Modern-Day Cave Man

The walls are painted, the furniture, area rug, lighting and blinds are in place and the cave paintings are hung.  At long last, John M.'s "Man Cave II" is ready for habitation.

The finishing touches were made to the cave while John and his wife, Karen, were away on a trip.  When they returned home, John sent me this message:

"Karen and I just returned home and had to run upstairs first thing to see the MC II!  It is wonderful!  LOVE the prints, and, of course, you already know that we love the rest.  The new rug is perfect.  I can almost (not quite) take credit for killin’ the b’ar just like Davey Crockett did.  And, the “rearranging” you did is great.  We hadn’t done anything more with positioning things because of the trip and wanting to see the prints on the walls, but your taste, as usual, works just great for us!  I am SO looking forward to hibernating in the cave for a long time.  (Winter doesn’t end for another six months, does it?)"



Shortly thereafter, John and Karen unveiled the new cave to family members and I received another e-mail from John:

"We “unveiled” the MC II tonight to Sue and Paul, Beth and Tim.  All were very impressed an insanely jealous.  I think they liked it."

Take a look at the "before" and "after" photos below:   

Before




After

 

After



Before

 






Before



After





     





This was an extremely fun project to work on, and I want to thank John and Karen for giving me the latitude to take the cave theme all the way from inspiration to installation.   My sincere hope is that this space will be a place of refuge for John, who is now officially a modern-day cave man.  Here's hoping Karen can lure him out of the cave once in awhile! 

It's Karen's turn next...we're going to remodel the kitchen.  Do you think we should call it her "gal cave"?

Stay tuned...!
 

 

 

Las Vegas Market - Trends Update

Last week I attended market week at the World Market Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  As usual, it was a feast for the senses sensory overload.  Despite the allure of 65 degree temperatures and sunshine, I spent three days indoors traversing the hallways of three 16-ish story buildings in search of the latest trends in home furnishings.

By far the most dominant trend at market was the use of natural and/or reclaimed materials.  Accessories, light fixtures and furniture were made of driftwood, reeds, grasses, shells, feathers, rocks, bottlecaps, old newspapers, shutters, etc.  I didn't see anything made from old pizza boxes, but I assume it's only a matter of time... Here are some examples:

Also prominent was the use of colored glass in vases, trays and bowls, most in citrus colors and turquoise, with the occasional purple thrown in for good measure.

 Area rugs were highly textured, including beautiful sculpted patterns and silky, soft shags.  Although these photos are in living color, there were many rugs shown in tone-on-tone neutral shades such as pewter, taupe and ivory.

  Elements of whimsy surfaced in all categories:

And finally, although it wasn't prominently featured at this market, the Color Marketing Association has declared that Honeysuckle (a deep pink color) is the THE color for 2011.  As with most color trends, they appear first in the home furnishings arena as tabletop and small accessories, although I did observe the use of pink tones in area rugs and throw pillows.  Stay tuned as the year progresses to see if Honeysuckle appears in accessories and textiles...

That's it for the market update from the spring show in Las Vegas.  Let me know if you need help incorporating any of the new trends into your decor.  Or, if you venture into the trends on your own, send me your photos--I'd love to see them!