 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
not to worry…mrs. jones is not breaking her promise to you…this is not becoming an elvis fan site!…just had to say thank you to helen morris for another kind mention about our new app on her wonderful blog, and to share with you her chips’ very cool stencil of the king:
you do remember helen’s skirt, don’t you?
(photos courtesy of helen morris and stencil library.)
mrs. jones is thrilled to bits to have one of her pieces on its way to the richmond symphony orchestra league’s design house, opening september 13th. lovely kent hughes (of fairfax designs) had a beautiful table custom-crafted for a particular designer’s assigned area. working from her sketch and with the soft oyster-white and raspberry red she specified…(for now, the rest of the details must remain under wraps, so as not to steal any show-house thunder!)…here are our eeny-meenys, and the before and the after…
(the shininess is the sanding sealer, not quite dry.)
…and some details:
the table is right this minute swaddled up and en route to little rock for the designer’s approval, then on to richmond. and of course, as soon as there are some true “afters” to show you, they’ll be posted here. all the best wishes to the designers and their teams for a wonderful event and a generous benefit for the symphony.
(you may have picked up on the fact that the work took place in our very own living room…that’s just the kind of week it’s been, my little studio space being crammed with other treasures…and a table in the works in our guest room….anyway, the table did look sort of good with the colors in there, didn’t it? wonder if it will need a home after the design house ends?)
after several recent (and enormously frustrating) calendar upheavals at the whims of others, it is bliss to just have some quiet studio time for a cleansing breath, and a nice little pile of “befores” to tackle. please check back for the “afters”, and some other wonderful reveals coming very soon.
thank you for the opportunity to vent.
for those of you who can’t get to market central, mrs. jones’s ship-able pieces will now be available on etsy. drop in and shop when you get a sec. more inventory is on its way.
as you know, mrs. jones loves babies. so it is especially nice to begin the school year with new babies to prepare for, since the young joneses are all – heart-breakingly! - entering grades in middle and high school.
here is a functional piece for baby ruthie’s room…some primitive shelves rescued by her grandmother, sweetened up for books and toys. before and after:
benjamin moore’s cloud white (#967) and then linen white (#912), with crackle in between, and glaze…instead of trying to smooth out the gnarly (in a good way!) wood and stain, we decided to just go with it, and keep all the texture and imperfections.
more babies & their furniture on the way. stay tuned.
a little something new, just for fun…pots treated to the same high-gloss finish that is a favorite on furniture these days. a little drama for your orchid, perhaps?
at market central now, in black or espresso/bittersweet chocolate/obsidian brown…$12.
it’s finally here: launch day. king me, the rock ‘n’ roll royalty tour travel app is now available in the itunes store.
back in april, my uber-talented & precious friend sally walker davies called in a request. help her with a few photos and a little research for a travel guide? absolutely! as the days unfolded, the project became more detailed, fascinating, challenging and fun than we’d imagined…in the 21 years that memphis has been my adoptive hometown, there were sights and streets i’d never seen until now, and it’s given me (and all the joneses) a new appreciation for our city and the music heritage here.
and now, 1200 photographs later, the app is finally polished up, licensed by graceland, and ready to roll (or to rock ‘n’ roll – sorry, couldn’t help that one!)….so please indulge me just a moment for a few gratefuls and acknowlegements:
first, of course, to sally, for the confidence and the opportunity…margaret, for riding shot-gun…bill oates at oates design for our fabulous icon…rodger motz at prudential realty for the personal tour of the circle g ranch…liz at lansky’s…tim sampson and his team at stax records…cora at sun studio…josh at the rock ‘n’ soul museum…alicia dean at graceland…jon hornyak of the memphis naras chapter…maxwell concessions for the funnel cake…john mccommon for lending his yearbooks…principal barber at humes middle school…alan and miranda at lauderdale courts/uptown apartments…all the apples for venturing to coletta’s for barbeque pizza…my lovely friends (and you all know who you are) for support, enthusiasm, and carpool coverage…my family, for putting up with ever more ridiculous detours and schedule changes and being willing to “suffer” through several rounds of arcade-burgers & milkshakes for the sake of a single photograph.
with the establishment of the facebook and twitter presence for king me, me & mrs. jones will get back to our regularly scheduled programming here. just a few favorite snapshots before we go:
mrs. jones has just spent another hot sunday afternoon lazing in her cool, darkened room, turning virtual pages…this time, the very impressive debut issue of pure green living magazine. celine rogers is officially my new green goddess…click and enjoy!
her blog is excellent, too!
…she is somewhere between camp riva-lake and camp bear track just about now.
back soon with fun things to show you. see you right after the laundry is done.
while my lovely client’s daughter is away at camp, a transformation is taking place…the lucky girl will return home to a redecorated and rejuvenated room. a few years ago, her handy dad built this bookshelf. for the new scheme, it required just a little paint and glaze. here it is before and after:
(the base color is pratt & lambert’s parakeet feather, #17.24.) (ps: this will, i hope, be the last of the purse-cam pictures….my new camera is here!)
…please forward all mail and comments to kiawah island, boardwalk #27, sixth umbrella on the right. thank you.
it’s a big compliment when meg tells me that a particular project looks like something that buddy might have made. (have i mentioned that we love cake boss?) my lovely client wanted a whole new look for this mirror…a high-gloss rendition of benjamin moore’s white dove. so here is the before, and the delicious-fancy-icing-looking after:
it is. just too hot to go to the mailbox for a magazine check. and if there are any sitting out there, it is too hot to exert myself by turning the pages. instead, i have taken to my cool, darkened room, clicking to enjoy the recent issues of lonny (especially good this time) and southern flourish.
among all the inspiriation in lonny, there is a great spread on ellie somerville’s chic & cheerful apartment, beginning on virtual page #145. i love the way she painted in trompe l’oeil mouldings on her pale blue living room walls. brilliant!
as my meg says, it is truly tragical: my camera hit the ground, and has been deemed beyond repair. thankfully, a new one is on its way, but in the meantime, please excuse the purse-cam photos.
if you are interested in salvaging a high-mileage but well-loved old minolta maxxum 5d for parts - model year 2005 – please get in touch, and i will gladly ship it to you. (full disclosure: the stabilizer coil and shutter are no longer operational.)
knowing full well that “transitional space” is architect-ese for a hallway, mrs. jones still could not resist the opportunity to join the amazing ann parker’s team for one of this year’s vesta showhomes. working with ann on the home designed by carson looney with builder jere duffy and the rest of their group was high-energy fun, and being there to see it come together this week was truly better than anything on hgtv.
ann’s vision for this particular space was a “quiet finish” to glam up the horizontal paneling. after deciding on pratt & lambert’s lambswool (#11.30) as a base color, we added layers of glazes tinted with raw umber (for depth) and modern masters’ warm silver (for a pewter-y gleam), dragged on with a soft brush.
with great lighting, this good-looking bamboo bench, and land of plenty by tim crowder, we hope visitors will enjoy the transition. the fantastic collection of art throughout the house is from the david lusk gallery, and includes pieces by hamlett dobbins (my fave!), alan duckworth, don estes, lynn mccarty and jared small. it’s all gorgeous.
tomorrow and saturday (june 18th & 19th) is the much-anticipated sidewalk sale at market central, beginning at 9am. come ready to shop! and if you prefer your bargain-hunting in air-conditioned comfort, come inside for more. since it’s the big sale weekend, go ahead and take 20% off all me & mrs. jones’s furniture. (vignette e-20, smack-dab in the middle of the market.)
an event like this calls for a new chalkboard, though my slap-dash effort doesn’t compare to the happy, cheeky, retro-feeling “mini-goals chalkboards” by talented illustrator mary kate mcdevitt. how perfect are these? and room for two goals each day…that seems just about right, doesn’t it?
after launching our children for another great day at camp tatonka, mmes. blackstone, faber & jones snuck away for a most inspiring & hospitable visit at silo studios in thompson’s station, tennessee. little wonder that shawn south-aswad’s fans show up early to get in line at her amazing home/studio for monthly “studio thursdays”…it’s a happening! even if you don’t take home a piece of her fun, colorful furniture or a painting, something from her offerings of jewelry or found objects will surely find its way into your car. perhaps even a rescued pooch? shawn provides foster care for dozens of homeless doggies, and - most admirably - her work supports her cause.
a lovely client considering a major kitchen overhaul for her gorgeous 1920’s-era home asked for two different looks using the same paint color. so, here are two options for her…layered, distressed and glazed, or painted & waxed (with old knobs out of the dish, just to test-drive.) thoughts?
here is a cute table found at the recent shelby county flea market…sweet & sturdy, but with a damaged top. before: 
and after.
(if this scheme looks familiar, it’s because this recent dresser project was such a favorite, i wanted to use those colors again. apologies for the early summer re-run.)
24″ diameter on top, 26.25” tall. it will be at market central on friday.
the young joneses are still wrapping up final exams & those many many school-year-end events, but for once, i’m ahead of schedule on something…we officially have our favorite roll-down-the-windows-and-turn-it-up song for the summer. so the pressure is off there.
bonus: in the happy, fun video, the band perry is (wait for it….) painting! yes they are, glamorously graffiti-style, and having such a blast, too. which reminds me how incredibly lucky i am to get to do something every day that i enjoy so thoroughly. thank you (again and again!) to all my lovely clients, designers & collaborators who make it happen.
and…i am super-extra-grateful to have the chance to slow it down a little while school’s out, but there will be some fun projects and new things at market central to show you during the coming weeks, so please check back in.
a lovely mother-of-the-groom honored mrs. jones with a request to add some little details to the decor at the rehearsal dinner. held at the hughes pavillion in the gardens at the dixon gallery, one of the prettiest spots in town, the setting was the inspiration for the garden-y materials we used: burlap, grapevine, terra-cotta. the rain moved through, the hydrangeas bloomed right on schedule, the barbecue (the groom-elect’s fave…plus what else would you serve during memphis in may?) was perfect…most importantly, family & friends were all gathered round to toast jamie and andy and wish them much happiness. here are some of the pre-party details:
(i can only take credit for the things with paint on them, as shown above….the centerpiece pots, the monogrammed tablecloths, cutting & edging the placecards & prayer wreath, and the luminaria/farolitos…the rest of the gorgeousness was all my lovely client’s doing.)
with it being may and all, you know there has to be a graduation in here somewhere, too. last week, my fine feathered friends and i threw a little celebratory luncheon for harriet (our first graduating hen-ette). since she is a sushi fan, and a new graduate naturally wants to know what her future might hold, the theme revolved around fortune cookies and all related manner of asian-esque fun.
the invitations were written fortune-style: “you will soon find yourself lunching with friends”, etc…scrolled up with a red ribbon and nestled among a handful of cookies, they were tucked into take-out boxes for delivery.
the menu: sushi (natch!) and an asian chicken salad, following mounds of steamed edamame, won-tons and spring rolls. iced peach/mango green tea. orange pound cake for dessert, with (what else?) more fortune cookies.
the guests were called aside individually by our fabulous, fate-divining mrs. wilfong, who briefed each young lovely on her future, and from all accounts was spot-on in her descriptions of their personality traits. and so, the future of the class of 2010 begins. all the best, girls!
my lovely client had a lot invested in these very pretty, solid curtain rods (and rings and finials and brackets):
but when you live in one of the prettiest homes in midtown memphis, circa 1910, with fantastically high ceilings….well, new & shiny curtain poles just won’t do.
so, after prepping & priming, layers of two different white paints (cameo & linen, benjamin moore #’s 915 & 912) with crackled varnish in between for a little texture, plus a little glaze were applied.
much better now. for good measure, the ceiling medallion got a similar treatment.
assembled, on-site “afters” coming soon.
not really…but i hope you will forgive my lack of photographable progress of late. truly, there are lots of fun & interesting things in the works, and as things wrap up and are ready to share, you know you’ll get all the details.
in the meantime, you can go over to my dear friend bill oates’s latest project, the wild dream book, and have a peek. apparently, any dream will do.
just like in all the best romantic comedies, my lovely client didn’t see that the truly perfect dresser was right under her roof the whole time, until she happened by mrs. jones’s opening at market central last month. seeing the transformations possible with a little paint, she requested a do-over for this wonderful, curvy old piece that had been her mother’s.
here are the taken-apart-and-partly-primed befores and then of course the happily-ever-afters and the details:
the color (layers of vale mist, benjamin moore # 1494, with a little dollop of blue fog, pratt & lambert #26.22, stirred in to the second coat) picks up a hue in a gorgeous needlepoint rug in the room, and looks so nice against her restful neutral walls.
in an exciting detour from regularly scheduled life, sally walker davies has tapped mrs. jones to snap the photos for her two upcoming memphis/elvis projects (all the details coming soon). it was a blast (and great privilege) to spend yesterday with the super-charming, professional and accommodating alicia dean, media assistant for elvis presley enterprises at graceland, who v.i.p.’d me through the mansion, grounds, shops, cars and planes, and even granted access to pat the horses’ noses. here is a sampling:
fact: fans from all over the world still send flowers and gifts, addressed to elvis.
observation: the jungle room really is as wild as they say.
reminder: bring a sharpie when you go. you’ll want to sign the wall.
an invitation to a day at alabama chanin…how could i not go? two of my most intrepid, trusting & lovely friends were game enough to adventure with me to florence for the weekend on this particular whim. after a visit to billy reid’s fabulous headquarters & shop (where darling kimberly hughston & cricket made us right at home)…
…we spent the afternoon at natalie chanin’s amazing studio. kay, jennifer, rob, and natalie herself were all so super-nice and made us so welcome. we had a grand time meeting everyone, trying on samples, watching art being made, having alabama studio style signed, and just soaking it all in. (it was a little hard for me to leave the stenciling room.)
other highlights: frank lloyd wright’s rosenbaum house, helen keller’s birthplace, and fame studios (”one bad apple“!), wonderful meals & refreshments at sweet basil cafe , rivertown coffee and sweet magnolia. (dish was closed…we’re going there next time.) (oh, and quick peeks in at halsey house, french basket, and marigail mathis…) sarah, margaret and i officially heart florence, alabama.
(my fab new book, kimberly’s cricket.)
this brilliant tidbit from the lips of interior designer dan marty in may’s house beautiful (”the big advice issue”):
“don’t be afraid to paint a vintage piece. every piece of furniture can’t be brown.”
can i get an amen?
(photo of mr. marty’s showroom from nashville examiner.)
a wonderful old chest-on-chest-style dresser had been languishing in a lovely client’s attic, but will now have a spot in her son’s room, where the color scheme is a lively and happy blue, orange & red. there is a knockout-fabulous old blue-painted piece next to his bed, and when she came to town to bring the dresser and discuss a scheme, she (so cleverly!) brought this door:
the old red layers on it inspired a distressed red-on-red treatment for the chest. before & after:
(love those adorable bun feet!)
a big gold good-client star to her for using ben to develop a palette for the project!…benjamin moore’s sangria (#2006.20) and mars red (#2172.20) with layers of wax, and raw umber & black glazes.
(and many thanks to my super-capable, charming and accomodating intern, kathryn hoover, for her extra help in prepping this piece.)
still not sure exactly where this project is going, but i’m excited to have a fresh bottle of mod-podge paper and these happy books from the flea market to think about. (it’s much more fun than a pile of tax forms, for sure.) of course, you’ll be the first to know what develops.