new maison21 interior design website coming soon!

i've started working on a new website, and who knows, someday i might even blog again. feel free to enter your email to get an update if i do. don't worry about spam- post-surgery me will never have the manual dexterity to write a weekly news letter or anything crazy like that! in the meantime, as usual, follow me on instagram for cute pictures of my pets. twitter is all politics, and i'm not accepting new FB friend requests right now, though feel free to like my maison21 FB page. posts there are mostly my IG feed, with the occasional panda video or real estate listing, so something for everyone!

i'm slowly making my way back into the real world and hope to be interacting with y'all soon.

ps- i hope all my imaginary internets friends (YOU) are well! xoxoxo!

maison21 on hgtv's house hunter's renovation! saturday september 5th!

cabin fever

for those of you who don't follow me on instagram, i haven't been around much of late because the start of 2015 brought pneumonia with it, and i've pretty much been stuck inside for 2 months. ugh. and for those that do follow along on IG and FB, thank you for all the support and well wishes! i'm getting my strength back every day!

being stuck inside the house also made me appreciate the importance of having a pretty place to live. when your view is confined to four walls, they'd better be pretty ones!  i also realized that i need to get hot and get some home projects done... we need to do some sprucing up and some major cleaning out around here! now that my strength is coming back, once i get caught up on work, i need to make my home a priority. it is time. funny how i perfectly decorate my place in my head, but in real life that energy tends to be directed for my clients and my personal interior design projects never happen. yeah, my living room takes a pretty picture but i need to paint, declutter and update a bit. nothing major, more like a really thorough spring cleaning. which will probably happen in the fall as i'm so behind on work!

there are lots of other exciting things in the works, so stay tuned!

ps- anybody wanna come over for a painting party? i'll provide pizza and beer. ;-)

new year, new work.

48" x 36"

36" x 24"

36" x 24"

20" x 16" 

29" x 22"

24" x 36"

here's some paintings i've been working on in the last bits of 2014. even though i've been crazy busy, the urge to create was strong enough that i somehow i fit it in. in a way, i think the creative outlet saved me from going crazy with design problems and deadlines! ;-) i am really looking forward to see what creative directions 2015 holds!

california home + design "designer crush" interview!

i posted a while back about how thrilled i was to have one of my favorite magazines "california home + design" return to publication this fall (and to feature my "pennants" rug in the relaunch!), and today, the love affair continues as they were nice enough to feature an interview with me for their "designer crush" series on the online website! i am tickled pink.

please, head on over to the site to check out the interview and a slideshow of my work! and a huge thanks to ca home + design, and to editor-at-large jennifer mehditash for her kind words and hard work- i assure you, the crush is mutual!

sneak peek from a maison21 los angeles interior design project

here's a little sneak peek of a media room i just completed here in the beverlywood section of los angeles (one of three rooms i designed for the homeowners).  i'm pretty darn pleased with how the room turned out, especially the moody color palette, livened by graphic pops of white. a perfect place to relax in netflix bliss. the gorgeous lynx photo is by wink gaines, a talented wildlife photographer i met in high point, and the super sexy modern sconces flanking mr. kitty were provided by lamps plus. 

maison21 at #ICFF (dreams do come true)

a little late since #ICFF is over halfway through at this point, but my fields rug for 27ground is on exhibit though 5/20 at the woven accents booth, #2166.

i also want to acknowledge that sometimes dreams do come true: when i was in design school in the way back when, i vowed that one day a product i designed would be shown at ICFF; today, cross one off the bucket list!  next step is a my own booth at ICFF just for my licenses: wallpaper, rugs, fabrics, lighting, casegoods, upholstery, accessories and tabletop!  and this time it's not going to take 20 years either!  ;-)

thanks to erik perez of HLgroup for the instaphoto!

maison21 on the design in conversation podcast!

i am honored to be featured on the lastest "design in conversation" podcast- the only podcast devoted to our community! check out the "design in conversation" blog, or subscribe on itunes and give a listen- you'll be glad you did!

maison21 in enlightenment magazine

i'm waiting for my martha stewart style backlash...

a sincere thank you to linda longo of enlightenment magazine for the coverage she gave the panel discussion on "social media and the design community: how to encourage influencers to grow your brand" that i participated in at las vegas market in january with gretchen aubouchon,  corey damen jenkins and michelle workman.  it was so nice to read the recap, because when you are up there in front of people, tryin' to be witty and clever it's sort of hard to remember what was said! you can read it here ( i also recommend subscribing as enlightenment magazine  as it is a great way to keep up with lighting industry trends!)

one week until #hpmkt- join m21 in person or virtually at #designonhpmkt!

it's just one week until high point market, and y'all may already be sick of me talking about it (don't worry- it's over soon), but personally i am ridiculously excited to be attending this spring. after not going for a year, i am seriously psyched to see my southern-based friends, as well as the friends who travel from around the country to be at furniture's fashion week.  oh, yeah- there's product too... ;-)

i'm pleased as punch to be part of this awesome group of tastemakers! international market centers has invited us to take over their instagram feed for a day, so you can see market through our eyes. i did this with IMC for vegas and it was tons of fun, so please follow along: @designonhpmkt and #designonhpmkt on instagram! i takeover the IG feed non saturday- probably on the night shift as i'll be on west coast time!  

and if you haven't registered for a suite spot tour with me, or my fabulous cohorts, julia edelman, corey damen jenkins and crystal palacek, please do asap. spots are filling up fast! RSVP HERE. tours are sunday and monday afternoon! i did one with my friend jill a year ago and we really had fun.

i'm also excited to be working again with my friends at 220 elm again this market. as i've mentioned a bazillion times, 220 elm is the spot for sleek, european modern and contemporary design in high point, so not to be missed (check out my friend cassandra's recent post for a taste). heinz kattenfeld, the big cheese at 220 is one of my favorite high point peeps and this year he has really gone out of his way to have a stellar roster of food, drinks, entertainment and seminars, as well as design available to high point attendees!

last, i can't wait to hang with my old friends at 214 modern vintage. i've known these crazy kids for years (we were brought together by our obsession for vintage modern furniture) and they really are stepping up the game to make high point market a destination for vintage as well as new product. you know how we decorators like to mix it up, so it really makes #HPMKT one-stop shopping! this spring's merchandise will be different of course but you can get a taste of the flavor they will be bringing here), PLUS they've expanded and added dealers this market!

see you at market, or if you can't be there, i'll bring it ALL to you on instagram!

"a conversation with christian may" - thank you, urban electric co!

now skidaddle on over to the urban electric co. blog to read it!

ps- thanks for the awesome photo- your talented photographers took the best photos of me in years!

wanna hang at #HPMKT?

  

hey erebody! wanna hang with me at high point market this spring? then please join me as i lead a suite spot tour of the suites at market square!  my tour will be taking off monday, april 7th at 2pm, and i'll be highlighting some cool finds and some of my favorite vendors, as well as providing, ahem, some color(ful) commentary.

so please RSVP  today so we can have some fun together at market! remember, maison21 always promises a good time!  seriously- if at least don't make you smile, i'll refund the cost of the free tour. how's that for a can't lose proposition? ;-)

SUITES AT MARKET SQUARE

200 West Commerce Street

High Point, NC 27260

3 Floors

330,000 Square Feet 

an International Market Centers property

and here's a little selfie video i made about my favorite thing about market. if you know me this will not surprise you!
.
for more @designonhpmkt selfie videos from friends and design stars, click here.

see you at market!

maison21 in living etc!

"be daring the in the downstairs loo" i love it!

it's kind of a special honor when a lil ol' los angeles interior designer makes an international print magazine like living etc., so i was thrilled when my friend, lifestyle writer extraordinaire, abigail stone, texted me last night letting me know my california home + design showhouse bathroom was in the pages of their february 2014 issue! cross another thing off my design achievement bucket list- i've made the pages of one of my favorite magazines in the entire world (and because of the distance thing, a magazine i didn't imagine i'd ever be in 'til someone asked me to design their london townhouse! which, you know, i'm available for whenever).

woot!

i'd like to thank talented interior design photographer bethany nauert for taking the photo and submitting it to living etc., and i'd also like to thank tracy hiner of black crow studios for working with me to make our wallpaper THE statement making paper it is! remember, you can buy it in five different colorways, from mild to wild on the black crow studios website! (self promotional sidenote- tracy and i are working on expanding the maison21 collection as i type, so stay tuned for the more wallpapery goodness from bcs & m21!)

thanks again, living etc!

a 2014 resolution. for serious. (with bonus mixed metaphors!)

we gonna get serious here for a minute... my challenge for 2014 is to enjoy the journey. i'm one of those people who if things don't go exactly as planned (or better), i feel like a failure, and that's just not reality. life has twists and turns and unexpected moments, good and bad, and they are all part of the deal.   sometimes, i'm gonna swing, and i'm going to miss- terribly- but how many other people don't even get a chance to step up to the plate?

so this year, i'm stepping up to the plate, i'm swinging, and i'm giving myself a pat on the back no matter how badly i swing and i miss. it's the experience of trying that counts, and i have to be honored to even be put in the game (me. mixing in a sports analogy, no matter how mangled... who knew?)

this is going to be the ONE thing i try to keep in mind for 2014: enjoying the journey. learning to love trying and failing as much as i love trying and succeeding; enjoying the good AND the bad because it takes both to live a life. i know that being afraid to fail can keep a person paralyzed in place, and worse, viewing taking a chance and not succeeding, as a failure, can make a person bitter and resentful and i refuse to go down those paths on my journey- 2014 is not about that. it's about the opposite of those things. it's about reframing the bad shit into something positive, because there is always a bright side.

so i'm taking the pitch, giving it my best, and shaking it off if i don't succeed the first time- with a dash of peptalk from the coach (me) for getting out there in the first place.

batta batta, swing!

whats your resolution?

*for serious photo courtesy of the urban electric company. we will be sharing our adventures with them next week!

my 2014 trend prediction for house beautiful!

an interior designer's perspective on blogging and social media, and why it's important (a design camp OC wrap up).

last friday i was honored to join paloma contreras of la dolce vita and julie thigpen of belle maison onstage at design camp orange county, the fab 2 day intensive learning/networking experience put together by lori dennis & kelli ellis.  while paloma and julie taught teh assembled campers how to blog the right way, with dedication, and with professional tools like an editorial calendar and a press kit (neither of which i have), i sort of took the slacker approach, of "hey, it's better to do something rather than nothing", cuz, hey, it's worked for me, so why not?
 here's some highlights from my presentation, already posted on instagram:

this was my opening laugh, cuz if you are doing social media purely for the monetary rewards, boy,  are you barking up the wrong tree!

  the point of this slide is that when i started, i had no clue what i was doing, but i started anyway... because i was desperate to increase exposure for my interior design business. by the time people actually started paying attention to me, i had figured out a lot of the kinks and didn't look so stupid. the same holds true for anyone starting out in social media, when you make your first big fuckups- and you will- nobody is following you anyway, so just go for it and figure the rest out along the way.
this is pretty self-explanatory. no one knew or cared who i was before i started blogging, but now, things are different- i have a platform to tell my story- or any story i choose to- and get it out there, and crazily enough, it reaches a lot of people through my various social media outlets. how many people, i don't know or care, but it reaches the right people, and that's what i care about, so thank you for coming here and being one of them.
and this was my concluding slide with a couple of instagrams from project finished this summer, and again, the point of this slide is pretty self-explanatory: just do it. don't worry about not having the time, or not knowing what your are doing, cuz trust me- if lil ol' backwards me can figure out instagram and blogger and twitter and facebook, so can you. the time thing is always an issue, but isn't that the story of our lives? but we have to make time to be our own cheerleaders, because if we don't value our businesses enough to cheer them on, how can we expect others to?

anyhoo, those are some highlights from my presentation, and i suggest you book early for design camp vegas summer 2014- it's not to be missed!  oh, lori and kelli and my friend lisa mende will also be dropping some knowledge this week at high point, so if you are there, don't miss these dynamite ladies in person!

thanks, burnham design- maison21 featured in lonny!

just wanted to congratulate max humphrey from burnham design on his fab feature in september's lonny magazine, and thank max and betsy for featuring one of my paintings in max's chic apartment! i'm so honored!

one of my cubist series paintings is the backdrop to max's chic bar area.

max and betsy, two of my favorites from LA's amazing design scene!

lots more great stuff in the september lonny- go check it out, here.