Pepper Design Blog

Rooms Inspired by the Month of May

May has come and gone… and so quickly! One minute you’re enjoying your first truly warm weather days and the next Memorial Day is celebrated and over. But it’s too sweet of a month to be forgotten! Here’s a quick roundup of my favorite May inspired rooms.

There’s something about shades of coral, fuschia, magenta, pink, raspberry… these colors remind me of May.

Accent colors can be as overwhelming as painted walls or as subtle as a few throw pillows or a bowl of fresh flowers. I love how all of these rooms use various shades of pink in different and unexpected ways.

I love the wall collage and the pink striped ottomans in the above picture – and the soft burgundy accents in the below image keep the room a step above neutral. See the below occasional chair? Only the outside is upholstered in that fun, geometric pattern – what a great idea.

This room would be fun inspiration to modify into a parlor (we should bring those back again…) or dressing room or little girl’s room:

Here’s to May – we will see you again in twelve short months!

For more Rooms Inspired by the Month, check out this link. Images courtesy of Decorpad, Country Living and Full House blog.

Beautiful Inspiration… and Styling Tips from the Pros

When it comes to beautiful presentation few do it better than the bona fide Stylists, so I thought it might be fun to take a quick look at one of my favorites for a few ideas and inspirations for a future party. Lo Bjurulf is a prop and food stylist for Agent Bauer:

An earthy garden party complete with veggie centerpieces, beautiful blue glass bottle displays and enough casual draping and carefully placed silverware to create a realistic and stunning table. This would be so fun this summer and easy to pull together for an impromptu gathering – everything on the table could probably be found in your kitchen right now, from simple plates and glasses to veggies from the fridge!

This next one is one of my favorites – I think of it as a Moroccan Barnyard Dinner Party!

The images are whimsical and imaginative but offer great inspiration for thinking out of the box. What I love about the storyboard is how it highlights the understated importance of staging a party so that it’s as eye-catching for all of your guests as you’d hoped it would be.

Staging basics offer a few rules we often forget, like:
*decorating at all eye-levels (bright pillows on the floor, a show stopping centerpiece mid-height and a beautiful chandelier just above the head – or how about those billowy curtains in the backdrop?)
*choosing the proper setting (no need to find a barn…)
*incorporating colors that work well together (be it complimentary or contrasting)
*and don’t forget the finite details that makes everything come together (such as the flower blossoms scattered like confetti in the image below or the softly stacked afghans that leave guests appreciative of a considerate hostess on a chilly night – I actually attended a party where they were readily available and I couldn’t wait to start my own collection for guests).

So beautiful! I’m so inspired by these images and the creative possibilities…

{Teal, Purple & Lime} Delicious Dessert Buffets

Oh yummy. And pretty. There are so many handmade & DIY finds in each of these lovely tables that Amy Atlas recently designed and created for Bride’s Magazine. Here are all of the details!

The Chocolate Spice Table: “We incorporated spiced chili and naga curry infused truffles, rosewater malban, pyramid-shaped chocolates, sesame candy and a macaron tower, all on bronze and rattan vessels filled with whole spices. For decorative elements, we included Moroccan lanterns and a pussy willow branch display. We also sewed together burlap fabric to create spice sacks to give the table a “Moroccan-market” feel and filled up Moroccan tea glasses with spiced hot chocolate and cinnamon sticks.”

The Citrus Chevron Table: “For this table, we incorporated a bright citrus color palette of tangerine, lemon and lime with a modern chevron zig zag pattern.  We created a ribbon garland, clementine centerpiece, as well as chevron patterned popcorn cups and favor bags.  We included a modern chevron cake, which we placed on zig zag vessels.  Other great treats included passion fruit marshmallows, chevron patterned cupcakes and citrus meringue buttercream sandwiches.”

Photos by Andrew McCaul.