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I spent the day at AmericasMart in Atlanta, the leading gift, home furnishing and area rug marketplace and the largest trade mart and tradeshow complex of its kind in the world.  I’m so lucky that I only live about 30 minutes away!!  I wanted to share just a few of my exciting finds:

1.  This amazing and colorful showroom founded by it’s designer, Kelly O’Neal is Design Legacy.  They sell furniture, accessories, lighting,  textiles, pillows, letters and signs and one of a kind antiques.  Every bit of this place is extreme eye candy!!

2.  The coral and red combination was very prevalent at Cyan Design.   They are a source for unique decorative objects and lighting for vibrant interior design.

3.  I love this coral on acrylic from Regina Andrew.  Great for bookcases, desks and tabletops!

4. This coffee table from Global Views has a great fretwork base and marble top.  I love the versatility of this piece.  It can go in a formal living room or a casual, screened in porch.

5.  One of my all time favorite vendors is Sugarboo Designs.  The owner’s mission is to create products that remind people of the ones they love.  I like the way it looks like it’s on a piece of notebook paper.

I really enjoyed my day scouting out new sources and seeing the latest and greatest in home furnishings.  To end my day, I treated my aching feet to a pedicure!!

Please welcome  Adriana Willsie as our first Guest Blogger of 2012! Adriana  is an unapologetically upbeat artist, who is obsessed with pet portraits.  Kandrac & Kole Interior Designs boasts a keen ability to create designs that celebrate the lives of our clients. Adriana’s work is a perfect fit with our designs and we recommend her highly!  Here’s what she has to say:

I live in Chicago, and just down the street there’s a particular home design chain store that has always boggled my mind.

Here’s why.  The bread and butter of this particular store is selling pre-packaged ‘room designs.’  We’re talking a finished set of furniture, window coverings, rugs, lamps, and even wall art that you buy in one big package and then have installed in a room of your home.

I don’t know about you, but this freaks me the heck out!

I’ve always been bothered by this idea that you can find identical living rooms sprinkled throughout the entire Chicago area.  I mean, how creepy would it be to go to a book club meeting and find yourself seated in your own living room, but in someone else’s house? (Cue Twilight zone music…)

Needless to say, I’m a little biased.  After all, helping people to ‘personalize’ their space is not only my passion, it’s my job.

I’m a commission based artist, who specializes in making original paintings of the people we love, the places that form us, and, most often, the pets that brighten our lives.  Okay, I’m no interior design expert like the lovely Joann and Kelly.  But I can tell you with confidence that what you put on your walls can make the difference between a room that could be in anyone’s house and a room that feels like you through and through.

If you’ve ever considered commissioning a piece of original artwork, or if you’re just getting a little tired of what’s hanging on your walls, here are the top 3 things you should know:

1)  What you put on your walls matters.

A lot.  These are the images you’re going to see day after day, year after year.  A wall is an open invitation to surround yourself with your colors, your memories, and art that matters to you on a personal level.

2)  Cookie cutter art is so last season.

A quick tour of the interior design blogosphere confirms that cookie cutter art is out, and original, homemade, handmade creations are in.  Whether you’re framing family photos, making shadow boxes with keepsakes, or purchasing or commissioning one-of-a-kind paintings, the more unique and personal the better.

3) Original art isn’t as expensive as you think.

Somewhere down the line, original artwork became synonymous with “out of my price range.”  That’s baloney, I say.  A quick trip to Macy’s shows that $235 will get you an unframed, generic fine art print.  $235 will also get you one of my ready-to-hang original paintings of your pet, your favorite place, or a still life that has personal meaning.  Head on over to Etsy, and $235 will get you any number of original paintings, photographs, and mixed media pieces that you won’t find in anyone else’s living room.

When it comes to your own space, you can never get too personal.  So, go ahead and treat yourself to the one-of-a-kind original artwork that your one-of-a-kind family deserves.

Visit her website (http://adrianawillsie.com/ ) to see more of her work,

 Connect with her on twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/AdrianaWillsie)

Friend her on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/AdrianaWillsieArt),

Sign up for her newsletter (http://adrianawillsie.com/newsletter) to receive downloadable freebies, discounts, and first peeks reserved just for newsletter subscribers.

Thanks Adriana!!

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”  Miriam Beard

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to shop for unique items that tell a story about an area .  I love going into a home whose owners are “well traveled”.  The home feels collected and interesting.

Kelly brought this back for me from Guatamala .  I have never seen anything like it and I love it so much.  I have it displayed in my foyer.

One of the things I’ve always wanted to collect while traveling is pottery from different areas.  I love this display I found on Apartment Therapy .

The use of maps in design is a great way to remember a trip and to add  a pop of color to a room.  This framed map from House of Turquoise  is a great example.

How about these cool cabinet knobs you can customize from Sherry Truitt on Etsy.  They are a great conversation piece!

My husband and I went to Barcelona 3 years ago on a trip sponsored by Cosentino, the manufacturers of Silestone.   We bought some prints of places we visited and then put them in a drawer and forgot about them.  This Christmas my husband had several of them framed.  Here is just one of them.

They are from La Rambla and Parc Guell in Barcelona.

I had almost forgotten that we had them.  They were small and inexpensive but the way they were framed made them so much more beautiful and memorable.  Now when I look at them, it takes me back to that amazing trip!

Using your travel mementos not only takes you back to a”special time” but also provides some great design in your home!!

Kandrac & Kole – Celebrating Life Through Design!!

The talented crafters around the country simply amaze me.  I love their excitement and willingness to share their ideas and take the time to take photo after photo to give you step by step instructions.  I came across this on Lamps Plus blog.  I couldn’t help but pass it on.

Find the tutorial at make it and love it . Looks super easy!!

Here’s to a NEW YEAR of creative inspirations, delightful designs, and a life worth living!

Cheers!

Love, Joann and Kelly