2011 Designer Showcase

It was a labor of love and far more work than I anticipated, but the Designer Showcase came and went and I'm glad to say I'm still standing...barely. I knew from the beginning I wanted to step outside the proverbial box and show a space representative of my personal style, but living in the Quad-Cities, I also knew this was a gamble as our area is far more conservative than most. What I showcased in the end was a true representation of how I design for my own home and how, in theory, I do for clients as well. If you look beyond the overall style and start to break down the individual elements, it becomes easier to see how you could switch out the large horse print for a framed landscape to work into a more traditional look. Or if you take a look at the drapes, you can focus on the beautiful construction and how, by switching out the fabrics for others, you'd have a totally different look. I incorporated some new pieces and some old to exhibit how it's possible to work with any budget. Anyhoo, I thought some of you who couldn't make it over to the show would like to see pictures. Kristin Geerts did all the photography and her work is amazing. I'll fill you in a bit more about her in a bit.

Find her at http://www.kristingeertsphotography.com/

You can see a bit of the lower detail of the drapes here. The two fabrics were separated by two trims...on a black chiffon ruffle and one a rhinestone trim.

The wall color I chose was Cooled Blue by SW and it's the perfect Tiffany box blue.

Surrounding yourself with things that make you smile or you find beautiful is the key to a successful space. It doesn't matter if it cost pennies or thousands...if it moves you, you should display it.

Memories of my first Tiffany gift make me grin. It's not so much the bougeyness of it as the beauty of the moment and of the classic box that held such a thoughtful gift. So, I kept it and use it to hold paper clips!

These great lamps, available through Interior Image, were custom ordered for the show. I jazzed them up by adding some black grosgrain ribbon to the top and bottom of the shade and used a couple of adhesive gem letters from Hobby Lobby to personalize it.

I love her. Is she reaching for her dreams or reaching out to help the world? Either way...she calms me.

Like sands through the hour glass....

Story of my life. 

Do you like to tear out pics from home magazines and collect paint and fabric swatches? Get organized!

I don't even like Pellegrino...but I think the bottles are lovely.

Ghost chairs...these were quite the topic of conversation. Everything from..."What are those? Patio furniture?" to "Oooohhh, GHOthT tHAIRS!" (said by a kind, but elderly woman who had forgotten to put her teeth in that day). :D

Hootie's got my back.

I backed my $3.00 Goodwill bookcase with houndstooth wrapping paper.

Think outside the box and see how things around your home can work for something totally different. This little piece is meant to hold pieces of toast, but is perfect to keep my files upright.

If you have questions or if you'd like to inquire about purchasing any of the items you see here, please email me at jenofalltrades@ymail.com. Most of what you saw here and beautiful things like them can be found through Interior Image in every style imaginable. Our in-house workroom constucted the custom drapes and we can do yours, too! Hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful day!