Mary McDonald Mania

Today's High Gloss giveaway is for a BEAUTIFUL new book compliments of Rizzoli. It's Mary McDonald: Interiors: The Allure of Style - a title that has definitely been on my Amazon Wish List because she is one of my favorite designers.

Be sure to comment on the High Gloss Happenings page to enter...among other things, you can also follow High Gloss on Twitter and Facebook and blog and and tweet about the giveaway to earn extra entries.

Just to whet your palette for the book, I wanted to showcase some of Mary McDonald's insanely gorgeous design work. Her schemes are always timeless and elegant, and some are more lively and fun than others. It'll become quickly obvious why I am so enamored with the rooms she creates...we both share a love of Greek key trim, tufted upholstery, Leontine Linens, bone-inlaid pieces, bolster pillows, and canopied beds.

Without further ado, here are the greatest hits from the Mary McDonald, Inc. online portfolio...

 

Love this pic of her and her pug!

All photos above via Mary McDonald, Inc.

Isn't she amazing? Now don't forget to enter to win her fabulous book!

Unbridled Bathroom Design

A reader recently emailed me about creating a design for her future bathroom. Since her fiance is in medical school and will be beginning his residency soon, she actually doesn't know where this bathroom will be...so there aren't nitty gritty details to take into account yet. As far as color goes, she mentioned blues and grey, and noted that there are touches of yellow and green around their current apartment. Other than those broad parameters, I had a blank slate and it was fun creating the following bathroom look for the soon-to-be-wed couple:

Keeping her fiance in mind, I tried not to go too girly...the use of navy and the industrial accents help in that regard. What do you think?

Countertop
Lucia Soap - Burke Decor

Marvis Toothpaste - Waterworks

Monogram Tray - Jill Rosenwald on Etsy

Mayfair Glass Jar - Urban Outfitters

Hand Soap and Lotion - Anthro

Other Accents

Suction Cup Shower Clock - Urban Outfitters

Interlaced Garden Stool - Clayton Gray

Under Foot

Outdoor Rug - Pottery Barn (to go in front of sink)

Storage

Hamper - Pottery Barn

Covington Train Rack - Pottery Barn

On the Wall

Hayes Quatrefoil Mirror - Clayton Gray

Linens
Lacoste Robe - Macy's
Zigzag Floral Shower Curtain - Urban Outfitters
Maxwell Towels - Leontine Linens*
Diamond Bath Mat - Somewhere in cyberspace! For the life of me, I can't find the source for this thanks to my browser crashing during recon. If I figure it out, I'll add it to the post.

*The Leontine Linens towels are super expensive, and since she's getting married and can register for towels, these embroidered ones from Pottery Barn would be a great alternative...

The Mecca of Monograms

I've long been obsessed with monograms and try to stick them on pretty much everything from bedding and towels to luggage. As a lifelong southerner, it's always seemed like a pretty normal thing to do.

Recently one of my husband's clients (who is from Columbia) was staying at our house, and he asked me what brand "KKS" was. At first I didn't know what he was talking about and then he articulated that the letters were on the towels and sheets in the guest room. I explained that the "brand" was actually my monogram...which still didn't register so I had to explain the concept and try to justify why it's plastered all over the linens. He jokingly asked me if I was afraid people would steal them :) I think my analogy was that it's like having your own personal logo...which in hindsight sounds so conceited and pretty re-damn-diculous. It was a funny conversation and made me realize that I had never really thought about the why, since the how has always been my main concern.

Despite the lack of true purpose, I still love monograms and dream of having personalized goodies from Leontine Linens all over our house. They have gorgeous heirloom quality linens and the absolute BEST menu of monogram styles. The thought of picking one stresses me out because they are all so pretty.

For my initials, these are among my long list of favorites:

 

What is your take on the subject? Do you think it's totally silly and frivolous or a fun way to personalize your home?

Gifties from Katie & Co.

My wonderful cousin owns the greatest stationery store, Katie & Co. in Houston. It's located in such a cool area on Washington Ave and she did an outstanding job on the interior of the store as you can see in the photos below and check out more here:

She obviously has great taste and thus you can imagine my excitement when I get goodies in the mail from Katie & Co! I share my cousin's love for paper goods (especially LETTERPRESS) and she totally indulges me with the latest and greatest. Today I received an amazing gift set from Elum...
Orange and the perfect shade of robin's egg blue...LOVE IT!! And it goes with my awesome orange roses - even better :) I want to keep this on display on my desk - too bad that's kind of a weird thing to do.Elum postcards. Stripes and harlequin print - out of control cute. To top it off, the colors are lime green and pink. Maybe if you're lucky, you will receive of one of these from yours truly!

Thanks Katie!!This is a sample of the store proprietor's personal stash of stationery. I am in love with every detail...the monogram, the color combination (yellow and gray), and pattern, the gray envelope and of course, it's letterpress! Call the store and order some...would make a great gift for someone who has everything or just yourself :)Hella cute monogram...reminds me of the many items at Leotine Linens that I would sell my kidney for!