fall decorating inspiration with 55 downing street.

i can almost hear you saying "fall decorating inspiration? i'm still working on my tan!"  but really, fall is almost here, and in the world of retail, it started a while ago! (the fast forward effect in the field of custom interior design is even worse- if you haven't placed orders already for custom furniture or carpets, don't count on them in time for holiday parties!). but as usual, i digress. inspired by memories of my mom, and the colors of autumn leaves, i've put together some picks to freshen up your fall decor over at teh 55 downing street blog. i'll be blogging for them a couple times a month for a bit, with some inspiration on how to integrate finds from their site into your home. if you miss hearing from me regularly, you might want to bookmark it, as that's probably more than i post here at maison21!  ;-)

A visit to st. jude children's research hospital with the brizo #blogger19

a few weeks back, i was thrilled to be part of a blogger reunion in memphis put together by brizo with all the designers and bloggers who have attended brizo's amazing NYC #blogger19 fashion week events over the last few years.

st. jude, patron saint of lost causes

 brizo wanted to the opportunity while over 80 of us were together to introduce us to st. jude children's research hospital, a charity the folks at brizo partner with on st jude's fundraising "dream home" effort (st jude has raised over 260 million dollars via the dream homes and brizo has donated over 1.3 million to those efforts).

the brizo #blogger 19 gang

i'm so delighted that brizo made the introduction, because like many people, i had heard of the st jude name, but had no idea what they actually do, and now that i know, i can state that it is a cause i am 100% behind: treating and researching children's cancers, and making sure that no child treated by st. jude EVER receives a bill. the way it should be.

flags from the countries with doctors working at st. jude.  all research results are posted online for world wide access with NO profit motive. isn' that the way medicine should be?

at first,  i was concerned when told of our hospital tour, because  as you may know, m21 is a crier, and i knew that i would blubber like a baby seeing all the sick kids at st. jude ("mommy why is that strange man crying?") , but what i didn't anticipate was how much i would smile too- there is so much hope at st. jude, you can't help but be touched by it.

rockin out in the brizo photo booth

during our day at st. jude, we had all kinds of activities where we interacted with the kids, and you know what? though lots didn't have hair because of the chemo, in every other way they were just normal little kids, laughing and playing and being silly. so heart warming.

a cutie enjoying the brizo designed and donated dollhouse.

i worked a photo booth, disinfecting the props in between groups of kids getting their rockstar photo on (didn't want to spread anything around), and brizo designed and built some amazing dollhouses for the kids. everyone, kids, families and us brizo peeps, all had a great time!

the wallpaper  and flooring is interchangeable in each doll house room- so cool.

 a serious effort was put into the design of the hospital and the nearby family housing to keep things fun, and engaging (st. jude believes in keeping the whole family together during a child's treatment, and families of patients are given free housing and even grocery money). all areas are decorated with art made by the kids, which i LOVE- what kid doesn't love seeing their art hung up?

this patient drawn elephant was fantastic.

a snippet from one of the arts and crafts rooms- there are tv rooms, music rooms, study centers, you name it...

hard to get the scale here, but this is a full sized kitchen, scaled down for children. so awesome. 

each ward has a different theme. 

great solution to a load-bearing pillar in a lobby- turned into a mast for a sailboat shaped reception desk, nicknamed the "s.s.hope".

a personal fave of mine, a volunteer with a therapy dog. doggies lift the spirits of anyone, but kids especially, so i'm glad this treatment is included at st. jude

i loved this hospital, and now that i know about it, am a huge booster. you should be too. here's some facts from their website:

How do your donations help?

• Thanks to donors, no family ever pays St. Jude for anything. Care, housing, transportation, meals—the list of services we provide to our families is unequalled. But it is for one purpose: To ensure the very best outcome possible for every child.
• At St. Jude, donor dollars help fuel the groundbreaking research that leads to pioneering care and treatments for childhood cancer and other deadly diseases.

How is St. Jude making a difference for sick children?

• Every child saved at St. Jude means children saved around the world—a direct result of cutting-edge research and treatment that set the standard in treating childhood cancers. And our discoveries are shared freely with doctors and scientists all over the world.
• St. Jude developed protocols that have helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent, when the hospital opened in 1962, to 80 percent today.
• St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.
• St. Jude has embarked on an unprecedented effort to sequence the pediatric cancer genome and to identify the genetic changes that give rise to some of the world's deadliest childhood cancers. Read more.

How are donations used?

• During the past five years, 81 cents of every dollar received has supported the research and treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
• It costs $1.8 million a day to operate St. Jude, and public donations provide more than 75 percent of our funding.

Donate now to help St. Jude save the lives of children in communities everywhere.

st. jude = simply amazing.  help if you can!

obsession

i caught up on game of thrones over the long holiday weekend, and now i am sort of obsessed with jon snow's hair.

that is all.

happy monday.

happy fourth!

ted, channeling little edie, wishes you a sparkly fourth!

#HPMKT- a visit with w. schillig usa

if the rainbow of gorgeous leathers above didn't get your attention, then watch the following video, and then join me for a tour of of the w. schillig USA furniture showroom (in the 220 elm bldg) during april's spring high point market! (yup, two months later, i'm finally getting a chance to do a market recap post!)

ok, did you gasp like i did when schillig's US head guy, david stewart, walked on that gorgeous sectional?   i could hear my mom yelling at me to "keep off the furniture- if you want to play on something, go outside!" and trust, no damage was done- here we are chillaxing on the same sectional, moments later:

sturdy, yet comfortable!  the curved end cushions hugged me and didn't want to let me go... (and thanks to material girl jill seidner for taking some the pictures for this post!)

one thing i learned while visiting schillig (my sponsor for this april's market) was that not only is their furniture comfortable and stylish, it is all built like a tank... a precision, german engineered tank! i mean seriously, would you walk on your sofa? and schilling takes their german enginrering seriously! look at look at these details would ya?

i am cracking up here because there is a hidden button in the seams of the sofa cushions that controls the foot and headrests- i told you, this is german engineering at it finest!

yes, electronic controls mean the sofa needs electricity to be used, but you can still float schilling's pieces in the middle of the room because they are offered with battery packs, which are charged via this sleek lil chrome outlet. hawt.

all the visible working parts are chrome-plated and beautiful  no ugly clunky black metal mechanisms that should be kept hidden at schillig!

what is kept hidden is the amazing engineering inside every cushion....

even the top stitching is precise

just because it's well engineered, doesn't mean it's not stylish either. love the chanel inspired stitching  on this sofa.

stylish, yet still precise.

not everything in the showroom is robot motion furniture- loved this simple cantilevered (and springy) breuer inspired chaise. this one wanted to come home with me, bad.

also loved these rocking chaises- available in single, double and triple seaters.

another piece that caught my eye was this bed with movable headboards, because sometimes you just have to float a bed in a room, and this will allow it to be done stylishly (and with versatility).

and how about this sectional which converts into a bed- or is it a bed that converts to a sectional?

whichever it is, it coverts hands free ,as david kicked it into shape!

and yes, i heard my mom yelling again- "don't kick the furniture!" ;-)

if you'd like to see more click on the logo above, and it will take you to the new w. schillig USA website (there is a retail locator on the site), or if you want to test drive like i did, stop by their showroom in the 220 elm building during high point fall market, and kick the tires for yourself! if you do, you just might find m21 napping on one of the rocking chaises- really loved them, and i want a return engagement!