The Designer's Beach Bungalow

I have been admiring this South Caroline beach bungalow for quite some time now belonging to interior designer Amelia Handegan. I love how every little piece in the home looks like it came from somewhere, has a story, and is dear to the heart of the owner (and decorator :)). That to me is the best part about viewing the home of a designer, you know it is decorated in a style only true to their own.

See what I mean?

Color Me Coastal with Amanda Nisbet

When I think of chic coastal style I think of tranquility and calmness; colors of whites, sands, and blues, natural textures and fibers, sheers blowing in the breeze, seashells and corals. Amanda Nisbet takes coastal, and splashes it with color, fun and spunk, and I'm kind of in love: 

love the warms sands, cool turquoises, pink and coral patterns, lacquer, lucite and wood finishes.

the photo above the fireplace is GORG and love the symmetry in furniture selections

nice flow into the kitchen

I mean?? How cool is that?!

huge fan of all this art, wonder whose it is?

love her turquoise uses!

umm those coral back chairs...NEED

vintage romper framed, who does that? She does and this is why I love her.

Amanda, thank you for all your inspiration to be bold and take risks in design. Your interiors look like you piece together all things you love and adore, and it works so beautifully :)

xoxo, Liz

all images via amandanisbetdesign.com

With the Wind in my Sails...

Please note that this will be a full out stream of consciousness post, well when Jack isn't harassing me to take him outside - woop there he goes! I would ignore him but now is his time to you know what...Also I have to run to work in an hour so if there are typos, I ran out of time and taking a shower was more important :)

Before I begin I want you to know that sometimes I struggle with what to share and what not to share on the world wide web but at heart this blog is and has always been a pretty open experience of a girl following her dreams and starting a business, and it would be an utter shame to keep the real meat and potatoes to myself. I guess sometimes I want everyone else to think everything is just easy-breezy in the life of Shorely Chic but as we all know nothing is always easy-breezy and there are periods of uncertainty and ups and downs. I have to admit that over the past few months with all that is going on in my personal life (getting married!) and crazy work life, I think the heart of my blog has suffered. I've taken a lot of myself out of my posting this summer for lack of time, and uncertainty with what I am doing. If you have noticed, I'm sorry and it's changing back over this morning :)

SO now for the meat and potatoes. Let me list out what's been going on in order of occurrence:

• got some big clients for decorating projects
• had to scale back to practically no hours at my corporate job in order to keep up with the decorating biz
• decided to open a studio/showroom in my friend's space 
• found out from the town that retail was not permitted on second floor space
• got an offer from an amazing designer to be her right hand this summer and help her with the MAJOR projects she has going on
• This weekend: decided to close the doors to the studio for a while and get back to the roots of Shorely Chic, the stress-free part I loved, CREATING products and selling them.

As you can see, there has been lots going on for this gal over at Shorely Chic Enterprises and some key decisions made. I arbored over these decisions and went into them with the attitude that nothing is forever, and with the opportunities falling into my lap, why say no?  I'm the type who would always wonder and regret not trying and in this time of my life when I could a afford to take these risks, it was a no brainer. 

The store: I LOVED having my items all in one place and I adored looking at that space. Being able to open the doors and let the world in to my vision was exhilarating. The tricky part was getting people in and having the stipulation from the town that no retail was permitted on the second floor. I tried it for a few months, had a fabulous party, and came out OK. The real trouble was the constant stress on me to make the numbers, balance working on my own decorating projects and working with the designer. Shorely Chic was starting to become a burden and I couldn't let that happen so I decided that now and under the circumstances of the physical location of the shop, was not the right time to have a space. 

I feel like a weight has been lifted, it's really incredible. Do I regret it? Not for a second. It was a ton of work and lots of $$ invested but if I didn't try it, I would kick myself. I learned so much and enjoyed some of the time I was there, minus the stress over the balance sheet and giving away all my spare time. 

I am moving forward and have some amazing ideas in store... you just wait!!!

LOVE YOU ALL & thank you so much for listening. I needed to get this out and get back to myself. 

Dana Gibson at Shorely Chic

A long time ago I met a very inspiring woman at the New York International Gift Fair. My mom and I were instantly drawn to her booth and were swooning over all the colors and patterns on her frames, wastebaskets and lamps. We chatted with her for quite some time and I was so inspired by her journey of becoming a successful product designer.  A few weeks later I contacted her for an interview which I posted here.

When I opened Shorely Chic in Darien, CT I knew I had to start carrying some of her products and I started with these beauties which you can buy in my online store:

aren't they GORG?

buy them here :) 

Horizontal Wood Paneling

I'm so digging horizontal wood paneling these days! It's so beachy and really makes a statement in the home. The designer I am working with this summer did it in one of our client's homes and I almost screamed when I first saw it.

Love it on a stairway! 

with bamboo shades, beachy perfection...

a very rustic version

so yummy on the stairs

ADORE the walls, and this bedding from West Elm

I think I prefer them white, but you can add color, too!

love it outdoors

Ikea!

Southern Living Idea House by Tracery Interiors

And if you're not up for the project of creating paneling, you can always paint them on:

House Beautiful

The Lettered Cottage

All About Walls

New England Classic

There is something that warms my heart when I see a home like this. It reminds me of long days at the beach, outdoor showers, corn on the cob and lobsters, and the most restful sleeps at night. With all that's going on these days, I want to be spending time at a home like this, right this very minute! Yes, vacation is certainly calling, and my sleep wasn't the most restful last night :)

Victoria Hagen designed this beautiful Nantucket home and absolutely everything about it is unmistakably New England Classic. 

very Ralph Lauren (Victoria Hagen)

I love that side stripe on the stair runner!

Now close your eyes and go there for a few minutes :)