the Holidays are here!

The Holidays are here and Tracery is busy with lots of decorating for the season!  We love getting the chance to prepare homes that we’ve designed for the Holidays.  This week, Paige and Doug are busy in Mountain Brook decorating two homes and Anna Kay and Bess will be at Lake Martin next week to get another home ready.  We’re also working with some of our clients to style some parties over the next couple of weeks.  We’ll be posting images from all three homes here on the blog in the coming days.

Tracery’s Paige Schnell and Doug Davis will also be sharing images of their own homes decorated for the Holidays.  We love this time of year and we’re excited to share our take on Holiday decor with you — check back for more soon!

we’re going grey!

Did you notice we’ve updated our logo ever so slightly?  It showed up on Facebook last week and we changed out the one at the top of the blog a few days ago. 

It’s a subtle change from the old one…we basically just cleaned up the line work a little bit and most importantly, we’ve updated the color of our logo.  Tracery’s gone grey–we’ll be introducing new business cards, shopping, bags, etc over the next few weeks.  We’ve used chocolate brown as ‘our color’ for the past few years, but we all were in the mood for something new.  We think it’s crisp and up to date, what do y’all think?

Our logo is, of course, a visual representation of our name’s definition–ornamental linework from gothic architecture.  Ryan Davis with our sister company, The G Brand, is responsible for our ‘look’ and updated the design and color scheme for us.  Ryan’s also working hard on a brand new website for us which we are really excited about…we hope to have it live around the beginning of 2010.

happy thanksgiving!

These images may not scream Thanksgiving at first sight, but take a moment to ponder the day ahead… Cooking, cleaning, gathering, eating and napping! All of that turkey makes us so sleepy after such an exciting day. What better than a big comfy chair and a warm blanket to curl up under? All of us here at Tracery hope you are having a wonderful day with your friends and family. We are so thankful for all of the support we receive from our clients, shoppers and bloggers!

bring it inside!

Our approach to flowers is much like our approach to everything else when it comes to interior design:  9 times out of 10, simple and natural is better.  While we don’t profess to be professional florists, we know enough to put together a simple and beautiful arrangement (and we have some really talented friends to help us when we need them to!).  One of our favorite ways to create natural looking arrangements that complement our interiors is to look just outside–literally, in the yard of a home.  If a flower or plant looks great on the outside of a home, chances are it will look just as good on the inside!  We thought today was a great day to share this trick with so much last-minute house cleaning and table setting taking place…

When we styled one of our Mountain Brook, Alabama projects for a photoshoot, we took our clippers out in the yard and brought some wonderful oak leaf hydrangea blooms inside.  Placed simply into a clear hourglass-shaped vase (our favorite style of container), these natural and slightly crunchy blooms are the perfect complement to the polished marble tabletop and antique french door in the background [photo by Colleen Duffley].

Doug took a similar approach in preparing his home for hall, clipping these bittersweet colored berries from his back yard and displaying them inside.

On the kitchen window sill, three white porcelain Ikea vases (we know, they look a lot more expensive then they are…Paige has the same ones in her kitchen!) are the perfect complement to these simple bits of fall color.

Doug placed a larger arrangement of the same branches on top of the vintage chest in his bedroom, again in an hourglass-shaped clear glass vase.

 

No need for an elaborate arrangement for your holiday table tomorrow, just look out the window and be inspired by the natural beauty in your garden!

casual holiday

Our series of Thanksgiving table setting ideas continues today with a decidedly different look from the one we featured yesterday.  If you’re spending your holiday in a relaxed getaway setting, why not set your table to match?

When we had the interior of a home in Watersound, Florida photographed, Paige chose to set the dining table with a casual placesetting that fit the mood of the home.

With breathtaking views all around, it wasn’t necessary to add lots of flowers and decoration…simple earthenware dishes and classic glassware is all you need to create a great dining experience in setting like this.

 

Don’t be afraid of mixing different colors and patterns together, especially if you are expecting a large crowd.  Here, two different colors of bowls mix happily on the table and help to reinforce the casual feel of the tablesetting.

 

[photos by Michael Granberry]

 

 

an elegant table

Thanksgiving is almost upon us…have you considered how you’ll be setting your table for the big day?  We believe that there are many ways to bring beauty to a holiday table and we’re going to showcase some of our favorite  ideas for you this week on our blog.  Since we believe in starting at the top and shooting for the best, let’s begin the week with something truly spectacular!

When styling a photoshoot in a beautiful Tudor Revival style home in Mountain Brook, Alabama, Paige and Doug couldn’t resist bringing out the owner’s amazing set of circa 1825 china for a few photos.

This set of china, purchased from Robert Hill Antiques in Birmingham is one of the most stunning we’ve ever seen!  Brilliant turquoise banding on the pieces is accented with sparkling gold accents.  Every serving piece in the collection is incredibly delicate, with intricate handles and flourishes throughout.  The plates, rimmed in a matching pattern feature a crisp white center.

Because the china is so beautifully detailed and fine, we chose to pair it with simple apricot-colored roses in tiny blown glass bud vases.  Classic crystal goblets add just the right level of detail to sit next to the china collection.

Rather that have a sea of placemats on the large Italian refectory table–which seats 12–we opted for large vintage ‘lapkins’ placed down the center of the table to set off the serving pieces and flowers.  A collection of vintage napkins, displaying monograms of owners long since passed, sit in simple beaded gold rings.

The lesson here?  When setting a table with beautifully detailed china, keep table linens and flowers elegantly simple to keep things from getting too stuffy.  We believe in living with and using beautiful things, so bring out your best this Thanksgiving and enjoy–it’s the ultimate luxury!

[photos by Colleen Duffley]

holiday walkabout

Saturday December 12 Rosemary Beach will be hosting its annual Holiday Walkabout. There will be several events & activities here in Rosemary and Tracery is not excluded.  Stop in between the hours of 2-4pm & learn how to fold your very own origami paper crane with Bess! They would be so cute perched upon a limb of your Christmas Tree this year.