THE MANY MOODS OF MARY MCDONALD

I've adored designer Mary McDonald's work from the first clip I saw in Domino Magazine. She's bold, yet whimsical. Feminine, but stark. Colorful, and somehow subdued. Enjoy.

NEUTRALS

BOLD COLORS

WHIMSY

STARK CONTRASTS

MADAME MCDONALD

All images, Mary McDonald.

THE GREAT COVER UP

There's a curious concealment going on in the design world, a conspiracy that stretches from Architectural Digest to Country Home. Glance through the pages of any shelter magazine, closely examine the pictures of bathrooms, and you'll notice that something's missing. In water closets across the country, some Americans are apparently bathing in defiance of the laws of physics:  they never splash any water when showering. How do I know? Because all of these beautiful, glamorous bathrooms never have a shower curtain in sight - but the grouting is crisp and the floors are dry. Apparently, swags of vinyl are de trop in mag land. Of course, who can blame them? There are few things that scream "tacky" like "plastic shower curtain." But we can't all have marble dividing walls and crystal stalls. The rest of us - us non super-showerers - need a buffer between water and walls. And our bathrooms should look good doing it. So without further ado, some (very challenging to find) examples of proper shower curtain etiquette - and where you can get your own.

   The simplicity of a monogram brings elegance to a bathroom. No 

     ugly here! (For similar shopping options see below.)

Kate Spade's bathroom. Stripes? Check. Zebra stripes? Double check. Using a graphic

pattern to offset the color on the walls is a nice trick - the same one you might use for curtains

in any other room. Scalamandre zebras can cavort across the walls safely shielded from 

the dangers of errant spray.

In a rental and don't want to paint? A shower curtain can bring needed 

color to a bland bathroom. I love the orange and pink pattern - so Tory Burch!

Patterned elegance. Designer Krista Ewert goes luxe with a fabulous fabric 

shower curtain in a pop of pink. Don't hesitate to have your favorite fabrics made 

into bathroom decor. Ever heard of a plastic liner?

How beautiful is this bathroom? An exotic ikat gives it style and substance, 

photo courtesy of Cote de Texas.

Another great white bathroom gets the pattern treatment. 

SHOWER SHOPPING!

Above:  Beautiful chinoiserie examples: Avian shower curtain, from Anthropologie.

 Blue and white pagodas from West Lake at Inmod.

Below:  Patterns, Paisleys, and Monograms. Clockwise:  Green and white patterned Kew shower curtain, at Inmod. Paisley Pop shower curtain from PB Teen. Monogramed Catalina shower curtain, 

Ballard Designs.

Images:  Products, as attributed. Rooms:  Domino monogram, Kate Spade room at Habitually Chic, Orange bathroom, Pink bathroom, Black and white paisley bathroom.

Coloricious: A Domino Retrospective

As far as I'm concerned, color is the best part of summer - but with a colorful room, you can have that summer feeling all year round, too. Here are some of my favorite vibrant spaces. 

Hope you have a colorful weekend :)

xoxo Sanity Fair

All images, my Domino file.

M.A. Belle and Rubie Green

Fellow mourners for Domino, you are in for a lovely treat. I was so excited to discover designer Michelle Adams! Aside from having a gorgeous bedding line, Rubie Green, and fabulous style, Michelle's newly decorated home is in this month's Real Living magazine. Actually, her home was supposed to be featured in Domino, and when the magazine folded, so did the story. So we have to be grateful to Real Living for featuring Michelle's lovely home. Here's a sneak peak, as well as images from her fabulous bedding line. For the full scoop, visit Michelle's blog, M.A. Belle.

A vignette from Michelle's house. I spy chinoiserie, an Anthropologie ikat bowl, greek key - and wonderful book stacks! Notice how well the serene grey of the walls and the white molding provides a structured backdrop for the bold colors in the room.

Bedding from Rubie Green bedding. Don't you want to be this girl? 

What a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Lovely shams, lovely patterns.

The advertising is beautiful too. Here, a patterned pillow case debuts as a bow belt for cocktail hour.

Action, and Scene! In this ad tableau, the model carries fabric bolts of Rubie Green cloth.

Aren't these patterns marvelous? I wouldn't know where to start. 

You can purchase Rubie Green fabrics to use in your own designs.

All images, M.A. Belle and Rubie Green.

We Love Domino Contest

I'm very excited to announce that my entry in the We Love Domino Domino-inspired design contest has first place!!! I want to say a very special thank you to Kate, who went to a tremendous amount of trouble to put on this contest, and offered great prizes. It was such a fun idea to see how people around the country were inspired by the magazine and incorporated that inspiration into their daily lives. Be sure to visit We Love Domino and check out some of the fantastic entries - there are some really talented folks out there!

R.I.P., Domino

The website came down today. No more easy-access paint amount calculators, no more Dear Marian advice on the stubborn curtain problem, no more random color discoveries ("a black bathroom can be cool!"). No more Domino. Alas, to be taken from us so soon at the tender age of four.

However, there is one Flickr of hope on the horizon - the Domino Magazine Files on Flickr! Adoring readers are posting all their My Deco File photo downloads in an effort to keep the fabulous Domino archive alive and accessible. So open your files and contribute! Flickr The Domino Magazine Files. Thanks to Coco + Kelly for posting about this!

Images: Domino Magazine

Vote For Sanity Fair!

I submitted a little bedroom vignette to a "Domino magazine inspired" contest on the blog We Love Domino. Now, it's up for a vote to become winner!!! Please click and vote for "S's Bedroom" to win!  

Here's the link to vote: We Love Domino Contest

Thanks friends! :)
xoxo Sanity Fair

I snapped the photo of my bedroom vignette during a move, so it's not nearly as staged or put together as I would like - but I think the look still works. A little about the room: The elements of the room were strongly influenced by Domino: the combination of high and low (a target towel shelf used as a bedside table, family silver on the dresser), a soothing (but not bland) color palette, the paint on the armoire doors, and of course - ZEBRA! The zebra frame picks up on other unseen elements in the room, including a zebra stool and black and white books, and adds flair to an otherwise cool color scheme. The photo over the bed is my own, taken during the height of Washington, D.C.’s cherry blossom festival. The gorgeous woman in the picture is my mother, posed for her engagement photo.

Domino Inspired Me!

My contest entry in the "DOMINO INSPIRED ME" contest is featured today on the blog We Love Domino!!! Check it out (title link above).  

I snapped the photo of my bedroom vignette during a move, so it's not as staged as I would like - but I think the look works.  What do you think?