New looks

I have been working on tweaking my website, KerrySteele.com to give it more visual flow and reflect what I seem to do best.
It seemed too all over the place visually and I decided the other day the direction I would like it to head. It is decidedly more feminine looking but my clientele are primarily women.
Its a good thing I made this change as a practice change that I thought did not publish was up on the landing page for over a week. Damn browser caching!

 I changed a small amount of the content as well.

I will continue to have available work on Etsy and on my site's SHOP page.

Next stop is my blog header and ultra-nemesis.

I went from this...

to this (which was all wrong) and back to the first one.

and then this

now this.

 

 

Which does not say "interior design" but is the least cluttered look for now.

It will change. Possibly many times in the next few days and weeks.

Do you have a favorite?

Room of the week

 It has been a week of late nights working and I had a really hard time not choosing something to be snarky about so I went full on romantic.

The only fault I find is that I might wish for a comfortable place to lounge.  Let's pretend it is on the opposite side of the room, OK?

Today is...

Well, it looks like today is "Sofa bring your kid to work day"!

3 trends that aren't trendy

I try really hard to steer clear of trendy things. There are a few things that I am seeing more and more that appear to be trendy yet have always been around.

I am not speaking of fashion that have "come back" like mid-century modern. Iconic or not there was a period where it was pretty uncool to be sporting a Broyhill Brasilia piece.

The ubiquitous blue and white porcelain is the first non-trendy trend that comes to mind. It really works in so many decorating styles and has been around (in the West) for hundreds of years.

It was never really out.

Equestrian themed fashion is easier to find lately but the hunt country interior has really never left.

Bunny Williams

The traditional and masculine style is one of my favorite.

The third trend that isn't, is Chinoiserie. It may seem redundant but the blue and white porcelain is sometimes just blue and white without a Chinois theme.

We certainly see a lot of this stylized Eastern look but it is a historically significant style that has never been gauche.

Mary McDonald

 

As I was hunting for photos for this post, it became apparent that all three popular and classic looks work well together.

 

Diamond Barrata Interiors

 

Bringing back the pear

acrylic on 5 x 7 canvas by Kerry Steele

My good pal, Christina Baker and I were having a talk and the idea to "bring back the pear" sprouted. Remember when pears were everywhere? 

It was all her idea and I laughed but then started thinking about ways to turn it around with irony, fun and color that speaks to me. I got to work with watercolors then acrylics.

 Christina posted hers on Instagram last night and invited others to join in.

by Christina Baker

 My first stab at this was in watercolor.

Kerry Steele

If you would like to help us "bring back the pear" use hashtag #bringingbackthepear and #yeswearecrazyartists on Instagram or Facebook

@christinabaker1 or @kerrysteeleart

This going to be fun!

Room of the week

The architecture and fine pieces of furniture and art in this room are quite beautiful. They are classic and mixed in style which is a great combination. There are many elements that I love here but I am going to nitpick.

I love books on a round table but I find it slightly confusing to also have chairs pulled up to the table. The thought crosses my mind that some crazy person would leave them there while eating.

Next let me pose this question: When you have a fresh flower arrangement, do you mix in a few plastic stems, you know just to fill it in?

Yeah, me neither. 

So why in the heck are there fake palms inches from real ones...indoors?

Discuss.

Snug as a bug

As a child I was very drawn towards alcove beds. They were kind of a legitimatization of the pillow fort.

Now I think of them as rather cozy looking although impractical for the bedmaker-in-chief.

Properly making that upper bunk would be a pain and probably reserved for special occasions in my house, like never.

I still can't help but want to curl up in their three-sided coziness.

They are often combined with clever storage but I prefer the simply romantic, curtained cocoons.

Would you want one of these in your house?

The weekend ahead

My weekend is chock full of to dos as are most people's.

I finished a few paintings and plan to work on more.

I posted a few drawings recently, some of which are the basis for these paintings.

This drawing is slated to become an oil on linen.

I will also be working on more watercolors for Jennifer of The Pink Pagoda. She has a new round going up at 6 central Monday. The last batch went very quickly so check early if you are hoping to get one.

Those are the fun things.

My son heads back to college on Sunday and has somehow been hoarding laundry much of this vacation and from the looks of it we I will be at it for quite a large chunk of the weekend.

 I also have to ( I can't believe I am admitting this) still put away the Christmas decorations. I haven't left them up this long in 25 years and then I had the excuse of youthful laziness!

What's on your list?

Room of the week

AD

I have blue and white on the brain lately...more than usual so this room jumped out at me.

I have seen two different fabrics on one chair but don't recall seeing two fabrics on the same style chairs in a room. I like the idea.

I do, however, think that the wallpaper and the ornate chairs along the wall fight with the simplicity of the table. I generally love a juxtaposition of styles but that aspect of the room doesn't work for me.

Thumbs up or down ?

New work

The other night I took a break from the wildly popular blue and white porcelain watercolors and and grabbed my pencils to whip up a few figural pieces on paper.

I am adding these and a few others to my Etsy shop.

I am knee deep on the next round of these...

for The Pink Pagoda and they sure are fun to paint!

Keep an eye out for them HERE

Room of the week

I think I could get things done in here.

I have the looming, dreaded project of 2013 business paperwork ahead of taxes.

I need a room like that to conquer it.

Where are you most productive?

Waffling

Every so often something catches my eye on Pinterest, I pin it, and feel compelled to take a trip down pin memory lane to see what else made it onto a particular board.

My board for bedroom ideas for my youngest seems to underscore my original vision and tells me that I am on the right track as no waffling has occurred.

We have matching antique twin beds that, alas, cannot be on the same wall.

 The walls  and ceiling are a soft, barely there, pink. The bedding is a similar pink with white matelasse coverlets.

The majority of beds pinned on this board have a coronet, something I have not given up on.

a bit much

Just about everything in this room is done except for those pesky coronets and curtains. Therein lies my waffling. I have decided once and for all on her curtains countless times. I was leaning towards more pink but her favorite color is green and unlike my other children she has never waffled.

I thought the white linen from Ikea, trimmed with lime green pom-pom fringe was the answer but I used them in my son's room (sans fringe) instead.

I have been considering these floral curtains from Ikea for the window and coronets. I like the '80s chintz/English country house look...at least for today.

Do you waffle on decorating, doing nothing for months or years?

P.S. its my 4 year blogiversary

Where do you put this?

Well...it's interesting. I like the concept but if it were filled with books and objet d'art would it look right? 

I can't help but envision five or six cats using it as a playground and if I sat in that seat I might never be able to get out.

Thoughts?