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So yesterday I gave some hints on selecting a paint color for one room. Today I am going to give some advice when choosing paint colors for an entire home. Try to select a color palette-three colors that you want to use throughout your home. Ideally pick these colors from something that you already have like a rug or the fabric in a pillow. These are colors that you are going to use throughout your home in fabrics, furniture, art, accessories, etc. I am not saying these are the only colors you can use but they should be predominant colors and they should be used, in some way, in each room so that your house has "flow." No, not your monthly visitor. And not Flo the saucy waitress from Alice.

But flow as in having a rhythm so that the colors easily transition from one room to the next. Flow is something that you don't necessarily notice when it is done correctly but you definitely notice when it is not done in a home. Have you ever been in a house where each room is painted an entirely different and totally random color? It is wacky. And it chops up the place. You need some sort of congruity. I am going to use the same fabric from yesterday to illustrate my point.

You can see that some paint colors are repeated in different rooms throughout the home. You will also notice that variations of the color (or different values of the same hue) are used in different rooms to give some interest. This is an easy design trick. Try to remember this instead of using four different colors of blue, use four different values of the same blue hue. I used Sherwin Williams to illustrate this point because their paint decks show the different values of a hue on the paint strip so it makes it super easy. But you can always ask your paint store to add black or white to get a different version of the hue.

Again, this is best case scenario but it gives you an idea of how the process should work. And to continue my point on making the house flow, I would carry some of these colors to other areas of the house. For example, let's say that the inspiration fabric is on pillows in the living room on the first floor. Then you could have orange linen Parson's chairs in your dining room and/or paint the vanity in your powder room the same orange as your mud room and/or use a blue and orange mosaic tile in the master bathroom. So it doesn't always have to be through paint color alone. Get it? Well, that my friend, is what you call FLOW.

You might remember this feature from Cottage Living a while back. It is one of my all time favs! The designer is L.A. based Tia Zoldan who describes her work as classic with a bohemian edge. LOVE! She is a self professed art junkie and got her start in store design for J. Crew but left the corporate world to raise her two daughters. Her friends were so enamored with her style that they requested her design services, which eventually led her to start Zoldan Interiors in 2004.

I was thrilled to see that she has her own blog, The Roof Over My Head. A fellow blogger got a interview with her that you can check out here. She has since redecorated her home and shared with us some images on her website. I love to see how a designer's home evolves over time! Here is an updated photo of her living room.

Old dining room...

Updated dining room...

It seems that her adorable children have inherited her passion for art. Look how stinkin' cute this photo is of her daughter creating a charcoal masterpiece...

PRECIOUS!!!

The Round-up:

• Food - 3 out of 5
• Decor - 3.5 out of 5
• Service - 3 out of 5
• Overall - 9.5 out of 15

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Several months ago a food-loving group was created on Facebook. Its name was the "Cathedral Village Needs a Cheap Breakfast Place", or something like that. It seems that the Village just hadn't been the same since the Quality Tea Room shut down several years back.

I quickly joined the group, as did several hundred other Regina folks (What did we ever do before Facebook groups became the new face of activism, by the way?).
The Facebook fan page continued to grow, many of its members calling for a cheap plate of hash browns and bacon . . . like now.

Well, some wishes do come true.

The Mercury Cafe and Grill opened its doors in April. The place seemed to spring up overnight on the corner of 13th and Robinson streets in a spot that has housed numerous other restaurants.

The Mercury is a diner, no doubt about that. From the bright red vinyl booths to the formica and chrome tables, stepping into The Mercury is like stepping back 50 or 60 years in time. The Mercury is also under the same ownership as Regina's well-loved Novia Cafe, another all-out diner. This is a good thing -- who better to start a new diner than the folks who run one of the city's oldest and best?

I've been to The Mercury twice now, once for breakfast and once for supper. It's hard to find the right word to describe both experiences. It wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't horrible either. Perhaps satisfactory is the right word.

Weekend breakfast bustles and hustles in The Mercury. If you're not there by 11 on a Sunday, you're going to wait in line for awhile. Granted, The Mercury could easily jam a few more tables into the dining room in order to shave some time off the waiting game.

Your choices for breakfast are classic standbys: bacon and eggs; hash browns; pancakes; an omelette. You get the picture. Now, is it cheap? That depends on your definition of cheap. Most items run around the $8-9 mark, plus the cost of coffee and/or juice. I've had cheaper, but I've also had more expensive.

Service can be a little disorganized, but hopefully the servers work that out amongst themselves as the restaurant irons out the operating wrinkles. We had to wait 30 minutes for any food to hit the table at breakfast, almost enough to push us to the breaking point, but not quite. Fortunately, our waitress took good care of us in the meantime.

Now let's talk about supper for a moment. Once again, there are few surprises on the evening menu. Nachos; chicken wings; chicken fingers; burgers; clubhouse sandwiches; and grilled cheese are a few of the choices.

We ordered up a plate of nachos to get things started. With a $10 price tag, we pictured a nice platter of cheesy chips and veggies. We couldn't have been more wrong. A dinner plate with a puny pile of nachos on it was what we got. Even worse: the scarce bits of cheese on the chips were overcooked and rubbery. Epic fail, my friends. Epic fail.

Next up: the burgers. Now this is where the action is at. Tender homemade beef patties are smooshed between fresh buns with all the fixins. I went for the Mushroom Swiss. Big Willie had The Mercury Burger (two patties with fried onions, mushrooms, shaved ham, Swiss and cheddar cheese). All burgers come with a side. We went for the french fries and they were done to perfection.

Big Poppa (my dad) went for the open-faced Hot Turkey Sandwich . . . which came with hot chicken, oddly enough. But he got past that.

All in all, The Mercury offers up decent food in a comfortable room. The motto seems to be: come as you are, eat what you will. Now if they'd only fine-tune the nachos and up the portion size for most of the breakfast menu, we might have a sure-fire winner on our hands.

(no website)

I have a client who told me her one dealbreaker was a round mirror because it was too nautical looking. Um, here are some of my "pins" on Pinterest...

Haha. I promised her I would not put a round mirror in her home. No matter how much I want to!

Sometimes life is black and white. Sometimes it is many, many, many shades of grey! Defining and understanding those shades of grey can be both exciting and excruciating. Pardon me, but I'm in a grey period so I would like to relish in a lil' black and white...

Charleston folks have been getting some good press lately and I like it! The current issue of Southern Living features tips for creating a quintessential Charleston Home which, of course, needs to be primed for entertaining (as us Southerners love to do)!

First up is designer, Jenny Keenan, who shows us the
"Elements of a Charleston Living Room."

Next is designer and store owner, Muffie Faith, of Elizabeth Stuart Design who shows us the "Elements of a Charleston Piazza."

Tara Guerard of the event planning powerhouse, Soiree, shows us the
"Elements of a Charleston Dining Room."

Click on the links for the full articles.

Who says black and white has to mean bland? Check out these beautiful rooms decorated primarily in a black and white scheme. Being a fan of color, I don't think I could do this in my home however I can appreciate the look. What do you think?

To avoid having the room look "flat" be sure to vary the textures of fabrics, rugs, art and accessories to add some interest as they did with the grasscloth
in this dining room.

And if ALL black and white is too much try adding
an accent color for some contrast.

~Images: 1) Porchlightinteriorsblog 2) Apartment Theropy 3) NJ 4) KWID 5) Elle Decor Oct 2007 6) Cottage Living Sept 2008 7) Cottage Living March 2006 8) Unknown 9) Freshome

I have a client who's handy husband is going to build some built-in shelves and cabinets that I designed for their living room. We are toying with painting the back wall the color of the adjoining dining room to subtly tie the two rooms together AND bring some color to the large, boring wall. Here is some inspiration...

Well sometimes, that is a good idea...depending on your issue. I mean if you have something ugly to cover like a CPU/computer cords, recycling bins or stacks of magazines then a skirt is a good idea. Heck, you might even want to cover up the table itself! Much like I did in my dining room. Grandma's hand me down wasn't much to look at but it was the perfect size so I had my seamstress make a custom burlap tablecloth with a smocking detail at the top.

Voila!

Designer Tom Scheerer

Domino

Designer Palmer Weiss

Designer Palmer Weiss

Oh Martha, so daring with your mini-skirt!

Martha Stewart

A wee bit o' green goes a long way in these rooms, don't you think?

*All photos found on Pinterest.

Eclectic has been nominated as Best Interior Design Blog by JDR Annual Blogger Industry Awards, please click on the link and take a second and vote for me! You don't have to register or anything...just check a box. Many thanks!!!

THE ROUND-UP:

Food - 4.5 out of 5
Service - 4.5 out of 5
Decor - 4.5 out of 5
Total - 13.5 out of 15

2375 Sainte-Catherine est
Montreal, Quebec
514-522-5105
restolegraindesel.ca
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If you're anything like me, TripAdvisor has become a trusted travel companion before, during, and after a trip takes you out on the road.

TripAdvisor offers more information about hotels, restaurants, and activities in almost any city than you could probably ever read. And more often than not, the information is reliable and straight-up honest.

Until recently, it had been more than seven years since the last time I visited Montreal. I was at a total loss as to where to eat, especially in a city with as many options as Montreal. So, I took the web's advice.

Do a search for restaurants in Montreal on TripAdvisor, and the number 1 result is a little bistro by the name of Le Grain de Sel (at least at the time of writing in September 2010).

Thank you yet again, TripAdvisor, for an amazing night out.

While no one visits Montreal without strolling down Sainte-Catherine Street at least once, Le Grain de Sel is on a stretch of the street that sees little traffic (about five blocks east of the Papineau subway stop).

The main dining room out front is cozy. White linens dress each table with darker colours on the bar and walls.

Staff were immediately welcoming and friendly, offering us a choice of available tables. The menu is completely in French, but our waiter took the time to explain almost every item, mostly without even being prompted.

I think Le Grain de Sel's total lack of pretension is one of its best qualities. The head chef even came out to our table to ask how the food was at one point in the meal. And he looked like he genuinely wanted to make sure we were having a good time.

We ordered the Escargots en Croute and a pair of fresh Quebec Scallops for appetizers. Both dishes were delicious. The escargots came served in a piping hot bowl covered by a thin crust of glazed phyllo dough. Beneath the doughy dome were our escargots, buttery and mixed with wild mushrooms. Mwa!

The scallops were seasoned perfectly with oil, salt, and pepper, and served with a side of corn and red pepper. Not your usual sides, but they were a perfect match for the scallops.

As for main courses, we ventured for the halibut and a duo of haddock and pork belly. The fish was truly delicious and makes me wish that I lived nearer to the ocean.

The pork, on the other hand, was extraordinarily fatty. So much so that once the fat was cut away, just a few morsels of meat were left. When our lovely waitress asked how I liked my meal, I had to confess that I wasn't nuts about the pork. But she made a good point: the fatty pork was intentionally paired with the ultra-lean haddock as a contrast. I still can't say that I enjoyed the pork, but at least the kitchen is thinking seriously about the food it serves.

For dessert, we gorged on a homemade cheesecake, and a cold raspberry and balsamic vinegar soup with fresh doughnuts on top. It was all too, too delicious.

If I had to give Le Grain de Sel a grade, it would be an F++.

Hold on now, that stands for Fresh, Friendly, and Fantastic.

When in Montreal go to Le Grain de Sel. Just go.

Have you ever seen something fantastic at a flea market, antique store or junk shop and hesitated only to go back and find that someone else snagged your fabulous find? Oh, the agony! Oftentimes I cannot remember why I hesitated in the first place because now all I can do is obsess about said item.

These are a few of my shopping regrets that still haunt me...
-Pair of Saarien side tables in excellent condition for $20 (I know, I know, I was trying to be more traditional at this stage of my life)
-Set of 8 Chinese Chippendale Chairs for an absolute steal (I couldn't justify spending money on new dining room chairs when I already had some but these were really unique and in excellent condition. Boo!)
-An amazing figurative study oil painting in really serene aquas and tans (I am beside myself on this one. Art is truly one of a kind!)
-A pair of pendant lights, probably 50's that would have looked amazing painted in a bright color like yellow or turquoise and hanging above nightstands (They are now hanging in my designer friend's lake house because she was smart enough to bite the bullet and buy them! Hope you are enjoying them Anne!)

These are just some that were on the forefront of my mind. I still have the photos but couldn't bare to post them. Sniff, sniff. Do you have any shopping regrets you want to share? If so, leave me a comment. It might help to get it out of your system!
~Image: Martha Stewart's book Good Things From Tag Sales and Flea Markets

Went to the Homegrown Concert (annual Hootie & The Blowfish + Friends) with my girls...

(Not the best photo but it is the only one we took!)

Dropped these pretties off at a client's house for her art studio...

And these beauts at another client's house...

Only 13 days left to take advantage of my Summer Promotion: Get TWO rooms for the price of ONE on my e-decorating services. Here is a dining room just completed for a client. Email sidney@eclectic-idg.com for more information.

Look at all these gorgeous pillows for sale in my booth over at Southern Accents. Interested? Email sidney@eclectic-idg.com. I can ship them to you!

I have SO much to make and load into my booth. Gotta run...have a great weekend y'all!

This is the "Smith's" (the winner wanted to remain anonymous) dining room, the winners of my lil' contest. They wanted to get rid of everything except their table which was custom made out of a riddling rack (the top of the table is one-half of a riddling rack, pictured below, very cool!). They want to keep the "rustic" look and their favorite colors are blue and green.

Here are my suggestions...

Paint the walls Benjamin Moore Van Buren Brown

Add this rug...

West Elm

And these chairs...

End Chairs, Pottery Barn and Side Chairs, William Sonoma Home

And these window treatments...

Custom Silk Window Treatments and Pottery Barn Hardware

And this chandelier...

Circa Lighting Marigot Chandelier

Then I would add a series of Antique Audubon Prints like this...

And BAM!

Considering some of these patterns for a client...

*Images on my Pinterest Board "Floors and Ceilings"

I have been wanting to write the post for a while but didn't have the time to really research it like I wanted to. Thank you strep throat for giving me some time! I have posted before on my adoration for Nancy Meyers and her brilliant moviemaking "The Holiday," "Somethings Gotta Give," "Father of the Bride" just to name a few. She not only tells an amazing story but I love how much time, effort and detail she puts into the character's surroundings. Well, "It's Complicated" is her latest creation and as I sat in the theater watching the film, all I could hear was the audience's comments on the home of Meryl Streep's character, Jane's home which was set in Santa Barbara, California. And when I wasn't drooling over my boyfriend, John Krasinski, I was looking at the home too!

Who's Emily Blunt?
P.S. My face is so shiny because I am so happy.

I like that it looked lived in and you can see how it evolved over time. Nancy talks about the importance of creating the environment because as she sees it, it is an extension of the character. In this movie, "70% of the screenplay takes place inside three rooms, 70 pages. I was building a house, what I wanted it to look like. I get into it..."

When asked about the natural, earthy elements in the decor, Jon Hutman, the film's production designer, said the following: "It's the idea of classic elements used with a modern aesthetic. There's slipcovered furniture with natural linen, beautiful old wood on the doors, dining table and floors. There's also a very Italian influence in terms of color and materials. There's a casual comfort that's very approachable and appealing" according to an article by The Washington Post.

For those of you that haven't seen the movie, the main character is renovating her kitchen and as the owner of a famous bakery, you just know it is going to be good! So I was anxiously awaiting the end of the movie because I was dying to see Jane's new kitchen which sadly, was never reveled. The reason for that, Jon explains is that the kitchen was not the focus of the movie, it was Jane's life quest. And Nancy (I presume) thought it best to let the viewer's imagine what the newly renovated, dream kitchen looked like. Okay, okay, I get it but it would have been fun to see Jon's vision, right?

Well if you love this kitchen, as is, Remodelista did a post on ways to recreate the look. Check it out!

Have you seen the Coastal Living Showhouse on Daniel Island yet? It just opened to the public last week and my friend interior designer Ginger Brewton did a great job! I know she worked her tail off and it showed! Set right on the Wando River, this house is beautiful on the inside and out.

via

The kitchen was one of my favorite rooms in the house. I especially love island/built-in dining table with the marble countertops!

via
I love how light and clean this room is! And these poufs...OMG...these poufs! Dying.

I thought this was a brilliant use of space for storage under the stairs!

The backyard has a lovely outdoor seating area overlooking the Wando River. If only I could have this view from my back porch!

Throughout the house was artwork by the very talented local artist, Cindy DeAntonio.

This month, Cindy DeAntonio, will be having her debut art show at Eclectic! I am so excited to see her fantastic collection of work!

Hope to see you there!

Eclectic Interior Design Group is a full-service design firm based in Charleston, South Carolina working on both residential and commercial spaces. Please email sidney@eclectic-idg.comfor additional information.

Eclectic is a retail shop/design studio located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina selling an array of vintage pieces, repurposed items, new products and locally made art with a fresh Modern meets Coastal aesthetic.

I love the idea of using old corbels and brackets in an interesting way. As I have mentioned before, I am obsessed with circles and found these great rusty, old iron brackets that I used to help delineate between my dining and living room.

Like them? Then you might like this too...

~Images: 1 and 2) Unknown 3) Designer Sara Robinson 4) Better Homes & Gardens March 2009 5) My Portfolio

"Like everyone else, I had become a slave to the IKEA nesting instinct. If I saw something like clever coffee table in the shape of a yin and yang, I had to have it. I would flip through catalogs and wonder, "What kind of dining set defines me as a person?" We used to read pornography. Now it was the Horchow Collection. I had it all. Even the glass dishes with tiny bubbles and imperfections, proof they were crafted by the honest, simple, hard-working indigenous peoples of wherever." -Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

I totally get the appeal of IKEA: inexpensive, readily accessible furniture that provides a function with simple transitional pieces that fit into most design schemes. However, I have some issues that often keep me from shopping there...

Love: Prices.
Love: Clean, modern style.

Hate: Mass produced furniture. (Not saying I don't own any and I get that they have their place in the world. I am just sayin'...)
Hate: The maze of a store with only one way in and one way out! Torture. I have never had a panic attack but I imagine that if I ever do, it will be in an IKEA.
Hate: That to order via catalog you have to pay a shipping charge greater than that of shipping your entire house to another state.
Hate: That in the store when you see something you like, you can't immediately grab it. You have to write down the number and take it to the appropriate section. This never happens as it should for me. I prefer instant gratification.
Hate: Self-assembly. (I put this last because this doesn't totally bother me when you consider the price. Plus, I kinda like the satisfaction of breaking a sweat for my furniture. This is probably also why crab legs are my favorite food.)

With all that being said, I love the idea of taking a very simple and inexpensive piece from the IKEA collection and disguising it amongst other high-end pieces. Or better yet, "making it your own" (that was my best Tim Gunn impression) by altering it somehow. For example, here is a basic IKEA Lack table that sells for $7.99 (yes, I said $7.99)!

Check it out in a room designed by David Netto...doesn't look half bad does it?

Although they come in a variety of colors, you could buy the natural birch finish and have them lacquered to match a color in your design scheme for a truly custom look like this...

Or you could copy designer Nick Olsen and cover it in wallpaper (or wrapping paper or scrapbookpaper)...

Or get super creative a la Ruthie Sommers who covered it in fishnet (yes, I said fishnet) and then give it a clear lacquer finish for added texture.
Brilliant!!!

Now that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

~Images: 1) IKEA catalog 2) IKEA.com 3) Domino Feb 2007 4) Domino Oct 2005 5) Domino Nov 2006 6) Domino Feb 2007