NYIGF Report: Pillows on Parade

I toured the New York International Gift Fair on Sunday with my friend and fellow designer Kevin Isbell as well as my friend Kelly Reynolds from Hello Robertson and Carleton V. We joked that looking for really interesting and unique items was like looking for a needle in a haystack but one booth that made us stop dead in our tracks was Julian Mejia Design. His Liberty print pillows above are so beautiful yet simple that I wonder why I've never seen them before! I've always loved Libery and I actually owned a dress from J.Crew many years ago that was made from the same yellow and aqua sunflower print on one of the pillows above! He also designs lovely placemats and napkins too. Definitely check him out!

I wish I had taken more photos of pretty pillows at Dransfield & Ross but this silk pillow above gives you an idea of their beautiful designs! Pillows are always a great way to change the design of a room without spending a lot of money.

Oomph was the big hit at the NYIGF in August and they are back this time with some new table designs and colors but their pillows also have a lot of oomph.

The Oomph pillows come in many great colors, patterns and styles including the fun lobster print.

The Design Legacy booth was huge and full of fun finds but I really liked their botanical print pillows and chair.

If none of those pillows float your boat, you can always check out the embroidered styles over at Jonathan Adler. Funny how all of the sudden I feel ready for nap!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Borris mat modular carpet squares

Jari B needed carpets and found a cheap solution using Borris door mats.

"I needed some kind of floor covering for the kitchen area in my tiny apartment, and having recently moved, I'm on really tight budget at the moment. My kitchen is right near the entryway, so it's also serves as a high traffic area. I wanted something durable, perhaps indoor/outdoor, washable, and that could withstand the abuse of high traffic and the occasional kitchen mishap.


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NYIGF Trend Watch: Red, White, and British

I guess it makes sense that since stores would be ordering for summer at the New York International Gift Fair there would be a lot of red, white and blue, and nautical items on full display. I was surprised though at all the Union Jacks we saw around the gift fair. Design Legacy, above, had a great mix of American and British memorabilia.

Jack & Lulu (that's founder Julie Murphy above) were debuting all of the trends including Nautical anchor hooks, Union Jack coasters and multi-country cupcake flags (mmmm cupcakes!), as well as fabulous canvas bags. Oh, and don't forget to check out their wonderful stationery!

Dransfield & Ross changed up their booth this year and I loved their plethora of pillows including these nautical inspired styles. I think they did come in blue in addition to the brown. If you stop by, make sure you say hello to Dean Rhys Morgan who is at their booth selling his Jeremiah Goodman notecards and prints!

No gift fair is complete without a visit to Two’s Company. You've probably seen their wares in stores and it looks like you'll be seeing nautical inspired gift and home items for sale soon. I love the rope framed mirror!

Two’s Company also had a chic and probably less expensive alternative to the ubiquitous Goyard tote! Wonder if they can paint my monogram on it too?!

Before you go boating this summer you might want to pick up some vintage inspired British life preservers from Peacock Park Design.

Can you tell that this is the Halo Styles booth? The nautical flag pillows made a cute sign.

Halo Styles also had a cute nautical flag chair on display above and the Union Jack below. All of these trends make me all long for summer and a trip to London! Cheers!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

NYIGF Trend: Chairs for Children

I attended the New York International Gift Fair yesterday and I have a new found respect for store owners who have to attend all five days to shop for their boutiques! I think I would keel over from exhaustion! I enjoy walking the show to see what's new and if there is anything I would buy for my clients but it's definitely a lot less work!

I'm working on my wrap of my favorite new finds but one of the first "trends" I noticed was furniture for children and specifically chairs. Jonathan Adler, above, was debuting his new Junior Collection at the show that included not only furniture but also pillows, rugs, lamps, and throw blankets.

Little Nest offers pint sized versions of all your favorite modern classics.

The children's furniture I was most excited about is the new collection from Oly. They are are now offering smaller versions of their sophisticated furniture that are perfect for New York apartments! You just might want to hide the markers around them!

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Lab bench from kitchen cabinets

Ikea has been trying to beef up use of their products in offices for some time now. So, am glad to see it happening. Chris and his team hacked a freestanding lab bench that looks custom built.

"I have been doing stuff like this for years at home and work and am glad that it is being showcased. I work for a product development company called Daedalus - we develop a lot of medical, lab and safety equipment for all kinds of companies. As part of our development work, we often need to perform research or functional testing on the equipment we design so we built ourselves a dedicated testing lab/room.

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Veranda and Tara Shaw Maison

If you happen to pick up this months Veranda magazine (this cover is from last March). You will see a write about Tara Shaw's "New Classics". As you might recall, famous antique dealer and designer Tara Shaw, launched a line of reproduction pieces that are just stunning called her Maison line.
I own several pieces myself including the Mora Clock, which is a copy of Tara's own clock.

And this lovely little gilded iron table - it sits next to my sweet Swedish chairs in the conservatory.

For more information on the Maison line click here, to read a post I did last spring, when I visited in New Orleans. It was right before Tara released the line - so you all got a sneak preview.
Now this fabulous line is only available to the trade so if you are interested in any pieces, pop me an email and I will get you pricing. Happy February!! Can you believe it's February already?!

Fret not, use an Ikea pencil

FloMac, Caroline and Maria tip me on this hack seen on There, I Fixed It.

FloMac says, "I've just seen this hack, it's like a Lapicientos hack!"