Delightful Desks

We can't believe it is already "back to school" time. Seeing all the ads for school supplies and dorm accessories has made us think about that stylish yet functional part of nearly every home- the perfect desk area. Whether you use it for studying, blogging, or paying bills, it IS possible to have an office space in your home that looks fabulous.

Here are some inspiring desks!

Kelly Wearstler has toned down her signature look a bit for this study! We love the pair of bookshelves flanking the chest of drawers, and the desk centered in the room. Perfect!

We love the canopy and lantern Nick Olsen added to his fabulous NYC apartment. It looks great, and if you know Nick, you know he probably managed to do his (amazing) work on a budget!

Domino

What a fun splash of pink in this otherwise black-and-white space! We recognize the little ikea lamps (I think they are around $5!) on either side of the desk, and the hot pink chair is just so much fun!

Athena Says, photo courtesy of Elements of Style

Gray and white! We love the moulding here that really frames the desk area perfectly! And this desk has to be one of our favorites, with the curved lucite legs. We would guess that it's from The Paris Apartment. Not alot of storage, but with laptops and jump drives, who needs file drawers anymore?!

Steven Miller Design

Sawhorse desks are popping up everywhere! And we love the unexpected pairing of the clean lines of this modern desk with a traditional, dark wood chair. The pink walls and inspiration board make the space so pretty and feminine. And of course we love the oushak!

Ruthie Sommers



Love the color of the walls in this cozy little corner!

Rayman Boozer, photo courtesy of Style Court


This West Elm Parsons desk is one of our favorites! We love how it is paired here with the ghost chair, zebra rug, and pair of lamps!

Mary McGee, photo courtesy of Decor Pad


For a masculine office, Nate Berkus just nails it! Once again, we love the sawhorse table and the chrome chippendale chair- looks great on the striped rug.

Nate Berkus

Lavendar walls! I'm not sure if I have the guts to do this in my house, but it looks fab here! This room is so elegant (and functional).

Elle Decor

I would happily pay my bills (okay, maybe "happily" is a stretch) in this bright, cheery space! Love the yellow lucite chair, lampshade, and bulletin board. And take note of the silver mint julep cup turned vase (or pencil holder)!

House Beautiful



We are obsessed with Molly Sims' house that was in InStyle a few years back. How fab is the cluster of shiny black framed mirrors over her desk paired with her black jet crystal chandelier? And we love the beautiful wallpaper.

Designed by Kishani Perera, seen in InStyle


This feminine office is our favorite of the bunch! We love the blue walls and white desk, contrasted with the black and white photos. The lamps are gorgeous, and the shades mirror the chinoiserie style of the beautiful desk.

Mary McDonald for Domino


Animal prints really work in a study! We love these gray and white zebra curtains with the gray chippendale desk chair and parsons table. We think you could easily copy this desk chair with this guy and a can of spray paint.

House Beautiful, photo courtesy of Newlywed Diaries


Like the rest of her apartment, we love former Domino editor Tori Mellott's fabulous little office nook! The splash of pink on her saarinen chair, and the pair of lamps on either side of the desk is such an elegant look.

Tori Mellott



Love the idea of elegantly framing children's artwork and hanging over a desk. And this lamp is just the perfect periwinkle blue!

I cannot for the life of me remember where I found this photo. Does anyone know? Thanks!!


Charlotte Moss's desk is definitely over the top but fabulous. What an amazing art collection! I'm not sure I would take it quite this far, but it definitely works for her. And we are really loving art hung salon-style over wallpaper!

Charlotte Moss

Love the yellow and turquoisey blue in this Celerie Kemble designed office. Such a great color combo that we don't see too often, and the vintage feel of this room is so classic.

Celerie Kemble


How gorgeous is this formal-feeling desk area?! The extravagant gold leaf detailing on the desk, the leopard chair, and the zebra rug- sounds like an over-the-top combo, but it really works! And it's refreshing to see an old-fashioned Rolodex every now and then.

Amy Fine Collins in Elle Decor

Another gorgeous chrome sawhorse desk. We love the navy inspiration board (I guess that is the fancy new name for "bulletin board") and the orange geometric curtains. The green tufted chair with a little bolster neck is fab too!

Amanda Nisbet

Which one is your favorite?!

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MoS Obsessions: Vintage Tole Chandeliers

The Matters of Style girls are obsessed with vintage tole chandeliers! Tole objects are made of metal which is hand-painted. It was originally a folk art, but it evolved into something more stylish and really epitomizes classic Palm Beach style to us (think 1950's and 1960's). We love hunting for fabulous vintage tole pieces at antique shops, and in fact, eBay is one of your best resources!

How pretty is this Celerie Kemble office? We love her use of turquoise in this room, particularly on the chandelier. It's such a nice way to add some vintage style to this room.

Celerie Kemble


And of course, this breakfast room designed by Celerie demonstrates the beauty of tole chandeliers. We are in love with the gorgeous painted fruit and flowers on the chandelier.

Celerie Kemble

This bedroom blends not only a tole chandelier, but also a fabulous tole canopy bed. We like the simplicity of the chandelier in contrast to the ornate leafy detail of the bed.

Celerie Kemble


We never dreamed we would like black kitchen walls, but Ruthie Sommers knows how to make it work! The white tole chandelier really pops against the walls, and the turquoise door really brightens up the space!

Ruthie Sommers

Another design of Ruthie's, we love the green trellis pattern on the ceiling with this hot pink tole pagoda chandelier. We would love to see more of this room!
Ruthie Sommers


Tole isn't just for breakfast rooms and bedrooms. It is such an elegant look in this Celerie Kemble-designed NYC store.

Celerie Kemble

How pretty is this white tole chandelier for a dining room? The flowers are feminine, but painting it all-white definitely gives it a modern edge. We'd probably paint the walls a bolder color so it stands out even more!

Annechovie

And the classic tole pineapple chandelier. We love everything about this room and the fabulous vintage style that this chandelier adds. This really says Palm Beach style to us!

Peacock Feathers

For a more soothing look, how pretty is this bathroom? This chandelier may not be a vintage piece, but it does do a good job reflecting the traditional style of a tole piece, and it definitely adds interest to this bathroom!

Decor Pad

We probably aren't brave enough to create an all-white room like this one, but it is really gorgeous! I'm sure this chandelier did not originate as an all-white piece, but we love how an easy coat of paint really brings it up to date!

Decor Pad


For a completely different style of tole chandelier, this green and gold fixture is elegant and seems to have a Swedish influence. It really works in this dressy room (and we love the huge mirror behind the sofa which adds that extra layer of dimension to the room).

Veranda


We wish we had a better picture of this fabulous Ruthie Sommers- designed nursery in the Domino book. The pink and green vintage tole chandelier is absolutely perfect in this room. We definitely are on the look-out for a tole chandelier for a MoS nursery.

Domino (Ruthie Sommers)

And if you want to buy a tole chandelier yourself...

This tole pagoda la tern is so pretty! It could really look great in a number of different rooms, regardless of your style.

Shades of Light $225

We dream of one day owning a Niermann Weeks chandelier or lamp. We can't find (or even guess) the price of this little guy...

Niermann Weeks

And for true vintage finds, here are some of our eBay favorites. Just type "tole chandelier" into the search page, and you will find lots of options! There is a big price range, but a fabulous tole chandelier can definitely be found for around $200.

How fun are these colors? This chandelier needs to make a dramatic statement in a large room.

ebay

We are in love with this fabulous palm tree-inspired chandelier. We think this would look perfect in our favorite Jonathan Adler bedroom.

eBay

This green and white would be so perfect in a small bathroom or a nursery. The miniblinds on the other hand...

eBay

This white pagoda chandelier is one of our favorites. Another blogger found this on eBay for a song (around $80 I believe), while an identical version was pushing $2,000 on 1st Dibs.

eBay


We love the lilly detailing on this fab chandelier. We could do without the fake drippy candles, but those are super easy to swap out.

Hidden Valley Antiques

And this brightly colored chandelier is so much fun! We think you definitely could use it in a way that it's not so Brady Bunch-looking as it is in this photo against the stark black background. Maybe we would paint it white, or who knows, maybe we would leave the colorful daisies!

eBay

What do you think about tole? Outdated, or chic and stylish?

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Eastern Influences

As we look back over the last decade on decorating trends that have come and gone (hello ikat, goodbye shabby chic!), we've come to realize that few decorating styles have the staying power of chinoiserie. While in the traditional sense, chinoiserie has its origins in the 17th century, when European artwork and design began to reflect a Chinese influence, in a way, the concept is continually evolving. While we still love the classic chinoiserie toiles, today's take on Chinese design is fresher, bolder, and less fussy. When old and new are paired together, the result is the epitome of modern chic design. We love how just one Chinese-inspired piece adds instant interest to a room and really sets it off. Take a look at some of our favorite rooms and pieces!

We are in love with Alessandra Branca's New York City apartment, featured this month's Elle Decor. Note the red lacquer coffee table with the Chinese styling, and of course, the dramatic gold and black toile room screen behind it. Amazing. There are a lot of patterns at work in this room- are those Madeline Weinrib ikat pillows?- but it works. The yellow flowers really tie the room together.

As a nod to the lines on the coffee table above, how about this irresistible Ming table, $998? You could use this in so many ways- a dining/kitchen table for a small space, a card table, even a little desk or work station. And it comes in quite a few inspired colors!

We love a fun, daring wallpaper in a powder room! How amazing is this Chinese toile? This would be my favorite room in the house. House Beautiful.

While french country-inspired toile died a slow and painful death from overuse in the 1990's, Chinese toile seems to have remained unscathed and remains one of our favorite types of patterns. Try this Chinese bridges wallpaper by G.P. & J. Baker from Lee Jofa. You'll have it forever.

We love this wall covering- do you think that's hand painted, or just amazing wallpaper? But what we love most of all is the fabulous red fish table in the background. Definitely a statement! House Beautiful.

For the same look, we love this white Fish Table, $165. The white makes it look super fresh and modern. Definitely a conversation starter!

In this living room by Mary McDonald, we see a hint of Chinese chippendale in the lines of the cabinet in the background, but a more realistic asian-inspired touch is the ceramic garden stool next to the coffee table. We see these types of stools everywhere, and for great prices. They're perfect for introducing a new texture into the room, and of course, can double as a place to sit or a place to throw your book or magazine. House Beautiful.

Garden stools even go perfectly in a more traditional sunroom. They really do blend with most any style or decor, from modern and sleek to white wicker!

An alert MoS mom pointed out these fab Palmer Stools, $129.95, from Z Gallerie. We are loving the orange- how fab would that look with a brown and white zig zag rug? Just when we have about written off Z Gallerie, they introduce chic items like these! We'll have to check it out in person.

This eclectic room has loads of style- and note the pair of pagoda-like lamps, along with the blue and white Chinese figurines on the sconces. There are a LOT of pairs going on in this room- the pair of blue chairs, the pair of lamps, the pair of sconces, the pair of figurines. We'd probably go for just one lamp so as not to overload on symmetry, but otherwise, we love this mix of colors.

As a fresher take on the Chinese figurines in the room above, how about these turquoise foo dog statues, $25 per pair from Pearl River. Ok, we admit foo dogs may be a little trendy these days, as evidenced by the fact that they even showed up in Jill Zarin's apartment on the Real Housewives a few weeks ago (how they tie into her "mid century modern" apartment makeover I have no idea...but that's another story)! But at $25 per pair, you can afford for your love to be conditional.

We swoon for those chairs. We simply love the lattice detailing- the pattern reminds us of vintage deco bamboo chairs, but when done without bamboo, they takes on a more contemporary feel.

In the spirit of the glamorous room above, can't you see this mirrored Lara Tea Table fitting perfectly into the decor? The turquoise wall color would play off the mirrors so well. Wouldn't these be amazing bedside tables? We love how they are a unique twist on mirrored furniture, which tends to be more deco-esque in design.

The lattice on the chairs in the living room remind me of the details on this Xia Li Side Table $191. What a steal- this will jazz up any room.

We love where Meg Braff has taken this living room- it's got red faux bamboo chairs, a white ceramic garden seat, a floral rug, and killer bookshelves adorned by huge blue and white pieces that tie into the rug's colors. We also love how the blue of the rug and vases ties into the blue wall in the background. Now that's planning!

In the spirit of the bookshelves pictured above, how about this Xia Li shelf, $1,240? The red definitely says Chinese to me, but the star-like detailing suggest a hint of moroccan influence.

We would not at all mind hunkering down at the Viceroy Santa Monica, decorated by Kelly Wearstler, and as featured on the Elle Decor website this month. We're not sure where to start with what we love- the bamboo chair? The graceful shaped legs of the desk? Its marble top? The rattan wallpaper? The upholstery over the open bamboo back of the chair? The staffordshire dog lap? Forget it- we can't pick a fave- we love everything!

For another inspired desk arrangement, this amazing guest room by Meg Braff is totally captivating. We love that white desk! Wish you could get the same one? Well, you're in luck...

It looks like Meg used this very same Jacqui Console/Desk Table, $1,500 from House Eclectic. It comes in several colors, and though the red really speaks to us, clearly it also looks fab in white! We love how this is perfect as a desk OR a console table so you can switch it up as your needs change. We'll take it!

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