TREND WATCH - Painted Dining Room Chairs

I am tired of all of my BROWN (antique wood) furniture and I must admit that I have heard several people make the same comment.  As I browse around, I see more and more painted furniture all over the design world.  I am especially loving painted dining room chairs as a way to bring color into the dining room.  Go ahead-look at your dining room!  Your table and chairs are probably BROWN.  Wouldn't painted chairs POP in there?

House of Honey Shield-Back Chair

Eddie Ross designed room-I think this was for Southern Living?

Shield Back Chairs with Chevron Rug-another trend

Painted Queen Anne Chairs in Traditional DR

Note the Geometric Fabric on Seats

Obviously from some movie-I don't know which

Painted Ladder-Back Chairs

TREND WATCH - Venetian Chandeliers

Virginia Garden Week is a dream come true for house voyeurs.  While Roanoke only hosts one day of tours, Richmonders have three days!  I have a dear friend who lives in Richmond so I frequently get to stay with her and attend all three days.  Getting to see over 15 fabulous homes in our state capitol gives you a real sense of what's hot.  This year I saw zebra rugs in almost all of the houses, which was not really a "new" trend; it's been around for a while.  What I did notice that was new is a bunch of Venetian chandeliers.  They're the ones made with beautiful glass or crystal, frequently in color.  Some of them have some gorgeous hand-blown components.  I'd say at least half of the homes on the tour had one of these.  Below are some photos that I took while in Richmond on the tour.  Note the Ogee rug at the bottom; we'll talk geometric rugs later.  As you can see, these can take on any style: Victorian, modern, shabby chic, etc.

Richmond kitchen: same kitchen, different angles.

Richmond family room.  Note the Ogee rug.

HERE ARE SOME SAMPLES FROM THE WEB:

antiquesplus.com.au

chandelierswith.com

designer Jamie Drake's personal dining room

bedroom of Stephane & Frouwkje Pagani of Pagani Studio Lighting



BRIGHT RUGS

It's almost impossible to find traditional style rugs in bright colors.  Have you seen these from Pottery Barn Teen?  I love them!  They call them Kilim rugs; my family calls them Dhurrie rugs.  Either way, they would really punch up a family room or kitchen.