Fig or a Palm?

Grant K. Gibson
A fiddle leaf fig? 

David Lawrence
Or a palm? 

A fig has a more free-flowing unruly vibe … 
Tom Scheerer
Whereas you can pot a palm, or palm leaves. Tropical but restrained. 
Palm leaves are heavily featured in all types of design – and with good reason – they look fantastic. Like this “Southwind” wallpaper by Meg Braff. 
Or in these now famous walls designed by Tom Scheerer at the Lyford Cay Club. 
I don’t know what it is about a Fiddle Leaf Fig though … unrestrained and wild, architectural.  A bit trendy these days, but I think there will be no beating it against a grasscloth backdrop in the study in Charleston. 

Because that is one thing to keep in mind in the discussion of palm v. fig. If you’re talking Charleston, there is no escaping the palm leaf. The palmetto tree is featured on the state flag of South Carolina, and palmetto trees line the streets (and our porch). 
Now that I think about it, for me the discussion of palm v. fig is over, because when you walk out the study door onto the porch, you’re staring right into these leaves. So I guess I already have my palm. 

Photos courtesy of Grant K. Gibson, House Beautiful & Town and Country

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Charleston Calm

I am sorry to have been lax as of late. This fall was crazy, and this upcoming spring has become even crazier. WWB proposed on January 1 and we’re getting married! And contrary to the current popular trend of the long engagement, WWB and I are gettin’ it done – in May. This May. In Charleston. AND on top of that, I am trying to get some decorating done for the house in Charleston before all my friends and family come down and start poking around. Oh the stress. 
In Charleston, WWB and I have not been staying in the “Master Bedroom,” but rather the second bedroom because at this point it is more “finished.” However, my plan is that on our wedding night we will stay in the Master Bedroom for the first time – with the decorating completely finished. Obviously trying to get this done in two months is no small feat. I am leaning towards a scheme with a calming effect and have been looking at tons of photos for inspiration. 
Lynn Morgan

Mary McDonald

Tom Stringer

Jeffrey Bilhuber
One of my favorite things about some of these rooms is that they still have that spa-like calming quality, even though some of the fabrics and colors are bright and bold. I love Tom Stringer’s use of yellow as an accent color in an otherwise blue and white color scheme, and Bilhuber’s use of a bright patterned quilt in his spa blue room. 

I love this Macoco fabric from China Seas, that Lynn Morgan used on pillows in the bedroom she designed above. The walls in the bedroom are Benjamin Moore Gray Owl, and the floor is wall to wall sea grass with a faded grayish tint. This bold fabric pattern in a calming hue could be just the thing I need in the bedroom.
Albert Hadley
Despite it having little relation to the space, or even “vibe” of the bedroom I am currently designing, this Albert Hadley designed bedroom is still one of my favorite of all time. Simple. Calming. Timeless. 

Photos courtesy of House Beautiful, Quadrille Fabrics

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JPG LTD at Home

My dear friend Janet Gregg, and one of the chicest jewelry designers around, just launched a new website today at www.janetgregg.com. You all should definitely go and check out her pieces – they are amazing. If her jewelry design isn’t reason enough to understand Janet’s fabulous sense of style, below are pictures I took of her absolutely beautiful cottage on Charleston’s famed Stoll’s Alley. 

Is this your dream house, or what? All of the different paint applications on the walls of the cottage were done by Janet herself! The living room is one of my favorite rooms of all time … which is your favorite?  

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