A Visit to Maison Decor!!!!!

Before I get to the story about Amy's shop.....
Let me first give a shout out to
RESTORATION HARDWARE!!!!!!

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As much as Target treats their customers like @#$...
Restoration Hardware stands behind their product and treats their shoppers like valued friends.

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I have had a problem with a drawer not opening all the way on my father's bathroom vanity.
I let them know about it late last summer. 

Since I go away for the winter, by the time they sent me a new slide, it was too late to schedule a service call back.
Now this was a vanity I purchased for my folks 4 years ago.....
So when I first let Restoration Hardware know there was a problem, it had been three years since I had bought the cabinet. 

I explained that my Dad had lived with it for a while, and had not thought to tell me about it.
(I confided in them what his age is)

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This spring, when I came back up to Massachusetts, I called the service department.
I got 
NO ATTITUDE ABOUT THE DELAY!!!!!
They understood that I had been gone for the winter.
They sent their service person, Kelly right back out.
AND TODAY IT IS ALL FIXED!!!!!!!


Now compare that attitude to the one at Target, and that is why I 
LOVE TO SHOP AT RESTORATION HARDWARE!!!!!
AND WILL NEVER 
SHOP AT TARGET AGAIN!!!!
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Now....
back to my story.....
My buddy Amy Chalmers (fabulous blogger of Maison Decor), seemed a little overwhelmed with her new entrepreneurial escapade. 

She's opened a store at

 50 Summer Street, Malden, MA.

Sometimes, you just need a design buddy to bounce ideas 

off your frozen noggin.....

She felt the store looked junky....

Wanted it to have an Anthropology vibe.....

SOOOOOO.......

I dug into my clothing closet and found my 

SUPER DECORATOR CAPE!!!!!

(hmmmm.....which one to wear?????)

and flew over to her shop with my sidekick (and bidness partner) Kris!!!!

When I first arrived, I spent some time just walking around the store, and absorbing all the stuff.

There was a lot of stuff.

some was over here.....

some was over there.....

But it wasn't playing together nicely.

When arranging stuff for merchandising.....

I like to do it by similar groupings.

First I attacked the Annie Sloane paint....

Amy had this cute wooden tray sitting on the floor

 under her church pew bench.

I pulled it out to use to corral the paint chip samples.

I cleared off the dresser, and arranged a shrine

 to the goddess of chalk paint.

Amy had these great containers for her brushes. 

I don't know where she had them hidden.....

but now everything is easy to see

 (and hopefully buy!!!!!)

The dresser is between two of her Mora clocks, so they work as wonderful examples of what can be done with the paint......

Then I moved over to the church pew.....

She had some of these pillows on it, some of that stuff on it.....

I wanted a more cohesive look.

She sells great grain sack fabric pillows, so I said!!!!!

"Let's put them all here!!!!"

Then we grouped some of the wonderful wire containers around the area and jumped around in joy.....

Next I moved over to her little glass doored bookcase.

She had china and silver and who knows what else in it.....

So I says, says I.....

"Let's only have silver in heah!!!"

Then I mixed in a little of her rustic stuff (which I love, love, love...)

Stood back to check how it looked.....

was liking it.....

I just may buy that wire obelisk on the top of the bookcase, but I don't know where I would have the room to squeeze it in.....

So then I moved on to her chest of drawers that she had set up with perfume bottles and perfume stoppers and other @#$.
It wasn't bad, it just didn't grab your eye....
So I grabbed a plate stand she had sitting on the floor, and set it on the dresser.....

Put some pretty vintage linen napkins in it.....
hummmmm.....
not bad.....
What else can I cram on top of it?????

I know!!!!!
how about some crowns??!!

Amy informed me that these were table top decorations.....
I didn't know!!!
So, we're getting there....
what else can go here?????
Kris suggested the stoppers in a silver tray.....

And we hung the sign from the mirror....

(Amy is also selling these chalk board signs, I love it. I love it. I love it.)


So.....
Now it's lookin' jamin'!!!

ON TO THE CHINA!!!!!!
I pulled all her "vintage" linens out of an armoire.
We made the decision, only pristine fabrics would be sold.
Lovely old napkins....
bedspreads.....
table cloths.....
But it wouldn't be a priority.
We needed the display space for other stuff.
LIKE CHINA!!!!!
I just realized that I didn't take a picture.....
OOPS!!!


OK, then let's go onto the 
NAPOLEON table!!!

This table had a lot of different @#$ on it.
I organized it to have black and gold royal type stuff.

And I took the gold candles out of the gold and crystal candle sticks.
I was trained to only use white or cream candle sticks.
I'm sorry.
I know I preach not to blindly follow decorating rules.....
But GOLD CANDLESTICKS SUCK!!!!!


Let me end with the funkiest thing we attempted accomplished!
Amy had an angel floor lamp.
I wanted it to be tongue-in-cheek....
so she whipped out a great lamp shade that was only made out of wire.
Amy sells these wonderful rolls of wired viney ribbony stuff,

 and she had the
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT IDEA
of covering the wire lampshade with the vine ribbon.....

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO PHOTOGRAPH SOMETHING!!!!!
It looks pretty good in real life.
It looks like@#$ in the picture.....
BUT I HAD TO SHOW IT TO YOU 'CUZ IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!


Anyway,
We aren't done yet, so I'm going back over tomorrow
 to help her finish.
I am so tired, I'm surprised I could type this blog.
BUT I AM A TROUPER!!!!!!


Latah, Gatah