The New Living Lavishly Magazine Is Out!

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

Happy Friday everyone! Have you seen it yet? The New Living Lavishly magazine is out. I have some fun articles in there to show you how simple it is to design and decorate your home. If your not local, you can read the issue online here.

I'm sharing with you simple and easy tricks on how to make your coffee table look amazing!

I'm sharing with you simple and easy tricks on how to make your coffee table look amazing!

This was fun! I was able to show off my good friend and fellow designer, Abbe Fenimore, and this Gorgeous Powder Room she designed as well as share with you some tips on putting the POW! in your Powder Room. Check out Abbe's online shop too! Sh…

This was fun! I was able to show off my good friend and fellow designer, Abbe Fenimore, and this Gorgeous Powder Room she designed as well as share with you some tips on putting the POW! in your Powder Room. Check out Abbe's online shop too! She has A-Mazing taste. 

And here I'm sharing with you a colorful and inexpensive Thrift Store make-over. Piece of cake!

And here I'm sharing with you a colorful and inexpensive Thrift Store make-over. Piece of cake!

These are just a few of the fun articles in the latest magazine! Pick one up today! They're FREE. Also, if you like learning these fun decor tips, come see me speak at the Home Expo on Saturday, September 17th at 1:30, Madonna Expo Center! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Introducing our 2016 Desk Top Calendar! My Labor Of Love <3

by Mari Robeson in

You may or may not know that I participated in a very fun 100 Day Challenge over on my Instagram recently. It was so much fun and I had the greatest support from so many in that wonderful community. I will definitely participate in it again in the new year.

Because I had so many renderings I decided to create my first ever desktop calendar of my favorites. There were friends in the design world that were a tremendous inspiration for a few of my illustrations; Michelle Nussbaumer's incredible Pagoda Daybed for January, Parker Kennedy Living's gorgeous Show House Room for March, and the fabulous chairs and ottoman from Taylor Burke Home for May. The rest of the paintings I just had fun making up.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did in creating it! They make super stocking stuffers, hostess gifts & teacher or office mate gifts too! They come with an optional acrylic easle or you may choose to frame yours in any standard 5" x 7" frame. Happy Holidays!! xoxo

It's Live! Living Lavishly Magazine!!!

by Mari Robeson in

It's Live! LivingLavishlyMag !!! WooHoo! Pop The Champagne!

There's a New Home Decor Magazine in town & I'm honored to have been able to contribute to it! Check out my Design Trends and let me know what you think! If you are local to the Central Coast, you will be able to pick it up around town this weekend -or- read it online! Follow Living Lavishly on FB & @LivingLavishlyMag on Instagram! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

Get The Look From Studio Ten 25!

by Mari Robeson in , , , ,

I just had to repost this Gorgeous Mood Board that the incredibly talented Abbe Fenimore (OMG! Watch the video!) put together on her blog today. The colors are so fresh and inviting, I seriously want to "Get The Look" for my own home and I was even more thrilled to see our Ballet TuTu Art Print included!

Make sure you take a minute and pop over to her shop because she has added new categories and beautiful new products! Seriously one of the best places to shop on the web for gorgeous Home Decor! StudioTen25.com

Happy Bamboo Friday!

by Mari Robeson in , , , ,

A designer once said to me, “You should always have one piece of Asian furniture in your home.” I never asked her exactly why but I can imagine it’s to show that you are worldly? I thought it was kind of funny actually because I don’t think you should have anything in your home that you don’t find to be useful or that you absolutely love. I happen to love anything chinoiserie so I suppose I would have this designers approval, not that I would even care. Decorate your home with what you Love!

In honor of the fantastic designer Parker Kennedy and his Bamboo Fridays, this one is for you! Happy Friday y'all!

 

Decor Amour For The Pink Pagoda!

by Mari Robeson in , , , , ,

I feel so blessed. Really...

I adore the wonderful people I have met here on the www! Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda is incredibly talented and truly a wonderful human being. I love collaborating with her and our creative brain storming together! It's really wonderful when people can connect on a creative level and working with her has been exceptional. I was just thrilled when I saw this Mood Board she created with "Beatrice" the Zebra. It is so colorful and whimsical! If this is for a little girl then I want to be 10 again! :-) You can get all the details on her blog.

Things Are Getting A Little Wild Around Here!

by Mari Robeson in , , , ,

I love a little animal print! “Little” being the important word here. Animal prints can be very bold so think about just using one type of print and selectively placing it in an area of impact. In other words, be conservative.

I also love animals so please only use the faux versions. I adore the look of a fabulous faux zebra rug angled on the floor. It makes me think this person must be well traveled or at least they are quite adventurous, but I really don’t want it to be a real skin. That just makes me sad. You can easily create the story of the well traveled person without harming anyone! Do not even get me started on elephant tusks! Those only belong to the elephant!

Some places you might consider adding a little “Roar” would be on the seat of a chair, an accent pillow, a rug, or a throw blanket. If you want to add animal print wallpaper, you may want to consider using it on an accent wall or on the back-side of a book case. Just a splash of animal reads sophisticated. Animal prints on all four walls would feel like a safari gift shop.

If you’re just not that person who can see yourself living with a wall covered in zebra stripes, it may suite you better to hang a painting of a zebra but I’m personally a fan of a little animal pattern play in a room. It fits my personality. It’s a design motif you can easily try without a whole lot of commitment or you can just get yourself a fabulous kitty cat, that will do the trick too!

1 Designer Jana Beck's Gorgeous Brush Stroke Lamp Coming Soon! // 2 Cameron Gold Leaf Black Velvet Chair From ShopTen25 prrrrrr // 3  Gold Leaf Square Table also from ShopTen25 //4 "Beatrice" The Zebra Exclusively Painted By Muah For The Pink Pagoda  5 Jonathan Adler Zebra Rug from Zinc Door

Thank You Chinoiserie Chic For The Lovely Feature!

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

I literally LOVE to see how people style my paintings and my textiles! I almost fell off my chair when I saw how Beth from Chinoiserie Chic put together this beautiful design board on her Fablulous Friday Finds blog post! It is simply stunning & I think I need to have that ceramic zebra in my life! Thank you so much Beth! Make sure you check out her gorgeous blog & while you're at it, head over to The Pink Pagoda where you can purchase Beatrice The Zebra! A special thank you and shout out to Jennifer as well because it was her vision of a whimsical zebra that inspired my painting....AND if it wasn't for the wonderful Linda of Calling It Home we would have never met. It was her One Room Challege that brought us together, so a huge Thank You to you too Linda! Wow! So much goodness & it's Friday! I think it's time to call it quits and have a celebratory glass of champs! 

New! Exclusively For The Pink Pagoda!

by Mari Robeson in , ,

I'm not sure why this is, but the Nicest People live in Texas! Over the past few years I have had the pleasure to collaborate with some of the most talented designers in that state. Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda is no exception! I was thrilled when we connected on Instagram. I admire her beautiful blog and sense of design, in her own artwork as well as her interior design. When she reached out to me with a few ideas I was honestly quite flattered and excited to work with her! She discribed to me her vision of porcelean elephants with her blue & white pottery on top and whimsical flowers...in pink, of course! This is what I came up with. You can now purchase the 16" x 20" prints exclusively in her shop, which is Loaded with other gorgeous treasures that you must check out!

We also played around with the idea of a zebra and pink flowers. The first go around I came up with "Juliette" (seen on my previous post & now available in my shop) and now you can meet her Shakesperian sister "Beatrice" in The Pink Pagoda's Shop!

One Room Challenge - Week 6 The Final Reveal - Studio Make Over!

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

Today's the day! The Big Reveal...ok sort-of-big Reveal. After looking through all the amazing design blogs I was so impressed with the level of accomplishments my fellow bloggers achieved with their make-overs! Since the entire process of the One Room Challenge was all new to me, I started with a room that just needed a little sprucing up, My Studio, which is up there, in my attic. My husband & I designed and built our house ten years ago and I've always loved the attic space as my studio but it's funky because...it's an attic! 

I have to thank Linda of Calling It Home for putting this challenge together because it was huge motivation to go through and clear the clutter, not only in my studio, but in my entire house! The other really wonderful aspect of the challenge that I enjoyed more than anything was meeting so many incredibly talented designers. The banter over Gold Spray Paint on Instagram with so many of you especially, Emilie of Shell And Chinoiserie, kept my laughing through this entire process. Make sure you check out her reveal. We both purchased the same desk but she seriously glammed it up with some Gold Legs! Just fantastic!

So here we go. It all started with this cat. When cleaning out my studio I found all kinds of things that I had forgotten about long ago. When I found my daughters cat (she's now 15) it brought back a flood of happy memories, so outside to the tarp she went where she received a shiny new coat of Gold along with cabinet knobs (still haven't found ones that I REALLY Love so these will do for now), my card racks, mason jars & a gold vase.

I was pretty happy with all the items I painted gold...so fast...and easy...such instant gratification, one might even dare to say addicting! 

I'm an Interior Designer but I also have a line of textiles, art prints and cards. Everything in my studio is my work. The rack has some of my pillow collections, if you weren't sure what that was. :-)

Then came the "Heart of Gold" gallery wall. Painting it took a while because I used a brush when actually the best way to paint anything metalic is to spray it on. Then came hanging the pictures. I made a template but I will tell you that hanging picture frames level and straight was no simple task! THEN, back in Week 2 when I was being soooooo organized, I had forgotten that I filed all the paintings I wanted to hang on the wall. Of course I found all of them neatly stashed away, AFTER I had hung all the others. Good Grief! So down some of them came and I switched them out to this final design.

Onto the Rug. My attic can be super chilly or super hot sometimes. Luckily I'm in California so the weather is usually very nice but when it get's cold a fuzzy rug warms everything up! I shopped for a couple of weeks to find one I liked but there was always some issue. I actually had this one in storage which, guess what?, I found when I was cleaning out the rest of my house! I'm telling you Spring Cleaning is a great idea in more ways than one!! I love having my pillows and poufs all around me & Willow Loves it too!

Really the only thing I purchased for this make-over was some gold paint, frames & the desk (which I love!) It was more about setting aside the time to make the space feel good to me which was really fun! Fresh flowers are a must for me in every room. These are from my garden. Sometimes it's a race between me and the deer to see who gets them! 

I meet with clients in my studio, so I have a stocked mini-fridge at all times. 6 Weeks of One Room Challenge complete. I do believe that calls for some Champs! Cheers!

Make sure you check out all the One Room Challenge make-overs! You will be incredibly inspired!

Please make sure to check out Calling It Home & all the other amazing blogger/designers making beauty in the world!

Abby M Interiors // Because It's Awesome // Bijou & Boheme // Calling It Home // Chez V //

Chinoiserie Chic // Copy Cat Chic // The Decorista // Design Crisis // Design Indulgence //

Design Manifest // The English Room // The Glam Pad // Little Black Door // Momosa Lane //

My Notting Hill // The Pink Pagoda // Simple Details // My Sweet Savannah // Veranda House

Thank you again Calling It Home! See you in October! 

One Room Challenge - Week 5 - My Heart Of Gold!

by Mari Robeson in ,

This week was crazy because my daughter's U15 soccer team Won State Cup!!! Woohoo! It was pretty incredible for this small town, made the local news and all that fun stuff, sooooo of course then we had to throw a HUGE celebratory party for about 60 or so at our house last night which put a little glitch in my plans to finish all my "To Do's" for my studio refresh.

I did however do a little rug shopping this week. I fell in love with a black & white striped rug from World Market but then when I read the care tag I thought, "Na betta not." BECAUSE it read... "We recommend a rug pad since color may blead onto your floor....AND...this rug is NOT flame retardant and does Not pass USA standards." Well, OK then, that was an easy decision! Yikes! So I'm still looking but I think I've found the one!

I did fall in Amour with lots of Desk Accessories I illustrated in my prior post AND I did get the first couple coats of my "Heart Of Gold" up on the wall.

Still a couple coats to go!!!

Please make sure to check out Calling It Home & all the other amazing blogger/designers making beauty in the world!

Abby M Interiors // Because It's Awesome // Bijou & Boheme // Calling It Home // Chez V //

Chinoiserie Chic // Copy Cat Chic // The Decorista // Design Crisis // Design Indulgence //

Design Manifest // The English Room // The Glam Pad // Little Black Door // Momosa Lane //

My Notting Hill // The Pink Pagoda // Simple Details // My Sweet Savannah // Veranda House

Decor <3 Amour - Desk Accessories I Love! Week 5 of the One Room Challenge

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

Week 5 of The One Room Challenge involved painting my Heart Of Gold for my gallery wall, sourcing a rug (that's a funny story - I'll share tomorrow!) and shopping for desk accessories. I realized when shopping that I was, just a tad, over my budget but just LOVED these items I found.  This is my Decor <3 Amour; Desk Accessories I Love & am kind of obsessed with!!!

Some things that are a must for me on my desk are Always fresh flowers, good lighting (I'm obsessed with this lamp!!!!), & a pretty note pad to jot down thoughts on a whim. I keep seeing this Day Designer organizer by Whiney English. Does anyone have it? Would you recommend? It's just lovely to look at so I can only imagine it must be wonderful inside too! 

I'm also just in LOVE with everything from Times Two Design & this acrylic business card holder is no exception, it's even PINK People!!! Love, Love, Love! Having that on my desk would make me happy everyday! Of course having a donut on my desk would make me happy too but that wouldn't be very healthy. I do however, Love my coffee! Roar!

And who says function can't be pretty too? A-Dorable Bow paperclips, erasers & clock are all from Kate Spade, who else? 

That's pretty much my list of items I would Amour to have on my desk!

Huge celebration dinner party tonight for my Daughter's Team winning State Cup...of course it's at my house! I may be a little late but I will post my One Room Challenges for Week 5 tomorrow!

1 Jana Brass Adjustable Table Lamp from ShopTen25.com  2 Times Two Design Acrylic Card Holder from ShopTen25.com  3 Acrylic Stapler from DesignDarling.com

The Hillary Thomas Collection - Prints & Note Cards!

by Mari Robeson in , ,

I'm so excited to share with you a wonderful collaboration with the very talented Interior Designer, Hillary Thomas! I painted the watercolors for her inspired by her beautiful vignettes. They are now available as Prints & Note Cards on her website, Hillary Thomas!

I love to collaborate! If you are interested in commissioning a peice of your own please feel free to contact me!

w.mdesign@yahoo.com

One Room Challenge - Week 4 - Studio Refresh!

by Mari Robeson in , , , ,

Week 4 of the One Room Challenge started off with a pleasant surprise. My "back ordered" desk arrived on Monday! It was the funniest thing when I saw Emilie of Shell and Chinoiserie post on Instagram that her Same Exact Desk arrived on her porch, at the Same Exact Time mine was delivered in California! C-R-A-Z-Y!

BTW I LOVE the Desk! My husband had it all put together for me when I got home & I couldn't be more pleased with it. 

I have to back track just a little though. This One Room Challenge was incredible inspiration for me. I spent a few days, literally, Spring Cleaning like a crazy woman! I cleaned out my closet, my girl's closet, my storage room, my garage, my laundry room AND MY STUDIO! We donated a truck load to Good Will and found all kinds of things that had been missing! So Thank You Calling It Home because I'm not sure if I would have done it without this fun challenge!

This week I also purchased all the frames for my gallery wall and the other supplies I would need to make my "Heart Of Gold" design work. I prepped the wall and made my heart template out of some left over cardboard. 

I also found this painting in my storage. I painted her over 20 years ago. The painting is called "Forgiveness". It was part of my first ever "One Woman Art Exhibit" in San Luis Obispo & later, San Francisco. I was right out of college and ready, but terrified, to show my work as an artist. It reminds me of where I came from on this long journey as an artist and a designer. So out she came and up onto the wall again. As an Interior Designer (my day job) I always tell my clients to buy art that makes them happy, or tells a story. I also want them to know about the artist and what the inspiration is for their paintings. I find that so much more meaningful when a home is designed with that kind of attention to detail and support of the arts.

I just posted this picture on my Instagram and... Oh My! it sparked the funniest thread of comments! Jennifer from TheChicPad was absolutely killing me with her comments about what we designers put our pour husbands through all for the sake of making things pretty!! She basically said that her husband thinks the sound of spray paint is one of the most terrifying sounds! LMAO...and it just goes on and on...sigh...still laughing...

The cat I found cleaning my studio and brought back such happy memories of when my girls were little. I just had to give her a coat of Gold!

And other items received the Midas Touch this week as you can see! I was thrilled to find my card holder shelves in my garage! Another Perk of Spring Cleaning! I had these in my boutique years ago and can't wait to use them again to organize my greeting card line.

And the knob update. Yes, I painted the existing ones Gold & No I'm not sure if I'll keep them because I am still on the hunt for ones that I really love. I'm also still hunting for a rug. Today I'm going to purchase a black and white striped one to try out. Next week I hope to finish my gallery wall & find the perfect accessories to finish it off!

Please make sure to check out Calling It Home & all the other amazing blogger/designers making beauty in the world!

Abby M Interiors // Because It's Awesome // Bijou & Boheme // Calling It Home // Chez V //

Chinoiserie Chic // Copy Cat Chic // The Decorista // Design Crisis // Design Indulgence //

Design Manifest // The English Room // The Glam Pad // Little Black Door // Momosa Lane //

My Notting Hill // The Pink Pagoda // Simple Details // My Sweet Savannah // Veranda House

One Room Challenge - Week 3 - Studio Refresh

by Mari Robeson in , , ,

Week 3 of the One Room Challenge was full of Ups & Downs...literally, lights went Up & old artwork came Down! I spent a good 2 days cleaning out my studio. Talk about some spring cleaning! After everything was rearranged, dusted off, and looking good again, I took down the old art I had on my wall to get ready to prep and paint my "Heart Of Gold". 

Grrrr.... bummer #1. I had forgotten about some adhesive stickers that were still stuck to the wall from a former bulletin board. Ugg! So off to the garage to find my Goof Off! I'll be tackling that in the days to come. 

The good news is I have light! I had to tackle a wiring issue and it was well worth the wait! Two sparkling sconces! I love them! Check mark that off the list!

This week I also ordered my desk! But, Bummer #2, it's on back order! Hopefully I'll have it in time! The price was reasonable. I looked at quite a few and since it's just going in my home office, this one did the trick. Right size & right color!

My current table has served me well and is now photographed and ready to find a new home on Craigs List.

Next on my list is knobs! Being so darn busy, I never finished putting all the hardware onto my filing cabinet! I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the old hardware but it just may involve a can of Gold Paint. We shall see what inspiration sparks me over the next few days. If that doesn't work out, these are a few I fell in love with this week.

1 Jewel Knob Black & Gold  2 Swirled Geode Knob  3 Pink Ceramic Knob  4 Confetti Knob  5 Brass Pull  6 U Turn Pull  7 Brass Bar

Check out all the other fabulous One Room Challenge Makeovers over at Calling It Home! 

You'll want to check out all these talented ladies participating in the One Room Challenge!

Abby M Interiors // Because It's Awesome // Bijou & Boheme // Calling It Home // Chez V //

Chinoiserie Chic // Copy Cat Chic // The Decorista // Design Crisis // Design Indulgence //

Design Manifest // The English Room // The Glam Pad // Little Black Door // Momosa Lane //

My Notting Hill // The Pink Pagoda // Simple Details // My Sweet Savannah // Veranda House