Jumat, 30 September 2011

Streets of Paris..






I cannot thank you all enough for your sweet comments and emails from the last two days..

I hope you are getting ready for a nice relaxing weekend..

This weekend my littlest one is having girls weekend with me and I am very excited.  Shopping and sweets and all kinds of girls only stuff!  

I am dreaming of Paris right now too, I wish I could take her there for the weekend! 

images by christina for greige 


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Kamis, 29 September 2011

Putting it out there...


So here it goes..  I know I don't say much about myself but sometimes I want to spill some of the beans...  I am curious about you my lovely readers so I figure I have to let you know a little something about me right..
So here we go.. I have a list, sometimes it's just a mental list, sometimes it is a written list (but rarely).  It is a list of things I want to do in this life and let's face it, life is moving by pretty quickly around here so I have to keep working on making this list happen just about every day.  I did not think of it that way until my Mom said to me "if she wants to do it she will make it happen" in reference to a buying trip I want to take in France.  This is part of my to do list for myself- my personal goals so to speak....
  1. Have a space I have designed published
  2. Take a buying Trip to France and bring back a whole container full of goodness
  3. Have a shop (even if just for a little while)
  4. Live in France for 6 months with my family (in a gorgeous space like the one above)
  5. Learn French and Spanish
  6. Write/publish a beautiful design book
  7. Expand greige studio to include upholstery and accessories
  8. Finish my house (ha ha)
  9. Stop and smell the roses
  10. Travel to Africa
Okay so now I simply must know if you will share with me what your to do list holds right now!!!  {Please} I would love to know what others are thinking they would like to accomplish with their lives.


Also, don't forget to enter our little giveaway..

image via


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Advertise with greige


Interested in advertising on greige?
I am now accepting sponsors for October.
For more information on advertising please check here.

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Rabu, 28 September 2011

Atelier...




For the past few months I have been considering seriously moving into a little studio space to spread out a little bit.  I would love to have a studio or shop in the front with an office and then a design space in the back for work.  Things around here are very busy and I have not had the time to really think this through.  I am curious to know if you have an office, shop or studio that you rent/own?  If you do how do you like it?  Would you recommend it?  I can use all the input that I can get!

I love this space with the industrial furnishings and the warm feeling of the flooring texture what a great and inspiring workspace.


dreamy shop images via Mires Paris


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Parisian Chic book {giveaway}

Just a little thank you to all of you wonderful followers here on greige!
(look over 1800 of you over there) 
One of my favorite books.. Parisian Chic.
The perfect book to get you on track with your fall fashion fix!


Best of  luck!  




For a chance to win please visit shop greige and leave a comment below, for an additional chances to win you can tweet (easy to tweet just hit retweet at the bottom of the post), follow us here on the blog or on twitter or blog about our giveaway.  The winner will be chosen at random on October 5th .  
Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

  **Don't forget I have to be able to contact you...  Please leave your name and some type of contact information if you are not able to be contacted with your profile** 

Congratulations to Karlie who won our giveaway!



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Selasa, 27 September 2011

Living room and Family room Design




I had the recent pleasure of working on multiple spaces for a client who was looking for a style that I really enjoy.  For their living room I suggested a clean slightly dressier look with greys and linens and to carry the feeling through into their family room we toned down the formality for a comfortable family space that will be used every day.  
In the larger family room I suggested paneling on the large open wall opposite the fire place and seating with artwork to add some weight.  It was a fun space to create.

I am always so amazed by how much fun it is to create a space for a family that they can use and the best part is getting to know my clients.



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Senin, 26 September 2011

Style in the entry


Another week is upon us and I am not sure I feel like I am accomplishing much around here.
I am complete in awe of the this beautiful entryway and the mirror, it is so very lovely and unique, the things that make a house a home.  

There is a lot going on around here and I am wondering something.. as I start to do some long awaited work on our home, if you are interested in seeing the changes taking place?  I have not really explored that here on the blog as it has been a lot of inspiration and work ideas.  I am just curious if you, my lovely reader, are interested in this type of addition. 

Also, this week look for a little giveaway here and some other fun things!

Wishing you a lovely Monday to start off the week.

image via

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Minggu, 25 September 2011

greige fairytale...


I think this picture sums up what I have been inspired by this past week.. the dark molding, the  patterned floor and the beautiful dress..  

I hope you are having  wonderful day.. 
I will be recovering from a 7 year old girls slumber party today!!

image via pinterest

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Sabtu, 24 September 2011

Pool house cozy...


This looks like the perfect place to spend the weekend.
I think I need one for sure, a little fire, a little pool, a little time to spend with friends and family.

Wishing you a magical weekend!

image via pinterest

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Jumat, 23 September 2011

Weekend wishes


Dear readers....
Now autumn stands at our door, time has come for us to think about spending more time inside....
 I love to cook and spending time in my kitchen, Peter loves to set the table: a perfect match I would say ! Gathering around the dining table is very important for us !
It's the meeting point for our family.
I would like to share these wonderful pictures of dining rooms & kitchens with you today.I wish you all a very good weekend and hope you enjoy dining with the family.....

Sabine
XXX
our own dining room

love this kitchen
image source here
Lovely corner for diner for 2....
image source here
Could this be a glimpse into the dining room behind these wonderful panelled doors ? I like to think so.....
image source here

love this !
image source here






white & crisp dining
image source here
image source here



Light Oak Wood Flooring



I have had wood flooring on my mind this week as I am specifying a big design job and have chosen to use a light oak wood flooring.  The flooring pictured above is by far one of my favorites and I have used it several times over the years.  We are debating on the chevron or some other pattern for the space as it is quite large.  I am looking to install this same floor in my Living and Dining area in the coming months also- which I am even more excited about.  Do you have a favorite that you have used?  If you do I would love to hear about it!

images via pinterest and Provenza

flooring shown in 3rd photo is Provenza Old World Collection Fossil Stone

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Kamis, 22 September 2011

Feeling Fall...



I am so in love with the feeling of this photo!  The grapes look heavenly and the texture is amazing.
 Wouldn't this be a great kitchen work space.

I hope your week is moving along well!!

image via
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Rabu, 21 September 2011

Remodeling series-Week 16

Our new blog is not getting along with google...and is not emailing to our subscribers. Here is our latest post. Visit the new blog here!


Last week Mrs S was on vacation. I wanted to mention this because my inbox was flooded with emails from concerned readers wanting to know what happened to the series! Afraid they had missed something. No need to worry, we are back on schedule!
For those of you following this remodel you know that our latest hiccup was the doors. As the story goes in my line of business:  ”it will be two weeks.” But then two weeks comes and goes and it suddenly becomes another “two weeks.” At any rate our two week turn around for doors turned into almost five. So all of us were thrilled when they got here!
Mrs S and Co. immediately poo-poo’d the idea of the stained doors, but I am not past begging and pleading if I know it is perfect for the design. Ritchie, accustomed to working with me silently raised an eyebrow and just couldn’t envision it. But he trusted my judgement and when they went in today, everyone was thrilled with the idea of staining them! Yay!

Stained walnut doors will be THE epitome of luxury and decadence in this refined bathroom. The perfect solution to grounding the space, warming it up and adding that touch of elegance……………..but then the grim reaper ALWAYS has to play the devils advocate and ruin everything. ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! {Read More}

Dark Details..


I love the classic feeling of all of the dark trim and detailing in this space and how it carries through.

I have always been one to paint the walls not the trim with color.  I may need to change that idea out once and a while and see how it goes.

image via pinterest

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Selasa, 20 September 2011

So loving this!








I find it interesting how my taste varies.. I know that there are people who like one thing and one thing only, but I swing back and forth.  I love clean beautiful spaces and old crumbly spaces at the same time.  I think when a space is well done it really speaks for itself.  Now there are somethings I just don't like but to each his own.

What about you?  Do you have one style that you like or do you like more than one or even a mix?

image via pinterest and cherner chair



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Senin, 19 September 2011

Entertaining-A guide to proper invitation etiquette with CoryAnne Ettiene

Hello everyone! It has been brought to my attention the google reader is NOT sending my posts to subscribers.
Here is the latest post, and be sure to hop over to the new blog here!



Housewife Bliss — The Finer Points Of Domesticity

Today I sit down with Corryanne Ettiene from Housewife Bliss, to discuss the proper do’s and don’ts of sending an invitation; a true art of entertaining. It is hard to imagine, but just a few short years ago entertaining was considered a socially routine practice, and people actually looked forward to, and made time for such events. GAASP! Entertaining was considered fun a host took pride in sending out invitations and holding a party in her home. (Oh domestic bliss and feminine power how far we have come)…..But now a days it seems that people spend more time crafting the perfect story why they just can’t make it…or worse they assume the host KNOWS that they won’t be coming.(aren’t we all telepathically connected to a USB port to know such things? …Oh wait we are, it’s called a computer)
In an oxymoronic age where people have a justified rationality for disposable everything, but somehow also want to have a green mentality, it’s hard to make sense of proper etiquette in a time with such convaluted rules. Being courteous and polite were once customary practices, however, it seems that in today’s reality driven, hyper-fame paradise we call America, all we know how to do is hide behind our emails, text messages and pessimistic nature. One of my favorite sayings that my grandmother always said is, “A woman’s beauty lasts only as long as her disposition stays sweet”. Although her dynasty was built entirely on class, sophistication and a 1950′s Continental Mark II Lincoln, grandma is the template of domestic perfection. While I don’t strive to be so organized, animated and pulled together, I do feel that every grandma in America could teach our youth a thing or two about manners. Especially when they can’t make up their mind whether to be activist hippies, or reality driven expendables that are dumber than a box of rocks! But I digress, once again.
In a society devoid of many social etiquette practices, I had some very specific questions from the domestic goddess herself, Coryanne Ettiene:


1) Decorative invites or save a tree
Amanda- Is is socially acceptable to send out decorative invites with so many tree-hugging, prius driving hippies that fantasize about a world without decorative tree killing
invitations?



CoryAnne-Ah yes, that old chestnut and a rather hard nut to crack, because you are not going to please everyone all the time.  But  if you are inviting me to a dinner party, please send me a nice pretty invitation that I can put on my mantle and enjoy while I am dusting the living room. Rest assured, I am going to love your invitation, and when I remove it from my mantle it will go in the recycling bin to please my inner eco-warrior.




2) To email or not

Amanda- Are there happy alternatives to invitations that are not tree murderers, but not trendy, non-personal shortcuts like email invites?






Coryanne-Eco-invitations on recycled paper are very popular and nearly every stationary shop has an eco option. Some invitations are made from 100% recycled paper and others are creative combinations of recycling cards to create a new product.  With anything, spending a little money will get you a fabulous product, after all, you get what you pay for.
Forgoing the formal invitation in an envelope, a second option is for a bespoke post card invitation, they require less postage, less paper and still send the  message that you are planning a fabulous evening.

3) Where to shop

Amanda-What are some of the best places to get invitations?

Coryanne-Etsy is full of budding stationary shops that embody the eco-chic image and philosophy.  Like all stationary, your taste and style will navigate you towards a particular company. {Continue reading here!}


unplanned...



I love the idea that design would be unplanned.. I guess that then you would call it something else right?  Because Design is really the idea of planning out the space..
image via Brown dress with white dots

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