DC Design House - Almost Open!

DC Design House - It's Almost Open!!!!

So the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of trying to finish up the space, then listing all items for sale in the space, and then being there with the wonderful photographer, Angie Seckinger shooting the space.  Wow.  So fun!  More of Angie's work in a moment.

So here are pictures of the finished space.  All photos are by Angie Seckinger.

Love the light in this space.  Such great light.  Sometimes it's actually a little too bright, I must say, but then again sunglasses can be worn indoors when necessary!!

See that gold vase in the foreground?  I call it Molten Lava because it has this glow coming from inside.  So very cool.

Angie is brilliant at capturing the light.  Look at these glasses!  Look at the light in the flowers. Wow.

Okay look at the little pussy willow plant.  Isn't this the cutest thing ever??  It morphs into something else every day.  It started as all the little pussy willows you see (the white ones) and then had these big yellow stamens and now they are actually falling off.  But I love this photo, with the artwork behind.

Another picture of Mr. Cow (Mabel actually) and the Molten Lava vase.  See it glowing?

The whole thought process behind this Butler's Pantry was that this is a room where one prepares for a celebration, and this room is really about the Celebration of a Good Life.  So it is happy, hip and fun with lots of great pieces to use for the parties on these shelves in the Pantry closets.

Love this cool giant plate on a stand.  Great malachite study.  And the stone is glass.  You would think it is heavy, but it is hand-blown glass.  It's a piece from Merritt Gallery of Art.  Love it.

Have you ever had the chance to just study some peacock feathers?  Well, we had to get these little babies to face outward so everyone could see their eyes.  And that's when I had the opportunity to really see how Mother Nature creating The.Most.Amazing.Thing.Ever.  They are bright, vibrant...unbelievable.  No words.

So one last picture.  Thanks for going with us on this journey.  And more follow up to come, but we are finished now!  Press Day was yesterday and the Preview Day is this Saturday, April 11th from 12-4.  Tickets are $50 for just this Preview Day.  Try to stop by.  We will be there!!

Here is the link if you would like tickets:

www.dcdesignhouse.com

Hope to see you there!!

Margery

The Dandelion Chandelier

Designer Pick of the Day

The Dandelion Chandelier

Intrigued?  Check it out!!

You can find this on:  www.deringhall.com

This is gorgeous.

DC Design House - Butler's Pantry - In the Home Stretch!

DC Design House - Butler's Pantry

 -  In the Home Stretch!

Okay, we are now in the home stretch for the DC Design House.  All rooms had to be completed this past weekend.  WE ARE READY!!

 We've added some really fun drawer pulls in lucite to add a modern touch and some sparkle.  Love this look.  So many people have stopped in and commented on these pulls.

 We are stocking the wine cooler with wine and ... a little bit of water in the bottom.  Have to stay hydrated after all if one lives in this house!!

You can see our rug rolled up here.  We are keeping it safe and clean until all the workers are finished in the spaces... no need to unroll it quite yet.

 We started trying out some options... what looks good here and there?  We are still waiting on our pre-fabricated wall panels for the main wall where the cabinets are... remember, the one to cover the existing herringbone black mirrored and antique mirrored tile?  But it is all coming together while we wait...

 We are adding our fun, funky vases and accessories to the shelves.  They look cool with the strie'd wallpaper.  So fun.  I am not going to lay them exactly where I want them until we have everything in... Just want to keep it safe for the moment on the shelves...

LOOK AT MR. COW!!  OR IT'S REALLY MABEL THE COW.  SHE'S FROM MERRITT GALLERY ART IN CHEVY CHASE.  Isn't she the GREATEST??  Nothing like a sweet, fluffy cow.  Not sure she will stay here but she's a keeper for the space.

Here is another fun piece from Merritt Gallery... and I love this frame it's in.  So well done.  And check out the fun peacock cups.  Oh and Oh... in this picture you can now see the pre-fabricated wall panels!!  They are IN!  And looking so nice.  Here are more shots below...

See the pre-fabricated wall panels??  Doesn't this look great?  This was no mean feat for these installers... they measured and re-measured and then came and measured again.  Seriously, this had to fit perfectly.  Knightsbridge Interiors is incredible.  So pleased with this result.

And...what do you think of the Diet Coke can?  Should it stay?  It says, "Celebrate in the Butler's Pantry", right?  But...well the red doesn't go very well in the room.... maybe we need a Sprite in here instead.

The umbrella stand is in with the (REAL) peacock feathers inside, all ready for us to fluff up.  Incidentally, these feathers have been waiting their turn to show off here at the Design House, but they were up in my closet on the top shelf to keep them away from the cats.  Yes, our cats LOVE feathers.  Anyone with a cat would know that you must keep any feathers (even the dyed red and yellow and blue kinds from Michael's craft shop) away from them.  Could you imagine how much fun they'd have with PEACOCK FEATHERS???   I guess I should have just taken these feathers to the office instead but...

A little artwork to tie together all the colors in the space.  Fun, huh?

So it is still a work in progress but coming along...

Some things stay and some go... just not sure where to place everything yet...

Above:  Now we moved Mabel the Cow to the corner of the counter.  I think I like her better there.  She is very happy lodged between the swirly vase and the other details.

So this "stone" above is from Merritt Gallery too, but it is not a stone.  I kept trying to pick it up as if it was really heavy...but it's not.  It's hand blown glass.  So cool.  And it has little sparkles when it catches the light.

Next we will move on to the real space.  We are all done now and ready for photo shoots, Press Day, etc.  This has been such a fun process.  All the designers and workers are nice and supportive.  What a great, super talented group.  And walking around to see all the rooms, I must say that I think this is the BEST DC Design House show house that I have seen EVER.  Wow, what an honor to be amongst such talent.  We can all learn so much from each other.  I have already absorbed and learned a ton from these designers.  What a great experience.

So more soon about the show house.  But try to visit.  It really is spectacular this year.  

Hope to see you there.  Stop by and say hi!

Margery

DC Design House - Renderings

DC Design House - Renderings

Rendering by Maria Morga, www.MorgaStudio.com. Guestroom Design by Margery Wedderburn Interiors, LLC

I have to talk for awhile about Maria Morga, the artist and renderer of the Butler's Pantry perspective.  She is ultra talented.  Take a look at this rendering she did for me of a guest bedroom we were designing in McLean, Virginia.  Isn't her work so beautiful?  One wonders if an actual room can look as pretty as her renderings!

In the world of interior design, many times renderings are used during the presentation process for clients who would like to see what the room will actually look like before moving forward with the ordering process.  If clients do choose this direction, they will then have a beautiful piece of watercolor art to frame and place on a wall in their home, if they so choose.  

from www.MorgaStudio.com

from www.MorgaStudio.com

Morga Studio represents a "go to" workroom for collaboration, color, consultation and illustration.
What this means for the designer is that you can give her all the elements that are going to be in a room, along with the floor plan, furniture, fabrics and details, and she will create the vision that is in the designer's head.  Most designers are exceptional at visualizing -- that is their job.  But to convey that to the client can sometimes be a difficult task, if the clients are not able to visualize very well.

With Maria, it is a complete collaboration with the designer.  We talk with her constantly by phone, email and text to ensure that everything is perfectly communicated so she can do her job.

Here is a concept sketch she did for Jana Abel Interiors, and from this concept sketch Maria can then add the color.  When Maria has done these for me, I print them out and my 6-year-old daughter has a blast coloring them in herself!!

DC Design House 2015 Butler's Pantry preliminary sketch for Margery Wedderburn Interiors, LLC by Maria Morga

Guest Bedroom sketch for Margery Wedderburn Interiors, LLC by Maria Morga, www.MorgaStudio.com

So from her preliminary sketches of the room, you can see that there is still a lot of work to do in terms of the color palette, details, etc.  But we all need to see this first sketch so we are all on the same page.  She comes up with these quite quickly.  Perspective drawings are incredibly tough to do!!

Here are some of her beautiful interiors she has rendered for designers:

DC Design House 2014 rendering for Victoria Sanchez, www.MorgaStudio.com

This rendering above was a lovely room that the designer Victoria Sanchez designed for last year's DC Design House.  Maria brings such warmth to the renderings.  You just think of words like "lovely", "Warm" and "Harmonious."

DC Design House 2015 - Butler's Pantry by Margery Wedderburn Interiors, LLC

And, of course, she just finished our rendering for the DC Design House 2015 Butler's Pantry, shown above, which I had to show you again because she did such a great job of it!!

Maria has been commissioned to do the exteriors of buildings as well.  Check out some of her exteriors below:

And then one of my favorites is her rendering of the DC Design House 2014.  This was on the coverpage for the DC Design House website last year:

A friend and I were discussing Maria's work the other day, and the possibilities are endless for this type of art.  We were thinking that a wonderful gift for a couple getting married woudl be to commission Maria to do either the interior or exterior of the church and then have it framed.  What a beautiful life-long keepsake.  Or how about a rendering of a college building for the student's graduation?  

Well, for now, we are going to keep Maria working on our renderings for interiors.  

See you at the show house!

Margery