COCOCOZY ARCH FABRIC SITS PRETTY!

COCOCOZY textiles on a chair in a corner window in Illinois! (above)

Got this lovely photo shown above in my inbox yesterday - a very nice surprise.

CM, who runs all operations at COCOCOZY Headquarters (HQ) in Beverly Hills, forwarded me an email from our Illinois based customer Jennifer Heffernan.

In the email, Jennifer was sending us a photo of the extra wide armchair she recently upholstered in COCOCOZY Arch fabric!  She had purchased about 5 yards from us awhile back!

It is always such a huge treat for me to see COCOCOZY textiles doing good decor work in any home.

I love this corner of tall windows with a pink blossoming tree in the yard outside.  Great floors, fantastic windows, nice view and a little COCOCOZY in the mix too.  I wouldn't mind having a cup of tea and a good magazine read in this cute corner - so nice!

Well done Jennifer!

COCOCOZY Arch in Charcoal Gray -  Fabric by the yard 100% linen (above)

COCOCOZY Arch pillows in Navy and Sea Foam on a Barcelona chair! (above)

Thank you Jennifer for sharing your photo!  You made my day!

To all of you COCOCOZY textile devotees, if you have a photo of your COCOCOZY pillow, throw, fabric, drapery or home accessories in scene at your house, please send me a picture at cococozy@cococozy.com.  I would love to see!

Happy Tuesday!

xo
Coco

P.S.  Just got off the phone with my dentist's office.  We were scheduling my next appointment.  As we were getting off the phone, I asked the dental office person if she could email me a confirmation with the date and time...she said without hesitation,"We don't have email". Who doesn't "have email" these days?  Hmmm...perplexing.

P.P.S.  Got a text from best of friend AM last night around 7:30p my time.  She's in NYC and I am in L.A.  Text said "Your pillows are on Bravo".  Of course, I was skeptical...have had way too many aunts and friends call saying "I just saw your pillows on the local news...they were interviewing a lady about her cat being lost and I saw your pillow in the background."  Needless to say...all of these previous calls have been false alarms.  Last night was different.  Leave it to Harvard Business School alum business wiz decorating maven super smart best of friend AM to get it right.  AM was watching a Bravo TV reality show called Newlyweds The First Year.  Guess she was watching the show with her husband JE because she texted from his phone.  Low and behold, in a scene where a couple named Kim and Alaska were shopping at Gracious Home in New York, they picked up a COCOCOZY Logo pillow and were carrying it around!  I recorded the show on my DVR. Woohoo...will try to take a photo of the screen tonight so you can see.

READER SUBMISSION: MM NEEDS YOUR HELP WITH HER SHELVES!

Have a reader's design dilemma that I want you to help solve.

Just a few weeks ago, I got an email from reader Melissa Malleck (MM).  MM and her hubby completed the build of their custom home in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.  They've been living there about 2 years and love it but MM has a decorating issue she still hasn't resolved.

Below are a few photos of MM's new great room...

Here's MM's decorating stumbling block.  Flanking the fireplace in her great room (living room) are two built in cabinets in dark wood.  MM knows that she wants to style these cabinets right but needs ideas.

Here's an excerpt from MM's email to me from a few weeks ago:

"I have these large built-in cabinets in my home (the ceiling is 11ft and the cabinets are 9' high by 4-5ft wide - each is about 14" high). I just don't know what kind of accessories to put on them... Is less more? Should i use larger pieces, but less of them? Or fill the shelves? Only light-coloured pieces against the dark wood?"

So I ask you dear readers to take a look at MM's living room shelves and please give her some ideas!

MELISSA MALLECK'S (MM) GREAT ROOM

The almost empty shelves in the great room in COCOCOZY reader  Melissa Malleck's (MM) Ontario, Canada home (above and below)

INSPIRATION

Built in shelves are painted white to blend with the adjacent fireplace.  Shelves are filled with books stacked in vertically and horizontally. (above)

The back of this shelf is painted a contrasting avocado green...shelves feature books, framed art, and small decorative items. (above)

Large pieces of matching blue and white pottery and important black framed mirror make a huge statement on this designer built in book shelf. (above)

Shelves in these two cases are filled with books, decorative accessories, keepsakes and also small  bars. (above and below)

What design ideas can you share with MM so she can style her built in bookshelves? Any decor tips you can give her? Please comment below!

Thank you MM (Melissa) for sharing your design dilemma with me and COCOCOZY readers.  Hopefully everyone comments and this helps you and a few others!

Happy Friday!

xo
Coco

P.S.  So excited...today I am getting my first samples for a new line in the COCOCOZY collection I am working on in conjunction with a new partner.  This new COCOCOZY offering will debut in January 2013!  I have to review the samples and give notes right away so we can begin production.  I am so excited.  I can't take it!  Still waiting for the package to come in!


Photos: Jarlath Mellett; Elle Decor; M Design; Anthony Cochran Design; Architectural Digest; Melanie Acevedo; House Beautiful

BEFORE & AFTER: A VIRGINIA FAMILY ROOM REDO!

I love a decor before and after.

I like the idea of transforming a space...taking something old, re-purposing it and making it into something new.  Simple concept and it works for me every time.

So lucky me that I got an email last week from Christine K. from Virginia interior design firm JWS Interiors.  Christine was sharing the pictures of a family room in 5500 square foot Northern Virginia that had been redecorated for a family of 4 and their dog.

When the family wanted a fresh modern update to their old den, they called in interior designer Jennifer Wagner Schmidt from JWS to do the job.

Jennifer immediately said good bye to the mustard yellow paint on the walls and changed it out for a neutral gray.  The exposed brick fireplace had also been painted yellow but in the redo the fireplace is put into relief by being painted a bright pure white.  The old traditional furniture was exchanged out for pieces with cleaner more contemporary lines and a striped rug was added in to ground the space making it a pleasant spot to hang out in.

A picture tells a thousand words...so I'll let you take a look at today's BEFORE & AFTER!

Before (above)

After! (above)

What do you think of this before and after?  What change do you think works the most?  Please do tell!

I like the new gray color scheme and the transformation to the fireplace the best...a simple coat of paint makes all of the difference.

Happy Tuesday!

xo
Coco