exquisite, will have to include a picture here one day...its that pretty. Don't you agree...there is something so elegantly understated and classic about a room done in navy and white.

CHIPPENDALE MIRROR. What is more stately and regal looking than a Chippendale mirror The one pictured happens to be an antique, but I would like to buy one,new or old and have it in the main hallway off the foyer under a beautiful chest. That way its in a highly visible place for all to see....they are beautiful and so elegant.

AN AMAZING MOVIE. Who doesn't like a great captivating, sit on the edge of your seats movie? Well, look no more..if you have even a tiny little droplet of interest in art, you will be completely taken with this documentary that is based upon the story of eccentric Dr.Alfred Barnes and his astonishing billion dollar art collection known to be the most valuable in the entire world, that he acquired at a time when the art he was collecting was not coveted as it was today. He was a true visionary in every sense.This story reveals the outrageous and stomach turning events on how the highest political, social and cultural establishments worked in a tangled greedy corrupt web to take it away and call their own. I promise you this is one amazing story...I have seen it four times and counting. Its THAT good. Netflix now carries it....anything that made me immediately look up when the next demonstration was in Philadelphia to see if I could be a part of it, you know it has to be powerful ( Case in point....I have never participated in a demonstration in my life,  but would make an exception for this)

 

Well, folks that's about it for today. Gives me enough to smile about. Hope you have an enchanting day...and do share if any thing here struck a chord with you or if there is something that you're particularly excited about this week!