Fashion Follows Design

Happy Friday readers! If you haven't noticed, there are a lot of bright colors, patterns and Asian motifs in today's world. Typically people think these trends start in fashion and carry to other places, but the trends actually start in design and carry to places. No matter which way you think of it, it is hard to miss the similarities. Check out what we came across that shows just how much things correlate.

Courtesy of Elle Decor Magazine

All Around the USA

For those of you that do not know, we are featured on the nationally known site One Kings Lane under the Vintage & Market Finds section. We started this new venture in June and are happy to say we are making huge strides! It is a very exciting time for us and could not be more happy with what we are doing. The great thing about being on One Kings Lane, is that we can reach people throughout the United States with our products and designs. Since starting in June we have reached customers in 30 states! Amazing right?! Take a look at the states that we have reached, they are highlighted on the map below in green.

Little Bit of Inspiration

Today's inspiration comes from none other than famous interior decorator, Dorothy Draper. Born in 1889, Draper was the first to "professionalize" the interior design business by starting the first interior design company in 1923. A feet in and of itself, but also unheard of for a woman in that time period. Known for her vibrant colors and unique style, Draper invented what we know today as "Modern Baroque." This is where you mix modern with classical styles. From 1930-1960, Draper was the most famous decorator in the United States. Not only did she design residential spaces, but commercial spaces, furniture, fabric, packaging and automobile interiors. Throughout all that she did, her goal when designing spaces was to "represent a place for people to come and feel elevated in the presence of great beauty, where the sense could look, feel and absorb the meaning of a quality life."

 All images are inspired from Draper or Carleton Varney, who she was a mentor to.

Images courtesy of Varney's books "Houses in my Heart" and "Mr. Color"

Monochromatic Anyone?

Have you ever thought of designing a room using only one color? Most people would say no because they believe it would be boring or too matchy-matchy. The truth is using a single color, with many shades of that color, can create a dramatic effect in a space. By designing  room around a single color, you will be using a monochromatic color scheme. The trick is to pick 1 color and use this as your main color. Next, select 2 or 3 other shades, which are either lighter or darker or are another color in the same color family of the one you initially picked. Basically, you end up with dark, medium, and light tones of a single color. Apply these colors around your room and watch a transformation happen. By layering the colors, you create depth and contrast. You will also develop a focal point, which happens typically where the darkest color is applied. Simple yet effective right? And whether you are traditional or modern, the great part is that a monochromatic color scheme fits into any person's design style.
 

Courtesy of Home Design Finds

Courtesy of Traditional Home

Courtesy of Traditional Home

Courtesy of askmissa

Courtesy of Design Rulz

Courtesy of Homes Trendy

Courtesy of Yolo Color House

Courtesy of Elle Decor

Courtesy of House Beautiful

Courtesy of Elle Decor

   

Markets of the World

We were so excited when the new issue of  House Beautiful came in the mail this week! There is nothing better than reading about and searching for new items and trends for our clients. While reading our October 2012 issue we came across this article we just had to share. It features Susan Feldman, one of One Kings Lane's co-founders! For those of you that don't know SWI is featured on OKL, so of course this article appealed to us. The article discusses Susan's trips around the world with designers in search of rare items to feature on OKL. Here's a few snapshots from the article. We highly suggest reading it!

(photos courtesy of House Beautiful)

-swi

Little Bit of Inspiration

Happy Monday readers! Like most of you out there, Mondays always seem to be a hard day for us. It's the day that we get back in the swing of things after the busy,busy weekends. That said, we have decide to devote Monday's to being a day of inspiration. We will show you things that have inspired us to get ourselves, along with you readers, ready for the week ahead. 

Our first inspirational post is from our owner and designer, Tenesia Wildermuth. She describes her inspiration as....

"Many different things inspire me as a designer.  However, many of my inspirations are either from a photo that I have taken while traveling or one that I have seen and the images are stored in my mind.  It is the collaboration of these images in my head that will bring a design together.  During my trip to Paris I was inspired!  It is amazing how much we use in design today that is 2-300 years ago.  Good design is ALWAYS good!  Here are some of my inspiring photos from Paris.  Au revoir!"

A Glimpse Into...

Like we said yesterday, we have been hard at work creating pieces for SWI Vintage. So we thought we would share some of our most recent completed projects with you. Whether it is small or a large, we create pieces that are completely customized and cannot be found anywhere else. 

Which of these is your favorite?

A New Journey

Over the past few months, we have been working hard to create a new division of Shanahan Wildermuth Interiors and we are finally ready to reveal it. We are happy to introduce SWI Vintage! SWI Vintage is where we take vintage items and transport them into the present day. Refurbishing items through lacquer, upholstery, wiring or whatever that particular piece needs, we modernize items, while still keeping an eclectic feel. The pieces that we do are one-of-a-kind, completely customized and cannot be found anywhere else! Please visit our tab on this blog and our SWI Vintage website to see all of our products.

 

Shop SWI Vintage 

 

Welcome!

Welcome to the brand new blog for Shanahan Wildermuth Interiors! We are dedicating this blog not only to our designs, but vintage finds, lifestyle happenings, and overall inspiration. We will take you through client projects, furniture re-purposing and anything that we find interesting and want to share with you. We are always changing and growing, so we encourage you to check back often and see what's new. Please invite others to do the same! We are extremely excited about this and hope that you enjoy what we will be showing you. Be on the lookout for our next post, where we will be announcing a new journey we are starting.

-swi