Hot AND Shady, Barbara Kaslow Designs

(NOTE:  OK, we are NOT currently in a HEATWAVE.  
I have been away. 
 I hope you HAVE noticed. 
I had nearly completed this blog post just before my beloved Daddy passed away very unexpectedly last summer.  It has been my toughest period ever filled with great losses of loved ones and tragedy, my oldest son had a catastrophic car accident in late December (thankfully he is well on the road to complete recovery),
 and I have had writer's block,
 but I am finally back, and going to go ahead and post this unseasonably.
I think you will enjoy it anyway!
I hope better late than never, Barbara.
And of course, in these parts, we ARE just around the corner from yet another
HEATWAVE!)

WE ARE IN A HEATWAVE!

Today is the third day with 

actual temps over 100, and 

the heat index hit 106 yesterday.

SOOOOOO, 

I'm thinking SHADE . . .

Daddy, my son Trainor, and I stood on the balcony of Oak Alley and enjoyed this,
 one of my favorite views anywhere.

TREES,

(Like the shady, old oaks and cool shady caladiums at Oak Alley Plantation 

down the road AND the bayou in Louisiana)

Sun SHADE(s),

SHADES at the beach,

Which SHADE do you prefer?

And since design is NEVER off my mind . . .

 window SHADES 

and of course 

lamp SHADES!

I am ALWAYS trying to spot 
the perfect SHADE.
Lots of times that means
 I need to have one made.

Along with my friend and
 fellow BlogFest 2012 attendee and designer/blogger
 Sarah O'Neill
of Storibook Designs,

Sarah adorned in one of Barbara's fabulous, hand feathered shades

I recently spent a cool, rainy morning 

(boy I am wishing for that now!)

 with 

New York designer

 Barbara Kaslow and her
 fabulous custom SHADES.
THEY were hot!

Barbara donning another of her fabulous, hand feathered shades

Artist

Doodler

Designer

Barbara generously shared her 
creative process in detail

with Sarah and me, from her sketching . . .

to her transfer of designs to blocks . . .

to the final designs, these on papers.

Barbara actually freehandedly paints many of the lampshades.

Barbara with the block she used to hand print this shade

This was one of my favorite of many of Barbara's fantastic handmade shades.
This one was printed with one of her hand cut blocks.

Barbara painted these shades freehanded.

Her art, her shades, have been 
featured nationwide and internationally in 
publications like House Beautiful.

Barbara's sweet baby Angel napped while we chatted.
He has it 'made in the shade' so to speak!

And by the way, did you notice that those northeastern 'partying with 
shades on their heads'
 girls Barbara and Sarah 
failed to catch 'lil ole southern me 
with a  lampshade on my head!
I guess I am just too cool
 even if I'm not 'in the shade'!

My new green shades for the St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday

For more of Barbara Kaslow's fabulous shades, visit her on Facebook HERE 
or
contact her here

Stay shady my friends!

photo credits: Marilyn Trainor Storey

Fifty Shades of Greige, Sarah Beaugez' Delta

GREIGE: being in an unbleached undyed state as taken from

a loom — 

used of textiles 

(from Merriam Webster)

GREIGE: not bleached or dyed, 

unfinished, raw ( from www.greigedesign.blogspot.com)

EVERYONE is talking about 

Fifty Shades of Grey Greige

Well yes, the books, but I mean the
 COLOR GREY aka GREIGE!

But what is GREIGE really?

Beyond the dictionary definitions above of unfinished, undyed, raw linens and
 the range of colors that 
encompass all the variations of 
grey mixed with beige . . .

from Domino

Top row, left to right: 1. Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum Paints Mushroom, 2. Ellen Kennon Full Spectrum Paints Silt, 3. Farrow & Ball Old White, 4. Farrow & Ball Bone, 5. Pratt & Lambert Silver Blonde, 6. Benjamin Moore Silken Pine, 7. Benjamin Moore Smokey Taupe.

Middle row, left to right: 8. Benjamin Moore Bleeker Beige, 9. Benjamin Moore Seapearl, 10. Benjamin Moore Grant Beige, 11.Benjamin Moore November Rain, 12. Benjamin Moore Lambskin, 13. Benjamin Moore Hazy Skies, 14. Sherwin-Williams Perfect Greige.

Bottom row, left to right: 15. Benjamin Moore Elephant Tusk, 16. Benjamin Moore Bennington Gray, 17. Valspar Woodrow Wilson Putty, 18. Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, 19. Sherwin-Williams Mega Greige, 20. Sherwin-Williams Windsor Greige, 21. Benjamin Moore Creamy White.

for me GREIGE is an ideal, a style,
an aesthetic that represents a move toward
 authenticity, realism, relaxed simplicity and calmness, livability, and the incorporation of nature in design, all the elements which I believe are important in designing interiors.

via Ronique Jones Gibson

via shop Greige

Edward table John Lyle Design

via Greige

Urban Outfitters

Barcelo from Kelly Wearstler for Lee Jofa in Taupe

via Atlanta Homes Magazine

Nubia vase John Lyle Design

The same elements which I have discovered became a part of my personal design aesthetic when I was growing up in the Mississippi Delta.  


My friend and now fellow Mississippi Deltan Sarah Beaugez captures 
all of these 'GREIGEY' elements in her photographic work, as well as the more than
 'fifty shades of the color greige'.

Sarah's water tower photo reminds me of the old water tower in my
Delta hometown of Lambert.  I drew the tower for the cover of a special project
in the fifth grade and it has always been special to me.

Like the water tower photo above, this reminds me of my Delta hometown Lambert,
originally known as Yellow Dog for the Yellow Dog Railroad that still runs through town.

I couldn't resist showing the Kelly Wearstler for Lee Jofa fabric again.  It works so perfectly with Sarah's photography and really reminds me of the Delta, the alluvial plane AND the river.

If you know me, you know I usually have to throw in a bit of color.

I love "Greige" mixed with

a bit of natural green.

via Greige

Heliopolis vase John Lyle Design

via Velvet and Linen

Kelly Wearstler Mineral in Juniper/Lake for Lee Jofa

And of course, Sarah does too!

For me the rich, "Greige", dusty, crusty, Delta soil and the vibrant green cotton, rice, beans, and corn are the perfect juxtaposition.

Do you like "Greige" design?

Do you like the more than 

 'fifty shades of the color greige'?

Which is your favorite?


Do you prefer all greige or greige with natural green?

See more of Sarah Beaugez' photography

Visit Sarah Beaugez on Facebook 

See Sarah Beaugez on 

Walt Grayson's "Looking Around Mississippi" 

on WLBT Channel 3, Jackson, MS

HERE

AND WATCH FOR MORE SARAH HERE ON

 MS DESIGN MAVEN

photo credits:  Sarah Beaugez, Domino, via Ronique Jones Gibson, Kathleen Clements via Greige, John Lyle Design, Atlanta Homes, Pinterest, Velvet and Linen