BOOK WORM

Here at DH, it is very seldom that we are really knocked over the head with creativity, but at Selfridges department store in London, we were just that! You can always depend on them to kick up the fun in how they present their product.

From the moment we wondered ourselves downstairs into the tabletop department we were in a fantasyland of beautifully crafted product.  Then out of nowhere there were whispers, literally, – calling us to enter this space off the beaten path of the regular sales floor.

“Come In.” “Welcome.” “We’d love to have you!” “Read a book!” were just a few of the phrases coming at you. This triggers the other senses into overload.  Now wondering where these voices are coming from, the eyes have found the floor flooded  with the word “WORDS” written out everywhere.  Now we’re really intrigued.  

Making our way, eagerly but cautiously, into this secret lair we found ourselves engulfed in a really modern take on a library or reading room.  Books were definitely the operative prop in this shop, where they were transformed into a multitude of  decorative pieces. From using the binders to create an innovative wallpaper to using the color and texture of the books to add visual interest.

Take a gander at some of these shots to get a feel for the environment.

This shop was a great lesson:  When setting a space and looking to create a mood, make sure that you’re  trying to cater to as many of the 5 basic human senses as possible.  This holds true whether you’re hosting an intimate cocktail party for 6, holiday dinner or even when decorating your home.

http://www.selfridges.com

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The Modern Dining Room: Stage 4

With our stripes up, we can now begin to add our next color for our MOMA inspiration.  Keeping in our family of purples, we decided with Behr’s Chocolate Raspberry, fitting for our dining room right?  We just love the rich warmth it gives to complement that deep purple we’d selected last time.

The lines are drawn!

Stage 4: Color Application Phase 2

Applying is easy.  Simply just paint your stripes between the lines which we’ve already layed out from before.  Take note of the lines which are staying that rich purple, we want plenty of that color to stick around after the tape is pulled up.  With just two coats, the lines are complete.  All there is left to finish is let this dry, and then remove the tape to see how our lines came out.  You don’t want to miss this!  Stay Dope!

The Modern Dining Room: Stage 3

Here it is!  Every painter’s best friend, painter’s tape.  Not only does it help keep you from making a mess on your ceiling or borders, but create your own customized template for our wall treatment.  Taking our inspiration from the MOMA exhibit, we have outlined the flow of our stripes on to the wall.

Stage 3: Creating your stripes

We recommend using 3M’s border block (www.scotchblue.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotch…/Scotch-Blue/) or Frog tape (www.frogtape.com/) to help keep your lines as clean as possible.  Making lines is very simple, as long as you measure out your borders to make sure they are even in length, your lines can easily fly up the wall and give a great bold stripe.  Remember, the existing purple needs to create a stripe as well, so your lines need to be consistent.  As you can see from the photo, the tape shows a large stripe followed by a smaller one.  This is because once the tape is removed, that will be your other color’s border.  We decided to have both stripes be the same thickness, but you can change them up if you like.  Don’t miss the next step to see how this starts to come together!  Stay Dope!

The Modern Dining Room: Stage 2

Who doesn’t love a rich color to entice the senses?  This is where you can punch up the palette and really create some elegance in your home.  Ideas were flowing. . .  Should we go with wallpaper?  Something textured or printed to give a luxurious feel?  However beautiful, we wanted to really customize this space without spending a fortune.  With all this in mind, we decided paint was our best option.

2 coats of paint with Dual Primer really saves time and gives a clean, fresh look.

Stage 2: Color Application Phase 1

We love the idea of a deep purple in the dining room.  Not only is color choice important, but the quality of paint.  Behr’s Deep Grape with a dual primer is awesome because it saves you time with less coats!

Stay tuned to see how we create our customized wall treatment using only a few easy steps.

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The Modern Dining Room: Stage 1

Living in the city has its perks, but roomy apartments isn’t one of them.  The challenge here was creating an innovative look for the dining room.  The space is adjacent to the entry and because of its dimensions feels very small and just blah.  The idea of creating a modern dining room that would WOW as you walk in, is just what this dining room needs.

Stage 1: COLOR

Selecting a rich color is crucial to defining the space as its own.  Vibrant colors mixed with bold patterns are a huge trend now.

Installation at Museum of Modern Art

On a visit to MOMA, we fell in love with an art installation doing just that.  Creating something similar with our own DOPE twist seemed only logical.

So here it is.  The gauntlet is drawn.

Check in with us to see this project as it unfolds!

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The Perfect Little Cocktail Napkin

I’m pretty sure if you’ve ever been shopping for duds for the house, cocktail napkins are the furthest thing from the brain.  Maybe a coaster, but not a cocktail napkin.  But you really ought to start paying attention.  They’re just the easiest way to add that fly touch on your setting. They’re usually done in gorgeous fabrics and other unconventional materials, like silver woven mesh and add more of a “je ne sais quoi” than using a measely coaster.

Although a little pricey, the brand Matouk nakpkins are just killer.  When you pick one up, you’ll completely get it.  This impeccably woven silk linen square also comes in any letter you fancy, so personalizing is easy. The colors are just so rich and the attention to detail in the stitch work is flawless… it’s just beautifully done.  Worth any good vodka gimlet.

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http://www.matouk.com