INSPIRED

 Hi guys ...

What has inspired you this week?
Let's compare notes ...

IN THE STUDIO ...
This week, I've been inspired in the studio,
where I've been very busy painting
several custom illustrations ...
that included perfume and pink seashells and
stilettos and pretty chaise lounges
and much, much more for
some lovely clients.
I feel so lucky that for my job,
I get to paint such beautiful items all of the time.

WHEN NOT IN THE STUDIO ...
When not illustrating, I've been inspired by my HOME,
 as I dream and plan the decor of the current room I'm working on,
the living room, of our house that we purchased and moved into last June.

Sooooo ...
since I can't share photos of the above illustrations
that I'm currently working on with you yet,
and this is a post in the INSPIRED series,
let's talk about decor inspiration!
For instance, yesterday, after working in the studio non-stop
from early morning until mid-afternoon,
I took a break to stretch and stepped out into the beautiful sunshine.
I called up my best friend to join me in my continued search
for the next items I needed for the living room ...
which was two pretty side chairs
to flank a side table in the big bay window.
This window is such a happy, sunny place in the room
and I wanted it to be the perfect spot
for sitting with a friend and sharing a glass of iced tea
and chatting while doing something fun like leafing through
a stack of magazines in the summer sunshine.

Since our house is on water,
I've mentioned before that I've chosen to
decorate the home in a peaceful but glamorous
beach house style.
Decorating always inspires me, doesn't it you?
I can have so much fun just playing with
 a perfect tabletop vignette.  You too?

If you follow me on instagram,
you've seen tidbits here and there of the living room so far ...
but if you don't follow, here are a few snaps
that I've posted from my i-phone  ...

The first and one of the very best choices I made
was to paint the walls in the living room
the most luscious, ethereal shade of pale blue-green
that looks SO pretty with the glossy white trim.
The room is so serene and it really makes you feel
that you're under a summer sky with sunshine
pouring in the tall windows.
Below is the arch in front of the living room
bay window in the new color.


I haven't bought any window treatments
or decided on a rug yet, but I have bought a
pretty white sofa and some great pillows for it ...
and the crystal urn lamp and table you see in the background
is one of  two matching tables/lamps that flank the bay window
behind the sofa ...


In keeping with the beachy theme,
a Nate Berkus white tortoiseshell graces one wall ...


I also chose two lamps like the one below for a long side table in the room ...
I love the coral bases.
And I'm now looking for two chic ottomans to tuck under that table.


Until yesterday's afternoon trip in search of the chairs,
the living room colors consisted only of pale whites, creams and blue-green.
I hadn't decided on another color yet, but after yesterday,
two new side chairs for the window decided that for me.
This pretty graphic print is a closep-up of the pattern
on the new chairs I purchased ... a sunny yellow that reminds me
of the happiness of summer sun and yellow beach umbrellas ...


I've been trying to decide on the artwork I'll be painting for the room ...
when I figure that out, I'll share photos when the artwork begins ...

Speaking of home inspiration, I'll close with something
 I recently saw that was fun and inspirational
in an architectural way and
thought you might enjoy seeing.
Architecture ALWAYS inspires me, doesn't it you?
I love home decor blogs and one that never fails to impress
is The Enchanted Home, where the author invites us
to join her as she shares, among other things, her adventures
as she decorates her absolutely
breathtaking and stately home.

In a recent post (here), The Enchanted Home
shared with us photos of a Mt. Vernon-inspired playhouse
and I couldn't believe my eyes!
Yes ... you read right ... it's really a playhouse!



Allan Greenberg, Architect

Unbelievable, no?
My thanks to The Enchanted Home for sharing the fun.

Will you be doing something inspiring this weekend?
I'd love to hear what you've been up to!
Are you decorating too right now?
Do tell!
Till next Monday ...

OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration,
drop Sandy a line here.

The photos of my home in this post
are personal photos taken by SANDY M

The two playhouse photos
courtesy of  The Enchanted Home.

COULD SHE BE YOU

DECOR FASHIONISTA

She sees each empty room as fashion space to fill,
She waves her designer wand to create magic at will;
For bejeweled hats and headbands, her vision is very clear,
Those items would be translated into a sparkling chandelier;

To her, the color on the walls is not a backdrop at all,
It's one of the most important characters at this fashion ball;
The furniture she chooses are supermodels every one,
Some are sophisticated pieces and others just for fun;

With door handles as jewels and bouquets as perfume,
The show is almost complete for her fabulous room;
She's thought of every detail ... she only needs one more,
she can't forget the runway ... a simply breathtaking floor!

COULD SHE BE YOU?

I don't know about you,

but I love interior design like I love fashion ...

and they are both favorite subjects for illustrating!

As I'm in the midst of decorating my home

that we purchased last year,

this post was a fun one to do ...

now, I must go wave a wand!

Have a wonderful weekend, darlings.

See you Monday!

OOH LA FROU FROU

is the blog of illustrator

SANDY M

For custom illustration,

leave a note for Sandy here.

The Pink Chair & Shoes

illustration is by SANDY M

All of the photos used in this post

are from my:

Pinterest boards entitled:

Pretty Things, Jewelry for the Home,

Living Rooms, Dining Rooms, Beautiful Baths

COMMISSIONED

COMMISSIONED
Nicole Ritchie Interiors

Hi everybody!
Today I thought I'd show you the process of
another custom illustration that was
 completed not long ago.

This one was for a delightful client,
interior designer Nicole Ritchie.
It was to be an illustration of Nicole in front
of an interior design store with windows
that were filled to the brim with some of her
favorite pieces of furniture and accessories!
She wanted to frame it in her office and

use for future business purposes.

She had the wonderful idea of creating a Pinterest board
called "Inspiration for S" in which she placed
a variety of these favorite pieces for me to come refer to
as inspiration for the illustrations ...
it was a great idea and I had fun doing a little
 furniture "shopping" from her samples
in my decisions of which ones to illustrate
in her windows!

I created this illustration with layers of
 gouache and acrylic washes.
Please forgive the quality of these
first three photos ... they're just quick i-phone shots
of the illustration in progress ...

After the pencil sketch was approved,
the painting of the store began ...
some of the architectural details
 that Nicole mentioned that she loved were the
shingles on Hamptons beach houses
and pretty awnings ...
so I created a white canvas awning above the door
with white drapes flanking the tall topiaries
on either side of the door.
I gave the side windows smaller copper awnings ...


... I sketched the pieces of furniture in the windows
and the chandeliers in the first floor windows
and first pieces of furniture were started ...


... Nicole provided me with a Pinterest photo of a lovely
Dorothy Draper curio that was my inspiration for the
first white and green furniture piece painted, below ....


Many washes of paint later,

the illustration was complete!
Nicole is smaller in this illustration with the store,
but she was also given a separate version
of just the illustration of herself, much larger.
Notice that she's carrying wallpaper books
and bolts of fabric ...


Thank you,
 Nicole Ritchie Interiors!

Have a wonderful second half of the week,
everyone!
If you missed Monday's post entitled
"The Beauty Collector"
be sure to get a dose of beauty here!
See you Friday!


OOH LA FROU FROU
is the blog of illustrator
SANDY M

For custom illustration
contact Sandy here.